Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales The banks of the lower reaches of the Mituburo River were densely packed. Tents were arranged in a square formation, stretching as far as the eye could see. The once peaceful and wide lower reaches of the Mituburo River were now breeding the sparks of war. Once the Northlands were ready, war would break out. However, from the perspective of the Madras Duchy, they had a tight and deep defensive line and facilities. The invading army from the Northlands would only end up badly injured. Even if blood dyed the river red, there was nothing they could do to the sturdy defensive line.
October 32nd. It was a cloudy day. The wind was strong, and it was drizzling.
Laurist looked at the other side of the river through his monocular. After a long while, he turned to Baron Shahin Henned beside him and asked, "Is everything ready?"
"Of course. All the flatboats and thick planks for the pontoon bridge have been prepared. This stretch of the river is more than three hundred meters wide. A hundred meters from the other side of the river are barricades, trenches, and short walls for blocking attacks. Only a hundred meters from the shore are the arrow towers and walls. The arrow towers are octagonal in shape, with five floors and a height of fifteen meters. The top three floors each have two ballistae guarding the city. The few fishing boats I sent in the past were shot down by the bastards on the other side of the river. "Henned said through gritted teeth.
"You can give the order to build the pontoon bridge now. We can immediately take revenge on the bastards on the other side." Laurist said with a smile.
Henned waved his hand, and a few guards behind him raised their horns. A loud 'woo woo' reverberated across the two sides of the river. Groups of soldiers and craftsmen swarmed out of the barracks, and freight carriages filled with wood rolled towards the riverside. A group of craftsmen and soldiers had already set up rows of flat boats by the riverside and started to lay wooden planks on them …
Laurist raised his monocular again and looked at the other side of the river. The flags on the other side were also fluttering. Groups of Madras Duchy soldiers wearing different types of armor ran towards their defensive positions. Everyone knew that war had broken out.
The so-called flatbed ferry was a large ferry with a bottom but no upper deck. The cabin was laid with a flat surface, and the whole ferry was bare. It could only move slowly by using poles and paddles. Close to a hundred flatboats were lined up in a long row along the riverbank. The craftsmen and soldiers continued to lay a finger-thick wooden planks on the flatboats, and then used large iron nails and wrist thick iron chains to secure the planks. When it was close to noon, a large berth close to three hundred meters long and more than seven meters wide appeared by the riverside.
？ Loriste was a little puzzled. "Henned, you should have built this berth beforehand. It's a waste of time to start building it now."
Henned smiled proudly. "I didn't build it earlier because I wanted to fool those stupid birds on the other side. Look, they always thought that my attack method was to have the soldiers board the boats and charge ashore. I haven't been idling on the other side while I've been building flatboats. I've been building barricades. Don't you see that the barricades are already in the river? Now they're dumbfounded. I've kept them busy for a month, but it's all for naught. They wouldn't have thought that we'd use the berth to slowly push in, and then use the Thunderbolt Catapults to smash their defences and positions before we disembark. "
After lunch, the huge berth on the river was already more than forty meters away from the shore. The craftsmen were now busy building a pontoon bridge to the berth. By increasing the length of the pontoon bridge, they would slowly push the huge and heavy berth into the river.
"I reckon that we still need to push it forward for another thirty meters before we can let Overkiss lead the Thunderbolt Catapults onto the berth," Henned said as he looked at the length of the pontoon bridge.
Loriste said, "Be careful of rocket attacks from the other side. Your berth is made of wood, and it's still connected. If the other side concentrates their rockets on it, it'll become a bonfire if it gets hit. "
Henned said, "Don't worry. I've calculated it. We'll be three hundred and thirty meters away from the arrow towers on the other side in another thirty meters. The farthest range of their ballistae is only three hundred meters. We'll be in a position where they can't see us. The best range of our Thunderbolt Catapults is three hundred and fifty to four hundred meters. That's right in the range of our catapults. Also, I'll have the soldiers splash water on the berth. It won't catch fire that easily. "
Count Kenneth yawned in boredom. "How much longer do we need before we can start the catapults?"
Henned thought for a moment before replying, "It should take about two more hours."
"Alright." Count Kenneth said straightforwardly, "Then I'll head back to my tent for a nap. Call me when it's time to throw the stones. I drank a little too much in the afternoon, so I'm still feeling very dizzy. "
Another two hours passed, and the berth was in a suitable position. The craftsmen finally stopped building the pontoon bridge and had a rare moment of rest. Overkiss commanded the Thunderbolt Catapult Battalion to unload the warhorses in front of the Thunderbolt Catapults, and then carefully push the catapults onto the berth. The catapults were divided into two rows, one at the front and one at the back, and the other at the front. Then, they secured the catapults onto the berth. Following that, they moved the stones and balls to the berth.
