The mist under Conson City has dissipated, and groups of huge catapults and giant ballistae are revealed on the field. They are neatly arranged facing the city wall. Their number is enough to defeat the rebels defending the city.
My heart feels cold.
"Attention all catapult positions - prepare to attack!" In the command position, sound transmission magic allowed the commander's command to be clearly transmitted to every position.
The officer on the position gave an order, and the soldiers immediately took action. The winch spun "kaka", the rope "squeaked", the tough wooden arms pointing straight to the sky were bent toward the earth, and the huge stones had been placed.
"Catapult—Attack!"
Outside the walls of Conson City, the dark army set up a total of eight catapult positions. After this order, a total of 1,200 boulders flew out at the same time!
The defensive magic barrier wall of Conson City can only defend against magic and cannot help this kind of pure physical attack.
Flying stones all over the sky roared towards the city wall, and the broken stone fragments flew in all directions, causing the rebels on the wall to cry and howl. Several city gate guards were the focus of the attack, and they were riddled with holes in the blink of an eye.
.
After one round of firing, the soldiers operating the catapult immediately started reloading without waiting for orders from their superiors. Although they were just ordinary soldiers, they had undergone thorough training before the war and were very skilled in their movements.
The dwarf craftsmen were very busy in order to obtain the equipment needed for this war. Before Cohen ran away, he had given drawings of various weapons, and the siege weapons used today are only part of them.
The catapult in the transportation state can be disassembled and camouflaged, and it looks no different from a Gabonese carriage. After entering the war zone, it only takes five people a quarter of an hour to assemble and debug it. Because it is unified in strict standards in the factory
Manufacturing, so it fundamentally avoids the problems of different catapults with different striking power and different ranges.
Each catapult requires only three soldiers to operate, one person is responsible for the winch and aiming and launching, and two people are responsible for loading. The stones required for launching are delivered directly to the battle position by the logistics carriage. This is five times less than the catapults of other empires.
individual, but the emission efficiency has more than doubled.
In the hands of dwarf craftsmen, these weapons were modified again, and the weapons finally produced fully met Cohen's combat requirements-sudden, violent, and sustained!
The seemingly mighty city wall of Conson City was tremblingly withstood by the "boulder rainstorm". The rebel soldiers hid behind the city wall, not even daring to raise their heads. They no longer had the courage to shout "We are not afraid"...
Although he was well hidden, occasionally hard rocks would penetrate the relatively weak crenels and smash a few rebels into pieces.
In less than a while, ten rounds of attacks were completed, and the crenellations on the city wall had basically been leveled. Looking around, there was not a living thing in sight. At this time, Cohen also led the general staff to the command position.
His Majesty the Emperor gestured to the commanding officer and stepped up to replace him.
Carlos touched the commanding officer's arm lightly with his hand and whispered: "Learn a little bit."
"The first, third, fifth, and seventh positions are on standby! The second, fourth, sixth, and eighth positions are raised by half a scale!" Cohen stood in the command position and shouted: "Ten rounds of rapid attacks!"
Half of the catapults began to extend their attack, and the black stones almost brushed the wall and hit the buildings built close to the city wall one after another.
These buildings were far less strong than the city walls. For a while, the houses in the city collapsed, and people were crying loudly. The rebels who were scattered in the room rushed to the streets in twos and threes, covered with dust, and began to flee towards the city.
The rebel team on the street struggled to stabilize the situation, but the dark army threw another round of stones, and the city was once again in chaos.
"What does His Majesty the Emperor want to attack with a catapult?" In the dark army headquarters, the commander on duty was asking Carlos softly: "Aren't you afraid of hurting civilians?"
"Use your brain to figure it out. Your Majesty is looking for the rebel catapult." Carlos pointed to the officer who lacked experience in siege warfare with a normal expression: "In any battle like this, the houses near the city wall must be requisitioned by the army. Such an attack.
It won’t hurt the people.”
After several rounds of attacks, only half of the houses near the city wall were intact. The rebels' hoarded supplies suffered huge losses. Oil barrels were broken, kerosene flowed everywhere, and bundles of feather arrows were smashed into strange shapes.
