After hearing the report from the scout squad, the commander of An Zhu’s troops did not take it to heart.
Although it was indeed strange for the Cape army to suddenly leave the city and start moving, in an era where honor and the monarch are more important than one’s life, his own monarch had been insulted, and he had to respond.
Thus, the commander of An Zhu only felt that it was merely a face-pulling mockery from his majesty, and quickly ordered the army to march, sending out a cavalry squad to drive the opponent into a encirclement.
This time, it would certainly be a beautiful victory, just as it always had been.
Even if the Cape army had begun to learn from An Zhu in some places, such as integrating the professionals into a single command, some deeply rooted things are very difficult to change.
The southwestern forces of Cape managed to make those professionals belonging to various lords follow a single command with difficulty, but the overall army still consisted of a mix of professionals and ordinary soldiers, and in a direct confrontation, their combat power was certainly inferior to An Zhu’s professional army.
Firearms were indeed troublesome and deadly for ordinary soldiers, but their effect was quite average for a professional formation. As for cannons, weren’t they used for defending cities?
However, when the knight formation returned, the commander noticed something was wrong; the casualties in the knight formation were worse than expected. The occurrence of injuries already suggested that the opponent was an elite force, and this time there were even casualties without having pushed them to the predetermined position.
According to the returning knights, the opponent seemed to have acquired new firearm equipment, a type of firearm that could fire continuously, posing a significant threat to the knight formation, exerting such pressure that after losing a few knights, the cavalry formation dared not charge recklessly.
The staff officer thought for a moment and said, “Commander, how about we abandon this attack? The opponent has equipped new weapons, and we need to investigate before making a decision.”
But the commander countered, “No, if we abandon this time, it would mean we are afraid of them. At that time, the opponent will surely boast about this victory, and the majesty’s plans will be ruined.”
The commander’s reasoning was indeed not wrong; the reason Alberto could face-pull mockery was due to his absolute confidence in the battlefield against An Zhu’s troops and his clear understanding that the opponent would only dare to defend the city and not fight a field battle.
Now that the opponent had taken the initiative to attack, if An Zhu did not engage, it would seem like Alberto’s proposal was somewhat ridiculous.
After hearing this, the staff officer nodded and said, “In that case, we can send out more scouts and cavalry formations this time, focusing on reconnaissance rather than seeking engagement.”
“Good strategy, this way we won’t appear afraid of them, and we can clarify the situation of their new firearms.”
The commander of An Zhu remained clear-headed and rational, preparing to continue probing.
But at that moment, a scout squad returned to report, “Commander, that Cape army has suddenly begun to retreat, and they have even hung the armor of our fallen comrades on a flagpole!”
“They even sang a victory song!”
Upon hearing this, the commander of An Zhu immediately reacted.
That shameless Cape army merely resisted the charge of the cavalry, killing two comrades, yet shamelessly considered this a great victory and prepared to retreat back into the city.
Who cares how many people were killed? Just say whether they won or not! As long as there are indeed battle trophies, how many people died, who died, isn’t all just hearsay from the Cape people?
According to this commander’s understanding, killing a few of the opponent’s cavalry, those shameless nobles could really boast that they achieved a great victory. If one were to ask why, it was because An Zhu had experienced such situations in the past, but An Zhu had already struggled out of the mire and no longer needed such so-called great victories.
“All troops advance, the cavalry formation attacks fully, we must keep the opponent there, we need to quickly pack up and engage all troops!”
Reacting swiftly, the commander gave the order, and the staff officer beside him did not discourage him.
If the opponent was allowed to escape now, no matter the specifics, it would mean the opponent had defeated An Zhu in open battle. Where would that leave the majesty’s face? Now that they had taken the initiative to engage, as long as they could achieve a beautiful victory, the previous loss of the cavalry formation could be overlooked.
The command of An Zhu was issued much faster than that of Cape, and soon all troops began to act and quickly engaged Cape.
Soon, the commander of An Zhu noticed something was wrong. The opponent was clearly prepared; even though they appeared to be retreating, they had set an ambush, obviously having anticipated that An Zhu would come seeking battle.
The commander of An Zhu knew that the opponent would indeed be on guard, but the firepower of the new firearms exceeded his expectations.
Not to mention the machine guns that spewed flames and required two or three people to operate; even the ordinary soldiers’ firearms were semi-automatic without needing to pull the bolt.
An Zhu had just confirmed this direction in their research of firearms, yet the opponent already had complete finished products.
No wonder the knight formations had sustained injuries.
The few professionals on the opposite side had already exhausted themselves just defending against An Zhu’s professional formations, as old-fashioned firearms could still manage against ordinary formations but were rendered ineffective against professional formations.
But this time it was different; when firing from a distance, there was still some chance, but once close contact began, the opponent’s bullets came pouring in like they were free.
Moreover, once they really charged to the front of the opponent’s formation, Cape would also toss out some explosives; although the hit rate was concerning, the power was considerable. A direct hit could knock a low-level knight over.
On the current battlefield, waves of fireballs, thunder, wind blades, and ice needles flew toward Cape’s army, while the professionals organized by Cape only needed to hold shields to defend. They no longer had to be as frantic as before in helping ordinary soldiers fend off An Zhu’s soldiers and knights while defending.
As soon as An Zhu’s knights and soldiers charged, they would be instantly mowed down by machine guns and firearms, compounded by the pressure of grenades, making it exceedingly difficult for An Zhu to organize an effective charge.
The commander of An Zhu immediately halted the charge; if they couldn’t break through in one go, further charges would be tantamount to suicide.
Just like when Cape had once thought they could scatter An Zhu’s mage formations with cavalry.
The knights could only continue to maneuver around Cape’s army, trying to find a weak point to launch an attack.
At this moment, neither side could do anything to the other, both waiting for the opponent to charge, as if both were shouting, “You come over!”
Alberto had once judged that although the mages in professional formations could help the army gain a huge advantage on the frontal battlefield, it was the melee-type professionals, especially knights, who would truly end the war. In a situation where both sides started bombing with mages, whichever side’s knights could pierce into the enemy formation first would seal the fate of the battle.
If a decisive charge couldn’t be initiated, the current firepower would only allow for: “Stop, quick stop, you guys shouldn’t fight anymore, fighting like this won’t kill anyone.”
