I will be crowned king

The battle for the artillery base started with the first round of meaningless shooting between the two sides.

Chaotic gunshots crackled in the heavy fog, and the soldiers on both sides raised their weapons in panic, firing impatiently in the direction of who knew there was no enemy, emboldening themselves with the sound of gunfire.

"Stop shooting! Everyone - stop shooting!"

Carl Bain stood under the parapet and roared: "The trumpeter will blow the trumpet, and those who disobey will be killed on the spot!"

Another rapid blast of bugles sounded, and the panicked artillery position finally regained some order amidst the officers' scoldings; the privates who had been ordered to cease fire began to reload ammunition uniformly.

Soon, sporadic gunfire disappeared in the sea of ​​fog; instead, there were tight horizontal formations, lined up in a line, with figures looming in the fog.

"Boom...boom...boom..."

The heavy and dense footsteps seemed very shocking even if they were a little messy.

"These stupid and angry imperial knights... It's been ninety-nine years in the Saint calendar, and they still hold on to the Phalanx, for fear that we won't be able to hit it?"

Looking at the menacing Imperial phalanx on the opposite side, the cursing Carl Bain looked disdainful, but the right hand holding the gun at his waist was shaking.

The dense front line also means that once a charge is launched, it will be difficult to contain it, especially when the troops are far inferior to the enemy.

Is it really necessary to rely on that twenty-four-pounder gun?

Karl couldn't help but secretly glance behind him. Several soldiers were busy surrounding the cannon, and they didn't even know how much propellant to put in. He quickly gave up the idea.

I hope this thing... even if it doesn't blow itself up into the sky before firing the cannon.

"Calm down and stay calm!"

The dull sound of footsteps shook everyone's heartstrings, completely suppressing Karl's angry shouts; the imperial phalanx holding high the iris battle flag looked like a moving city wall in the heavy fog.

"Dong-dong-dong! Dang-dong-dong! Dang-dong-dong!"

The brisk drum beat played behind the imperial phalanx, and the densely packed phalanx quickened their pace.

Four hundred meters...three hundred and fifty meters...three hundred meters... Carl Bain, who squinted his eyes, was a little flustered. It was really difficult to judge the distance in the fog.

"Two hundred meters - fire in line, fire!"

"boom--!!!!"

A neat row of gunshots exploded in the artillery position. The moment the gunfire flickered, the slowly advancing Imperial soldiers seemed to have knocked down an invisible iron wall, and the entire phalanx was stunned.

But they had no time to stop, because the next second, there was another volley.

"boom--!!!!"

Without aiming, it was impossible to aim on the battlefield shrouded in heavy fog and gunpowder smoke; the privates behind the artillery wall mechanically obeyed the orders of the officers behind them and fired row after row of volleys.

The imperial phalanx, which continued to be covered by fire but still maintained a tight formation, was constantly hit by bullets and fell to the ground; even the continuous gunfire made the already crowded formation become even tighter.

Some people tried to escape, but were immediately killed by stray bullets behind them and the officers supervising the battle; the private soldiers holding guns fell like wheat in the field, and the back row stepped on the bodies of the front row, under the increasingly rapid drum beat and Amidst the roar of the salvo, they continued to approach the artillery base at a fast pace.

"boom--!!!!"

Taking advantage of the gap between the volleys, an imperial knight suddenly rushed out of the phalanx, pulled out his saber from his waist, and pointed directly in the direction of the artillery position:

"For His Majesty Hred, for the empire! Warriors, before—"

"boom--!"

The words stopped abruptly.

A lead bullet penetrated his right temple, and dark red liquid spurted out, blooming in the sea of ​​white mist.

The saber clenched in his hand fell to the ground, and the knight who stood stiffly collapsed to the ground as all his strength was drained from his body.

Looking at the enemy's fallen figure, Anson, who was lying on the edge of the trench, calmly pulled the gun, and the recruit standing by immediately handed the bullet box to him.

"Free Fire!"

The next moment, chaotic gunfire exploded on the right side of the imperial phalanx.

The imperial soldiers who had just prepared to charge stayed in place as if they had exploded. Many of them suddenly fell down before they could figure out what was going on. The remaining soldiers moved behind them in even more panic, and were at a loss in the phalanx. It seems that this can increase the sense of security.

