Simon was recognized by the soldiers who rushed to the battlefield, and they whispered, but no one stopped. People looked down or looked up and walked past the corpse. Gastens looked closely as he approached Simon and found that he appeared to have been hacked to death with a knife, with deep stab wounds to his neck and arms, revealing broken bones. At his feet, there was a half-congealed stain of blood, like a mirror.

"Look, this is what happens to deserters!"

After the cold-faced officer left Simon, he rode from the front to the back of the group, shouting loudly. The soldiers were silent and hurried away with their heads bowed.

They are death squads, and the only meaning of their existence is death.

——————————————

In the evening of the same day, they reached the end of the tracks. On the stop sign at the station, Gastens found his place.

Principality of Railin, Anava City.

The 19th Death Squad from the Ithaca training camp, along with four other death squads, was assigned to the 1st Regiment of the 2nd Brigade of the 6th Army Corps in the Western Theater of Operations. The 1st Regiment had three battalions, more than 1,500 men, 600 horses. Five teams of death squads of about 100 people each, without horses.

A death squad of five hundred people, plus one and a half thousand soldiers, was called a reinforced regiment. The Reinforced Regiment was a specialty of the Ankenrein Empire, and because serfdom was still practised, Ankenrein never lacked cannon fodder soldiers. And it is this kind of slave charge, the soldier behind the combat mechanism, that makes the battle loss rate of the official soldiers of the Anken Rein Empire lower than that of other countries.

According to the officer leading the death squad, in this area, west of the city of Anava, three reinforced regiments have been arranged, and these three reinforced regiments will launch an attack on the kingdom of Tulukas, thirty kilometers west of the city, at the right time.

The objective of the 1st Reinforced Regiment was a barracks where the troops of the Tulucas Kingdom were stationed, and according to the officers, there was a Tulucas regiment in that barracks, about a thousand people.

During a short break outside the city of Anava, the officer who led the death squad presented their combat mission. At the same time, he handed over the position of captain of the death squad to Gastens in front of the whole team. He patted Gastens on the shoulder and told him and the entire soldiers of the death squad that it was the decision of instructor Tom Frezzie.

So for the first time in his life, Gastens was officially and officially recognized, and he had 97 lives under his hands. And immediately after the appointment, as the captain of the 19th death squad, the officer took him to meet the commander of a regiment, a thin, white-skinned man who did not speak.

"Hello, my name is Gastens Warren."

Gastens hesitated, but still used his real name. The regimental commander gave him a disdainful look, raised the corners of his mouth and snorted.

"Charlotte Hendry."

"Commander, do we have any arrangements?" Ignoring the Hendry's contempt, Gastens asked seriously. Figuring out the situation on the battlefield is the basis for survival, and he is not sloppy.

"Rest for the day today, set off tomorrow morning, arrive at noon, and attack in the afternoon."

"Commander, I heard that we are going to attack a barracks, how is the other party's defense?"

Hendry is starting to look at Gastens this time. There are several captains of the death squad he has managed, and this is the first captain who has a clear question and seems to have some brains.

"It's a semi-permanent camp with stone walls, but they're understaffed, and there's a town behind the camp, so it's almost defenseless. We don't need to attack the camp directly, we just need to make a stance that we want to attack the town and we can lure them out. ”

"And then, how do we fight?" Gastens continued to ask.

"It's simple, you have your men rush up and kill their soldiers as much as possible. My men are not far behind you, and as soon as you make progress, our regiment will take over and continue the attack. ”

"I see, I'm asking, are there any more specific instructions? How do we rush up and fight? Gastens chased after him, and if the battle policy was only three words, "rush forward", he could imagine what the consequences would be without his head.

"No, I'll leave the rest to you." The head of the regiment, Charlotte Hendry, patted Gastens on the shoulder, "Good job." ”

Later, before Gastens had time to react, the head of the regiment forcibly terminated the conversation and sent Gastens out the door. Gastens wanted to ask himself how he would fit in with the other four death squads, but he didn't get a chance. He waited outside the door for a moment, leaving the hut that might have belonged to the hunters, but was now used as a command headquarters.

"Captain, what do you say?"

Back at the improvised station, the strong man Ivan Allen was the first to rush up. He was followed by almost all of the death squads, including those who didn't listen much to Gastens' dinner lectures. Gastens looked around at each of them, and saw that there was obvious nervousness in their eyes.