The frightened horses dragged the carriage and ran wildly through the streets...
Tens of thousands of stones roared from the sky, and every piece of land was covered with craters. This intensive attack by the dark army was not to capture the city, they were to destroy it!
Finally, the rebel commander decided to retaliate, and hundreds of catapults of various shapes were pushed into the fighting position, loaded with stones and fired.
It is said that the number of these catapults is not small and the quality is decent, but launching in the city will be affected by the small space and the close city wall... All the stones thrown by the rebels fell feebly on the dark army's position
In front, there is nothing useful except leaving deep holes in the mud.
However, the general location of the rebel catapult was discovered by the Wingman scouts in the air, and the information was immediately sent to the headquarters. Cohen glanced at it and calculated the adjustment data in his mind.
"For the first position, add five to the left and three to the front; for the third position, add one to the right and four to the front; to the fifth position, add six to the front..." Cohen quickly gave the order, then waved his hand: "Ten rounds of rapid attacks!"
In the dark army, the other half of the idle catapults immediately showed their power. Howling boulders flew into the sky, passing by the stones thrown by the rebel catapults. The next moment they fell from the sky, leaving the rebel catapult positions in a mess!
Seeing the catapults being turned into firewood, the rebel commander hurriedly ordered: "Retreat quickly - push the catapults back!"
But on the current position, there are not only rocks crisscrossing, but also rebel soldiers fleeing in all directions. How can anyone dare to push that heavy thing against the rain of flying rocks? Not three or five people can push a catapult away.
Not to mention that the current position is full of debris...
Cohen issued another order, turned around and walked down from the command position, nodding to the commander beside him: "Keep smashing until the rebels can't even throw out their underwear."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The commander puffed up his chest and said, "Just take a look!"
"Tell the logistics, the stone must not be broken." At this point, Cohen turned back to look at the city wall in the distance: "You have to tear down all the walls on all four sides for me - first use rubbish to block the passage outside the city gate.
Go on, and then play with them slowly."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"General Staff Officer, please go down and let the remote siege troops take turns." Cohen then turned to look at Carlos: "Have the new toys prepared for the catapult arrived?"
"Are you asking about those special stones?" Carlos replied: "They will be there in the afternoon."
"I'm looking forward to it." Cohen smiled faintly and finally said to the people in the headquarters: "You guys take your time, I'm not in a hurry at all."
After walking out of the headquarters, Cohen returned directly to the Chinese military camp. He hummed a tune leisurely along the way. His expression was very relaxed. Others could not see the tension that should have occurred during the war. It was as if for the emperor, the war was over.
.
When Carlos arranged everything and entered the camp, he happened to see his Majesty the Emperor circling around a map.
"You came just in time." Cohen didn't even raise his head, still looking at the map attentively: "Carlos, remove the cavalry of the First Army from the camp and rush to this place to standby."
Carlos leaned forward and looked at the map: "This is... isn't this the rear of the Third Army?"
"Yes! Behind the defensive position of the Third Army." Cohen nodded and said, "About five Guards Cavalry regiments."
"Are we going to support the Third Army?" Carlos asked in confusion: "What about here? We have mobilized our troops, what should we do here?"
"It's enough to have catapults here to attack and assault infantry to prevent rebel counterattacks. The use of cavalry here is obviously overkill." A gentle smile appeared on Cohen's face: "Carlos, our goal is to eliminate the rebels.
Instead of wasting your youth around this dead city."
"Understood, I will immediately arrange for the deployment of troops." Carlos understood that his boss was in a bad mood and was pretending to be weird after becoming emperor, but he could only sigh secretly in his heart and try his best to cooperate: "Sir, this has something to do with youth.
?"
"This is what I feel from the bottom of my heart." Cohen chuckled: "I suddenly found myself having the urge to write poetry..."
"Spare me, sir." Upon hearing what Cohen said, Carlos immediately admitted defeat: "As early as when I was at the Royal Academy, my literature score was zero. The dean's evaluation of me was - this student behaved badly.
He actually used a military report as a poem."
"Then your graduation must be full of suspense. The Royal Academy is not a kind place."
