Thick black smoke immediately rose from both ends of the city. Two loud noises, one from the front and one from the back, caused the ground of the watchtower to tremble slightly. After the explosions, cheers came from below the city wall. Apparently, it was a great boost to morale to strike before the enemy.
But Wilion knew that the first round of shooting was just that.
Sure enough, after a few breaths, two clumps of mud rose in the field. Not only did they not hit the enemy, but they also missed the target. The shell bounced up after hitting the ground and rolled forward for a short distance, plowing a shallow trench about three feet long in the muddy battlefield.
Today was not a windless day, which meant that the boulder cannon needed more tests to hit the target.
He knew very well that the cannon built by Valencia was far inferior to the long-barreled cannon used by Roland, even more so than flintlocks.
The most obvious difference was that the boulder cannon could not move freely.
To prevent the cannon from exploding, the craftsmen melted almost all the bronze utensils in the city, including the ancient clock on the clock tower. After many experiments, the finished product was strong enough to crush any carriage. The bore was about an arm thick and could only be set up on a specially built turret. The pitch and orientation were controlled by a noose, and it took at least a quarter of an hour to reload after each shot.
In addition, the ball-shaped shell was polished granite, which could not cause a violent explosion like the one Roland used to bombard King's City. Wilion had also tried to use hollow shells that could be wrapped in snow powder, but they were extremely unstable and the production rate was very low because of the iron shell. He had never understood where Roland had gotten so many materials.
Therefore, from the beginning, the duke's defensive strategy was to limit the enemy's cannon as much as possible.
As long as the enemy was forced to come close to the city wall, his boulder cannon would eventually hit the enemy.
After a round of shooting, Roland's army unexpectedly stopped advancing. It seemed that they were shocked by this unexpected attack and began to retreat. They only stopped when they were about a hundred steps away from the landing point of the cannonball.
"What are they doing?" Galina asked in confusion.
Wilion looked up and saw that the hundred or so men had shed their gear and were digging. At first glance, it looked as if they were trying to clear a patch of ground in the field.
"He's probably scared and wants to adjust his team to fight a protracted battle," said a viscount who was also watching the battle from the watchtower. "I heard that Roland Wimbledon has completely abandoned the Knight. The army is made up of a bunch of country bumpkins who haven't seen much. They won all the way with high-quality firearms and basically didn't encounter any setbacks. Now that they have to withstand our attacks and take over the city walls, they must be hesitating. That move, Earth to Mud, was done beautifully, my lord. "
"But our income and squires have also decreased a lot," another man said with a frown. "Many of our subjects escaped during the Months of Demons this year, and half of our workshops have been abandoned. If possible, we'd better negotiate with Roland Wimbledon."
"Without equal conditions, there's no basis for negotiation. We have to win the next battle first."
"Shut up, all of you," Wilion said unhappily. "I will never surrender to the kingslayer. If you would rather abandon your noble status and betray His Majesty Timothy, I'll throw you into the cellar first and let you accompany the rioters."
The crowd suddenly fell silent.
In order to prepare for this defensive battle, Valencia had indeed paid a great price. Not only had it changed from a commercial center to a stronghold, but he had also made some helpless moves that he had initially been unwilling to do. But in the eyes of the Duke, it was all worth it. If Prince Roland had tried to rope in the nobles to control the Kingdom of Graycastle from the very beginning, he would have failed long ago. However, Roland had chosen a rebellious path, which was to overthrow the entire aristocratic system and take all the power for himself.
As long as he could thwart Roland's attack here, the others would change their minds and support him to continue to rule the Eastern Region, and more opponents would emerge in Graycastle. It could be said that he was fighting for His Majesty Timothy against Roland, and also to defend the traditional noble system.
"My lord, the boulder cannons have been loaded!" an attendant reported.
"Shall we continue shooting?" Galina asked.
"No, wait a little longer... Unless we add snow powder, it'll be difficult for us to hit that position." Wilion shook his head. He somewhat regretted giving the order so soon. He had thought that the earlier they fired, the earlier they could complete the calibration, but he did not expect that they would stop moving forward after one shot. Now, watching the group of people busily working in the mud, he felt a faint sense of unease.
The shoveled flat ground was only big enough for two people to stand on. It did not look like they were preparing for setting up camp. More than a hundred people were divided into more than ten groups, and after clearing the ground, they began to fiddle with the long green tubes.
Through the telescope, Hao Ren could see their movements clearly. The long tube seemed to be just one of the components. There was a tripod at the bottom, and there was a concave iron plate at the end. There were also several strange sticks stuck into the tube. These things had been carried on the backs of the people, and it took them less than a quarter of an hour to put them together, which showed the ingenuity of the design.
However, the next moment, the Duke could hardly believe his eyes!
He saw them put a spindle-shaped jar into the tube, and then a puff of white smoke quickly sprayed out from the top of the tube.
While the nobles were still wondering what it was, more than ten dark red fireballs suddenly burst inside and outside the city wall, followed by a series of thunderous explosions!
Since the houses near the inner side of the city wall had been demolished, leaving only a variety of traps and obstacles, there were not many casualties, but Wilion was shocked beyond words!
At that moment, there was only one voice left in his head.
"Is that a cannon?
But how could it be a cannon?! "
Although the Duke had not seen Roland's artillery with his own eyes, he had heard of it many times. They were divided into two types according to the length of the barrel. The former could be mounted on a four-wheeled carriage, while the latter had to be transported by ship. Either way, it was not something that could be carried by human hands.
It took all the craftsmen and materials in Valencia two years to forge these two barely usable cannons. This was due to the lack of skill and experience, but in principle, it was no different from Roland's firearms. He believed that if the craftsmen were given a few more years, they would definitely be able to make similar weapons.
But the scene before him completely overturned his thinking.
How could such a thin tube withstand the huge pressure produced by the explosion of snow powder?
This was not logical at all!
"Take out the stone bullets and add half a bag of snow powder!" The Duke turned to his attendant and shouted, "Fire immediately after loading it. As long as you hit one person, I'll reward him with ten Golden Dragon coins!"
The attendant hesitated and said, "Half a bag? My lord, that may damage the cannon — "
"If we let them attack the city wall like this, the stone cannons will be useless!" Wilion grabbed the attendant's collar and said, "Do as I say! Now! "
Just as he gave the order, white smoke rose again in front of the position.
The interval between the two was less than ten breaths!
This time, Wilion heard a slight buzzing sound, which sounded like the chirping of a bird, or the whistle of an arrow piercing through the air.
"Whoosh —"
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