Chapter 77: The Great Battle of Iron Furnace Town

Chapter 77: The Great Battle of Iron Furnace Town

As the Human Soldiers pressed onward, the momentum emanating from both sides grew ever stronger.

Arthur, advancing alongside the soldiers, furrowed his brow slightly at the increasingly muddy ground soaked by the rain.

This kind of terrain was not beneficial for combat, especially as it limited the mobility of the units.

Though the Dwarves would also be affected, it would be an even greater limitation for the humans.

With a larger number of human soldiers, along with a significantly mobile cavalry force, they had decided to encircle the Dwarves as their battle strategy.

The forces on the left and right flanks spread out like a pair of wings, first extending to the sides and then converging forward, forming a three-sided encirclement that wouldn’t force the Dwarves to their doom immediately, allowing them to mount a desperate resistance at the onset.

However, this was just the beginning. According to the plan, as the battle progressed and the human forces gradually eliminated the Dwarven strength, the troops on the flanks would completely encircle the Dwarves.

At that time, even if the Dwarves mounted a desperate counterattack, it wouldn’t have the same effect as it would initially.

Moreover, the muddy roads would severely impact the army’s advance speed, making it slower for the humans to complete the encirclement, and it was even possible that the Dwarves would detect this plan early.

The longer the delay, the greater the chance for unforeseen variables to arise.

In fact, Arthur’s current fears were somewhat unwarranted.

The Dwarves were full of fighting spirit.

Even without firearms, they believed they could defeat the humans before them.

The Dwarf King watched the humans’ plans to surround them with keen eyes.

With a little thought, he grasped the humans’ scheme: “These humans certainly have great appetite, thinking they can devour us all at once.”

Hearing the Dwarf King’s words, the Dwarf Engineer next to him turned pale.

Unlike the Dwarf King and the Dwarf Warriors, who were confident in the upcoming battle, as a researcher, he had lost much of his confidence upon realizing that their Mountain Fury had been countered by the humans.

The Dwarf King’s earlier remarks had little effect on him.

“But if they truly think the Dwarves can only rely on the Mountain Fury to defeat humans, then they’re seriously underestimating us.”

The Dwarf King looked extremely angry.

“Brave Dwarf Warriors, your target is the humans before you—those wicked oppressors who have exploited the Mountain folk! Show them your true strength! Kill—!”

With fervor ignited, the Dwarves launched a well-coordinated countercharge against the approaching human center.

Despite lacking complex formations, the sight of their organized ranks instantly conveyed an imposing presence.

Yet, the Dwarf King felt some small regret regarding their formation.

They had completely altered their tactics on the fly, with no time to adjust their ranks.

The enemy was upon them; making a mid-battle formation change was utterly impossible.

That would only worsen their situation.

Nevertheless, the Dwarf King had great confidence in his warriors.

Dwarves were the strongest warriors in the world.

And their current formation wasn’t too shabby either.

As the Dwarves countercharged the center, Arthur, without a second thought, drew his long sword and pointed it forward.

The silver blade glimmered faintly under the rain, showcasing its extraordinary quality.

Arthur didn’t mind this at all and ordered the Human Soldiers, “Soldiers, suppress these Dwarven rebels!”

His words labeled the Dwarves as insurgents.

This was entirely correct.

Since the age of Alexander until now, Dwarves had always been vassals of humans.

Even after the Dwarves had conquered half of the Georgia Kingdom, humans had not acknowledged their independence.

His proclamation also served to rally the soldiers.

He reminded them.

These seemingly powerful Dwarves weren’t dreadful.

They were merely a group of insurgents; since they could conquer them in the past, they could do so now.

Especially the soldiers from the Machia Republic, who despite the once-glorious Machia Empire now in ruins, still took pride in being Machians.

Though that era was very brief, it was at least a time of glory.

Arthur’s words triggered visions of past glory in their minds.

According to their understanding, the Machia Empire once dominated all, and the Dwarves standing before them were powerless to resist Machia.

“Kill—!”

The resurgence of glorious memories instilled a powerful fighting spirit in these Human Soldiers.

One by one, they charged fearlessly toward the incoming Dwarf soldiers.

Witnessing this scene, Arthur was taken by surprise.

He then turned his gaze to the long sword in his hand, eyes flickering, lost in thought.

War was brutal, especially when both sides fought with high morale.

The charging Dwarves collided with the Human Soldiers.

The shorter Dwarves smashed their firearms into the faces of the Human Soldiers.

Though hitting people in the face was normally frowned upon, this was the battlefield, where etiquette was thrown out the window.

Besides, the Dwarves had limitations in height; otherwise, hitting them on the skull would have a better effect.

“Raise shields to block!”

In response, the frontline Sword and Shield soldiers, under the command of the junior officer, raised their shields high.

The Dwarves’ firearms struck the shields held by the Human Soldiers.

A series of dull thuds rang out.

Then, the powerful blows from the Dwarves erupted against the shields, causing many soldiers to stagger and struggle to hold their ground, stumbling backward.

As a result, the ranks behind them were blocked.

Moreover, many soldiers had already lost feeling in the hand holding their shields, with some even dropping them.

In this initial clash with the Dwarves, the Human Soldiers found themselves at a disadvantage due to the Dwarven warriors’ overwhelming strength.

“Charge in and suppress them!”

Upon stabilizing their formation, the junior officers looked at the well-armored Dwarves commanding their soldiers.

They couldn’t help but feel envious.

After all, with the recent real combat experience, they realized that their weapons couldn’t dent this finely crafted armor.

Such high-defense gear was something only the knights could afford in their ranks.

Yet, the Human Soldiers weren’t entirely without means to deal with such formidable foes.