Chapter 386: Arson
“Yes, sir!!”
Although these serfs could not tell left from right, Gervis gestured with his hands and everyone could see clearly. After receiving Gervis's order, they all started to move.
The little nobles standing by did not question anything and just watched at the entrance of the camp.
At this time, the dam upstream should be almost completed, because the river in front of Baiyan City is now basically dry, with only some puddles and trickling streams in low-lying areas. Even without any tools, people can cross the river with their legs.
However, Gervis not only needed people to cross the river, but also horse-drawn carriages to cross the river, so he had to let the serfs pave a flat and hard road for the carriages carrying wood to pass.
Five or six hundred people working together were very efficient, and Gervis only required the ground to be flat and hard, so it only took an hour to complete the laying of the ground.
During this process, the defenders on the city wall also discovered the situation, but because the catapults had been dismantled and the river was more than a hundred meters away from the city wall, they could not harm the serfs who were working.
Some defenders even drew their bows and shot arrows at the serfs, but the arrows had lost their power after reaching a hundred meters and did not cause much damage. Even if some unlucky ones were hit by the arrows, the wounds were not deep and were not fatal.
In order to allow the serfs to work with greater peace of mind, Gervis asked Ik to pull out the small steel cannon and place it at the location where the shelling had just taken place.
When the defenders on the city wall saw the small cannon appear, they learned their lesson instantly and dared not shoot arrows anymore. After all, they couldn't hit anyone even if they shot. If they were to attract the bombardment of the small cannon later, it would be a waste of time.
During this period, Ander, the captain of the Rose Knight upstream, also sent someone back to report that the dam upstream had been completed.
Gervis replied that they just needed to keep an eye on the dam and wait for his orders!
…
"Now it's your turn! Everyone, drive your wagons loaded with wood to the river and wait for me!"
Seeing that the river ahead was finally unblocked, Gervis waved his hand and gave orders to dozens of horse-drawn carriages responsible for transporting saxaul trees.
"Yes, sir!"
Hundreds of serfs and carriage drivers responded loudly, and then began to pull the wood towards Baiyan City.
"Ike! Laurie! Bring your men with me!"
Gervis turned over and got on the back of the unicorn, heading towards Baiyan City.
Now Gervis had a surplus of horses, so in addition to his personal guards, even Laurie's team of 14 guards all rode horses.
The two teams followed Gervis all the way to a hundred meters outside the city wall.
"You will be responsible for protecting these serfs with your muskets. You don't have to kill the enemies, but you must prevent them from shooting arrows at the serfs. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
Upon receiving the order, Ike and others dismounted and began to remove their muskets from behind the saddles of their horses, preparing for shooting.
At this moment, I was so close to the city wall that I could even see the puzzled expressions of the defenders on the wall.
Because Gervis and his group didn't look like they were coming to attack the city. They were just a bunch of noisy serfs riding in horse-drawn carriages, and they didn't even have any weapons, let alone siege ladders.
"Listen to me, all of you. Drive the carriages to the bottom of the city wall, and then pile the wood at the foot of the wall as quickly as possible!"
"Once all the wood is unloaded, you can light it on fire and then you can evacuate."
"this……"
When everyone heard Gervis' order and looked at the defenders on the city wall, they couldn't help but reveal expressions uglier than crying.
Of course, they were not troubled by the issue of starting the fire, but by the defenders on the city wall.
They are not even wearing armor. They are carrying wood under the city wall in such a brazen way. Isn't that seeking death?
Although everyone was terrified, the serfs did not dare to say no to Gervis. They could only cower with their heads down and dare not speak.
"Don't worry, my subordinates will cover you! I guarantee your safety, and even if you get hurt, I promise someone will come to rescue you!"
Gervis certainly knew what these serfs were thinking, so he spoke to comfort them.
However, Gervis also knew that even with the protection of Iclaure and others, there would still be danger, but there would always be casualties in war, so he could only say that he needed to minimize the casualties.
Moreover, he had transferred back 30 members of the medical team in the morning, who were now waiting not far away, ready to rescue the wounded at any time.
"Listen carefully, everyone. When I give the order for you to move forward, move forward quickly. If anyone is timid and dares not move forward, he will be treated as a deserter."
