What are the ways to increase the lethality of weapons?
If we only mention swords, we can talk about them in detail: from the shape of the blade, to the overall appearance, to the appropriate handle length that can exert power.
But discarding all the bells and whistles, only the craftsmen need to consider the details that need soldiers to verify, think about, and improve on the actual battlefield.
This question actually has a simpler answer.
That is--
Increase.
The thirty-centimeter-long dagger can only be used for self-defense, while the two-meter-long spear is the absolute main force on the battlefield; there are light crossbows that can be moved with just one manpower, and there are also bed crossbows that can penetrate even heavy armored cavalry. Big Brother” version.
There are many aspects to consider when downsizing a weapon, especially the higher the complexity. But enlarging is not the case. You only need to double the size of all aspects of the currently available feasible design. This is something that almost all military designers can do.
The reason why the defenders of Parnilla were beaten so hard that they could only cower when these artillery roared, Henry and Constantine understood.
What the empire lost was not its national power or military strength, but its intelligence.
and people's hearts.
Parnira is a commercial city and a port city, and it is natural for border inspections and management to turn a blind eye to the prosperity of commerce. But they actually allowed them to smuggle in so many hand cannons, and there were more than 20 enlarged versions of two-wheeled cannons.
Is it that the people above are too peaceful and insensitive, or that the southern countries and the dwarves are too well prepared? The answer is probably both.
They expected it very well. Since the attack was launched at the heart of the empire, the arrival of reinforcements was also expected, so this backup plan was prepared. It wasn't even exposed in previous attacks, and even the messenger asking for help knew nothing about it.
Just looking at the dark muzzles of those huge copper cannons a hundred meters away, you can imagine how deadly attacks they can unleash.
Any reaction is too late.
The huge granite ball was propelled by gunpowder and crossed the 600-meter distance at a speed slightly slower than the sound. Many of the more than 20 cannonballs the size of a human head fell in front of the infantry array—— If the ground was soft soil, they might have escaped. However, the rock slabs and floor tiles paved on the bustling Parnilla floor made the granite shells bounce like children's pebbles. It fell heavily into the dense array.
No shield, sword, helmet, or plate armor can withstand its attacks.
The dense array of infantry and mercenaries was forcibly cut into more than twenty bloody roads.
Broken limbs, broken flesh, blood, and broken metal and wood were everywhere. The broken floor was quickly filled with blood, and one cannonball even flew above the city wall and directly knocked half of a knight's body away.
Within ten seconds of the uniform and majestic infantry array entering the east city gate, blood was splattered on the spot and mourning was everywhere.
"What the hell is this-!!" The roar of artillery fire a hundred meters away made all of them ring in the ears. The horses, frightened by the loud noise, turned around on the spot and tried to escape. Almost no one could still react in this situation. They were all stunned on the spot, whether they were paladins, magicians, nobles or civilians.
Constantine, who was wearing black armor, stared wide-eyed as one of the cannonballs with astonishing kinetic energy crashed into the sky above the city gate in front of him. The lime spilled from the cracked east city gate turned the helmets of a large number of soldiers white, while the broken and falling stones also made several people dizzy.
No one knew what to do.
Still remaining calm.
Only one person.
"Pa—" The sage, who dismounted from his horse, rushed to the front of the ordering soldier with a single stride, then grabbed the horn from his hand, which was still in a daze, and blew it after he had enough energy.
"Wu-hu-wu-wu-" One is long, the other is short.
The people of the Padrosi Empire were bewildered, but the long archers and Minna who were born in Avenela were briefly confused and their eyes immediately lit up.
This is not a local horn signal, but a West Coast style across the Inland Sea.
"Flanking! Everyone, mount up!" Heavy siege weapons are powerful, but they are not invincible. Their slow reloading is a disadvantage on the one hand, and on the other hand, if they lack obstacles and favorable terrain to defend them, they can't.
These heavy guys are often unable to protect themselves and are flanked by light cavalry due to slow turning and other reasons.
"Tap, tap, tap, tap -" "Disperse! Focus on dealing with the operators!" After the brief instructions, like strong winds and thunder, the long archers of Yavin with their feet in stirrups spread out in a fan-shaped surface, and from those When the bronze cannon passed by, they loosened their reins and stood up on their horses - because the long bow was not designed to be used on horseback, otherwise they would not even be able to draw the bow.
But even with this disadvantage, they still had no hesitation. The drawn long bow looked like a crescent moon, and the white turkey tail feathers of the arm-long arrow trembled slightly in the running wind.
His eyes were as sharp as an eagle, his long bow was tight, and his arms as strong as a rock were as stable as the roots of an old tree on the cliff even on horseback.
"Snapped--"
The sound of loose strings is incomparable to the sound of bronze cannons and hand cannons.
