Chapter 335 Encounter

Otto Apokalis woke up in a low and chaotic noise. He walked out of the tent, took the water for washing his face from the servant, and simply washed his face.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, he covered his face with his hands and exhaled gently. A pig bristle-like stench came up, making him frown.

It was useless to let go of his hands. Such a stench only accounted for a very small part of the entire military camp.

Otto looked coldly at the lazy soldiers who got up early. Most of these people were mercenaries composed of ruffians in various cities or villages, and they didn't pay attention to any hygiene at all.

The patched armor parts were thrown everywhere, and the hastily put on military uniforms were wrinkled, and there were gray and burnt yellow stains on them. There were also black and damp foot wraps hanging at the entrance of the tent, and feces from various mules and horses. In front of the mixed stench emitted by all these, the breath accumulated overnight was nothing.

Of course, there was also the omnipresent smell of blood, which was the trace left by the battle last night.

"It's so disgusting. I don't know how these soldiers did it? Kallen and the others wouldn't do this, right?"

Otto said to himself as he walked to the corner to brush his teeth.

Of course he didn't like such dirtiness, but he concealed this disgust very well. As the young master of the Apokalis family, he was incompatible with these soldiers. His behavior of taking a bath from time to time along the way even made these people label him as "weak and incompetent".

But... to be honest, he was also a little speechless-why did these people associate "weak and incompetent" with "hygiene"?

It's really incredible.

Last night, they found several sets of clean underwear, a small bag of tooth powder and two horsehair toothbrushes on the bodies of the captured Ming soldiers...

Uh... Otto certainly wouldn't use someone else's toothbrush, but the tooth powder he used to brush his teeth was indeed...

Then according to these people's thinking, the Ming army, which "loves cleanliness", should also be weak and vulnerable, right?

Obviously, this is not the case, and even Otto is still frightened.

Yesterday evening, they were attacked by Ming cavalry before setting up camp.

A total of more than 40 cavalrymen, with their flags and drums down, appeared like ghosts on the right side of their entire team.

No one could have imagined that the Ming cavalry could penetrate 50 Luoli (about 75 to 80 kilometers) behind the confrontation line between the two sides, and no one could have imagined that more than 40 Ming cavalrymen dared to attack a team of more than 3,000 soldiers.

When the bugler blew the alarm, more than 40 Ming cavalrymen had already formed two loose horizontal columns and rushed down from the hill on the side.

Coincidentally, because there was a river on the left, the only 300 cavalrymen in the Tianming team were deployed on the right side of the team, or in other words, the Ming army did not take the 300 cavalrymen seriously from the beginning.

Otto witnessed that battle... that massacre...

When the 300 pistol cavalrymen were marching slowly in a dense team with ten rows in depth, the Ming cavalry had already rushed hundreds of yards away in an unprecedented rush.

"Can these barbaric guys from the East really fight on horseback? With one man and one horse, the horses should be exhausted after rushing these hundreds of yards, right? Besides, such a loose formation will be overwhelmed by the dense formation, right?"

Everyone in the family thought that Otto did not understand military affairs and had no interest in military affairs, but he actually understood a lot. He had consulted many veterans on the battlefield and came up with a set of his own views on military affairs. However, this confidence only lasted until yesterday evening.

When the distance between the two sides reached about 100 yards, almost at the same time when the Tianming cavalry entered the fast-step charging posture, the speed of the Ming cavalry soared again. Otto had never seen horses charging in that posture, but he guessed that it was related to the Ming people using shorter stirrups.

The warhorses galloped, the horse legs opened and closed quickly, and the horse's belly almost rubbed the ground. Otto had a bad premonition at the time, but he didn't expect the disaster to come so quickly-

At a distance of about 70 or 80 yards, the cavalry in the second row of the Ming army held a bow in one hand and the tail of a feather arrow in the other hand. In just a few breaths, they threw three arrows from the gaps in the previous row in an incredible posture, which caused a nearly fatal blow to the Tianming cavalry moving slowly in a dense formation.

The Tianming cavalry in the first row almost all fell off their horses in an instant. Even though they were protected by breastplates, the Ming army's archery skills were extremely superb. The undefended areas such as the neck, face, thighs and the warhorses themselves were their targets.

But to be honest, Otto still didn't think that the cavalry of Tianming would lose until this time, because as long as they approached within 20 yards, the cavalry of Tianming could use their best pistol half-turn tactics and shoot all the Ming cavalry into sieves with unprecedented dense rain of bullets - this was Otto Apocalis's naive judgment at the time.

