Cransia, the northern border counties.
The gray and gloomy sky flashed once, and then faint thunder came from the distant horizon. The misty drizzle slid down like silk threads and fell to the ground, making everything in the field of vision hazy.
The continuous dark green mountains are shrouded in mist and rain, and cold waves are recurring, making people feel even colder in this early spring season.
Since the army of the Black Rock Principality invaded the territory of Crancia, many passes have been lost. Although there have been times when the defense was successfully won, they are ultimately few and far between.
After the Long Spear Faction defeated the Bow Hunting Faction, the various mercenary leaders still failed to reach a unity, but instead formed their own factions and fought openly and secretly.
Seeing this, the Frost Union's special envoys simply gave up the idea of integrating them, and instead provided them with equipment, weapons, and money based on the number and strength of their subordinates, allowing them to attack Cransia from all directions.
So, these halberd factions recruited soldiers within their respective territories, replenished them, and then, like locusts, swarmed into Crancia from all corners. The complex and varied terrain of the mountains also gave them more room to maneuver, allowing them to roam around and plunder the border provinces.
Need County, Iron Felt City.
On the sturdy blue-gray city wall, soldiers were nervously observing the forest and mountain roads in the distance in the watchtower, always on guard against a group of enemies suddenly pouring out of them.
The rain fell on the stone bricks on the city wall, splashing water, and then flowed into the bottom of the city wall along the grooves on both sides.
A foot in black leather boots stepped on the stairs, splashing water, and then the bolt of the thick wooden door of the watchtower was lifted, and several figures wearing hats and raincoats walked in.
"What's the situation?" The figure took off the hat on his head and stood against the wall.
"Report to Captain Bard, no trace of the enemy has been found for the time being."
"Yeah." Bud nodded, then walked to the wide window with the people beside him and overlooked the gray world outside.
"It seems that the Black Rock side did not march in the rain. This rain made the mountain road muddy and difficult to walk on, which can temporarily ease the enemy's offensive." An old man beside Bard said so.
"Moreover, rainy days can greatly reduce the effectiveness of the enemy's muskets."
"Our overall military strength is several times less than that of the enemy. Otherwise, it would be a very good opportunity to attack now," said Bud.
After studying in the military academy for a few years, he was no longer the extraordinary person who only relied on brute force.
"Has the intelligence department estimated the number of the other side now?" He turned his head and looked at the thin figure on the other side.
"Ahem... They themselves don't know the exact number, but there are about 500,000 of them in total. Many of them were temporarily recruited. They can't be called an army, but more like robbers." The corners of a bandage can be seen on the collar of this figure. It seems that he was injured some time ago and has not yet recovered.
"Thank you for your hard work, Xie Suo." Bud patted the back of the team member next to him, then looked at the mountains in the rain and fog in the distance.
"Unfortunately, we only have about 180,000 defenders in all the towns here. Most of them are responsible for defending the city walls to protect the villagers who have migrated in. Only about 30,000 can go out and fight. Moreover, the mountain roads are difficult to travel, and the enemy is scattered everywhere, making it difficult to defeat them in one fell swoop."
Since the attack by the Black Rock Principality, several of its main elite troops have been circling around large cities, while the remaining various small troops have been plundering and destroying local buildings and villages.
In order to protect the many vulnerable villagers, local officials had to relocate many people to large towns for centralized protection and defense. As a result, the army was dispersed and found it difficult to fight outside the city.
As the thunder gradually died down, the rain slowly stopped, the sky brightened briefly, and then the sun gradually set behind the horizon.
Just when everyone thought Black Rock would not take any further action today, the sounds of sparse footsteps and movement gradually began to be heard from the mountains and forests outside the city. Then, an urgent bell began to ring in the city, and soldiers were summoned one by one, rushing towards the city walls with weapons in hand, ready for battle.
As the vague and swaying figure slowly approached, the soldiers guarding the city saw Black Rock soldiers wearing scale plate armor, holding thick square wooden shields they had made temporarily, and approaching the city.
As the armor of this group of people rubbed and collided, towering siege machines began to vaguely emerge at the end of the field of vision.
Although there were not many technical personnel in the Black Rock Principality, with the support of alchemists from the Frost Alliance, they took advantage of the rainy weather to cut down a lot of trees and built sturdy wellheads under the guidance of the alchemists.
Such a war machine is like a large mobile watchtower, with a two-story platform for hundreds of people to stand on, and the top and sides are covered with iron sheets to prevent shooting.
The wooden wheels squeaked as they turned on the rugged road, making a teeth-grinding sound. Soldiers holding muskets stood on the ledge, their height even higher than the city wall.
"Aim and shoot!" The archers on the city wall lit the arrows in their hands and shot them at the huge siege towers approaching in the darkness.
The flames shot across the sky, leaving afterimages on the retina, and then fell on the shelter above the well guardrail. Unfortunately, it had rained recently and it was extremely wet, so these rockets could not ignite the well guardrail.
At this time, continuous flames lit up on the lintel, and rapid and intensive gunfire sounded, directly knocking down the soldiers guarding the city wall one by one.
Even though many defenders had shields in their hands, those sophisticated alchemical creations still fired powerful lead bullets into them, penetrating the hard shields and armor and killing the soldiers in the rear.
"Asshole!"
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