When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

I thought I could use the Knight's followers to defeat the peasant rebellion and buy some time, but unexpectedly, it was the followers who were defeated by the rebels to buy time.

Fortunately, the followers' charge and retreat gained Enrico some time, and the confused infantry finally formed a phalanx.

Traditionally, when suppressing bandit rebels, peasant soldiers are sent forward to delay the enemy army by holding the line.

The followers repeatedly charge to dislocate and disperse the enemy's formation, and finally, the Extraordinary Knights would penetrate the enemy formation for a decisive victory.

But now, the followers were defeated, and the Extraordinary Knights clearly felt that the proportion of Extraordinary among the Long Spearmen was not low.

"Count, the peasant soldiers have formed their formation, we should strike immediately before they organize themselves and defeat them," Bernardo proposed again.

Yet Count Enrico hesitated once more, recalling the recent experience of the followers.

If it were him, would he dare to charge directly into the enemy's formation?

Under the burning gaze of other knights, Enrico raised his head: "Where have you seen knights fighting for peasants? Let the peasants go forward, bite the enemy, and we will charge from the flanks!"

In Victor's view, these absurd Armed Farmers gradually appeared among the hills.

They wielded various pitchforks, iron axes, and crude wooden shields, dressed in tattered armor.

Victor even noticed many were barefoot among the shifting legs as they moved.

He seemed to see his former self, but back then, his face was not filled with numbness and fear as it was now, but rather anger and excitement.

The leaders of the Armed Farmers were the Forest Patrol Officers from various manors, who stood in a loose formation at the back.

The Patrol Officers held longbows and, under the command of the Extraordinary Knights, began shooting waves of arrows at the Salvation Army.

Longbowmen are undoubtedly a skilled troop requiring training, yet they had been mobilized temporarily from various manors.

This level of arrow storm was just suitable for dealing with bandits and rebels, but it was inadequate against the Salvation Army.

"Take cover!"

Under Victor's command, the soldiers ducked their heads as the sporadic arrows clattered against cuirasses and helmets.

The bows they used were relatively soft and couldn't penetrate the Salvation Army's cuirass, only leaving bloody holes in their thighs and arms.

A dozen or so Salvation Army soldiers who were injured and unable to move did not scream in panic but gritted their teeth and retreated through the gaps in the units.

Accompanying service soldiers and medics quickly stepped forward to support them to the field hospital at the rear.

They were still advancing!

The dense formation continued forward amid intermittent arrows, with almost no reduction in speed, finally reaching a distance of about 60 meters.

"Attack, charge forward." Raising the Knight's Sword, Count Enrico shouted angrily.

But what greeted him was not the enthusiastic response from the peasant soldiers but a thunderous sound as if in unison.

It was as if a long wall of lead bullets passed through the peasant soldiers' formation, with some even falling onto the legs of the knights' horses behind.

Hearing the sound of people and horses collapsing around him, Count Enrico was only spared from being hit by a stray bullet when other accompanying knights pinned him down.

"What happened? What's happening?" Panicked, his helmet fell to the ground, and Count Enrico, with disheveled hair, raised his head and looked at the scene before him in confusion.

In front of him were armed farmers rolling in pain onto the ground, blood covering the soil.

Hard lead bullets pierced through their soft flesh, turning their innards, bones, and flesh into a pulp.

Some farmers were merely grazed on the face, yet they were so frightened that they pushed everyone around them down and staggered backward.

"Raise shields, raise shields, lift the shields!"

"Shield wall tactics!"

The Forest Patrol Officers roared in anger as they believed that the best protection against projectiles was a shield wall.

Under the pressure of death, these peasant soldiers demonstrated unimaginable efficiency and formed an extensive shield wall.

The first row squatted and raised their shields, the second row stood and raised their shields, and the third row placed round shields at head level from behind.

But today, they miscalculated, for the crude wooden shields could not defend against the speeding lead bullets, and in fact, the dense formation increased the bullets' killing effectiveness.

"Praise Holy Wind!"

Driven by the great Holy Father's hand, the sacred gears creaked, endless Holy Wind poured through the vents, transforming into a thunderous roar.

Another long wall of lead bullets penetrated the formation, this time, nearly a hundred fell.

The shield wall, once impenetrable even by mighty tribal warriors, collapsed into rubble after one volley.

"Devils, they are devils!"

"It's rods that spit out thunder!"

"Quack, it's the short-haired thunder rod, everybody retreat quickly."

The followers' failure, the instant over 10% casualties, the piercing screams, the nauseating smell of viscera, and the blood mist that dyed the field of view.

The peasants went mad, no longer considering the pressure from the Extraordinary Knights, and fled frantically toward the rear.

The Extraordinary Knights were caught off guard, immediately scattering into seven or eight squads of ten knights each.

"Cowards, despicable cowards, you damned farmers, get back to the battlefield at once."

No matter how diligently Enrico whipped his horse, he couldn't stop the tide of people rushing backward.

Surrounded by only ten or so knights, all around him were fleeing Armed Farmers.

As the main commander, Count Enrico stood stunned at the critical moment, unsure of what to do.

This was entirely different from the arena and the southern battlefield.

"Lord." Adjusting his crooked cap visor, Bernardo pushed against the crowd for a long time before making his way to Enrico's side, "Quickly, get everyone to regroup or else we'll be..."

"Bang, bang, bang!" The familiar gunshots rang out once more, accompanied by the sound of horses overturning.

The Black Hat Fourth Legion had already pressed forward.

In the narrow terrain, seven or eight Extraordinary Knights were swept along with fleeing soldiers, unable to do anything but watch the Salvation Army raise holy guns and fire lead bullets.

"No—"

Enrico's shout had not yet ceased when he saw a white flash from the corner of his eye.

On the other side, like a Valkyrie, Jeanne rode the lightning through the Extraordinary Knights while waving a battle flag.

Four or five Extraordinary Knights fell from their mounts, and the cuirassier cavalry behind Jeanne drew cavalry guns and began shooting.

In a short period, nearly twenty knights had fallen from their horses, and at least thirty Extraordinary Knights quietly vanished amid the fleeing soldiers.

Count Enrico felt for the first time what it meant to be defeated and collapsing like a mountain.

The front troops were crushed, and the rear troops were pressured by the Imperial Guard Second Corps and Black Hat Sixth Corps bypassing the hill.

Infantry could only run uphill, while knights climbing hills were slowed, becoming targets, and amidst the crowd, were easy prey for the rapidly approaching Salvation Army.

Mad, why did they start fighting in this area, were the followers all fools?

"No problem, no problem." Count Enrico gripped his Longsword tightly, comforting himself, "These fleeing soldiers will eventually leave this area, we can still regroup for a charge, we have a chance."

"Count, we really need to go." Bernardo pulled the reins of Count Enrico's warhorse, "Can't you hear there's a roll of thunder coming from behind? They have the devil's assistance!"

"No, I won't go, this is the knight's, this is the noble's honor."

"Sir, you better think again, dying at their hands means dying at the hands of commoners." Bernardo slowly revealed a truth not known in the arena, "They won't accept the family's ransom, Duke Dane is such an example."

Enrico's body stiffened for a moment, he swallowed hard, as the cowardice hidden by so-called family honor and noble status surged up.

"Go, let's go!"

When Enrico's banner retreated, the situation completely collapsed.

The Black Hat First Corps began their advance, raised their Long Spear, and started cleaning up the battlefield.

As for the other corps—

They were still advancing!