Iron Dynasty

Chapter 1147

Yelets.

This was a military fortress located on the border of Tsarist Russia. In order to defend against the Eastern Empire that had entered the former territory of the Golden Tent Khanate, the number of troops stationed in Yelets had been increased from 8,000 to 30,000 in recent years. During this period, the Yelets military fortress was repeatedly reinforced, like a big mountain sitting on the road to the heartland of Tsarist Russia.

Like every morning, Oleg led his scout team to check the situation on the grasslands after breakfast. This was his daily task. When he first received the mission, he was excited and nervous, always worried that he would be discovered by the Empire’s lancer cavalry. These well-armed Imperial scouts were very brave and accurate with their guns. If they were discovered, they would basically not be able to return to Yelets alive.

But after a few rounds of new team members, Oleg became smarter. He no longer went to the routes where the Imperial scouts often appeared. Instead, he would just wander around aimlessly and then come back. After all, the Empire had not crossed the line in recent years, so the reconnaissance was useless. And his team members were also unwilling to die at the hands of the Imperial scouts, so they tacitly covered up this behavior. Of course, the routes he chose were not entirely worthless. Sometimes he could still find traces of the Empire’s actions. For example, in an area to the east of the Empire’s military fortress, the Imperial scouts patrolled very frequently and densely, as if they were hiding some secret.

And today, when he went to this area as usual, he finally found something unusual. In front of them, strange-looking, dark-green steel monsters were advancing in the direction of Yelets. Following these steel monsters were different machines, and these machines were fully loaded with armed soldiers.

“What the f*** is this!” Oleg felt his soul freeze in an instant. The unknown fear made him turn his horse around and gallop back to Yelets with his team.

Poking his body out of the tank, Qi Guangyi watched the fleeing scouts with binoculars. Patting the thick body of the tank and looking at the troop carriers following the tank cluster, Qi Guangyi looked a little relaxed. According to the Emperor’s order, this time he had gathered all the machines in the military base and was ready to conduct a small-scale mechanized operation. For this, 180 tanks and 130 troop carriers carrying 3,600 infantrymen came out in full force. His goal this time was to break through Yelets and turn it into a ruin.

“General, should we deal with these scouts?” the gunner in the tank asked.

“No need. It’s no fun fighting our enemies in their fortress. Maintain speed and follow them.” A hint of amusement flashed in Qi Guangyi’s eyes.

In front, Oleg desperately urged his horse. While galloping, he looked back and felt a little relieved when he found that these machines were not as fast as his horse. But the sudden appearance of the Imperial army was still full of uncertainty. He kept urging his warhorse, and at noon, he finally saw Yelets. In the meantime, more and more scouts discovered this strange Imperial army.

“Colonel Maxim, we have a problem.” Oleg rushed into the city and immediately climbed onto the city wall. At this time, a middle-aged man was standing on the city gate, observing the situation outside Yelets. He was Maxim, the commander of Yelets.

“You don’t need to tell me that. Our enemies are already right under our noses.” Maxim frowned. The peace in recent years had been the norm, but there was no doubt that this peace had been suddenly broken.

“Although I don’t know what these damned machines are for, there seem to be only a little more than 3,000 of them.” A sharp light flashed in Maxim’s eyes. “And Yelets has 10,000 Cossack cavalry.”

“They must be relying on something to come to Yelets with so few people,” the adjutant standing next to Maxim said.

“Then let those Cossacks go and test their strength.” Maxim was a typical noble, and he had no good feelings for the Cossacks. In his opinion, the Cossacks were a group of lowly people. The adjutant nodded and immediately dispatched 3,000 Cossack cavalry from the city to go out and fight.

More than 3,000 cavalrymen streamed out of the city, and the Cossack cavalry immediately brandished their sabers and charged toward the Imperial army. The Empire’s lancers did not appear this time, which made them a little reckless, as the fierce lancers were the most frequent opponents they encountered here.

In front of the Yelets fortress was a vast, flat area. After discovering that a large number of cavalrymen were rushing out of Yelets, Qi Guangyi decisively ordered the tanks to line up in a horizontal line and charge toward the Cossack cavalry. At the same time, the soldiers on the troop carriers also entered a combat stance, ready to fire at any time.

“Ula…”

Facing the strange Imperial machines, the Cossack cavalry did not hesitate. Among Tsarist Russia’s army, the Cossacks hated the Imperial soldiers the most because it was the Imperial lancers who had annihilated more than 20,000 of their people when they were rescuing the Golden Tent Khanate. This had damaged their honor and cast doubt on their combat effectiveness. So, once they entered the battle, every Cossack cavalryman’s heart was filled with hatred.

But the era seemed to have played a joke on them. When they brandished their sabers and slashed at the Empire’s tanks, the only thing they got was the crisp sound of metal clashing. Some unwilling Cossack cavalrymen were very frustrated. They repeatedly slashed at the tanks, but they could not cause even the slightest damage to the tanks. And the Empire’s strange machines were also very quiet, letting the Cossack cavalry slash at them. The clanging sound echoed across the battlefield.

Maxim’s expression was the same as Oleg’s. They both looked as if they had seen a ghost.

On the battlefield, the impatient Cossack cavalry quickly lost patience. They began to set their sights on the soldiers on the machines. But just as they were about to turn their horses and leave, a scene that they would never forget appeared.

The 180 steel monsters suddenly turned. The Cossack cavalry who were too late to dodge were run over directly by the steel monsters. After the tragic screams, a pool of minced meat was revealed under the mechanical monsters. At the same time, fire suddenly erupted from the front of the mechanical monsters, and a series of “da da da…” shots were fired. The charging Cossack cavalry fell one by one.

Facing this situation, the Cossack cavalry surrounding the tanks became even more anxious. They slashed at the tanks frantically, but it was useless. And at this time, the soldiers behind the tanks seemed to have grown tired of this game. A series of shots rang out, and the Cossack cavalry around the tanks fell one after another. The tanks continued to advance, but their speed was even faster. The charging Cossacks were as fragile in front of the tanks as babies in front of adults.

The 3,000 Cossack cavalry came out quickly and dispersed just as quickly. The remaining few hundred Cossack cavalry fled back to Yelets in panic