"Bang!"

In the barracks on the west side of Pinghu Town, Nelson slapped on the oak table, stood up and shouted: "The infantry phalanx is both offensive and defensive, like a bladed iron wall, I have seen with my own eyes that the fish people are killed and wounded in front of it, how can such an excellent battle formation be useless?!"

"My lord, I can't make any sense. In my opinion, no matter what kind of tactic, as long as it works! If our War Bear Mercenary Regiment had mastered the spear phalanx in the first place, my left hand would not have been gnawed off by the gnolls. A disabled old mercenary put his left arm with an iron hook on the table, and the one-eyed dragon Gru said: "Old man Kent is right, when we encounter a large number of jackals, we will also form a formation to protect ourselves, but our tortoiseshell formation can defend but not attack, if we have a spear phalanx, we can fight a beautiful counterattack, or retreat while fighting, the gnolls will never dare to catch up!"

"My lord, the York family has not lined up spear formations, how can you conclude that this kind of battle formation is useless?"

Gru's questioning resonated with the attendees, who echoed it, and there was an uproar in the barracks conference room.

Ten days earlier, Nicole had pointed out the inadequacy of the infantry phalanx, and Victor had begun to consult her in the hope of finding a solution to the problem. However, Victor is unaware of the existing lord's military system, and Nicole also does not know what the Grand Legion is, so she cannot help Victor refine the strategic concept of the Grand Legion, and can only teach the military knowledge of the York family to her lover. When Victor returned to Pinghu Town, he immediately summoned the backbone of the War Bear mercenaries and held a closed-door meeting on the strategy of the Grand Army.

The Grand Army strategy and infantry phalanx were proposed by Victor and then perfected and implemented by the War Bear mercenaries. The War Bear mercenaries have put a lot of effort into the infantry phalanx, and if Victor gives up the infantry phalanx, it is tantamount to negating their efforts, and the War Bear mercenaries will not be able to accept such an outcome anyway.

Despite their annoyance, the War Bear mercenaries were unable to offer constructive advice. Victor sat at the head of the long conference table and said nothing, just watched coldly. Instructor Barrett coughed and said, "Lady Nicole is qualified to judge the merits of the infantry phalanx, she participated in the Battle of Ant-Man in Blackcastle. Have you forgotten the military formation set up by the York family? The York family not only had an army formation, but also annihilated nearly 40,000 Ant-Man!"

The venue suddenly fell silent, and it was still unknown whether the infantry phalanx could wipe out the Ant-Man army, but the York family's military formation had wiped out more than 30,000 Ant-Man. The War Bear mercenaries had nothing to say.

Victor looked around for a moment and smiled, "Nicole and I talked about that battle. When the York family annihilated Ant-Man's main force, Nelson and I stayed behind in Randall's territory, and unfortunately, we were not able to participate in the battle. ”

"Some of you have experienced Ant-Man firsthand, and some of you haven't. Barrett, tell me a little bit more about the course of the campaign. ”

"Yes, sir. Barry nodded, recalled for a while, and said in a deep voice: "Two years ago, during the Windy Season, the York family began to mobilize all the forces of Black Castle Town and prepare to fight Ant-Man to the death! ”

"If I'm not mistaken, the York family is responsible for the reorganization, and our commander is the chief of the village of Bill......"

The one-eyed dragon Gru took over and shouted, "That's right, it's the village chief Bill, that old guy is 61 years old, his hair is half white, his body is stronger than mine, he used to work in the Fangs Legion, he is a great old soldier. I will always remember him......"

Barrett glanced at Gru and continued, "To boost our morale, Chief Bill introduced us to the Yorks' military might. The House of York will send a Golden Knight, 13 Grand Knights, 42 Knights, 364 Cadet Knights, 2,900 YORK Fangs, 500 Nimes Raging Lion Legionmen, 3,300 General Guards, and 13,700 York Militia. The Church sent 2 archbishops, 6 adjudicating warriors, 102 priests, more than 1,500 paladins, and 6,300 of our improvised militiamen. ”

"A total of 420 knights, more than 1,500 paladins, 102 priests, 6,700 elite soldiers, and 18,000 militiamen. ”