The fact is that the first row of Ming cavalry leveled the weapon they called "three-eyed gun" while their comrades behind them threw arrows, and ignited the quick-burning fuse inserted in the fire gate with the matchlock wrapped around their left hand.

The length of the fuse and the time of ignition were obviously calculated very carefully. When the distance between the two sides was less than 40 yards, the fuse just burned out. In the flames and smoke, and the whistling sound of bullets cutting through the air, the unprecedented dense rain of bullets shot the cavalry and horses of Tianming into sieves.

Some people wanted to escape on the spot, but there were still multiple layers of queues behind them. Even if they turned their horses' heads with difficulty, they would only collide with the people behind them who didn't know the truth, and they would be knocked over.

Naturally, there are brave people who try to raise their pistols to fight back, but the range of this kind of spring wheel pistol is only a dozen yards, and a dozen yards does not even require a breath for the horses sprinting at full speed before they have locked the target. Pulling the trigger and holding the three-eyed blunderbuss like an iron rod, the Ming army cavalry rushed in front of them.

The whine of the war horses merged with the sound of weapons clashing. Faintly, Otto seemed to hear someone firing a gun, but judging from the fact that there was only one corpse left behind by the Ming army, it was obvious that the bullets of the pistol could not penetrate their armor. , even if it is shot through, it will hardly cause fatal injuries.

The really smart ones are those who draw their swords in time, but it doesn't seem to be of much use. The powerful and heavy "iron rod" quickly bent and smashed these "sewing needles", and then irresistibly smashed the head of the destiny cavalry together with the helmet. Occasionally, it swept over the horse's neck and head, causing blood and flesh to spatter, and the war horse fell to death before it even had time to utter a whine.

"Damn it! How do they get their hands free on the horse? Don't they have to use their hands to control the horse?"

Otto clearly remembered that these were the exact words of the fifty-year-old sergeant major who was standing next to him at the time.

This was the result of the ignorance of this sergeant major who was born in Iberia. Otto remembered that when he was a child, he had seen many records in ancient books describing Eastern cavalry's two-handed combat.

Of course, such a wide-ranging style of play would be very dangerous if caught in a melee and caught at close range. However, the Ming army also had a second row of cavalry. They put down their bows at some point and raised their long swords like wild goose feathers to protect them. Standing next to the first row of comrades, all the destiny cavalry who tried to approach for a sneak attack had their sharp blades cut through the gaps in their armors, and after falling off their horses, they gradually became one with the dark soil——

The good and the bad save each other, this is the concept that Otto saw from a training manual left on the corpse of the Mingqiu.

By this time, the benefits of the loose formation of the Ming army's cavalry were fully demonstrated. The distance between them was wide enough for the soldiers in the first row to wield the three-eyed blunderbuss on horseback without accidentally injuring their comrades. However, the destiny cavalry was in the intensive group. In this situation, shooting forward is almost the only option. Even swinging a one-handed sword may injure a comrade.

What's even more fatal is that the loose formation brings a wider front for the Ming cavalry. The distance they open in a column of twenty cavalry is even twice that of the Tianming Cavalry in a column of thirty cavalry. As soon as they make contact, they will The destiny cavalry, whose number was several times theirs, was surrounded on three sides.

"...Eleven, twelve, thirteen..."

Otto counted clearly that the Destiny Cavalry lost more than half of its troops within the thirteenth second of contact with the Ming Army Cavalry. They could no longer maintain their formation and simply fled backwards.

In fact, not even three minutes have passed since the Ming cavalry was discovered.

The Destiny infantry team was formed into a large square formation of 3,000 people, but based on the experience Otto learned from the veterans, that formation would take more than an hour to form.

In just three minutes, not to mention a large square formation of three thousand people, not to mention a company of two to three hundred people, even the smallest unit of twenty or thirty people had no time to assemble. What's more, too many infantrymen were crowded together, and most people didn't even know what was happening. The Ming army cavalry cut the marching column of Tianming infantry in two like a blade.

They fought all the way to the river and drove hundreds of infantrymen who had no time to take off their heavy breastplates into the river and drowned. Then they turned their horses around and clashed in all directions.

Most of Tianming's infantrymen were armed with long spears that were more than three people tall, but when the formation could not be expanded and everyone was crowded together, it was a luxury to wield the long spear or twist the waist to stab.

As for the arquebusiers, they simply could not complete loading in the crowded queue, let alone find a chance to shoot.

Moreover, when most soldiers can't find a sergeant to manage them, they are of little use at this time.

