Chapter 959: Chapter 542: Brutal Combat
Although it’s a bit strange, these people are all part of Hamlet’s Navy.
Lance took most of the people away, but the newly assembled two hundred naval soldiers remained stationed at the port.
The main reason for their stay was to guard against pirate raids; even Lance did not expect a monster attack.
It seems they really hit the ancients hard, otherwise, the Fishmen wouldn’t have left their lair to make such a long detour to attack Hamlet.
However, this lucky circumstance left Hamlet with some backing and prevented the invading Fishmen from breaking through instantly.
After all, the combat power of the Regular Army is not something the militia can compare to, not to mention they have muskets.
The entire coast, even the dim areas beyond the reach of torchlight, was swarming with shadows, and more kept emerging.
You don’t even need to aim; just load and fire, and within a hundred yards, lead bullets easily tear through the slime-covered fish scales, even the hard fish heads fall within the physical limits of lead bullets.
Two hundred people, divided into four rows, formed a continuous barrage, causing more damage than dealing with those heretics. Even if it’s not lethal, it’s enough to temporarily disable their attack power, after all, not many heretics can wield the Power of Flesh and Blood.
With each gunshot, a Fishman fell, tearing through their formations like mowing grass, slightly suppressing their forward momentum.
If there were a thousand Musketeers, holding the coast wouldn’t be an issue. If artillery was here, it would be even more overwhelming; one shot could clear this dense charging formation.
But the problem is they only have two hundred men, and all they have are flintlock muskets.
Everyone knows the quality of current muskets; limited by materials, it’s hard to support high-intensity firing, otherwise overheating can easily cause the barrel to burst.
If skilled gunners could adjust the gunpowder to reduce power and increase shots, it would help, but they use fixed cartridges, and these soldiers don’t have that mindset.
But even if they did, they’d be too confused to think clearly; the battle was too intense, and some people had already discarded their searing long guns, ready to use their pistols.
All they could do was slightly hinder the Fishmen’s advance.
But death and injury couldn’t delay the Fishmen’s steps; they quickly adapted to the explosive firelight, and those knocked down by bullets were quickly replaced by new ones surging forward.
Even as soldiers alternated and retreated, the distance between both sides grew shorter, and Hamlet had even already lost the coast, reaching over to the port docks.
However, the delay was effective; more militia responded to the bells, and the coast patrol were reassembled.
In Hamlet, everyone is a soldier isn’t a joke. Although saying there’s been fifty major battles here is definitely false, there’ve been more than five battles fought on Hamlet’s soil.
These battles brought trouble but also motivated people to participate in militia training and stockpiling a large number of decommissioned weapons from the army.
Among those rushing in were retirees, some of whom weren’t even militia, but still rushed forward without hesitation after hearing the expanding alarm bells.
After retiring, they were assigned appropriate or easier jobs by the Lord, receiving disability subsidies each month.
Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t be called upon, but they saw the town’s troops had been deployed and knew they needed to step up.
The fact that they retired due to disabilities means only losing limbs could stop Lance, and such forced retirees had their combat skills limited by missing limbs.
But this doesn’t mean they’re useless; these experienced veterans mostly served as training instructors for the militia, taking charge of the teams and encouraging with constant shouts, dispelling their fear.
"Pick up your spears and thrust hard!"
"Hold tight to your weapons, work with your teammates like in training."
"Unite! The monsters can’t shatter our formation!"
"For Hamlet!"
Humans are curious; when someone stands out, others instinctively lean in, and as numbers grow, the environment dominates their will. Under the brave’s incitement, fear is quickly dispelled.
"For Hamlet!"
"For the Lord!!!"
Their desperate shouts echoed along the coast, even causing the Fishmen to momentarily pause, puzzled by why this food suddenly went mad.
Fervor is infectious; the hot blood surged forth, sweeping away the earlier fear, and the militia remembered their training.
More and more joined in, forming a new team of hundreds, raising long spear phalanx.
"This is Hamlet’s land; drive the monsters back to the sea!"
"Advance!"
Under veteran orders, the overlapping formations of spears began to push forward. The entire coast was filled with Fishmen, and both sides crashed like waves, but the upright spears shifted from weakness to firmness.
The Fishmen’s scale armor helped, but wasn’t an exaggerated defense capability. In fact, with effort, they could still be pierced.
Not to mention the big fish heads protruding, you’d feel embarrassed not to stab them.
The dense spear formations held back the Fishmen. Under mutual coordination, it was difficult for the Fishmen to slash their way in as before, or use hooked spears to grab people because the spears were longer than the fish guns; the formation had no flaws.
