Chapter 6 - Achievent on the Battlefield (2)
The orc piken had us surrounded in an impassable wall. We were like fish in a barrel. The n were cussing out our regint which had retreated.
You bastards! You only need to save your own hides, is that it?If I make it back I am chopping off that damned captains willy and shoving it in his mouth so he cant give a shitty order like that ever again!
Everybody was clamouring to go out with a last charge since we were cornered.
Squad Leader Valler! Lets take the fight to them!Hes right! We cant just die like cowards!
I could understand that their frustration was on the verge of exploding. But if we attacked, we would all be dead n.
You idiots! If we give up, we all die!
I proclaid with ample clarifications that no one was to charge without an order.
What the hell do you want us to do then, damn it!Why are you doing this?
Complaints in rough tones spilled out from the ranks. Everyone was on the edge from being surrounded. It was tis like this that I needed to reassure everybody as the squad leader.
Ill find a way for everyone to make it back alive! Ill find it, so just wait a mont you impatient bastards! You all want to go back alive, dont you?
A lot of rcenaries were simple wanderers but just as many had hos and families to go back to. At the very least, these n werent soone who deserved to be abandoned by allies to die. I had befriended most of them in the past three months.
von Horst! You said you had a daughter not too long ago!
T, thats
Marx! What about your mother! She waits day and night for you, but are you just going to die here?
Kuggh!
Telmann! That goes the sa for you! You said youre from Spandau as well! We gotta go back together one day!
Squad Leader!
I shouted at the top of my lungs to spark their will to survive. This was when the orc piken started advancing. Their commander must have decided they couldnt engage in one-sided negotiations anymore. They looked prepared to lose their colours. The cheap trick of holding the colours hostage wasnt going to work anymore.
I really didnt know what to do. But its monts like these one needed to appear confident. Everyone was looking at after all.
Hold out! Hold out everyone! Ill find a way for us to make it out!
Did my screamings work? The atmosphere had shifted. Everyone resisted ferociously while swinging their two handed swords.
Waaarggh! Lets go back! Back to ho!Right! We cant die in a place like this!
Another skirmish erupted and thanks to the morale boost, we held out fairly well. Eventually, the orc commander called in 12 goblin arquebusiers for reinforcent. He probably felt the situation was going nowhere.
Make a barricade!
I ordered the n to stack up the orc corpses. Then I shouted the mont goblin arquebusiers started firing.
Down!
Bang Bang Bang! Blam! Bang!
It was a deadly volley but we stayed closed to the ground and endured. The bullets clanged around noisily every ti they struck an armour piece on the corpses.
Alright!Goblins aint nothing after all!
Since we survived, the angry orc commander called in 12 more goblin arquebusiers. Firearms in this ga was faithful to history and took forever to reload. The ones who already fired had retreated and were busy pouring in black powder and a ball into the barrel.
Squad Leader! It looks like theyre lining up for another volley!
Everyone planned to hide behind the mound of bodies again. I planned to do so as well. However, my past experience endowed with decision making skill far better than others.
I had even played as a general directing the entire war in previous playthroughs. My insight went beyond a re squad leader thanks to those experiences. I could roughly grasp the flow of the entire battlefield.
They pulled the gunners from the flank! If thats the case...!
A sudden epiphany hit and I stepped on the pile of corpses to climb up. The n who were crouching nearby were surprised and tried to hold down.
Are you crazy? Why are you climbing up there when theyre about to shoot!Hold the Squad Leader down!
However, I ignored them and surveyed beyond the encirclent. And I found what I was looking for outside the wall of pike encircling us.
Co down! Are you trying to get yourself killed?
I shouted as soon as I was forcibly pulled down.
Hand the horn!
Theyre not going to co even if we blow the horn!
Just give the damn thing!
I snatched the horn from his hands and started blowing it towards east rather than south, where our regint had retreated to. The horn signal pattern was also sothing nobody recognized.
