plumnovel #249 - Then there is only one answer.
#249 - Then there is only one answer.
"Switch to car fortress formation."
This was the order issued by Jeanne.
"The armored corps spread out in a semicircle, the First Guards Corps in the middle, the First and Second Black Hat Corps on the left and right, and the Third Black Hat Corps at the rear."
This was the order that Jeschka disassembled from Jeanne's command and issued to each corps.
"Holy Gunners board the carriages nearby, and the rest switch to a horizontal formation."
This was the order issued by Das, the commander of the Guards Corps, to the captains of each division.
"...Third and Fourth Long Spear Brigades, change from column to line, move closer to the center to elbow distance."
This was the order issued once again by the captain of the First Long Spear Division.
"Third Long Spear Brigade, everyone, right face, march!"
In the mouth of the brigade commander of the Third Long Spear Brigade where Brühne was located, it became this extremely simple little order.
However, the war monks of the Third Long Spear Brigade did not need to listen to Horn's distant instructions. They only needed to see what the brigade commander standing at the head of the line did, and they would do the same.
Command is like this: war monks only need to obey orders, and those who issue orders have more things to consider.
Carrying his long spear, Brühne took heavy steps, keeping close to the person in front of him, and walked towards the designated position with the same pace.
Among the busy crowd, Brühne saw an idle man in shackles in their marching ranks.
He was tall, but thin. While everyone was busy and nervously preparing for battle, he was smiling.
Brühne even felt that his faint smile was directed at him.
Brühne frowned rarely, not looking at the stranger.
"Hey, you, why are you falling behind? Which team are you from?"
"Don't push, don't push, I'll get on the carriage first."
"Damn it, I'm still outside, why did you guys seal the gap!"
"Toot toot toot—"
The noisy commands and whistles gradually disappeared. Amidst the orderly and occasional chaos, the car fortress gradually formed a simple wall on the periphery.
Beastkin quartermasters carried mattocks and shovels, filling the bottom of the carriages with soil and locking each armored carriage with hinges.
Sacks filled with soil were thrown from the carriages, piled at the most dangerous gaps between the carriages.
These gaps were filled with spearmen holding long spears, with double-layered spears protruding from above the sacks, pointing diagonally towards the sky.
Holy Gunners stood on the carriages, sticking the spring-loaded guns out of the triangular firing ports of the carriages, looking along the sights towards the distant swamp.
At the junction of the foothills and the plains, they could already see faint black shadows.
The air quieted down, and Jonal swallowed his saliva, his fingers trembling slightly as he gripped the winding key.
Since the backstop pawl could only last for one minute, the timing of winding was still an important decision in battle.
In the endless silence, Jeanne stood on horseback, squinting and gazing into the distance.
Suddenly, the beast ear of a beastkin twitched. He walked to Jeanne and looked up: "Your Highness, I hear a rustling sound."
"They're coming?"
"Probably..."
"They're coming!" Spreading her legs, Jeanne sat down on the saddle and waved the flag, "Prepare to engage the enemy!"
Amidst the rumbling on the ground, nearly two hundred giant spiders, including no less than seven or eight cow spiders, and nearly a hundred long-haired undead appeared in sight.
They were rushing towards them.
"Wind up!"
Instantly, the creaking sound rang out above the position. According to the actions in the "Holy Book", the Holy Gunners operated step by step.
Although the order of the Holy Gunner officers was only one sentence: "Wind up."
According to the "Holy Book of War Monks", they had to complete five actions in sequence: clear the spring box, return the firing rod, insert the lead bullet, turn the winding key, and push the buckle.
"Aim!"
Jonal rested the gunstock on his shoulder socket, extended the barrel out of the firing port, and his line of sight extended far out of the hole along the sight.
In the sunlight, the long-haired undead roared madly, and their long hair swayed wildly in the cold wind.
The giant spiders hissed terribly without giving way, and their eight legs brought out eye-catching afterimages.
Gripping the edge of the carriage, Rudylo's eyes widened. He could almost see the contours of the long-haired undead's faces.
Then this distance is probably seventy to fifty meters.
"Fire!" Rudylo waved the command sword in his hand.
"Praise the Holy Wind!" Hundreds of Holy Gunners shouted in unison and pulled the trigger.
The rushing monsters were like being whipped hard, and almost simultaneously raised a series of blood mists from left to right.
A dozen jumping spiders fell over on the spot, and green venom mixed with black blood flowed on the soil.
A wave of blood fell like rain.
Broken carapaces danced in the wind, and the long-haired undead staggered forward, waving arms with only a layer of skin left.
"First row, take one step to the left, turn to the rear, advance to the edge of the carriage, wind up."
"Second row, take two steps forward."
Removing the Holy Gun from the firing port in an orderly manner, Jonal stepped to the left, shoulder to shoulder with the spearmen who served as close guards.