Under the bright golden sunlight, the trembling arrow was like a shark swishing its tail toward the water, rushing towards its target fiercely and decisively.
"Duoka——" His unprotected face, neck and chest were pierced by powerful arrows. The person in charge of operating the artillery among the mercenaries immediately fell to the ground, covering his bleeding wounds and shaking all over. . The Padrosi mercenaries and hunter crossbowmen who saw this scene a hundred meters away also immediately reacted. The messenger first raised the horn bow in his hand: "Follow me!" followed by all People on foot and on horseback poured in from all directions in a chaotic formation.
"Change to a smaller one, change to a smaller one!" The Laman language in the south is not as sophisticated as the imperial official language, and they have a more rural flavor like that of an old farmer. There was no professional terminology and no systematic command. The mercenary in charge of this side just shouted loudly for his subordinates to switch to those pre-installed hand cannons.
"咻咻狠——" The Yavinela longbowmen who were galloping past kept shooting. "Hide, hide!" Many people were shot through the throat as soon as they picked up the hand cannons. However, the longbowmen were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. With more than twenty cannons, they only succeeded in silencing the exposed parts on both sides. fire, and the middle one attacked again after reloading.
"Bang bang!!" Like a thunder, the huge sound of artillery fire heard at close range made several horses foam at the mouth in fear and threw the archers off them. The moment they landed, they were immediately rushed up. The mercenaries who came hacked him to death with swords.
"Dismount!" Ming Na gave the order decisively. Walking on foot in complex terrain such as residential buildings was more flexible than riding a horse.
Dozens of archers disappeared as quickly as fallen leaves scattered into the forest under her command. The horses galloping past attracted a burst of designs, and the wailing fallen horse made many people grit their teeth. , but they also know that this is not a good time for revenge.
The most important thing was to silence the twenty or so cannons.
"Kill ah ah ah!" The hunters and mercenary crossbowmen who followed swarmed over. They were greeted by a burst of hand cannon shooting, arrows, crossbow bolts, lead pellets, stone shells, etc. There was an exchange, and both sides suffered casualties.
"Bang Bang!!" Huge granite cannonballs fell in the direction of the East City Gate again. The accuracy of these cannons was very poor. The infantry array that scattered randomly after the first bombardment did not suffer many casualties this time - but the keen ones Constantine still frowned: "The purpose is to suppress?" He asked Henry, and the sage nodded: "If you want to pursue casualties, you should wait for more people to come in, and shoot as soon as they appear. Obviously Don’t want us in.”
"They are stalling for time!" Filippo added with his eyes bright, and although Constantine knew the opponent's purpose, he could only wave his hand to order the army that had not yet entered the east city gate to move back to avoid unnecessary casualties.
"Ah ah ah -" The continuous firing of hand cannons filled the entire battlefield with smoke. The remaining speed crossbowmen led by the messenger successfully merged with Ming Na and others who had previously attacked. They silenced all seven artillery pieces at this end, but there were still nineteen that needed to be dealt with. The retreating rebel mercenaries formed a dense formation, making it impossible for them to look out and could only hide in the alleys.
"Tsk, how many arrows are left!" In the fierce battle, long-range weapons were consumed quickly, Ming Na asked, and then everyone reported their remaining arrow vectors.
"Ten", "nine", and "thirteen" - the number is basically close to single digits. After all, they came from Scotty on horseback and rebelled after beating the Parnilla defenders to a coward. Unlike mercenaries, they cannot keep weapons reserves nearby.
"Damn it, I wish I had a magician with me." Simple non-lethal magic that can affect the air is quite effective against this delicate weapon. They have verified this before, but the magicians accompanying the army cannot withstand it. It was bumpy and tossing, so it was not among the scout array.
The distance between the two sides was five to six hundred meters, which was the limit of magic. Coupled with the communication difficulties, they were unable to even call for help.
Henry and Constantine's main force of thousands of people in the rear were blocked outside the east city gate. The knights above the city wall reacted and ran down from above, intending to get closer to support Minna and others, but compared with The remaining nineteen artillery pieces and more than a thousand troops, and the additional hundreds of knights on foot cannot become a decisive combat force.
Ming Na and others were struggling step by step. It was so difficult for Ming Na and others who were suppressed by fire to continue moving forward. A group of crossbowmen were hiding in alleys and houses, but as if this was not bad enough, A messy sound suddenly sounded from both sides.
"Here here, here!" Lamani mixed with southern dialects rang out at the worst time. It was obvious that the rebel mercenaries had no intention of letting go of the enemies who came close to them. A large number of mercenaries armed with melee weapons swarmed over in a chaotic manner.
