Headquarters of the Serbian Second Army Group.
When General Pavle Jurišić Šturm received this telegram and saw the grandiloquent closing sentence, "My unit will be the first to launch an attack, opening the door to victory for the Army Group," a barely perceptible flash of annoyance crossed his face.
Milutin Milutinović... this old fellow is still as headstrong as ever.
Unauthorized action is a major taboo on the battlefield.
As the overall commander of the Army Group, he too disliked subordinates who acted without authorization.
However, when General Šturm put himself in the other man's shoes and thought about it, that spark of anger slowly subsided. He knew very well that if he were in that position, he would surely make the same decision—he, too, wouldn't want to miss this golden opportunity because he was waiting for orders.
Because combat opportunities are indeed fleeting... just like his decision to have the entire Army Group execute a forced river crossing.
On the rapidly changing battlefield, hesitation and waiting are often synonymous with failure.
"This Milutinović..." General Šturm shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips, "still such an impatient character."
He sighed and issued an order to his Chief of Staff: "Send orders to the other units: accelerate the march! They must keep up with the attack rhythm of the vanguard units! We cannot let the Fourth Corps fight alone!"
This was all he could do.
Now he could only hope that Milutin's judgment was correct... and hope that this surprise attack could succeed in one fell swoop.
About an hour later.
A loud, clear charge whistle sounded along the attack line of the Serbian 5th Division.
Tens of thousands of Serbian soldiers, holding rifles with fixed bayonets, scrambled out of their hastily dug foxholes, surging like a tide toward the blurry Saxon defense line in the distance.
Charging at the very front of the entire spearhead were ten "Iris Mark II, Modified" units, spread out in a line at 50-meter intervals.
When these steel giants marched forward with heavy steps in unison, even though they were obsolete older models, their every step made the earth tremble.
The sun shone on their dark green armor, reflecting a cold luster.
Following behind these steel behemoths was undeniably blood-boiling.
Many Serbian recruits, drafted just before the "Great Counter-Offensive" began and stepping onto the battlefield for the first time, temporarily forgot their fear of death. They screamed themselves hoarse, charging forward closely following the Armored Knights' pace.
This momentum, somewhat lacking in discipline due to excitement, forced the officers to blow their whistles even more urgently, signaling the young soldiers to maintain their attack formation.
Yes... at least up to now, the Serbians' attack formation was still quite similar to the Saxon Army's attack formation when Morin first transmigrated to this world.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Just then, ear-piercing shrieks descended from the sky.
Artillery shells landed in front of the attacking troops, blasting out plumes of black smoke and flying dirt.
The 105mm artillery regiment subordinate to the Saxon infantry division defending this flank had opened fire.
After a few ranging volleys, the shells began falling amidst the Serbian soldiers' attack formation.
Dense shrapnel shrieked through the air after the warheads detonated, continuously reaping the lives of the charging soldiers.
However, the firepower of a single artillery regiment was ultimately a drop in the bucket for such a broad attack frontage.
Although the bombardment caused some casualties among the Serbian infantry, it could not stop their advance.
And those 105mm high-explosive shells were merely a tickle to the thick-skinned Armored Knights.
With their "Spell Shields" activated, they couldn't even leave a scratch on the armor, causing virtually no substantial damage.
The ten "Iris Mark II, Modified" easily charged through the artillery barrage zone, reaching the Saxon defense line first.
Their massive metal footpads crushed the barbed wire meant to hinder infantry, instantly creating ten pathways for the infantry to pass through quickly.
This was also a primary task for Armored Knights during frontal assaults now that nations were deploying barbed wire in front of their positions...
And from the perspective of the Serbian Armored Knight squadron commander, as long as they could charge onto the enemy positions, they could rapidly destroy those heavy machine gun emplacements that posed the greatest threat to infantry, clearing the obstacles for the follow-up infantry attack.
Victory seemed within reach.
At this moment, the only thing he feared was the Saxon Empire's "Teutonic Knights" Armored Knights.
Although in the view of the Balkan nations, the Saxon Empire's current main equipment, the "Siegfried Mark I," could not compare to the Holy Britannia Empire's "St. George Mark III" in overall performance...
It was more than enough to deal with their obsolete, previous-generation Armored Knights.
According to the judgment of various nations' Armored Knight units, they might need to adopt "three-on-one" or even "five-on-one" tactics to gain an advantage.
The Serbian Armored Knight squadron commander vigilantly observed the trenches ahead through the panoramic vision provided by "Sympathetic Operation."
Fortunately, the situation on the position was exactly as the cavalry had scouted earlier.
Aside from Saxon soldiers constantly popping their heads up in the trenches, there was absolutely no sign of enemy Armored Knights.
