The battering ram that Count Corbili's mopping-up troops had spent the night building was very simple and crude. It consisted of three thick tree trunks forming a tripod, and then two tripods joined together to form a triangular frame. In the middle, a sharpened giant piece of wood hung from a rope. Once they reached the barracks' main gate, they could use the principle of a pendulum to push the giant piece of wood against the main gate. The battering ram was fitted with four wheels, and dozens of soldiers were pushing it forward. There were also soldiers holding wooden rafts to provide cover.
The crossbowmen on the barracks' walls naturally aimed at the battering ram. In an instant, arrows rained down, and the people and horses near the battering ram were thrown off their feet. Those who were hit by the arrows howled in pain. However, the crossbowmen's attention was focused on the battering ram, which gave the enemy longbowmen who were using wooden rafts to get closer to the barracks an opportunity. They dashed out from behind the wooden rafts, aimed at the crossbowmen on the walls, and fired rapidly. More than ten crossbowmen screamed in pain as their arrows rolled down the walls. Some of the crossbowmen had arrows stuck in their faces, and died on the spot.
The remaining crossbowmen quickly turned their attention to the longbowmen. One was covered by the wooden rafts, while the other was covered by the walls. It was hard to tell who would win. The longbowmen were a great threat to the crossbowmen as they closed the distance between them. At this distance, both sides were shooting straight at each other. Crossbows were slow to load, but they were easy to aim and powerful. Longbowmen were fast to fire. For one arrow fired from a crossbow, three arrows from a longbow. However, the longbowmen had to rest to recover after shooting seven or eight arrows.
While the crossbowmen on the barracks' walls were occupied by the longbowmen, the soldiers pushing the battering ram quickly pushed it to the barracks' main gate. Just as it was about to ram into the main gate, a few jars fell from the walls on either side of the gate. Some fell on the ground, while others fell on the battering ram. After the jars were smashed, the sticky liquid inside splashed all over the battering ram.
One of the soldiers pushing the battering ram touched the liquid on his body with his finger. His expression changed drastically, and he shouted in horror, "It's oil! Kerosene! … "
Under the despairing gaze of the soldier who was pushing the cart, a burning torch landed on the cart. With a whoosh, the cart became a huge bonfire. Beside the cart, a dozen soldiers who were on fire were running around like headless flies. Some of the soldiers who were on fire quickly rolled on the ground and put out the fire with the help of other soldiers. Three of them panicked and jumped into the moat on both sides of the road. Although the fire was extinguished, the three of them were quickly frozen in the cold river and sank to the bottom. There were also four torches whose bodies were stained with so much oil that they looked like human torches. They staggered and screamed miserably until a few guards couldn't stand it anymore and shot them with their spears to end their suffering.
"Ouch …" Another crossbowman was shot in the shoulder and fell on the wall. A few spearmen rushed over and pulled him down. The commander of the mopping-up team was determined and sent five small groups of longbowmen up to exchange fire with the crossbowmen. Even though almost a hundred longbowmen were injured or killed, the remaining five hundred or so longbowmen were still able to shoot at the crossbowmen on the wall until they could not even lift their heads.
Laurist noticed that there were only seventy or so crossbowmen left out of the hundred or so, and they were suppressed by the longbowmen outside. Every arrow they shot would be met with five or six arrows. After thinking for a while, he asked Redi to bring him a large shield. He would attract the attention of the longbowmen outside and let the crossbowmen counterattack.
Taking a deep breath, Lollister suddenly stood up from the parapet. With such a huge person appearing on the wall, he immediately became a target for the longbowmen. First, dozens of arrows flew towards Laurist, but they were blocked by the shield in his left hand and the longsword in his right. Then, it was more than a hundred arrows, and finally more than five hundred longbowmen who shot at Laurist … …
Laurist crouched under the wall, his scalp still feeling numb. His original plan was simple. With his Dynamic Vision talent, he should be able to catch the arrows that were shot at him. After all, these arrows would become very slow when he was concentrating. Dozens of arrows weren't a problem, and he could handle a hundred or so arrows, but more than five hundred arrows had almost turned him into a porcupine. There were too many of them, and he couldn't handle them at all. If it wasn't for the shield protecting his body, he would have been killed by himself. It was really thrilling. How could he have forgotten the principle of quantity?