After Gervis finished his words of persuasion, he put on the majesty of a noble lord and began to intimidate the serfs. He was not stupid enough to show mercy and seek the opinions of the serfs at this time.
"Yes! Sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
When the serfs heard that they would be treated as deserters, they shuddered. It would be fine if they died, but their families were what they cared about.
"Ike, Laurie! Now move forward another thirty meters and shoot freely. Any defender who dares to show his head can be regarded as a target!"
Seeing that the serfs had calmed down, Gervis turned around and gave orders to Ike and others.
"Yes, sir!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Afterwards, Ik and his men began to shoot according to Gervis's order. Their current position was only more than 70 meters away from the city wall. Although the distance was a bit far, the accuracy of the mithril musket with double charge was still certain.
A round of volleys of fire from more than 20 people instantly caused casualties among seven or eight defenders on the city wall.
And because of the lesson from the previous small cannon, the defenders on the city wall would now instinctively shrink their necks when they saw something that would make a loud noise and emit thick smoke.
Suddenly, the defenders on the city wall no longer dared to walk around with half of their bodies exposed outside the parapets. Instead, they hid behind the parapets, only showing half of their heads and observing carefully.
After Ik and his men fired three rounds, seeing that the defenders on the city wall did not dare to show their heads, Gervis turned around and gave orders to the serfs responsible for transporting the wood.
"Okay, now it's your turn. The defenders have been suppressed! Everyone, get moving. We must pile the wood under the city wall and light it!"
The serfs were all timid, but under the intimidation of Gervis, they dared not disobey even if there were mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead.
So hundreds of serfs followed the carriage and slowly headed towards the city wall ahead.
As the large group of serfs approached the city wall, the guards on Baiyan City could no longer hide. Following the orders of their superiors, they emerged one after another, drawing their bows and arrows, ready to shoot at the serfs.
"Five people at a time shoot in a volley, don't leave any gaps for the defenders on the city wall to shoot arrows!"
Seeing the arrow about to fall, Gervis immediately spoke loudly, raised his musket, aimed directly at the head of a defending officer, and pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As six gunshots rang out, four guards on the city wall fell down as they just emerged from the city wall.
One of them was a team leader. Although he was wearing a helmet, he was still shot in the head accurately by Gervis. This was because Gervis's musket was engraved with strengthening runes, and its power and accuracy were several times stronger than those of Ik and others.
Seeing several comrades fall, including the team leader, the guards hid behind the parapet again.
If Gervis used longbowmen to suppress the enemy now, the guards on the city wall would not be afraid. Even if 20 slave longbowmen hit the target every time, they would not be completely frightened.
However, the shadow of the small cannon before made them feel terrified by the appearance of the musket now.
Known dangers are not scary. What really stirs up fear in these elite soldiers is the unknown dangers.
At least there were traces of the arrows shooting at each other, as their trajectories could be seen, but it was impossible for these ordinary soldiers to capture the bullets fired from the muskets with their flesh.
So in their perception, the weapon in front of them that made a loud noise and emitted smoke seemed like witchcraft.
As long as the muskets started to smoke and make a noise, someone would fall to the ground and die, and there would be no way to avoid it. This was the main reason why the defenders were so frightened that they dared not show their heads.
Of course, there are other factors as well. For example, the serfs under the city currently don’t even have weapons or siege ladders with them, and they don’t look like they are preparing to attack the city.
Therefore, the defenders reacted more passively, and wanted to wait and see what tricks these serfs were up to.
…
The serfs in charge of transporting the wood came tremblingly to the bottom of the city wall. Seeing that the guards above their heads really did not shoot arrows at them, everyone felt like they had survived a disaster.
All the wood was quickly unloaded from under the city wall, and after all the wood was set on fire according to Gervis' instructions, everyone ran back in the direction they came from with all their might.
"Very good, it went better than I thought!"
Gervis had not expected that the plan of transporting wood would go so smoothly and there would be no casualties, which made him very satisfied. Seeing the wood under the city wall being ignited and a raging fire began to burn, Gervis loudly instructed the serfs who had just returned.
"You've done a great job. Now all of you continue to load the wood. We can't let the fire under the city wall go out!"
Thanks to "Gothic Swastika Walking Warrior" for the reward!!!
(End of this chapter)
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