"Your Highness, we have to stop the attack. There will be too many casualties," Malek said.
The fire in the northern part of the city burned for three days and two nights before it was finally extinguished by a heavy snowfall. The Norton Family's armed forces began to attack the eastern and western parts of the city. But the Visia Merchant Group did not give up. They set up barricades on the streets and gathered miners to form a backup force. They fought the Norton Family's armed forces house by house, fighting for every inch of land. They were determined to fight to the end.
The capital of Felicia was huge. It was originally an important city in the southwest of the Crisen Empire. It had more than three hundred thousand residents, and it had undergone many expansions and renovations. After the Visia Merchant Group took over, they had done a large scale reconstruction of the city, strengthening the defenses and durability of most of the buildings in the city. This move was very effective in resisting the attack of the Norton Family's armed forces.
The western part of the city was where the Visia Merchant Group's army camp was located. But there was more than just the barracks. There were also the homes of the soldiers' families and all sorts of entertainment places for the soldiers. There were eleven taverns, brothels, laundry rooms, public bathrooms, potion treatment centers, and so on. The Visia Merchant Group's care and treatment of the soldiers was also an important reason why the Visia Merchant Group's army was able to resist. Without an order from the upper echelons of the Merchant Group, they would not put down their weapons and surrender.
The eastern part of the city was where the miners and technicians under the Visia Merchant Group lived. As the largest weapons supplier in the trade union, the Visia Merchant Group had a large mining, forging, and other departments. The Visia Merchant Group was praised for its benevolence towards the workers in these departments. Even for mining, which was the lowest form of labor, as long as one had the strength to do it, the Merchant Group liked to use the latest mining technology and equipment to assist the miners in their mining operations. This was to increase production efficiency.
In a sense, the Visia Merchant Group was like the Japanese companies in Laurist's previous world. Mining was a hereditary profession, and children could enter the Merchant Group through their parents' connections. So these workers were very loyal to the Visia Merchant Group. When the Merchant Group called for everyone to take up arms and fight against the invading Norton Family's armed forces, many responded. Just as Laurist had feared before sending out his troops, tens of thousands of miners and technicians had become the reserve military force of the Visia Merchant Group.
The west side of the city had been turned into a series of small fortresses by the merchant army, while the miners in the east side of the city piled up debris on the streets to form barricades. They were engaged in fierce street battles with the Norton family's armed soldiers. Under such circumstances, even with the assistance of the steel crossbows, the attacking soldiers were unable to advance even an inch, and the number of casualties increased greatly.
Meanwhile, the tanks' steel crossbows weren't that useful in the complicated and winding streets and alleys. Many of their firing ranges were blocked by buildings, and they were often ambushed by enemies and falling objects from above. Malek, who was commanding at the frontlines, had no choice but to order his soldiers to stop their attacks on the eastern and western districts.
"Your Highness, we can't continue attacking like this. In these two days, the Flying Tiger Legion has lost more than 4,600 soldiers and the Monolith Legion has lost more than 2,000 soldiers. On the other hand, we didn't even achieve our goal of attacking. We only managed to occupy one and a half street blocks in the East District. By the time we took over this street block, it was practically in ruins. Last night, in the middle of the night, the Visia Merchant Group's armed forces launched an attack on the soldiers' camp behind us through the sewers. In terms of terrain, we can't defend against these enemies who are familiar with the streets and geography of the city … "
What Malek said was the truth. There were many mercenaries in the Visia Merchant Group's armed forces, and they were extremely skilled in small-scale infiltration and ambushes. They were like fish in water in the complicated streets of the city. This was something that the Norton family's armed forces couldn't compare to, especially since the Norton family's armed forces had never encountered a situation where everyone was a soldier and everyone was their enemy. In the past, after breaking through the city gates and clearing out the enemy's defenses, the entire city would fall into the family's hands. All the citizens would obediently wait for their orders, unlike now, where even the elderly and women would take the opportunity to launch sneak attacks …
Laurist looked at the simple layout of the city on the table and furrowed his brows in silence. This map was pieced together from the descriptions of the captives and the investigation of the family's armed forces. The South District was blurry, and the inner District had a rough shape. The East and West District had changed due to the urban warfare. If Felicia King City was divided into three parts, the Norton family's armed forces only occupied the narrowest part, the North District. More than half of it was still a battle zone.