Buu-- Buuum-- Buuuun!Buu-- Buuum-- Buuuun!
The n looked baffled at the signal with regular intervals. Marx couldnt hold back his curiosity and asked.
What are you doing? Are you trying to play a music?
Its the signal for cavalry to charge, you idiot!
What? Cavalry charge?
Before I could reply, bullets flew our way once again.
Bang! Bam Bang Bang Bang!
There were several injured n this ti.
Arrgh!Kuaagh!
We couldnt dodge all the rounds since we werent in proper concealnt. Orcs thought it was the mont to seize after hearing our screams and rushed forward once more. I was the first to stand up and proclaid while aiming the pistol I had managed to grab.
Listen up pigs! Hold out for just a little bit more! If the gods are with us today, well make it out alive!
I really dont understand what youve been saying since the start, squad leader!
If you dont know, then shut up and swing your sword, you idiot!
Ah, I can understand that one.
Pikes ca at us from every angle. We did anything we could do to survive. I even threw away my sword to pick up a corpse to use as a shield.
Just hold out! Dont try to win.
Damn it! Just how long do we have to hold out!
How the hell should I know!
If you dont know, then who the hell does, you crazy squad leader!
There were only five n left swinging their swords.The rest were bleeding and groaning down on the ground.
Ha Damn it, are they not coming
I could only resign myself since situation had devolved so far. That was when a cool and clear voice pierced through the air.
Dont give up!
Crack!
A lance from nowhere pierced through three orcs and broke into splinters. A knight erged through a cloud of dust. Surprisingly, the knights steed was a unicorn.
The knight shouted towards .
Pick up your sword! So path will only open if you fight for it!
With those words, the knight crossed arms to draw a pair of pistol to shoot at orcs coming from either side.
Bang!
Two orcs collapsed with a hole in their heads in an instant. The knight did not miss the montum to draw twin swords and scour the area of orcs like a fierce storm.
Theyre here!
I cried out in happiness. Using the horn to signal the cavalry to charge had paid off. Soon, 50 knights were charging over in this direction in unison.
Whats all this, Squad Leader?
Marx couldnt hide his surprise as he asked.
You dont know? Thanks to orc commander trying to hurry things up, an opportunity opened up.
Huh?
Since we were holding out, he pulled two ranks of goblin arquebusiers, a total of 24 over here. Naturally, their flank would weaken! Plus, the orc piken line was uneven since they were trying to surround us. Its a natural target for the cavalry.
Goodness, you figured all that out and blew the horn earlier?
Of course. If our pike line was still engaged with theirs, the cavalry would have jumped in the flank like wolves long before this.
The reason I climbed on top of the mound of corpse to look around was to find where the cavalry was positioned. I managed to find a group of them and blew the horn.
Goodness! How did you know all that Squad Leader? Even on how to signal the cavalry!
It wasnt just Marx. Everybody was surprised as well.
Doesnt matter! Lets get out of here!
The knights managed to split the pike line into half and arrived. One of them shouted towards us.
How many survived?
Twelve including the wounded!
Got it.
He hurried the n to load us up on the horses. Other knights were fighting off the enemy anwhile.
Bam Bang Bang Bang Bang!
The knights firing their pistols in unison broke the back of the orc front line and they were in full retreat. Their formation was now folding back on itself.
However, the knights knew they couldnt sweep aside the entire enemy line just by themselves. Once the wounded were loaded up, they started to make their exit.
Squad Leader!
Hurry, Squad Leader!
I was the last one left since Ive been helping to load the n. I couldnt find a knight to hitch a ride with due to putting the n first. Everybody was already getting out in droves. The situation forced to abandon my sword and start sprinting with the colours in hand.
It really was a desperate all out sprint. I needed to make it out before the gap the knights had opened up got filled with orcs again. However, I attracted too much attention since I was carrying the colours.
I didnt want to give up the colours after going through everything, but I didnt want to die as well. A galloping sound rang out behind while I was contemplating.
You! Youll go with !
