While Bernard was anxiously waiting for the results of the artillery positions on the hills, the outcome of the victory was already decided on the central battlefield right in front of him.

As time goes by, the Grenadier Regiment led by Fabian has successfully broken through the second line of defense of the Imperial Line; and with the addition of the Second and Third Infantry Regiments, the four regiments in his hands now have the only strength

The advantage is also gradually lost, and it begins to show a trend of losing ground.

In order to guard against the "oblique attack tactics" that Clovis's army was best at, Bernard specially lined up his troops and left three lines of defense in an attempt to rely on the outdated "three-line formation" to fortify layer by layer.

The effect of preventing the enemy from breaking through.

The problem is that both sides are armed with muskets instead of swords, shields and spears. The direct consequence of increasing the thickness of the queue and reducing its width is to limit the projection of firepower. For the imperial army with superior strength, it is equivalent to cutting off its hands and feet, allowing the vanguard of the Storm Division to attack the defense line every time.

As long as you are fighting an enemy with a similar number of people, you don't have to worry about your flanks at all.

Coupled with the heavy fog that limited the field of vision of both sides, the wings and headquarters of both sides became completely blind. They could only fight based on memory and instinct. Long-distance firepower projection was completely impossible, and the flexible firepower coverage of the Imperial Cavalry Cannon was abolished.

Bernard also sent the most flexible cavalry to guard against the reinforcements from Sailing City...

The grenadiers and skirmishers of the Storm Division, which could only be described as ordinary, have become the most flexible combat units on the battlefield with the strongest firepower - once again reflecting the nature of war not to strive for strength but to destroy.

Although the Imperial Knights are still using various methods to assemble the soldiers around them and do their best to maintain the front; but these warriors with no experience and little training, in front of the Storm Division who have completed the transformation from cannon fodder to regular army, rely solely on

They themselves can't take any advantage at all.

Bernard and the Imperial Knights who were behind the front could even feel that the front was approaching them at a speed visible to the naked eye.

When the battle was fierce, the Grenadier Regiment's line was even less than 500 meters away from Bernard, and stray bullets on the battlefield shuttled back and forth in the thick fog.

Facing the decline of the battle line, what Bernard could do was to send out the few guards around him to fill the vacancies on the battle line, allowing them to play the role of sergeants and block the Storm Division's continuous attacks.

At the same time, he sent messengers to the east to recall the Seventh Line Regiment and a company of hussars responsible for guarding against Confederate reinforcements, intending to attack the right wing of the Storm Division.

But with the thick fog blocking his vision, he couldn't even judge how much effect it could achieve; even if it succeeded, it would only be a drop in the bucket and would not pose a real threat to the Stormtroopers whose morale was high.

"The key to victory or defeat is the hills and highlands, that highland!"

Looking at the shadowy ridges on the plain in the distance, Bernard gritted his teeth with a tense face and said: "Only by taking the high ground can we completely reverse the situation of the entire battle and break Anson Bach's backbone in one breath!"

"This is the key to victory or defeat - only a quick victory can prevent the imperial army from wasting too much power on the Clovis people and making the damn traitors in Sailing City have more ambitions."

"Emal... I have given you two elite line regiments, how long are you going to wait?!"

……………………

"What's going on?!"

On the hilly position, the ferocious-looking Sir Amar grabbed the collar of the adjutant beside him and growled viciously: "What do you mean there is no propellant? Tell me again!"

"It is true that there is no propellant, sir! We have gone through the entire position from beginning to end. Not to mention the propellant, the escaping enemies did not even leave a powder keg, and the warehouse is so clean that there are no mice.

!”

The subordinates who were so frightened that their legs were weak had a mournful face, and their moist eyes were full of despair: "It's useless even if there are any, the breechblocks of all the artillery on the position have been nailed, not even a single one is left!"

"Not a single door left?!"

"No! Moreover, even the artillery carriages and forts below have been damaged. Even if we can find a way to repair it or force the cannon to fire, God knows where the artillery shells will fly, and no one dares to touch them - what if the flying shells are not artillery shells?

But it’s the barrel!”

"..."

Amal, who was left speechless, let go of the adjutant who was already crying in his voice, and looked up at the golden fleur-de-lis flag flying above his head, his eyes full of helplessness.

Yes, he did successfully capture the artillery position on the hill and gained the commanding heights in the center of the entire battlefield; but before he could start to feel happy, a new trouble came one after another.

What exactly should be done to deliver this good news to Sir Bernard Morwes on the opposite side?

Raising the flag... He has already done this, but the heavy fog and the obstruction of the battlefield mean that unless Sir Bernard has clairvoyance that can penetrate the fog, it will not make much sense.

The sound of artillery...it was obvious that the enemy had thought of what was ahead of him. Not only did he destroy all the artillery on the position, he also emptied the arsenal, leaving the two advancing line regiments without any supplies.

This also eliminates the possibility of them using artillery positions to attack the Storm Division, but Sir Amar cannot consider this now.

But if you think this is all, you would be underestimating someone who has a thorough plan.

"...All the trenches on the position have been damaged to varying degrees. The shelters were dug out directly, and the connections between the communication trenches were filled up to form trenches at both ends. There are broken glass shards and rusty iron nails under the wooden boards on the ground.

