The day of the decisive battle finally came, and in the lower reaches of the Leynsk River, the combined forces of Kislev caught up with the Bloody Hand mercenary regiment. Under pressure, the Bloody Mercenary Regiment lined up on the banks of the river, so that their flanks could not be attacked by the Kislev cavalry. All you need to do is focus on the other flank.

Master Bloodhand placed all his cavalry on this flank, far from the riverbank, and he knew that the key to the battle was to hold the flank, and as long as the cavalry held out for more than two hours, the infantry phalanx in the center would definitely break through the motley army of Kislev.

In order to speed up the march, both sides threw off their burdens, and Master ordered his troops to throw away all large long-range weapons such as ballistas and catapults, while Duke Landau's side abandoned the southern soldiers who were physically weak, and only two-thirds of the troops followed. Neither side was at its peak, but it was still the largest since the Erlengrad rebellion.

On Master's side, the total strength of the Bloody Hand Mercenary Group was close to 12,000 people. And on the side of Caterina, the Ice Queen, more than 15,000 troops have gathered. The standing army from Kislev amounted to 3,000 men, the hussars and Ugol cavalry numbered more than 2,000, and the rest of the soldiers came from the north, west, and griffons. The morale of the soldiers on both sides was high, and they fought for money on the one hand, and for the kingdom and glory on the other.

Riding a tall war horse, Rhodes climbed the small hill on the west side of the battlefield, overlooking the entire battlefield, like countless ants crawling on the ground. Although he can use Eagle Eye, there are many wizards on this kind of battlefield, and Rhodes knows that there will always be someone who will keep an eye on him, so it is better to keep a low profile.

The Reinske River unfolds in the eye and you can see that it is a battlefield that is not well understood, with a rushing river on the left and a plain valley on the right, but further east of the valley are the uplifted mountains and hills. With such terrain, the side of the two armies near the river was basically safe. As a result, the hills and forests to the east became the focus of contention, and whoever took the high ground could use the high ground to charge. The distance from the hills to the river bank was just enough for the two armies to put forward a battle line to meet the enemy head-on. The key is who makes the breakthrough first.

This reminded Rhodes of the famous historical diagonal formation, but Caterina didn't seem to intend to do so, and she placed Kislev's ace army, the Marksman, in the front row and let the Griffins protect them. The Northern Coalition forces were located close to the river bank, forming a dense formation to block the enemy's onslaught.

After a brief observation of the terrain of the battlefield, Rhodes rode his horse to his team. Although there were only more than two hundred people, the two hundred and seventy Gnoscan warriors were placed in the first column today. Seeing the combat effectiveness of these northern barbarians, before the battle, Duke Lan Dao deliberately arranged these soldiers to the forefront when arranging tactics. I don't know whether to lift up or eliminate dissent. In short, Rhodes knew about this battle, and his gang of people rushed to the front, vividly interpreting the saying that people are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of being strong......

"Rod!"

"White Bear Lord!"

"Vampire Buster!"

It's just that when Rhodes rode into the position on a war horse, an unexpected picture appeared, many northern soldiers shouted Rhodes' name one after another, and even the soldiers of Iron Ring Fort, Overwatch Fort, and Snow Rock Fort unconsciously shouted loudly, and the sound formed a wave of air, echoing over the entire northern position, as if the entire northern coalition army was fighting for Rhodes.

This embarrassed Rhodes, and to be exact, although the soldiers were enthusiastic, this only aroused the suspicion and resentment of the Ice Queen. The fact that he was rewarded with empty checks for his previous achievements is also a little bit of a meaning.

"Array!"

Commander Lan Dao shouted loudly from behind. He was dressed in a delicate alloy battle armor, holding a blood-red long sword in his hand, and his short white hair trembled in the wind. I only know that the central phalanx kept shouting, roaring, hitting the shield with a long sword, making a commotion sound, and the northern coalition troops on the side did not react. Many people were praying silently, praying that they would not be injured or die in the ensuing battle.

