Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 58 Even the most powerful magic fears a bayonet (Combined Chapter)
Morin's tactic of constantly harassing and maneuvering by using full map vision, while failing to inflict devastating damage on the enemy, successfully slowed down the advance of these hundreds of enemy soldiers.

The Brittany had no idea how many enemies were around them.

They were forced to stop, diverting some of their forces to protect and evacuate the wounded, while another portion began a thorough search of the rear, trying to find this damned 'rat army'.

This bought valuable time for the main force of the 3rd rank, which was retreating.

But as the Brittany mobilized more troops to reinforce the area, Morin and his small squad gradually became entangled in a large net.

At this point, Morin knew that the infiltration and harassment had to stop.

On the other side, Sergeant Klaus led the main force to a safe retreat to the third line of defense and then took a headcount.

The 3rd Platoon, which was originally fully staffed and even had two extra infantry squads, now has only 36 men left.

He didn't know how many men Morin had brought, but he estimated it probably wasn't too many. Moreover, the fact that his platoon leader hadn't returned in a long time made the platoon sergeant restless.

"No, I still need to go and meet up with the platoon leader."

After hesitating for a moment, he ordered the other soldiers to hold their positions, while he himself led a squad of soldiers and quietly moved towards the direction where Morin and his men were conducting guerrilla warfare.

At this moment, Morin was leading the remaining soldiers, lying in ambush near the corpses and wounded of the previous enemy unit that had been attacked.

He planned to repeat his old trick, using the corpses as bait to launch another ambush, 'surrounding the corpses to attack the reinforcements'.

After completing this final ambush, he could then break through the gap that had been torn open.

Through the system map, he could see a sizable enemy search party approaching them.

"Prepare for battle! Wait until they get close before attacking!"

Morin lowered his voice and gave orders to the soldiers around him, while also half-pushing back the bolt to check the chamber.

Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, their hearts pounding.

However, just as the enemy was about to enter the ambush zone, Morin noticed something was off about the enemy team this time.

Among the ordinary Britannian soldiers, there were two people wearing mage robes and two unusually tall, heavily armored soldiers.

On the system map, the unit cards of the two mages clearly displayed the words "Highland Mage Apprentice".

"Have they already started integrating these elite units?"

The appearance of the mage introduced some variables into his ambush.

He didn't know what abilities these mage apprentices possessed, but his intuition and experience told him not to engage in ambushes without a chance of success.

But just as Morin was about to order everyone to retreat, he saw the two mage apprentices, protected by soldiers, arrive near the wounded and the corpses and suddenly stop.

Then, he raised his hand and performed a brief spell on the buildings on both sides of the street.

One of the mage apprentices facing Morin and his group quickly showed a look of terror on his face.

After he released his [Life Perception], more than twenty clear life auras appeared densely packed in the seemingly empty, dilapidated building in front of him!
"Oh no, there might be an ambush! There are a lot of people!"

He screamed in terror.

Morin, who had been secretly observing the outside world, realized that his intentions had been exposed the moment he noticed the change in the mage apprentice's expression and his shouting.

Without any further hesitation, he decisively rolled over and got up, then raised his gun and pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

The Saxon soldiers lying in ambush inside the building took Morin's gunshot as a signal and immediately unleashed all the firepower they had.

On the street, a large number of Breton soldiers, caught off guard, were instantly killed.

However, the two mage apprentices and the two heavily armored soldiers survived thanks to their mage armor and thick armor.

"They're in that building! Charge in and kill them!"

The surviving mage apprentices screamed in shock and rage, directing the remaining soldiers to attack the building where Morin and his group were located.

The soldiers of the Northumberland Fusiliers displayed their elite organization and morale at this moment.

Despite having just suffered heavy losses, they quickly regrouped under the orders of the officers and mages, and led by two heavily armored soldiers, they gritted their teeth and rushed into the building.

Just then, another squad, guided by the gunfire, stealthily approached the rear of this Brittany unit.

The leader of the team was Sergeant Klaus.

"The Britannians are attacking that building; there must be our allies inside," a squad leader standing next to him said.

"Most of the other friendly forces have withdrawn. At this point, the only ones still able to engage the enemy in this position are probably the platoon leader and his men."

Klaus looked at the flickering firelight inside the building ahead and the enemies charging outside, and immediately understood the current situation.

"Prepare to attack! Give these Britannians a good thrashing from behind!"

Inside the building, seeing the enemy approaching, Morin roared:
"Grenade!"

Several grenadiers responsible for throwing immediately pulled the fuses and threw three grenades, of which there were only a few left, out of the second-floor window.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three grenades exploded in quick succession among the charging Brittany soldiers.