This alleviated the last trace of worry in his heart, and a thought simultaneously flashed through his mind:
"It seems the Saxons really have deployed all their Teutonic Knights to the frontal battlefield!"
However, what struck this Serbian ace as strange was that the Saxon soldiers on the position, facing these steel behemoths, showed absolutely none of the anticipated panic and fear.
Nor did they have the habit of other nations' soldiers, who would fire wildly upon seeing Armored Knights.
Under the direction of their officers, they methodically retreated to the rear through the crisscrossing communication trenches, giving them no opportunity to attack at all. In that instant, the thought "If only I had a machine gun" even popped into the minds of these Serbian Armored Knight pilots...
"Trying to run?"
The squadron commander sneered, maneuvering his unit forward in large strides, attempting to use his massive bipedal walking mechanism to grind these ant-like Saxon infantry into mincemeat.
But the extremely calm response of these Saxon soldiers truly made him feel something was bizarre.
They were retreating too methodically, even giving him the feeling of... deliberately luring them in deep.
"Could it be a trap?!"
Just as this thought flashed through the squadron commander's mind, the previous-generation detection equipment inside the cockpit suddenly emitted a sharp alarm—this indicated the detection of energy fluctuations from high-intensity magitech cores!
The squadron commander's scalp tingled instantly, an ominous premonition surging in his heart.
The Saxon "Siegfried Mark I" utilized a hybrid mode combining a radiant crystal internal combustion engine and magitech. This was no secret on the Europa continent; the Saxons even used it for propaganda.
So this Serbian Armored Knight squadron commander also knew that the "Siegfried Mark I" was equipped with a simple magitech core for auxiliary power supply...
"No! Enemies! Prepare for melee combat!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs through the Armored Knight's external speakers.
The ten Armored Knights immediately stopped advancing. The pilots tensely maneuvered their units, nervously scanning every inch of ground around them, trying to find the enemies hidden in the dark.
The most significant problem with the detection equipment universally equipped on previous-generation Armored Knights was... it could not project the detected magitech core fluctuations onto the panoramic vision of the "Sympathetic Operation."
So at this moment, these "Iris Mark II, Modified" pilots could only search for the enemy visually.
But the problem was the position was completely empty... and it was fundamentally impossible for five or six-meter-tall Armored Knights to hide in small trenches.
Just then, the squadron commander's gaze suddenly swept over three inconspicuous "small earth mounds" not far away, slightly elevated above ground level.
And the instant he looked over, those three "small earth mounds" moved.
Dust flew, and clods of dirt scattered.
The three "small earth mounds" violently bulged upwards, as if some massive creatures were about to burrow out from underground.
Immediately following, under the horrified gazes of the ten Serbian Armored Knights and the Serbian infantry who had just charged onto the position, three enormous figures violently rose from underground, standing upon the position with an earth-shaking presence.
They were covered in thick dirt, but the field gray paint revealed where the dirt peeled off, and that iconic silhouette, all proclaimed their identity.
—Saxon Imperial Armored Knight, "Siegfried Mark I"!
Watching the dirt and camouflage cloaks constantly shaking off the three Armored Knights, the Serbian Armored Knight squadron commander instantly understood where the opponent had been hiding.
They actually buried themselves underground!
"Despicable! Shameless!"
The squadron commander couldn't help but curse loudly inside his cockpit.
"What bullshit 'Teutonic Knights'! You have no knightly spirit at all! This is the act of scoundrels!"
However, his furious roar was destined not to reach the opponents' ears.
And even if it did, it would be meaningless.
Because they were facing an elite Armored Knight squad led personally by Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig von Seeckt—the newly minted ace of the Teutonic Knights, Morin's staunchest comrade-in-arms, and supernumerary personnel of the instruction unit.
For Ludwig, the so-called "knightly honor" had been tossed into the trash can along with everything else long ago, back when Morin handed him the "shaped-charge anti-armor weapon" before the start of the urban combat in Seville, Kingdom of Aragon.
As the first person in this world to use this epoch-making weapon in actual combat, coupled with being constantly imbued with Morin's "by any means necessary" and "efficiency above all else" rhetoric...
He and his squadron had long become the batch of pilots within the entire Teutonic Knights who cared least about "knightly spirit."
At this moment, inside the cockpit of the "Siegfried Mark I," looking at the ten "Iris Mark II, Modified" lined up ahead, Ludwig's face showed no nervousness whatsoever; instead, a near-ferocious smile of pure satisfaction appeared.
"The frustration of missing the entire 'first half'... I'm going to vent it all on you today!"