"We will set out tomorrow and attack the enemy's barracks in the afternoon. The enemy has a thousand men, but we have fifteen hundred, we are in the dark, they are in the light, and the odds are great. ”

Gastens said as he felt like he was. Fighting a thousand-strong barracks with walls with 1,500 people is not optimistic. But his prestige obviously played a role in the team, and everyone's faces looked a little better.

Gastens knew the importance of morale, and he couldn't bear to demolish it, so he slept with everyone and waited for tomorrow's march.

The next day, the best meal Gastens had had since he joined the death squad was brought from the city of Anavea, black bread without mold and stew with a little minced meat. He controlled himself not to eat too much, and said goodbye to Anava with the team.

On this march, everyone had already put on their own steam rifles, the same as the ones they used in the training camp, the same old Type 28, but the condition looked newer, indicating that the custodian was still doing basic maintenance. This iron guy weighs more than fifteen kilograms, which takes up almost half of the load. Gastens sometimes wondered when he was on the move, how could he run with this kind of weight when he got to the place?

His question was unanswered for the time being, and the march had already reached the meeting point. Gastens discovers that a death squad is already waiting at the scheduled rendezvous site. The team was dressed like them, with the same weapons and occupying a meadow, resting. And the latest order from the rear is to attack directly after the five death squads are gathered. Gastens consulted the captain of another death squad, a tall, lanky man named Calaiber Warren, about tactics. The opponent was also a rookie, but he clearly didn't think much about the fight, and his answer to Gastens was simply surprising.

"All we have to do is put on our backpacks, recharge, and move forward, and the enemy will come out and shoot at us."

"It's as simple as that? Don't they have barracks? Why not defend? ”

"If it's defended, what will happen to the town? They don't dare. ”

That's all Caleb Warren knows. Gastens exchanged messages with him, and learned that the other party's number 22, also a hundred-man death squad, came from the province of Tern, which was a large province on the south side of the province of Enspan, and Gastens had an impression.

After a few moments, three other death squads came into Gastens' sight, along with his 19th team and Caleb Warren's 22nd team, armed with old Type 27 steam rifles, in a disorganized formation, and the soldiers did not see the happiness on their faces before the battle, only a palpable nervousness. The three death squads were followed by the gendarmerie overseers of the Sixth Corps, numbering about sixty men, on horseback, and wielding a steam lance that looked lighter and more powerful.

"Listen to me! The first regiment is behind you! Your task is to rush forward, forward! Attack the enemy's barracks! Kill everyone you see who isn't your own, and try to survive! His Majesty's order from the Emperor, three charges without dying, give you the status of innocent free people! But if anyone makes us find out about cheating, don't blame us for the ruthlessness of the guns in our hands! ”

The caller was a gendarme, and he did not introduce himself, and Gastens felt that he probably did not think there was any point in introducing himself to these dying men. The five death squads stood in a loose patch in five groups, and Gastens thought that his team's training was rough enough, but found that the other four teams were in worse shape than his.

"Okay, do you see the barracks in the distance? Open the activation valve and start accumulating. When I first call out, you will start moving forward, and you will control the speed! Wait for my second trumpet and start charging!!! ”

The military policeman, who was on horseback, gave the final order. The death squads began to line up, and everyone didn't want to stand in front. Gastens put his backpack on his back, pulled down the ventilation valve on his waist with his hand, and felt the rifle in his hand shake slightly with the impact of air pressure. He took two steps forward and stood at the front of the line. Big Ivan, Synk Warren, and many more teammates who trusted Gastens stood with him at the front of the 19th Stormtroopers.

"You'd die standing here." Gastens closed the wrench and held the gun in his hand, "You don't think about it anymore?" ”

"You will die wherever you stand, at least here you are closer to the boss."

"yes, you won't die if you follow the boss!"

Gastens smiled, he patted the rifle in his hand, "Okay, you will watch my movements later, you can do whatever I do, talk to the brothers in the back, watch my movements, wait for that guy to blow the trumpet, you don't care about anyone else except me." ”

The soldiers standing behind Gastens conveyed his meaning, and the gendarmerie not far away sounded the first horn. Gastens and his brothers began to march forward.

The first reinforcement regiment chose a staging site of gentle hills, and the death squads had to go uphill and then downhill. The hilly ground is not artificially processed, just primitive dirt and weeds. The weight of Gastens and the weight of the steam pack made it a little difficult for him to walk on the land. He looked left and right, and found that everyone was in the same state, one foot deep and one foot shallow.

