Chapter 699 Before the Battle

While the Kingdom's delegation and the orcs were in a difficult negotiation, a battle that would determine the fate of the kingdom's northwest was about to begin.

After staying in Silvermoon Fortress for a month, Paul's long-awaited supplies were finally gathered, and the arrival of a large amount of ammunition gave him confidence.

With the fully equipped Alda army as the core, the Aldo army finally began to march eastward in an attempt to regain lost territory.

Finally, in a place called the Usola Plain, an unknown plain in the vast northwest of the kingdom, the Aldo army marching eastward and the main force of the orcs gathering westward met here unexpectedly.

After detecting that the other side's large army was close at hand, the two armies heading in opposite directions stopped and set up camp tacitly to accumulate physical strength for the upcoming decisive battle.

Along the way, the Alda army had experienced the tactics of the orc cavalry countless times. The enemy turned into small teams, which could suddenly appear from the left, right, or even the back at any time, showing their fierce and deadly side.

For the newly arrived Arda army, they had never seen such frequent and intense harassment in their previous combat career.

In the early stage, this caused heavy psychological pressure on some soldiers who had not served for a long time, but Arda's muskets and cannons were better than the orcs' crossbows in terms of range and accuracy. In addition, strict discipline prohibited anyone from leaving the army without permission from their superiors to pursue, and finally overcame the impact of this tactic on their own side.

When marching, the Austrian army tried to choose open areas as routes to maximize the advantages of telescopes. The attacks of the orc cavalry were often detected early, and defense preparations were made when they approached. For the Arda army, it was easy to switch from marching formation to defensive formation immediately, and because of the early warning, other armies had more time. When the orc cavalry arrived, they were often hit head-on by muskets, cannons, strong bows and crossbows.

As the Austrian army gradually adapted, the orcs' harassment tactics became more and more unprofitable, leaving a large number of corpses every time, but the results obtained were often sporadic casualties of the Austrian army.

Arda's logistics team took on the task of delivering supplies to the army. They also armed themselves like hedgehogs, making it very difficult to attack.

In addition, the Arda army actually used money to repay the previous "IOU", which established a good reputation in the area where they were located, making it easier to obtain various daily necessities. The Austrian army's firmness on the front line also brought great encouragement to the people in the vast areas behind. Various places began to spontaneously form militia organizations to defend their homes, which caused serious troubles to the orc cavalry who infiltrated the rear of the Austrian army.

Callum, the commander of the orc army heading west, was very dissatisfied with the current situation. The Austrian army gathered in Silver Moon Castle did not seem to collapse like the previous enemies.

After finding out that Princess Catherine was in Silver Moon Castle, Callum made a judgment: Obviously, humans have recovered from the panic caused by the previous defeat.

So he summoned his subordinates who were divided into four groups and decided to replicate a head-on decisive battle like the Sunset Valley to shatter the confidence that the Ordos had rebuilt.

After the success, the orc army will be able to advance again. Callum is optimistic that he can gallop until he sees the sea.

He has the confidence that if he can defeat humans once, he can defeat them a second time.

So the two sides met in the Usola Plain.

The Austrian army did not make any special moves. They still ate and rested as usual, but the alert in the camp was several levels higher than usual. Scouting rangers frequently went in and out, constantly bringing back the surrounding situation. The camp of ordinary soldiers was very quiet, but the restlessness and tension hidden in the quietness, everyone knew that something big was coming.

The orc side was in a turmoil and extremely noisy. Callum ordered a reward for the entire army. The whole camp was full of the aroma of barbecue and wine. The orc soldiers chewed and drank wildly, singing and dancing. This is a tradition in the orc army. Generous rewards can boost the morale of the warriors. Moreover, unlike humans, orcs have a special physique that can quickly and efficiently convert a large amount of temporary food supplements into energy stored in the body to ensure sufficient physical strength in subsequent battles. Of course, their camps also maintained a high level of vigilance.

Until the sun set, the camps of both sides fell into silence, waiting for the arrival of the next day.

At dawn on August 26, 1995, the trumpets of the Arda army and the horns of the orcs almost broke the silence of the early morning at the same time.

Gathering the army and advancing forward, the human army and the orc army finally faced each other about a mile apart.

Because they had not yet launched a charge, everyone maintained a relatively strict formation. The morning breeze made the flags flutter, and the flat field was filled with a solemn atmosphere.

The Austrian army's deployment was very simple. The infantry was lined up with the Arda army as the center, and the two wings were covered by cavalry from the Royal Capital Knights and other leaders.

The Arda army adopted a linear tactic, with six battalions arranged in three rows of shallow and deep horizontal formations, and two battalions in the rear as reserves. More than 40 artillery pieces participating in the battle were deployed in part in front of the horizontal formations and in part in the gaps between the horizontal formations.

Paul rode on a horse, holding a telescope and observing the orc army opposite. The enemy's cavalry was the main force in the middle, with light cavalry in front, heavy cavalry in the back, and human infantry as vassal troops on the left and right.

"We are going to face a real fierce battle!" Paul was a little nervous. His efforts over the years were finally going to pay off.

He looked around and saw the commanders of the Austrian army gathered around him, so he nodded to Schroeder.

Schroeder took out his pocket watch from his arms, "Everyone, check the time now!"

No mistake, one sentence, one post, one content, one 6, one 9, one book, one bar, take a look!

When everyone heard this, they also took out their pocket watches. These pocket watches were uniformly distributed by the Alda army. Unlike those bulky watches in the past, these pocket watches from the Northwest Bay were well-made and small, very convenient to carry around, and everyone liked them very much.

"Seven twenty-four in the morning!" Schroeder read out loud, and everyone confirmed that the time on their pocket watches was consistent with it.

After the time was calibrated, Schroeder immediately ordered: "Everyone, take your positions!"

Many commanders greeted Paul and Schroeder, and rode away on horseback to command their own troops.

"I'm going there too, I wish you good luck." Catherine looked over.

"Good luck to you too!" Paul nodded to her.

In fact, he hoped that Catherine could stay with him, but the princess insisted on staying with her subordinates.