Berserk, Total War: Second Son of Nobles

Meanwhile, the Yoda fortress on the western border of Dordore was completely enveloped by gunfire and shouts, each cannon shot accompanied by a deafening roar that assaulted the soldiers' eardrums.

Midland's new army formed a dense formation in the open area outside the fortress. The artillery positions in the front row had already been adjusted, and the dark muzzles were aimed at the stone wall of the fortress that was riddled with bullet holes.

As the commander swung his arm down, dozens of cannons simultaneously spat fire, solid shot tearing through the air with sharp whistles as it slammed into the city wall. Debris flew, dust billowed, and cracks of varying depths were torn in the wall; in some places, entire bricks even fell off.

The moment the artillery fire ceased, the Midland infantry immediately picked up their arquebuses and melee weapons, and the dense ranks surged toward the fortress like a moving tide, attempting to rush into the breach before the smoke cleared.

But just as they approached the moat beneath the city walls, Yoda's defenders suddenly emerged from behind their cover, unleashing a barrage of lead bullets and arrows that felled swathes of the charging infantry.

Those behind them had no time to dodge and were hit by the successive attacks. Blood flowed along the edge of the trench, leaving dark red marks on the ground.

No matter how many times they launched their assaults, they were all stubbornly blocked outside the city by the Yoda defenders. Each retreat left behind corpses and abandoned weapons, but the commander still did not stop the attack. Round after round of artillery bombardment and infantry charges played out a tragic cycle in front of the Yoda fortress.

This battle has been going on for more than six hours. Midland has deployed more and more troops and consumed countless amounts of ammunition, but the fortress is still firmly in the hands of Yoda's garrison, and there is no sign of it loosening.

Several kilometers away, in the air, the officers in the hot air balloon basket kept their binoculars pointed at the distant battlefield. Some of them would occasionally look down and exchange a few words, their tone full of undisguised surprise.

The officer from Heldran who had trained Yoda's new army leaned against the edge of the basket, carefully observing the battle through his binoculars. His brows were slightly furrowed, and his eyes held a scrutinizing look.

Watching the troops he had personally trained put up a fierce resistance in the fortress, he felt a mixture of barely perceptible satisfaction and complex emotions, after all, he had participated in the battle against Yoda just a few years ago.

He slowly lowered the binoculars and rubbed his slightly sore eyes.

Just then, he noticed the Midland officer standing beside him. The officer was gripping his binoculars tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white from the force, his breathing slightly rapid, his face showing obvious anxiety, and his eyes fixed on the battlefield, filled with barely suppressed tension and confusion.

The officer in charge of the Heldran knew very well why the other party was so anxious.

Midland deployed a full ten infantry regiments, each at full strength, along with ample artillery and ammunition, making their forces and equipment several times larger than Yoda's garrison.

Inside Yoda Fortress, there was only a newly trained infantry regiment that had been trained for just two months, plus an infantry regiment that had been decimated in a previous battle. In terms of raw strength, Midland held an absolute advantage.

However, the current battle situation was different from what everyone had expected. Midland launched wave after wave of attacks, expending a lot of ammunition and manpower, but they couldn't even touch the gate of the fortress, or even defend the breach in the city wall. Such a result was really hard to understand.

"The troops you trained have indeed exceeded everyone's expectations."

An officer from another country put down his binoculars, turned to look at Instructor Heldran, and spoke with undisguised admiration.

He had been observing the battle situation, and he was quite surprised by the tactical coordination and tenacious fighting spirit of the Yoda defenders. A unit that had only been trained for two months was able to hold off an enemy several times its size.

Instructor Heldran gently shook his head, his voice steady and without a trace of boastfulness:

"Time is too tight, only two months in total. There is no chance to organize large-scale tactical exercises, and even the coordination exercises between squads are very rare. All I can do is teach them all the basic tactical movements and formation changes, let them memorize them, and then practice them repeatedly until they form muscle memory."

He paused, then turned his gaze back to the distant fortress, adding...

"I didn't expect that when they actually got to the battlefield, they would be able to use these things so skillfully, and even make simple adjustments based on the battlefield situation."

