【2nd Update】

……

"Compared to the Guardian Knights, the most troublesome thing in the Holy Light Alliance is actually the Battle Priest."

The little dragon girl stands high on the enemy platform, overlooking the battlefield below.

As the Holy Light Alliance army continued to advance and entered the firing range, in addition to the eighteen heavy artillery pieces with a long range, dozens of other large and small artillery pieces also opened fire on the city. There were also trebuchets that continued to drop large and small stone bullets made by Su Su, and the casualties of the Holy Light Alliance army suddenly surged.

Until this time, the long-range firepower of the Holy Light Alliance Army had not been able to inflict any substantial blow on the imperial defenders in the city. Only a few soldiers of the mixed regiment were injured by the stone chips from the cannonballs that flew up to the city, but they were only small wounds that broke their flesh.

With the originally low morale of the Holy Light Alliance servant army, in this situation where they could not fight back, and the heavy shadow brought by the large stone bullets projected by the giant trebuchet, it should have collapsed a thousand miles ago. Even if there were law enforcement teams that pressed in time, it would have been impossible for a law enforcement team of hundreds or thousands of people to really restrain tens of thousands of troops.

But with the Battle Priest, it's different.

With the blessing of the "Aura of Glory" of the Battle Priest, unless it was crushed by a giant stone projectile the size of a hut, even in the face of a large stone projectile with a diameter of one meter that Su Su rushed to make, the Holy Light Alliance Army could still maintain its morale, braving the rain of bullets, suffering casualties, and constantly advancing.

Looking at the golden auras that erupted from time to time in the battlefield below, the little dragon girl frowned and said, "The battle priest of the Radiant Holy Sect can wear heavy armor and hold heavy troops to participate in the battle. The combat power is also quite strong, and with the blessing of various divine arts, it is even more powerful than professional knights of the same level. But compared to their perks, their personal combat power is nothing. ”

The Battle Priest can turn the Straggle Fish troops into elites, and can turn elites into invincible trump cards. The combination of a high-level battle priest and a guardian knight is an invincible killer weapon for the Holy Light Alliance.

In the original battle of Zhongshan Island, if Su Su hadn't abolished most of the Amaterasu's spell-casting ability with the "Extraordinary Forbidden Zone", making it impossible for the five battle gods who accompanied the army at that time to play a role, Li Qingyi basically had no chance of winning the battle.

Not to mention victory, whether or not you can hold out until the arrival of reinforcements is probably a big question.

And now, the battle priests of the Holy Light Alliance Army are roughly estimated to be more than twenty people.

Although I don't know if there are any high-level combat priests above the sixteenth level who can cast the "Divine Aura", there are only twenty or above the tenth-level mid-level combat priests who can cast the Glory Aura, which is already a very terrifying force.

You must know that the aura of glory can bless a hundred people at the same time. As long as there are twenty mid-level battle priests, they can bless two thousand people with a glory aura at the same time. And every mid-level battle priest can cast the aura of glory at least five times in a day. In this way, a whole 10,000 people can be blessed.

There are tens of thousands of servants in the Holy Light Alliance, and even if the twenty battle priests are fully blessed, it is impossible to bless everyone with the aura of glory. However, the battle clerics do not need to bless every soldier with an aura of glory, only the part of the troops that are most vulnerable to the blow.

For example, the most advanced forward corps, and for example, the troops near the siege equipment that are most likely to attract firepower, such as trebuchets, arrow towers, and climbing vehicles.

As for the rest of the troops, it doesn't matter if they don't bless them. Because those troops were not the key targets of the Imperial Army in the first place. Even if you take a slight blow, you won't collapse right away.

Moreover, in addition to the Battle Priests, there are also many priests of the Radiant Holy Sect in the Holy Light Alliance Army.

Holy priests, like battle priests, are also very good at fighting, and can fight with plate armor and heavy weapons. The auxiliary ability of the priest is mainly reflected in the healing arts, dispelling negative states, and calming the spirit.

With a chaplain army, the wounded can be treated in a timely manner. Although the priest's divine skills are limited and it is impossible to treat every wounded, the priest's own existence can already give great psychological comfort to the warrior.

With the assistance of battle officers and priests, and the iron-fisted suppression of law enforcement forces, the morale of the Holy Light Alliance was maintained even when it was five kilometers into the wilderness of Guò, especially after entering the next kilometer of the city, and the long-range fire was more intensive, and the casualties surged.

"Why didn't Su Su open the transcendent forbidden area this time?"