The climb to the top of the hill did not waste too long, and Gastens, who had some doubts about the enemy's position, got the answer after climbing to the top of the hill. On the plain below this gentle slope, about two kilometers away, is a square barracks, enclosed by stone walls, with buildings inside, and many figures can be seen. The death squads standing at the top of the hill did not pause and began to descend.

The death squads split into five groups with gaps between them, maintaining almost the same speed, which was about the same speed as a normal brisk walk. Gastens estimated that it would take half an hour to walk from here to the barracks. And now it's daytime, their movements are in full view, and the enemy can definitely spot them.

The soldiers walking around Gastens began to breathe as they lengthened as they approached the front. One by one, they were carrying guns, and many of them had already pressurized the cylinders and put their fingers on the trigger. Gastens reminded twice, and most of the soldiers removed their fingers.

After walking for about ten minutes, the gendarmes behind them had not yet sounded their trumpets, but the enemy in the barracks had already spotted the group. Gastens could see the figures start running, lining up, hurrying. By the time they were only a kilometer away from the barracks, the enemy had already gathered a small queue outside the barracks.

"Boss, why don't you sprint?"

Big Ivan is a big grinning character, and although he is nervous, he is still in the mood to speak.

"The distance is not enough, rush now, rush over it will be boring."

"Oh."

"Toot-"

Almost immediately following the conversation between the two, a horn sounded on the hills behind them. Hearing the sound, the daredevils began to take steps, picked up speed, and ran.

At this time, the distance between the two sides was about seven hundred meters, and Gastens was still in the mood to recall the classic tactics of the era of smoothbore guns on Earth and the battles he experienced in his first life. Whether it's on Earth or here, Gastens remembers as if he used the sound of a drum to control the footsteps, and then lined up to shoot, and the death rate in a battle was 30% at every turn.

It was a brutal battle.

The trumpet was also heard by the enemy on the opposite side. They became even more panicked, and part of the group that had gathered outside the barracks ran back into the barracks, where they were driven out by what looked like officers. Those who remained outside raised their weapons and let out a jumble cry towards the death squad.

"They took it...... Could it be a knife? ”

Gastens almost couldn't believe his eyes, the Type 27 steam rifle in his hand was a product of twenty years ago, but the army on the other side, why did it still stay in the era of cold weapons?

"Fuck it! Huhu - them!!! ”

Big Ivan was already excited, he ran and shouted, the army on the opposite side also began to run and shout, and sparse feathered arrows began to fall from the sky, and some people were hit by arrows.

Gastens had a great sense of absurdity, was this a hot weapon war or a cold weapon war? Or are the enemies on the other side an army that has crossed over from ancient times? However, the rapid distance between the two sides obviously didn't leave him much time to wander. Seeing that the distance was almost there, Gastens shouted, "After three steps, stop ——————"

Ivan and Zinke, who were beside him, relayed his order backwards, and the 19th Death Squad, after running a few more steps, listened to Gastens' instructions. They stood still, placed their steam packs on the ground, raised their steam rifles, and aimed at the rushing enemy.

"Listen to me! Count to one and shoot together! ”

"No!"

The 97ers agreed in unison, making the 19 death squad the focus of the field. To their left and right, the remaining death squads were still charging, stretching the entire formation into a cloud goose with outstretched wings. The enemy on the opposite side turned into an irregular oval in the charge, and the two teams were already less than two hundred meters away from the nearest place.

"Bang! Boom! ”

The sound of steam rifles rang out, and some people began to scream, and the group beside Gastens was a little uneasy, and across from them, the enemies in green uniforms were rapidly approaching, wielding long knives and throwing sparse bows and arrows at their heads. Soldiers with good eyesight can already already see the teeth of opposing soldiers.

"Three! Two! One! ”

Gastens controlled the distance, and when he saw that there were only about a hundred meters left on both sides, he gave the order to shoot. A dense burst of gunfire rang out, and more than a dozen people fell in the opposite ranks. The remaining enemies visibly hesitated, and their speed slowed down.

"It's now! Charge!!!!! ”

Gastens was the first to throw down his rifle, drew his scimitar and rushed forward. Around him, the 19 death squad members howled and pounced on the enemy.

The battle began.