Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1384 - 1337: Bloody Slaughter

Chapter 1384: Chapter 1337: Bloody Slaughter

Facing the impending onslaught, every soldier of the Demon Clan had their nerves stretched tight, including those infantrymen from the Kyushu line. Continuous battles had completely severed their ties with the Dongsheng Empire, and now they were set to fight for the benefit of the Demon Clan.

Sword and Shield soldiers took the forefront, preparing to stack the shield formation into two layers to use manpower to the maximum extent to block the Cavalry’s charge and provide a favorable opportunity for the subsequent battle.

Once the musketeers fixed their bayonets, they would become qualified spear soldiers, and these troop types are undoubtedly lethal to Cavalry, especially since Dongsheng’s Cavalry were charging head-on.

In the volley that had just occurred, plenty of Dongsheng Cavalry, along with their horses, had fallen, creating extreme chaos. Some weren’t killed by gunfire but trampled to death under the hooves of their own side.

Facing such an urgent situation, Cheng Ziang and his companions finally decided not to stand by any longer. They once again equipped their Yuanzi weapons with cooling devices and began to continuously fire at the charging Dongsheng Cavalry.

Although the effects of the Yuanzi weapons were quite astounding, the fact was they only had three guns, so the killing effect was not as good as that of the muskets’ volley. But, nonetheless, it was better than nothing.

Amidst the deafening war cries and thundering hoofbeats, the Dongsheng Cavalry crashed into the Shield Wall like a torrential flood hitting a dam. The inclined Shield Wall firmly withstood their charge, and although many sections were breached, the Demon Clan’s Sword and Shield soldiers immediately pushed back.

They were acutely aware that if they could not hold the line, it would mark the beginning of a slaughter, and they would become meat on the chopping block.

Through remarkable willpower and strict discipline, the Demon Clan’s Sword and Shield soldiers rigidly withstood the impact of the Dongsheng Cavalry. Of course, part of the reason was that the Dongsheng heavy Cavalry could no longer return to their previous scale, reducing the force of their charge on the Shield Wall.

The Sword and Shield soldiers of the Demon Clan that bore the brunt of the Dongsheng Cavalry’s charge also suffered severe casualties; however, they had managed to withstand the Cavalry’s momentum. Now it was time for their allies to take the stage.

Accompanied by high-pitched and passionate bugle calls, the Kyushu line infantry gripped their rifles and roared as they charged at the halted Dongsheng Cavalry. With their momentum stopped, the Cavalry’s strength was not much greater than that of the infantry, and soon a large number of Dongsheng Cavalry fell, all stabbed down by the line infantry’s bayonets.

The bayonets, made of Helrandum alloy, had incredible penetration power, easily piercing through the Cavalry’s armor. Whether heavy armor or light, both were no match for the bayonet.

The arrogant Dongsheng Cavalry had underestimated the combat strength of the Demon Clan’s line infantry, even though they had always heard rumors within their ranks about how strong the Demon Clan’s line infantry were. But in their view, these were just the words of the cowardly.

These line infantrymen relied solely on their dishonorable musket fire and didn’t even wear armor, donning only one or two pieces of clothing. The Cavalry thought they just needed to swiftly pass by them and with a swift swing of their sabers, they could claim a head.

However, in today’s battle, the fantasies of these Dongsheng Cavalry were shattered. As their charge came to a halt, their advantage in mobility vanished. What’s more, those whom they had scorned, relying only on their muskets and without any armor, began to ferociously pounce on them like wolves.

They tried to resist, but as the saying goes, "The longer the weapon, the greater the strength." The Demon Clan’s line infantry had fixed bayonets on their muskets that extended over 1.8 meters, making it impossible for just the sabers in their hands to compete.

It was previously said that if one wishes to bring an enemy to death, the best means of attack is to stab, not to slash. The human body is fragile yet resilient. Ordinary slashing, even severing limbs, may not immediately result in death.