Laurist looked at the shield with nearly a hundred arrows stuck in it and felt his left hand trembling. The force of so many arrows hitting the shield was so strong that even if he circulated his inner strength, he would not be able to withstand it. This was too risky. It was as though he was dancing with the Grim Reaper. The only thing worth being happy about was that while the longbowmen were paying attention to him, the crossbowmen launched a round of counterattacks and took down another thirty or so longbowmen.
The mopping up troops sent out swords and shield soldiers to cover the burning cart with sand. After extinguishing the fire, they pushed the burnt cart to the side of the road to make way for the second cart. The second cart and the third cart behind it were being repaired as they moved forward. Two small wooden houses were built on both sides of the second cart. The people pushing the cart hid in the houses, and there were also people pouring water and sand on the cart.
Soon, after more than half an hour, the second battering ram was pushed to the front gate of the military camp. A long rope was tied to the huge wood hanging in the triangular frame. Dozens of sword and shield soldiers ran over to pick up the rope and began to pull it back. After a command, they let go of the rope at the same time. The huge wood that was pulled back smashed heavily on the military camp gate with a huge force. Even the protective wall near the gate shook violently.
Redi did not notice that he was passing the flask of kerosene to Laurist, and he fell towards the bottom of the wall. If not for Padt's quick reflexes, he would have been badly injured from the fall.
The next day, Laurist was stomping his feet. He had just thrown down a few pots of kerosene, and a few longbowmen had set their eyes on his position. Just as he was about to take out a jar of kerosene, it was shot by a long arrow in the air. The kerosene splattered everywhere, drenching Lollister's face. This was mainly because Laurist did not expect it and could not react in time. Otherwise, he could have dodged it.
"Bog, I'll leave this to you. I have to go down and clean up," Laurist shouted at Bog Finger who was on the other side of the gate. He had to get rid of the kerosene on his head and body, or he would turn into a human torch if he got close to the fire.
Laurist brought Redi and Padt down the protective wall hurriedly, not too far away. Redi ran to fetch a large basin of hot water and a piece of soap for Laurist to wash his head and face. He grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and covered the areas where the kerosene was on the scale armor that Laurist had taken off. He then took a piece of linen cloth and mixed it with the sand to wipe off the kerosene. Padt rode to the main tent where Laurist's usual clothes were kept. He had to get a new set.
The sound of the military camp gate being slammed could be heard from time to time. The battle was so intense, and I still had the time to take a bath and change. Thinking about Laurist, it was a pain in the ass.
"It's burning!" Ross cheered from the other side of the protective wall.
He turned around and saw thick black smoke rising up from the gate, but the sound of the gate being slammed was still ringing.
After drying his face and changing his clothes, Laurist put on the new scale armor that had been wiped clean. He quickly walked up the protective wall and looked down. The Battering Ram was on fire, but it did not affect the sword-and-shield soldiers behind it as they continued to ram against the main gate of the camp with the huge log.
"Redi, get me two cans of kerosene. Padt, light up the torches," Laurist ordered.
This time, Laurist's target was the sword-and-shield soldiers pulling the ropes behind the wagon. Two cans of kerosene smashed into the center of the sword-and-shield soldiers one after the other. Then, the torches arrived as well. Suddenly, there were dozens of human-shaped torches howling outside.
The sound of the gate slamming stopped. More importantly, the rope behind the giant log had been burned away. Once the drenched parts of the Battering Ram were dried, it would become a huge bonfire.
"Master, the gate looks like it's about to break," Redi said.
Laurist went down to take a look. The two half-foot-thick wooden gates were tilted half a meter inward from the impact. A skinny person could easily crawl through the gap. Of the three metal bolts on the gate, the one at the top had deformed the most. It was protruding inwards like a bow. The one in the middle only protruded slightly, while the one at the bottom was still in good shape.
"Don't worry about the gate. We're not planning to rely on it to defend ourselves. To be honest, we can't even open the gate normally. It's deformed so badly. I'm afraid that the enemies outside will stop attacking and retreat, and we'll be trapped inside, "Laurist said with a smile.
Fortunately, the enemies outside did not want to give up. They sent a large number of soldiers to extinguish the fire on the Battering Ram. They then dragged the burnt Battering Ram to the side and made way for the third Battering Ram.
