Chapter 388: Chapter 370 Battle of Black Mountain (15)
The two Imperial Guard corps standing in front of Nidesar are the elite of the elite.
Unlike the Black Hat Army, which widely recruits war prisoners and former Imperial Soldiers, the first requirement for the Imperial Guard is loyalty.
So, the Legion Commanders of these two corps are both from Red Mill Village, with Dass, the Legion Commander of the First Imperial Guard Army, being Horn’s cousin, and Mengse, the Legion Commander of the Second Imperial Guard Army, being the childhood leader of Red Mill Village’s children.
The backbone members, including many brigade and company commanders, originate from the old Pope Guard era of Gulag.
However, considering that half of the old Pope Guards back then were old men, women, babies, and even dogs, the actual number of members in the Pope Guard group was not large.
Regarding specific War Monks, the Imperial Guard only recruits believers with no criminal record, a clean family background, and excellent physical condition.
The political education and material support for the Imperial Guard by Pope Country exceed those for the Black Hat Army by nearly thirty percent; correspondingly, their training is stricter, and their discipline more severe than that of the Black Hat Army.
Issues prevalent in the Black Hat Army like extortion, trivial thefts, and abuse of power are tacitly permitted by high-ranking officers like Victor.
As long as there’s no serious robbery, rape, or fatal injury involved, the War Monks might at most be confined for a few days.
If similar behavior occurs in the Imperial Guard, the military police won’t hesitate to enforce flogging, or in severe cases, they might even be convicted of desertion and hanged.
Therefore, the Imperial Guard has always been renowned for its strict discipline and long training periods; theoretically, the two Imperial Guard corps stationed at Headquarters are still not completely trained even now.
In this contrast, the War Monks of the Imperial Guard, coming from respectable families, naturally hold disdain for those soldiers in the Black Hat Army who have lost high-level interests.
This disdain comes not only from a sense of moral superiority but also the pride brought by the honor associated with the title of Imperial Guard.
Even when their hearts beat violently due to the charging Nikosak, driven by such pride, they can still perform the holy gun firing work methodically and neatly.
The lead bullet is loaded into the gun barrel, and the Imperial Guard uniformly extracts the ramrod, pushing the lead bullet deep into the barrel.
They twist the mainspring key until, after ten turns, the pawl clicks, and the trigger springs; these elite War Monks then level the Holy Gun and mount it on the gun rack.
From the side, disregarding differences in height, at a glance it looks almost like one person.
This is vastly different from the Black Hat Army’s method of firing the Holy Gun, which appears more relaxed.
The Black Hat Army does not strictly follow the "Holy Scriptures"; some use the ramrod, others slam the rifle butt heavily on the ground with inertia to let the lead bullet fall to the lower end of the barrel.
As long as they line up for a volley before firing, that suffices.
"Close in toward the center, countercharge, first line incline up, second and third line raise guns," Mengse’s throat was extremely dry, he licked his somewhat pale lips and issued the command.
"Right foot forward, one and a half steps!"
At the sound of the order, the first line of Long Spearmen stepped forward in unison, standing with their feet perpendicular in a T-stance.
Long Spear Cultivators lowered their bodies until the angle between their right thigh and calf was almost ninety degrees, the whole assembly akin to a taut bow.
Fifty long spears lowered together, gripped firmly in both hands, with the front end at eye level and the rear end braced against the arch of their left foot.
The second line of Long Spearmen gripped the tail end of the long spear, holding it in their front hand with the gun shaft cradled in their arm’s bend.
The gun shaft seemed to be embraced by the Long Spear Cultivators, pressed tight to their chests, while the rear hand equally held the tail end in reverse grip.
The third line of Long Spearmen interlocked with the first line, assuming the same stance.
The fourth line pointed their long spears at a slight angle almost perpendicular to the ground, ready to lower them into the same stance as the front line at any moment.
This is the exclusive countercharge posture trained by the Imperial Guard for dealing with cavalry.
On both sides, two hundred Holy Gunmen knelt or stood in the front and second lines, making ready to aim.
The rear three lines of Holy Gunmen supported the wooden stock with the right hand, placing the barrel near the shoulder and collarbone, ready to step forward and fire at any moment.
Standing on the flank of the long spear phalanx, Mengse gripped the feather lance with veins bulging from his hand, forcefully suppressing both excitement and fear.
