In a patch of woodland several hundred meters from that blood-soaked highland, a pair of eyes was quietly watching everything unfolding on the battlefield through binoculars.
Ludwig stood on the shoulder of an Armored Knight kneeling on one knee. This steel behemoth, painted with the black cross insignia of the Teutonic Order, was one of the two that Molin had seen earlier.
“Ludwig, if we don’t make a move soon, that infantry battalion is going to be wiped out.”
Beside him, atop another Armored Knight, his companion Wilhelm lowered his binoculars, a trace of urgency in his voice.
“Their casualties can be exchanged for something of greater value.”
The Armored Knight pilot called Ludwig spoke calmly, his gaze still not leaving the binoculars.
“If we charge out now, we’ll only get tangled up with those infantry and fall into a passive position. If we want to complete this ‘hunt,’ patience is the best weapon.”
“Then how long are we supposed to wait?”
Wilhelm was somewhat baffled. He knew he could not remain as composed as his comrade.
“Soon.”
“Stop keeping me in suspense. Just say it.”
Hearing the anxiety in his comrade’s tone, Ludwig lowered his binoculars and said:
“The Fourth Battalion of the Northumberland Flintlock Regiment still has half its men left. Britannia’s commander can’t possibly watch helplessly as this decorated unit is annihilated, so he will definitely send someone to rescue them.
“When that time comes, whether it’s the Highland mages, their Armored Knights, or another full-strength battalion of the Northumberland Flintlock Regiment, those will be prey worth our action.”
After speaking, Ludwig raised his binoculars once more.
As if to confirm his words, it was not long before the battle situation suddenly changed.
Just as the Fourth Battalion of the Northumberland Flintlock Regiment, under the encirclement of Molin and the others and the repeated charges of the lancers, was about to have its “organization” beaten empty,
four pure-white Armored Knights of elegant and exquisite design appeared behind them.
Around these Armored Knights followed twelve knight squires wearing magitek powered armor.
Britannia’s elite force—the Order of the Garter!
Ludwig’s eyes instantly lit up. He lowered his binoculars, his gaze filled with excitement he could not suppress.
“We hit the jackpot! All units, prepare for battle! Squires, fire three red signal flares!”
The order was given. He and Wilhelm nimbly flipped down and climbed into the cockpits of their respective Armored Knights.
The heavy front armor closed again. Without waiting for the dark cockpit to be lit by the magitek crystals, Ludwig and Wilhelm swiftly completed the startup of their Armored Knights by muscle memory alone.
Beneath the armor plates, several magitek circuits were connected, and the “magitek muscle bundles” buried within the torso and limbs were activated.
As all the magitek circuits completed a round of self-checks, the scene before Ludwig and Wilhelm’s eyes also changed from the darkness inside the cockpit to an external view spanning roughly 180 degrees.
Immediately afterward, they completed the final startup step.
In the silent woodland, the internal combustion engines serving as the main power source for the two steel behemoths let out a low roar, and thick plumes of black smoke spewed from the exhaust pipes on the knights’ backs.
Around them, six knight squires likewise wearing the Teutonic Order’s standard magitek powered armor stood up. Three of them quickly raised flare guns and pulled the triggers toward the sky.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three dazzling red balls of light rose into the sky, especially conspicuous above the battlefield.
At the same time, Molin, who was locked in fierce combat inside the “meat grinder,” also noticed the newly appeared white Armored Knights, as well as the enemies beside them whose equipment was even finer than that of the heavy-armored soldiers.
Red unit markers and detailed information promptly appeared on the system map.
[Affiliation: Holy Britannian Empire—Order of the Garter]
[“St. George Model 3” Magitek Armored Knight ×4]
[“Broadsword Model 2” Magitek Powered Armor (Knight Squires) ×12]
[Anti-infantry, anti-armor, high-threat units]
“No, the magitek Armored Knights are one thing, but how did powered armor show up too?! Are you sure these are from the same style of equipment as our side?!”
The information provided by the system left Molin utterly dumbfounded. These definitely weren’t units infantry could contend with.
Moreover, aside from a few grenades that were almost used up, Molin and the others had no high-powered weapons at all, let alone any anti-armor weapons.
Rifle bullets striking those heavy-armored infantry were no more than a scratch; there was even less need to mention these big guys that looked like they had astonishing defenses.
The surviving soldiers of the Fourth Battalion of the Northumberland Flintlock Regiment erupted into thunderous cheers when they saw reinforcements arrive, their morale instantly recovering.
As if injected with stimulants, they began a frenzied counterattack. The Saxon infantry and International Column lines, which had held the advantage only moments ago, actually showed signs of collapse for a time.
At that critical moment, two sharp whistles split the air.
Boom! Boom!
Two shells landed precisely in the ranks of the Northumberland Flintlock Regiment’s counterattack. Violent explosions threw up a spray of flesh and earth.
Molin instinctively turned his head to look back.
At some point, on the slope not far behind him, two black-and-white Armored Knights had appeared. They were the Armored Knights belonging to the Teutonic Order on the Saxon Empire’s side.
One of the knights, half-kneeling on the ground, held in its hands a weapon that looked like a rifle, but whose caliber was actually about the same as a field cannon. Greenish smoke still curled from the muzzle.
The other had just completed reloading. The knight skillfully pulled the “straight-pull bolt,” ejecting a huge brass shell casing, then once again aimed the muzzle at the enemy below the hill.
The two Armored Knights, now reloaded, fired several more shots in succession into the Northumberland Flintlock Regiment’s formation, scattering the formation they had finally managed to gather once again.
This kind of direct-fire support from heavy units instantly forced the morale the Northumberland Flintlock Regiment had just rekindled brutally back down again.
Below the hillside, the four Armored Knights of the Order of the Garter saw this scene and also stopped their rescue, instead speeding up as they charged toward the two Teutonic Order Armored Knights that had opened fire.
At that moment, the atmosphere on the battlefield became incomparably strange.
The infantry of both sides, who had been locked in brutal combat, seemed to have received some silent order and disengaged with astonishing tacit understanding.
They did not even have time to collect the corpses of their comrades before each side retreated to the rear.
The Saxon lancers, after completing their final charge, turned their horses without the slightest hesitation and galloped off in another direction, breaking away from the battlefield.
Molin looked in the direction they had gone and discovered that it was precisely the location of the hidden magic crystal cannon position he had marked earlier.
However, he had no attention to spare for the movements of those cavalry now. Instead, he commanded the troops under his command to withdraw toward the top of the highland.
“Quick! Follow us! Fall back to the highland first!”
Molin naturally did not forget the allied troops of the International Column. So after seeing that his own 3rd Platoon had already begun withdrawing, he immediately waved his hand and shouted loudly to the International Column fighters, who were likewise somewhat stunned, calling them to retreat together toward the top of the highland.
After the remnants of the 1st Battalion and the International Column, totaling fewer than 600 men altogether, withdrew back to the highland, a bearded man who appeared to be the commander of the International Column took the initiative to shake hands with Molin.
Then everyone obediently lay prone on the highland like spectators, nervously watching the “duel” between Armored Knights below.
On the other side, just as the four Armored Knights of the Order of the Garter were preparing to launch a charge and wipe out those two annoying “bugs” in one go, they suddenly came to a halt.
Molin and the others, who had already retreated to the highland, watched this scene in confusion. Then the answer was revealed.
From several other directions in this engagement zone, more Teutonic Order Armored Knights emerged from concealment.
Black muzzles pointed at the four Armored Knights of the Order of the Garter from every direction, forming a loose encirclement.