General Rapp raised his sabre in the air and yelled, "Charge!" His cavalry followed him into the heart of the captured fishing village. The Kislevian raiders were caught unaware, and by the time they had noticed, it was already too late. The Luxenberg cavalry cut many to shreds, their height advantage made it difficult for the enemy infantry to land a decent strike on them.
Sabres fluttered in the air, painting the ground crimson with the blood of Kislevian raiders. Although they were at a disadvantage, the Kislevian men fought hard and did not flee. They stood their ground and fought tooth and nail to survive.
Dealing with cavalry was already tough for them, but their troubles grew as the Luxenberg infantry charged in to support their mounted comrades. The raiders were not a disciplined bunch; they failed to properly guard their perimeter or set up their artillery. Their focus was only on plundering; they were not regulars from the Tsardom of Mikhailovich's Army.
The Kislevian men grunted and yelled, intimidating even some of the Luxenberg soldiers. Their ferocity was remarkable, yet it was not enough to help turn the tide of the battle. When the Luxenberg infantry poured into the village, their chances of victory had completely dropped to nothing. The village was overrun, and they did not have time to flee back to their ships, many of which were transport ships.
The battle lasted only one hour. In that time, the majority of the Kislevian raiders were killed in battle. Only a sliver of their force survived, but General Rapp was quick to put the survivors to death. They were brutal men who plundered the lands of innocent civilians. If they somehow managed to be set free, they would most likely continue to plunder.
Once General Rapp and his men secured the village, they turned their attention to the ships anchored a little bit away from the coast. General Rapp began setting up his artillery to fire upon the Kislevian ships. Many of them were troop transports, while half a dozen of them were ships similar to the Luxenberg third-rate warship.
The Luxenberg cannons unleashed a deadly volley that crippled a dozen troop transport ships and two of their warships. Seeing that they did not stand a chance at retaliating against a great number of cannons, the Kislevian ships began to retreat. General Rapp had succeeded in his mission in securing his assigned fishing village.
At the other fishing village, Marshal Lefebvre saw similar success.
The Marshal took a more methodical approach rather than blitzing the enemy. He deployed all available artillery and made sure that his skirmishers had advanced stealthily into range. Once everything was to his liking, Marshal Lefebvre gave the order for his cannons to begin bombardment.
Earth, wood, stone and bodies began to fly about as the bombardment of Marshal Lefebvre's cannons persisted. Skirmishers in hidden positions took the chance to shoot enemy artillerymen who were preparing their cannons to fire.
Happy with how everything was progressing, Marshal Lefebvre ordered his infantry to begin their advance. From all sides, the Luxenberg infantry began to close in on the Kislevian raiders' position.
In perfect unison, they marched in formation. The drums and pipes kept all the men in sync. When they were finally in range, the first 3 rows began to fire upon the enemy simultaneously. The first row took a crouched position on one knee and opened fire. The next row, who stood upright, then fired a volley, and then finally the third row, who were partially staggered from the side of the second row, fired.
Their discipline and tactics overwhelmed the unprepared Kislevians. In droves, the Luxenberg soldiers began to pour into the village, controlling the tempo of the battle. With each shot fired from their muskets, a Kislevian raider would drop to the dirt. Marshal Lefebvre was amongst all the action, wielding his musket and standing side by side with his infantry in the first row.
The Luxenberg forces were tightening their grip around the fishing village. They were coming in from all sides. Scores of Kislevian raiders were beginning to surrender as their comrades were being slaughtered; however, Marshal Lefebvre was not taking any prisoners. He shared a similar sentiment towards these raiders. The lives they ruined are beyond reproach, so much so that they needed to send a message.
Once the second fishing village was rid of raiders, Marshal Lefebvre made his artillery move closer to the coast. When they were set up, they targeted the Kislevian ships. Multiple volleys were devastating the ships that were closest to the village. The ones who were at the back managed to slip away.
By the end of the day, both fishing villages had been fully secured, and messenger pigeons were sent back to the city of Yanmen.
Before nightfall, the messenger pigeons had arrived, each bearing news of flawless victory. Casualties were kept to a minimum. In total, 5,000 infantrymen and 300 cavalrymen were lost in the battles.
Lieutenant Bi Hei was most impressed with the results of the Luxenberg Army. Their help had altered the course of these raids dramatically already. The lack of manpower was no longer an issue.
Thanks to the efforts of General Rapp and Marshal Lefebvre, half of the raiders' camps were destroyed. The Southern Army would not have been able to accomplish such a feat in one day; their lack of men and experience had made dealing with the raiders difficult.
"Your soldiers are impressive, Your Majesty. It is no wonder that our army was easily defeated by you." Lieutenant Bi Hei jokingly quipped. Victor offered a warm smile and downplayed his men's achievement, "They are impressive indeed; however, many of your continent's soldiers fought valiantly against us. It would be a disservice to say otherwise."
With the success of the assaults, the attention of the war effort against the Kislevian raiders was now turned to the other two fishing villages that were a fair bit east of Yanmen. Not only were they further away, but they would also be more difficult to deal with.
These fishing villages were not only larger than the ones that were recently retaken, but they also had a larger Kislevian raider presence. Even Field Marshal Gai Mou struggled to find a solution to deal with these two fishing villages.
Given that these two fishing villages were on the way to Jiuzhen, which was where Field Marshal Gai Mou was stationed, Victor had a reason to take the lead on the next phase of this war against the Kislevian raiders.