"Hold on! Hold on!" Kayal's shouts from behind the formation couldn't calm them down; the ever-nearing cavalry only made them more nervous.
Their hands, gripping their long spears, weren't tired, but they were so tense and sweaty that the wooden shafts became slippery.
Their throats felt itchy, their lips dry, their strength drained from their bodies, and they began to feel weak and powerless.
"Have you forgotten who is behind you? Have you forgotten what is behind you? Behind you are your loved ones! Behind you are your own riches!
They are here to take it all away! If you lose! They will take everything! Your privileges will be gone! Everything will be taken from you! Your wealth will become someone else's, your wives and daughters will become someone else's!
Can you tolerate all of this?!" Kayal shouted.
Indeed, as a police force, they were only one step away from being knights, and two steps away from being nobles.
Everything they had was because they were in Red Leaf Ridge; outside Red Leaf Ridge… they were nothing but slightly stronger farmers.
Their breathing suddenly became heavy, their eyes blood-red, as if they saw everything being taken away.
Their hands seemed to be crushing their spears, and they panted like bulls as they faced the charging cavalry.
"For Red Leaf!" Kayal shouted loudly.
"For Red Leaf!" The Red Leaf Ridge infantry, their eyes red, roared like enraged bulls.
"First rank, raise spears! Level! Anti-charge!" Kayal yelled.
"First rank, raise spears! Level! Anti-charge!" The orderlies relayed the command, and everyone roared.
The strong men in the first rank abruptly raised their long spears; the ten-meter long spears, with their sharp iron tips, could maintain good balance even with a quarter of their length extended.
As the first rank steadily raised their spears, just as they did in daily training, Kayal's voice rang out again.
"Second rank, raise spears! Angled! Defend against the second charge!"
"Second rank, raise spears! Angled! Defend against the second charge!"
"Second rank, raise spears! Angled! Defend against the second charge!"
The entire army shouted.
The second rank raised their spears at an angle, resting them on the shoulders of the first rank as was proper.
This angle was just right to block the area above the first rank's Macedonian spears, aimed directly at the horses' heads.
"Third rank, raise spears! Upward! Defend against the third charge!"
"Third rank, raise spears! Upward! Defend against the third charge!"
"Third rank, raise spears! Upward! Defend against the third charge!"
The third rank raising their spears at this angle was somewhat strenuous, requiring more effort than the other soldiers.
This angle, precisely measured, was the best angle to pierce the enemy's chest from bottom to top through the gaps in their heavy plate armor!
Scientific warfare is truly formidable!
The enemy, with a sneer, slowly increased their horses' speed.
There was an advantage to this: the horses wouldn't tear their tendons by suddenly exerting force when they were about to charge.
Although such situations rarely occurred, knights who loved their horses would never allow their horses to suffer any harm.
At two hundred meters, they began to accelerate.
At the speed of heavy cavalry, they would reach the front in just fifteen to twenty seconds!
One hundred and fifty meters!
Their eyebrows and lips were faintly visible; they were already excitedly grinning, tightly gripping their lances.
They aimed their lances at the angle most likely to penetrate the opponent's heart.
With just the first collision from their warhorses, they could charge in and crush all these seemingly numerous but actually fragile, unmounted fellows into dregs!
Thinking of the prosperous life in Red Leaf Ridge, the knights' breathing became three times heavier.
One hundred meters!
The heavy breathing and pounding heartbeats of the infantry opposite were already clearly audible.
In their blood-red eyes, they saw fear and… anger?
Ah ha, what good is anger, you peasant militias! We are the noblest, most powerful knights in this world! The only fate for those who don't surrender is to be crushed into meat paste by us!
Just as the knights were fantasizing, they suddenly noticed that the feeling of flying speed was slowly decreasing!
Why! Why!
They watched their horses slowly begin to slow down, completely bewildered.
Only Madesia suddenly realized that the enemy's formation was like a spear formation, and the cold gleam could be felt from a hundred meters away.
Although the knights knew they had absolute defense and would not be harmed, their horses didn't know that!
Due to an innate fear of sharp objects, the horses involuntarily began to slow down!
This is exactly what was wanted!
Kayal excitedly swung his arm; as long as the horses' speed dropped, the outcome was uncertain!
He pulled down his horse's blinders.
Just as he was about to turn to warn his subordinates, his horse had already broken through the enemy formation.
Having no time to speak, Madesia decisively discarded his heavy lance, drew his knight's sword, and with his other hand, holding the reins and shield, blocked an attack from above and below.
His knight's sword cut down two long spears coming from the left, and he immediately charged into the enemy's formation.
However, his subordinates were not so lucky.
The so-called Macedonian Phalanx refers to: adult Macedonian strongmen on the outside, light-armored warriors with shields and short swords on the inside, and cavalry composed of Macedonian nobles at the rear of the phalanx.
Everyone wore light armor, used round shields to block arrows, and had more than ten times the mobility of Roman heavy infantry.
Their attacking power was unparalleled; a Macedonian Phalanx of over ten thousand men could be formed from four or two smaller phalanxes combined into one large Macedonian formation.
Although such a large formation lost mobility, it was like a wall that would make the enemy collapse.
And Kayal's Macedonian Phalanx was a modified version.
The front six ranks were entirely composed of Macedonian spearmen, with the seventh and eighth ranks composed of crossbowmen, and the ninth and tenth ranks of archers.
It seemed that the spearmen were expendable, but the tactical drill was: for every spearman who died, a replacement from the rear would fill in, maintaining the spear formation at the fourth rank.
However, if the commander truly couldn't hold on, he would order the spearmen to directly make way, allowing the crossbowmen, kneeling in four ranks, to meet the enemy with two volleys of arquebus fire.
Presumably, at such close range, and with the enemy having already expended considerable strength and numbers against the spear formation, they would suffer a great loss.