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Chapter 355: Invention and Usage
Chapter 355: Invention and Usage
Chapter 355: Invention and Usage
I should say as expected of William huh.
I originally intended to let the army charge in while the enemy soldiers in the rear are still confused from the sound of the warhorn and breaking through them all at once but he managed to get them into a defensive formation.
But, there is no stopping us now.
Im counting on you alright?
Please leave it to me.
The knights who have to charge in first will face a lot of risks.
So, I was made to command the army from the rear.
Thats why I have no choice but to entrust the frontline to Duke Lowenstein.
I stopped my advance and waved my hand at him to send him off.
Acknowledging that, Duke Lowenstein slowly moves his horse forward and heads off. Following him are the knights at the center and subsequently our left and right wings.
The vanguard of the Northern Lords army has begun to advance.
Their pace is still slow.
Then, Duke Lowenstein addressed the whole army.
We have pledged ourselves to the Black Twin Princes! Our duty is to destroy every obstacle in their way! Knights of the North! Do not retreat! Do not stop! Do not be afraid! This charge is our great step toward the future! Raise your voice! Lets make this first step be a proud one!!
The knights cheer.
Their horses galloping faster and faster.
They charge toward the enemy like a tidal wave.
However, William will not take on that silently either.
The biggest weakness of cavalry charge is the moment they are charging.
No matter how hard the armor they covered themselves with they will not come out unscathed from a rain of arrows.
Just by using simple bows and arrows, the enemy can significantly reduce their number.
That is the reason why no country uses knights as its main force.
The knights are the elites of your army. It takes a huge amount of time and effort to train them. It would be a waste to let them die at the tip of a single arrow.
Using the knights to charge at the enemy is not cost-effective.
The tactics the army utilizes a cavalry charge in are those that exploit the enemys opening. It is rare to see cavalry charge directly at the enemy from the front.
However, that is how you use a knight.
The reason why knights are not used in expeditions anymore is the high mortality rate.
Some people even ridiculed the knights as an outdated existence.
Certainly, you could call them that. Especially in the age where magic and weapons have developed so much.
Charging at the enemy head-on without any plan is certainly an outdated strategy.
However.
If something is outdated then you can just modernize it.
If a charge is not enough by itself then we can always use it in combination with 2 or 3 other tactics.
The combined power of the knights charge is comparable to a powerful spell. In other words, they are capable enough to blow away the enemys formation.
That in itself already made them worth using.
If they have a weakness then I just have to compensate for it with something else.
Ready the archers. As we practiced.
Yes, Your Highness! ARCHERS! TO THE FRONT!!
The archers that were selected beforehand moved a certain distance away to the front.
These archers are expert marksmen selected from every nobles army that specialized in shooting at long distances.
A strangely shaped ball was tied to their arrow.
The size of the ball is around that of a big toe.
This is the thing that will compensate the knights weakness.
Nock.
NOCK!!
The order was shouted for all to hear.
The archers hold up their longbows diagonally and pull the bowstrings.
Silence took over for a moment.
During that time I focused my eyes on the enemy.
The enemy is also watching for their timing to unleash their arrows.
Thanks to Williams swift action, there are archer units at the enemys rear. They are probably waiting for the order for a coordinated attack.
If we leave them alone, the number of our knights will decrease. If the number of our knights decreases, their charging power will also decrease. If that happens, we will not be able to tear a path through them.
In other words.
We cannot afford to lose any.
While muttering so, I saw a small movement from William who was giving instructions from the sky.
Fire.
FIREEEEEE!!
Arrows were let loose all at once.
The enemys arrows were also fired a beat later.
Our arrows steadily rose up and reached the sky above our vanguards.
This means that the enemys arrows are also flying toward us.
A simple arrow can not stop them.
However, what we fired just now werent just arrows.
Even a failed product has its use depend on the way you use it huh.
Completely agree on that, sir.
Sebas who was quietly waiting behind me nodded.
Then, the balls that were tied to the arrows started to let out a small glow.
Suddenly, the balls burst out a blast of air.
A strong gust of wind is blowing above the vanguards.
It became a barrier that repels all arrows.
Since its already difficult for arrows to find their target, the wind is their natural enemy. With a sudden gust blowing out of nowhere, they can do nothing against it.
The enemy arrows have their trajectories changed and landed far away from the vanguards.
The name of this invention is [Breeze Ball].
A defective product developed by Cuber, our Minister of Technology.
It was supposed to be a magic tool that let you cool down on a hot day with a soft breeze. However, the finished product ended up blasting out a gust so strong that it can blow furniture in the room away.
Moreover, since it uses up all the magic power accumulated inside when it is used, you can only use it once.
Certainly, a defective product.
However, unexpectedly, it has some uses here.
I feel bad for William but even with the archer units he tried so hard to assemble couldnt cut down the number of the northern knights.
The vanguards continued to move forward without losing any momentum.
I can clearly see the enemy drawing back at the inevitable.
Thats a matter of course given that the one leading this charge is Duke Lowenstein, the Thunder God himself.
Even children can understand what comes next.
A roaring sound echoed through the battlefield and a huge thunder struck down on the enemy.
It was a thunder magic of Duke Lowenstein. Like his namesake of the Thunder God suggests, both its power and range are slightly higher than those of a coordinated thunder spell cast by a group of ordinary mages.
Normally, if you want to cover that distance then you would need a unit of 100 mages. The Duke is capable of doing that by himself. From the enemys point of view, they probably couldnt help but run away.
The enemys rear which was in an intercepting formation fell into chaos.
Using that opening, the vanguards charged in.
Without slowing down, the northern knights overrun the enemy army.
Even William should find this difficult to recover from.
Prepare the second and third assault units. Have the second unit charge after our vanguard. Deploy the third unit in the direction of Mt. Haina. If the enemy shows signs of movement then instruct the third unit to charge up the mountain. Once the enemy descends the mountain there is nothing they can do.
Yes, sir! SECOND AND THIRD UNITS! GET READY!!
While giving out my orders, I look at the enemys movement.
For the time being, we are dominating them.
How the situation will develop depends on how they will respond.
They will probably not fold with only this much.
If it ends with only this much then there should not be the need for me to come out here in the first place.
You are one of the few strong enemies I recognized. This is not all youve got right? William.
He sensed the surprise attack and managed to set up an intercepting formation.
Our current situation is one that we managed to breach that formation and stole the initiative.
If he is a general who cant even regain the initiative in this situation then people wouldnt dub him as the Dragon Prince.
The battle has just begun.
Even I dont know what will happen next.