The third Battering Ram was even more well-protected. It turned into a long house, and a wooden shed in the shape of a person was built on top of the Battering Ram. The people pushing the Battering Ram and the soldiers pulling the logs were all protected inside. There was also a thick layer of wet mud on the outside of the Battering Ram.
This wooden shed moved even more slowly after the collision. It took them more than two hours to reach the main gate of the barracks. Laurist and the defending archers had already eaten lunch. Roth and Boffin even took a nap.
Fatty Shi was very worried about the situation at the barracks gate, so he ran to the fence wall and brought Ell with him. Seeing the Battering Ram approach the gate, Ell asked Laurist with a pale face, "You're just letting it approach like this? Aren't you going to think of a way to stop it?"
Laurist felt that this Fatty Shi was very funny. Right now, he was a 3-star Silver rank and would reach the pinnacle of Silver rank in a short period of time. Advancing to Gold rank was just around the corner. Even if he had been responsible for so many things these days and was extremely busy, and it was said that he and Jasmine, the maid that Laurist had gifted him, were extremely close, sticking together at night, no matter what, he was still able to find time to train his Dou Qi. His willpower and tenacity were truly admirable.
In terms of ability, even Boffin voluntarily retreated and gave him the position of Chief Family Knight, making him the chief steward of the entire northbound convoy. Fatty Shi did not disappoint everyone's expectations. He managed all the major and minor matters of the convoy in an orderly manner. He remembered that Countess Miranda was full of praise for Fatty Shi in private. She was very envious that he had found such a talented steward. She even said that Fatty Shi was qualified to be a cabinet minister of a kingdom. At that time, Fatty Shi was still injured and had been lying on a soft bed. He even had to be carried back and forth to manage things.
Although Fatty Shi's speech during the military strategy meeting was clear and logical, once he entered the battlefield, all sorts of problems appeared. He was scared out of his wits, and his heart was trembling with fear. His palms and soles were sweating, his face was pale, and his expression was absent-minded. He did not look like a 3-star Silver rank expert at all. His performance was even worse than a recruit who did not know qi.
Laurist was very curious. Where did the calmness and courage that Fatty Shi had when he was a mercenary go? Moreover, it was not that he had never seen dead people before. He had already killed a few people, and he was not afraid of blood. How did he become like this?
Fatty Shi said that when he came to the battlefield, he felt dizzy when he saw so many dead people and heard the cries of killing and screams. He himself did not understand what was going on. Boffin and Ross did not find it strange. Ross said that it was because Fatty Shi had seen too few big scenes. When Fatty Shi got used to using corpses as a stool and eating bread dipped in human blood, he would not be like this anymore.
"Uh …" Fatty Shi ran off to vomit.
Sigh, this Fatty Shi. He clearly had this kind of battlefield syndrome, but he still liked to come to the battlefield to join in the fun.
Laurist replied patiently, "There is no need. When defending, you cannot just focus on one target. You have to consider all sorts of situations. We can stop this wooden carriage from approaching the camp's gate, but we will have to pay a huge price. It is not worth it for us, and this is not something that a wise person would do. You can see that this wooden carriage has already been prepared to defend against fire and arrows. However, you will soon see that this carriage will become a help to our defense. This is something that the enemy would not expect. "
However, Laurist's words did not come true. The wooden carriage first hit for a while, knocking the iron bolt of the camp's gate away. A large hole appeared in the gate, revealing the surprised faces of a few soldiers.
Laurist called for a few crossbowmen to shoot at the hole in the gate. A series of screams came from inside the wooden carriage. After a while, the hole in the gate was sealed by a few shields. Then, another half an hour passed. They were probably adjusting the position of the giant log, lowering it so that it could continue to hit the gate below.
Only when Laurist was tired of waiting did the carriage start to work again. The "bang bang bang" sounds of impact could be heard again.
This time, it was very fast. After only twenty or so hits, the gate frame of the camp's gate collapsed.