Hearing the little dragon girl lament the trouble of the battle priest, Song Qiqi couldn't help asking: "Anyway, our spellcasters are all half-, and those side spells were just restrained by the priest of the Radiant Holy Sect, so they had to be used as computers to do some auxiliary work." Like the last battle of Zhongshan Island, the casting power is dominated by the Holy Light Alliance, and most of them are large-scale auxiliary spells that increase the overall combat power. In this case, it is suitable for the transcendent forbidden area! ”

Large-scale auxiliary spells do not directly inflict damage on the enemy, but are only used to increase the combat effectiveness of your own soldiers. Such a spell cannot be intercepted by the opponent even if there is a caster. And this kind of positive blessing spell is very difficult to dispel. So the best way to deal with it is to simply scrap it.

"It's not time yet." Xiaolongnu said: "The enemy hasn't played a trump card yet, how can we throw a big bomb like the transcendent forbidden area?" ”

There may be five major Guardian Knights from the Holy Light Alliance, who will come to participate in the siege. And the combination of the Knights of the Cathar and the high-level battle priests has always been the guarantee of the Holy Light Alliance's invincibility.

As for the servant army of the Holy Light Alliance, even if they can change from miscellaneous cards to elites with the blessing of the glory aura of the mid-level battle priests, it will not change the unfavorable situation they are facing.

No matter how elite you are, you can't fly directly to Guancheng, right? No matter how you become an elite, you have to brave the artillery fire of the city and walk through that section of the wilderness. Then climb a large 200-meter-long hill before it is possible to attack the city walls.

The defending side of the city is not only an elite staff, but also has the convenience of city defense and geographical advantages, and can condescendingly and happily shoot targets.

Therefore, in such a battlefield shape, the only difference between ordinary elites and miscellaneous cards is morale. The elite troops had enough morale to advance in the face of artillery fire. Miscellaneous cards may fall apart halfway through. Other than that, there is no difference between regular elite and miscellaneous cards.

Of course, being able to advance under the city walls under artillery fire can itself pose a threat to the city's defenses.

Once under the melee wall, the Holy Light Alliance's ranged firefighters can inflict damage on the defenders at the head of the city. It can also pass the uninterrupted battle, find out the details of the defenders, consume the body and energy of the defenders, and lay the foundation for the subsequent ace army.

However, even so, it is still not cost-effective to expose the transcendent forbidden area now, just to deal with the servant army of the Holy Light Alliance that has been blessed by the battle god.

Because the situation of this battle is different from the last battle of Nakayama Island.

Last time, the enemy army put all its strength on the surface at once, and this time the enemy's trump cards have not yet arrived on the battlefield.

Li Qing has already set the strategy of hiding his strength and pitting the enemy's trump card, and the kind of winner and loser who can decide the battle situation in the extraordinary forbidden area has to wait for the enemy to play the trump card before he can use it.

"If you can't use the transcendent forbidden area, find out the battle priest and snipe it."

Song Qiqi said: "Scarlett has elven archery skills, and she also has the iron folding bow that Li Qing gave her with a super long range and automatic calibration special effects. Yesterday, she had already made a big move, shooting fifteen Holy Light Alliance officers in one go, and her strength had been exposed, so she simply used the same method to find out those gods and kill them. ”

"I've been looking for it for a long time." Scarlett stared at the city with blazing eyes, and said, "But those battle priests are well hidden!" With my eyesight, I searched for a long time, but I didn't find a guy who was suspected of being a combat god. ”

Xiaolongnu said: "The battle priest can wear heavy armor, hold an iron shield in one hand, and hold a weapon in the other, and he will not delay them in casting spells. Put on the equipment of ordinary hoplites, mix in the crowd, and it is difficult to find out. Moreover, the aura type of magic of the battle priest is all range-coverage type. It is also impossible to find them through the guò spell track. ”

"It's hard to find, and even if you find it, I'm afraid it's hard to shoot." Scarlett continued to search, but she didn't have much hope for sniping the battle priest: "Long Er also said that the battle priest himself can wear heavy armor and hold a heavy shield, and the defense is already very strong, and with their identity, there must be warriors who are good at defense around them." If you want to shoot, it's very difficult. Unless it is Li Qing's shot, his extraordinary skill Flame Blasting Arrow is super powerful, like a rocket, and it can't be blocked by heavy armor and heavy shields. ”

"Li Qing went back to sleep." Xiaolongnu shook her head, "Besides, even if he makes a move, he won't be able to kill a few battle priests." His extraordinary skills are limited in the number of times. ”

Song Qiqi said quite unwillingly: "Then for the time being, you can only let the battle god be arrogant?" ”

"What if you let them be arrogant now?" The little dragon girl smiled slightly, "Let's see who can be arrogant to the end." ”

Under the city.

