Chapter 1391 Fierce battle at the foot of the mountain
The reason why Sharlayan moved with the ship instead of teleporting directly to the Hinterlands was mainly to protect the large amount of baggage transported by the fleet.
The Quel'Thalas Marine Corps is a newly established special force in line with the basic national policy of strengthening the navy. Although the organization is very new, the soldiers and officers who join it are all elites transferred from other legions.
Therefore, the combat effectiveness of the Marine Corps is not bad, and there is no lack of combat experience. Many of them have participated in the Battle of Hyjal, but because the composition of the soldiers is relatively complex, they need to go through a period of running-in.
Except for Hakkar who suddenly jumped out to disrupt the situation, the development of the Battle of the Hinterlands has always been within Sarlayan's expectations.
The reason why they did not increase the number of troops to attack Zinzaro when Hakkar appeared was to guard against the main reinforcements of the Vilebranch Trolls from the Altar of Zul.
After a period of hard study, Sarlayan, who has rich war experience, gained some new insights into battlefield command.
Facts have proved that he is not without talent in battlefield command, but he is just not as talented as Jarod Shadowsong in military command.
Thanks to the long-term exposure to barrage, Sarlayan has an extremely broad view of the overall situation. On the premise of ensuring sufficient intelligence, he can often see further than others in estimating the direction of the situation.
In order to avoid the dilemma of being flanked by enemy troops when they returned for reinforcements, Sarlayan did not rush to the top of the mountain to fight Hakkar, but decided to first deal with the enemy reinforcements that were about to arrive on the battlefield.
Among the baggage shipped with the fleet, there were not only the prototype armored vehicles forced in by Valant, Sarlayan also brought many new magic weapons.
Since the high elves were well prepared to teleport directly from Bad Tooth Village to the top of Wanghai Cliff, the transportation cost of weapons and equipment was greatly reduced.
This means that Sarlayan can deploy sufficient defensive firepower before officially engaging the enemy. At this time, under Sarlayan's order, those rather heavy large-caliber magic cannons opened a new barrage through Xu Jin.
The beginning of a round of battle.
After several years of iteration of magic technology, high elf craftsmen have now been able to create a 105 mm caliber magic cannon.
In the perception of other world netizens, only cannons with a caliber exceeding 210 mm can be called large-caliber, and there have even been behemoths such as train guns with a caliber of 800 mm.
But anyone with a brain can imagine that large-caliber artillery must be very heavy and have very serious recoil.
Sharlayan didn't want Quel'Thalas' weapon research and development to be jeopardized by taking too big a step. The road had to be taken step by step.
The 105mm magic cannon already has considerable lethality. When multiple magic cannons fire at the same time, the staggered barrage brings the Evil Branch Troll a "surprise" from the new era.
In order to save energy consumption, the magic cannons brought out of Quel'Thalas were filled with live ammunition, and only needed to be fired with arcane energy instead of gunpowder.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The first round of test firing failed to hit the target accurately, but by constantly adjusting the distance of the gunfire, the gunners quickly grasped the most suitable muzzle elevation angle.
Thus, the nightmare of the Evil Branch Troll arrives.
Before Sarlayan ordered a ceasefire, the shells that continued to fall from the sky in a parabola made the trolls who were confused turn their backs.
Dwarves also have the ability to forge artillery, but the Wildhammer dwarves have never liked to use such cumbersome weapons except for sieges. What they trust most is the gryphon knights who make the Wildhammer clan proud.
Due to a lack of experience in dealing with artillery fire, the Evil Branch Troll reacted very slowly. It was bombarded by live-fire magic cannons for several rounds before it rushed out of the bombardment area in embarrassment.
Unfortunately, the commander who led this army was sent away by a barrage of intense artillery fire.
Without the top officer who was in charge of coordination, the lower-level officers could only manage their direct subordinates and work independently.
The number of Evil Branch Trolls that can still maintain fighting spirit after breaking out of the bombardment area is only about one-third of their total strength.
In order to avoid accidental damage to friendly forces, the magic cannon cannot continue to fire without hesitation when the armies of both sides are in close combat.
Of course, Sarlayan also took this into consideration and prepared targeted countermeasures in advance.