The Yoda garrison's outstanding performance was not solely due to their solid basic training.

After the Heldran officer arrived in Yoda, he put forward a comprehensive set of military reform proposals, which Yoda accepted almost without hesitation.

Yoda was already in dire straits, with the army of Midland pressing in. If he didn't make changes, he would only be waiting to be completely annexed. So everyone was willing to try any new tactics or organizational structure, even if these reforms seemed risky and even went against their previous military traditions.

One of the most crucial reforms was the transformation of the Knights Order.

The traditional knightly orders were all composed of heavy cavalry. While they possessed strong striking power and heavy armor, they were slow, lacked flexibility, and were extremely costly to maintain, making them unsuitable for prolonged warfare and rapid support. The officer from Heldran proposed forming a new mobile infantry force, composed of light cavalry and wagons, based on the existing knightly orders.

Light cavalry, equipped with light weapons and simple protection, were responsible for reconnaissance and rapid infiltration, enabling them to keep abreast of enemy movements and launch surprise attacks at critical moments. Wagons, on the other hand, carried light weapons and emergency supplies, which could quickly support various positions and serve as temporary defensive fortifications when needed.

In contrast, Midland's military reforms were fraught with obstacles and could even be described as being abandoned halfway through.

Yoda was willing to try anything because he was about to die, but Midland was different.

In the early stages of its formation, Midland's new army, with its advanced weaponry and initial tactical reforms, won several victories, repelling domestic rebellions and the remnants of Yoda's army in the territory of Ronna.

These victories, however, immediately made the generals of Midland arrogant and complacent, believing that the existing reforms were sufficient to deal with all enemies, and they began to resist further military reforms.

They stubbornly believed that Midland's military strength was already formidable and did not need much change; that new tactics and organization were merely superfluous gimmicks and might even undermine the traditions of Midland's army.

The most typical example is the Knights' reform plan. Heldran's instructors once proposed to incorporate a portion of the artillery into the Knights to enhance their fire support capabilities and create a coordinated combat system between cavalry and artillery. This would allow them to leverage the impact of cavalry during charges while also using artillery to suppress enemy fire, thus significantly improving their overall combat effectiveness.

The Knights of Comitland were composed entirely of nobles, and upon learning of the proposal, the noble lords immediately and resolutely opposed it.

In their eyes, artillery soldiers were all low-born "peasants" who had not received a good education and had no noble blood. They were not worthy of standing on the same side as nobles with sacred blood, let alone being incorporated into the knightly order and fighting alongside them.

In their view, this was a serious desecration of their noble status and a stain on the honor of the Midland Knights, which they absolutely could not tolerate.

Even though Heldran's instructors repeatedly explained that these artillery soldiers had undergone systematic professional training and possessed knowledge in weapon operation and ballistic calculations that was even higher than that of nobles who only knew how to ride horses and fight, which could greatly enhance the knights' combat effectiveness, the noble lords did not care at all.

They only cared about their own lineage and social status, and had no concern for the overall combat effectiveness of the army, let alone the final outcome of the war.

The two sides argued heatedly, and the nobles' ancestral sarcastic skills came out again. They even used offensive language, mocking the commoner instructors of Hilderan for not understanding the traditions and noble honor of Midland. The Hilderan instructors were so angry that they trembled and almost dueled with the white dragon knights.

Ultimately, the dispute ended with the reform plan being shelved. The Knights remained a purely noble organization, while the artillery was isolated and could only act alone on the battlefield, unable to play its full role. As a result, other reforms also stalled.

His colleague, who was watching all this, shook his head slightly as he raised his binoculars again to observe the battlefield.

He knew very well that although Midland's army seemed to be strong and well-equipped, its internal contradictions and corruption had penetrated to the bone.

The stubbornness and pride of the aristocratic class caused them to miss the best opportunity to deepen reforms. Their tactics became rigid, and the various branches of the armed forces could not coordinate their operations. Coupled with the arrogance and underestimation of the enemy by the command, if this battle continued, Midland might really suffer a great loss.

