Those bandits closest to the hand grenades were either thrown off their horses by the shrapnel and shockwave of the explosion, or, even worse, killed instantly.
As for the luckier bandits farther from the impact point, even if they weren’t directly hit, their horses were startled by the loud explosion and became uncontrollable, throwing the entire unit’s attack into chaos.
“It works! Prepare the second wave, throw!”
Anke, standing inside the hollow square formation, said excitedly as he watched the bandits fall into chaos under the hand grenade attack, then ordered the grenadiers to throw the second wave of hand grenades.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The throwers in the formation responded, picked up hand grenades from the wooden crates beside them, lit the fuses, silently counted a few seconds, then threw them with force at the approaching bandits.
But the first wave of hand grenade bombardment caused the bandits’ formation to fall into temporary chaos, with many men and horses forced together, unable to advance or retreat.
Thus, the results of the second wave were even better than the first! At least over a hundred bandits were wounded or killed in the explosions.
“Third wave! Throw!”
Anke continued to give the order. The third wave’s results were not as good, because the bandits had realized that the grenades were dangerous and they needed to get far away to survive, but it still killed or wounded at least thirty-odd people.
Faced with this completely unknown and terrifying attack, the bandits clearly became afraid; many directly turned around and tried to retreat.
“Don’t run! Charge with me, close the distance! Then they won’t dare use that weapon!”
Faced with this situation, the bandit leader decisively drew his sword and killed a few bandits who were leading the escape, then ordered his men.
Because most of these bandits were originally veterans of the Kingdom’s regular army, the bandit leader’s orders still had some effect, stabilizing morale.
A few bandits and criminals who had joined halfway tried to flee when they saw the situation was bad, but were killed on the spot by nearby bandits.
The re-stabilized bandits, led personally by the bandit leader, charged again at Anke’s formation.
Seeing that these bandits not only didn’t flee but dared to attack him, Anke very “politely” gave them a full set of hand grenade treatment.
“Spread out! Those things, the denser the people, the more powerful they are!”
The bandit leader saw the black cans being thrown again from the formation and immediately shouted.
Under the leader’s orders, the bandits’ formation immediately spread out.
Although they couldn’t avoid casualties, at least it was within acceptable limits, and the charge was not interrupted like the first time.
“Damn! They have experts too!”
Anke looked at the spread-out bandits and said in surprise.
“Fifth wave! Throw!”
The fifth wave of hand grenades was thrown under Anke’s orders.
But the effect was even smaller than before.
But the bandits were still charging, and the remaining distance was not enough to use hand grenades, as that would hit their own people.
And when hand grenades could not be used, the only option was to hold firm!
And holding firm meant a contest of whose will was stronger.
“L-Lord! The bandits, those bandits are charging!”
A militiaman in the formation said with a trembling voice.
Although Anke had told these militiamen in advance that as long as they followed his orders, they would basically be fine.
And Anke had indeed done as he said; after several rounds of hand grenades, his side suffered zero casualties while inflicting over two hundred casualties on the opposing bandits.
But when it came time to actually face a cavalry charge, the warhorses breathing heavily, the brutal bandits on their backs, and the strong vibrations from the ground all made the hearts of Anke’s militiamen race with fear.
Anke knew the militiamen were afraid, but he also knew that he was now the backbone of this army, and everyone placed their hope in him; as long as he didn’t show fear, the army would not collapse.
“Everyone! Prepare! Raise spears!”
Anke gave the order. Following Anke’s order, the militiamen forming the hollow square tightened inward a bit.
The two outermost rows of militiamen, the front row kneeling on one knee, their spears braced against the ground with the tips angled upward, formed an outer layer of low but deadly steel thorns.
The back row of militiamen stood upright, holding their spears with the tips pointing straight ahead.
All the men were now tightly packed together, shoulder to shoulder, with no gaps.
This made the entire formation look like a curled-up steel hedgehog covered in spikes.
The bandit leader, facing the formed-up militiamen, ordered his men to split up and attack the sides of the formation.
However, when the bandits reached the sides of the formation, they were completely stunned.
Because the sides of the formation were just as impenetrable as the front.
Helpless, in order not to lose the cavalry’s momentum and to prevent Anke from finding another chance to throw black cans, the bandit leader and the headman attacking the other side had no choice but to grit their teeth and lead the charge against both sides of the formation.
They were just militiamen; what did it matter if they formed up? Wouldn’t they still break under our cavalry charge? Then, the bandits were dumbfounded.
Their previously invincible charge against merchant caravans and militiamen had failed.
When their warhorses charged toward the formation opposite, it was as if they were affected by some demonic power; they suddenly slowed down and stopped their charge, becoming extremely agitated and hard to control.
The militiamen, who had been afraid of the bandits’ charge and had not even dared to fully open their eyes to see the approaching enemy, now no longer feared, but instead felt a bit excited and exhilarated.
Because they realized that these bandits seemed unable to break through the formation arranged by their lord!
Since the bandits had lost their speed, the militiamen could easily use their spears to flip them off their horses.
“Lord! You are truly amazing! We just stood together, and these bandits couldn’t get through!”
The militiaman who had previously been so scared his voice trembled was now praising Anke while using his spear to kill bandits who had been knocked off their horses.
“How, how can this be! Why, why can’t I break through these militiamen!”
The bandit leader was dumbfounded.
“Retreat, retreat! Quick, retreat!”
Seeing more and more of his men being knocked off their horses and killed, the bandit leader ordered a retreat.
Faced with an unmovable “steel hedgehog,” the bandits had no will to continue fighting; now with the leader’s order to retreat, they scattered like birds and beasts.
“Hand grenades! Crossbows! Aim! Fire!”
Anke judged the distance and ordered the grenadiers and some militiamen to pick up crossbows and continue attacking the fleeing bandits.
The bandits were forced to abandon another thirty to forty corpses before they could awkwardly escape the range of Anke’s formation.
Now the bandits were down to only about a hundred men, with low morale and no fighting spirit at all.
Just as the bandits saw that Anke’s formation could not pursue them and thought they were safe, a series of explosions slightly quieter than the black cans came from the woods on one side.
The bandit leader had no idea what was happening, but saw eight of his men cry out and fall from their horses, clutching their chests or stomachs.
“Cavalry! It’s Anke’s Imperial Guard Knights!”
The bandits looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of knights charging out of the woods, holding strange sticks in their hands.
Another burst of explosions, and the bandits clearly heard that the sound came from the sticks in the knights’ hands, and each time the sound was made, a flash of fire and smoke burst out.
After the explosions, seven more bandits fell from their horses in pain.
“Demons! It’s the power of demons!”
The bandits muttered, and fear spread among them.
They no longer cared about their leader’s orders; they just grabbed the reins and spurred their warhorses, hoping to escape the power of those demons as quickly as possible.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.