Chapter 237 Silver Hand
"Go! Everyone, go forward! ... Sir Leon, if we continue like this, we will suffer heavy losses..."
Justus did come over, and although he knew there would be heavy losses, he still ordered the guards to hold up their large shields and go forward, which seemed quite sensible.
However, the governor seemed to have little confidence in the battle.
"If we can't hold them off here, then I'm afraid we will just have to keep getting chased... All of our infantry can't escape. If we're chased by the Legion of Terror, then no one will be able to stop the Snake Cult army heading to Boshi City! Didn't you say that the Legion of Terror is in Siyuan City?"
Leon cut off a rotten head, then dragged Justus back a few steps, and waved his hand to let Jocelyn and other well-prepared Free Legion infantrymen go to the front, and then began to ask Justus.
"I also want to know what's going on! The news I got is indeed that His Majesty is fighting the Legion of Terror in Siyuan City... There can't be any curse on Thrindir..."
Justus was also a little confused.
If we fight against such an enemy head-on, the losses will be huge.
These undead spirits have no emotions and cannot communicate with people, so naturally they will not be deceived. Leon and Justus may have a lot of schemes , but after all, most of them can only be used on living people with emotions.
Moreover, the fighting style of the Dread Legion is also different from that of ordinary people. They do not dodge or block at all.
The undead are certainly not afraid of anything, they will attack anyone they can without hesitation.
It is naturally easy to suffer losses in close combat with such enemies. Chopping at the broken bodies of these undead will not reduce their combat effectiveness, but being hit by their sword may very likely cost you your life.
Of course, not being afraid of anything is not necessarily a good thing - when facing a fatal blow, they will not dodge, but continue to fight back by waving their strange flame-shaped swords.
Although this seems like an example of courage and bravery, it also results in the Python Knight's head being chopped off very quickly.
Fortunately, most of the imperial guards under Justus can be described as brave and fierce soldiers.
Perhaps they did not have the ability to fight these python knights in single combat, but after they held up their large shields, they did hold back the advance of the Legion of Terror.
Those python knights were unable to charge, and most of them were blocked by chest-deep sea water - the ordinary guards tried their best to hold on to their horses.
Although those underworld horses looked quite powerful, no matter how strong they were, they could not charge through the wet mud and sand under the waves; their hooves would sink as soon as they exerted force.
As long as those terrible horses cannot exert their impact, these python knights will not appear too powerful. At least the lances mounted on the horses will be useless.
The soldiers of the Free Corps also rushed forward, forming a full-scale close combat, and the two sides formed a curved coastline along the beach where the waves were surging.
In such a close combat, neither side could use any long-range attacks, which also prevented the python knights of the Dread Legion from using their javelins.
However, most of the Free Legion soldiers used short weapons, such as the Imperial Broadsword - most of their equipment were spoils of war obtained from the Bacchus Empire when they revolted.
It is indeed disadvantageous to use short weapons against these python knights - the weapons are limited in length, so the attack must be launched very close, which will also give the python knights a chance to counterattack.
Judging from the fighting style of these undead, using short weapons is basically equivalent to exchanging your life for a skull.
This is only if you are good enough and can chop accurately enough...
Only someone with skills comparable to that of the lord can kill the opponent while avoiding the counterattack of the Python Knight.
If the number of enemies is small, there is nothing wrong in fighting to the end.
But the problem is that the number of Python Knights here is no less than that of the Free Legion...
If there were more warriors holding broadswords and halberds, the situation would definitely improve greatly. The saying "an inch longer is an inch stronger" is particularly evident at times like this.
But there were only a few hundred gladiators, and half of them were already dead or injured.
"Brothers, hold on!" "Don't retreat! You will die if you retreat!"
Sigismund and Jocelyn had been trying their best to boost morale at the front of the battle, and two soldiers had already turned around and ran back.
In a battle like this, there will always be deserters.
But if someone turned around and ran away at this time, the friendly forces who were fighting alongside him would most likely be killed in battle.
Moreover, if we don’t push the enemy into the water, the entire army might be wiped out!
"Bang!"
Amy set up her musket on the beach, and after one shot, a rotten head shattered.
She finally managed to light the fuse in the strong wind, and two female soldiers stood by to help her block the wind that would have blown away the medicine pool.
It was a hasty but accurate shot, just enough to kill the Python Knight who had been left without a soldier due to desertion.
"Governor, go and supervise the battle... Military order! No retreat! Those who disobey the order will be killed!"
Leon gritted his teeth and pushed Justus, pushing him behind the line. He knew that the governor was not very skilled.
He himself took a greatsword from a fallen gladiator, cut off the head of another deserter, and then stepped forward to fill the gap left by the soldier's escape.
Some tough battles must be fought. Although Leon has been pursuing smaller casualties, he is willing to fight hard when he has no other options.
Just like when he once fought against two hundred Gato cavalry with only a few dozen soldiers in Fletcher Village.
"Don't retreat! Those who retreat will die!"
Justus stood beside Wendy and shouted along with the Noldor Guard.
