Iron Powder and Spellcaster

Both Venetians and Tanirians can clearly feel that the last moment is coming.

The arduous siege was a huge torture for both the attacker and the defender. Everyone was looking forward to ending it all, but they were also afraid of the final moment.

The battlefield was so quiet for the first time. The thunder that had never stopped the night before was silent for the first time. But everyone knows that temporary tranquility heralds more blood.

The grinding wheel collided with the sword, sparks flew everywhere, and the Venetans polished their weapons over and over again. Musketeers also grind their lead bullets one by one so that they can fit properly into the barrel.

The defenders on the city wall were also making frantic preparations, working tirelessly all night to move stones, sulfur, bundles of arrows and barrels of asphalt up to the top of the city.

In the early morning of the next day, the Venetians began to gather, and for the first time, meat supplies were placed in the hands of every soldier by the head.

Believers, both devout and ungrateful, all knelt down in front of the military priests to pray and receive blessings. The chaplain passed in front of the soldiers and sprinkled holy water on everyone.

The massive bombardment has continued for eleven days.

During this period, the defenders tried every means possible to reduce the damage caused by artillery shells to the city wall:

Plaster made of lime and soil was poured onto the outer surface of the city wall in an attempt to add a layer of protection;

Timbers, bags of wool, and even precious tapestries were hung outside the city walls in the hope of absorbing the impact of cannonballs;

Pile mounds of earth behind the city wall to thicken the city wall in disguise;

Wooden fences, earth and stones were used to repair the gaps in the city wall overnight, and barrels filled with earth were used as battlements.

However, these measures were of no avail, and the city walls were inevitably falling apart.

The Venetians imitated the attackers in the siege of Constantinople and improved their artillery bombardment method so that the impact points were distributed in a triangle: they first used cannon to blast two horizontal craters eight or nine meters apart, and finally used the heaviest artillery to complete the attack. The finishing blow.

When the thirty-two-pound iron ball roared into the city wall, it would form a chain reaction, creating a larger collapse based on the first two shellings.

This kind of damage will cause the connected parts of the wall to bear tensile stress exceeding the ultimate limit, just like a tree that has been cut into a V-shaped gap. With a terrible cracking sound, the originally indestructible high wall collapsed.

Starting from the fourth day of the large-scale bombardment, the city wall was damaged faster than the defenders could repair it. Even if the Tanirians were able to close the gap, they would not be able to clear the earth and rocks under the city wall under the gunfire of the Venetas.

Although mounding soil behind the city wall can slow down the damage of the city wall, once the city wall collapses, the mound of soil behind the wall will also collapse. The flowing earth and rocks will form a gentle slope in front of the gap, which will become a helper for climbing the city.

The Veneta Army continued to launch tentative attacks on various gaps. In one of them, the battle flag was even planted on the top of the city. However, in the end, the troops who climbed the city were driven out of the city wall by the defenders who arrived.

The Veneta soldiers sighed, but the senior officers were unmoved.

Based on the tenacious fighting spirit displayed by the Tanirian defenders, no one expected to capture the tower city through such a small-scale attack, and no one expected that placing the military flag on the wall would boost the Tanirian people's morale. collapse.

None of the probing attacks succeeded in capturing the city wall, but Antonio and Leighton would always launch the next probing attack steadfastly, using this method to wear down the defenders' morale, energy and men.

Perhaps it was the brutal performance of the stake execution that shocked the defenders, or perhaps they had no extra strength. William Kidd never sent anyone to attack the artillery positions of the Veneta Army at night.

On the sixth day of the large-scale bombardment, the two Centuries who circled the back mountain successfully intercepted the stream flowing from Crater Lake into Tacheng, cutting off the water source for the defenders.

On the seventh day of the massive bombardment, the defenders had almost given up repairing the city wall. Veneta soldiers could swagger under the city wall at night and use long poles with iron hooks to pull the wooden barrels used as battlements from the city wall, and at the same time recover the cannonballs under the wall.

The Tanirians... looked exhausted.

On the twelfth day after the large-scale bombardment, on the twenty-eighth day of the siege, and on the thirty-ninth day after Winters set foot on Red Sulfur Island, the general attack on the last stronghold of the Federation forces on Red Sulfur Island was about to begin. .

After praying, being blessed, and receiving Holy Communion, the Venetas took their weapons and began to enter the attack position. The Tanirians who had been awake all night on the city wall listened to the noise outside the city, which was first noisy and then deathly silent.

This is a sign of momentum.

Everyone tightened their weapons.

At dawn, with a volley of all artillery as a signal, and with the sound of war drums and bugles, the Venetas simultaneously launched a full-scale attack on the seven gaps in the city wall.

The screams of terror as the Venetas charged made every living person in the city tremble.

Under the cover of cannon, muskets and crossbows, the Venetas crossed the ditch and rushed to the gap in the city wall carrying ladders.