"We started the drill a month before the decisive battle, and the 18,000 militia were divided into 72 combat squads of 250 men each, and the York family militia was 125 people, who wore chain mail, carried hard bows, and carried shields and one-handed halberds, and were in the front row. We, the militiamen, wore leather armor, were armed with stiff bows, 30 feathered arrows, and held 4-meter spears, standing in the back row. Chief Bill and his 10 deputies were in charge of directing us. ”

"There are two types of elite soldiers, one is the hoplite, who wears scale armor and carries a shield and a one-handed halberd. There were 3,100 hoplites, who fought in tandem with the knights. ”

"The other is the swordsman assault battalion, they are dressed in leather armor and armed with decapitating greatswords, a total of 3,600 people, divided into 18 battalions, each battalion has 200 swordsmen, 20 shield-wielding paladins and 4 probationary knights, each battalion has a knight commander. Barrett paused and said to Victor, "Lord Bruce has led a battalion of swordsmen...... Two of his four knights were killed. ”

Victor nodded silently, Bruce's servant knights had once wiped out the gnolls side by side with the War Bear mercenaries, and their sacrifice was embarrassing.

"Because we're going to be close to Ant-Man, we can't attack with fire. The decisive battle was set for a rainy day, and the battlefield was located on the periphery of the Castle Blackford Guard. On that day, we braved the heavy rain, set up our formation, and waited for the cavalry of the York family to lead the main force of Ant-Man in batches. Barrett continued: "The first colony was about 20,000 or so, and these monsters stopped when they saw our formation! We had to line up and advance slowly. When the Ant-Man army saw us moving, they began to charge!" Speaking of this, Barrett said to Victor: "My lord, do you dare to believe it? Ant-Man is on all fours, and the charging speed is not inferior to that of war horses, in the face of the surging ant tide, we did not panic, and the army formation stopped when it said stop!"

"That's the case, there's no need to question it!" Victor said.

Barrett shook her head and sighed, "That's right, that's exactly what happened. As soon as the trumpet of the House of York sounded, the chief of the village of Bill and his lieutenants immediately issued an order for us to draw our bows and arrows and wait for instructions to come closer. The priest blessed knights, hoplites, and paladins with divine magic, and hoplites and paladins began to take berserk potions. ”

"When the advance of the Ant-Man army was still 800 meters away from us, eighty trebuchets took the lead. More than a hundred pounds of stone bombs bombarded the middle of the ant tide, and many of the ant-men were smashed into flesh, but these monsters did not know what fear was and what pain was, and they continued to charge. The trebuchet only had two rounds before the ant tide rushed into range of the hard bow. ”

The one-eyed dragon Gru interjected, "Hehe, as soon as the horn sounded, the village chief Bill ordered us to release arrows, and I will never forget the scene of more than 10,000 militiamen shooting arrows at the same time, the arrows are denser than raindrops, and the ant-men in the front row have fallen to the ground with arrows, and they are trampled into slag by the same kind behind them, and the whole ground is green......"

"Shut up!" Barriet reprimanded Gru and added, "My lord, although the order to shoot was given, due to the angle and position, the commander of many militia squads did not let his men release the arrows, and Ant-Man's losses were not as great as expected. The carapaces of these monsters were originally relatively strong, and as long as they were not hit, they could continue to move. In fact, the ant-men in the front row act as shields for their kind, rushing forward for some distance even if they are covered in arrows. ”

"Trebuchets and bows can only be used as warm-ups, and the real battle begins with a knight's charge. ”

"When Ant-Man was less than two hundred meters away from the army, the knights of the House of York led 3,000 hoplites and 1,000 paladins to charge. They lined up in a sharp formation, like hot knives cutting cream, and cut diagonally into the ant tide. The Ant-Man army was torn open in an instant, and the green mist filled the area where the knight passed, and I couldn't see the details clearly, but the ant-man army was quickly split into two pieces. ”

At that moment, the ant-men in front gave up their charge, and they turned back to fight back. The Ant-Men in the rear took cover as they tried to overwhelm the warriors. It has to be said that the wisdom of the leaders of Ant-Man should not be underestimated, but their opponents are the elite led by knights, and the bodies of those warriors shine with the divine light of the Supreme Lord. The knight's fighting spirit and the light of the paladin complemented each other, and the hoplites fought bravely to kill the enemy, and they stubbornly blocked Ant-Man's counterattack. I also noticed that the ant-people in the back were falling into chaos one by one, and began to kill each other. Presumably the Golden Knight of the House of York is sniping at the leader of the ant colony. ”

Barrett said in awe, "I can't see the figure of that lord clearly, but his power is on display on the battlefield!"