In terms of military strength, the Norton family's armed forces only had three divisions of the Flying Tiger Legion and one division of the Monolith Legion in the city. Laurist had close to 2,000 guards, which added up to about 60,000 people. But after deducting the casualties from the past two days, as well as the logistics personnel who were maintaining order in the refugee camps that were rescued from the North District, there were less than 40,000 people who could truly attack the city.
Even though the Visia Merchant Group's heavy armored spearmen had suffered heavy losses, they still had more than 30,000 people. In addition to the city guards and the newly formed miners in the East District, there were no less than 80,000 of them. Especially since the Visia Merchant Group was a merchant group that supplied and manufactured weapons, they did not lack equipment. With a little training, they could equip those strong miners into elite guards.
In terms of high-end combat strength, the Visia Merchant Group only had one level 2 swordsman left. It was unknown how many Gold rank experts they had left. But in terms of the entire merchant group's armed forces, they were almost twice as many as the Norton family's armed forces in the city. This was also why they had the confidence to resist and not surrender. Just as Malek had said, if they continued to attack, both sides would suffer heavy losses. The Norton family could not afford to pay such a high price.
It was obvious that the Visia Merchant Group was going to fight to the death with the Norton family's armed forces. Not only in the city, but also on the city walls. They had mobilized a large number of longbowmen to guard the east and west walls with the help of the towers. This was to prevent the Norton family's armed forces from attacking along the northern city walls and capturing the entire outer city walls of Felicia, trapping them in the city.
Laurist had originally wanted to take down the east and west districts first, then take over the city walls and attack the South District. Then, he would besiege the inner city and force the Visia Merchant Group to surrender. After taking over the northern city, he realized that the Visia Merchant Group had built the inner city like a city within the city. Just the city walls alone were a meter taller than the outer city walls, reaching a height of 10 meters. They had also installed a special type of giant crossbow on the city walls, which had a shooting range of 300 meters. The street opposite the inner city gates had become a forbidden zone for the Norton family's armed forces. Fortunately, the giant crossbow took a long time to load, and there were not many of them. They only fired a dozen bolts that were longer than spears towards the northern city walls before stopping.
"Your Highness, since they have sworn to fight us to the death, let's fulfill their wish. Let's learn from them and burn down the east and west districts." The one who said this was Ross the Ferocious Tiger. He was also angered by the Visia Merchant Group's resistance. Since the streets would be in ruins after they took over, they might as well burn them down first and occupy them after they were in ruins. This would also prevent the family's armed forces from suffering casualties.
Laurist shook his head. Ross the Ferocious Tiger's idea was not advisable. The Visia Merchant Group had burned down the northern city mainly because it was a slum district. Most of the houses were made of wood and mud. If they were doused with kerosene, they would burn a large area, and the fire would spread with the help of the wind. Most of the houses in the east and west districts were made of stone and bricks. Putting aside the fact that they could not get a large amount of kerosene, even if the fire started, it would be a waste of effort to extinguish it.
"Your Highness, the Monolith Army's three divisions are on standby outside the east, west, and south city gates. Since the city is in a stalemate, can we transfer these three divisions back and have them take charge of attacking the city? In terms of offensive efficiency, they are more adept than the Flying Tiger Army in close-quarters urban warfare and urban combat missions. "Josk made another suggestion.
"No," Laurist replied. Laurist replied, "The three gates of Felicia's capital are still under the control of the Visia Merchant Group. This time, we want to capture the Visia Merchant Group in one fell swoop and uproot them. So, the three divisions' mission is still to stand by and wait for the fish that escapes the net when the city falls. We have no way of knowing if the higher-ups of the Visia Merchant Group will break through and escape at the last moment. We don't know which direction they will choose when the time comes, so we cannot move those three divisions.