However, the number of the Ming army was too small after all, and the damage caused was extremely limited. Even if the spears of the Tianming infantry were just held still, they were still a threat to the Ming army cavalry, which was gradually losing speed.

Soon, three or four Ming cavalry horses fell dead. Their men were fine, and they quickly climbed on the backs of their comrades' horses and prepared to retreat.

At this time, a group of heavy matchlock gunners cleverly broke out of the crowded queue and set up matchlock gun stands in the field. At the moment, the Ming cavalry was about to withdraw. They ignored the "two spears and fired" regulations and fired a row of inaccurate projectiles in a panic, successfully killing one Ming cavalry and thirteen Tianming infantry.

The Ming army could not take away the bodies of their comrades, so they chose to kill all the heavy arquebusiers who had no one to cover them and had no time to reload while evacuating.

Statistics from the camp that night showed that in the encounter, which lasted less than ten minutes, the Destiny Cavalry had seventy-six killed, twenty-five wounded, and three missing. Fifty-two infantrymen were killed, 13 of whom were accidentally killed, 81 were wounded, and 331 were missing, including about 100 who were drowned.

Fortunately, most of the injured were minor injuries caused by pushing and stampeding, and at least half had sprained ankles. The actual losses were not unacceptable, but morale had obviously suffered a devastating blow, and most of the hundreds of people who were missing were missing. They all took advantage of the chaos and ran away.

But they will soon regret it. Mingren beheaded to record his merits. It was not easy to clean up the heads in the battle just now, so these broken soldiers running in the wilderness are undoubtedly a good military merit.

Even if they could escape the pursuit of Mingren cavalry, there were few settlements within fifty miles of here. Sooner or later they would starve to death, or run back, receive ten lashes, and continue to serve.

After paying such a high price, the only result they could confirm was the corpse of a Ming army cavalry.

This is too exaggerated...

However, Otto finally understood why the invincible Crusaders were defeated again and again on the Kipchak grassland, that is, on their own doorstep. There was no exaggeration in the letter Kallen sent him. Without investing in the Valkyrie troops, Tianming's army was no match for Akito who came from afar.

What's more, what if you join the Valkyrie troops? The Ming Empire's army also had a large number of so-called "errants", which sounded similar to rogues and ruffians, but like the Valkyrie troops, they used the power of the Stigmata to control Honkai Impact in battle.

They come from various "sects" in the world, and they don't seem to be as united as the Valkyrie troops from the same group, but this is just an appearance...

According to Kallen, compared to the Valkyrie troops who come from the same group, different countries, and different languages ​​and cultures, although these "rangers" come from different martial arts sects and may have their own grievances, at least they have the same language and the same culture.

I can't tell which side is better organized...

And what's even more terrible is...their number is several times that of the Valkyrie troops...

In short, if this continues, the situation will not be optimistic.

This is why Otto rushed to the front line in a hurry, because he brought something that could determine the outcome of the war.

Of course, whether he wins or loses this battle has nothing to do with Otto Apocalis.

Destiny's Eastern Expedition was essentially to establish authority, divert the Black Death that had just subsided, and suppress the ambitions of European countries that had just been included in Destiny's territory.

But he is not the successor of Bishop Tianming. Once defeated, he doesn't care at all what will happen to Tianming, or even what will happen to the Apokalis family.

He was only worried about Kallen.

The vast Kipchak grassland has now become a huge flesh and blood mill. Although he believes in Kallen's strength as "Destined to be the strongest Valkyrie", the sword has no eyes. A being as powerful as her father Francis will one day turn into ashes. Heaping coke, the Kaslana family members...

Moreover, even if Kallen was unscathed on the battlefield, the problem would still not be solved——

He also foresaw that once the war was defeated, Europe, which had finally been unified under the rule of Destiny, would inevitably become turbulent again. In this case, Destiny would also adopt a more tyrannical attitude towards the civilians to make up for the losses in the Eastern Expedition.

It's not just the civilians who are pitied... When did civilians not deserve to be pitied? Besides, his pity could not improve their situation in the slightest.

Otto would never do unnecessary things. Of course he felt pity for these civilians, but he understood the limitations of his own power. If he really wanted to change the situation of these civilians, he might as well

He was just worried about Kallen... He still remembered what Kallen said when he went out with the army a year ago——

"I heard that for those Eastern tyrants, even every tile and brick in the palace was made of pure gold! After conquering those Eastern kingdoms and the destiny of heaven has captured these things, Otto, you have to give more advice in front of the bishop. Distribute this money to the poor and helpless people so that they can avoid being displaced!”

