Section 13 Pull-and-saw

Through the gap in the battlements, the defenders at the head of the city could be seen running back and forth. Muskets and crossbows will now have a very high hit rate, enough to make the defenders of the city give up their high-end precision shots and rely on inefficient methods such as back-fire to block the enemy's charge below.

"Quick, quick, replenish the defense!"

At the head of the city, the knights were trying to cope with this unfavorable situation.

The militia hurriedly sealed the gaps between the battlements with shields, planks, and other obstacles. And the knights almost all wore helmets. The archers took advantage of the flexible cover of their shields and were given a small number of shooting positions with good angles.

The first wave of firing began, accompanied by a clear sound of muskets, and in the sun, a whole field of gunpowder smoke rose from the enemy fortifications below the city. Bullets fired heavily at the city, sending rubble and sawdust scattered. The crossbow unleashed a wave of hurles towards the city.

The cries of the wounded were heard both above and below the city. Almost all of the casualties on the city were caused by crossbows. The wounded were militiamen or archers with incomplete armor, mainly because some part of their body was not properly hidden and was hit by the crossbow. The crossbow of the projectile is weak enough to penetrate the knight's armor. The ambulance team, which had already been prepared, rushed up to the city wall and helped seven or eight wounded people down the city wall and took them to a safe place for treatment.

The casualties under the city were much worse than those at the head of the city. When the musketeers and crossbowers left cover to shoot, the archers with good vision could shoot accurately, and the archers in the turrets could shoot their bows and arrows at the heads of the enemy with impunity. The wounded were rolling on the ground, almost all of them on the face or chest, and it was clear that there was no hope for the road.

The fire of the Paro army followed one after another, and some bullets and arrows flew into the arrow tower through the firing hole, but fortunately, landed beside Ashrufat. It took a little bit of luck to be able to shoot a bullet into the tower, and no one was injured in the tower.

There are plenty of preparations in the city, although the firepower under the city is intensive, but there is no way to defend the army. Whether it is a crossbow or a musket, while it is powerful and easy to use, the frequency of shooting is not as good as that of a bow and arrow. This gave the archers at the head of the city a gap to counterattack. The casualties under the city were much greater than those at the head of the city.

However, the Paros seem to be content with more than that on the front lines. In the rear, groups of soldiers have begun to deal with those low walls. They didn't have the stupidity to dig down a low wall with a hoe or anything like that. Instead, they dig a hole in the wall or at the foot of the wall, throw in gunpowder, or simply lay the cannon flat and shoot directly at the low wall.

Just for a very short period of time. The first low wall was blasted with many breaches. Each gap is large enough for any war machine to pass through.

Then there's the second low wall.

At the head of the city, the knights of St. Jean could only watch as the first line of defense was broken through so easily.

The musketeers and crossbowers of the city puffed up and pinned down the archers of the defenders at the head of the city. Their casualties were much greater than those of the defenders at the head of the city, but all sacrifices were worth it. The second low wall was destroyed in the same way.

"No way, blow the trumpet......," Ashrufat was about to give the order, but the sound of a trumpet could already be heard on the southern wall of the castle.

There, Leo was in the same situation and was asking William Daly for fire support from the catapults.

Beneath the city, Paro's sappers were rushing towards the third low wall. Ashrufat could see their expressions, and the sappers' faces were full of excitement.

It took a lot of manpower and time for the expeditionary force to build five low walls in front of the city to resist the construction machinery and hinder the enemy's movements. But it took only half a day for the Paros to destroy three of them.

"Knight, get ready to attack!"

......

Paro's commanders watched the battle ahead. Today is different from yesterday, after the preparation of the fortifications, the front of the Paro army has set up a horse rejection and a trench, and no matter how powerful the Holy Grail Knights are, they will not be able to rush through. What's more, this time it wasn't the Holy Grail Knight who attacked.

Now the musketeers and crossbowmen had been dispersed by the attacking knights, and they fled backwards in disarray. Instead of chasing after them, the knights began to burn the discarded shields with oil and fire.

Before the knights complete their mission and retreat. The Paro army sent light cavalry. Before the archers could strike at the hussars, the hussars rushed forward, forcing the knights to accept the battle.

The two armies fought under the walls. The Paro light cavalry had a great advantage in numbers, but in terms of skill and equipment, it was the knights who had the upper hand. The two sides were inseparable for a while, only the sound of shouting and killing and the sound of metal clash came and went, and from time to time someone fell off the horse.

In the case of a dogfight, any ranged weapons cannot be used for the time being. Both the head of the city and the city are quietly waiting for the end of this cavalry battle.

"Let the infantry go up to support!" someone suggested to the commander.

