Just as Elam's civil war was on the verge of breaking out, Carthage was also at a disadvantage in the war with Maro. As the war between Carthage and Maro dragged on, the Maro, who had completed their military arrangements, threw 230,000 soldiers into the front line, constantly attacking the Carthaginian defenses, forcing them to retreat and shrink.

Artoria, as the princess regent, did not know how such a situation came to be. At first, she believed that the reason why the Maro were able to successfully attack was because the Macedonian Fort was not completed and the lack of natural barriers in the north allowed the Maro to drive straight in.

But now that the front has been in the south where the Carthaginians have been operating for a thousand years, most of the garrisoned cities are well-equipped and strong, and there is a river that separates the north and the south, and even if Caesar can take those cities, he will have to pay a heavy price, and the Maro people will gradually fall into exhaustion.

However, the reality was different from what Artoria thought, and the heavily armed defense line was only delayed for a month, allowing the Maro to break through, forcing a large number of soldiers to retreat to the second line. Carthage once again lost a lot of land, as well as some important cities.

But the authorities are confused, and the bystanders are clear. What seemed impossible to Artoria was normal in the eyes of the rest of the continent. In contrast to Maro, Carthage's army consisted mostly of hired overseas barbarians. Not only were they undisciplined compared to Marlowe's legions, but once the tide of battle was at a disadvantage, these mercenaries would retreat regardless of their command.

Most of the Carthaginian warriors were merchants, weak and incompetent, and hated labor and military service. Joining the army was a matter of complete necessity, and they preferred business to fighting.

In the eyes of the Carthaginians, a Maro surname was worth only twelve gold coins, while a Carthaginian life was worth at least twenty gold coins, and it only cost ten gold coins to hire a barbarian to fight for the Carthaginians. So the calculating Carthaginians thought it was a good deal. No matter how you beat Maro, you will lose money, and Maro will definitely not be able to defeat Carthage for a long time.

And in real life, battles are not something that can be calculated by numbers. The Maro people's perseverance and discipline are recognized in all the Central Plains countries. Historically, Maro fought against the invading enemy, did not surrender even if he lost one-third of the country's male surname, and eventually drove the enemy out of Maro.

Today, under Caesar's leadership, Maro has not lost the qualities of their ancestors. Most of the Maro warriors who came from peasant families were extremely brave when they fought in battle. Even when the city's magic shield had not yet been breached, they dared to climb the attacking walls in waves with Carthaginian crossbow arrows and scrolls to eliminate magic traps.

"Our defences are crumbling. In Luxembourg's operational command center, Archduke Abbas pointed to a city in the sand table and said: "Another city was captured by the Maro the day before yesterday, and now if we do not suppress the Maro near the mouth of the Kasa River and the Buck Mountain, our two cities will be encircled, and Luxembourg will also be within the Maro attack." ”

"I remember there were 30,000 men on the defensive, and I wonder why it was so easy to be captured by the Maroes!" Artoria looked at the territory that was gradually occupied by the Maro, her expressionless face looked extremely cold, and the continuous retreat of Carthage made the princess's dissatisfaction to the limit.

"Ahem...... That's because Maro's men are so powerful that they have prepared nearly fifty trebuchets to attack the city shield day and night. The Grand Duke of Obas on the side said with some embarrassment: "In the end, the city's shield was overloaded, and the city's defense was weakened. ”

"But there are 30,000 people there! It's 30,000 people! Not 30,000 pigs there. Artoria vigorously patted the border of the sand table and shouted: "Even if the city's shield is lost, the city should not be captured by the Maro within a day of losing the shield!

"Obviously, we have to think about the credibility of those mercenaries from Landlai. "If they really don't fight hard, we'll consider breaking the contract with them and replacing them with more reliable Sri mercenaries, though they'll be more expensive." ”

"There's no need to think about it, those Rand's mercenaries didn't fight hard at all. Artoria sat back in her seat next to the throne and said, "Let Sri's mercenaries immediately go to the mouth of the Casa River to block it, and assign the Raven Legion and the Unicorn Legion to garrison Buck Mountain while they are resting." ”

"Follow your orders. Orbas said with a salute to Artoria.