The soldiers in the front climbed up to the top of the city on ladders, while the soldiers in the back tried their best to remove the temporary wooden fence blocking the gap.

In the dark night, the two armies fought together.

The stone was thrown from the city wall, and the stone that directly hit the Veneta soldiers took away a life in an instant. The stone that did not hit anyone bounced off the slope of the wall foundation and flew away, beating the Veneta soldiers until they vomited blood.

The roar of cannons loaded with shotshells can take away more than a dozen lives every time, and an iron ball the size of a walnut can kill another person after it penetrates one person's body.

Boiling oil, burning sulfur, and bubbling asphalt were poured down from the top of the city, and a blood-curdling wailing suddenly sounded from below.

The Venetas on the triangular fort were also cleaning the city walls. Cannons and muskets beat the Tanirians on the walls to pieces.

The troops who climbed the city stretched out ladders from the triangular fort and set them up on the city head. The sword and shield bearers in heavy armor strode into the city wall and hacked each other with the defenders on the city gate.

The roar of cannons and muskets, the warning bells of Tacheng Church, the crisp sound of weapons clashing, and the screams of dying soldiers were all mixed together.

The flames from the muzzles of the guns were like lightning, and the mixed sounds were like thunder. Even the gods would be shocked by the cruelty displayed by humans today.

Fires were burning in many places, and the stench of burning asphalt, sulfur, and the terrible aroma of burning human bodies permeated the city walls.

The smoke from the fires on the front line and the white smoke from the guns were billowing. The thicker and thicker smoke obscured the entire city. In the end, the two armies could not see each other, and no one knew who they were fighting. .

The Venetas and Tanirians were just killing each other in a small space - no, there is no such difference between Venetas and Tanirians, there are just people struggling to survive. people.

While the Veneta army and the defenders were fighting fiercely, Winters was anxiously waiting for the signal.

At his side was Major Moritz, and seven other lieutenants. All members of this special team have another identity - spellcasters.

The best weapon against a magician is another magician, and the generals of the Veneta Army know this all too well.

The enemy may be aided by the legendary court wizard, but the Venetans now have spellcasters of their own.

Antoine Laurent initially believed that Alliance spellcasters would not be able to reach the individual level of court mages in the short term, so he suggested enrolling spellcasters in military academies to train spellcaster officers to provide spell support for frontline operations.

However, this idea eventually went wrong in practice: the caster's identity became the promotion level of an officer, and the caster's officer was promoted as soon as he reached military age and quickly became a school officer.

So how can spellcasters who have left the frontline of the battle provide spell support? How can a military chief who is busy with official duties still have the energy to practice magic every day?

In the end, a strange circle formed: the more senior the spell casters in Veneta were, the worse their spell skills were. The spell casters of the colonel were not as powerful as the spell casters of the lieutenant.

Antoine Laurent also made a mistake, but unfortunately he has no way to correct it.

Therefore, in the end, Major Moritz was assigned to be in charge of this "countermeasures" team. You can't just transfer the military chiefs from each brigade, right? Besides, it's hard to say how much spell power those people have left.

On the contrary, Moritz, who had been sitting on the bench for many years, was improving day by day in his spells.

In addition, as one of the few spellcasters with actual combat experience, although not a formal officer, Winters was also transferred to Moritz's anti-magic force.

Major Moritz was not highly valued in the army for various reasons, and he did not care about other people's opinions. On the contrary, he was happy to be at ease. But at this moment, Antonio and Layton can only rely on the most powerful spellcaster in the army - Moritz Van Nasu.

"Why hasn't anyone signaled yet?" Lieutenant Kirk paced back and forth anxiously under the parapet.

Facing the unknown enemy, everyone in Moritz's team became a little nervous: Captain Lello checked his weapons over and over again; Major Moritz played with the steel awl he got from Winters - today The major no longer considered the issue of portability; Winters was sitting in his seat, hands on his knees, trying to clear his mind as much as possible.

The team, composed entirely of officers, now wore soldiers' uniforms.

Not only them, but all the caster officers in the Veneta Army took off their spellcaster emblems today.

The centurions and captains on the front line also took off their eye-catching officer armors and helmets and put on soldiers' armor. Although it will reduce the efficiency of the command system, it is also a helpless move in extraordinary times.

"It's a good thing that there's no signal." Major Moritz took off a delicate silver jug ​​from the back of his belt and threw it to Lieutenant Kirk: "Here's a drink for you."

Lieutenant Kirk pulled out the cork suspiciously, put it to his nose and smelled it: "Is it wine?"

"It's a special wine. I added some potions that can suppress the caster's emotions and make it easier for the caster to enter the spell-casting state."

After hearing this, Lieutenant Kirk took a big sip and returned the silver pot to Major Moritz.

"Winters." Lieutenant Pisani couldn't help but pat Winters on the shoulder.

