The cold wind swept through the city at night, chilling to the bone.

Although, by the normal season, it should already be spring, the Northern Territory still felt cold.

Not only that, earlier this evening, sleet had begun to fall from the sky, turning the city into a muddy mess, making the air damp and cold.

This undoubtedly posed a great challenge for the Revolutionary Army in their operations, especially since they had learned new tactics and grown accustomed to ambushes and sneak attacks; such harsh conditions made lying in the muddy water a severe test of willpower.

With temperatures nearing zero, the ground was full of mud and ice; Revolutionary Army soldiers could only lie in the icy, muddy water in their relatively thin clothing, letting the bone-chilling water soak through them.

In such harsh conditions, it's easy for people to lose their ability to move due to the cold.

Yet, at this very moment, neither the Revolutionary Army nor the Imperial Army showed any intention of stopping; they even seemed poised for a night battle.

For the Imperial Army, after a day of fierce fighting, with the aid of Steam Knights and the Northern Army, they had already broken through the train station and controlled the surrounding area.

Although the colonial garrison's advance had been somewhat hindered, they had made fairly smooth progress once the Northern Army opened the way.

Thus, when it began to snow, the Imperial Army stopped their attack, seemingly planning to wait for the snow to stop.

However, the Revolutionary Army had no such plans; on the contrary, they launched a counterattack during the Imperial Army's defensive contraction, recapturing portions of the territory they had previously lost.

What followed was a brutal street fight that left both sides with significant casualties.

Nevertheless, the Revolutionary Army had the home ground advantage; coupled with their ability to shoot from crouching and prone positions, they maintained a slight upper hand.

However, fighting in icy, muddy water during such a cold season was a huge challenge for the Revolutionary Army soldiers.

Even the most resolute warriors in the Revolutionary Army couldn't help but feel a desire to retreat in the face of such a harsh and brutal battlefield, longing to wait for the snow to stop before advancing.

Yet although they all had this thought, the Revolutionary Army did not halt their offensive, knowing that giving the enemy time to consolidate their positions would only make their attack more difficult.

Compared to attacking while lying in icy, muddy water, braving a hail of bullets seemed even less appealing.

Of course, there might also have been a simpler, more direct reason: they didn't want to hand over their homeland to the enemy.

And so, in the piercing cold and relentless sleet, the thinly clad Revolutionary Army fighters launched another attack under the cover of night.

Kallen was also in the city at this time, directing the war as the overall commander.

Although he also felt that the soldiers should be withdrawn for rest before another attack, both the eager soldiers and the battlefield situation pushed him to decide to continue the assault.

Moreover, he dispatched a squad to circle around to the train station from another direction, attempting to use a sneak attack to blow up the train and destroy the Steam Knights' supplies on it.

After the day's fierce battle, the Revolutionary Army fully realized the terrifying combat capabilities of the Steam Knights, which were beyond what flesh and blood could withstand.

During the day's fierce fighting, the five hundred Revolutionary Army soldiers stationed at the train station suffered over three hundred casualties, only barely managing to injure one of the twelve Steam Knights, and only injuring the arm to the point that it switched its primary weapon.

That was all there was to it.

Three hundred casualties just to injure an arm, without affecting combat.

By this calculation, it might take at least a thousand casualties to defeat one Steam Knight.

And to defeat this group of twelve Steam Knights, with the current Revolutionary Army forces in this city, it was utterly impossible.

It was only at this point that Kallen finally understood why Kallen's pamphlet was full of tactics to sabotage the logistical support of Steam Knights in every possible way, including everything Kallen could think of, but excluding any content on how to confront them directly, or even stall for time.

Because it was not feasible, no matter how heavy the casualties.

Five Steam Knights were enough to defeat a well-equipped Guard Infantry Corps; Kallen now truly felt this.

Currently, he had around two infantry corps' worth of troops under his command, which could not compare to the Guard Army in terms of equipment or personnel quality, and they were facing twelve Steam Knights.

With such a power disparity, Kallen could only look for other angles to influence the Steam Knights' combat effectiveness.

"If only I knew earlier; I would have attacked the train before. That way, we could have stalled them for a bit longer!" Kallen slammed his fist on the table, regretting why he hadn't attacked the train a few days prior.

If they had launched an attack, even if they had not destroyed the train, they could have affected it, making today's battle less difficult.

"Don't say that, Kallen. If we had launched a sneak attack a few days ago, we would've had to engage the Steam Knights in the field, suffering even more terrible casualties," another officer of the Revolutionary Army comforted Kallen.

Kallen knew that even if they had launched an attack, it wouldn't have a decisive impact on today's battle.

Unless they destroyed the train, taking the Steam Knights along with it, nothing would have been meaningful.

The strength of the Steam Knights exceeded the level this era should have; traditional military means simply could not contend with them.

The feeling was like the French facing English longbowmen in the Hundred Years' War, only for the English to wield not wooden longbows but Apache longbows.

"Only Steam Knights can defend against Steam Knights. If only we had Steam Knights too!" Kallen lamented, then asked with some anticipation, "How is the Night Raid Squad progressing? The Steam Knights participated in the battle during the day, and they should be in maintenance mode at night, which should give them a chance."

"The last message returned stated that they had already approached the train station and were closing in on the train," the officer answered Kallen's question, also carrying a look of anticipation.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.