The Noldor laid aside their bows and with swords and shields they attacked those who had turned and fled, leaving their comrades behind.
Several soldiers who turned to flee were hacked to death by the Noldor, and then several Noldor rangers, like Leon before, stepped forward to fill the gap.
The other two imperial guards dropped their shields and retreated in panic, but were beheaded by Justus with one sword each.
Wendy led her men forward to fill the position.
"Don't retreat! Win this battle! Kill them all, and I will make you all knights!"
The Lord roared loudly.
"ha!!"
I don’t know whether it was because the supervision team was intimidating enough, or because the lord’s promise was attractive enough, but no one escaped for a while.
The losses gradually became greater, and the Noldor elves who were originally at the back all rushed to the front to fill the vacancies.
The supervisory team has been replaced by Amy and her female soldiers - only half of the female soldiers are still behind, and those with better skills have gone up to fill the gaps.
The Legion of Terror is arranged very densely. It is useless for others to fill in when there is no gap, and those who are not strong enough will become a hindrance.
"Leon ... Your Majesty... It really looks like..."
Justus let out a long breath, muttered something, frowned and looked around, he seemed to hear some sound.
"Bang!"
On the beach continued to demonstrate her shooting skills that had been kissed by the goddess - she once again accurately hit the head of a python knight, the lead bullet directly penetrated the helmet and smashed the skull-like skull into pieces.
This was the fifth enemy Amy had shot in the head with her musket in five minutes.
Justus glanced at Amy and was about to turn around, but then he looked back behind Amy.
"What is that?"
He saw some tall figures in the distance behind him!
The light was not good at dawn and it was difficult to see clearly. Those figures were obviously much taller and stronger than ordinary people, and seemed to be approaching rapidly!
"Ladies, prepare to fight to the death..."
Amy glanced back and gave the order with a sullen face.
The remaining two hundred female soldiers turned around and prepared to meet the enemy.
But then Amy rubbed her eyes, with a hint of surprise on her face: "Wait... Klose? They are our own people! Make way for them! Reinforcements are coming!"
After saying that, she jumped on her horse and headed towards those tall figures.
"It's Miss Amy... I said she looked like her. Only she would use a musket stand like that!"
Klose drew his greatsword and shouted, "Brothers, charge!"
Amy stopped her horse at the coast and saw a group of Mettenheim people led by Klose speeding up.
She knew that Klose and the others must have seen her.
Amy said nothing more and pointed directly at the battlefield by the sea.
"Chains? Put on these chains!"
When running past the iron stakes on the shore, Klose stopped, reached out and dragged an iron chain from the ground, and then continued to rush towards the battlefield.
The group of Mettenheim people dragged long iron chains towards the battlefield where fighting was taking place, causing a series of harsh iron ring friction sounds.
Those were chains originally used to bind slaves. They were originally connected to the iron stakes on the beach, but now they are all rusted, and most of the locks that were originally connected to the iron stakes have rusted off.
But thanks to the reputation of this "cursed place", the chains that broke and fell on the beach have not been stolen for so many years, and each chain still has a thick iron collar.
This collar is a lock formed by two half rings, and it looks quite sturdy - to be honest, the equipment used by slave owners to restrain their slaves is stronger than most military equipment...
"Ha! Klose! You're back just in time! Chop these green heads off!"
Hearing the familiar voice, the lord shouted in surprise. This was exactly the time when he needed a greatswordsman the most!
"Yes, sir!"
Klose ran with big strides, creating huge waves in the water: "Those in front! Tie them up with chains!"
He rushed into the front of the formation, swung the chain in his hand like a meteor hammer, and then threw it directly at the faces of the python knights.
The Python Knights were all on horses and were much taller than the Free Legion soldiers, which was a huge win.
Almost all the heads hit by Klose's chain were shattered with one blow!
Everyone was surprised to find that the heads of these undead were so fragile!
The neck that has been decayed for hundreds of years is not strong and the joints are very fragile!
When dealing with an old corpse like this, the effect of hitting it with a heavy object is obviously far greater than chopping it with a sharp blade!
And this is not the greatest achievement of these chains.
Many chains were broken during the beating, and the gladiators of the Free Legion quickly grabbed half of the chains from the enemies.
They quickly took inspiration from the way the Mettenheimers used chains.
These thick iron chains had many more uses in the hands of gladiators.
Gladiators used to live with these chains every day. They were very familiar with them, and chains were auxiliary weapons they often used in the arena.
Even if they are not tall enough to swing in the water and cannot directly hurt the enemy, they can at least lock the enemy's arms or weapons.
If all else fails, you can use iron chains to wrap around the enemy's horse's legs.
At the same time, three hundred Mettenheim two-handed swords joined the battlefield.
Klose brought back a lot of tough guys!
This is a coastal environment that the people of Mettenheim are very familiar with - their hometown is also this kind of coastal area, and even the climate is similar.