"Yes! Fortunately, I have always been diligent in evaluation, and in addition, I got all A's in the armament subject." Carlos scratched his head: "Actually, the most important time was when I used my fists and kicks on the street and caught several people who were causing harm to places.
Ruffians..."
"Ah! Is it intense?"
"Of course! The other party is a gang, and I am a lone hero..."
"You two." Bai Ying standing by could not stand it anymore and had to come out to remind these two men who behaved badly: "Can you just concentrate on it?"
The two people turned their heads to Bai Ying, looking a little confused.
"We are in a military camp, and it seems like there is still a war going on."
"There is no war." The two men who behaved badly said in unison: "The enemy is not fighting, only we are fighting the enemy."
Bai Ying was so angry that he took three deep breaths before calming down his urge to beat someone up: "The rebels in the Holy City are out - an elder saw the marching cavalry troops from high altitude."
"Really? Your elders are very laid-back!" Cohen was a little dissatisfied with her: "Why are you saying it now?"
"Because I just found out." Bai Ying was not afraid at all and answered openly: "Just when you were discussing poetry, the elder passed by the camp."
"Carlos, cheer up and do your work! The special stones that will be shipped at noon will be sent directly to the Third Army." Cohen poked a finger on the map: "And the troops we have deployed must rush here and take action immediately."
"Are we going to hold a war meeting?"
"Just a few regiment commanders, cavalry commanders, and the head of the logistics department can participate."
"Yes, sir!" Carlos gave a military salute and ran out of the tent.
The besieged city's far-end strike force continued to attack, and the rebel headquarters in Conson City was filled with misery. The number of casualties among the defending troops continued to rise, and material losses were also considerable. Due to the lack of corresponding attack means, they could only comfort their subordinates and hope that the enemy infantry would attack as soon as possible.
city.
However, after a day passed, the infantry siege they expected did not appear, and the rebel soldiers on the front line were almost driven crazy by the whistling sound of stone bullets.
This style of play confused the rebel commanders of Conson City. According to the convention of siege warfare, catapults can attack for up to three hours, and then it is the turn of the infantry. This is because catapults cannot withstand high-intensity attacks.
Launch, on the other hand, the attacking troops also have to take into account the enemy's reinforcements...
If the city cannot be captured before reinforcements arrive, it will fall into a dangerous situation of fighting on two fronts.
And Cohen Keda is also a commander with combat experience! How could he make a mistake in this kind of thing? Is there any other conspiracy? But with the little army he has, he can't do any tricks even to the death.
!
In fact, not only the rebels were confused, but also the senior officers in the dark army were somewhat confused by the emperor's combat thoughts...
When it was time to have dinner, the catapult attack stopped, and the attack was taken over by giant crossbow troops and elven archers. The soldiers took the time to repair and maintain their equipment and prepare for tomorrow's battle.
The General Staff Officer has also deployed two cavalry regiments from the siege troops, and most of the supplies shipped in the afternoon were directly transferred to the Third Army.
A formal operational meeting was held at dinner.
Chief Cohen is weird. The more important the meeting, the more relaxed and easy-going the scene is. And the chief has not changed much since he became His Majesty. As usual, the officers participating in the meeting can enter the meeting without taking off their weapons. As usual, they sit in a circle.
At Zhang Chao's long dining table, the only difference is the food and drinks placed in front of everyone.
The guard made an announcement, and His Majesty the Emperor, dressed in formal uniform, came out of the inner tent. The officers stood up quickly, some said hello, sir, and some said good night to His Majesty, making a fuss.
"We are all here. You are in good spirits!" His Majesty Cohen was not angry and greeted everyone with a smile: "Everyone, please sit down! There is no need to be so polite."
"I used to be a commander, but now I am His Majesty the Emperor." The captain of the cavalry regiment was a comrade of the General Staff Officer. He was an old-established officer. He valued etiquette more than the officers trained by the Dark Province later. At this time, he stood up and replied: "We can't
Yelling."
"This is the army. Since I stay here, my only identity is your commander. We are partners who have fought bloody battles together. The worldly reputation is pale in front of our friendship." Cohen replied with a smile: "
Besides, I will be upset by political affairs in the future, and I plan to take refuge in the military camp! How can I come here if you care so much about the title?"
