Garriott's soldiers were a temporary team, but as he requested, most of these soldiers had undergone a considerable degree of combat training. Even those ordinary cavalrymen were considered the elite of the city guards. During the charge, they generally maintained a basic formation, and those who rushed to the front of the team were all relatively strong soldiers. From the sky, it was like a giant claw stretched out by the city of Suero, grabbing the Chinese who were in a loose formation in front.
Garriott was concentrating on guarding against possible attacks from the other party, and scales began to appear on his body and face. Miguel and Sacheri beside him also used fighting spirit and magic to protect themselves.
Just when the distance between the cavalry and the enemy approached 150 kilometers, small cone-shaped objects suddenly began to shoot out from the barrels in the front row. The objects drew a high curve and flew towards Garriott and his men.
"Magic dodge formation!" Garriott roared.
This world is different from the Middle Ages on Earth. Due to the existence of magic, trained warriors often know how to dodge explosions. Cavalry will pay attention to keeping distance, and infantry know how to lie down. The so-called magic dodge formation is a tactical action that further increases the distance between cavalry and then lies on horseback.
Garriott's team was originally very scattered, and after he gave the order, the entire cavalry began to spread out further from the periphery. However, he shouted a little late, and the team had not been run-in, so the requirements for changing formations on the spot were too high for many soldiers who came from guards. Although their personal combat skills were higher, they were not familiar with military formations. On the contrary, those cavalrymen with average strength completed the order more faithfully.
As a result, the cavalry in the middle of the formation was somewhat confused. Not only did they fail to disperse in time, but they also slowed down the team's speed.
At this moment, the first batch of shells fell from the sky and landed in the middle of the cavalry.
The power of the 60mm mortar is much weaker than that of the other two pneumatic cannons, but each shell can still cause effective damage within a radius of five meters. However, due to the long distance, only three of the twenty or so shells actually landed on Garriott's team.
Two of the shells landed in the middle of several cavalrymen who were close together. The shock wave of the explosion blew the nearby cavalrymen off their horses, and the mud and rocks that were lifted up hit the cavalrymen who were farther away. Two cavalrymen happened to be near the shells and were killed on the spot. Another warrior with fighting spirit survived the explosion but was also thrown off his horse. Several other cavalrymen were injured to varying degrees.
Coincidentally, another shell exploded near Garriott. The scales on his body blocked the impact of the explosion, but it destroyed half of his clothes and opened several bloody wounds on the horse under him. Garriott simply tore off his shirt. His whole body was covered with green scales, and a pair of wings spread out on his back, making him look like a miniature green dragon.
He looked back and found that although the enemy's attack was powerful, there were few effective attacks. In this wave of enemy attacks, he only knocked down about three or four people, and they were all ordinary soldiers with low strength.
Each of his attacks was at the level of a low-level mage! However, his hit rate was much lower than that of the mages. Garriott felt relieved.
He shouted loudly, "Keep charging forward! Don't be scared by their blind attacks! Don't stop, charge! We will be able to reach them soon. If anyone dares to run back, I will chop off the heads of his entire family when I go back!"
The cavalrymen under his command also felt that such an attack was nothing to be afraid of, and they all spurred on their horses and continued to charge.
However, the Chinese's attack speed was much faster than the speed at which the low-level wizards cast spells. About ten seconds later, the second round of bombardment came again. This time their attack seemed to be more off-center, and only one shell fell into the cavalry. However, Garriott's team was more scattered, and the effect of the explosion was a little worse than before, and no one was knocked down.
"Humph, I thought these guys were so powerful. These weird 'cannons' are too weak. Only targets as big as the city defense barrier can be hit by them." Miguel sneered.
"Don't be happy too soon. It's just like archery. If you miss the first arrow, won't you adjust for the second one? And the closer the distance, the easier it is to shoot, right?" said Sacheri.
As soon as he finished speaking, the third batch of shells fell. This time, four or five shells hit the range of the cavalry, and six or seven people were knocked down by the explosion.
"Stop talking nonsense and keep charging!" Garriott roared.
When they had run halfway, they were met with the fourth wave of artillery shells.
While this wave of shells was still flying, Sacheri looked up and said, "There are different magical fluctuations. And they are not landing in the right place!"
Sure enough, the shells did not hit the cavalry, but hit the front of the team within 50 meters. After the shells landed, they did not explode with fire, but burst out a large amount of clear water. Under the effect of the magic circle above, the water that was spilled on the ground quickly froze into a circular ice surface with a diameter of about 7 or 8 meters, creating a sparse "ice field" in front of them.
As the cavalry charged at such a high speed, it was too late to make a detour. The knights in front rushed directly into the "ice field".
Garriott's own horse stepped on the ice, and the horse slipped and was about to fall. He quickly jumped off the horse, and while running, he put his hands under the horse's belly and lifted the horse out of the ice. Miguel and Sacheri beside him also showed their magical powers. One used his fighting spirit to break the ice in front of him, allowing his horse to step over safely. The other used a flying spell on the horse, so that the slipped horse did not fall to the ground, but floated in the air.
The soldiers behind them also tried various ways to avoid the ice. Those with excellent riding skills could directly bypass it, and those with strong fighting spirit learned from Miguel to break the ice. But after all, there were still many people who had no better way and could only watch themselves fall off their horses. The soldiers behind them could only slow down or go around when they saw the ones in front fall.
Regardless, the team slowed down.
"Don't panic, go around the ice and regroup!" Garriott shouted.
But at this time, another batch of shells flew over, and the cavalry, which was restrained by the ice, became easier to aim. This time, seven or eight shells fell into the team, and the effect of these shells was much stronger than before. At least a dozen cavalrymen fell in this wave of attacks.