The Forward Legion of the Holy Light Alliance, pushing hundreds of heavy shield carts forward, had basically cleared the field, and gradually approached the hillside below the city.

The bodies of those heavy shield carts are made of thick and sturdy logs.

The body is two meters high, rectangular and looks like a large box. There is a row of small wooden wheels underneath. The soldiers of the Forward Legion of the Holy Light Alliance hid in the carriage and pushed the shield cart forward.

The roof of the shield car is made of thick wooden planks and has an acute angled shape. The surface was nailed with a thick layer of cowhide and covered with a layer of watering quilt. Directly in front of the shield cart and on the left and right sides of the wagon, sacks filled with sand and dirt were hung. It can block cannonballs, bullets, and crossbow arrows fired from the front, and it can also block side-fired fire.

This kind of earthen tank-like shield cart can basically protect the soldiers in the car as long as it is not hit by a heavy artillery shell or a large stone projectile fired by a trebuchet. Even if it is hit by a ricochet, the shield cart will be fine. The shotguns fired by the small and medium-caliber guns on the city head hit the hull of the car, and it was rare for them to penetrate the hull and the outside, injuring the soldiers inside.

Under the protection of the shield car, the vanguard legion of the Holy Light Alliance advanced all the way to the foot of the hillside, and the casualties were minimal. And even at the foot of the hillside, entering the range of almost all long-range weapons such as large and small artillery, bed crossbows, muskets, bows and arrows at the head of the city, the firepower from the head of the city was several times denser, and the casualties of the forward legion of the Holy Light Alliance under the protection of the shield car were still extremely slight.

After arriving at the foot of the hillside, the hundreds of shield carts were divided into four rows, five meters apart from each two rows, and more than a hundred shield carts in each row. After that, the body of the car was horizontal, two by two, and in the blink of an eye, there were four wooden walls composed of shield cars and two meters high at the foot of the hillside.

When the soldiers of the Forward Legion of the Holy Light Alliance shrank behind the four two-meter-high wooden walls, even if the Guancheng was condescending, most of the long-range firepower could not reach them.

After forming the wooden wall, the sappers of the forward corps quickly moved into action, and under the protection of the wooden wall, they quickly dug the trench on their knees. The excavated earth and gravel were filled into the shield cart, turning the hollow wooden wall of the shield cart into a solid wooden wall.

Looking at the four wooden walls below that were more than five hundred meters long, Xiao Longnu couldn't help but admire: "The Holy Light Alliance Army really thought, I didn't expect that these shield vehicles were actually not used to cover the soldiers rushing to the city, but to create an advance base!" ”

The Holy Light Alliance used shield vehicles to stitch together four wooden walls, and used engineers to dig trenches behind the wooden walls, obviously trying to build an advance base only more than 200 meters away from Guancheng under the noses of the imperial army.

Once the coalition forces have built this forward base, the subsequent offensive will be much easier.

At the very least, the coalition forces that have approached the city will no longer have to withstand the dense fire attack at the head of the city without shelter, and can rest and assemble in the forward base. The wounded can also be evacuated to the forward base for treatment.

Spell powers such as priests and battle priests can also obtain a relatively safe platform for spellcasting. After all, even if you have guards around you, it's far less safe than hiding behind walls and in trenches. Even if the wall is just a civil wall that is not particularly tall and thick, it is more reliable than a shield-wielding guard with full plate armor.

In fact, the Holy Light Alliance Army had long wanted to build such an advance base under Guancheng.

It's just that building so many large shield cars is obviously not something that can be done in a short time.

The first is the issue of materials.

The Southern Theater is located in a mountainous area, and although there are many forests, due to climate problems, most of the trees in the forest are fast-growing species and have loose wood. As for the woody and sturdy tree species, it is not uncommon, but it is relatively rare, and it is widely spread in the jungle, which is quite troublesome to find. Fast-growing trees can be used to make some ordinary tools, but it is not possible to build combat equipment that requires a high degree of sturdiness.

Like arrow towers, climbing vehicles, trebuchets, and shield vehicles, all require high toughness of materials.

If the wood is not good, it will collapse and fall apart after a few random hits, which is just a waste of effort.

Therefore, most of the timber used by the Holy Light Alliance Army to build combat equipment was transported from the rear.

With the rugged terrain of the Southern Theater, ensuring food, grass and ordnance has already tested the transportation capacity of the Holy Light Alliance, and as for other materials and materials, they can only be transported slowly.