It took nearly an hour for all the preparations to be completed. Count Kenneth didn't need anyone to call him over as he came out of his tent.
"The preparations are tedious," said the Earl of Gomez, "and the day is almost over."
"It's fine …" Henned said, "We can fight through the night. We'll still hit them when it's dark anyway. Blow the horn and tell Knight Overkiss to start throwing the stones. "
After receiving the signal, Overkiss quickly ordered the five hundred catapults on the berth to start firing. Wherever the rain of stones the size of washbasins fell, it was a true destruction. Arrow towers collapsed in the smoke and dust. Not a single arrow tower could withstand three rounds of stone rain. Countless guards wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves as they swarmed out of the arrow towers that had not been baptized by the rain of stones and ran towards the rear. They didn't want to end up like the unlucky bastards in the first few arrow towers. They had been buried by the collapsed arrow towers under the rain of stones …
After the first and second round of catapults, apart from the few arrow towers that were covered by the rain of rocks, the remaining arrow towers seemed to have simultaneously fired enormous crossbow bolts at the boat platform in the middle of the river. Half of the crossbow bolts still carried fiery light. Unfortunately, all of the ballista bolts sank into the river a few dozen meters in front of the berth, and not a single one reached the berth. Thus, in the next ten or so minutes, apart from the dozen or so ballistae that were unwilling to give up and tested their range again, the remaining arrow towers could only watch as the falling stones smashed them into ruins.
It could be said that each round of stone catapults left a large empty space in the Madras Duchy's defensive positions. Not a single defensive structure could survive the rain of stones. When Overkiss ordered the catapult battalion to attack the remaining arrow towers, all of the soldiers in the arrow towers abandoned their duties and fled.
Without the threat of the ballistae on the arrow towers, the craftsmen began to build pontoons and continue to push the berth to the other side of the river. On the berth, Overkiss also ordered the catapults to fire oil canisters. Their targets were the rows of wooden barricades on the other side of the river. Soon, countless flames were ignited on the other side of the river. As the wind blew, the grass and shrubs on the shore and in the mountains were ignited, and the flames spread into the distance.
Standing on a mound by the river, Laurist looked at the thick smoke and flames on the other side of the river. He sighed softly. "The situation is set. We can reach the other side tomorrow. However, we still need to be careful at night. Don't let the Madras Duchy's army get desperate and launch a night attack. "
Henned smiled. "Don't worry, we've long since taken precautions. Nothing will go wrong."
The Madras Duchy's army was not as strong as Laurist had imagined. The next morning, when the berth neared the other side of the river, the craftsmen were busy building a simple wooden bridge in preparation for the catapults to reach the shore. A large group of soldiers was sent ashore to level the land, but the Madras Duchy's army of nearly ten thousand finally appeared in the distance. They wretchedly approached the river, as if they wanted to chase the enemies ashore into the river.
However, when Auvicis ordered the Thunderbolt Catapult Battalion to fire a round of stone balls at the enemies in the distance, the enemies immediately crumbled and quickly turned around to flee without a trace.
"Loke, with a divine weapon like the Catapults, why don't we just sweep through the entire Madras Duchy? There's no need to wait until next spring to fight the final battle," Henned said confidently.
Laurist shook his head. "Let's stick to our original plan, Henned. The Madras Duchy we want is not just a territory. The population is also an important resource and wealth. If we were to sweep through the Madras Principality now, the Madras Grand Duke would definitely gather the troops of the entire principality to fight us to the death. Even if we were to win, the Madras Principality would be in ruins. Not only would we have to spend a lot of money and manpower, we would also gain the hatred of the survivors.
If we want to turn the Madras Duchy into our family's territory, we must reduce the harm done to the commoners. We want to deal with the nobles of the duchy. We'll stick to our original plan. After we get ashore, we'll set up camp and defend. We'll become the defending side, and the nobles of the Madras Duchy will become the attacking side. We'll let them do a few somersaults on our defenses, and then we'll negotiate with the Madras Duke. We'll ask for the rights to pass through the river and trade to mislead them about our intentions for starting this war. This is the reason why I asked Earl Kennels to come here. "
Henned said regretfully, "I know. I'll be in charge of the battle, and Kennels will be in charge of the negotiations. I really want to fight with them. "
"Have you forgotten about the second prince? Back then, he led an army of fifty thousand to attack the Madras Duchy, but they were defeated in the Battle of Kebo City. If we gather the strength of the four great families of the north, we can indeed destroy the Madras Duchy, but we'll also suffer great losses. How are we going to deal with the surrounding kingdoms that have hostile intentions? This time, I want to attack the Madras Duchy with the smallest price and the lightest casualties. It's the same for both us and the Madras Duchy. This way, the victory won't damage our strength, and we can effectively use the strength of the destroyed Madras Duchy to threaten the surrounding enemies. They won't dare to have any ideas about us. Do you understand? "Laurist said.
