Chương 135: Taking the Initiative

Night fell over the Barbican of Poloia's Northern Gate. Gathered inside were 1, 500 human soldiers—the entirety of the local Security Militia. All of them had been outfitted in chainmail, leather armor, and iron helmets, wielding round shields, spiked maces, and an assortment of standard issue military weapons. Li Qinwu intended to launch a decisive strike against the main enemy host positioned to the west.

Fearing that the enemy forces entrenched outside the North and South Gates would reinforce the center, he had distributed arms and armor to the militia, dividing them into two tactical groups. Their directive was simple: sally out from the northern and southern passages, hurl themselves into the enemy's trench networks, and lock down those outer garrisons so they couldn't assist the main army. Leading the militia force at the Northern Gate was Knight Leo, alongside Cosi. Cosi was visibly fidgety and anxious.

His younger brother, Coki, had been posted to the Southern Gate alongside the militia's deputy commander—a massive Hobgoblin. He was terrified that something might happen to his brother in the dark. Nudging closer to Knight Leo, Cosi leaned in and asked softly, "My Lord, has something happened? Why haven't we seen any Punishment Army patrols over the past few days?" Knight Leo, quietly waiting for the designated strike hour, cast a cold side-eye at the young man.

"Boy, mark my words: don't pry into things you shouldn't. Execute your orders faithfully. Losing the bright future you worked so hard for is a small matter—losing your head is a permanent one!" Cosi swallowed hard, stammering an apology before shrinking back into the ranks. Knight Leo sneered internally. He thoroughly disliked both Cosi and Coki; in his eyes, the brothers were opportunistic coat-tail riders.

Unlike himself—who had pledged genuine loyalty to His Majesty to carve out a noble future, fully prepared to die on the field if necessary—those two carried the unmistakable reek of street-smart hucksters. Leo knew their type all too well: opportunists who weighed every option based on personal profit. If those two caught wind of the dire magic-reaction situation currently facing the troops, they might very well turn their coats on the spot.

That was precisely why, when Li Qinwu had called Leo into the emergency briefing, the knight had immediately warned his commander: Do not reveal our true predicament to the brothers. They cannot be trusted when the tide turns. Li Qinwu, ever pragmatic, had taken the advice. Leo's background was the royal court of Sarthos—an environment as cutthroat and politically treacherous as King's Landing in Game of Thrones. When it came to judging human character, Leo's instincts were sharp.

Following his counsel, Li Qinwu separated the two brothers and kept them completely in the dark, framing tonight's raid as nothing more than a routine night-assault to keep the humans off-balance. Cosi felt an overwhelming sense of foreboding, but locked inside the barbican surrounded by high stone walls with the gates bolted shut, he had zero room to maneuver. What ate at him even more was the total lack of news regarding his brother. Unable to consult with Coki, he had no choice but to follow orders.

If the raid went south, he wouldn't even dare run away for fear of retaliation against his brother. What a nightmare, he groaned inwardly, I'll just have to fight for my life. As his mind raced with anxious thoughts, a sharp military whistle pierced the air—Knight Leo had blown the signal. The scheduled hour of attack had arrived. The outer gates creaked open. Knight Leo unsheathed his longsword and bellowed to the men around him: "All forces, follow me and charge! Ten silver coins for every enemy slain!

Kill three, and you're promoted to officer rank!" Having shouted the decree, Leo turned his piercing gaze straight toward Cosi. Cosi knew it was his turn to perform. He yanked his own blade free, roaring with forced vigor: "Brothers, charge! Earn your silver! Claim your military glory!" If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. With that, he bit the bullet and led the charge out the gate, putting on a flawless display of zeal.

He had already sensed that his brother and he were under suspicion; if he failed to put on a convincing show now, their future prospects would be grim indeed. Fifteen hundred men poured out of the Northern Gate, crashing into the enemy trenchlines and engaging in brutal, close-quarters combat. An identical scene unfolded simultaneously at the Southern Gate. The enemy forces entrenched in the northern and southern trenches totaled roughly 5, 000 troops.