Two weeks ago, after the Holy Light Alliance Army set up camp opposite the city, they were building various siege equipment while attacking the city. But it has been busy for two weeks, until last night, and even had to rush to work overnight, that all the siege equipment was prepared, and it was enough to ensure that today's nest was poured out.

"Do you want to fight back?" Song Qiqi said: "Taking advantage of the fact that their vanguard is not firmly established, send wolf cavalry out of the city to counterattack, knock out this vanguard force, and burn all the shield carts to see how they build an advance base." ”

"The enemy is expecting us to fight back." The little dragon girl shook her head, "When the vanguard legions of the Holy Light Alliance advanced, although they all hid in the shield cart and hid it tightly, don't forget, I destroyed a shield cart before. It was then that I noticed that in addition to the sappers, there were also crossbowmen and musketeers in the shield wagon. There were a large number of crossbowmen and musketeers to cover them, and there were shield carts and wooden walls as cover, and wolf horsemen were sent to counterattack, just to give them heads. ”

"Then do you just watch them build the forward base?" Song Qiqi said: "That's four wooden walls more than 500 meters long!" Soon it will become a thick wall of a mixed civil structure, and behind each wall, there will be a large number of trenches. At that time, it will not be a problem to hide tens of thousands of people at a time, and it will be much easier to attack. ”

Xiaolongnu didn't care, and said, "Even if they build the forward base, their next attack will still be very difficult." There is a 200-meter-long hillside under our city wall. The enemy had to attack from the bottom up, and there was no cover in between, and all the long-range firepower of our troops, except for heavy artillery and giant trebuchets, could cover the entire hillside. Therefore, even with this forward base, the Holy Light Alliance army would not want to touch the city wall without paying heavy casualties. ”

Two hours after the start of the battle, by half past eight in the morning, the Holy Light Alliance Army successfully established an advance base at the foot of the hillside outside Guancheng.

During this period, except for the continuous fire from the head of the city, which destroyed dozens of shield carts that formed the wall, and killed and wounded one or two hundred allied soldiers, Guancheng did not make any obstructive moves, let alone send troops out of the city to counterattack.

This disappointed Major General Laprov, who was in charge of commanding the forward army.

The major general of the coalition army, who is good at capturing fighters, was behind a shield car, squinted his eyes in the direction of the city gate through the observation hole specially left, and shook his head regretfully: "It's a pity. They did not send troops out to counterattack, and sat back and watched our army build an advance base...... The commander of the Imperial Army is really cowardly! ”

He did not think that the commander of the Imperial Army was acting on the part of caution or any other consideration.

Li Qing's move to leave the city and return to the city was also seen by Laprov. Like Talov, he also thought that Li Qing was frightened. As for the little dragon girl who stayed, in Laprov's opinion, personal strength is there, but military talent may not be there.

"Even if you are cautious by nature, you should try to send troops to fight back. Doing nothing and watching our army set up a fortress and watching our army build an advance base only more than 200 meters away from the city wall is not what a wise general should do. ”

Laprov's eyes shifted to the head of the city, looked at the little dragon girl standing above the enemy platform, and thought secretly: "That female major general, I'm afraid she only has personal strength and doesn't understand military affairs at all. Well, if that's the case...... Before the arrival of the big man that Lord Viscount is looking forward to, I may have a chance to attack the castle! "There was no further obstruction, let alone sending troops out of the city to fight back.

This disappointed Major General Laprov, who was in charge of commanding the forward army.

The major general of the coalition army, who is good at capturing fighters, was behind a shield car, squinted his eyes in the direction of the city gate through the observation hole specially left, and shook his head regretfully: "It's a pity. They did not send troops out to counterattack, and sat back and watched our army build an advance base...... The commander of the Imperial Army is really cowardly! ”

He did not think that the commander of the Imperial Army was acting on the part of caution or any other consideration.

Li Qing's move to leave the city and return to the city was also seen by Laprov. Like Talov, he also thought that Li Qing was frightened. As for the little dragon girl who stayed, in Laprov's opinion, personal strength is there, but military talent may not be there.

"Even if you are cautious by nature, you should try to send troops to fight back. Doing nothing and watching our army set up a fortress and watching our army build an advance base only more than 200 meters away from the city wall is not what a wise general should do. ”

Laprov's eyes shifted to the head of the city, looked at the little dragon girl standing above the enemy platform, and thought secretly: "That female major general, I'm afraid she only has personal strength and doesn't understand military affairs at all. Well, if that's the case...... Before the arrival of the big man that Lord Viscount is looking forward to, I may have a chance to attack the castle! ”