Standing next to the phalanx of Blackhammer Fort are the soldiers of Fort Ring, unlike their lords, this army left by Aubrey when he was alive is in good spirits, they have fought side by side with Rhodes and participated in the defense of Blackhammer Fort , so Rod still has a certain understanding of their combat effectiveness. Cool text

Next to the Ring Castle were the soldiers of Heidelberg. There are not many people, only a few hundred, but they also occupy a place. It's just that poor Lord Varel was forced to the front line this time. Caterina means that at the time of the decisive battle, all the lords must go to the front line to supervise the battle. Although Varel has rarely been on the front lines in his life, this time he has no choice. Like Variel, there was the young lord of the Ring Castle, Dean, who Alves said was in good spirits, dressed in brighter gold armor more delicate than the others, and holding an ornately carved sword in his hand, with a calm face. It's just that Rhodes knows that once the war starts, this guy will definitely not be able to calm down, and it would be good not to hide behind the soldiers' shield and cry for his father and mother.

Rhodes didn't see Caroline, because Caterina had already arranged before the war to draw all the Frost Witches out and form a group of battle mages. Although he didn't know what Caterina was going to do, Rhodes always had a feeling that there would be a big move. Flanking is a common tactic, and if it doesn't work, the Kislev coalition will need a follow-up, and perhaps this group of battlemages will be Caterina's backhand.

"Archer!"

Finally, Rhodes heard the first battle roar. However, it was not the musketeers who came first, but the archers and crossbowmen, and in this era, the longbow and crossbow had a much longer range than the musket. The bow and arrow can fire two rounds before the enemy rushes up, and the musket can only fire one.

The ranged units fired at an elevation angle under the personal command of Grand Duke Landau.

"Launch!"

With a wave of the Grand Duke's right hand, the herald gave the order to shoot all.

The first rain of arrows came from the positions of the allied forces in Kislev, like a storm of locusts, instantly covering the sky above the mercenaries.

However, the Bloody Hand Mercenary Regiment is not a waste, under the unified combat order, the mercenaries raised the large shields in their hands and covered them above their heads, forming a shield barrier against the massive number of arrows. Thousands of arrows fell into enemy positions, but there were no substantial casualties among many soldiers. Only the constant clanging sound of clusters of arrows striking the shield continued.

At the same time, after the first round of arrows shot by the Kislev coalition forces, the soldiers of the mercenary group made a move that surprised everyone, only to see the group of mercenaries in heavy armor draw their large shields and stand in front of them, forming a shield barrier large enough to cover half of their bodies, and at the same time, the mercenary soldiers took out the crossbow machine they wore on their waists.

The heavily-armoured troops wore crossbows, and yet, they did just that! They were the most powerful mercenaries in the northern part of the Empire, and yet, they inherited the tactics of the Tyrell mercenary regiment, which was both a melee heavy armoured unit and a crossbow unit. The half-human-tall shield is not only used for melee parry, but is also suitable for long-range shooting to protect the body.

"Cover!"

Suddenly, Grand Duke Lan Dao shouted loudly.

However, it was still too late, the mercenary group was well-trained, squatting, loading arrows, shooting, all the actions in one go, the range of the crossbow arrow was originally farther than the bow and arrow, and at the same time, the opposite side was a flat shot with a low angle, and the power was even more amazing.

As soon as the warriors of Kislev raised their shields, countless arrows flew from the other side of the battlefield. They are deadly hidden weapons, silent swords, and in an instant, hundreds of Kislev musketeers in the front row of the first line were shot by sharp arrows, fell to the ground and screamed, they were originally the most powerful long-range firepower, shooting the opponent, but the opponent took the lead. Even Rod's team was shot and wounded two people. Even though the Gnosca Marauders raised their shields in advance, two arrows pierced the shield, pinning the Gnoscan warrior's arm to the wooden shield.