This captain of the regiment was first-class in commanding and fighting, but his verbal skills were not one-tenth as good as Carlos's. Besides, the soldiers were straightforward by nature, and after being praised by the commander, he said nothing more and sat down with a smile.
"Okay, let's get down to business! Are you a little strange about today's attack?" Cohen glanced at the officers present: "Just say it."
The assault infantry had no chance to play today. Their commander immediately stood up and replied: "Yes, sir, we want to know the purpose of your only long-range attack and the entire combat intention. You can't just leave us alone during the attack!"
"Don't worry, the attack has already started. Are you afraid that you have nothing to do?" Cohen stood up: "This is the purpose of calling you to the meeting. Our attack will not stop once it starts - we will hit the Holy Capital City in one go.
Go down and sweep all the rebels within the four hundred miles!"
If these were not officers who had been following Cohen for a long time, the meaning expressed in Cohen's words would surprise everyone, but everyone here was only slightly surprised to hear this.
The general staff officer nodded to the guard standing beside him, and a huge curtain was opened behind Cohen, revealing a map of the entire empire.
"Everyone, I am here to tell you that our attack method today will continue for at least two days." Cohen walked to the map, turned around and said to the officers: "The most fundamental purpose of this is to defeat the rebels as much as possible."
The army is attracted here - we are creating conditions for the second army to attack the Holy City!"
"So that's it..." The officers looked at each other, and their expressions gradually became excited.
"Our entire combat plan is adjusted according to the rebels' plan. In the rebels' plan, Conson City is a key point and is their scheduled decisive battle place." Cohen took the long stick handed by the guard and pointed to the map and explained: "
In our plan, the siege of Conson City is just smoke, and the real decisive battle is the two defensive positions built by the Third Army."
"Can the Third Army hold it?" an officer asked eagerly: "There will be no shortage of rebel reinforcements."
"Of course they have a lot of reinforcements, and they are facing more than just the Third Army. To be honest, I'm not worried that they won't be able to hold on. I'm just worried that their assault force is not enough to eat these 100,000 rebels."
Speaking of this, the expression on Cohen's face was very cautious: "So, the First Army will dispatch five to seven cavalry regiments to secretly reinforce the Third Army."
"What about here in Conson City?"
"The infantry is in charge here, and they should be ready to attack at any time and launch continuous long-range attacks." The general staff officer stood up and said: "When the rebel reinforcements are dealt with, they will have only one way to surrender."
"Understood." The cavalry captain asked happily: "When will we set off?"
"Because this is a decisive battle, the information must be kept secret and the logistics must be guaranteed. Fortunately, we still have two to three days to prepare." Cohen pointed at the map with the long stick in his hand: "
This morning's intelligence pointed out that the rebels' 100,000 cavalry reinforcements have been dispatched and are here to find us - by this time tomorrow, they will engage in firefights with the Third Army, and with the strength of the Third Army, they will never
Let them cross the defensive line. Once they are stuck, the Second Army in the other direction can advance like a tourist."
"One hundred thousand! Is it the cavalry? It's a big scene, boss!"
"As an imperial soldier, facing such a battle is really exciting!"
"Take me with you! Boss - I don't have a medal yet!"
The officers' eyes showed intense longing. Seeing this, Bai Ying felt in his heart that he was not staying in a military camp but in a bandit's den.
"Don't talk nonsense. This battle is of great importance and no one can be careless!" Cohen knocked on the table with a long stick: "Our ultimate goal is to let the Second Legion rush to the Holy Capital City with thunderous momentum, causing irreparable damage to the morale of the rebels.
Strike! At this time, they will light up the smoke in the Holy Capital. No matter what the situation is in Conson City, when the intelligence is transmitted here, you also light up the smoke for me... With the smoke before and after, we will kill the rebel reinforcements!
From then on, we will go all out to attack the Holy Capital!"
"Yes, sir!"
The officers stood up and responded enthusiastically, but the General Staff Officer remained calm. He knew in his heart that what His Majesty the Emperor said was not all of the plan - or rather, it was just the part of the plan that was destined to change.