He still clearly remembered how that guy Morin had unhesitatingly left him and his Armored Knight squad at the Army Group headquarters before the instruction unit prepared to execute their deep-penetration maneuver behind enemy lines.
"For the upcoming operations, you clunky, delicate big guys will be of no use."
Morin's exact words at the time were like a needle constantly pricking Ludwig's heart.
Of no use?
Clunky?
A burden?
This was the first time Lieutenant Colonel Ludwig, a Teutonic Knight, had ever heard someone dare to use such words to describe him and his mount.
Now, that pent-up resentment had entirely transformed into towering fury, ready to be unleashed on these unlucky Serbians before him.
"Everyone, assault!"
Ludwig didn't waste any words.
Maneuvering the "Siegfried Mark I," he drew two Shaped-Charge Anti-Armor Hammers from the hardpoints on the hip armor plates!
In order for the Armored Knights to lie concealed in the bunkers dug by the engineers, Ludwig's team hadn't brought the easily exposed "Shaped-Charge Anti-Armor Lances" and shields.
But in his view, against these obsolete "previous generation products," even the Shaped-Charge Anti-Armor Hammers were somewhat like "using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken"...
The next second, the radiant crystal internal combustion engine of the "Siegfried Mark I" let out a roar.
The power output was applied to the magitech muscle bundles via the "conversion device," then transformed into mechanical energy to drive the Armored Knight's limbs. The massive machine surged forward, lunging straight at the Serbian Armored Knight formation before they could tighten up.
Ludwig's two wingmen, without needing him to issue any further specific orders, displayed astonishing tacit understanding.
They also drew their respective Shaped-Charge Anti-Armor Hammers and closely followed Ludwig on the left and right, forming a standard triangular assault formation.
This unceremonious charge by the three Saxon Armored Knights caused a momentary panic among the opposing Serbian Armored Knights.
But they quickly steadied themselves.
After all, they had ten Armored Knights, holding absolute numerical superiority.
Ten against three, the advantage is ours!
"Intercept! Take them down!"
The Serbian squadron commander issued the order.
The ten "Iris Mark II, Modified" also strode forward to meet them.
In the blink of an eye, the steel giants of both sides clashed violently.
The collision of metal against metal produced a deafening roar.
However, in merely the first round of engagement, a shocking reversal occurred on the battlefield that left all Serbians unable to comprehend.
Ludwig maneuvered his unit, nimbly dodging a giant axe swung by an "Iris Mark II, Modified." Then, twisting the mechanical arm tightly gripping the Shaped-Charge Anti-Armor Hammer, he brought it down at a tricky angle, smashing fiercely onto the main chest armor of another "Iris Mark II, Modified."
The targeted Serbian pilot had absolutely no experience dealing with this new type of weapon.
And the Britannians and Gauls clearly had no obligation to disclose the news of their Armored Knights' defeats to these small Balkan nations...
So in the Serbian pilot's view, this small hammer couldn't possibly pose a threat to his thick main armor.
He even planned to tank the blow directly, and then use the mace held in his other mechanical arm to destroy the opponent's joints.
However, the instant the hammer head touched the armor...
"Boom!"
A blinding flash of fire exploded violently.
The tip of the Shaped-Charge Anti-Armor Hammer—the specialized warhead—was triggered upon impact. The explosives inside detonated instantly, forming a high-temperature, high-speed jet of metal.
This energy, sufficient to melt steel, easily pierced the curved frontal armor of the "Iris Mark II, Modified" and poured directly into the cockpit.
The massive "Iris Mark II, Modified," under the shock of the explosion, ceased all movement immediately, then crashed heavily forward onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Almost simultaneously, Ludwig's two wingmen, in their respective engagements, cleanly and efficiently took down a target each using virtually identical methods.
In just one face-to-face encounter.
No, it didn't even count as a face-to-face encounter.
In a mere dozen seconds, three Armored Knights, extremely vital to the Serbian Army, had fallen.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Especially that squadron commander who just moments ago was thinking "Ten against three, the advantage is ours."
He stared blankly at the three smoking wrecks before him, his mind a complete blank.
He completely couldn't comprehend why that seemingly unremarkable small hammer possessed such terrifying power.
Just like the Holy Britannia Empire's Knights of the Garter when they first encountered shaped-charge anti-armor weapons in the Kingdom of Aragon, they fell into immense shock and panic.
But Ludwig and his two wingmen gave them no time to think or react.
A "slaughter" targeting the Serbian Armored Knights had begun.
While Ludwig and his squad, like tigers among a flock of sheep, began reaping the chaos-stricken Serbian Armored Knights, the "Siegfried Mark I" units lying in ambush in other positions also burst from the ground one after another.
These steel behemoths burrowing out from underground didn't charge forward into melee combat like Ludwig's team.
