Warlord: King of All Clans

Compared to the corner flaggers who were grief-stricken, Knight Edward felt a little better.

These corner flags ignored his obstruction and brazenly launched a knight duel, but were killed by Leo, and now they dare not even fart.

It seemed like a disastrous defeat, but it was actually beneficial to him as the legion commander.

Except for the two men who died in the corner flag battle, ordinary soldiers did not care about the life or death of the knight, and it did not have much impact on the overall morale of the army.

The remaining corner flags realized how powerful the enemy was and suddenly became much more obedient.

Knight Edward's dispatch orders suddenly became smooth.

Under his command, only 500 men were left to garrison the legion camp, and the remaining 1,500 elite troops were deployed, advancing slowly under the protection of various temporary shelters.

When the siege just started, it didn't seem lively at all, but rather dull and deserted.

Hundreds of militiamen, carrying newly made wooden fences, slowly advanced towards the city wall.

Behind them were four large ladders, a battering ram, and a large number of armored infantry.

The militia crossbowmen on the city wall raised their crossbows to snipe at the enemy, but to little effect.

Those crude wooden fences were more than three inches thick and were supported by wooden stakes. The militiamen hid behind them and were almost immune to being hit by crossbow arrows.

Only when they got close to the city wall, the two-meter-high wooden fence could not completely cover the bodies of the militiamen behind, and some of the attacking militiamen were shot and killed.

Almost all armored infantrymen have shields. Although the styles vary, they can still block most crossbow arrows.

The stupid militia crossbowmen on the city wall were still frantically pouring out fire, but the smart militia crossbowmen had already learned to calmly aim at the enemy's feet and nail them in place.

But the success rate of the latter is not high. The militia's crossbows are varied, including military heavy steel crossbows seized from the black-armored elite, crude crossbows made by wild boars, inferior iron-clad crossbows made by river bend craftsmen, and second-hand light crossbows purchased from Isenpol.

If you want to use a crossbow with an effective shooting distance of less than 60 meters to hit the enemy's foot at a distance of 100 meters, it requires a lot of luck.

There were also many longbowmen and crossbowmen in Gladstone's legion. They mixed in with the militia, hiding behind the fences and shooting at the top of the city.

However, their bows and crossbows were also of mixed quality, even inferior to those of the Gravel Fort Militia. It was twice as difficult to hit the crossbowmen behind them at a long distance through the thick battlements.

The two sides fired at each other for a long time, and until the ladders reached the city wall, there were not many casualties.

On the contrary, the small number of imperial longbowmen hidden among the crossbowmen were able to use their archery skills to kill the militia on the city walls.

However, once such longbowmen appeared, they were quickly eliminated by the wild hunters who were specifically responsible for sniping.

The soldiers who suffered the greatest casualties among the siege troops were the militiamen responsible for pushing the ladders and battering rams.

Despite the protection of wooden fences and regular infantry shield walls, the militiamen pushing carts were still the most conspicuous targets.

A large number of crossbow arrows were concentrated near the five siege engines, killing the militiamen pushing the carts.

After losing hundreds of people, the ladders and battering rams finally approached the city wall.

Rows of wooden fences and logs were placed across the moat, quickly forming a crude bridge, which was then held down by siege machinery.

Leo stood on the watchtower on the stone slope on one side of the city wall, overlooking the entire battlefield, and couldn't help but have a new understanding of Edward's command ability.

Sure enough, Rigolav’s warning was correct, no Northern Bannerman should be underestimated.

Those who can become the Northern Banner are all legion commanders recognized by the Northern Earl, and the worst is the level of a third-rate commander.

Although Knight Edward had underestimated the strength of the River Bay Territory, he was also blindly optimistic about this battle.

But it is undeniable that a person who can gather a group of bandit-like guerrillas, lead them successfully across the wilderness in the cold winter, and send them a hundred miles away is already a rare talent.

Moreover, the preparations for the siege were also very thorough, with adequate facilities and reasonable allocation of forces.

It was not what he had seen in games and movies in his previous life, where a large group of people carrying weapons and small wooden ladders rushed towards the top of the city.

In the siege battle, which had the most disadvantageous geographical advantages in all war scenarios, Gladstone's army suffered no more than one-tenth of the casualties until it reached the city wall.

Even Ulyanovich, who often boasts of being a great general, cannot do these things.

A general who has not experienced a few siege battles may not be able to think so carefully and meticulously.

If it was a regular stronghold of this era, it might have been taken down by him in this attack.

After approaching the city wall, the soldiers, led by several corner flags, rushed to the foot of the ladder and climbed up under the hail of arrows.

Different from what Leo had imagined, Gladstone's Legion did not use unarmored militia as cannon fodder to attack the city, but directly let the regular infantry take the lead and climb up along the ladders.

In the North, population is also wealth. Most of the militiamen under the lords are senior citizens, and many of them are even related to the lords. The only difference between them and the lords' army is that they are not fully employed, and the lords are reluctant to waste them excessively.

Edward obviously wanted to take over Gravel Castle in one go.

Vicchi, who was in charge of commanding the battle to defend the city, took a look at the enemy and ordered: "Destroy the battering ram."

Two infantrymen immediately picked up two kerosene bombs provided by Fraser, used torches to light the grease-soaked sealing cloth on the can lid, and then threw it off the city wall.

The battering ram at the foot of the city wall was hit by a kerosene bomb just as it approached the city gate.

A large amount of grease splashed out of the smashed pottery jar, which was instantly ignited by the fire on the jar lid and splashed onto the ram, starting a raging fire.

The fuel seeped into the bottom of the ram along with the wooden boards, turning the entire ram into a huge fire.

This type of kerosene bomb was made by Fraser based on Leo's instructions. She had the dogs collect pine resin from the pine fields and extract the pine oil.

However, like the powder barrel, it is a laboratory product rather than an assembly line product, so the output is not high.

Only about ten pieces have survived till now.

The soldiers attacking the city could not get close to the city gate filled with thick smoke and blazing flames, and could only flee to both sides.

The siege troops, having lost their battering ram, could only rely on the remaining four ladders.

These large siege ladders are made of thick logs and are difficult to destroy. Each one has three wooden ladders on the back and the front is completely covered by thick wooden boards.

In fact, only such a large ladder can climb up the twelve-meter city wall.

For walls below three meters, you can pile up earth to climb over, and for walls below six meters, you can use wooden ladders to climb up.

For city walls higher than six meters, large ladders are needed.

Ordinary ladders have no special reinforcement or support. The longer they are, the more fragile they become. They cannot withstand such intense multi-person movement and may break in the middle.

The crossbowmen on the city wall were almost unable to shoot the enemies climbing up the ladders, and could only target the crowds gathering below the ladders.

When they reached the city wall, casualties of the siege troops began to rise rapidly. The infantrymen's shields could block the crossbows overhead, but they could not stop the stones thrown by the militia.

A boulders weighing more than 20 kilograms can cause huge casualties as long as it hits someone, whether it rolls down the city wall or is pushed down from the sky.

But no matter what, the corner flags and armored infantry who climbed up first finally climbed up the city wall.