When I turned around, it was the female knight who was first to arrive to the scene. She rode over to and extended her arm towards . My mouth opened wide at that mont. It was because I recognized the female knight.
My god!
Her! Right, she participated in the Battle of Hofheim. I focused so much on Iron Prince-Elector, I forgot all about her.
My mory welled up. She was soone I always trusted and relied on. I spent most of the 100 years worth of ga ti with her. I could not forget that unicorn steed and her saint-like appearance even if I wanted to.
The Sister Knight Templar, Walpurgis.
That was the identity of the knight who had jumped into the middle of the pike line. The world worked in mysterious ways. She still ca to my rescue despite having never t in this play through. I didnt anticipate on eting her in the first place since I was starting off as a regular character.
Your hand!
With Walpurgis help, I hopped on behind her with the colours in my hand.
Hold onto my waist! Were leaving in a hurry!
Walpurgis drove her unicorn to glide like the wind. Plenty of orcs tried to dismount her with their pike but she deflected them all. It was a level of swordsmanship truly on an artistic level.
The real war had yet to erupt, but this already felt like the climax. In terms of the Romance of Three Kingdoms, Walpurgis was soone like Zhao Yun.(TL: Zhao Yun: sen.wikipedia/wiki/Zhao_Yun)
Thank you for your help!
I could only think I was saved from certain death. My heart beat rapidly at the thought of having escaped the maw of death.
We were planning to break through in a different area of the line, but heard the horn. And I saw you and your n fighting desperately there. We couldnt charge in blindly, but for so reason there were less gunners covering that flank. Thats why we could attack!
Just as I thought.
Thank you for your rescue. I thought it was all over for , but I survived by my ladys graciousness.
You and your n were worth it. I salute you for your courage to charge into the middle of enemy line to take their colours.
Walpurgis was of noble birth, but she did not judge people by their status. She judged ones worthiness by their courage.
You praise too much.
Praising too much? You say that even after taking the enemys colours. Look over there.
Walpurgis pointed to a side while galloping atop the unicorn. I looked over without much thought but what I saw surprised .
Hurrraahhh!Hip hip! Hurray! Hip hip! Hurray!
Countless soldiers were screaming out their cheer for . There were 10,000 n gathered at Hofheim and the battle was still at an opening phase. Majority of the n had yet to et the enemy in battle and were advancing to the frontline.
There were several pike regints amalgamated from various company size units marching forward for a decisive push. The soldiers in those regints all cheered on.
Youre like a general in a victory parade. They all see the colours you have taken from the enemy.
Ah
Walpurgis asked sothing to just then.
I wish to hear your na.
Im Valler from Spandau.
After nodding as if she understood, Walpurgis slowed her unicorn down near the troops and announced to the troops nearby.
Hear ! Valler from Spandau here has courageously taken the enemys colours! There will be many who takes enemys colours today, but rember that Valler was the first to do so this day!
Countless soldiers in the area chanted my na.
Valler! Valler! Valler!
The ground shook every ti they chanted my na. The piken were pounding the ground with their pike while standing still. It rang out like an earthquake.
Valler! Valler! Valler!
My whole body was shaking. It was sothing Ive never felt no matter what kind of hero I played as.
Valler. You need to respond to them.
Walpurgis had intentionally slowed the horse. I nodded simply and raised the colours up high. Then another wave of cheer swept through the area.
Hurrraaaah-!
Along with the cheer, the regints marching towards the enemy gave a little ceremony. They lowered their regint colours towards as a sign of saluting .
Ah..!
A chill ran down through my back. Saluting by lowering regintal colours was done rarely even for the Archduke or a king. It was truly a heartfelt and voluntary respect for a soldier who showed valour and achieved an outstanding feat on the battle.
TL Note: Sorry for late post folks, but can't post with mobiles away from ho.
I've also been fiddling around which days to post since Saturday seem to overlap too much with Sky's main releases. For now tentatively, the date will be Sunday.
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