MTLNOVEL Chapter 260: They charged toward the rising sun, as if they had made some kind of resolution.
After receiving Horn's order, Jeanne quickly deployed thirty Cuirassier Saint Gun Cavalry from three cavalry brigades, advancing in three directions towards Gray Furnace Town.
Wearing only cuirasses and carrying no heavy weapons or luggage, Jeanne and her team were tactically positioned as shock cavalries, but they could fulfill some of the reconnaissance duties as projection cavalries.
According to the battlefield experience of loyal Knight Kolebo, it is best to arrange five or six horses in a row and five horses in a column while marching.
On narrow roads, it's best to keep three horses abreast.
Based on many battlefield experiments by Kolebo, Horn finally understood that what Kolebo referred to as "the distance only knights can feel" is three cubits (0.9 meters) between columns and six cubits (1.8 meters) between rows.
The distance between each cavalry marching formation should be one that an officer can traverse back and forth in a short time.
Due to varying roads, weather, and terrain, Horn could not standardize this data and had to rely on cavalry officers' judgment.
The organizational structure of Riding Combat Cultivators is quite different from Walking Combat Cultivators.
The three cavalry divisions had only 150 men but had the same configuration as a legion.
This included a blacksmith responsible for repairing weapons and shoeing horses, an accountant in charge of managing horses and distributing wages, a military judge responsible for recording achievements and supervising battles, several buglers, standard-bearers, and service soldiers.
The Legion Commander of the Holy Grail Cavalry Corps was Jeanne, with the previously loyal Kolebo as her adjutant.
Eleven cavalrymen quickly connected with local Saint Father's Association informants in the wilderness and mapped the area with the guide's help.
There were certainly small outposts of a dozen people during this period, quickly removed by mobile cavalry squads to gather intelligence and map the terrain.
The faint dawn light emerged from the mountains, and Jeanne shaded her eyes, gazing toward Joan of Arc Castle.
Behind her, cuirassiers finished off the severely wounded guards lying on the ground, grumbling about how the issued weaponry swords were impractical.
After all, riding combat swords are mainly for slashing and cutting, while the weaponry swords are too short and poorly balanced.
They need to find a way to swap for new weapons when possible.
It's been a whole day since capturing Mayo Town on February 20, now on the morning of February 22.
Currently, Gray Furnace Town has noticed a few of their outposts have vanished, but merely sent people to check without further action.
They seem to have mistaken Jeanne's group for bandits or passing smugglers.
Joan of Arc Castle is unaware of anything happening, focusing solely on the power struggle West in Rapids City and their tug-of-war with the Royal Constitution Knights.
"Her Highness the Saintess." A cavalry officer pulled up his horse, stopping before Jeanne, "Everything is disguised, we can proceed."
Having packed up, the cavalry mounted their horses, but suddenly, everyone froze.
In the morning sunlight, eleven Cuirassier Saint Gun Cavalry by the outpost saw a knight squad appear from behind the hills.
Twelve Extraordinary Knights held their heads high with arrogance, equally puzzled by the knights dressed in black.
"Ah, it's the Salvation Army!" a young knight shouted, "The one on the far left is a farmer from my estate, I remember he joined the Salvation Army."
"Thought we caught bandits, but turned out to be short-haired ones!" The lead knight's beard quivered with laughter.
Eleven ill-equipped cavalry, wasn't that easy prey?
"Charge!"
"Your Highness, damn, they've recognized us, what do we do?"
With such a short distance, there's no time to escape. Jeanne shouted, "Fire the blaring arrow to alert the other cavalry brigades nearby, let's face them!"
Amid a surge of commands, the cuirassiers swiftly formed into a triangular charge formation, raising their preloaded spring guns and charging at the knights.
There wasn't much difference between cavalry and infantry spring guns, just lighter materials, shortened striker rods, and more durable ratchets that loosened only after an hour.
"Fast trot!" Jeanne yelled the command.
Fast trot is a kind of trot relying on the diagonal pair of fore and hind legs to support the weight, rear hooves land aligned behind the forehooves, with shorter and stabler steps.
"Aim!"
The ten 20-millimeter Kanni Di-type cavalry guns were raised simultaneously, targeting the charging knights.
"Fire!"
A jarring metal twist echoed, and the young knight felt a gush of blood spray on his arm, soaking into his armor.
What was happening? What had happened? Why did a comrade suddenly fall to the ground?
Before he could figure it out, another swarm of locust-like figures brushed past the young knight's side.
"Ah—"
This time, the falling knight let out a thunderous scream, toppling from his horse to the ground.
