Blood tax

"Let's go to the front line!" Roland put on his armor and led the guards from the headquarters fortress to the observation post on the ground. Xia Boyang, Werner and other commanders followed him.

The firepower of the Confederate troops guarding the breastworks began to thin out. The soldiers of the Bayerland Legion used their amazing fighting power and courage to open many gaps. Although some of them continued to be shot and fell from the wall, the people behind them still came up one after another.

More and more legionnaires boarded the bastion and began to fight hand-to-hand. The battle over key gun positions was particularly intense.

The legionnaires were first bombarded on the way forward, and then crowded between the acute angle forts and were cross-fired by artillery and rifle fire. Not only did the legionnaires who suffered huge casualties not collapse, they even forced themselves onto the barrier despite intense firepower, tearing open many gaps.

"A normal army would have collapsed long ago..." Roland waved his fist, "There is a problem here."

Confederate commanders of the First and Second Corps sent out all their reserves. Mobile forces composed of dragoons and mounted artillery attacked the most critical positions first.

The headquarters personnel all had tense faces, and the bastion was in danger of collapsing.

"Send the general reserves," Werner said. "The First Verona Front Army is very determined to fight and is ready."

"Wait a little longer, you can still hold on..." Roland carefully observed every breach in the bastion. Yes, the combat effectiveness of Bayerland's Army was astonishing, but Confederate troops fought to the death at every breach.

Harandil's troops are not here, they are only on the front line as headquarters observers. Roland sent a team of capable soldiers to protect him and strictly prohibited him from entering the melee on the front line. However, facing a precarious front, he could still feel the great pressure on frontline commanders.

A small group of Beyelan's elite soldiers broke through the parapet a dozen meters away from Harandil's sentry tower. The leading knight conjured two battle axes from his hands as if by magic. He twisted his body and swept them away with the strength of his waist, cutting a battle infantryman to the ground on the spot. The fallen soldier was still screaming, but the knight already bent down and rolled towards the crowd, and raised his hand to remove one of his thighs.

A nearby Confederate officer blew his whistle and counterattacked, and the infantrymen around him immediately raised their bayonets. The legionnaires who followed jumped up from the ladder and flexibly climbed over the parapet. In the blink of an eye, seven or eight legionnaires swarmed onto the parapet and plunged towards the bayonet bushes.

"Not good!" Just by looking at the movements of this group of enemies, Harandil realized that they were a commando led by extraordinary people, and that the squadron in front of him was in danger of being annihilated. Just as he was about to jump up to support, the guards around him who had been preparing to attack rushed forward and held down the commander.

"The commander-in-chief said you are not allowed to go to the front line!" the adjutant shouted while hugging Harandil. "He specifically told us to have confidence in our soldiers!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of infantrymen ran over from nearby. Their movements were as fast as lightning. They spread out in three rows in front of the gap and fired a volley at the legionnaires who broke the formation.

The volley of guns spit out a large cloud of fire and smoke, and several legionnaires were knocked down on the spot, but the remaining people rolled through the forest of guns, killing flesh and blood like windmills in the crowd. More legionnaires poured into the gap. Their skills were not as high as those before, but they were more numerous.

"Mount bayonets and charge!"

The squadron leader of the reinforcements led the soldiers and rushed towards the side of the legionnaires.

Beyeland's knights and the Confederate squadron captain who came for reinforcements were killed in the first round of hand-to-hand combat. Rows of battle infantry fell in the violent attack, and the soldiers in the rear row stepped on their bodies. Come up. Densely packed bayonets thrust forward, and the legionnaires were squeezed into a small open space, with bright blades everywhere in front of them.

The combat skills of the Confederate soldiers were not exquisite, but they instinctively trained repeatedly and formed a dense formation shoulder to shoulder to fight the enemy.

A cavalry team dragging light artillery arrived. The artillerymen jumped off their horses and fired cannonballs at the legionnaires who had occupied several positions without any cover. The dense, hot lead bullets tore the huddled legionnaires into large pieces. Those who were lucky enough not to be hit broke up the formation.

