Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

The torrential rain rendered the gunpowder useless, and half of the Paratu soldiers' weapons became nothing more than clubs, but the other half of the Paratu soldiers' weapons remained faithful and reliable.

For the Paratu army, the blow to morale caused by the downpour was far greater than the actual combat losses it inflicted.

"Paratu People! Summon your courage!" Officers of all ranks strove to maintain order, running through the formations shouting, "Hold the line!"

Sekler was personally waving the eagle flag to boost morale.

"Hold steady! Children! Hold steady!" Sekler urged the musketeers to draw their swords and fight; his voice was so hoarse that it was barely audible as he continued to shout, "Hold your ground! Not a devil can harm a hair on your head! But if you run, it will devour each and every one of you!"

Compared to the astonishing noise of the torrential rain, another blow suffered by the Paratu army seemed minor, but the destruction it caused was no less devastating than the rainfall.

Within the four formations, all the spellcaster officers had been incapacitated, and three of them had even lost consciousness.

Those spellcasters who were unconscious were actually fortunate, because those who remained awake were trapped in excruciating phantom pains, enduring a fate worse than death.

Lieutenant Roy screamed like a dying beast; he lay in the mud, his body convulsing uncontrollably.

The men around him searched his whole body but found no wounds.

Roy himself felt as though he was repeatedly being dipped into a cauldron of boiling oil.

His consciousness was extremely clear, so clear that he could feel the unbearable severity of phantom pains.

The others were as frantic as ants on a hot pan, watching Lieutenant Roy suffer, unsure of what to do.

Robert dashed over and covered the lieutenant with his coat.

The colonel then used his dagger to cut off a piece of his sleeve and ordered the soldiers around him to pry open Roy's clenched teeth; he bunched up the piece of sleeve and stuffed it into his mouth.

It was to prevent Lieutenant Roy from biting his tongue, as well as to prevent him from making any more sounds that could destroy the will of others.

Roy bit the cloth, moaning in low whimpers, his seven-foot frame huddled into a small ball beneath the cashmere coat.

"Carry the lieutenant to the center of the formation!" Robert, in his one-sleeved shirt, took over the military standard, "Protect him well!"

The Paratu army communicated orders with flags, horns, and small drums, but the information that could be conveyed by flag signals, calls, and drum sounds was limited.

More refined battle commands heavily relied on the assistance of spellcasters.

Now, with the spellcaster officers within the formations incapacitated, it was as if an important means of battle communication for the Paratu army had been destroyed.

The sounds of rain, hooves, and shouting merged into one, making any order Sekler wanted to give impossible to convey with precision.

The Paratu army's only remaining spellcaster—Winters Montagne at this point was unaware of this; he was not within the formation.

Having disconnected the "link" very early on, Winters had not "overloaded" this time.

The phantom pain came quickly and left even faster. He was still feeling intermittent stabs of pain, but the intensity was not unbearable; he could grit his teeth and endure.

When Winters, Mason, and others pushed the two cannons up the slope, the Paratu army was in its most critical moment.

The four-thousand-man formations were compressed and bent; the northern formation was even on the verge of turning into a triangle.

But the Paratu people were as resilient as steel bars.

Under immense external force, the steel bar, although already emitting piercing creaks, stubbornly held on, not yet collapsing.

Not many warhorses dared to charge into the sharp spear forest, and the Herders were equally hesitant.

The horses became a nuisance, with some ferocious Herder centurions simply dismounting to fight on foot.

Depending on their sturdy armor, they used shields and scabbards to fend off spear tips, forcing their way into the spear forest and swinging their scimitars to slaughter the Paratu people.

Other brave Herder soldiers followed suit; those without armor crawled under the spaces below the spear shafts.

Sword-and-shield-wielding Paratu soldiers rushed out of the formation to intercept the enemy; the two sides battled within the forest of spear shafts.

Some Herder cavalry dismounted but kept their distance, instead displaying their signature skills: [powerful bows and heavy arrows, shooting faces from ten steps away].

Rainwater could cause composite bows to delaminate, but they could still be used with some effort.

But the Paratu soldiers, now without the cover of muskets, essentially had no means of retaliation.

They could only watch helplessly as the Herder archers drew their bows and aimed their arrows at unprotected parts like their eyes, armpits, and calves—most of the spearmen were only half armored.

Unable to bear the pressure of watching themselves being shot to death, some Paratu soldiers roared as they rushed out of the formation, heading towards the Herder archers.

Yet once they left the protection of their formation, they were quickly surrounded and killed by the Herders.

Winters saw the White Lion and several Green Plumed Feathers commanding on the western side of the formation; the crimson armor and iridescent warhorses were particularly conspicuous in the rain.

Under their command, the Herders breached gaps between the formations, forcing each formation to spread outwards. Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire

Winters understood at a glance: the White Lion was trying to split up the T-shaped four formations, preventing them from covering each other, then defeating them one by one.

And the Paratu army's only hope was to concentrate their forces, bringing the four formations together into one large formation to face the enemy.

But under the pressure of the Herders' heavy troops, the Paratu people dared not make any move.

Both sides were still engaged in bloody combat, with each formation under immense pressure. At this time, changing formation was equivalent to confusing their own deployment, giving the enemy an opportunity to exploit.

The Paratu people needed time... time to catch their breath.

Jeska'stroops were assembling on the reverse slope of the hill.

Colonel Jeska used a few brief and to the point sentences for the pre-battle mobilization

Rescuing Sekler's troops was the same as saving themselves.