The key to the current stalemate lies with the higher-ups of the Visia Merchant Group. From the captives, we already know that apart from the vice-chairman and a great swordsman who are still at the merchant group's encampment in Moronte City, the rest of the leaders and higher-ups of the merchant group have gathered in Felicia King's City to celebrate the new year. In the end, they were caught by us. So, it's not surprising that the Visia Merchant Group refuses to surrender. As long as we break through the inner city and capture the leaders and higher-ups of the merchant group, they will naturally have the armed forces in the east and west districts put down their weapons and surrender. "
"But Your Highness, attacking the inner city now isn't a wise move. If we gather our forces to attack the inner city before taking down the two districts, we will only suffer a pincer attack from the Visia Merchant Group's armed forces. Moreover, there are many giant ballistae on the inner city walls. These ballistae have an advantage in range compared to our war chariots and steel ballistae. It's very easy for them to cause great casualties to our family's soldiers … "Malek said.
"No, we won't attack the inner city or the two districts for now. Order our family's armed forces to pull back and defend the districts we've already occupied. In five or six days, Bofinger will lead the Thunderbolt Catapult here. At that time, we will directly smash through the inner city's walls and charge in. As long as we capture the chairman and higher-ups of the Visia Merchant Group, this battle will be over. "Laurist made his final decision.
In the next two days, the Norton Family's armed forces didn't launch any more attacks. Instead, they started to fortify their defensive line and assumed the stance of a long-term battle. The Visia Merchant Group found this strange, and specially sent an emissary to visit Laurist.
The emissary was a high-ranking member of the Visia Merchant Group. He was eloquent and had an excellent demeanor. He told Laurist that the Visia Merchant Group was of one mind and determined to resist to the end. The current situation of the battlefield also showed that the Norton Family's armed forces couldn't take down Felicia King's city. Even if the Norton Family sent all their forces to attack, even if the Visia Merchant Group failed, the Norton Family's armed forces would still pay a heavy price.
It was now the thaw period of February, and in another thirty days, the rainy season would descend. During the rainy season, both sides couldn't fight. The Norton Family's armed forces had gone on a long journey, and their plan to take down Felicia King's city had been foiled. Without the resources to reap from taking down the city, and with the long journey to the north, their logistics and supplies might not be able to support them, they could only sit and eat. The Visia Merchant Group hoped that the Norton Family would understand that their failure was unavoidable, and that it was best to stop fighting and retreat from the city.
The emissary said that after the rainy season, the Visia Merchant Group would be able to contact the Trade Alliance, and the Trade Alliance's army would come in an endless stream. At that time, it would be difficult for the Norton Family to retreat even if they wanted to. After offending one of the seven giants of the Trade Alliance, the Visia Merchant Group, even if the Norton Family's territory was far away in the north, they wouldn't be able to escape the Trade Alliance's revenge. However, the Visia Merchant Group understood the Norton Family's difficulty in disobeying the king's orders. As long as the Norton Family's armed forces withdrew, the Visia Merchant Group could guarantee that they wouldn't pursue the matter of the Norton Family's sneak attack on Felicia King's city.
Laurist laughed and asked the emissary if he was joking. The war wasn't over yet, and it wasn't clear whose hands Felicia King's city would end up in. What confidence did the Visia Merchant Group have to guarantee that they would obtain the final victory?
In turn, Laurist tried to persuade the emissary to let the Visia Merchant Group surrender as soon as possible, so that they wouldn't be able to protect themselves. As for the fact that the Visia Merchant Group was one of the seven giants of the Trade Alliance, it didn't matter to him. In the eyes of the Norton Family's armed forces, as long as they were enemies, they were targets to be destroyed. The Norton Family's armed forces were never afraid of the enemy's influence or strength.
Seeing that his threats weren't working, the emissary tried to tempt him. As long as the Norton Family was willing to withdraw their troops and return the occupied northern city to the merchant group's armed forces, the Visia Merchant Group was willing to fork out two million gold coins as a ransom for the Norton Family to withdraw their troops. At the same time, they were also willing to provide a batch of rations for the Norton Family's armed forces to use after they withdrew.