The young knight, perplexed, maneuvered his warhorse, turning his body halfway to view his struggling fallen comrades behind.
What exactly happened?
Turning his head, the young knight was taken aback, spotting a black dot in his vision.
The whistling sound was so clear it seemed to be right in my ear.
The black spot grew larger and larger, as if it were within reach.
Is this what brought down two noble knights? Maybe I can reach out and catch it?
"Yah!"
"Squeee—"
The young knight on the horse's back suddenly straightened while holding the reins.
About half a second later, his right hand suddenly stretched out, grasping at the air in front of him, and then he slumped sideways off the horse's back.
His foot caught in the stirrup, the galloping steed dragged the body, leaving a long trail of blood on the yellow ground.
"Mad, three volleys and only hit three, what kind of crap did this Holy Casting Department make?"
"Who's grumbling!" Jeanne's voice carried to the ten cavalrymen behind her, "Switch to armed swords, close combat charge."
Upon hearing Jeanne's command, the cuirassiers curled their bodies as much as possible without affecting the control of their horses, like ripe bent bow shrimp.
Their chins were almost touching the horse manes, showing only half their faces amidst the flying steeds.
Holding armed swords, their arms stretched forward, backs of their hands up, sword tips aimed at the knights holding lances with chests outstretched.
In this shrimp-back position, the knights' lances had a much lower chance of striking the cuirassiers.
The wind lifted the hanging strands of hair on their cheeks, Jeanne's hair tips shimmered with a faint golden hue, and the leaping electricity made the horse's hair stand on end.
The warhorse under her looked back at Jeanne in terror, as if asking, "What are you doing?"
"Good boy, don't be afraid, don't be afraid." She soothed the horse softly as Jeanne's posture changed from sitting to a half-squat on the horse.
Her lightning was not aimed at the evergreen extraordinary knights in plate armor, but at their steeds that wore no armor.
After this period of training, Jeanne's lightning spells, drawing closer to the veteran witch cannons, could accurately control the lightning's dropping point at short range.
This is the value of welding training methods!
"Become a sacrifice to the dream of the Celestial Kingdom!"
The girl's roar was almost like that of a roaring lioness, and the next second, surging lightning raced forward.
White light, dazzling white light everywhere.
The knights reflexively closed their eyes tightly, a numbing sensation coming from the soles of their feet.
A shrill whinny rang out as they burst through the lightning glow, four warhorses flipped their white eyes uniformly, and plummeted headfirst.
The knights on horseback were thrown into the air, their heads heavy and feet light, suspended as if drowning men flailing their arms, trying to grasp onto something.
But this was a flat plain, with not even a bush, only a ground covered with pebbles and rock chunks.
They could only watch as the ground came closer, the sharp stones under their groins becoming clearer.
"Kaa, don't come any closer!"
"Bang—crash!"
In the swirling dust, they fell prostrate on the ground, prostate sliding a good distance before stopping.
The violent collision left the three knights who had fallen with buzzing heads.
They limped and staggered to their feet, clutching their groins and shrinking their arms, only to see the hammer spear-wielding cuirassiers turning back.
"Wait, I'm a knight, capturing me can get you a ransom..."
The spiked hammer struck the helmet, aided by the horse's speed, denting the faceplate inward as red, white, and gray liquids sprayed out from the cracks.
The warhorse sped past, the knight's body fell heavily to the ground.
"Psycho." Wiping the blood off the war hammer, Jeanne snorted coldly, "I'll kill you, take out your manor, and the ransom will still be mine."
Having dealt with these knights, Jeanne lifted her head.
She had thought the remaining five knights would, as Kolebo had said, perform a figure-eight maneuver to turn back and charge again.
But they didn't; instead, they seemed to make some kind of decision, streaking along the charge path, disappearing behind the hill towards the rising sun.
"Your Highness the Saintess." A panting Kolebo returned from behind the hill, "They fed the horses potions, we can't catch up to them."
"Stopping seven is good enough, besides, we have prisoners, getting information means success." Stepping around the knight stuck in the stirrup and unable to move, Jeanne shook her head, "How many followers killed or wounded?"
"Two dead, three injured, all spiked by lances."
"Facing knights head-on is still somewhat challenging."
Picking up that signature battle flag, Jeanne shook it open, "Already the 22nd, rested enough, it's time for battle, let's tour the surrounding villages, announce we're back."
In the spring breeze, the flag once embroidered with a Holy Grail once again fluttered over the land of Joan of Arc Castle.