Where there is a spear, there must be a shield, and human beings are always looking for ways to protect themselves while trying to break through the defenses of others. The fire of civilization, which flickered in the dark shadows of the Middle Ages, built strong and thick walls to defend itself from being consumed by barbarism and coldness.

The tall walls were a discouragement for the enemy, who had to use ten times a hundred times the opponent's liliang to break through the wall, using flesh and corpses to form a staircase to attack the wall. Such a sacrifice was unacceptable to anyone, and the ballista, a weapon specially made to break through the walls, was born!

A Spartan general commented on this weapon: "O great Hercules, henceforth the valor of mankind has no more value!", although this statement is biased, it is enough to prove the terrible nature of the ballista weapon and the importance of its use.

In the wilderness outside the barracks, General Leosis stood proudly in front of the huge Roman ballista, holding his helmet and looking proudly at Theodore, Salald and the others, especially after seeing their stunned eyes: "Dear Caesar, and my lords, allow me to introduce to you the latest work of the Roman scholars, the Tarrant ballista!"

"By Caesar's order, many scholars of the Caesarea Academy and the craftsmen of the Caesarea Foundry were mobilized to build the top-notch siege weapons specially for this battle, and the cannonballs that transported this big creature alone were enough to use three or two ox carts to pull it, and four bullocks could drag it!"

"Tarrant ballista?" Salald thrust his waist, looked up at the fifty-yard-tall "monster", and swallowed, "Weishenme is called that?"

"Uh...... Because it can shoot a stone or shot shot as heavy as a tarrant (an ancient Roman unit of measurement, about thirty kilograms). Theodore explained with a little reluctance: "If you can hit the weight of the Three Talrants, it will be called the 'Three Tarrant Ballista' - although it is very unremarkable, but that's how we named it." ”

"Although this thing may seem clumsy, it is actually very delicate and can project a stone weighing a tarrant six hundred yards away!" Leosis deliberately raised his voice over the word "six hundred yards", "I dare say." There's no better ballista on this shijie!"

"No wonder you're so confident - you'll be able to get the orcs of the Savincro Fortress out of the city. Salald laughed a little maniacally: "Six hundred yards...... We can throw the stone directly into the innermost inner fort!"

"That's true, if you can stop this guy for a while, I'm afraid there is no other place except the walls of the imperial capital Issos, and it's easy to smash open the gates of Severcro. Aaron exclaimed thoughtfully, but quickly frowned again: "But how are you going to send it over?

"Let the sappers disassemble it into parts, then ship it in batches, and when we get to Severcro, we will assemble it. Theodore patted Salald on the shoulder: "This task is left to you, and Salion's infantry is in charge of the palace." Deliver all the siege equipment and wagons!"

"If I can't see the scene of this big guy smashing through the city wall, I will definitely die and be unwilling!" Salald grinned, gently stroking the shaft of the ballista, "But such a mighty big guy should have a more imposing name - such as 'Growler'?"

"No, no, no, the name doesn't reflect the character of this guy!" Aaron "tsk" twice rejected Salald's proposal: "I think it should be called 'Wall Breaker'." ”

"What do you think, Your Excellency Duke Bran Elfwan?" Diodore smiled and looked at Bran, who was silent, and asked aloud, "Is there any haode proposal?"

"Hmm?!haode propose?" Bran, who had been thinking quietly, was suddenly awakened by Theodore, stunned for a moment, and then replied thoughtfully, "Uh... This one... What do you think of the name 'battering ram'?"

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Although Salald still thinks that the name "battering ram" is not imposing enough. But it is clear that in the eyes of others, the recognition is much higher than that of his "growler". Slightly reluctant, Salad still took on the responsibility of protecting this "siege ballista", and sent forty servants from his own hands to operate this "battering ram" together with Leosis's sappers - this big guy would have to be fifty people to do just to start!

After an afternoon of consternation, the morale of the coalition soldiers who had heard of the "battering ram" was noticeably higher - no matter what. Siege is an extremely dangerous thing, and now that there is such a behemoth, the original problem suddenly becomes a problem that is not a problem.