There were breaches everywhere in the fort, but each army and battalion continuously organized reserve teams to launch resolute counterattacks to defeat the legionnaires who broke through the fortifications.

There were crowds of people engaging in hand-to-hand combat everywhere, and the soldiers in a melee were sometimes bombarded by artillery fire indiscriminately from both sides in the chaos.

The new Confederate army was like an embankment, blocking the Legion's frenzied offensive.

The battle line on the bastion gradually became elastic. Cavalry artillery played a vital role in the battle to seal the breach. The sudden and dense shells swept away the legionnaires who had occupied the position like raindrops, or cut off the follow-up troops when the battle was intense. The legionnaires who invaded the bastion were unable to expand the battle without timely reinforcements, and were eventually eliminated or squeezed out by the advancing Confederate troops.

...Xia Long pays attention to the time from time to time. More battle reports were sent to the headquarters.

The earliest battle report was: the chief centurion of the Condé Army led the troops to capture the southern Fort Obtuse and wiped out all the Confederate battalions stationed there; however, the chief centurion was also killed in the battle.

"The Confederate gunners continued to fire until the last moment, and one of the shells struck the chief centurion."

New battle reports continued to arrive: the Confederate army quickly launched a determined counterattack, and with the support of artillery, crushed the legion group that invaded Fort Obtuse Angle.

"It's almost time," Xia Long said to the staff at the headquarters. "Inform Qiulin and Kong Dai to stop the attack and try to destroy the enemy's fortifications as much as possible when retreating."

A staff officer suggested: "Let's send troops to capture the position to the east."

To the east of Roland's Star Castle there is a hilly area across the battlefield. The Confederacy had sent troops to occupy it. If captured, Beyelan could deploy his cavalry on the flanks of the battlefield.

As a commander-in-chief, Xia Long was very moved by this proposal. But after a short period of thinking, he made up his mind:
"Do not."

……

"Why doesn't Xia Long attack our flanks instead of attacking from the front?"

After three hours of brutal fighting, Roland raised a question to the headquarters.

The smoke gradually dispersed from the battlefield. The top and bottom of the bastion were piled with corpses, especially under the ramparts, which were even as high as half a man. Bodies were hanging everywhere beside the flattened trench, and blood was flowing gurglingly like black moats.

Throughout the morning's battle, Roland did not dare to use his reserve army, the First Verona Front. This army is extremely well equipped and has high morale. It is the best force in the Confederate Congress. The main reason why Roland left them behind the fortress was that it was impossible for the bastion to block all roads, and there must be enough troops to prevent the Senate's army from outflanking.

At the height of the battle, Charon actually sent some cavalry to bypass the bastion and sneak attack the Confederate supply lines and the troops who had withdrawn to rest. True, the cavalry was repulsed, but concerns about the flanks became more real.

Xia Boyang said: "They are worried that the detour will scare us away and lose the opportunity for a decisive battle. Even if they lose this fortress, the rebels can defeat the invaders on the vast land."

"It is indeed a speech from the leader of the rebel army," Roland praised loudly, "Where are the others?"

"They must be afraid of our army and dare not disperse their forces!" someone said.

"After the fierce fighting in the morning, I think no one should underestimate the fighting will and enthusiasm of the Legion." Political Commissar Werner Negri severely criticized this unreasonable arrogance.

So why...

Roland thought to himself. The Arcane Council and the Senate have an ultimate solution, crushing everything with meteorites falling from the sky. However, Roland, as a brave man familiar with mysteries, knew very well that this kind of attack was impossible to execute due to certain insurmountable restrictions.

There are other reasons, objective factors that cannot be changed, that force Xia Long to attack from the front; in other words, attacking from the front is the most beneficial plan for him...

Thinking of this, Roland stopped the headquarters' speculation:

"How many prisoners do we have? Separate those who can speak and interrogate them as soon as possible!"