They also often fought with the Barclay Empire in the same way on this kind of coast - in order to prevent the Barclay people's muskets from reaching the shore and exerting their power, to block the enemy in the process of landing, and to prevent the Barclay people from leaving the sea and waves. This was the normal way for the Mettenheim people to fight.
Iron chains were also their weapon against the Barkley people...
Now, this group of new forces has quickly joined the battle in the way they are best at, and has become the biggest help in fighting the Legion of Terror.
The battlefield finally tilted towards intelligent life.
The strong wind gradually died down.
When Klose swung his sword and chopped down the last python knight, the first ray of sunlight appeared on the other side of the horizon.
The wet soldiers on the coast could finally turn around and face the rising sun in the east.
The sunlight reflected on the soldiers' raised weapons, and amid the tsunami-like cheers, it emitted waves of dazzling silver light.
Just as everyone's hands and swords are made of silver.
"I plan to form an order of knights... brothers."
Leon's voice was not excited. He calmly looked at the soldiers' raised weapons and the dazzling silver light: "You are the first troop to defeat the Legion of Terror... You are qualified to become true knights! All of you!"
“Hooha!!”
The silver light began to tremble with the cheers.
"My Lord, what is the name of your order of knights?"
Sigismund asked.
He was always at the forefront, and he was only wearing the close-fitting leather armor he wore when on night patrol. There were four or five bloody scars on his body, but it made his muscular body look more heroic.
Sarah had been watching him from afar on the shore.
"It's not my Knights Order, it's our Knights Order! It's called... 'Silver Hand'! This is what you look like now! Remember the light you hold in your hands today! Never retreat in the face of evil is the highest creed of the Silver Hand! If you still dare to face such evil after what you have experienced today, then go to Klose and swear an oath! He is the first Knight Commander of the Silver Hand!"
"ha!!!"
For this victory, the Free Legion suffered 500 casualties, 400 of Justus's Imperial Guards fell into the sea, and even the best Noldor Rangers lost more than 30 of them.
The total loss was over a thousand people. Many times when two countries fought, there were not such heavy casualties.
It is indeed appropriate to establish a knightly order to commemorate this battle.
After seeing the Legion of Terror, every warrior knew very well that death was not the most terrible thing, but becoming a puppet like the Python Knights of the Legion of Terror after death was too terrible!
This is more miserable than being a slave. Now they can understand why Leon traveled all the way to Bacchus to deal with the Snake Cult.
Creating the Red Death killed countless people, driving those civilian believers who had never received any training to their deaths, and turning brave warriors into an army of undead... Everything the Snake Cult did was simply against all of humanity!
Even the slaves in the Free Corps, who had suffered a lot, could now deeply understand that this was far more evil than those slave owners.
Even Justus expressed his willingness to help the order gain recognition in the Valide Charter.
But the lord didn't care about the charter at all... He knew that the Valides Charter would never recognize a knightly order composed of a group of civilians.
He took the opportunity to establish the 'Silver Hand' at this time, but it was not for the purpose of regularizing the troops.
"The belief of the Silver Hand is to protect this land! To eliminate the evil on this land, so that brave warriors will no longer become undead monsters! To stop those evil deeds against humanity!"
He wanted to eliminate Sigismund's previous influence - to change the Free Corps' position from 'fighting the entire continent' to 'protecting the entire continent'!
At the same time, provide his direct troops with a direct channel for promotion.
As for the Valides Charter - when the Silver Hand becomes strong enough, the Charter will open its legs and strike the most suitable posture.
"Klose, when did you come back ?"
While others were cleaning up the battlefield, Li Ang began to reminisce with his old subordinates.
"In fact, we have already returned in September... You said that we should return to Maixiangling at the end of September..."
In fact, Klose did return a long time ago.
After bringing back a large number of seeds for the country, Frederick was appointed a foreign minister, and Klose became a hero in his hometown.
In other words, the emerging county of Mettenheim did not have a traditional knight class, otherwise Klose would definitely be called a knight from then on, even though he was not loyal to Count Mettenheim.
Dean, Cleon's son, who went with them, became a guest of Count Guderian and even served as Mettenheim's Minister of Agriculture as a Bacchus - it is estimated that Dean will not return home for a while.
Under Dean's guidance, the people of Mettenheim replanted a crop of crops in the summer, and everything went well.
The only small problem is that Klose also encountered the invasion of snake worship in his hometown.
However, the Snake Cult has little . The Mettenheim people's belief in the Iron God is relatively stable, there is not much internal oppression, and the country is extremely united because of Barkley, a huge foreign enemy.
In fact, Snake Worship could not develop in Buckley - Buckley was undergoing a technological revolution and there were many educated people, so the cult's deception would hardly work.
Therefore, only two fleets of the Snake Cult went to Mettenheim. This was probably a snap decision made by the Snake Cult's Priest Council, and it was an armed invasion.
But Mettenheim has ironclad ships... Even the extremely advanced warships of the Barclay Empire can't attack Mettenheim, let alone the backward ships of the Snake Cult that were two hundred years old...
"Huh? You brought an ironclad ship? Isn't it said that ironclad ships can't sail long distances?"
