Morin internally complained, but then again…

At this point in time, the standard cold weapon equipped by Saxon infantry was the half-meter long S1898 bayonet.

This thing was acceptable for a bayonet charge, but for close-quarters fighting like this, it was simply too long.

And the entrenching tool, while crude for ‘the job’…

Morin had to admit it was effective.

Soon, Morin led the assault team into the outer perimeter of the camp. After receiving Morin’s signal, the group descended upon their targets like ghosts.

The entrenching tool was violently struck against the necks of the sleeping enemies. Although it was extremely bloody and brutal, no one dared to hold back.

However, the assault team members, including Morin, were clearly not well-practiced or skilled in this method of stealth killing.

Immediately after the first wave of attacks, they alerted several enemies nearby.

Seeing this, Morin didn’t hesitate, raising his P08 and firing several shots.

The assault team members instantly switched from ‘melee mode’ back to ‘standard mode,’ picking up their weapons and opening fire, while continuously throwing grenades into the camp.

The moment the shooting and grenades started, the entire camp erupted in chaos.

Friends of night raids know that when a person is woken from deep sleep, they enter a state of shock, and their reaction speed is very slow for a short time.

So, many Kingdom Army soldiers were struck down by incoming bullets before they even realized what was happening after being startled awake.

As gunfire erupted in the camp, Company Sergeant Major Klaus swiftly commanded the main force, which was on standby, to charge forward, and the battle instantly became one-sided…

Over the next few days, Morin attempted this ‘invisibility infiltration + hypnotic sentry’ tactic several more times.

It was effective, but it had one drawback.

Both his own and the assault team members’ circadian rhythms were completely thrown out of whack.

After noticing that many assault team members were showing symptoms of sleep deprivation, Morin temporarily halted the night raids.

Time passed quickly with the daily forced marches and battles, arriving at the sixteenth day since the Mackensen Offensive began.

The Saxon Expeditionary Force’s 1st and 2nd Corps finally linked up at a position 20 kilometers outside the city of Madrid.

This time, the troops were truly at the city gates.

Soon, everyone’s attention focused on a high ground east of Madrid—the Vallecas Heights.

The Vallecas Heights were located in the southeastern part of the Madrid urban area.

In the world Morin came from, this area was already within the city limits of Madrid.

There was even the Vallecas Football Stadium, the home ground of the Rayo Vallecano Football Club.

But now, due to the city limits of Madrid shrinking by nearly a tenth, it was still some distance from the old city walls.

This high ground was over a hundred meters higher than the average elevation of Madrid’s city center. Standing here, one could overlook the entire eastern and southern urban areas of Madrid without any obstruction.

The dense houses, the crisscrossing streets, and even the magnificent Royal Palace in the city center were clearly visible.

For the attacking side, this was an excellent position for artillery deployment.

With artillery positioned here, both 77mm field guns and 105mm howitzers could easily cover half of the urban area, including the eastern city walls.

Conversely, for the defending side, this was a natural barrier that had to be held at all costs.

Once the Vallecas Heights were lost, the gates of Madrid would be half-open to the enemy.

Douglas Haig, Commander of the Britannian Expeditionary Force, naturally understood the importance of this high ground.

Therefore, he deployed two battalions of the Black Watch Highland Regiment, renowned for their tenacity and ferocity and part of the first batch of Britannian reinforcements, to this strategic location.

These soldiers, wearing dark green Scottish kilts, had constructed sturdy counter-battery positions on the high ground, making the Saxon Expeditionary Force’s plan to destroy the position with artillery not easily achievable.

The commander of these two battalions was an old Colonel from the Scottish region of the Britannian mainland.

After receiving orders from Haig, he was determined to fight the Saxons to the bitter end here.

The battle commenced in the early morning.

Due to the terrain, the number of troops that could be deployed simultaneously was limited. Even in dense formations, only two battalions could be supported to launch an assault.

The Saxon 31st Vogland Infantry Regiment launched the initial attack. They suffered heavy casualties and managed to charge up the high ground and enter melee combat several times, only to be beaten back by the Scotsmen on the height again and again.

The Scotsmen seemed tireless and unafraid of death. They held their ground firmly with accurate shooting and fierce counter-charges.

Within half a day, the 31st Infantry Regiment launched four successive attacks but was forced to withdraw after leaving behind over eight hundred corpses.