"Draw your sword!" the blond lady shouted, and people pulled out hunting knives and one-handed knives in various directions. The civilian hunters who only knew how to use bows and crossbows were trembling all over. With only more than a hundred people left dead, they could not escape. "It's coming!" Mingna spread her legs, lowered her center of gravity and gripped the long sword. A group of mercenaries holding long pole weapons appeared at the end of the alley, but it was at this time.
Something that no one expected happened.
"Bang!!!!" A huge roar resounded across the sky. Behind the rebel mercenaries, there was a flash of light, followed by countless wood and bronze fragments flying in all directions.
"Buzz--" The continuous tinnitus echoed in everyone's ears, but Ming Na, who came to her senses, stabbed a mercenary through the throat with a sword first, and then kicked him out of the alley.
"Crack-" The mercenary who fell to the ground joined the ranks of his companions who died miserably.
"Cough——" The blond lady approached the intersection full of gunpowder smoke. She grabbed a scarf and covered her mouth to breathe easier, while leaning her back against the scarred wall of the residence.
"Buzz - what's going on -" The messenger also ran over. The lady stuck her head out and took a look. There were a lot of rebel mercenaries outside who were all bloody. "Whoa, ah, ah, ah," several people in the garden who were on fire screamed and ran towards the well. But when she took a closer look, she saw that several cannons that were originally near the north end were completely shattered, and even the gunpowder next to them was broken into pieces. Together, they apparently overheated after being fired continuously and exploded.
"It seems that the things made by the dwarves are not that reliable, or -" the messenger stuck his head out and saw this scene, he said softly.
"No matter what, seize the opportunity and go!" Mingna decisively seized the opportunity.
"Hey!" Mikhail and others, who were holding long swords, poked their heads out from another intersection behind them. They were obviously frightened by the explosion and hid inside for a while, but now they saw the archer troops rushing out. Reappear.
"Slow down and let the knights lead the way!" The quick-response command caused the formation to change quickly.
"Retreat! Retreat!" The rebel mercenaries began to shout, and the Imperial Army, who had seized the opportunity and rushed towards them, was already approaching them.
"Drink!!" The powerful long-handled battle axes and war hammers slaughtered the mercenary hand-gunners who only had short swords like chopping melons and vegetables. The more well-equipped melee fighters were in the midst of the previous explosion of their own cannons. Heavy losses have been incurred. They panicked and pulled back, while the Imperial Knights followed like bloodthirsty sharks.
"Throw away whatever you can't pull!" Minna, Mikhail and others came in from the north where the cover was more comprehensive. A dozen or so artillery pieces on the south side had been successfully withdrawn.
"Bah, bang, bang, bang—" There were still about a thousand mercenaries left. They fired the last round of hand cannons to suppress them, and then evacuated in a panic toward the market. The knights were about to continue moving forward. But Mikhail waved his hand to stop them: "Don't chase the poor criminals."
They surrounded the more than a hundred mercenaries and three cannons that were left behind. The ground was full of messes and dead bodies, and the flames in the distance were still burning and emitting toxic gases.
"Qiang Lang——" "We surrender! We surrender!" The rebels, who were dressed in various costumes and only had a southern accent, dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground with their heads in their hands. A knight raised his weapon and wanted to attacks, but Minna stops him.
"Keep it for now, I have something to ask them." She said this, then turned her head and nodded to an archer. The young man with white hair took out a special loud arrow, then spread his legs and shot it with full bow towards the sky.
"Whoosh——!" The sharp sound resounded throughout the world, and coupled with the silence of the artillery, the main peripheral troops were finally able to enter.
The fighting lasted only more than forty minutes, and the total number of casualties on both sides was more than a thousand.
The livid-faced Constantine rode his tall horse to the surrendered rebels. He held the horse's rein tightly and pursed his lips without saying a word.
After Henry, Mira, Filippo and Margaret arrived from the rear, they fell off their horses and walked in front of the more than a hundred southern rebels who were surrounded.
"Who is in charge?" the sage, who was carrying Kramer on his back, asked.
"That should be me—"
"..."
"..."
"What a coincidence." A smile that couldn't be considered a smile appeared on the other party's dirty face, and looking closely, this face happened to be the one who was responsible for piloting them when they arrived from the west coast. people.
"I remember it was... Alessandro?" Henry said, this kind of thing can only be said to be a coincidence. It was this man who led their way when they came to Parnilla, and now that they have returned to this city, they never imagined that they would see each other again in this way.
"Yes -" Alejandro didn't seem to have any consciousness of being captured. He still looked neither humble nor overbearing, but just lowered his head: "I told you that you could come to the tavern to find me if you had anything to do, but you didn't come in the end. ."
He tilted his head, and Henry finally figured out the meaning of that sentence based on the current situation.
"We need to talk."
"Is there any wine?"
"It's not polite to speak to someone who's just defeated."
