Chapter 912

The melodious sound of the assembly bugle floated in the air. The Great Yu Empire soldiers, having received the order, emerged from the tren

The melodious sound of the assembly bugle floated in the air. The Great Yu Empire soldiers, having received the order, emerged from the trenches.

Following their officers’ commands, they arrayed themselves in the classic formation used during the Great Yu Empire’s northern and southern campaigns. The difference, however, was that this time they were all using Falcon Rifles.

The Japanese daimyo and soldiers inside Nagitsu City had not yet recovered from the naval bombardment. The entire Nagitsu City was in chaos.

The first to react was Tokugawa Ieyasu. Seeing the Great Yu Empire soldiers advancing towards them, he hastily shouted, “Where are the artillerymen?! Return fire! Hit them hard!”

No one answered him. The artillerymen stationed on the city wall were almost entirely wiped out in the collapse. The surviving artillerymen were unable to immediately find their cannons in the rubble.

Seeing this, despair showed in Tokugawa Ieyasu’s eyes. He looked at the other daimyo; all of them showed the same expression as his.

It was not that they were not brave, but that the disparity between the two sides seemed too great this time.

At this point, he looked at the sea. The attacking Atakabune (warships) had all turned into burning piles of firewood, while the twenty-six attacking Great Yu Empire warships were completely unscathed. This further disheartened him.

In the distance, the Great Yu Empire army advanced with neat steps, drawing closer and closer. Gritting his teeth, Tokugawa Ieyasu immediately gathered the remaining scattered soldiers with the other daimyo. He could be defeated, but he could not flee, otherwise the Tokugawa family would be disgraced among the other daimyo.

“Somewhat interesting!”

Liu Chen led the marines forward in an orderly fashion. Seeing some Japanese soldiers gathering in front of the city, he smiled.

In his opinion, Japan’s combat effectiveness was still superior to Goryeo’s. If Goryeo soldiers encountered such a situation, they would surely flee, yet Japan could still continue to fight.

However, this was precisely what he wanted. This time, they had to make Japan feel the pain.

The distance between the two sides grew shorter and shorter. At this point, the artillerymen pushing field cannons forward began to open fire on the Japanese soldiers. Flowers of flame exploded in the Japanese formations, shattering the Japanese soldiers’ formations.

As the artillery attacked the Japanese soldiers, cavalry wearing armor and carrying katanas suddenly poured out from the side city wall. These cavalry galloped directly towards the artillery position.

The two thousand soldiers protecting the artillery, seeing this scene, immediately formed three ranks. When the cavalry entered three hundred meters, they began to fire.

“Bang, bang, bang…” A dense volley of gunfire rang out. The galloping cavalry fell one after another. At three hundred meters, the Falcon Rifle already possessed good accuracy, and Japan’s tendency to launch dense charges made it even easier for the soldiers to hit.

Compared to the tall men and horses of the Great Yu Empire cavalry, Japan’s warhorses were short-legged. Although inferior in appearance to the Great Yu Empire’s cavalry, they now displayed a spirit of fighting fearlessly.

As the horses in front fell, the remaining Japanese cavalry did not slow down. They continued to charge.

“Bang, bang, bang…” The soldiers reloaded their paper cartridges and fired another volley. When the Japanese cavalry charged within fifty meters, the Great Yu Empire soldiers had already fired four volleys. Three to four thousand cavalry fell in pools of blood.

Facing the remaining four to five thousand cavalry, the soldiers did not continue firing. They took out hand grenades from their waists, pulled the fuses, and threw them one by one into the midst of the cavalry.

“Boom, boom, boom…”

Violent explosions instantly covered the cavalry. The power of the hand grenade explosions directly annihilated swathes of cavalry.

A short distance of fifty meters became an insurmountable obstacle. Amidst the continuous explosions, hundreds of surviving Japanese cavalry charged towards the artillery position.

What awaited them was a dense array of bayonets.

“Slash!” The sound of bayonets entering armor rang out. The first rank of Great Yu Empire soldiers, unable to withstand the cavalry’s impact, fell backward. The Japanese cavalry killed by bayonets were sent flying into the air by inertia, landing on the position, dying.

In a very short time, Japan’s eight thousand cavalry were almost completely wiped out.

Liu Chen let out a slight breath of relief. He continued to lead his soldiers forward in formation. As if for revenge, the artillery’s fire also grew fiercer.

Japanese soldiers desperately tried to fill the gaps in their formation, but they were repeatedly destroyed by artillery shells.

Finally, the distance between the two sides reached one hundred and fifty meters. Liu Chen ordered his soldiers to raise their gun muzzles. At this distance, dense Falcon Rifle fire would achieve the greatest advantage. Basically, soldiers could aim precisely at the enemy soldiers.

Seeing the Great Yu Empire soldiers stop, the Japanese soldiers began to move forward. At this distance, they could not fire at the enemy.

“First rank! Fire!” Liu Chen shouted.

Following his command, the first rank of soldiers collectively adopted a kneeling position. Instantly, they began firing at the Japanese soldiers walking towards them.

“Bang, bang, bang!” Gunfire erupted. The Japanese soldiers in the front rank fell simultaneously.

“Second rank, fire!” Liu Chen shouted.

Another volley of precise firing, and another large number of Japanese soldiers fell.

At this point, the second rank of soldiers knelt to reload, and the third rank of soldiers fired again. And before the third rank’s firing was completed, the first rank of soldiers had finished reloading. Now, the efficiency of three-stage firing was much higher than before.

Under the advantage of the Falcon Rifle, the formation of over eighteen thousand men continuously poured out firepower. Japanese soldiers fell like cut leeks, wave after wave. At this point, Japanese soldiers realized they simply could not enter the range where they could fire at Great Yu Empire soldiers.

Because they would die before that!

Heavy casualties continuously mounted. The Nagitsu city wall was covered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers. After losing tens of thousands of lives, the Japanese soldiers finally lost control and began to collapse. This desperate fighting was not something everyone could endure.

Tokugawa Ieyasu and the daimyo’s faces turned ashen. The dense piles of soldiers’ corpses seemed to be tolling the death knell for their end. They desperately tried to rally their soldiers, but no one was willing to fight.

In the battle just now, the Japanese soldiers armed with firearms suffered devastating losses. The remaining feudal troops were a mixed bag, and some soldiers wielding swords knew they were even less of a match.

“Continue to advance!”

A faint smile appeared on Liu Chen’s lips. This was the effect they wanted. But it was not enough yet. They needed to achieve even greater results.

The melodious bugle call sounded again. The soldiers pressed forward in an orderly fashion towards Nagitsu City, destroying any enemy who dared to fight them along the way.

Soon, they entered Nagitsu City. At this point, Liu Chen ordered his soldiers to clear out the Japanese soldiers in the city by company. Whether soldiers or Japanese common people, anyone who resisted was to be killed without mercy.

While Liu Chen was achieving brilliant victories, Yue Yun had already destroyed Japan’s remaining naval warships. On the burning sea, Yue Yun led his warships through the wreckage of the burnt warships.

Floating in the sea were the corpses of Japanese soldiers. The sounds of burning flames and screams filled the air.

“Enter the inland river!” Yue Yun gave the order.

With Nagitsu taken, he no longer worried about the safety of his warships in the inland river. From now on, this place would be another supply point for the Great Yu Empire navy.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair