Warhammer Divine Throne-Chapter 650 - 287, The Battle of Hemgart (Part 3)

PS: Yesterday morning, I received news that my grandmother passed away in her sleep. I updated early and rushed home. There might be a pause in updates tomorrow, please understand.

PS2: Thanks to the book friends "Axe Axe Axe King," "Crazy Ran," "Book Friend 160918170046760" for their generous rewards, much appreciated.

This is a colossal creature entirely encased in steel, its body composed of steel plates and riveted structures. The steam cannon's muzzle protrudes from the mouth of this war beast, instilling intense fear among Brittania's knights and soldiers.

From the exhaust pipes of the Golden Griffin, billows of steam spew out, the steel armor shell covered with church scriptures and statues engraved with golden double-headed eagles. Imperial Engineers stand within the steel giant, maneuvering this unparalleled behemoth.

"For Charlemagne! For the Empire!!!"

Umberto Prince-Elector shouted, his voice clear across the battlefield: "Fire!"

Five steam tanks fired simultaneously, the steam cannons tearing apart the efforts of the Brittania Army. The Brittania knights, who had originally drawn near the third formation, were severely damaged by the steam cannons and had to retreat temporarily. Almost in the blink of an eye, the scales of victory shifted once more.

On the walls of Hemgart, the various Prince-Electors, their heirs, and courtiers were observing the war.

"Casvan is overly conservative; at the time, the Imperial Army was already showing signs of defeat. If he had deployed all reserves and led a charge himself, perhaps the Imperial Army would have been routed." Francois, clad in full plate armor with blue background and white patterns, the Unicorn Sword hanging at his waist, spoke to Laine, Julius, and others beside him: "At the time, the Imperial steam tanks had yet to cross the river, a great opportunity for victory was missed just like that."

"Lord Casvan had his own considerations." Laine nodded, with a hint of helplessness on the face of the Lake Fairy Chosen Champion. The precious strength of humans shouldn't be used in civil war, but many times, only a war can make everyone calm down: "The elite knights of His Majesty Carl Franz didn't know when they would arrive, Casvan needed enough reserves to ensure he wouldn't be crushed by the suddenly appearing Imperial Knights." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"What Lord Laine says is reasonable." Oleg von Rukov, heir to the Wolfen Prince-Elector, agreed wholeheartedly: "The battlefield situation changes swiftly; there's never an absolutely correct choice."

Laine most dislikes a certain kind of person, the armchair generals coming after the fact. These people love to collect various reasons for the defeated side and then, when asked, smugly expound: I told you so? If he doesn't do that, defeat is certain.

Or perhaps: There are so many reasons, victory is certain.

However, many times war isn't like this; the battlefield situation changes rapidly. Often in battles with similar strength, a resounding victory or a devastating defeat can happen in an instant. Some choices were correct at the time but later found to be wrong. Sure, there are generals with evident mistakes or who were too incompetent, deserving criticism, but in most cases, it isn't that simple.

After Casvan declared war on the Empire, there was a theory among Brittania's nobles that attacking the Empire when slightly disadvantaged wasn't a wise move. However, in Laine's view, Casvan was quite smart; the Duchy of Paragon has infertile land, year after year of deficits, severe internal conflicts, and poor relations with the Empire with longstanding friction.

If he does nothing, the knights within his domain might turn their spears towards the Duke himself.

As for the theory of strength, it's even more ludicrous; if wars were only about troop numbers, there wouldn't be a need to fight. Just count soldiers. Savior Ludwig, at the time having received aid from Brittania, Dwarfs, and High Elves, unified all Imperial forces and only assembled an army of three hundred thousand. Yet the Chaos Army numbered five hundred thousand, and ordinary Chaos Warriors could handle several human soldiers of the same rank. Did Ludwig give up?

The emergence of the steam tank quickly controlled the situation. Many Imperial Army forces that were in retreat saw this steel giant finally cross the river to support them, boosting their morale. Under Umberto Prince-Elector's call, they regrouped and rejoined the Imperial line.

The Imperial Army, initially showing signs of faltering, stabilized their morale, and both sides fell into a tough battle. Brittania's Ranger Knights and Kingdom Knights begin to slow down after repeated charges, being forced into close combat.

In the plains before Hemgart City, human armies clashed everywhere.

The situation still favored Brittania, but the Imperial Army, aided by the steam tanks, tenaciously held their ground like stones. Knights attempting to break the line were repelled by continuous cannon and musket fire. The steam tanks were simply too powerful, whether infantry's longswords, long spears, Peasant Archers' arrows, or knights' cavalry lances all helplessly bounced off the steam tank's steel plates. Such solid steel plates could only be cut by Holy Grail Knights.

However, the military action by the Duke of Paragon did not receive support from the Kingdom nor the support of the Lake Fairy. His formation lacked the presence of Holy Grail Knights. Though he still holds an advantage in the war, relying on the steam tank's protection and fire suppression, Casvan and his army can only engage in a futile mixed battle with the Imperial Army.