The scorching heatwave and flying debris knocked down many people again.

The two heavily armored soldiers who were at the forefront were also shaken by the shockwave of the explosion, feeling as if they were about to go numb.

But with their amazing perseverance and enchanted, sturdy armor, they managed to break through to the building's entrance.

"boom!"

A heavily armored soldier kicked open the rickety gate and, along with the infantry behind him, swarmed inside.

However, once they rushed into the building, they immediately regretted it.

They regretted obeying the orders of the two sorcerer apprentices.

Because they were equipped with two-handed greatswords, not swords and shields.
The cramped indoor space made it impossible for them to wield their massive two-handed swords, which they used to slaughter ordinary infantry, in a proper manner.

However, the two reacted quickly, turning their greatswords upside down and gripping the unsharpened blade and hilt with their hands respectively, using the guards and counterweights for close-range attacks.

Meanwhile, several of the best Saxon soldiers, hiding in the corners of the room and behind furniture, kept firing at the helmets of the two heavily armored soldiers, sending sparks flying and making their heads buzz.

The others opened fire wildly on the ordinary soldiers following behind.

When the battle has progressed to this stage, tactics no longer matter.

Yes, but it was a killing driven by instinct on both sides.

Both sides were bloodthirsty.

Shouts of killing, gunshots, and William's screams echoed and mingled in the confined space.

"Two more grenades!"

Corporal Bowman, who was retreating down the stairs to reload, yelled, and then two more grenades were thrown at him.

The violent explosion stunned almost all the Saxon soldiers on the first floor as well.

After the explosion, not a single Britannian soldier could be seen standing in the room.

The two heavily armored soldiers, though still alive, walked unsteadily, their armor riddled with bullet holes and dents.

"Kill them!"

Several Saxon soldiers roared and rushed out from behind the bunker.

Their rifles were empty, and without time to retrieve new magazines from their pouches, they simply strapped on bayonets.

At the previous battle debriefing meeting, the soldiers who survived the bayonet fighting shared with others the scene of Morin killing the heavily armored soldiers with his bayonet.

So at this moment, these Saxon soldiers also frantically stabbed their bayonets into vulnerable areas such as the armpits and necks that were not protected by the armor of the heavily armored soldiers.

After managing to knock down several charging Saxon soldiers with the counterweight of their greatswords, the two valiant heavily armored soldiers finally exhausted their last bit of strength and collapsed.

"Kill it!"

But before the surviving Saxon soldiers could even rejoice, two fireballs the size of human heads suddenly whistled in through the window.

"Watch out!" Morin only had time to utter a warning.

The next second, the fireball suddenly exploded in the center of the room.

The violent explosion affected the entire first floor.

The terrifying heat and shockwave instantly engulfed everything, even collapsing a corner of the second floor.

All Morin saw on the system map was that the icons of the two infantry squads under his command located on the first floor instantly turned gray.

The twelve soldiers fighting on the first floor were all gone.

If Corporal Bowman hadn't retreated into the stairwell at that moment, he probably would have died like those soldiers.

At this moment, including himself, Morin had eighteen men left under his command.

Outside the window, the two mage apprentices were preparing to cast another spell to completely eliminate the enemies inside the building.

But just then, a burst of gunfire suddenly rang out behind them.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Klaus led his squad around from behind and launched a surprise attack on the Brittany force.

Several Britannian soldiers who were covering the mage fell to the ground.

This sudden turn of events greatly alarmed the two apprentice monks.

They looked back in panic and saw another group of Saxon soldiers emerging from the ruins, immediately thinking they were surrounded.

The two mage apprentices frantically tried to put on [Mage Armor], only to discover that they had used up all the spells they had prepared for the day.

Having failed to develop a proper spell plan for urban warfare, they now realized that most of the spells they had prepared for the day had already been used up in previous battles.

The two deeply regretted why, in another battle, they had used up their remaining magic to launch a furious attack on the surrendered enemies inside the building.

That way, the spell slots wouldn't be left with only a few tricks like [Hand of the Mage].
Fear immediately gripped their hearts, and the words their mentor had given them before the battle echoed in their ears.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

Without hesitation, under the cover of the remaining soldiers, they decided to flee without looking back.

Morin, inside the building, was unaware that the two mage apprentices had used up all the spells they had prepared for the day, but he could confirm from the map that there were no friendly forces on the other side nearby.

Moreover, having been bloodthirsty in the continuous street fighting, he knew that this might be their only chance.