Only twenty percent were hardened professional soldiers; the remainder were raw militia and auxiliary laborers. Compounded by the sprawling, crisscrossing trench networks, the human commanders found it nearly impossible to rally large formations, severely crippling their immediate combat effectiveness. Of course, the combat capability of the city's Security Militia was even more abysmal. They were essentially poor street-dwellers handed weapons and thrust onto the frontlines as basic line-fillers.

The moment they collided with the enemy, they resorted to chaotic brawl-style brawling; some even panicked and ran blindly through the trenches, throwing the enemy positions into utter chaos. Fortunately, chaos was the only thing Li Qinwu needed. As long as those 5, 000 troops were tied down, they couldn't interfere with his main assault. Over on the western front, the massive city gates swung wide open.

Stepping out in tight, disciplined order came 1, 200 veterans of the Punishment Army, 500 musket-armed militia, 2, 500 heavy-armored goblins, 4 field artillery pieces, and the Ogre Dang-Dang. The moment the force cleared the gate, they deployed into formation: artillery and musket units taking the forward-center position, flanked on both sides by the heavy-armored goblin infantry. Li Qinwu swept a stern gaze across the enemy positions ahead.

The night was pitch-black, and the outer trenches appeared entirely deserted. Yet he knew full well that the enemy was poised and waiting—the instant his column pushed forward, soldiers would swarm out from every ditch to fight for their lives. Li Qinwu unsheathed his massive greatsword, raising it high and projecting his voice so every soldier across the line could hear him clearly:"Warriors! In that direction lies the enemy!!"

"Tonight, we have only one objective: advance steadily and kill every living soul in your path! Forward!! Long live the Punishment Army!!"" Long live the Punishment Army!!" The collective shout roared through the night air, reverberating into the heavens and startling flocks of nocturnal birds into the sky. The army surged forward, maintaining a tight formation. Their steps were firm and deliberate, the clinking and scraping of heavy armor filling the dark space.

Reaching the first line of trenches, the column didn't slow for a second, stepping straight across the gaps. As for the artillery, the Ogre Dang-Dang simply hoisted the heavy field guns in his massive arms and stepped over the ditches like a giant carrying toys. Because the human defensive network was heavily rutted with trenches, Li Qinwu had to keep the marching pace measured. If the formation broke, the enemy could use their numerical superiority to swarm and split his forces.

Thankfully, the men Li Qinwu brought were the absolute elite of his army, including 310 System-generated veterans. All 4, 200 troops moved in flawless synchronization. The moment the entire column entered the deep trench zone, the enemy finally triggered their counter-ambush. Wailing war horns blared through the darkness, followed immediately by the thunderous roar of thousands of boots rushing in from all directions.

"Enemy assault! Free fire at will!" Spotting a squad of human soldiers bursting out from a nearby trench, Li Qinwu leveled his musket and fired. The heavy lead ball dropped the lead soldier in his tracks. Human squads poured out from multiple trench lines simultaneously, their war cries echoing across the field as they attempted to bridge the gap and lock the goblin ranks in chaotic melee combat. What met them, however, was a wall of violent gunfire.

The goblin musketeers unleashed disciplined salvos straight into the narrow trench openings. While the trenches allowed the humans to approach under cover, the narrow channels only permitted two men to run abreast at a time—making them fatal choke points easily suppressed by four or five muskets firing in rotation. Dozens of human soldiers were cut down inside the trenches before they could even scramble up the earthen walls, their screams echoing through the dirt corridors.

Those who managed to scramble out launched desperate charges against the heavy-armored goblins on the flanks. But the terrain worked against them there as well; the heavy-armored goblins were packed in tight, defensive lines. With only a trickling stream of human troops able to climb out of the ditches at any given time, the heavy goblins simply pinned them down and slaughtered them as they emerged.

The heavy-armored goblins were well-versed in dealing with armored human infantry: they used heavy spiked maces to bash in helmets, shattering jaws or knocking the targets off balance before dragging them into the ranks to drive long, slender daggers through eye-slits or under chin-guards. After roughly five minutes of frantic engagement, the human attackers suffered horrific casualties. The trenches directly facing the forward musket line were so piled with corpses that the channels were physically blocked.

Shattered by the brutal firepower, the remaining human assault squads broke and fled in panic. Li Qinwu roared his next command across the field: "Reload and dress the ranks! Keep advancing!"