Meanwhile, at Midland's main camp, the king paced anxiously back and forth, the ground beneath his feet creaking under his feet.

I have just received an urgent report from the front lines: Count Yuris's army suffered a defeat in the war against the Knights of Yoda and was ultimately forced to retreat.

This news surprised him greatly, even to the point of disbelief; he almost dropped the letter from his hand.

Count Yuris was a renowned general in Midland, with many years of experience in commanding troops and a long history of victories. He enjoyed high prestige within the army.

This time, the troops he led far outnumbered the Knights of Yoda he encountered, and their equipment was also much better. How could he possibly lose in a battle where he outnumbered the enemy and be forced to retreat?

This was completely illogical and beyond the king's expectations.

The king stopped, his brow furrowed, pondering the matter repeatedly, trying to find a reasonable explanation.

He simply couldn't understand how Yoda's Knights could suddenly unleash such formidable fighting power when intelligence indicated that their cavalry was limited in number.

Could it be that the intelligence was wrong, and Yoda's Knights actually numbered far more than they estimated?

Or did Yoda use some clever strategy, setting up an ambush that caused the experienced Count Yuris to fall into the trap and suffer a defeat?

Or perhaps they possess some secret weapon that could turn the tide of battle in a short time and achieve victory against overwhelming odds?

Thoughts flashed through his mind, but he rejected them one by one.

The intelligence department's previous reconnaissance had been very accurate, so it was unlikely that such a large error would occur; Count Yuris was a veteran of many battles, and in theory, he would not easily fall into an ambush, and with his troops, even if he were ambushed, he should not have lost so miserably; as for secret weapons, that was out of the question. Midland's weapons and equipment were already considered advanced among all countries, so how could Yoda suddenly possess a secret weapon that was more powerful than theirs?

Just then, an unsettling thought suddenly surfaced in his mind:

Could it be that Heldran secretly pulled some tricks, selling Yoda better gunpowder weapons than he sold to Mitland, or teaching him more advanced tactics, which caused Yoda's army's combat effectiveness to suddenly increase significantly?

If that's the case, then Midland is now in a passive position and may even be in unprecedented danger.

The more the king thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and his unease grew stronger.

He cannot take any risks and must take immediate action to prevent the situation from worsening.

He immediately turned around and gave an order to the guards beside him:

"Put headquarters on high alert immediately. Assemble all soldiers and strengthen patrols in all areas. Seal off the gates of the surrounding camps. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order, including officers of all ranks. No one is allowed to leave the camp even a step without permission."

The guard dared not delay, immediately knelt on one knee to accept the order, and then turned and quickly left.

The king then looked at another messenger, his tone serious:

"Immediately dispatch scouts, divided into multiple small teams, to thoroughly search all areas surrounding the main camp, leaving no suspicious trace unchecked. If any trace of Yoda's army is discovered, or any unusual situation is found, return immediately to report."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The messenger also knelt on one knee, then quickly left the tent, gathered his men, and prepared them for departure.

The king stood in the center of the tent, his face terribly grim. He could only hope that the scouts would bring useful information, and at the same time pray that the situation at the front would improve.

If Hilderan truly supports Yoda in secret, the course of this war will likely be completely altered, and Midland may face a situation where it is attacked from both sides.

Time ticked by, and the atmosphere inside the tent was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

The king glanced at the tent entrance every now and then, hoping for news from the scouts, his anxiety growing heavier.

He didn't know what Yoda's army would do next, nor whether the headquarters was safe. This unknown fear made him restless, and he could only relieve his inner turmoil by pacing back and forth.

Not long after, a scout rushed into the base camp tent, panting heavily. His clothes were covered in dust and grass clippings, indicating that he had come at a great speed.

He didn't have time to wipe the sweat from his face, nor did he need to rest. He immediately knelt on one knee and reported in a hurried but clear tone:

"Your Majesty, we have discovered traces of Yoda cavalry on the east, west, and south sides of the main camp! They are scattered in the distant woods and hills, seemingly observing the camp's movements. We cannot determine their exact numbers at the moment, but they appear to be quite numerous."