Laurist laughed again. He told the emissary that as long as the Norton Family's armed forces took down Felicia King's city, it didn't matter if it was two million gold coins or more, as well as the rations, they would all be his spoils of war. He advised the Visia Merchant Group to put down their weapons and surrender. Victory and defeat were common. The Visia Merchant Group had chosen the wrong territory this time, occupying the Crimson Empire's Podorg Province. That was why they were attacked by the Norton Family's armed forces.
Laurist told the emissary that he hoped the leaders of the Visia Merchant Group would learn from this lesson. If they needed the merchant group's territory, they could have set their sights on the countries in the south of the continent, and not the former empire's territory. If the Visia Merchant Group decided to surrender, Laurist could guarantee their safety, and they could choose another territory for the merchant group to rise again.
The emissary was furious. He said that the Visia Merchant Group was prepared to perish together with the Norton Family. They had placed jars filled with kerosene in all the warehouses and important locations in the city. If they were attacked and the resistance failed, they would burn the entire city. They would rather turn Felicia King's city into ashes than let it fall into the hands of the Norton Family's armed forces!
Laurist slammed the table and stood up. He swore that if the Visia Merchant Group really did that, he would not let any of the upper echelons of the merchant group go. The Visia Merchant Group could wait to be removed from the Trade Alliance's seven giants …
At this point, it meant that there was no longer any possibility of negotiation. The emissary of the Visia Merchant Group left resentfully.
On the 7th of February, Bofinger led the Monolith Army's Thunderbolt Catapult Battalion to the northern city.
On the 9th of February, the Thunderbolt Catapult Battalion attacked the inner city, eastern city, and western city at the same time. The Visia Merchant Group's armed forces in the western city and the miners' garrison forces in the eastern city could not withstand the attacks from the catapults. They suffered heavy casualties and were forced to retreat.
Around four in the afternoon, Laurist led the guards and was the first to attack the inner city walls that had been smashed to pieces. In order to defend against the Norton Family's attack on the inner city, the Visia Merchant Group's Level 2 Great Swordsman in the city went into battle. However, he was killed on the spot by Laurist. The upper echelons of the merchant group escaped through the southern city gate with their families. At the same time, they sent people to set fire to the warehouses and trade district in the southern city.
On the 11th of February, the Norton Family's armed forces put out the fire in the southern city and rescued a third of the rations and supplies.
On the 12th of February, the miners' garrison forces in the eastern city put down their weapons and surrendered. On the same day, the soldiers of the Visia Merchant Group's armed forces who were surrounded in the western city gave up their weapons and surrendered, saving their lives. However, there were still more than ten thousand soldiers of the merchant group's armed forces guarding the barracks and stronghold, swearing not to surrender.
On the 13th of February, the escaping upper echelons of the Visia Merchant Group and their families fell into the Monolith Army's trap outside the southern city gate and were all captured.
On the 14th of February, after rejecting Laurist's last order to surrender, the Norton Family's armed forces launched a final attack on the barracks in the western city with the help of the Thunderbolt Catapult. More than ten thousand soldiers of the Visia Merchant Group's armed forces and more than three thousand of their families were all killed. After receiving the news of victory, Laurist ordered all the captured upper echelons of the Visia Merchant Group and their families, a total of more than two thousand people, to be beheaded, fulfilling his vow.
On the 14th of February 1787, the Andenac Kingdom's Duke of the North, Laurist, led the Norton Family's armed forces to attack the capital of the Visia Merchant Group's territory, Felicia King City. They killed more than thirty thousand upper echelons of the merchant group, their families, and the merchant group's armed forces. They used these heads to build a tower of human heads in the southern suburbs of the King City, and named it Jingguan.
After this battle, the Visia Merchant Group was removed from the Trade Alliance's Seven Magnates. When the news spread in May, the Trade Alliance turned pale with fright, and the other six magnates were furious. The entire continent was shocked by this news.
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