The next morning, Roland learned that a large group of soldiers and horses were approaching. Lightning discovered the slow-moving troops during her routine patrol.
"What, more than a thousand people?" Roland was startled. Wasn't it supposed to be a delegation of fifty people?
"Uh-huh," Maggie added, "but not many of them, only six!"
"What about the people on foot... What about their clothes and weapons?"
"Ordinary, most of them don't have any armor, just ordinary linen clothes," Lightning said. "They also have a variety of weapons, but several hundred of them carry a short spear on their back."
"With such poor equipment, are they forced to recruit civilians or serfs?" Roland wondered. In this era, there was no special training for the militia. To put it bluntly, the militia was responsible for carrying food and supplies for the Knight's army, and sometimes served as cannon fodder to consume the enemy's arrows.
If Timothy wanted to kill him by force, it was impossible for him not to know about the battle between Longsong Stronghold and Border Town. More than two hundred Knight of the Duke Of Ryan's coalition army had not been able to touch the border of Border Town, let alone this group of militia running on foot. Knowing the course of the battle and the result, they still marched to Border Town, which could only mean that they had the confidence to break through the dense line of guns.
Roland could not help but think of the Church's pills.
Before, he had speculated whether the Church was supporting him and Garcia, and whether they were also supporting Timothy. If these people all had pills, the situation would be completely different.
In a short period of time, a human could run at a speed close to that of a horse without fear of pain. In other words, the line of guns would face the attack of more than a thousand "Knight". As long as one of them rushed into the line, the First Army would suffer casualties.
Fortunately, the current First Army was no longer the army it had been two months ago.
Although the revolving rifles had only been replaced with a hundred or so rifles, the firepower they could deliver far exceeded that of the flintlock unit. Especially after the shooters were equipped with specialized reloaders, the enemies within a range of three hundred meters would be met with continuous attacks. The artillery team had also been expanded after the Battle of the Stronghold, from the original four teams to the current twenty teams. Each team was equipped with a modified 12-pounder field cannon, which had increased the effective range to more than a kilometer.
However, Roland thought of another problem.
"Did you notice that those people on foot are wearing God's Stones of Retaliation?"
"I didn't dare to get too close," Lightning said, pointing to Maggie. "This guy can see much better than me after turning into an eagle."
The latter shook his head and said, "I didn't see it. Maybe it's hidden in my clothes, coo!"
"If that's the case …" Roland pondered. "Why don't you take Nightingale and fly again? With only one person on its back, it should be able to fly at a height of about ten meters, right? You just fly along the Redwater River. Maggie will be responsible for guarding the front. If you encounter any passing ships, use Nightingale to enter the fog state. " He looked at Nightingale and said, "When you get close to the enemy, you observe them from a distance to see if anyone is carrying a God's Stone of Retaliation. Do not attack without permission."
"Yes." Nightingale and Lightning said in unison.
Just as the three of them were ready to set off, Roland stopped them. "Remember, safety is the most important thing. Protect yourself."
"No problem," Nightingale winked and said with a smile.
After the witches had left, he felt a little uneasy. Wasn't that last sentence too much like raising a flag?
Moreover, he also realized that he had made a major mistake in his work. That was, his control of Longsong Stronghold's intelligence was too weak – if it wasn't for Pérot's messenger, he would have likely encountered the enemy only when they reached the door. Once they were caught in a street fight, it would be difficult for the First Army to reverse the situation after losing their firepower advantage.
"I'm still too young and too simple," Roland thought, "I have to make up for this after the war. Moreover, it's not just intelligence, I should also place my own people around Pérot."
The Prince sat restlessly at the table, not in the mood to eat lunch. Only when Lightning flew into the room like a fairy with Nightingale on her back, did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Maggie flapped her wings and landed on Nightingale's shoulder, shouting: "No coo, no coo!"
"No God's Stone of Retaliation?"
"Most of them don't have any," Nightingale took off her hood, revealing her blonde hair. "I observed from the front to the back, except for the ten people leading the militia, there were only three or four black holes."
"Very good," Roland immediately formed a preliminary battle plan in his mind. "Are you all hungry? Let's go to the dining room first, tell the chef what you want to eat. "
"Honey barbecue coo!" Maggie spread her wings and raised her head.
*****
Outside the east side of the town.
Van 'er glanced at the busy stonemasons and workers on both sides of the road, "What are they building?"
Hundreds of people first dug several large pits in the ground, and then built brick walls around the pits. He had thought that these walls would be connected to block the road, but he didn't expect that they were built around the pits.
"Who cares, I only know that there are enemies to beat," Jop said excitedly while fixing the gun carriage in place.
Indeed, Van 'er thought. Since the last time they defeated the Duke's coalition, His Royal Highness had personally awarded each member of the artillery team a bronze badge … no, a medal. The front of the medal had the symbol of Longsong Stronghold's high wall, and the back was engraved with the year and military achievements. It was made very beautifully, which made the firearms team extremely envious.
Moreover, in addition to this honor, everyone was promoted one level. Now Van 'er was the captain of the artillery team, in charge of ten artillery teams. The Rodney brothers, Cat's Claw and Jop, were promoted to team leaders. Three of them were transferred to the newly established group to teach the new recruits how to operate the artillery.
The most exciting thing was that His Royal Highness had fulfilled his promise. On the east side of the town, at the foot of the Impassable Mountain Range, Van 'er was given a piece of land. Although it was still only a forest, a stone tablet had been erected on the ground, symbolizing that the right to use this land belonged to him.
So when they learned that the enemy wanted to invade the town, the First Army suddenly became excited. Everyone was eager to fight, hoping to make a contribution in this battle.
When dusk fell, Van 'er, who had finished the day's practice, wiped the sweat from his forehead and leaned against the gun carriage to take a break. For the whole afternoon, he had been checking whether the recruits had followed the rules and procedures to fire the artillery, shouting until his throat was almost smoking.
"Drink some water," Jop handed over a leather bag.
"Thank you," Van 'er unscrewed the lid and drank it in one gulp.
"I think I know what they want to build," Jop said proudly, curling up the corner of his mouth.
"Really?" He returned the leather bag to Jop. At this time, the brick wall had been built to half a person's height, roughly forming a hexagon around the pit. However, on each side of the wall, thirty or forty centimeters from the ground, there was a narrow horizontal gap, a bit like a window, but slightly narrower. "It can't be a house, right?"
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