The ballistae of the Roman legions had always been miniaturized - this was designed to facilitate field warfare, but it was undeniable. Giant ballistae with terrifying power are not only a morale boost to your own soldiers, but also a great blow to the morale of the enemy - when huge rocks and fireballs fall from the sky. Even the most valiant and stubborn army would crush before it - this is why Theodore insisted on supervising the construction of the Tarrant ballista, which, though cumbersome and extremely unsuitable, was enough to make the enemy fall in the wind.

While the allied soldiers were cheering for the "battering rams", the first regiment led by the Roman military minister Mesimus had already marched into the area of the Croyn River, and the elite troops of 1,000 Roman veterans, holding high the eagle banner and the Roman golden laurel banner, spread like a red dragon on the land.

Time was so tight that Mesimus was unable to even recruit a sufficient number of cavalry, and only eight of his own bodyguards were responsible for patrolling and giving orders—the Senate strongly disagreed with Mesimus's mobilization of Caesarea's 8,000 civic reserves. Nominally, all of them were registered conscripts, and they were the best soldiers that the Roman legions could recruit, and even when Theodore led the legions on an expedition to the Forest of Silence, he did not use this Zuihou liliang.

"If you take them with you, then if an enemy invades Caesarea, we will have to recruit boy scouts and women to defend Rome and wait for help. Herodotus persuaded Mehemus in an extremely tactful tone, and considering the importance of Caesarea, Mehemus Zuihou only led the soldiers of the First Wing to set out.

While no one can deny that the River Kwyn was indeed important to Rome, it is clear that Caesarea as the base of Rome was far more important than any other city or territory, and even Mehemous had Caesarea in his heart the safety of Caesarea as his first priority, although the possibility of Caesarea being raided by orcs in the northern interior was not even one in 10,000.

Not far from the road the army marched was a field of cultivated land along the river, with a few farmhouses scattered and a few groves on either side of the river, perhaps apple or pear trees.

Families of all stripes are busy plowing their fields, with a few small fishing boats floating on the calm river, and a few fenced ponds along the river, with swans and ducks and other waterfowl.

Although the peasants looked rather busy, their complexions were not pale, their skin was slightly ruddy, and their coarse linen clothes were shabby but clean—a sign that they were well-off.

"What a wealthy country man - I can see that the owner of the manor here must have been very nice to them. One of the guards beside Mesimus couldn't help but admire: "The land here is simply more fertile than the manors outside Caesarea - no wonder Caesar must let you come here, the food produced here can feed a dozen more legions." ”

"The Kwyn River is the breadbasket of the North – that's why we're here. Mehemus nodded, and said in a deep voice: "If this place is ravaged by the orcs, it will not only leave the north with hundreds of thousands of displaced people and a barren ruin, but a terrible famine - from Caesarea to Larria, from Mistermai to Salion, the poor people living at the bottom need cheap couscous to satisfy their hunger, even if they are as merciful as Caesar, they can't change what they need - what can the impoverished north take to defend itself?"

"They've found us, General Mehimus!" a herald shouted at Mehimus, "Is someone going back to report the news?"

The troops composed of thousands of people marched in formation, and naturally it was impossible for them to move without the slightest movement, not to mention that the first wing was still marching from the main road, holding high the flag without any cover-up, and it was strange not to be discovered.

Although the news of Theodore's coronation had already spread throughout the north, the countryside where the news was closed to me, I am afraid that they had not even seen what the Roman legions were like - they had seen at most the knights of their own lords, and the "pot pulp" that might appear in their impressions was completely useless, and the eyes of the rural farmers looking at the Roman legions were not only not half cordial, but more likely to be frightened and fearful - In their eyes, the difference between the heavily armed army and the overbearing green forest heroes on the mountain is not very obvious, because they all have guys in their hands, and they are not easy to mess with.

"No need to send people, just see the laurel banner of Rome, and those people will understand whose army it is. Mehemus stood proudly and said in a deep voice: "Let the army stop, we are here waiting for them - do not forget, our Caesar, who is also their human emperor, and they are also responsible for obeying Caesar's will!" (To be continued......)

PS: Thanks for the commuter pass of cheap cat children's shoes~