And then... they become a living target.

Looking at the screaming and falling soldiers around them, and the array that was almost out of order in the panic, the imperial knights who were so powerful just now immediately realized a terrifying fact.

They were flanked!

The enemy is not a dying force, but has already planned and set a trap to ambush them here!

The casualties continued to increase, and the Imperial knights who tried to maintain their formation amidst the continuous gunfire soon discovered that doing so was in vain and would only make the soldiers die faster.

Under the premise of facing firepower from two sides at the same time, continuing to maintain a tight phalanx is simply courting death.

"boom--!"

The gunshots dispersed, and another Imperial knight who tried to maintain order and organize a counterattack became Anson's prey.

Anson, who remained calm, pulled the gun and mechanically repeated the exact same action as before. While aiming at the target, the memory of "former Anson" kept popping up in his mind:

"...Everyone, I have a little question before we start class: Assume...you and your enemy have equal strength and equal firepower. What are you going to do?"

Charge directly? Very brave, but can you make your soldiers willing to be beaten to death by a third, run to death and then fight hand-to-hand with the enemy?

Shooting on the spot? This is the standard answer. If you say this again next time, you can drop out of school without thinking about graduation; what we train here are officers, not fools who will line up and shoot.

Let me tell you another standard answer - one-third of the soldiers spread out on the spot to form a fire deterrent to the enemy; the remaining two columns kept the column advancing rapidly and launched a surprise attack on the enemy's flank.

Remember three more common senses: first, let your soldiers always only think about the enemy in front of them; second, let your enemies always worry about the flanks and behind;

Finally, always remember that troop strength and weapons are never the key; letting your soldiers believe that they will win is the key..."

Continuously strike at the enemy, allowing them to stay united when being attacked on multiple sides, without daring to divide their forces or attack, so that scores of enemies fall down with every salvo, allowing the soldiers to fight without distractions.

These precious memories are what gives Anson, a "traveler" with no war experience, the courage to act on the spot and formulate combat plans.

"Charge! Charge! Charge! For the Empire——!!!!"

Heart-shaking roars resounded throughout the battlefield. Under the encouragement and supervision of the knights, the imperial soldiers no longer maintained their original tight phalanx. They raised their rifles and organized a volley of counterattacks while charging towards the front of the artillery position.

The Imperial Knights, who were several times larger than the defenders, finally remembered their greatest advantage, ignored the firepower from the flanks, and rushed towards the fort like a wave.

The defenders hiding behind the fort wall were still loading ammunition in an orderly manner, and under the officers' orders, they fired continuously at the oncoming enemies, but this could not conceal the disparity in the strength of the two sides.

In just one hundred meters and a few volleys of fire, the first row of enemies had already rushed under the fort wall.

The roaring Imperial soldiers raised their bayonets and were greeted by twenty-four-pounder artillery that had been loaded and ready for action.

"Boom——!!!"

There was no artillery in the fort position, so Carl Bain used shotgun shells with less risk, and also specially reduced the propellant by half to avoid exploding the chamber.

Countless small lead bullets pumped out from the barrel of the gun, flying through the air like a violent storm, forming a fan-shaped barrage directly in front of the gun.

The first row of Imperial soldiers who had just rushed onto the wall were torn to pieces in an instant; plasma sprayed in the air, stumps and broken arms were shattered in the air, and stray bullets that landed on the ground exploded into flying dust.

Screaming, crying, wailing... After the storm raged, there was only a piece of blood under the protective wall, which abruptly defeated the charging momentum of the imperial soldiers and opened an extremely ferocious gap in the charging line.

Looking at the repulsed imperial soldiers under the fort wall, the soldiers cheered ecstatically on the battlefield.

But Anson couldn't laugh.

There was only one artillery piece in the fort position, and it could not stop an enemy whose strength was several times theirs. As long as the soldiers of the empire could withstand volleys of gunfire and shelling, they could still attack the fort.

Moreover, the fog was about to lift; when the fog lifted, the enemies in Thunder Castle would be able to use artillery fire to support the enemies besieging the position.

Unless... I can use other methods to prevent the enemy from firing.

"Everyone has—"

Turning around suddenly, Anson in the trench shouted to the soldiers behind him the most passionate words he had ever heard in his life:

"Fire the bayonet!"