At 15 p.m., the right flank of the army of the principality of Valstad.

Duke Salantos Midknight went to the front line to supervise the battle, standing proudly on the ground only 200 meters from the line of fire.

Coalition shells occasionally whizzed past them, and bloody corpses were constantly being carried away.

The pregnant duchess did not have a trace of timidity, she held a slightly bulging belly, and a pair of sharp silver-gray eyes stared at the front line as tragic as hell on earth.

A grenade exploded at a high altitude not far away, throwing a deadly rain of iron, three more officers and more than a dozen soldiers fell, the duke's tall figure remained majestic, the leader of the country led by example, the officers and soldiers fought to the death, and another attack by the coalition army was disintegrated.

"How brave!" She shouted at the infantry squad beside her.

Taking the risk to boost morale, she wanted her soldiers to feel the presence of the country's masters up close, and to make it more visible, she took off her hat, unfurled her trademark iron-gray hair, and held the Midknight nightowl flag in one hand and brandished her trademark heavy cavalry straight-edged saber in the other.

The Duke's personal oversighting saved the battle, and the right flank, which was on the verge of collapse, was inspired by her to repel wave after wave of onslaught from the coalition forces.

At the end of the ridge a new infantry queue appeared, and this time for the attack, the coalition forces sent several columns of elite grenadier battalions, these tall and strong warriors with rifles and eyes straight ahead, marching steadily in a dense line.

In the face of the attack of elite troops, some of the recruits on the defensive line were timid, and the human instinct to stay away from danger prevailed over courage, and some recruits began to involuntarily move backwards.

A battleinfantry captain yelled at the retreaters: "stand still!" You scum! Damn cowards! Look who's standing on that high ground! If any bastard becomes a deserter, he will betray his own monarch, and whoever takes a step back will admit that he is inferior to a woman! Not as good as pregnant women! Bear the infamy of cowards for the rest of your life. ”

The men of Valstad, who admired the ancient style and had great self-esteem, could not listen to such sarcasm the most, and shame finally triumphed over cowardice, and they gritted their teeth and clenched their flintlock rifles in their hands.

In the ensuing platoon of gunfire and hand-to-hand combat, none of the officers and soldiers in the front row of the line survived, and the enemy's elite grenadier column broke through three lines of horizontal fire, and the Duchy's cannons fired shotguns at the front without distinction, barely repelling the grenadiers.

At this time, the entire front of the right flank of the Principality was on the verge of collapse, and there were few reserve infantry battalions left in the front-line troops, which were no longer enough to fill the gaps left by the dead.

"Your Majesty the Duke, Marshal Simon has sent a reserve, and our fresh army is here!" A corps commander excitedly reported.

"Who sent? We're running out of the middle either. ”

"Your Majesty, Baron Harrington's grenadier division has gone to reinforce the central line of defense, and the reinforcements sent to our right flank are the Peninsula Mercenaries led by Mr. De Rhein, and they have arrived."

"It's worthy of being my teacher, the time for support is just right, please ask Mr. De Rhein to meet me!"

De Rhein was a stocky middle-aged man, the leader of the mercenaries, who wore not a military uniform, but an exaggerated silk tuxedo and gold ornaments, resembling a rural nouveau riche, and when he walked up to the high ground, he was startled by the cannonballs whizzing by him, and hurriedly ducked his head to dodge, and almost fell.

General Neulai, who was beside the duke, glanced contemptuously at the mercenary leader, and said in a disdainful tone:

"Straighten up, mercenary, it's just a cannonball, not a piece of dung."

"! What do you say, you boy who hasn't even grown all the hair? Lao Tzu is the king of mercenaries on this peninsula, and you still eat pacifiers when Lao Tzu fights! ”

Seeing that the two were about to break out into conflict, the duke hurriedly persuaded: "What about your politeness? General Neulai, your family is ancient and noble, and you should pay more attention to the etiquette! This Monsieur de Rhein is my husband's right-hand man, and I hope you will get along with him and speak politely. ”

"Mr. De Rhein, this young man is General Neulai, a brave young man, he is young and vigorous, and he is not very good at talking, please do not take it seriously."

In normal times, the reckless General Neulai would have taken off his gloves and thrown them in the face to ask for a duel, but he admired the new duchess, and when she was a princess, Neulai admired her bravery, and since she personally intervened, there was no reason not to give face.

The two stopped arguing, turned their heads away from each other's gazes, snorted angrily, and ignored each other no more.

De Rhein took off his hat with exaggerated fancy movements, bowed to the Duke, and kissed her hand: "Thank you for speaking for me, Your Majesty the Duke...... With all due respect, your position is too dangerous, and your husband, the Earl of Langford, has told me to protect ......."

The Duke interrupted him impatiently: "He follows the fleet at sea and has no control over me, you are now under my command, Monsieur de Rhein, how many men have you brought?" ”

"Your Majesty, it's an honor to serve you, the Peninsula Mercenary Regiment is fully staffed, we have five thousand quite professional mercenaries, from all over the world, all well-armed, trained in line infantry, and absolutely loyal to their employers."

(Hmph, isn't it because His Majesty's husband is generous?) General Neulai thought, but didn't say it.

The duke said: "Very good, let the mercenaries fill the front of the infantry line, under the command of our officers, let your men be faster, the attack of the coalition army will not wait for anyone." As for you, the mercenary boss, I allow you to retreat to the rear and wait for your orders. ”

"Hey, thank you very much, you're an understanding person! Business is business, and my men will fulfill their contracts to fight, but I will not take the risk myself, so I will take my leave, Your Majesty. ”

Another cannonball swept by, and Mr. de Rhein quickly left the high ground as if he had fled.

The brave General Neule spat at the back of the mercenary leader, and said to himself: (Get out, you coward!) ）

"Your Majesty, you can't rely on mercenaries to hold the line, these guys fight for money, they can't be trusted."

"They're not as bad as you think, don't look at De Rhein like this, he values the spirit of contract, those people are not as good as the regular army, but among the mercenaries, they are definitely the most professional, you see."

I saw that the mercenaries ran to the designated position, skillfully changed from a marching column to a horizontal formation, quickly loaded ammunition and then calmly aimed and fired, and had perfectly integrated into the defensive line.

Even General Neule, who was extremely disgusted with mercenaries, had to admit:

"Not bad, by mercenary standards."