Artoria seemed to have a headache, and sat down in her chair and waved at Orbas to get him down. The lack of rest for a long time made her have dark circles under her eyes, and although she applied some fat powder to cover up, she could still see the gray and black bags under her eyes. The Maro people's successes have put her under a lot of pressure, and she has even had headaches recently.

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Just as Artoria was upset about the Marro, there was a roar on the outskirts of Thunder Bluff. A group of gray dwarves held a stout tube, and the square slabs of stone on the opposite side of them had been shattered into pieces. The roar came from the tube in the hands of the gray dwarf.

After the goblins had replaced them with new stone slabs, the gray dwarves began to take out paper packets and bite open one end, pouring the black powder into the tube, placing an iron projectile, and finally inserting a long iron bar into it, twitching continuously. Straightened up and aimed the tube at the slab a hundred and fifty meters away.

Boom, boom, boom! After the gray dwarves pulled the trigger of the tube, bursts of fire erupted from the opening of the tube, and there was a loud roar, and billowing white smoke rose between the neatly rehearsed gray dwarves. Some of the stone slabs in the distance were loaded with the projectiles that ejected and turned into pieces of rubble.

"Shooting accuracy is okay. Mo Yan, who looked at the stone slabs that were mostly shattered on the high slope, nodded and said: "Although the current technology can't make rifling, and because of the power of black powder, the barrel and some parts of the rifle have been thickened. But for now, it seems to be working well. Of course, it would be better if the cost could be lower. ”

Yes, the weapon in the hands of the Grey Dwarves is the Triggering Lance, a weapon of the Age of Queue Shooting. After learning that the gray dwarves had black powder, Mo Yan began to design firearms. It is obviously impossible for the current technology to make modern weapons, but the guns can still be barely made.

These weapons will be given to the Grey Dwarves who wish to join the army as a special class in the Legion. The grey dwarves lined up wielded a sui-pistol that would deal a fatal blow to the enemy as they charged, and so far there was nothing to resist the projectiles of the pistols except for the thick iron shields.

The standard configuration of the legions of Elan and the Central Plains countries is mostly wooden shields used to protect against crossbow arrows, which makes it impossible for their warriors to block the shots of the gray dwarves. The Lance is the most accurate at a distance of 150 meters, allowing the Grey Dwarves to shoot at least twice, and with a three-stage shot, the rate of fire will be even faster.

"It's a great weapon on the battlefield, but it's bad for assassination. Regel, who accompanied Mo Yan out, looked at the gray dwarf who was holding his new weapon not far away and said, "Its voice is too loud, and the white eyes that come out will make the assassin leak, and the accuracy is not comparable to that of a crossbow arrow." ”

"This was meant to be a battlefield weapon. Mo Yan smiled and said, "It's really a waste to let these gray dwarves go to hand-to-hand combat." Therefore, it is better to have them shoot at a distance or from a high place, and if possible, we will get them some suitable mounts in the future to make up for their height deficits. ”

"Have you decided to give these grey dwarves some real power?" asked Regal carefully, "It's a bit of a transgression, but I want to say that it will make Thunder Bluff more complicated and the situation more difficult to manage." ”

"Yes. Mo Yan nodded and said, "But at the same time, the same is true for the enemy, although the structure that is too simple is easy to manage, it is not very safe." A little more sophisticated would be of some benefit to Thunder Bluff. Moreover, ignoring the demands of the gray dwarves for a long time is not conducive to the stability of Thunder Cliff. ”

"I see what you mean. When Regel heard Mo Yan's words, he nodded and stood aside without speaking.

"Let those gray dwarves come once. Mo Yan turned his head to the number one beside him and said, "This time, change the goblin as a target and see how lethal it is." ”

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