"No!" the commanders knew very well that their commander-in-chief was emphasizing a war of attrition. His mission is to wear down the enemy and destroy the enemy's fortifications, not to defeat them. The enemy also has ample reserves in the city, as well as the mighty Knights of the Holy Grail. Rudolph repeatedly emphasized that prudence, prudence and prudence are prudent. Don't try to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, once you have an extra attachment in your heart, it is equivalent to adding a shortcoming to yourself.

It would be nice to have a few more cannons on hand. It's a pity for yesterday's rout......

No, there is nothing to regret, yesterday's rout, so that the artillery suffered heavy losses. Today, to achieve this point without the cover of artillery fire, it is already a very valuable achievement. Moreover, in the original plan, this is not the main battlefield today, but only to contain the attack. Neither of the two magicians sent here did anything—they knew that it wouldn't have any effect—they were just preparing to fend off the Prophetess's magic.

At this time, the battle was decided. The light cavalry was eventually routed, and the cavalry turned their horses and fled in disarray. However, because of their proximity to their positions, they were able to withdraw from the battle immediately. However, the knights could not pursue, so they could only retreat to the city in a group.

The only remaining artillery in the army fired two shots at the head of the city, like a demonstration, announcing the end of today's battle.

......

"Fifty-five men were killed today, in addition to more than forty wounded, most of them knights. ”

At the head of Thomas's bed, the three lieutenants reported and exchanged the day's battle situation. Under the control of Phil's magic, Thomas couldn't move, but his mind was still clear. But now he closed his eyes and was silent.

From the second day, the Paro army never launched such a reckless offensive as the first day. Now, the "temptation" of their offense is more intense, and they are more cautious and skillful.

In a sense, the Paros are now not attacking, but luring. The next day, they had largely destroyed the low wall, but now five days had passed, and they had not filled the trench. Obviously, as long as the Paro people have a little more strength, they can retreat and wait for the completion of the siege tower, and launch the last assault. But they don't.

In fact, they are now on the verge of collapse. At the slightest resistance, even if it was just three or five scattered arrows fired from the city, the attacking troops would immediately disperse and flee back to the fortifications, leaving the rest of the work to the magicians and cannons. In this case, the defenders really could not find any opportunity to fight back.

In one day, the St. Jean's expeditionary force paid a hundred casualties under artillery and magic, while the Paros suffered almost zero losses. The only sighted record of the castle was that of an unlucky guy who was shot through the neck by a stray arrow.

"Are we just going to watch them do whatever they want?" said William Daley, sulking. But for a while, there was no good way to deal with this strategy of the Paro people.

The only consolation was that the victory on the first day allowed them to capture and destroy a considerable part of the Paro artillery, significantly reducing the enemy's firepower. However, although the enemy's artillery fire was reduced, it could not help the magician. The Paros have been concentrating most of the magicians in the south of the city, bombarding them with magic. Even if the two prophetesses constantly disarm the magic, even if there are fortifications on the city walls as cover, the magician's magic still exerts considerable lethality.

To make matters worse, the mere beating was a major demoralization blow to the army compared to the casualty figures. No one likes to be able to do nothing but stand still and be beaten.

It is now evident to anyone that the core of the Paro attack was to demoralize the defenders of the city. But there was nothing that could be done to restrain the tactics of the Paros.

"If they can't restrain their magicians, even the knights will get tired of such one-sided casualties. Not to mention the militia. Leo said. He had noticed war-weariness among the militia, and some of the militia and archers had to be under the strict supervision of the knights before they could walk up the walls. The knights also began to be restless. Armor can resist bows and arrows, partially resistant to bullets, but it is meaningless in the face of magic.

"They have far more magicians than we expected. Phil explained. "According to what my sister told me, they have gathered sixteen magicians in the south of the city. It's rare for so many magicians to be gathered together. And there is at least one master in command of them. Because they find some magic extremely difficult to unravel. To make matters worse, the sisters think they haven't done their best, as the winds of magic aren't suitable for offensive spells these days. If one day the winds of magic were to favor them, it would turn into a disaster. And in the past few days, we've used up all of our Demon Breaker scrolls. ”

"If I knew that this would be the case, I would have brought a few more sisters over. Even if you tie their hands with ropes, you have to drag them over. The disparity in numbers is too great, and we can't win this magic battle. ”

"There's another way, we can launch a night raid and take out a few mages. Ashrufat said suddenly.

"They have set up outposts and fortifications near the city...... I don't think we're going to be able to raid it unless it's a death squad. Leo replied half-jokingly in a light-hearted tone, but in reality his voice sounded hoarse and low, full of anger and unwillingness.