“It’s hard to imagine, but on the bright side, it was a wise choice for us to give up fighting them in the mountains. If we hadn’t changed our tactics, the people standing here now would be from Yan Kingdom.” Dylan said solemnly beside Kyle.
Unlike his demeanor three hours earlier when he spoke with Dingle in the tent, Dylan now shed his dejected look and revealed unwavering determination in his eyes, a stark contrast to Kyle beside him.
The pressure from the enemy was already making Kyle somewhat flustered. He hadn't been unaware that the enemy would use a large number of troops to attack the pass, but when the enemy actually revealed their ferocious claws and displayed their full strength, he realized that he had still greatly underestimated the enemy.
"How many people are there? I think there are probably..." Kyle said nervously, wiping the sweat from his temples.
But before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Dylan's angry roar:
"Prepare for battle! The enemy is about to enter our position! Main roads, flanks, every path leading here must be defended at all costs! We will not allow them to break through the defenses!"
"Let them become corpses! Fill our lines!"
"For our great empire! For our glory! For the Emperor!"
"Even if it costs us our lives, we will fight them to the very end!"
"fighting!"
Under Dylan's leadership, starting from their area, the soldiers, whether they were filled with trepidation, fear, or terror, were ignited with a strong fighting spirit.
Just as Dylan said, this is for the great empire, for their own glory, and for Emperor von Palen.
So even at the cost of their lives, they will fight this battle to the very end.
At this moment, all emotions unrelated to battle were discarded and forgotten. The twelve-year journey, countless wars, and His Majesty the Emperor's repeated pronouncements in St. Marín Square filled the minds of the roaring soldiers and unified their thinking.
"fighting!"
"fighting!"
"fighting!"
Passion burned, blood boiled, and the Goths, young and old, from all over the world, with different experiences, all caught up in the frenzy, shouted "Battle!" throughout Enzos.
Unlike the passionate and energetic Goertek army, the Yan army, which was steadily advancing, did not react much after hearing the enemy's roar.
The wheels rolled on the ground, the steel cannons clanged with a crisp metallic sound, the warhorses lowered their heads and exhaled puffs of white breath, the torches swayed in the strong wind, and the Yan soldiers, their faces grim, carried guns and light field cannons, galloping through the mountains, traversing various rugged terrains, heading towards their objective.
As one side roared and the other silently advanced, the weather, which had been cooling down since yesterday, finally reached freezing point at midnight.
A fierce wind swept across the towering mountains, and snowflakes as thin as cicada wings drifted down under the silvery moonlight.
"boom!"
"Boom boom boom!"
The falling snow seemed like a signal that the battle was about to begin. Light mortars roared out of their barrels as the Yan soldiers and the flanks launched their attack.
The explosions replaced the passionate shouts of moments before. On the flank of the pass, the Golt soldiers not only cleared the trees, but also constructed multiple defensive fortifications on the hillside near the pass. These were hastily built from tree trunks and rocks, and even below them, they raced against time to dig trenches, just to deal with the incoming shells.
Now, the Yan soldiers launching artillery fire from below are attacking these strongholds. Thanks to their longer range, the Goths are unable to retaliate with their artillery for the time being. They can only withstand the bombardment and can only fire their cannons after the Yan army continues to advance.
But at this time, everyone was under immense pressure. Shells rained down relentlessly, and the bare slopes began to become riddled with holes. The ground tremors even reached the slopes.
The fortifications were trembling, and the Gothic soldiers hiding behind them were breathing more and more rapidly, fearing that the fortifications would collapse. Unbeknownst to them, thick smoke began to spread across the battlefield, making it difficult for the Gothic soldiers on lookout duty to see clearly in the dim night.
On the main road leading to the pass, the main force of the Yan army was still quite far from the pass, and they did not speed up their advance. In fact, they had no intention of attacking the pass, because before gaining flank advantage, rushing straight through the main road, even with heavy artillery, would be difficult to use effectively due to the great difference in terrain, and they would even suffer heavy casualties from the Golt army at higher ground.
Therefore, the flanking forces must gain a certain degree of advantage, in other words, put enough pressure on the Golgar defenses, and that is exactly what the flanking forces are doing now.
With their ample ammunition reserves, the Yanbing artillerymen continuously fired shells, each time aiming for the furthest possible distance.
As the shelling continued, some units began to advance gradually. During the advance, other units provided long-range fire support. After the advance units had gone a certain distance, they immediately lay down on the spot and began to prepare for shelling. Once they launched their shelling, the rear units then advanced in a crisscross pattern.
Although they had artillery cover, the flanks were too wide, and the Goths had made extensive defensive preparations. As they gradually approached, the Goths bravely launched a counterattack under artillery fire.
"Bang bang bang!"
Solid cannonballs rained down from above, fast and fierce, causing considerable casualties to the advancing Yan army and making their advance even more difficult.
There were very few shelters available, and even if the Yan soldiers advanced only a few dozen meters, they would be accompanied by the deaths of multiple combat squads. However, despite the heavy casualties, there were still troops constantly coming to their aid from behind.
This scene was also visible to Dylan on the mountain pass. Although the enemy had not yet broken through the defensive lines they had set up, their strong fighting spirit was already worrying him. If this continued, they would eventually pose a great threat to the mountain pass in a few hours.
Meanwhile, their own defensive lines are consuming large quantities of artillery shells. Kyle had previously handed the artillery battalion over to Verri, but Verri led his troops to be defeated by the Yan people, resulting in a significant loss of ammunition. Although they still have enough ammunition, given the intensity of the battle, they won't last a day before their ammunition reserves are exhausted.
Thinking of this, Dylan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
If Saskia's troops had arrived in Enzos on time, then he might not have had to prepare for a fight tonight that would have been a fight to the death.
But now, this is the last resort. Even if all the soldiers are killed, this battle must be fought to the very end.
And in the end...
Dylan raised his head, his gaze fixed on the dark, deep mountain peak...
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