I, transformed into a vampire girl, sparked the Industrial Revolution.

Chapter 41 Reverse Slope Tactics

"They're coming on strong!"

Alice stood on the high ground, watching the crowd rushing towards them. Two thin gray battle lines stood on the hillside, looking down from above.

The first column rested their rifles on the breastwork, the second column stood ready. The enemy drew closer and closer, and Alice smelled the stench of blood—her body now craved blood, but it wasn't just a physical craving, it was also a spiritual craving—a craving for war.

"Raise your gun—fit your cap!"

The clanging sound rang out, the clanging of steel, the ripples stirred up by the drumbeats, all of which transformed into dark clouds before a storm, shrouding the battlefield.

"300 meters on the measuring rod!"

"Fire!"

A layer of smoke erupted on the hillside. The first rank of privates fired, shattering a hundred-man regiment that was about to charge. Chainmail and cloth armor were pierced by bullets, spears were broken, and the ironwood shields in the hands of the vanguard shield bearers were pierced and fell to the ground.

The Minié rifle, loaded with a percussion cap, could fire 6 to 8 rounds per minute. The Battle Regulations of the Amerinsil Army of 653 stipulated that a rate of 6 rounds per minute was acceptable when using the Minié rifle.

The two columns of wheeled firing maintained a rate of fire of 6 rounds per minute. Alice did not issue the order to "reload at maximum speed." The current situation did not require them to output maximum firepower. Moreover, such an order that sacrificed the soldiers' physical strength and reloading completion rate was not conducive to prolonged combat.

However, maintaining this rate of fire was enough to sweep away all monsters and demons in this era. You should know that the Minié rifle was extremely powerful, with a kill range of about 1,000 meters and excellent penetrating power. At this range, traditional longbowmen and crossbowmen simply could not effectively kill anyone.

If the artillery battalion's 12-pound Napoleon cannons were added, the enemy wouldn't even be able to get within 50 meters, not to mention that they would have already collapsed due to heavy casualties before that.

"Fire!"

Another cloud of white smoke erupted, and the hundred-man formation, which was undoubtedly lacking in ranged weapons, lost more than half its men, leaving the rest to flee in disarray.

"Cease fire! Shoulder your guns!"

The commander of the Third Mercenary Group looked at the routed troops returning, and indeed, Grant had not lied to him; they were equipped with terrifying projectile weapons capable of killing an armored infantryman from 300 paces away.

There was no other way but to use manpower to scale the hill. Grant's orders to him were to take the town of Great Mill, but without taking this hill, they wouldn't even be able to retreat, let alone take Great Mill.

Now, this is the only way. They have a numerical advantage, at least here—he judged there weren't many people on the slope, two thousand-man regiments—that is, half of their forces. Victory is achieved through sacrifice—this is Grant's creed, and also the creed of the mercenary legions.

"Men! Assemble two thousand-man regiments and advance with heavy force! The lord has ordered us to crush the enemy!"

Later, Alice saw the enemy advancing, a huge, swarming army with war drums beating loudly. Alice ordered the drummers to beat the war drums and the buglers to blow their horns.

"Reload!"

The Third Mercenary Legion finally set up their siege weapons. Alice saw a catapult in the distance, but even a counterweight catapult's range was only about 100 to 200 meters, well within the range of a Minié rifle.

"First rank! Aim at the catapults!"

"Fire!"

A cloud of smoke burst open, and dozens of Minié catapults were launched at the catapult squad. The siege weapons were completely unprotected and were no different from the infantry—especially since the infantry had their teammates in the front row as cover.

"Reload!"

A volley of several hundred men in a line could kill five to six hundred people. Alice nodded and brandished her command sword.

"Fire!"

The Minié rifles didn't need to be designed for close-range combat like smoothbore guns. They only needed to load ammunition, aim, and fire in volleys. In fact, if they weren't facing mostly melee-armed armies and needing to maximize firepower, Alice would have simply had them march in skirmish lines.

Each volley from the hillside resulted in hundreds of casualties. The mercenary commander watched in terror as the terrifying smoke billowed, each burst taking the lives of hundreds.

The Third Mercenary Legion is a legion without mages. If it had mages, they could cast fireballs from a hundred meters away, which would at least allow them to retaliate.

More and more soldiers deserted, and a cavalryman kept waving his sabers, telling them to go back. He even killed a deserter.

"Get back there, you bastards! Aren't you ashamed? You took the Duke's gold coins and tried to run away?"

Alice looked down the hillside. She could see it clearly now, even the ferocious face of the soldier at the front. She raised her revolver, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

"First rank! Raise your guns!"

"shooting!"

For the mercenaries of the Third Mercenary Legion, this thunderous sound was the most unforgettable. The deadly Mini bullets could usually penetrate the bodies of one or two demons at a distance of tens of meters, and a close-range volley was devastating.

"Second rank! Raise your guns—fire!"

The first soldier approached the trench in front of the breastwork. Alice pressed the hammer, aimed, and fired. In the smoke, the soldier was shot in the head and fell straight backward.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of musket fire rang out behind them, and the soldiers who had climbed the hillside first were shot down. For the mercenary soldiers, they were close to success.

"kill!!!!!"

Alice listened to their roars, her expression unchanged as she pressed the hammer and pulled the trigger.

"Maintain formation! First rank, rifles raised!"

The trench in front of the low wall was half a person high, and with wooden spikes blocking the way, it became an insurmountable obstacle for a while. The gray-clad soldiers loaded their bullets methodically, but many of them were actually very nervous—mercenaries. In the demon territory, mercenaries were the most formidable veterans, and no one could face them head-on.

A soldier's hand trembled, and his cap fell into the ground. He squatted down and searched everywhere, but he didn't see a mercenary who had climbed up the low wall and was about to swing his longsword.

"what--"

boom!

The gun barrel, pressed against his face, fired a .45 lead bullet. His platoon leader grabbed him and yelled, "Stop looking for that damn percussion cap! Get a new one!"

"Raise the gun!"

At face-to-face, with the gun barrel almost touching the face of the mercenary climbing the embankment, Alice swung her command sword and cut down a demon soldier who had climbed up.

"Fire!"

Smoke filled the air, but few were killed this time. Alice raised her sword high and shouted:

"retreat!"

A gust of wind blew by, the smoke dissipated, and the mercenary commander was overjoyed to see the enemy army in retreat. He was in the middle of the formation, raising his longsword.

"Army attack!"

"They escaped! Kill them!"

Corpses filled the ditches, mercenaries leaped over the breastwork and charged forward, while Alice led two platoons of soldiers running backward, the soldiers behind them getting closer and closer.

Row after row, like hedgehogs, on the gentle slope behind the hill, the First Infantry Division, nearly 10,000 men, were arranged in dozens of horizontal lines, raising their rifles and aiming at the enemy troops on the opposite hillside.