With his fists clenched and his eyes furious, Nelson longs to be clasped in heavy armor and armed with a sharp axe to fight alongside the knights of the House of York, galloping through the Ant-Man army. Iron and blood are the romance of warriors, and Victor has heard Nicole describe the process of the battle, but at the moment he is still fascinated and enthusiastic, and he can't help but be impressed by Sylvia's invincible demeanor in killing the silver ant-man in the ant tide. It has nothing to do with status, no gender, no personal feelings, it is purely a yearning for strength and courage.

Barrett took a breath and continued, "We didn't expect the ant-man front to stop charging, but the commander of the military formation quickly gave the order, the militia squad moved forward steadily, and the swordsman battalion was blessed with magic and berserk potions, and they burst into the ant tide like nails. Speaking of this, Barrett was silent for a long time, and said solemnly: "The light infantry of the swordsman battalion are real warriors, they wield a 1.5-meter-long giant sword to kill Ant-Man as if it were devastating, but the monster of Ant-Man is not afraid of life and death, the swordsman battalion advances quickly, and the casualties are heavy, but they always maintain high morale, move forward bravely, and never retreat." Of course, there are reasons for this magic and potions, but the most important thing is that their lord and colleagues are surrounded by the army of Ant-Man and are in urgent need of support, so they give up their defenses and pursue maximum lethality and speed, and they will strangle the enemy and aid their comrades at the cost of their lives!"

"At this time, our militia squads also took the enemy. Barrett said, "Each militia squad is lined up in two columns, with the shieldmen in front and the spearmen in the back, and we just have to fight hard to get the Ant-Man under the cover of the shieldmen."

Nelson frowned and asked, "Isn't this exactly the same as our spear formation?"

"Like! but different. Barrett thought for a moment and said: "The militia is divided into 72 squads, each team has two platoons, each platoon has a commander, the commander of the back row obeys the commander of the front row, and there are 10 deputies under each commander. The most important thing is that everyone in the militia squad is fighting, and the back row of the spear phalanx has little contact with the enemy. ”

"The trebuchets continued to bombard the rear of Ant-Man, the swordsman battalion fought in the ant colony, the hoplites held the middle line, our militia squad and the paladin fought against the ant-man colony in the front, and when we joined up with the paladin, more than 10,000 ant-men in the front were annihilated. ”

"The battalion of swordsmen and paladins, who suffered the greatest casualties, broke away from the battle and regrouped, and our militia squad hurled the colony with hard bows behind the knights and hoplites until they ran out of arrows. After the swordsman battalion and paladins were reorganized, the high-ranking knights of the York family began to attack the rear of Ant-Man, followed by the swordsman battalion and paladins, followed by hoplites, and our militia squad still maintained their formation and moved forward. ”

"By the time the scattered ant colonies arrived on the battlefield, the main force of 20,000 ant-men had been lost. The battles in the back are all more and less, and there is no suspense. ”

"In the whole battle, the swordsman battalion and the holy warriors suffered the most casualties, almost more than a thousand people died on the spot, everyone was bloodied, and all of them were wounded. I later learned that the two sons of the village chief Bill were also lightly armed swordsmen, and they both died heroically. Barrett shook her head and sighed.

Victor nodded secretly, Instructor Barrett was thin and weak, and his martial arts skills were average, but he was level-headed and sharp-eyed, and he had been the combat commander of the War Bear Mercenary Regiment. He was able to observe the situation of the enemy and the enemy on the chaotic battlefield, which showed that he already possessed the basic qualities of an army commander.

Victor smiled and asked, "Barrett, can you comment on this battle?" ”

Barrett bowed, hesitated for a moment, and said, "My lord, this is my first time participating in a large-scale battle, and there are many things I can't understand. If you were to ask me how I felt, I could only describe the battle in one word, and that would be 'fast'!"

"The power of knights and magic was unleashed throughout the battle, and the high-ranking knights of the House of York burst into the enemy line, each of them slashing several Ant-Men to death, quickly opening a gap for hoplites and paladins to split the colony in two. The lightly armed swordsmen then launched a surprise attack, which made the front row of Ant-Man unbearable, while our militia squad advanced in layers, reaping Ant-Man's lives like wheat. Everyone on the battlefield is taking on the enemy, everyone is exerting their strength, even me, a useless old fellow, has stabbed an Ant-Man to death......"