Then he walked to the edge of the carriage and started winding again, while the soldiers behind him took two steps forward and inserted the Holy Gun into the firing port.
Unlike line-up battles in the field, due to the limited size of the carriage, all Holy Gunners only had two rows to rotate. During the shooting interval, they could only rely on the spearmen and the flails carried by the Holy Gunners themselves for close combat.
Thunderous gunshots rang in his ears again, and Brühne gripped the long spear in his hand, his calves constantly trembling.
Since when, cold sweat had soaked his back, but he couldn't move.
Brühne did smell a faint smell of urine, but he wasn't sure if it was his own.
Looking at the people around him, those who had participated in the Battle of Jeanneburg naturally didn't have any nervous emotions when they saw such a scene.
Only those pure recruits would shiver like Brühne. This smell of urine might be from them.
Run, run, Brühne stood numbly in place, but his legs were like lead, unable to move.
"...Upper thrust!" The division commander in the front row shouted the command, and Brühne subconsciously wanted to thrust out the long spear, but he immediately realized that he was still in the formation.
Thrusting now would only pierce the back of the head of the person in front.
He couldn't see the activities in the front line, what it was like there, what kind of slaughter was taking place, he couldn't see it. The dense spears and crowded heads blocked his vision.
He could only smell the bloody smell, hear the screams and war cries, and see the medics rushing to the front from the rear, carrying the wounded back to the center of the car fortress.
"Ah—"
A recruit suddenly screamed, dropped the long spear in his hand, and ran towards the rear in the desperate roar of the brigade commander.
Brühne didn't turn his head, but he saw two provosts running over and pressing him to the ground in a few seconds.
Otherwise, I'll run too. At most, I'll go to Holy Trinity for a period of time. Brühne doesn't want to die.
He just wants to live, he has no other thoughts. He has no deep hatred, no family or friends. He's just dizzy to stand here and wait for death.
Tinnitus and stomach cramps broke out at the same time, and Brühne could hardly hear the sounds around him.
Was he frightened? Why didn't he run away?
Was it because of Mericso's threat? Was it because of Jonal's friendship? Or was it fear of the instructor's club? Or was it fear of the fate of Holy Trinity after deserting?
At the thought of dying, Brühne was about to vomit, but he couldn't move.
Until—
"Third Long Spear Brigade, get on the carriages to meet the enemy!"
"Third Long Spear Brigade, everyone, turn into a column, follow me onto the carriages."
Damn it, Brühne desperately took a step, following the person in front of him towards the carriage. He had been listening to orders without thinking for too long, and his brain wouldn't listen.
Countless chaotic thoughts lingered in his mind. He boarded the carriage, picked up the long spear, and stretched it out from the edge of the car.
Either the enemy kills you, or you kill the enemy.
Brühne's mind inexplicably echoed what the Crown Prince had said. This sentence quickly dispelled all the wild thoughts, leaving only the sentence itself.
"Either the enemy kills you, or you kill the enemy."
"Third Long Spear Brigade, lower thrust!"
"Kill!" Brühne felt like his soul had left his body, and his body stabbed out the long spear on its own.
In front of him were long-haired undead and jumping spiders frantically hitting the carriage.
When Brühne's soul returned to his body, a jumping spider was hanging on his spear shaft.
In fright, Brühne subconsciously swayed, and the jumping spider was thrown off the spear shaft by him, directly knocking over another jumping spider.
"Good job." The brigade commander immediately patted him on the shoulder, "You kid, I knew you were brave, you have courage in the face of battle."
Looking at the blood stains on the spear shaft, Brühne was stunned for several seconds before grinning and smiling.
"Don't be distracted, stop that long-haired undead! Holy Gunners, quickly knock it off the carriage."
"Okay." Jonal pulled the buckle and aimed at the long-haired undead.
When the long-haired undead fell from the carriage, Collebo's face turned blue.
Standing in the rear with Horn, he watched the tall soldier become more and more courageous after killing the first jumping spider.
The second, the third, and soon became the kill king of the car group.
Again and again the gunshots rang, again and again the thrusts, jumping spiders and undead fell one after another.
Finally, when Jeanne waved the battle flag and jumped out on horseback, a white light flashed, and the last dozen long-haired undead were already seriously injured.
Unlocking the hinges, groups of spearmen walked out of the car fortress and began to finish off the seriously injured or merely stunned monsters.
"How is it?" Horn patted Collebo on the shoulder, "Haven't seen such power, have you?"
"I lost this bet." Collebo's blue face gradually disappeared. He turned around and said with a wry smile to Horn, "With such powerful infantry entering the empire, few infantry can defeat you.
If you really have a powerful cavalry, then taking Langsand County is not a problem."
"So..." Horn stood in front of Collebo.
"I am not a person who breaks faith, then there is only one answer." Collebo knelt on one knee, "I will be loyal to you, loyal to the Papal State."