Section XII Summary

"But we've finally got a glimpse of their magical power. Koenig continued. "From St. Jean's spies, there are three prophetesses in the city. This is very much in line with the results we tried today. When it comes to magic, we have a big advantage. Starting tomorrow, we can let it go. ”

"And the cannons. An engineer boldly added. "Today it has been proven that artillery is a great threat to the enemy. Although it cannot directly bombard the enemy's walls, it can still exert great fire cover. ”

"The enemy has no muskets, and bows and arrows are only of limited lethality against heavy armor. If the light infantry can be equipped with large shields or simply shields, it will greatly reduce the casualties of our troops. Another person proposed.

"And, I have one more offer. The last engineer suddenly spoke. "We can start digging tunnels right away!"

"Tunnels?" Everyone knows that although the siege tunnels are very effective means, they are also a laborious and time-consuming thing. And this siege battle in front of them is, in a sense, a race against time.

"In fact, we had learned a new digging technique, using the power of gunpowder blasting to excavate. Not only can it be used to dig holes in the ground, but it can also be used against low walls. ”

"How much time or so?" intrigued Rudolph so much that he forgot about his previous anger. Think about it, in the midst of a siege battle, suddenly a group of ambush soldiers appeared from the city......

"If you use that technique, you can speed it up at least three times. But in order to make it work better, I recommend digging ten tunnels. Seventy percent of the front is dug with this technique, and the distance of the back two percent is manually used. It takes more than 30 days to add up to this. When the time is ripe, ten tunnels will be dug at the same time, and the distance between the last and the last ......"

"One month...... I don't think we need to. In a month's time, we have already taken the city. "I don't know who said it. "It's against a low wall...... That's a good idea. ”

Rudolph thought for a moment.

"Okay, just dig the way you said. Think of it as an insurance precaution. He thought clearly. The sooner you take the city, the better, but you have to be prepared for what happens. After all, his opponent was Thomas – a cunning and courageous opponent.

If he changed the conditions and the environment, he really didn't want to fight such a terrible opponent. Fortunately, although Thomas occupied the fortified city, he had ten times as many troops. Even if there is a defeat like today, the ratio of casualties on both sides will not exceed one to seven.

Even if he consumes, he can consume Thomas!

He didn't know that the opponent he had deep scruples about in his heart was lying on the bed at the moment, motionless. And Thomas's three subordinates, as well as the prophetess Fei'er, were gathered around him at the moment.

"The worst happened. Phil's face was as calm as water. "The wound is partially inflamed. ”

The faces of Eshurufat, Leo, and William Daly have long since lost the joy of today's victory.

"And we can't use magic on General Thomas anymore. There are so many magicians in the Paro that even removing their magic would drain us with all our might. I really don't have the energy left to take care of Thomas. ”

"No!" Ashruphat called out suddenly. "There must be someone in charge of treating Thomas, otherwise ......"

"How else?, Count Ashrufat?" Phil's face, which had no trace of age, was unmoved. "As I said, after inflammation, the effect of healing spells is far less than normal. You know, there are only three of us, and the magician of Paro ...... There are as many as a dozen of them today. In this case, unless you can conjure up another sister, all I can say is very sorry. We don't have the strength to treat General Thomas. ”

"No...... This puts you in high danger and inevitably leads to unknowable consequences...... "Carrie admonished in her head.

"I can't conjure up a prophetess. Ashrufat replied. "But I can take the place of one. ”

Right in front of Fei'er and his two colleagues, he grabbed a wisp of flame wind, weaving this small wisp of energy into a burning flame that levitated in front of him.

This time, not only Leo and William Daley, but even Phil's face that never seemed to move, showed obvious surprise.

"Magic ......" Leo spat out the two words, and he looked at Ashrufat in disbelief. William Daly opened his mouth even more, but he couldn't say a word.

"I'm also a magician. Ashrufat said. Then he manipulated the flame to spin up and down. "Shall I take the place of a prophetess?"

"Amazing...... A man who has mastered the art of magic. The prophetess looked at Ashrufat, and the look of surprise on her face faded. "Why do people like you wander to Stygia, and why do you put on your armor and hold your sword?"

"It's my business, it's my personal privacy, and I don't want people to ask me that. I'm just asking you, can you continue to treat Thomas now?"

"As you wish, Count Ashrufat. Fei'er stood up and gave a rare solemn salute to Ashrufat. "From today onwards, let me treat all the wounded full-time. ”

It wasn't until she left that Leo and William Daly came to their senses.

"Ashrufat, you are ...... A magician?"

