The sounds of cannons, horses' hooves, screams, and roars mingled together on the Dalos Plains.
Sir Colin's voice was hoarse from shouting; he cleaved a Free Man in two with a single sword stroke. Blood splattered all over Centurion's face, his throat glistening with blood. He didn't bother wiping it away, only screaming with all his might:
"First Regiment, Second Regiment, follow me! Recapture the artillery position! Third Regiment, Fourth Regiment, form squares and hold this position!"
The soldiers of the Sentinel Legion, like ears of wheat bent by a strong wind but refusing to break, swiftly carried out orders.
The butts of the muskets slammed into the faces of the rebels, and bayonets plunged into the chests of the enemy time and time again. Their eyes were bloodshot—those Cannons were the lifeblood of the legion, the source of their confidence as they fought their way through, and they could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands.
The artillery position was now a scene of carnage.
The Freemen Cavalry, with their superior numbers and speed, routed the artillerymen. They lassoed the precious 12-pound field guns with ropes and were about to drag them away when the artillerymen fought back desperately. Some clung to the gun barrels and were dragged for more than ten steps before being hacked to death on the gun wheels.
"Let them go!"
A bloodied artillery captain lunged forward and clung tightly to the breech of a cannon. Freemen Cavalry slashed him in the back, but he didn't let go, not until the second, the third...
This is what Colin saw when he led the first regiment to attack.
"kill--!"
Without further orders, the Sentinel Legion soldiers, bayonets at the ready, charged into the rebel ranks like an iron wall. The Freemen Cavalry had hoped for a swift victory, but they hadn't expected these infantrymen to charge like madmen, their bayonets aimed only at the horses' bellies. The horses neighed and fell to the ground, their riders thrown off and instantly trampled into a bloody pulp.
After a fierce battle, most of the artillery positions were recaptured, and nearly thirty cannons were returned to Sentinel Legion's hands. Although three cannon carriages were damaged and more than half of the artillerymen were killed or wounded, the rest were still able to fight.
Sir Colin kicked aside the corpse of a Freemen Cavalry, grabbed a 12-pounder with its fuse cut, and roared hoarsely, "Set up all the cannons that still work! Bomb those Gabella bastards to death!"
All the watchmen who were still breathing gathered here, dragging their wounds. They stuck their bayonets into the ground to use as crutches, and used the dead men's muskets as levers across the cannon wheels, carrying them together in groups of a dozen.
Freemen Cavalry is still trying to fight back, a burly-faced member of The Free Men... Chieftain, brandishing his scimitar, led hundreds of riders back from the flank. He immediately spotted the newly raised Sentinel Legion banner and, grinning maliciously, shouted, "Cut down that tattered flag! Whoever cuts it down will be rewarded with ten fine horses!"
Before he could finish speaking, a burst of shrapnel flew from the side and struck his mount squarely, tearing the horse and rider in two, blood and flesh flying everywhere.
It was a still-usable 6-pounder cannon that opened fire. There were only three men left in the gun crew. The gunner's left arm had been cut in half. He was biting the tourniquet with his teeth and pointing his right finger at the group of cavalrymen, roaring: "Fire! Blow up these traitors for me!"
Boom! Another 12-pounder roared, solid shot whizzing across the ground, sweeping through the rebel ranks like the Grim Reaper's scythe, instantly felling seven or eight riders.
The Aldor infantry, having recaptured their position, also formed a square formation, their gleaming bayonets pointed at the traitors.
The Freemen Cavalry finally lost their nerve. They had hoped to seize a few cannons and run away in the chaos, but the Sentinel Legion's infantry stood firm in their artillery positions, preferring death to retreat. The rebels began to hesitate, and their formation loosened.
Colin seized the opportunity, drew his bayonet, and planted it in the muzzle of his gun, personally leading a counter-attack.
More than three hundred soldiers lined up in three rows, guns held level, drummers pounding out the fastest charge beats. They stepped over the corpses of their comrades, over the scorching cannon barrels, over the still-bleeding bodies of the rebels, and marched forward.
Bayonets clashed with scimitars, matchlock gun butts smashed skulls, and short swords pierced horses' bellies. The two sides were turned into a bloody pulp in the center of the artillery position.
Arthur returned with his last two hundred cavalrymen. He saw Sir Colin's command flag waving amidst the piles of corpses, immediately turned his horse around, and led his cavalry straight at the rebels' rear.
"For the Watchers!" Iron hooves and bayonets attacked simultaneously.
The Freemen Cavalry hastily abandoned their loot and fled the Ausser Army artillery positions. Many who were too slow were caught by the Ausser Army. Soldiers dragged him off his horse and stabbed him to death with bayonets.
After a long hour, the Ausser Army artillery positions fell silent again.
Of the thirty-four cannons, six were set ablaze by the rebels with kerosene, leaving only charred barrels that looked like six red-hot iron rods stuck in the ground. The carriages of three other cannons were also destroyed, rendering them temporarily unusable.
Although there were still twenty-five cannons available to fire, the artillery suffered heavy losses. Although the ordinary soldiers had received basic cannon training, they were far inferior to the professional artillerymen.
In the distance, the main force of the Gabella people was approaching, their dark square formation resembling a wall.
The 3rd and 4th Regiments, which remained in place, temporarily repelled the Gabella Army's frontal attack through several volleys and counter-charges. However, the enemy, relying on its numerical superiority, attempted to encircle and flank the Ausser Army from both sides, completely surrounding it.
Sir Colin took one last look at the battlefield: the armies of the various vassal states had completely scattered, some abandoning their armor and weapons, others fleeing in all directions, and some even kneeling down to surrender to Gabella's army. His own Sentinel Legion had only six thousand men left after several bloody battles, with wounded soldiers wailing and the dead lying scattered everywhere.
"Retreat!" Colin's voice was hoarse but resolute. "Fight as we go! Nobody's going to leave us here!"
The Cannon, whose three gun carriages were completely smashed, could not be taken away in time. With tears in their eyes, the artillerymen stuffed a bag of gunpowder into the gun barrel and lit the short fuse.
Three muffled thuds followed, and the cannon barrel exploded into twisted scrap metal, rendered unusable.
The remaining twenty-five cannons were quickly harnessed to draft horses, with the cannons facing backwards. The infantry huddled into a tight hedgehog formation, with the cannons in the center, guarded by soldiers on all sides, and three thousand wounded soldiers and supplies in the middle.
Gabella's army began to encircle them.
Siegfried's cavalry charged from the left flank, and Arthur led the remaining cavalry to meet them, forcefully creating a breach. MacDonald's infantry phalanx pressed in from the front, while light Cannons roared, tearing the foremost shield wall to shreds with shrapnel and explosive shells.
For every step the Ausser Army took, dozens fell, yet they always maintained a complete fighting formation.
Gabella's army attempted to encircle the enemy three times, but each time the retreating Ausser Army tore them apart with artillery fire and bayonets, while the infantry took turns providing cover and holding off the pursuers.
As night fell completely, the Ausser Army had retreated more than ten miles from the Dalos Plains, with burning wreckage of artillery and countless corpses and flames behind them. Gabella's army finally stopped and dared not pursue any further.
Sir Colin glanced back at the blood-stained meadow and whispered the order:
"Keep going... cross that river before dawn."
At this point, the legion had fewer than 5,000 soldiers still available for combat.