Only a stab is exceptionally effective; the human body typically only needs a ten-centimeter penetration to cause death. This is why, even on Earth, the majority of weapon development has progressed towards stabbing rather than slashing; and amongst these, the musket is the pinnacle of piercing weaponry.

Even in certain island nations where the samurai sword was prevalent, the spear remained the main weapon; to some extent, the samurai sword had become a symbol of status, not to mention the knight’s lance during the medieval period in Europe.

The Dongsheng cavalry was equipped with spears over two meters long. However, when they lost their mobility, such weapons became a burden instead. With friend and foe tangled together, these long spears over two meters could not be effectively utilized.

Their sabers might have some effect against sword-and-shield men, but against those infantry holding muskets, they seemed to fall short despite their willing spirit.

After more than five minutes of fierce fighting, the Dongsheng cavalry began to falter first and started to retreat. At this moment, ten thousand Dongsheng infantrymen finally arrived, belatedly filling the gap left by the fleeing cavalry.

However, the Demon Clan soldiers didn’t distinguish between infantry and cavalry. They pressed the attack on these ten thousand Dongsheng soldiers with sword-and-shield men in the vanguard and line infantry as the main force.

The Demon Clan sword-and-shield men fended off the Dongsheng soldiers’ long spears, staying close shield to shield, while their short swords stabbed through the gaps, seeking to kill the Dongsheng soldiers hiding behind the shields. Meanwhile, the line infantry and Dongsheng spearmen also began to duel, plunging the battlefield once again into a dire situation.

Facing this, the Demon Clan army had made preparations. A group of sturdy men appeared behind the line infantry, holding flaming powder jars and forcefully throwing them into the Dongsheng army’s ranks.

One by one, the powder jars spewing sparks sailed over the heads of the Demon Clan army, landing within the Dongsheng army’s formations. The intense explosions quickly drowned out the thunderous war cries, and the pungent smell of gunpowder, along with a strong stench of blood, began to spread across the battlefield.

These were the Demon Clan’s grenadiers, who were also responsible for firing the cannons. When confronted with such a situation, the Demon Clan would deploy them to throw these powder jars, aiming to kill the stubbornly resisting enemy.

The powder jars were spherical and made of a highly tenacious ceramic that would not break upon impact. They contained over a kilogram of black powder and killed mainly through shock waves and shrapnel, also serving to psychologically intimidate the enemy.

The Demon Clan army had accounted for the possibility of such troublesome combat, hence they had specifically formed a corps of grenadiers. The line infantry’s advantage lay in their ranged volley fire, and while they were also fierce in close combat, such fighting should have occurred in pursuit, not exhausting these soldiers in prolonged entanglements.

As long as they could maintain distance, they would once again demonstrate their formidable power. The muskets’ lethality would not diminish with their decreasing physical strength, and thus the enemy would face another round of devastating blows.

While the frontline was engaged in heated combat, the mortars deployed in the rear methodically bombarded the Dongsheng army and their camp.

Yunji was well aware of the Dongsheng army’s rabid offensive intentions, so she had no desire to comply with the wishes of the Dongsheng commander, and continued to maintain heavy artillery fire on the Dongsheng army.

Between the ferocious assault of the Demon Clan army and bombs sparking with fire that fell intermittently, the Dongsheng army, after more than half an hour of battle, ultimately chose to retreat. In fact, even before this, more and more Dongsheng soldiers had begun to turn and flee.

The Dongsheng army retreated like the tide, yet the drum and horn commands from the Demon Clan ordered the line infantry and sword-and-shield men to hold their ground and not pursue.

Though disappointed, these Demon Clan soldiers still adhered to strict military discipline and began to orderly withdraw to their original positions. The sword-and-shield men took the opportunity to rest, and musketeers hastily reloaded their bullets.

The lengthy front they vacated turned into a line composed of corpses and flesh; the bodies piled up almost like small hills, and the blood gathered in low-lying areas, forming crimson pools. Among the deceased were not only human bodies but also many dead warhorses.