Chapter 1469: Chapter 13: Siege (Part 3)_2
Afterward, like a dandelion in a storm, someone in the office wielded a pen with flourish, and he was assigned to the so-called Southern Front. Finally, through a twist of fate, he was chosen by Jansen Cornelius to accompany the Brigadier General to the Kingdom of Galloping Horses.
…
Thinking about his experiences since his second enlistment, Marlo couldn’t help but sigh.
“Compared to this dull war,” he looked at the dead beneath him and thought, “perhaps my experiences are even more interesting.”
He couldn’t help but wonder, “Would soldiers from the old marshal’s era give such nicknames to fortifications?”
“No,” Marlo resolutely shook his head, “in the era of the Sovereign Wars, people would only call this little path the Road of Heroes.”
Where is the problem? Marlo was unwilling to think about it.
Out of a sense of dignity as a United Provincial, he was unwilling to admit he didn’t know why he had come to Kingsfort.
The negative emotions of fighting without knowing the reason spread among the soldiers and lower-ranking officers throughout the army—what the higher-ups think, Chris Marlow did not know.
Marlo didn’t want to think any further, “It’s almost over,” he muttered to himself, “once the patrol is done, we can go back.”
Just as Marlo was pulling himself together, he suddenly caught a faint scent of tobacco.
He turned around to look at the soldier behind him, reproachfully asking, “Did you bring a pipe out here?”
“Pipe?” The musketeer being stared at by the warrant officer looked baffled, “What pipe?”
“Then who is smoking?” Marlo turned his head to look toward the other side of the trench at the main fort, shouting, “Hey! You’re not allowed to light pipes on night posts!”
The stumbling voice of the musketeer sounded behind Marlo, “Warrant officer! The smoke is coming from outside!”
Marlo was shocked, peering out over the slope, only to see the night seemingly having a form, rolling toward him.
The choking smell reminded him that this wasn’t night, but smoke.
“Enemy assault!” Marlo frantically retrieved a whistle from his clothes, blowing it with all his might, “Enemy assault!”
The shrill sound pierced the night sky, and after a brief delay, Jiang’an Battery was suddenly in an uproar, the piercing whistle sounds rang out successively, cries of “enemy assault” resounded, and the awakened United Provinces soldiers grabbed their weapons, stumbling and running to the firing positions.
Upon hearing the commotion coming from the battery, the enemy below the slope no longer concealed themselves.
Marlo only heard a loud shout from outside the embankment: “Everyone—mount up!”
The night was filled with the sound of fabric rustling and metal scraping.
“Charge—” the loud voice called out, “Advance!”
The unfamiliar yet familiar war cries made every United Provincial’s heart tremble:
“Uukhai!
“Uukhai!!
“Uukhai!!!”
The next moment, the thundering sound of hooves pushed the smoke toward the battery.
Marlo realized the gravity of the situation—if a lame human can tread the slope, then a warhorse with sound hooves surely can.
“Retreat quickly!” Marlo turned and shoved the soldiers behind him, “Retreat quickly!”
Deadman’s Path was a circular route, their only hope was to turn back the way they came.
However, the accompanying musketeer was a bit stunned, wide-eyed he kept asking, “Drawbridge? Where’s the drawbridge?”
Marlo broke out in a sweat, “At a time like this, who is supposed to mind the drawbridge for us?!”
Just then, sharp sounds rang out continuously from behind the battery.
With each sound, a red meteor was launched into the sky.
Yet the meteor neither shattered nor vanished, instead, upon reaching the highest point, it slowly descended, emitting a glowing red light like a raging furnace.
“The stars are falling!” the musketeer shouted in terror.
“Why panic?” Marlo shouted angrily, “It’s an illuminating rocket!”
By the light cast by the red star suspended in the air, the embankment in front of the battery was barely illuminated, the net-like smoke had completely wrapped around the battery, beneath the slope many hazy figures could be seen.
Meanwhile, the sounds of hooves had reached the forefront of the trench.
A completely black steed leaped out of the smoke, the cavalry on its back immediately spotted the United Provinces officer on the embankment and the musketeer next to him, whose face was ashen.
He tightened the reins, charging straight toward the two.
Everything happened in a split second, Marlo wanted to move, but his body would not obey, he stared blankly at the Paratu Cavalry charging toward him, his mind a blank.
Seeing the scholarly face of the United Provinces officer, the Paratu Cavalry hesitated momentarily but still gritted his teeth and swung his saber.
As his head separated from his body, Marlo suddenly thought of a line:
“I shed my first drop of blood, in a place unknown.”
Then, the consciousness of the true first victim of the Senas Alliance civil war, named “Chris Marlo,” completely dissipated from this world.
The musketeer accompanying the warrant officer on patrol only blinked, and the previously intact warrant officer was reduced to a headless corpse, collapsing feebly into his embrace.
The spirit of this honest tenant farmer from Mountain Front Territory was already nearing collapse, he screamed, pushing away the warrant officer’s corpse, scrambling and crawling toward the battery, but stumbled into the trench, falling heavily onto the iron brambles and bamboo spikes.
Fortunately, he died quickly.
The soldiers of the United Provinces on the battery finally reacted, taking advantage of the light emitted from the illuminating rockets, they began “bang bang bang,” shooting at the Paratu Cavalry at the fore of the trench.
On the other side, after clearing out the sentries in the embankment, the Paratu Cavalry swiftly withdrew, and the Paratu Infantry carrying long ladders charged onto the embankment shouting.
“Quickly go for reinforcements!” Captain Daili Brand in charge of defending Jiang’an Battery grabbed the messenger by the collar, eyes red, yelling orders, “Quickly go for reinforcements!”