They merely stayed in their respective positions, aiming the MG08 heavy machine guns mounted on their arms and shoulders at the Serbian infantry who had already charged near the trenches.
"Da-da-da-da-da-da!"
"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"
Dense gunfire instantly echoed across the entire battlefield.
The crossfire network formed by multiple MG08 heavy machine guns, like the scythe of the grim reaper, mercilessly swept towards those defenseless Serbian soldiers.
Just moments ago, they were cheering for their Armored Knights charging the enemy lines; the next second, they were knocked off their feet by this sudden rain of bullets.
The Serbian soldiers charging at the front fell in rows like harvested wheat.
Bullets easily tore through their thin uniforms, blooming blood-red flowers on their bodies.
In that instant, the entire right flank defense line of the Saxon Fifth Army Group erupted with gunfire. Battle cries, screams of agony, and explosions mixed together, transforming the area completely into a living hell.
And on the Armored Knight battlefield, the situation had already become entirely one-sided.
The remaining seven "Iris Mark II, Modified" units, having recovered from their initial shock, attempted to reorganize an effective counterattack.
Under their commander's orders, they spread out, attempting to use their numerical advantage to surround and attack Ludwig's three units from different directions.
However, their tactics appeared incredibly pale and powerless in the face of an absolute technological generational gap.
Ludwig calmly maneuvered the "Siegfried Mark I," twisting and turning amidst the enemy formation.
The "Siegfried Mark I" was indeed relatively clunky, but this "clunkiness" was relative.
At least for now, the movements of these Saxon Imperial main battle Armored Knights were far more agile than the clunky "Iris Mark II, Modified."
And Ludwig, an "enthusiast of shaped-charge anti-armor weapons," could always find the most lethal angle to deliver the wheelchair... I mean, the Shaped-Charge Anti-Armor Hammer in his hand, onto the opponent's armor.
"Boom!"
Another "Iris Mark II, Modified" was hit, its cockpit directly pierced by the metal jet.
The early-model magitech core, after sustaining heavy damage, also detonated violently, swallowing up many surrounding Serbian infantry in the blast.
"Squadron Commander! We can't hold them! Their weapons are too bizarre!"
A pilot shouted loudly in Serbian over the loudspeaker.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
The communication channel was filled with the terrified screams of the pilots.
The squadron commander's heart was bleeding.
He watched helplessly as his subordinates fell one by one, yet was powerless to do anything.
The giant axes and longswords they brandished couldn't even get close to the opponent's agile machines.
Even if they luckily landed a hit, it failed to cause effective damage—these experienced Teutonic Knights would often use their hardest parts to meet the strike.
This was fundamentally not a battle among equals.
There was a massive disparity between the Armored Knights of both sides, both in machine performance and in the technical and tactical skill levels of the pilots.
"Retreat! Everyone, retreat backward!"
The squadron commander finally issued the order everyone else had been waiting for a long time.
However, how could Ludwig, who had been holding it in for so long, easily let them leave?
"Trying to run? Did you ask the hammer in my hand?"
Seeing the remaining few "Iris Mark II, Modified" begin to group up and fall back, Ludwig sneered. Maneuvering his unit with a burst of acceleration, he caught up to one "Iris Mark II, Modified" attempting to flee.
The twin hammers in his hands struck alternately left and right, like pounding mochi, repeatedly smashing onto the exterior armor of the opponent's back.
"Boom! Boom!"
After two explosions, the magitech core of that "Iris Mark II, Modified" was directly blown up. The massive body crashed heavily to its knees, unable to move ever again.
Ludwig's two wingmen also bit tightly onto two other targets, giving them no chance to escape.
In just a few short minutes, the Armored Knight squadron, upon which Fourth Corps Commander General Milutinović had placed such high hopes, was left with only the squadron commander's own unit still standing alone.
He watched in despair as these three Saxon Armored Knights slowly closed in on him.
Their external armor merely bore some relatively minor dents and the black scorch marks from enduring close-range magitech core explosions.
The lead unit was even spattered with engine oil and magitech fluid, looking like a demon god that had crawled out of the underworld.
The Serbian ace's hands were trembling, cold sweat soaking his knight suit.
He knew it was all over.
"For Greater Serbia!"
He let out a tragic, furious roar. Maneuvering the heavily scarred "Iris Mark II, Modified," he raised his sole remaining battle axe and launched a final charge at Ludwig.
Ludwig didn't dodge. For this opponent who chose to attack, he decided to grant sufficient respect.
He merely calmly raised the Shaped-Charge Anti-Armor Hammer in his hand and met the charge head-on.
"Boom!"
A final flash of fire bloomed on the battlefield.