If these two mobile artillery-like mages escape, they might cause a lot of trouble for our allies later.

"We can't let them escape!"

With bloodshot eyes, Morin rushed down the ramp formed by the collapse of the second floor.

As he led his men out of the building, he shouted loudly in Saxon toward Klaus, "Watch out for friendly fire! Watch out for friendly fire!"

Upon hearing Morin's voice, Klaus immediately understood the platoon leader's intention.

"Be careful when you fire! Follow them and provide cover for the platoon leader and the others!"

The two squads, one in front and one behind, pursued the fleeing enemy.

A grenadier following Morin threw his last grenade as he ran.

The grenade traced a perfect parabola through the air and exploded right behind the enemy group.

"boom!"

The massive explosion sent them flying.

Before they could even get up from the ground, Morin and the Saxon soldiers, with bayonets fixed to their rifles, charged forward like gods of war.

"kill!"

The Saxon soldiers all learned the close-quarters combat techniques taught by Morin.

At the last moment before they reached the enemy, instead of engaging in bayonet fighting, they decisively opened fire, firing the last bullet from their guns.

It was extremely unethical, but it was effective.

"Bang! Bang!"

At such close range, there's no need to aim.

Two Britannian soldiers who were providing cover were immediately shot down.

Then came the bloodiest part: bayonet charges.

The remaining two Britannian soldiers tried to stop Morin, who was charging at the front, but Morin, who had entered a state of 'berserk', pierced the first soldier's throat with his bayonet with a single thrust.

Seeing his comrade clutch his throat and collapse in the blink of an eye, the blood spurting out from the pressure loss splattered all over Morin, turning him into a killing god. The remaining soldier's will collapsed completely.

He charged forward, yelling and brandishing his rifle, ready to trade his life for Morin's, but suddenly saw the blood-covered Saxon officer stop in his tracks.

Then raise your gun and aim.

"boom!"

The soldier who fell to the ground, shot between the eyebrows, never understood why this guy who looked like a berserker would suddenly fire so calmly until his death.

Morin expressionlessly ejected the spent cartridge and reloaded, his cold gaze fixed on the two mage apprentices as if they were dead, while the other Saxon soldiers sped past him.

This scene was witnessed by the two mage apprentices as they turned around, and Morin's gaze intensified their fear.

These two mage apprentices, born into a noble Highland Mage Order, never imagined that they would one day be approached by enemy infantry.

In their minds, mages are always elegant and powerful beings, standing under the protection of thousands of troops, calmly chanting spells, and annihilating hordes of enemies with a wave of their hand.

Instead of writhing in the mud and blood like this.

Faced with the gleaming bayonets, they completely panicked.

Their mage armor had lost its effectiveness, and in their panic, they only had time to instinctively use the most basic mage's hand to push away the two Saxon soldiers who were charging the fastest.

But the next moment, Morin and Corporal Bowman's bayonets plunged into their bodies from the left and right.

The cold S1898 bayonet easily pierced through the magnificent mage's robes and fragile flesh.

"Uh"

A mage apprentice looked down in disbelief at the bayonet embedded in his abdomen, blood gushing from his mouth.

With a blank expression, Morin twisted the gun barrel, causing the bayonet to churn inside the mage apprentice's body, destroying his internal organs to the greatest extent possible.

Corporal Bowman followed suit, and soon the two arrogant mage apprentices were completely dead, collapsing limply to the ground.

The remaining Brittany soldiers were quickly finished off by the Saxon soldiers.

Morin, panting heavily, pulled out his bayonet. Looking at the mess on the ground, he knew he couldn't stay here any longer.

Despite his physical exhaustion, he knelt down, leaning on his spear with one hand, and quickly began searching the corpses of the two mage apprentices.

Soon, he found two thick notebooks that looked like spellbooks, as well as several bottles and jars containing unknown liquids and powders.

The 'Spells' entry has been unlocked; please check it out.

[Personal Training Manual (Basic) x2, already obtained]

Although she heard the notification sound, Morin didn't have time to look at it carefully. She just stuffed all the items into her bag.

"Clean up the battlefield! See if there are any usable weapons. We need to leave here immediately and rejoin the main force of the 3rd Platoon!"

Morin stood up and gave his final orders to the surviving soldiers.

Before long, this team, which had just escaped death, quickly disappeared into the ruined streets of Seville.

[Saxon Imperial Air Force - Zeppelin-class armored airship - L30]

Status: Approaching the destination

Estimated arrival time: 1 hour 05 minutes

　These past few days' 4 daily updates are to prepare for future bursts of updates and 10,000 words a day!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)