The assault mission was then transferred to the 32nd Infantry Regiment, where Morin was stationed.

By the afternoon, a huge pressure weighed upon everyone in the 32nd Regiment’s temporary command post.

Major Thomas, who was responsible for the main assault, and Lieutenant Colonel Heinrich, the 2nd Battalion Commander, frowned deeply, thinking about the blood-soaked high ground they had just observed through their binoculars from the front line.

“The cost of a frontal assault is too high.” Lieutenant Colonel Heinrich shook his head. “Those Scotsmen are completely fearless…”

“Yes, but we are not afraid of death either, and we must take it.”

Major Thomas said, but he also had no good ideas at the moment.

As everyone was at a loss, they looked again at Morin, who had been pulled into the tactical meeting.

Noticing that everyone’s gaze was once again focused on him, Morin almost lost his composure.

“Here we go again…”

However, Morin also knew the importance of this high ground.

If they could take it, it would be extremely helpful for the potential siege of Madrid in the future.

He first checked the time—it was almost 4:00 PM.

Then he looked at the map. The Artillery Regiment subordinate to the 8th Infantry Division was also on standby nearby.

After a moment of thought, Morin presented his plan.

“Major, how about trying a night raid again?”

His voice attracted everyone’s attention.

“Night raid?”

A night attack was an extremely risky tactical choice for the armies of this era.

Although Morin’s 1st Company had executed night raids multiple times, it was because the 1st Company had undergone extensive prior training.

If other units were to attempt this, they might not achieve the same result.

Any mistake during a night attack could lead to catastrophic consequences.

“That’s too risky, Morin.”

Major Thomas shook his head.

“I cannot order your single company to attack the enemy’s two battalions…”

“No, Major, we have the advantage at night.”

Morin walked to the map, pointed at the terrain of the Vallecas Heights, and analyzed calmly: “Night can conceal our intention to maneuver troops and can also shorten our assault distance.”

“I will personally lead the team to eliminate their perimeter sentries. Then, the 1st Company will advance stealthily to within forty meters of their forward position, using grenades and concentrated firepower to tear open their defense line in one go.”

“As soon as we open a breach, the main forces of the 1st and 2nd Battalions will immediately follow up to expand the success… and the 3rd Battalion, as the Regimental Reserve, can follow and be committed to the battle.”

“This is destined to be a chaotic melee, so troop advantage is crucial at this time.”

“Of course, we still need to make some important preliminary preparations…”

As Morin’s battle plan was submitted, the Artillery Regiment of the 8th Infantry Division was the first to deploy and began a continuous bombardment of the high ground.

Although the shelling could not inflict significant damage due to the terrain and the enemy’s counter-battery trenches.

The bombardment, which used up almost all the Artillery Regiment’s ammunition reserves and lasted until sunset, achieved two objectives.

First, the counter-battery trenches on the high ground suffered some damage, and a large number of shell craters were created along the path of attack.

Second, the soldiers of the Black Watch Highland Regiment hiding behind the trenches spent the entire afternoon under constant tension, unable to get any proper rest.

Subsequently, after the sun completely set, the attacking forces began launching flares every hour or half hour toward the high ground.

The flares were a random mix of red and white.

The soldiers of the Black Watch Highland Regiment on the high ground continued to remain on edge, their nerves frayed by the constant ‘whoosh’ of the flares and the sudden flashes of red and white light.

No one knew which flare would signal the actual Saxon attack.

Many times, a soldier of the Highland Regiment would finally drift off to sleep from sheer exhaustion, only to be jolted awake by a flare fired overhead…

On the Saxon side, the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 32nd Infantry Regiment were ordered by their NCOs to uniformly return to their tents and use any available cloth to cover their eyes for mandatory rest.

Only the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, acting as the reserve, were left guarding the front line.

Morin, meanwhile, began preparing his spells after midnight.

This time, his Spell Slot arrangement was 【2nd-Circle Invisibility】 2/2, 【1st-Circle Sleep】 3/3, and 【1st-Circle Mage Armor】 1/1.

The system indicated a ‘preparation’ time of 3 hours and 45 minutes.

At 3:30 AM, Morin, leveraging his individual combat skills, had already advanced halfway up the slope and was hiding in a shell crater, taking advantage of a flare that had just landed on the high ground.

