Section E: Chapter 40: Rockets (Odyss)
"Eternal Winter Archers obey orders!" Ousters slammed the bottle to the ground with a sip of the wine handed by the squire, kicking the flying fragments and roaring, "Stay alert, ready to fire a salvo!"
The moment Odyss' voice landed, all the Ice Sons around him drew their arrows from their backs and placed them on top of their longbows. However, after Zadek followed up with the same order, the Ice Rock Archers took out their arrows sparsely and put them on their bows without any neatness. Secretly mocking the discipline and execution of the Children of Frost, Odysses glanced at Zadek and felt a hint of pride: Your soldiers will only charge without brains, although these are small details, but they are enough to see the quality of soldiers and commanders.
Retracting his momentary distraction, Odys stared at the black-pressed enemy, feeling his throat burn from the shout he had just heard. Gulping down cold wind and snow, the Legion Commander tried to relieve the swelling caused not only by physical but also psychological tension. The dark blue light emitted by the pupils of his eyes was densely packed, and he approached the outpost slowly and evenly. Looking at the blue light from a distance, Odysse didn't feel the deep fear of the Corruptor's pupils: it seemed that it was some kind of evil magic that prevented the living from looking into the eyes of the Corruptor.
The bodies of the enemy were still half-hidden in the snow and mist, like ethereal ghosts. Every soldier in the army walked with an extremely mechanical, uniform step, and the stiffness that seemed to be manipulated to walk was extremely uncomfortable. Casting his gaze in front of the abandoned Ice Rock Outpost in the distance, Odyss's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and he clenched his palms: despite the incomparably thick snow and fog, he could still see piles of corpses standing up on the battlefield close to the Eternal Winter Outpost, burying staggered and uniform steps to slowly join the army.
Damn, our fallen warriors have all been converted...... Closing his eyes in pain, Odysse prayed that the Ice Dragon God would bless the desecrated dead with rest: the battle would be won no matter what. After that, the bodies of these warriors must be cremated, and then the ashes will be placed in a sarcophagus and buried in the cemetery of Eternal Winter City, which is surrounded by sacred trees.
A lot of soldiers died in that stupid battle just now, and now the troops have suddenly been pulled out again...... Seeing the enemy walking in strange slow steps, Odeus felt a chill down his spine as he looked at the rear of the enemy line, and although there was no life left, the way they walked was too strange anyway. Slow, but as lifeless as a puppet with a string.
Besides, the enemy forces are so close, how can they not see anything like siege engines or ladders? Without them, no matter how many troops there are, they will not be able to storm it. What's more, he also sent additional guards in the control room this time, and he won't play the same trick as last time.
The Dragon Knight is of little significance to enemy sieges, as average-sized ice dragons do not have the power to break the gates. Recalling the terrible enemy that Miss Lusa had encountered, the more Odes thought about it, the more panicked he became, and he couldn't help but start worrying: if the enemy did send out the meat ball, with our current weapons and equipment, they would definitely not be able to resist it. But if the horn that disturbs the minds of the living appears on the battlefield, the corruptor will undoubtedly win.
But there shouldn't be one more horn that can corrupt Ebon if it is blown at once, or maybe its power can't affect too many people at once. Otherwise, the enemy would not have sent an army to attack...... Thinking about these possibilities, Odes recalled the town of Jiuquan that had been swallowed by the black ice: since Aya and the others saw the fall of Jiuquan from within the energy wall, Eternal Winter had completely lost its position to the south due to the blockade of the black ice. Fortunately, the power of the black ice mage could not fully reach Beihaiwang, otherwise the snow here would have been corroded by the smoking black ice.
It's almost in range...... Constantly estimating the effective killing distance of the bow and arrow, Odys looked at the dense enemy army, and was ready to order a salvo after the enemy in the third row crossed the "cordon" that he had estimated based on his experience.
Counting all the towers and garrisons on top of the barracks, about a thousand archers could take part in the salvo with the order of himself and Zadek at the same time. The destructive and suppressive power of this rain of arrows is bound to be immensely powerful, and it only takes a few rounds to bring down rows of enemy troops - of course, the effect is even more amazing if it is replaced by rockets.
However, due to the shortage of time and fuel, their quantities are very limited and can no longer be replenished by logistics. In order not to waste these precious rockets, they were supplied to a pre-selected group of two hundred skilled archers. In this way, these fire arrows can be fired in a very reluctantly five volleys. In order to avoid delays in the order, the command of the rocket was fully handed over to Odys.
Although it cannot inflict a thousand salvo pressures, it can ensure a high hit. Unlike against the Children of Frost, no amount of rain of arrows can demoralize these Corruptors and make them flinch - these creatures are now soulless, only a shell loyal to the Black Ice Death.
"Shoot the arrows!" Just as Odysse was about to bring the enemy closer, Zadek gave a loud order in advance. Unable to show weakness, Odysse also immediately gave the order for a salvo. In an instant, a rain of arrows poured down with a tearing sound that tore through the air, bringing down several enemy soldiers. Even though they had just experienced the suppression of the volley, the Corruptor maintained that strange pace that was too neat, and slowly approached the walls with the corpses of their companions.
Two salvo orders were given in quick succession, but this had no effect on suppressing the fallen enemy in rows. Noticing that the enemy did not have archers, Odes looked at Zadek, who was still ordering a salvo, and immediately made a judgment: "Rocketeers ignite arrows! Other archers, shoot freely!"
The moment the order was given, several archers drew arrows from the barrels and lit them close to the brazier. Roaring in a hoarse voice again, a roar of flaming rockets poured down in a rain of arrows. To Odys's delight, many of the rockets hit their targets accurately, with only a few missing or being bounced off by the armor. Flames and black smoke could be seen faintly from under the armor of the Corruptor who had been shot, and the Legion Commander was so excited that he once again ordered a rocket salvo.
Soon, the five volleys of the rockets were used up, and the enemy, who was still moving slowly, continued to fall in a rain of arrows, and by the time they finally approached the city, most of them had already been annihilated. Just as Odysse excitedly thought that victory was coming, a mysterious "click" suddenly sounded from under the city, which startled him.
The moment he blinked from the snowstorm, black ice smoky suddenly spread out of the snow mist, covering the entire snowfield in a matter of seconds. All of the Corruptors who were shot were surrounded by smoke from the black ice beneath them, and slowly rose to their feet.