What a childish idea - Otto thought. But precisely because of his naivety, he was particularly attracted to Pekkalian.

For strange creatures like humans, growth is not an absolute compliment, nor is childishness a purely derogatory term.

Most of the time, what adults call "growing up" is nothing more than a carnival of sophisticated egoists who compromise reality.

From this perspective, he, Otto Apokalis, is actually quite mature among his peers.

It is precisely because of this that he is intoxicated by Kallen's childish beauty...

It is precisely because of this that he must...protect this beauty at all costs, even at the cost of his own conscience, even at the cost of the deaths of hundreds of thousands or even more people.

Even though... this goes against her own wishes.

Otto glanced at the gray sky. The waning moon was still hanging high in the sky. To be honest, since he was a child, every time he looked up at the moon, it would give him an inexplicable weird feeling, as if the moon was actually owned by a god. One eye, cloudy and clear, is that He is blinking. He uses such eyes to stare at the world ruthlessly and indifferently.

Therefore, Otto doesn't like the moon very much. He hopes that the sun will appear soon, but judging from the sky, it should be soon.

Unknowingly, it seemed like he had been brushing his teeth for a long time. Otto rinsed his mouth, handed the things to the attendant who had been standing silently aside to put them away, and then walked out of the corner of the tent.

About twenty soldiers walked past him in an unorganized procession. Each of them was carrying a wooden bucket, as if they were preparing to leave the camp and go to the river to fetch water for the cook in the team to make breakfast. But not one of them wore armor, nor did they carry any weapons.

Otto only took one glance and felt that the leading sergeant of this team was interesting - facing the Akito cavalry like yesterday, infantry of their size would only slow down their escape even if they carried armor and weapons. But knowing this, there are still a few people who are willing to give up these things.

In the past, Otto would have praised the sergeant as a nobleman and tried to build a relationship in case something unexpected happened. However, since he read the two books found on the corpse of the Ming army cavalry last night, he also had no idea about these. Out of sight.

Shaking his head, Otto Apokalis never did unnecessary things. He would never try to take care of what he couldn't control at the moment.

Walking back to the tent, Otto secretly put a small wooden box into his backpack and walked towards the wounded camp without saying a word.

However, he had already dealt with the seriously injured last night, and those who could not be dealt with would not have survived until now. Now he was just going to brush up his presence.

But he was destined to be disappointed. He walked in the messy military camp for about ten minutes, and for a while he could not find the location of the wounded camp.

It was obviously the road he had walked last night, but now it had completely changed. Soldiers waiting for breakfast were huddled together casually, and some directly formed a circle in the middle of the road to gamble. The tents looked similar, and there were no flags to distinguish the directions. Otto could not even find the east, south, west and north for a while.

However... God seemed to be particularly "kind" to him. When he was about to return the same way, the earth began to tremble slightly, and the thunder-like roar quickly spread.

"Enemy attack!"

Two amulets in advance:

1. About the Ming cavalry charging and shooting arrows at 80 yards

Discussion on the important tasks of military affairs: Special orders must be given to frontier generals who have experienced fighting. And the servants who have experienced fighting are dispersed to each camp. All of them are taught the methods of running and fighting on the border and running and shooting with a knife and spinning a horse. The horse is always running fast and flying. The mind is only focused on killing and shooting. Don't worry about stumbling. Shoot still round. The handle is still 80 steps away. All methods that can be used for decisive attack.

The selected vanguards and servants are trained to charge at 80 steps and shoot arrows to hit the target. I have no problem shooting arrows at 80 yards, right? (1 step is about 1.5 meters, 1 yard is about 0.9 meters)

2. About the speed of the 3,000-man square array

From De las guerras de los Estados Baxos (Lowland War) written by Carlos Francisco Coloma and published in 1622. Someone roughly translated it: Prince Ranucho took a spear and was with the Spanish infantry. Two assistants from the regiment came to arrange the first line, because those who opposed the Spanish infantry were knights or captains, and there were many difficulties. As a result, they entangled in this matter for more than an hour. If it weren't for the tired Prince Ranucho threatening to set out with the Italians, it might have been delayed for longer.

The author has served as lord of many cities, lord of earls, and governor of Majorca. When he wrote the book, he was already an ambassador to the UK. Is there anything wrong with it?

Finally, part of the inspiration came from a battle example of the Qing army. More than 40 cavalry met 300 Russian cavalry. They lost nine people and captured more than 70. I'm too lazy to find the details.