Henned nodded, a little unconvinced.
"Henned, you're mistaken. You think that you're invincible just because you have the Thunderbolt Catapults. In fact, the Thunderbolt Catapults aren't as powerful as you think. I have dozens of ways to deal with the threat of the Thunderbolt Catapults. Light cavalry is one of them. The Thunderbolt Catapults are used to deal with defensive facilities and fortresses. They aren't very useful in the field, and they don't have enough lethality against moving enemies. This is because the Thunderbolt Catapults need to predict where the rocks will fall in advance. Not only are they slow, but they also stay in the air for a long time. As long as you're agile, you can avoid the area where the rocks will be thrown.
This is also why I said that light cavalry can deal with the Thunderbolt Catapults. If you're willing to pay the price and let the light cavalry charge at the Thunderbolt Catapults, they might be able to destroy the catapults. For example, when marching in the wild, setting up camp, ambushes, and night raids can all pose a threat to the Thunderbolt Catapults. This is the first time the Madras Duchy's army has encountered the Thunderbolt Catapults. They're afraid because they don't understand them. If the battle continues, they'll naturally come up with a way to deal with the Thunderbolt Catapults. "
Laurist's words were very reasonable. Henned thought for a moment and smiled, "I was wrong. I'll listen to you, Loke. Don't worry, I won't act on my own."
Laurist patted his shoulder. Just as he was about to say a few words, he heard the hurried sound of hooves. A few horses in the distance were out of breath, and they quickly arrived at the foot of the hill. Three messengers wearing the armor of the Norton Family jumped down from their horses and rushed towards Laurist and the others.
When they were about ten paces away, the messengers stopped. El went over to take a look, then reported, "My lord, they're from the Royal Guard Camp. They've rushed over from the family and delivered an urgent letter from Cilovas Island."
"An urgent letter from Cilovas Island? What happened this time? "Laurist took the letter and opened it. He was shocked. The letter was signed by Governor Hansk and Knight Freya. One of them was in charge of administration, while the other was in charge of military affairs. Something big must have happened.
Opening the folded letter, Lollister was stunned. Beside him, Count Kenneth asked curiously, "What's wrong? What happened? Can I know? "
Laurist pushed the letter to him, "Read it yourself."
Count Kenneth picked up the letter and said, "On the 24th of October, at seven in the evening, His Highness and the others disguised themselves as fishermen and arrived at Cilovas Island on an old fishing boat. They were accompanied by Miss Norton Christie and four guards. One of them was Gold-ranked, while the other three were Silver-ranked. Governor Hansk received them. Knight Freya hoped that they could rest on the island for a while and wait for a reply from the north, but His Highness and Miss Christie insisted that they leave for the north immediately to meet with you. Unable to stop them, they boarded a passenger ship on the 25th of October, and sent the Flying Fish of the Kingdom of Dawn to deliver this letter to you … "
"His Highness is still alive? He's coming to the north? " After reading the letter, Count Kenneth looked at Laurist in a daze. This was truly shocking news.
"You're no longer a noble of the Andinac Kingdom. Why would His Highness still come to the north?" Henned asked curiously.
"Idiot! He's not the king of the Andinac Kingdom right now, but in terms of noble inheritance, he's still the lord of the Norton family in name. He's definitely here to borrow troops to restore his kingdom, "Count Kenneth said with certainty.
Today was the 33rd of October, and His Highness and the others had left Cilovas Island on the 25th of October. It would take seven days for the passenger ship to reach the north, so they'd already reached the north. Even though Freya had sent the Flying Fish of the Kingdom of Dawn to deliver the letter and arrive two days earlier, it would take him three more days to travel to the lower reaches of the Midburo River. Even if he rushed back now, it would already be too late.
"I'll rush back through the night. I'll leave things here to the two of you. Just follow the plan. If anything happens to me, I'll inform you immediately. " Laurist made his decision, "Ell, tell everyone to get ready. We'll head back to the family's territory in half an hour."
"Yes, my lord."
… …
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