"Whatever I am, you are all my good brothers!" replied Ashrufat, and then he departed.

"Master, now, your hole cards are exposed. Carrie was still whispering a reminder. "Someone will pay special attention to your every move and notice that you are unusual...... Sooner or later, one day ......"

Ashrufat walked to the city walls. Most of the soldiers had returned to the barracks, but some soldiers remained on the walls to prevent the Paros from attacking. A group of militiamen were sitting around a campfire, making a fire.

"Count Ashrufat?" he heard someone calling him. The person who shouted was very familiar. The man looked a little rustic, but he was dressed in beautiful armor that only a knight could wear. A bloody spear was carved into his breastplate.

Ashrufat remembered the other man's name. The man's name was Duncan, and he used to be a militiaman - but during the battle with the Greyhounds, Duncan was canonized as a knight by Thomas for his bravery. Relying on the spear to obtain the status of a knight, Duncan chose this pattern as his coat of arms.

In a sense, he was luckier than Aerufat, as Duncan had already received a true knightly fief (and a small castle) from Princess Irina, and had received his first tax revenue at the time of the autumn harvest, allowing him to purchase a complete set of knightly equipment (note: Aerufat's armor was given to him by Thomas).

Although most of the knights despised the newly canonized knight of the militia, and were reluctant to fight alongside him. However, when Thomas captured Drake, he put Duncan in charge of the militia in battle - a task that often led to the lack of honor in finding knights to volunteer. Generals often had to make their lieutenants temporarily in this position on the battlefield.

"Lord Count, come and make a fire. Duncan shouted hello.

"What is the situation with the Paro?" asked Ashrufat.

"I've got a few sentries out there and they change shifts every once in a while, but I'm sure they didn't plan to attack at night. Duncan replied.

Ashrufat made his way along the walls, Duncan following him.

"You're brave today!" said Ashrufat suddenly. Today, Duncan led the militia to fight back and forth on the city wall, which played a very good role model. Let the militia, which had little combat effectiveness, also perform well. If Thomas had been here, he would have been greatly rewarded.

"I'm just doing my duty as a knight. Duncan replied, smiling slightly silly. He touched his breastplate as if he were touching some great treasure. Maybe in his heart, he still can't believe that he has become a knight. From the militia to the knights, the interval between them is not an exaggeration to describe even the "heavenly abyss".

"How's the harvest in the afternoon?" asked Ashrufat. Today's battle was won in the morning, and the whole afternoon was time to clean up the battlefield. They collected all the corpses of their own fallen while doing their best to clean the trenches and, of course, take everything useful from the corpses of the enemy.

"We stripped nearly 700 pieces of chain mail and armor alone, and even more weapons, and then everyone didn't bother to do anything about leather armor and the like. I gave the militia all the chainmail that still worked, and tried to get everyone to have an extra short weapon. The rest of the armor was given to the logistics officer. The damage is not serious, and it can be repaired in two or three days. By the way, what about Master Thomas?"

"He has more important things to deal with. For this level of attack from the Paro people, he wouldn't take it to heart. Ashrufat replied.

He noticed Duncan suddenly sigh lightly and look at the campfire in the distant camp of Paro's army with a rather strange expression.

"I heard...... Death in battle is the highest honor a knight can receive...... Lord Earl, isn't it?"

"Yes...... Yes. Ashrufat didn't know Duncan's intentions for a moment, and replied casually.

Duncan nodded, a look of determination for a moment. "I will work hard, and I will definitely not disappoint the honor of the knight!"

The night passed peacefully. Ashrufat had thought that the Paro people would come to collect the corpse today, but the truth was unexpected. It took the Paro half a day to set up fortifications closer to the city walls to prevent the army inside the city from counterattacking as they had done yesterday. Then, the next siege began.

This time, they didn't charge directly with the ladder in the rain of arrows as before. Rather, they moved slowly in groups of several people, carrying huge shields made of wooden rafts. Under the cover of shields, their infantry kept pushing closer to a distance of fifty paces from the city walls.

to this distance. The shield was lowered to form a cover.

Looking down from the castle tower, you can see rows of Paro musketeers and crossbowmen concentrated behind the fortifications, and their number was about 1,000, slightly more than the archers at the head of the city.

The archers at the head of the city shot only one wave of arrows and then gave up. The Paros hid behind the wooden rafts and moved cautiously, their bows and arrows almost threatening. But the city also had an advantage in this regard, because the musketeers and crossbowmen under the city were also almost no threat because of the cover of the battlements. As long as they don't show their heads to each other, neither side can help each other.