Due to time constraints, the Marine Corps did not dig trenches in front of Zinsaro Gate, but only used the Arcanist's shaping spells to temporarily build a bunch of defensive bunkers.
"The gunmen in the front row raised their guns and took aim!"
Through the efforts of heralds, Sarlayan's orders can be quickly conveyed to each company.
The Marines at the front lay down behind the bunker and were ready to fire. Behind them, there was a squad of fully armed heavy armored soldiers on standby.
After all, in Azeroth where unscientific power exists, it is impossible to be able to eat everything with just one move like in the world where Danmaku is located.
"Fire!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The magic rifles in the hands of the soldiers in the first row exploded almost at the same time. After the first round of shooting, they did not stay to watch the results of the battle. They consciously bent back and exited the bunker and began to reload. Another group of gunners in the back row immediately
took his place.
At the same time, the machine gunners deployed on both sides of the defense line also began to fire crossfire, and the trolls in the front row were quickly suppressed and beaten to a pulp by the machine gun fire.
However, the development of the situation once again proved that Sarlayan's preparation was necessary.
After experiencing the baptism of machine guns and armored vehicles before, the Evil Branch Troll has roughly understood the lethality of the magic gun.
This new weapon looks quite intimidating, but in fact it is not as powerful as the magic arrows shot by the senior ranger. The senior ranger can even simulate the fire suppression effect of a machine gun by manually firing continuously.
The biggest advantage of the magic gun is that it is easy to learn. Even new recruits who have never been on the battlefield can develop combat effectiveness within three months at most after getting the weapon.
And if you want to train a senior ranger, it will take at least ten years.
Some large trolls with strong physical fitness and amazing self-healing ability rushed into the melee range under cross fire.
"Troll Berserker..."
Sarlayan, who activated the Eagle Vision technique to observe the battle situation, focused his attention on the large, deformed-looking men at the front of the Evil Branch Troll army.
These deformed children are more than 4 meters tall, with muscles all over their bodies. They can even withstand continuous machine gun fire purely by physical strength.
Using these Troll Berserkers as shields to attract fire, the Evil Branch Trolls without the command of senior officers still stormed the Marine Corps position.
"The gunmen in the front row retreated to a safe distance and started firing freely."
Sarlayan calmly continued to issue orders: "Heavy armored warriors step forward to withstand the enemy's first wave of impact."
"They are at the end of their strength, soldiers! If you defeat this round of enemy counterattacks, victory will definitely belong to Quel'Thalas!"
"Yes! For the Sun King! For Quel'Thalas!"
Sarlayan's orderly dispatch without panic gave all the soldiers present a reassurance, and the heavily armored soldiers who were in close combat with the enemy stabilized the battle line with high morale.
"Arcanist! Prioritize the enemy's Troll Berserkers and provide opportunities for the gunners in the back row to output firepower!"
"As commanded."
Under the leadership of Archmage Rommath, the arcanists aimed at those very conspicuous big men, attacking them with fireballs, ice arrows and arcane missiles without mercy.
Although these troll deformed children have poor brains, their physical fitness in all aspects is far superior to that of ordinary members of the same race, including their resistance to magic.
Rommath himself used Pyroblast to easily scorch a troll berserker, but the attacks of other arcanists were not as effective as his, and it often took multiple people to attack the troll berserker with anti-magic skin.
Enough damage.
Sarlayan took the time to glance in the direction of Zinsaro. With the assistance of the Wildhammer Griffin Knights, the marines who had entered the city first had advanced to the third level, one step closer to the top of the fifth level.
Melinsela moved back and forth uneasily, her eyes never leaving the huge wind serpent suspended high in the sky above Mount Sinsaro.
"Salayan, Hakkar's power is increasing rapidly. How about we rush to the top of the mountain to behead him first? If it continues to absorb souls and flesh like this..."
"Don't worry." Sarlayan said with an indifferent smile: "Hakkar's power increase comes from the evil branch troll's blood sacrifice ceremony. I don't think the evil branch senior officials will be stupid enough to sacrifice all their people to him.
"
"There is always a limit to Hakkar's power improvement. Instead of rushing in with all his might and beheading him, it is better to get rid of his worries first, and then move forward openly and openly with the momentum of victory."