But perhaps due to the rapid secretion of adrenaline, his body trembled slightly.
Amidst dust and smoke, he could hear the soldiers’ footsteps behind him and saw the dust kicked up by the approaching Nikosaks in front.
He didn’t know if Dass could hold off the opposing 1,200 infantry with 500 men, but regardless of whether they could or not, his goal was singular—to prevent these Nikosaks from advancing by any measure.
Behind him stood Dass’s ally troop, the newly-built beautiful homeland, and even more, the ordinary believers still suffering in Jinhe Town.
Absolutely do not let them advance even an inch.
"One hundred and twenty paces!" the observing scout shouted down from the tree to Mengse.
"Aim!"
The dark muzzles of the guns were aimed at the oncoming Nikosaks, but the Nikosaks did not continue to throw their javelins.
Each of them only carried six javelins, which had been mostly used up in the recent battle, so they had to use them sparingly.
"Duck down! They’re about to unleash the Devil’s Wind on the other side."
The front-line Nikosaks screamed in terror, even before the lead bullets arrived, they had already lowered their proud heads, resting against the soft manes of their warhorses.
"Scatter, scatter!"
Even the Sand Sculpture Knight, Nidesar, was no exception. Though clad in white crystal steel armor, which would only dent from afar,
at close range, like the point-blank shots of the Holy Gun Cavalry, it would still penetrate the armor, and he dared not take that gamble.
A chorus of shrill whistles rose from the enemy lines, stabbing painfully into Nidesar’s eardrums.
He ducked his head as the lead shot whistled past like locusts, and the Nikosaks all dipped their heads.
Every now and then, Nidesar would hear a wretched scream, as bloodied Nikosaks toppled from their horses.
Or the mournful wail of a warhorse, tossing its rider forward.
This time, the Devil’s Wind blew unusually long, ordinarily, after just three volleys, the Nikosaks would have charged to the front line.
But after advancing only a short distance, they were hit by five volleys, and many Nikosaks thought the Devil’s Wind had ceased, only to have their skulls pierced as soon as they raised their heads.
The corpses of the Nikosak Knights littered the ground, and Nidesar felt his heart bleeding.
These were the ones he had painstakingly nurtured at great cost, and for this, he even betrayed two gods to a certain extent.
He regretted it somewhat, wondering why he left the comfortable safety of the Red Copper Fortress to wade into these murky waters.
The swirling dust obscured Nidesar’s vision, yet through the haze, he clearly saw the Holy Gunners.
They moved like a rotating conveyor belt, one person turning away while the others stepped forward in unison, setting up their gun racks and firing.
From firing to rotation, the process never exceeded ten seconds.
Five rows of Holy Gunners fired, with 200 lead bullets taking perfect aim at fifty charging Nikosaks.
Raising his head from among the manes, Nidesar bit onto a bottle, gulped down its contents, and shouted: "Charge, continue charging! After the battle, each gets five gold pounds and a woman!"
The previously dispirited Nikosaks perked up again, though seven or eight silently left the ranks.
The Nikosaks on both flanks were swept by the Holy Wind, having to move inward due to comrades rolling on the ground and wailing warhorses.
This formed a dense charging formation, aiming to break through the phalanx in front.
If it weren’t for having no choice, Nidesar would never charge such a tightly packed infantry formation.
He did not doubt his ability to break through the thin six-row gun formation, as battlefield experience from countless Imperial People had proven—at least twelve or fifteen rows were needed to stop a full-speed charge from Square Banner Knights.
However, even getting through these six rows of Long Spear Soldiers would definitely cost a good number of Nikosaks.
What could he do? Charge!
As Nidesar’s expression grew increasingly fierce, he suddenly heard the sound of a sand sculpture’s warning from above.
Was it the Fireball Crossbow? Nidesar glanced from the corner of his eye; from that position and angle, it shouldn’t be able to hit him.
Turning his gaze back to the front, despite the slowing speed of Nidesar and his men from a round of volleys, they still approached the Black Hat Army’s front.
He was puzzled to find the Holy Gunners suddenly stepping to the sides, as two leather-wrapped tubes extended from the formation.
"What’s that?" a Nikosak wiped away the sweat from his eyelids and asked in confusion.