, many soldiers were injured during the attack..."

"...The supply box is empty, but the medicine box contains a mesh bag with more than a dozen cans, as well as apple and peach flavored ones, but I think those things may be of no use to the wounded soldiers..."

"...The low walls on both sides of the fort have been destroyed. It seems that they were blown down. If the enemy plans to counterattack again, those defensive facilities may not have any effect..."

As the adjutant continued to report pieces of information that made people's blood pressure soar, Sir Amal's blood gradually turned red, veins on his forehead and temples were exposed, and he was unable to speak even a single sentence.

Amal knew very well that the reason why Lord Bernard sent him to perform this important task was that in addition to his age and rich experience, the more important thing was that he was loyal enough.

After all, a bachelor knight in his early sixties is unlikely to have any ambitions other than making a living; all his thoughts are on how to carry out orders while ensuring his own safety as much as possible.

Bernard's order to him was to capture and hold the hilly highlands. It did not mention that he must assist the attacking troops below to encircle and suppress the Clovis people, or block reinforcements from the direction of Sail City. Emaar simply just

He gave up these unrealistic thoughts and focused on how to inform Bernard of the battle report.

Age is often a double-edged sword for a commander; young people may be energetic but often fail to take into account all aspects, while older people are thoughtful but tend to fail to keep up with the times, and they tend to be somewhat forgetful as they get older.

As the oldest man in the imperial army, Emaar, just like the blind one, habitually issued an order that seemed to him without any problems when surrounded by inertia:

"Send a messenger to tell Lord Bernard Morwes the good news that we have captured the hills and highlands!"

……………………

North of the hills, Storm Division headquarters.

"Commander Joseph sent someone to convey the news that the hilly highlands have been lost, and more than a thousand imperial line soldiers have occupied the artillery positions." Looking at the battle situation in the central battlefield in the distance, Carl, who ran over breathlessly, handed Anson a letter.

:

"They did not continue to pursue us, nor did they try to attack our backs. We occupied the high ground and stopped moving - just like your plan."

oh?

Anson raised his eyebrows and raised his hand to take the letter: "Only a thousand people?"

"That's a lot. Bernard has less than 8,000 people in total!" Karl glared at him:

"If you think there are too few, you should leave more troops up there. It's best to leave yourself there, I guarantee he will pounce on you and bite you to death at all costs!"

"Then forget it, just a thousand people."

Anson, who looked a little disappointed, shrugged and suddenly realized something: "Who did you just say sent the news?"

"Joseph...ah, that's the militia leader of Changhu Town." Karl was slightly startled:

"Didn't you ask him to 'stick' to the high ground? What's wrong?"

Anson raised the letter in his hand and pointed to the fleur-de-lis stamp on it: "Then what is this?"

"It's a letter from the Imperial Commander on the Highlands to Bernard, probably informing him of the battle situation, right?" Karl said in a deep voice:

"We captured their messengers alive, and it seems there were more than one. We should have set off in batches to avoid failure - what do you want to do?"

"It's nothing, I just want to give Bernard a little surprise." Anson raised his lips and said, "Give this letter to the little secretary and let him see if he can imitate the notes above and add more information to this battle report."

Bernard, doesn't he want to capture the high ground, cut off his retreat and then attack from both sides? Then simply go one step further and tell him that the Storm Division's headquarters is at the foot of the hilly highlands, and that more than a thousand of his "Imperial Warriors" have already been killed.

On the high ground, his headquarters was taken away by surprise. Anson and a group of high-ranking officers fled in confusion, leaving the Storm Division without a leader.

That's right, now is a great time for the imperial army to turn from defense to attack and launch a full-scale assault!

"Oh, don't forget to send the messenger again to tell Fabian that the bait has been hooked and you can start to collect the net!"

"Now?" Karl was a little unsure.

"Now!"

Anson is quite sure:

"It's almost noon. It's hard to say how long this heavy fog will last - if Bernard can't be caught as soon as possible, he may find something wrong on the position."

"Moreover, we cannot let them continue to watch the show as a neutral side in Sailing City; it is time for these people to express their stance on whether to fight for the Empire or join the Free Confederation!"

After the words fell, Anson, with a solemn expression, held the shoulder of his most trusted chief of staff and said sincerely:

"Don't forget, we only have a 20% chance, 20%!"

Carl rolled his eyes.

……………………

"Even if Lord Bernard can defeat the Clovis people, it will only be a temporary victory - he and his army have no place to stay, and failure will happen sooner or later!"

On the tower of Sailing City, Sir Sado was still persuading Louis, who was still unable to make up his mind: "Only by defeating him with our own hands before Clovis and the Free Confederate army defeat him can we avoid further escalation of the situation! That way!

…”

"You don't need to say any more!" the young knight intercepted:

"In any case, joining forces with rebels and enemies to fight against the colonial minister of the empire is an undisputed act of treason and will inevitably lead to punishment from the native empire. I will never let Sail City fall into that fate!"

"Then what if the ministers of the empire already regard you as a traitor?!"

Sir Sado knew very well what Louis was worried about. At this point, the two sides were actually at a showdown, but they didn't completely break up:

"In any case, you have fought against his army as the elected governor of Sailing City, and you have stood still while he fought against the enemy. This is an undisputed fact!"
To be continued...