"Your Excellency, you've finally arrived."

Hans held the torch up to me, illuminating his dirty face, which was full of pride that I had entrusted with a task for the first time.

"We've completely surrounded Vipitano, and although we're a little overstretched in terms of troops, we've managed to plug every possible loophole, and now those rebels can't escape!"

"Idiot!"

I twitched his big face full of self-satisfaction, and the child couldn't find North for a while, I didn't understand why his lord was so angry, staring at me suspiciously, and Kohler also pouted as if he knew very well, I was very professional for the two of them to analyze personally.

"You have so obviously cut off the enemy's possible escape path, this is called the Jedi, the so-called death and resurrection, don't they have the iron determination to resist to the end? It is very good to block the road that may escape, but on the surface, it is necessary to leave a way for the enemy to escape for his life, and pay attention to encircling three and one, and fighting is not only tactical, but also psychological. ”

"Then I'll let them leave......"

I waved my hand to deny his thoughts: "Now that the siege has been completed, don't pretend anymore, how is the siege equipment made?" ”

Those treasures are the weapons for attacking the city, and it is best to be able to conquer the castle smoothly, saving me from using my brain to find a way to outwit it myself.

"The craftsmen are working overtime, but the efficiency of the cold day is very poor, and only ballistas and shields have been made so far, but please rest assured, it is estimated that it will be ready by tomorrow afternoon at the latest, and it will definitely not delay the siege."

Hans reported his pre-war preparations seriously, and he was still rubbing the place I had just slapped with one hand, for fear that if one side accidentally hit the other side again, it would be very swollen and ecstatic.

"In that case...... Tell you to go down, attack the city tomorrow evening, you go back immediately to prepare a place for us to eat and stay, as for the guards of the camp, although the weather is cold, you can't let your guard down, the scouts will be sent more, you know? ”

"Yes, sir!"

Hans stooped and saluted, mounted his horse and walked first, while the men he brought with him stood on either side of me and held torches to light me, and the army marched all night, and finally I could sleep warmly, even if there was a life-and-death battle tomorrow, the life of a soldier was like this, and everyone had long been forced to learn to be at ease.

In the evening of the next day, the news of the capture of Aphens by our surprise army had been brought into the castle by the defeated soldiers who had fled back, and judging from the state of the soldiers who were hurrying to and fro at the head of the city, this news really dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the rebels, and this was a good opportunity to attack the city.

"Let's get started!"

I nodded at Hans and gave him the authority to direct the first wave of the attack, while I rode out of range of the archers in the city, and Kohler remained at my side. The reserve gathered around the artisans who were fiddling with the ballistas, who were nervously adjusting the angle of attack, meticulously completing every step, and the whole battlefield was uncanny quiet except for the restless trampling of horses and the sound of cowhide strings tauting.

Hans slowly drew his sword with a solemn expression I had never seen before, silently walked to the front of the siege team, pulled down his armor, and let out a deep beast-like roar from his throat as if he had changed into a man: "Kill with me!" ”

The strange calm on the battlefield was broken, and for a time Jin Ge was sonorous, shouting and killing, and the incendiary bombs fired by the ballistas flew over their heads, smashing on the city wall, and the fragments stained with fire oil were splashed everywhere, causing great damage to the enemies on the city's head, and the ghosts cried wolf howling miserably, I trembled nervously, and said to myself: "Damn, this time Lao Tzu is deeply guilty......"

The engineers sent to me by Emperor Otto worked overnight to build only two light ballistas, torsion springs made of horsehair and animal tendons, and projected projectiles wrapped in fire oil into enemy castles, igniting wooden houses and haystacks, and the fragments of the projectiles could also kill and injure the soldiers at the head of the city to a certain extent.

However, the power of the two ballistae was too small, the effective range was only less than 300 yards, and the accuracy was difficult to grasp, so they could not form an effective striking force, and they could not suppress the fire of the enemy archers on the city, and they still hid behind the battlements and fired arrows at the city, killing and wounding our siege soldiers.

"This is not powerful, so it is okay to scare and scare people, the enemy archers do not dare to attack in formation, but the sporadic petty fights are really disturbing, there is no way to effectively shoot them, but instead let our siege troops become live targets, guarding against the deadly arrows that may be fired from all directions."

Under the layers of guards, Kohler, who was beside me, was also craned his neck to observe the situation on the battlefield, and I was going to consult a professional on this issue.

"What do you think of the battle going like this, Kohler?"

He habitually touched the quiver box full of arrows hanging on the side of the saddle, as if every time he felt the feathered arrows stuffed there, it would give him a sense of security. Khloe once told me that he loved archery, just like us ordinary people like beautiful women, even if you don't feel the touch of the eagle feather on the tail of the arrow across your fingers for a moment, you will panic and can't find the meaning of your existence, and the legendary unity of man and arrow may be this state.

"According to my speculation, the enemy's bows and arrows are all composite bows produced in Egypt under the Byzantine Empire, and their performance is far superior to the single bow we are equipped with, in terms of range and lethality, it is incomparable to our bows and arrows, and the armor-piercing ability is even more powerful, at least the cowhide armor on the soldiers' bodies is difficult to effectively protect against the attacks of compound bows. The main reason for the stalemate in the battle was the suppression of the enemy archers by the two ballistas, if the enemy formed a battle formation and fired a salvo, the first attack team would definitely be wiped out in the way of the charge, and there would not be even a single scum left. ”

Kohler analyzed with me without looking back, focusing all his energy on the enemy archers who were hiding behind the battlements and releasing cold arrows, his eyes full of envy, jealousy and hatred released light, and he muttered to himself in a low voice: "That kind of bow, I really want to have one, I really want it." ”

I urged the horse to take two steps to his side, reached out and patted him on the shoulder and said comfortingly: "Don't worry, I told you a long time ago, you can eat and drink with your master, and when the time comes, you can build a company with the captured compound bow, and you will be the commander, and you will be fully responsible for training and combat. ”

Kohler looked back at me with a playful smile on his lips, his eyes rolled around several times, and he said to me with a sneer, "Your iron rooster is finally willing to pluck its feathers?" A company? The military salary alone is enough for you to hit the wall and hang yourself, but as a nobleman, I will write down your words today, and you must fulfill your promise after the city is broken. ”

"Oops! Hans: Their attack was thwarted, what should they do? ”

I patted my thigh and changed the topic in annoyance, raising soldiers is to burn money, almost my brain is hot and confused, you must know that you can take my life, dare to touch my money, I will ...... Move your money too!

The first echelon led by Hans pushed forward with two huge shields, and the soldiers behind also raised their shields above their heads to resist the attacks of the archers at the head of the city, and slowly moved forward.

But every time they took a step forward, there were still fighters who were hit by arrows from all directions, hitting the exposed parts, screaming out of the attack sequence. The person who was not shot lay on the ground covering his wounds and groaned, alone exposed in the open space, but made himself the target of the archers, and in an instant dozens of arrows broke through the air, inserting him up and down like an incense burner, and returned to the west with green smoke.

Hans hid behind the shield and didn't even dare to show his head, he was suppressed a little angry, the first opportunity to show his face alone, seeing that he was about to be messed up, he blushed, panting and shouting hysterically: "Rush me, don't mother-in-law, don't the enemy's bow and arrow have eyes, how do you know that the unlucky one is yourself, don't spare your life, rush!" ”