"I've stabbed three to death!" shouted Gru. Barrett glared at him fiercely and said, "The soldiers of the York family are determined and brave, and in only a quarter of an hour, the ant-man in front is finished, and the main force of the ant colony is completely wiped out after three quarters of an hour. ”

Barrett lowered his eyelids and whispered, "My lord, the soldiers of the York family have no one to supervise the battle. They don't have to worry about the knife behind them......"

Victor was silent for a while, and said lightly: "I know, continue." ”

"My lord, I don't understand how the commander of the House of York coordinates the various squads to fight? Barrett looked confused, and Victor sighed, "That's why it's fast! After a long time, they may lose." ”

"Why?" asked Nelson, blankly.

Victor said lightly: "Because, there will be no command when you hit the back." ”

"How is this possible?!The whole battle was orderly. Barrett shouted in shock.

"It can't be said that there is no command, there is a cavalry reserve behind you. Victor smiled and said, "But who can command the high knights?"

Nelson suddenly realized, he slapped his thigh and shouted, "That's right! If the adults themselves participate in the battle, who is qualified to command the adults!"

Victor smiled and said, "The Yorks use wolf pack tactics, which is also the military philosophy pursued by the lords. ”

"The knight is the wolf king, and he is responsible for tearing the enemy army open. The hoplites are the iron guards of the wolf king, responsible for protecting the wolf king and dividing the enemy formation. The Swordsman Assault Battalion is the backbone of the wolf pack and is responsible for breaking up enemy resistance. And the militia squad is the most common member of the wolf pack, responsible for destroying the remnants of the enemy and supporting the assault battalion. As for the mercenary group......"

Nelson and Barrett looked at each other and laughed, "We're wolves." ”

Victor nodded and continued, "The wolves cooperate in hunting by instinct, and there is no need to command. In order to do this, the army of the lord family often practiced different tactical combinations against different opponents, tactics against goblins, against gnolls, against ogres, against centaurs, and against rival families. ”

"The Battle of Ant-Man in Blackcastle, the York family is exactly based on the tactics used against centaurs. Lure the enemy deep, with your back to the castle, and fight quickly, if you can't fight, you will annihilate the enemy, and if you can't fight, you will retreat to the castle. However, because of racial differences and logistical supply limitations, our human army will not easily engage in large-scale field battles with centaurs......" Speaking of this, Victor asked: "Barrett, I will give you 40,000 soldiers, line up in our infantry phalanx, can you defeat 40,000 Ant-Man?"

Barrett thought for a moment, stood up and said, "My lord, I can't win. ”

"First of all, the larger the infantry phalanx, the more bloated it became, and the movement speed was slow, and there was no way to cooperate with the knights and paladins. Without the protection of the knights, those Ant-Man leaders could easily tear apart the infantry phalanx, and the soldiers did not even have a chance to retreat to the castle. ”

"Secondly, the infantry phalanx did not attach importance to individual force, and the effects of magic and berserk potions were minimized. Longbowmen can destroy up to 10,000 Ant-Men, and shieldmen and spearmen must engage the enemy. Ant-Man impacted the shield array, their corpses would be hung on the spears, the spearmen in the front row couldn't lift the 7-meter spear at all, and the spearmen in the back row were almost an ornament, and the ant-men stepped on the corpses of their own kind and directly broke through the phalanx. The spearmen and longbowmen in the back row had no melee capabilities, and the dense formation made it impossible for them to dodge. ”

"It's going to be a one-sided slaughter!"

Barrett said respectfully. "My lord, I have always believed that large phalanxes have no actual combat value, and small phalanxes meet our needs. ”

"That's right. Victor shook his head and sighed in his heart: This is not the earth after all.

"Then can you command more than a hundred squads to fight together at the same time?"

"How is this possible? I don't have much knowledge, but I don't think anyone can do that!"

"Therefore, the wolf pack tactics are a great test of the members' will to fight and tactical cooperation. It is impossible to do this by training alone!" Victor knocked on the table and said slowly, "The fundamental reason lies in the obedience system!"

"Or rather, the adopted son system!"