"The gate is broken!" Just as the cheers sounded from inside the wooden shed, Laurist and Aire rushed into the wooden sheds to the left and right of the carriage like two gusts of wind. This time, the soldiers who were pushing the carts and pulling the ropes were met with misfortune. Who would carry weapons when pushing carts and pulling ropes? The defenseless soldiers were slaughtered without a chance to retaliate. Apart from a few soldiers at the back of the wooden shed who barely managed to escape, the rest of the sixty to seventy soldiers inside the wooden shed were slaughtered by Lollister and Aire. The corpses piled up in the small wooden shed, leaving no space for the two to stand. Fresh blood flowed out from the bottom of the wooden shed, forming a bright red stream …
Laurist rejected Bofinger's offer and brought Aire to the wooden shed instead. The reason why he wanted to bring Aire to attack the wooden shed was because Aire's Dark Combat Aura could be used better in a tight space. Aire also had night vision, and the inside of the wooden shed was pitch-black. With Aire around, they could avoid accidentally injuring or missing out on any hidden enemies.
While Laurist and Aire were busy in the wooden shed, the people in the camp were not idle either. Redi and Patra pulled a few thick ropes and wrapped them tightly around the carriage. Then, they tied the other end of the ropes to a few wooden stakes and hammered the stakes deep into the ground. Right now, the wooden carriage was fixed in front of the broken gate of the camp, becoming a new obstacle. This made Fatty Shi understand why Laurist said that the wooden carriage would be a help in defense.
The spearmen and the leaders of the army were so angry that their eyes almost popped out of their sockets. This was too infuriating. Why didn't they follow the rules? Weren't the defenders supposed to scatter in confusion after the attackers broke through the gate, or gather their men into formation and wait for the attackers to retreat before charging in to decide the victor? How could they take the carriage and use it as a support for their defense? This was ridiculous!
"Tear it down!"
Thus, the soldiers began to tear down the wooden shed. After an hour or so, they finally finished tearing down the shed. The corpses of the soldiers were also moved away. However, the carriage was fixed in place. What could they do if they couldn't retreat?
A platoon of spearmen was gathered, and their horses faced the camp. A few long ropes were tied to the carriage, and the spearmen began a tug of war with the wooden stakes.
The tug-of-war went on for more than half an hour. Even the squad of Lancers guarding the back gate of the barracks was called back. With the addition of nearly a thousand pack horses that were driven out of the barracks, the sweeping troops finally won the tug-of-war. However, the result of the tug of war was a little tragic. Laurist was a little narrow-minded, and cut the ropes when the wooden stakes were at their tightest. Thus, the carriage flew towards the contestants of the mopping army in the tug of war. Along the way, dozens of unlucky people and horses who could not react in time became victims of the bloody mess.
While the guards outside were dumbfounded by the caravan's tragic scene, Laurist ordered his men to push a wooden cart that had been prepared beforehand over to block the broken entrance of the barracks. By the time the soldiers reacted and wanted to stop it, the wooden carriage had already become a new gate of the camp.
"F * ck, are they done yet?!" The soldiers outside let out deafening curses, and some impatient people rushed up to push the wooden carriage back. This time, the people behind the wooden carriage did not hold back. There were three rows of spear tips in front of the wooden carriage. The soldiers at the front thought that they were fixed and used as a threat, but they did not know that they were actually moving spears. As soon as the people behind the wooden carriage pushed, the people who rushed up to push it all became ghosts under the spear. This time, no one dared to approach the wooden carriage.
The illegitimate children of Count Corbili, who led the mopping army, were furious. They had fought from dawn to afternoon, and it had been almost a day. Their troops had already suffered five or six hundred casualties, but they had not even entered the main gate of the camp. Now, the carriage was gone, and the wooden carriage could not get close. What should they do?
"Burn, set fire to that wooden carriage."
A few soldiers threw a few bags of kerosene on the wooden carriage, and then lit a fire.
If you want to burn, I'll burn. "Come, bring the firewood that we prepared. We'll warm ourselves here tonight," Laurist said.
When the soldiers outside saw that the defenders inside were also throwing firewood on the wooden carriage, they reported that the main gate of the camp had turned into a bonfire. Count Corbili's illegitimate children were furious. Just then, it began to snow. This time, the leader of the illegitimate children was overjoyed. "Ah ha, the heavens are helping us! It's snowing heavily! Let's see how they can burn it! "
Laurist was also regretful. "It seems like the heavens want to end these people's lives sooner. I wanted to let them live for another night. Tell everyone to prepare. Tonight will be a night of slaughter."
The fire was finally extinguished. More than a dozen soldiers rushed in and pushed the firewood that was still emitting sparks and smoke to the side. The sound of horses' hooves could be heard outside the barracks. The platoon of Lancers was about to rush in. The soldiers cheered, "Charge in, kill them all!"
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