The one hundred Hewan infantrymen are all members of the first and second squadrons of the Hewan Militia Regiment. They are all well-trained and uniformly equipped. The former are veterans of the battlefield, and their combat skills and psychological qualities have reached the level of regular infantry. They have long stopped participating in labor and have become full-time soldiers, responsible only for patrolling and guarding the river bend and daily training. So we can no longer call them militia, they are now a regular lord's army with an organization. All the infantrymen wore double-layer fur armor, bearskin cloaks or wolfskin shoulder pads, and thick animal-hide combat boots and coarse cloth leggings. In addition, a large piece of simply hammered curved iron plate was embedded in the animal skin interlayer on the chest, abdomen and back. Combined with fur armor, it is enough to resist most stray arrows and sword attacks. As the wild people of Great Falls became increasingly familiar with the River Bay Lords, they took out a large amount of their stockpile of animal skins in exchange for food. These high-quality beast furs were collected by Uliyan, and not a single one was sold. Instead, they were all processed into thick protective gear and worn by the River Bend infantry. In addition, all River Bend infantrymen also have a one-meter-long thick-backed broad-bladed iron sword, a double-layer wooden round shield with a diameter of one meter and a full inch thick, and each person carries three heavy javelins. Some infantrymen also have the habit of wearing one or two small hatchets or daggers on their waists.
Except for the lack of an iron helmet, the equipment of the River Bend Infantry basically met the standards of the Empire's regular infantry. All Reach Infantry are no longer equipped with slings and crossbows. Several battles proved that the damage provided by slings and crossbows was not ideal, and there was a conflict with javelins. Instead, they greatly increased the burden on the infantry. Therefore, except when patrolling and guarding, the River Bend Infantry are no longer equipped with slings and crossbows. They focus more on throwing javelins and close combat with swords and shields. In the past, there was no other way and we had to use whatever we had. Now that weapons and equipment have been updated and military forces have expanded, we can start to specialize. The discarded crossbows and slings were distributed to one hundred refugees. They had been undergoing regular combat training and crossbow shooting training since they joined Riverbend, but they had yet to experience actual combat. Leo did not expect these refugees to perform bravely in battle, but at least they could provide some fire support on the battlefield under the cover of the infantry. In addition to fighting, they can also help dig trenches and traps, build chevaux de frise and walls. This was also what Uliyan meant. It was better to bring them out to experience the cruelty of war than to stay in the logging camp and take the opportunity to cause chaos! In comparison, the ogre crossbowmen led by Feisa are more elite and more powerful than the refugee crossbowmen. They wore linen smocks, slings for belts, and carried large crossbows that were disproportionate to their bodies, as well as three heavy javelins. These kobold crossbowmen - Fraser called them the kobold guards - were the best selected from the kobold warriors. Gnolls have a very strong digestive ability. They grow as much as they eat. Under Fraser's care of two meals a day of concentrated feed of wheat and meat, in just two or three months, many of the originally skinny dog miners grew into strong gnolls with arms that can run horses. Some ogres, who only know how to eat, mine and fight all day long, can even grow 15 kilograms of muscle in a month, and their height, which had originally stopped growing, also shows a tendency to develop again! Although the Kobold Guards are still short in stature, their limbs are extremely powerful. Not only can they string the extremely heavy boar crossbows, but they can also throw javelins like the River Bend Infantry. The crossbow with an arm length of one meter seems a bit huge in the hands of the ogre guards whose average height is only meters, but it is surprisingly easy to use. Their short stature meant they couldn't even draw the longbows of the barbarians, let alone the short hunting bows of the River Bend villagers. However, they could easily use a slightly modified foot-operated crossbow. Many foot-operated crossbows were broken by the brute force of the ogres, so Fraser had to find a way to make a new batch and reinforce them with wrought iron bars, while also increasing the poundage.
At the same time, the melee strength of the Gnoll Guards should not be underestimated. Their Kirin arms are thicker than the calves of a human man, and a Rising Dragon Fist can easily smash a human jaw or testicles, not to mention the support of iron weapons. Unfortunately, even though Fisa tried hard to reorganize and train them, the ogres were unable to maintain their formation during battle and always appeared loose and disorderly. Their javelins and crossbow arrows were thrown everywhere, and whoever grabbed them owned them. While fighting, they also had to fight with their companions at the same time. There are no rules when shooting. You just roll around on the ground, use your hands and feet, and do whatever is comfortable for you. Fortunately, whether it is shooting speed, shooting accuracy or flexibility on the battlefield, they are far superior to human crossbowmen, making up for the shortcomings in IQ and discipline. The Gnoll Guards are better than the River Bend Infantry at galloping across rugged mountains and hiding in vast forests. Their five senses are far superior to those of humans and they can detect danger in advance. The thick golden fur provides enough warmth, so you can just find a tree hole and crawl through a cold night. If there is really no food, you can barely survive by eating tree bark, insect eggs and insects. That is, their fighting will is too weak, and they are easily frightened by the casualties of their companions and the ferocity of the enemy, or even surrender on the spot, so they can only follow the main force and fight a favorable battle. Following Leo's suggestion, Fisa also carried out targeted training for the Kobold Guards, playing to their strengths and avoiding their weaknesses, training them into elite wilderness scouts and Kobold rangers, while avoiding close combat as much as possible. If the River Bend pioneering caravan had encountered such a group of ogre guerrilla forces, there would be no subsequent story. But whether they are human crossbowmen or kobold crossbowmen, they are all auxiliary troops. The Basaka longbowmen gathered from the Great Falls Tribe and the Wolf Fang Tribe are the main output on the battlefield. Most of them are young and strong wild hunters, with only a few still brave white-haired old men and outstanding young boys and girls. Years of meat supplementation have made them even taller and stronger than the River Bend Infantry. Their extremely long and sturdy arms can not only be used to pull heavy longbows, but also to strangle jackals and wild leopards with their bare hands. The Basaka longbowmen wore a variety of animal skin armor, bear head, tiger head or wolf head helmets, and hung circles of primitive hunting medals such as bear claws, tiger teeth, wolf teeth, etc. on their necks and arms to demonstrate their bravery. They carried yew longbows of varying sizes and weights, but no less than 150 pounds, held hunting bone spears or two-handed woodcutting axes, and had two bags of heavy arrows as thick as fingers on their waists. After Hewan was able to produce qualified iron ingots, it also had its own arrowsmiths. Although the sharp iron arrowheads were not as good as the fine steel arrowheads produced by the large workshops in the South Territory, they were much better than animal ivory, bronze and wooden arrowheads. These iron arrows were armed to the hands of the Basaka archers, and combined with their heavy longbows, they were enough to pierce the body of any medium-sized prey at a long distance. It can also give a fatal blow to large beasts such as brown bears and saber-toothed tigers at close range. The most eye-catching thing about the entire army is the secret weapon mentioned by Leo.