Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 2179 - 1574: Europe’s Pinnacle Holy War Veterans Corps—Line-Wedge-Axe!

"Da da da!"The port was like a gray drum, with crisscrossed low houses and alleys, outlining rough scales and patterns on its surface. The galloping Royal Cavalry felt like drumsticks striking, producing a low tremor with the horse’s gallop, which stirred the soldiers’ enthusiastic cheers. On the battlefield of the Holy War, whenever the Queen’s banner appeared, the invigorating cheer was always like this moment, providing the soldiers with incredible morale boosts.

Royal Knight Alvaro was already accustomed to all this and felt genuinely proud to be able to lift the Queen’s banner high! After a brief moment of daze, he instinctively waved the Royal Banner, as if he had returned to the mountains and valleys of Granada, shouting fearless battle slogans.

"Faith!"

Upon hearing the familiar call, Pedro Magallit thrust his chest forward, personally leading the elite eighty-man squad to step forward and shout in welcome.

"Cross!"

The elite squad of eighty swiftly moved in, deploying into three formations at great speed. They shouted war cries as they did so, but their steps remained utterly stable.

"Redemption!"

"Faith! Cross! Redemption!..."

Amid the short, rhythmical, and murderous chants, Royal Knight Alvaro continued to gallop forward, shouting the onset of the second slogan.

"Almighty!"

"Light!"

"Courage!"

"Almighty! Light! Courage!..."

The sergeant moved forward again, and the eighty-man squad rapidly transformed, splitting into distinct three groups. The front squad consisted of twenty "bow group," comprised of archers and musketeers; the middle squad was the forty "spear group," with spearmen wielding spears over two meters; the rear squad was the twenty "axe group," two-thirds of whom were sword and shield, and one-third heavy axe/great sword soldiers.

The three groups of veteran soldiers adeptly shifted their positions, transforming into different formations while advancing. Until Royal Knight Alvaro galloped in, the raised banner flaring like flames before their eyes, shouting the final slogan.

"Queen!"

"Honor!"

"Victorious!!"

When the prolonged sound of "Victory" echoed throughout the port, Royal Knight Alvaro raised the Banner Lance, suddenly stopping his horse before Sergeant Pedro. Sergeant Pedro drove his longsword into the ground, kneeling on one knee before the Queen’s banner.

"Queen! Honor! Victory!!"

Behind the sergeant, the eighty-man squad simultaneously shouted, having formed a "line-wedge-axe" three-layer formation completely. The front line of twenty "bow group" formed a loose line; the mid-line forty "spear group" clustered into two twenty-man "wedges," namely, two long-weapon assault squads; the rear line of twenty divided into two sections, forming two close-combat armor-piercing "axe hit" groups.

This was the Late Middle Ages at the close of the 15th century. After seven hundred years of Reconquista and more than a decade of Holy War slaughter, the Kingdom of Castile had developed to its zenith, representing the highest level of infantry regiment tactics in contemporary Europe!

The "bow group" covered and harassed, the "spear group" formed wedge-shaped assaults, and after breaking through enemy formations, the "axe group" engaged in close quarters hacking. The three formations cooperated with each other, flexibly adapting to different war scenarios, capable of countering Moorish Light Cavalry, fighting Moorish Infantry, and even attacking small fortresses, conducting ambushes or raids.

The most challenging element, of course, was never the grouping of troop types and mutual cooperation of military ideas, but these elite veterans who emerged from countless battles and heaps of corpses! Only such veterans forged in the crucible of the Holy War could fearlessly face the onslaught of Moorish Cavalry, quickly forming battle formations amid the thrice-called slogans!

"Almighty bless! These are the Holy War Veterans of Castile, elite regiments directly under the Royal Family! A veteran regiment like this, having fought in the Holy War for ten years and ignoring cavalry charges, the Queen possesses a total of one hundred of them! This colossal force of eight thousand Royal Family elite soldiers is the underpinning of the Queen’s control over the entire Kingdom of Castile, suppressing the Great Nobility across the regions!..."

"If Columbus hadn’t brought back definitive news of the Eastern route, the Queen would never have dispatched such Royal Family foundation elite regiments to participate in the East India exploration and development. And this time, with three veteran regiments at hand, those so-called Indian Natives, those Cipangu Barbarians, could only obediently bow their heads and embrace the Almighty! As for those Shenluo Mercenaries, they are no match for the veteran regiments and must obediently comply!..."

At the bow of the Holy Light, Vice Admiral Antonio’s face was full of pride, the previous unsightly expression vanished. As the Royal representative sent to the expedition fleet, he was genuinely pleased with the might of the Castilian Holy War Army!

Currently, the Kingdom of Castile had just finished the Granada Holy War three years ago, being at the lowest point of national finances and the pinnacle of military prowess! Even though a large number of drafted militia had been disbanded, various hiring contracts ceased, and the Crusader knights from various countries dismissed... The Kingdom of Castile still retained a military force far beyond its financial ability to sustain.

The Castilian Royal Family had one hundred eighty-man squads, an eight-thousand-strong armor-clad Holy War Veteran Corps. These were truly elite soldiers seasoned by a hundred battles, requiring the Royal Family to provide substantial military funds to maintain! Then, there were various Knight Orders adding up to three thousand, under dual jurisdiction of the Royal Family and the Church, with the Royal Family covering at least half of the expenses. About a thousand palace guards and border cavalry needed full funding from the Royal Family and simultaneously acted as tax enforcement teams throughout the regions.

Indeed, in the countries of Europe, if the military wasn’t sent out, local "troublesome village settlements" and "autonomous towns" wouldn’t obediently hand over their tax money. And this totaled twelve thousand people, the Royal Family’s directly controlled regiments!