After his Spell Slots were fully prepared, he first used [Invisibility] to creep closer to the sentries who were forcing themselves to stay awake.

He then cast [Sleep] three consecutive times, silently putting the nine Scotsmen guarding the perimeter of the high ground to sleep.

These highly vigilant sentries fell into a deep, childlike slumber before they could even sound an alarm…

At 4:10 AM, the soldiers of the 1st Company, following the plan, quietly crept up to Morin’s position.

They were now only 10 meters from the enemy’s first trench line.

If even one soldier in the trench had poked his head out, he would have been startled by the dense crowd of men lying prone so close.

But unfortunately for the defenders, after a night of constant harassment, the soldiers of the two battalions could no longer control their desperate need for sleep.

Even two of the sentries who hadn’t been affected by Morin’s [Sleep] spell had succumbed to sleep.

Down the slope, the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Battalions were lying prone in a dense formation, waiting for the order.

In addition to them, General Mackensen, having been informed of the attack plan, had sent half of his own General’s Guard.

Ten elite fighters from the General’s Guard were lying prone next to the two battalions of soldiers.

Two of them also carried modified MG08 heavy machine guns slung over their backs, along with a 200-round ammunition belt.

Everyone held their breath, their hearts pounding violently in their chests.

At 4:15 AM, the battle commenced.

“Throw!”

With a low command from Morin, over a hundred spherical hand grenades were fiercely thrown into the Scottish position ahead.

“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!”

A series of fierce explosions instantly tore through the quiet night sky.

A second wave, and then a third wave, followed…

“Charge!”

Morin was the first to leap out of the depression. The 32-round drum magazine of the P08 pistol in his hand was already spitting fire.

The assault team members followed close behind, charging silently toward the position that had just been roused from its sleep.

The Highlanders in the trenches and the camp behind were reeling from the unexpected hail of grenades.

Before they could react, the soldiers of the 1st Company were already upon them.

At such close range, the P08 pistol’s fire superiority was utilized to its fullest.

For this attack, Morin had equipped the entire company with over 50 Artillery P08 pistols.

The dense rain of fire swept through the trenches. The Scotsmen, before they could even chamber a round in their rifles, were struck down by a hail of 9mm bullets.

However, the soldiers of the Black Watch Regiment lived up to their reputation as an elite unit.

After the initial confusion, they quickly organized a counter-attack.

A burly Scotsman in armor roared, leaping out of the trench.

Ignoring the bullets flying toward him, he swung his greatsword, slicing the upper torso of the nearest 1st Company soldier in half.

“God Save the Queen… victorious and glorious!!!”

The recovering Highlanders fixed their bayonets and launched a counter-charge. Although many soldiers couldn’t advance far under the intense fire of the numerous Artillery P08s, their numerical advantage allowed them to reach the 1st Company’s line.

Brutal close-quarters combat instantly erupted in the dark trenches.

Morin activated his last [Mage Armor] and continuously cast the cantrip [Blade Ward] on himself.

He moved like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep, specifically targeting the most fierce-looking Scottish veterans.

His P08 pistol was point-and-shoot deadly at close range.

Soon, the main forces of the 1st and 2nd Battalions, as well as the 10 soldiers from the General’s Guard, also charged in. The scale of the fighting rapidly expanded.

The entire Vallecas Heights turned into one massive meat grinder.

The soldiers of both sides engaged in the most primitive and bloody struggle on the small position.

Shouts, screams, gunshots, and explosions resonated throughout the night sky…

The battle continued until the sky began to lighten.

When the first ray of sunlight illuminated the high ground, the gunfire finally gradually subsided.

There was not a single standing Black Watch Highlander left on the entire height.

They had fulfilled their oath to fight to the death with their lives.

The Saxon 32nd Zwickau Infantry Regiment also paid a heavy price, with estimated casualties exceeding 50%.

Morin’s 1st Company had the lowest casualties, but even they had lost over fifty men, with nearly every survivor wounded.

Even the General’s Guard contingent sent by Mackensen had lost five men killed.

Morin stood at the highest point of the high ground. The soldiers around him were all slumped on the ground, panting heavily.

They were covered in mud and blood, their faces numb, completely dazed.

He silently watched the scene, saying nothing.

He turned and looked down the hill.

The vast silhouette of Madrid and the lights of the ancient city were exceptionally clear in the pre-dawn darkness.

(End of this Chapter)

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