Hammond decided to take the initiative, and the order to attack was given.
The War Elephant Legion was the Papacy's trump card, and since the war elephants were in poor physical condition, they were not deployed in the initial battle.
The first to enter the fray were the regular army: infantry advancing, cavalry flanking, and archers providing support. The Papacy's tactics were very traditional.
Gabella's side first sent out cavalry to deal with the Papal cavalry attacking from the flank. The two sides' cavalry clashed, raising dust and fighting fiercely.
A short while later, the Papal infantry, launching an attack from the front, approached Gabella's army.
The crossbowmen in the Imperial army raised their strange crossbows horizontally, seemingly intending to use long-range fire to slow down the Papal army's advance.
The soldiers on the Papacy's side were well-versed in this, and they raised their shields to cover their faces. This was an effective way to deal with longbowmen, and even if there were longbowmen on the other side, they could not easily penetrate the thick shields in their hands.
Webster, the Papal Vice Commander observing from behind, suddenly frowned. He saw that the robed men mixed among the crossbowmen in the local army formation had also raised their wooden staffs, the red crystals inlaid on the staffs appearing even more vibrant in color.
An ominous premonition rapidly swelled in Webster's heart.
He instinctively touched the amulet hanging on his chest, wanting to pray to God.
When Webster raised the amulet, he froze, suddenly breaking out in a cold sweat.
The amulet had turned jet black, as if it had been soaked in ink.
There is a strange stone called the magic detection stone, which has a texture and shape like white marble. There are many magical legends about this stone, including the magical power to detect airborne particles.
When the magic detection stone gets close to a magical object or a spell being cast, it will turn from white to black. The more concentrated and powerful the magical energy in the space, the faster and darker it will turn.
However, since previous Spellcasters generally lived in seclusion or concealed their identities, the magic detection stone did not have the opportunity to be used on a large scale. Therefore, its properties were gradually regarded as a rather mysterious legend and were not widely known. Even those who had actually witnessed magic or firmly believed in its existence did not know the function of the magic detection stone.
Webster's amulet was made of magic detection stone. When he led the Papal army in the battle of Horn Bay, the local clergy of Horn Bay Church, who were particularly sensitive to wizards and magic, gave him this amulet. Of course, he had heard the giver explain the wonders of this stone, but he had always carried it with him as an ordinary amulet—even though he knew about the existence of wizards and magic.
Now, the amulet, which should have been pure white and without a trace of impurity, had turned completely black. Webster immediately recalled the explanation he had heard about the magic detection stone in Horn Bay.
"It's magic!" He exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock.
Those around Webster were startled.
"What did you say?" Commander Selvan Hammond looked at his deputy in surprise, wondering why his good friend would behave so strangely.
Webster held up the amulet in his hand. " The Gabella are casting a spell! Please order our troops to retreat immediately. We don't know what the effects of their magic will be!"
"Magic?" Selvan Hammond frowned. "Are you sure? Or rather, how do you know?"
Webster waved the amulet in his hand. "You know what a magic detection stone is, right? It's this one I have. When this kind of stone comes into contact with..."
Hammond interrupted with a wave of his hand, "I know the legends about this stone... Wait!" He quickly noticed something amiss, "Why has this stone turned black? Is our enemy casting a spell?"
"Exactly!" Webster nodded. "Please have the troops withdraw first!"
Selvan Hammond frowned, thought for a moment, and quickly rejected his suggestion.
"We have 40,000 men attacking! A full 40,000! How many wizards can withstand an attack of 40,000?"
"But!" Webster still wanted to argue; he had become much more cautious since returning from Horn Bay.
"No buts!" Hammond waved his hand. "We're about to engage in close combat. If we retreat now, morale will plummet, and the Gabella people won't let us retreat so easily, will they?"
Just then, the two saw an unbelievable sight.
Just as the two armies were about to clash in close combat, a black shadow rose from the Gabella's position and pounced on the moving Papal army.
Those were actually black arrows!
Bang!
The arrow pierced through the shield in front of him, and with its momentum undiminished, it sank into Soldiers ' breastplate with the remaining force. The impact even sent Soldiers flying several feet backward.
laugh!
Another crossbow bolt pierced through the shield, and the man who was hit cried out in pain, clutching his wound and collapsing to the ground with a thud.
"How is that possible?"
The Papal soldiers were astonished to find that their heavy shields were no match for the high-speed arrows, as thin as cheese.
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"Get out of the way!"
"Ouch, that hurts!"
The Papal troops, struck by arrows, screamed in agony as soldiers fell to the ground, riddled with arrows.
The entire formation seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall, and immediately came to a standstill.
Hammond was horrified. How could that seemingly lightweight and strange crossbow fire arrows with such great force?
He immediately thought of an explanation.
"It's evil magic! Those despicable Gabella people, they've not only become heretics, they've fallen so low as to associate with wizards!"
"Immediately issue my order: Deploy the War Elephant Legion!"
Anger—and the fear of possible failure—driven him to unhesitatingly play his last card.
The earth trembled, the air roared—the Holy See's War Elephant Legion launched its attack.
Twenty massive elephants, clad in iron armor and already in full battle array, formed a wedge formation and rolled across the plain like a moving steel fortress, charging toward the Gabella army.
The massive elephant legs pounded the ground, raising clouds of dust that blotted out the sky behind them. In the arrow towers on their backs, archers had already drawn their bows, the gleaming arrows aimed forward. On both sides, heavily armored infantrymen held long spears, their armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Hammond will use the divine beast bestowed upon the Papacy by the Lord of Light to crush its enemies.