Winters, whose mind was blank, stood upright reflexively.

"Sit down, don't get excited." Pisani was also startled and patted Winters on the shoulder: "I have something to ask you."

Pisani was only two terms senior to Winters, and the two were very close when they were still in Guitu City, so Winters naturally knew everything.

"You are the only one among us who has killed a magician. Why don't you tell me about your experience when you are free?" Pisani put his arm around Winters' neck and asked.

Hearing Pisani's words, others couldn't help but pricked up their ears. It is rare for older people to ask younger people for advice. This is also the first time Winters has been asked about his "killing experience."

"But I'm not sure that person is the magician." Winters said with a wry smile.

"Come on, let's not talk nonsense like this between us." Pisani punched Winters in dissatisfaction: "Just tell me, what is a fight between spellcasters like?"

"Let me think about it..." Winters thought for a while and replied: "If I have to say... I think it's like eggs hitting each other with a hammer."

"Eggs smashed against each other with a hammer?" Major Moritz smiled: "This metaphor is quite interesting."

"I think that's it...the battle between two spellcasters is like smashing eggs against each other with hammers." Winters said solemnly: "No matter how powerful the spell is, the body of the spellcaster is as fragile as an ordinary person. If you are stabbed with a knife, you will bleed, and if you are shot in the head, you will die. So in the battle between spellcasters, whoever strikes first will live, and whoever is exposed first will die."

"'Whoever strikes first will live, whoever is exposed first will die'?" Pisani thought thoughtfully.

"And... it is absolutely impossible to capture the caster alive - unless he surrenders voluntarily." Winters said with some determination: "Dear seniors, don't hold back in today's battle. Don't take it lightly until the opponent is completely dead. Even if the opponent is dead. , we have to chop off his head to be safe."

This is the conclusion Winters came to after reviewing the battle at the fort: it is absolutely impossible to capture the spellcaster alive.

The limbs are tied with ropes and can be broken. As long as the cost is spared, the bravest warrior can be subdued. But how to tie the third hand? What about breaking the fifth limb again?

Spells come from consciousness, and even if the magician is cut into a stick, he can still use deadly spells. Even if the magician can be knocked unconscious temporarily, it will become extremely dangerous once the magician regains consciousness.

During the battle at the fort, the mysterious mage had almost killed Winters. However, the opponent was only disturbed by Hestace for a few seconds, and Winters, who was almost dead, shot him to death.

The eggs take turns to smash each other with hammers. If they don't smash each other completely, they may be killed. This is a cruel battle between spellcasters.

After hearing Winters' explanation, all the officers were speechless.

"Is that why we use this concealed and rapid weapon?" Lieutenant Lello muttered to himself, holding Winters' modified short gun in both hands.

Winters' improved blunderbuss has become the standard equipment for spellcasting officers in the legion. The spellcasters who saw Winters' demonstration immediately fell in love with this "spell-fired firearm."

The biggest problem in using firearms is how to fire them. Match ropes are dangerous and troublesome, and spring wheels have complex structures and poor reliability. Using magic to ignite the gunpowder in a gun's chamber is a brilliant idea, and not only reliable. And because there is no need for a firing mechanism, the weight of the firearm is also reduced.

In order to make up for the "only one shot" problem, Winters changed one barrel to three barrels, and the caster could fire them one after another or at the same time. Theoretically, more barrels can be stacked, but considering the weight, three barrels is already the optimal solution.

Of course Major Moritz has no need for such a thing, but not everyone has the Major's attainments in kinetic energy spells.

Many spellcasters who are good at fire spells and shock spells lack the ability to fatally defeat enemies, so this kind of firearm that only requires the lowest level fire spells to use is very popular.

Many spellcasters couldn't help but regret that they had never thought of this idea, which made Winters very ashamed, because he only came up with this idea after seeing the mysterious spellcaster firing the cannon through the barrel.

"Don't worry so much, maybe that person won't show up at all today." Pizarro patted Winters on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Whether that person takes action or doesn't take action, Tacheng will definitely be there today." was captured. If I were that person, I would definitely be hiding among the soldiers waiting to surrender, and I would not come out to die."

Before he finished speaking, the sentry on the triangular fort ran down from the top floor in panic, shouting: "Flag flare! Red! East wall!"

The characteristics of stone, a covalent material, are that it can withstand pressure but not tension. It can bear loads but cannot be used as beams. Therefore, the span of the stone pillars of temples in ancient Greece was very small. It was not until the emergence of vault technology that large-span structures such as the Roman Pantheon emerged. Another example is reinforced concrete structures. Because tensile stress is resisted by steel bars, it doesn't matter if there are cracks in the concrete.

Therefore, pure stone buildings can easily collapse once a V-shaped gap appears. Making a triangular gap in the city wall was a real tactic in 1453. It is said that it was an idea given to the Ottomans by the Hungarians.

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