vstars Chapter 425: Defense of the Earl's Castle
Chapter 425: Defense of the Earl's Castle
Chapter 425: Defense of the Earl's Castle
General Aibu returned to Galisika's tent with his head down. The candlelight in the tent was flickering, and the air seemed to be frozen. He slowly knelt on one knee, and before he could speak, Galisika's majestic gaze shot towards him like a sharp arrow.
"how?"
Calixica's voice was low but carried an unquestionable majesty.
Aibu took a deep breath, raised his head, his face full of helplessness and frustration, and said slowly:
"Your Majesty, John refused the offer of surrender. He spoke fiercely, saying that he would not surrender to Your Majesty, and that he would never submit to Your Majesty's rule even if he died. He also firmly believed that his soldiers would not accept such humiliating surrender and would fight to the last moment."
After hearing the news, Galixica stood up from his seat abruptly, his tall and straight body trembling slightly with anger. Seeing this, the generals in the tent became nervous, and the voices that were originally whispering suddenly stopped, leaving only the heavy breathing in the entire tent.
"Humph!"
Calixica shouted angrily, and the sound echoed in the tent, shaking the curtains on the tent slightly.
"This ignorant thing actually dares to do this to me."
His eyes burned with rage, as if he wanted to burn John and his fortress to the ground.
Galixica paced back and forth, like a beast gathering strength before pouncing on its prey. Suddenly, he stopped, his eyes showing determination, and he said loudly to the generals:
"I have changed my mind. Now we must gather our troops and attack the border to completely eliminate this ignorant John. I cannot tolerate him challenging my authority like this."
All the generals shouted in unison:
"Your Majesty is wise."
They knew that His Majesty's anger at this moment was like a volcano about to erupt, and anyone who dared to raise any objections now would die a miserable death.
Calixica sat back in his chair, his expression grim and serious.
"Pass on my order and have all soldiers prepare themselves. In three days, we will launch a full-scale attack on the fortress. I want to let John know the consequences of disobeying me."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The general in charge of delivering the message took the order and left.
General Abu, looking at the furious Galisiga, hesitated. He knew that this decision might disrupt the previous strategic deployment, after all, there was still a Daiba in the north who needed help. But he did not dare to say much at such a moment, and could only worry silently in his heart.
As if Kalishiga had seen through Abu's thoughts, he looked at him fiercely and said:
"General Aibu, do you have anything to say? I know you advocated persuading them to surrender first, but the situation is different now. I will not let anyone challenge my authority, and my army is not designed to show mercy after being rejected."
General Aibu lowered his head and said:
"Your Majesty, I am just worried about Daiba..."
"I know you're worried, but my dignity cannot be trampled upon now. Once John is eliminated, it won't be too late for me to come back to help Daiba."
……
Marshal Dougal stood on the high slope of the camp, looking into the distance with deep and solemn eyes. As far as his sight could reach, the tall and majestic Earl's Castle stood quietly.
Its outline looked even bigger under the sunlight. The fort was surrounded by trenches, and the wide and deep trenches were like giant pythons winding around it. Along with the trenches were rows of chevaux de frise, and the sharp wooden stakes were like ferocious fangs, sending out a warning to the Yoda army surrounding the city in an inviolable posture.
In this solemn atmosphere, General Bosco walked to Marshal Dougal's side, stood still for a moment, and said in a low voice:
"Marshal, the army has set up camp on the east, west and south sides of the Earl's Castle and can launch an attack on the Earl's Castle at any time."
After listening to General Bosgo's report on the deployment of Yoda's army, Marshal Dougal immediately gave the order:
"Pass my order, the artillery unit will be ready immediately, and all the siege artillery will be pushed to the front of the main camp!"
At the same time, Marshal Dougel instructed his adjutant:
"Order the troops on the southwest to prepare for a feint attack and tie down some of their forces."
General Bosgaard couldn't help but frowned slightly after hearing the series of clear and decisive attack orders just issued by Marshal Dougal.
A trace of doubt flashed across his deep eyes, and then he asked:
"Marshal, we have just set up camp and have not yet made all the arrangements. Isn't it a bit too hasty to launch an attack now? After all, we have not yet had time to fully familiarize ourselves with the surrounding environment, and we still need to further explore the defense details of the Earl's Castle."
Marshal Dougal was slightly startled, and his eyes temporarily shifted away from the map to look at General Bosgod.
"Bosco, you don't know that I received a letter from the imperial capital. His Majesty Ludwig personally wrote to urge me to attack the northeastern region of the Kingdom of Midland."
Having said that, Marshal Dougal paused, took a deep breath, and continued:
"Your Majesty emphasized the importance of this war in his letter. Now, we are in a stalemate with the Mitlan people in the north. The war situation has reached a stalemate. The army in the south has made good progress on the way to attacking the Kingdom of Mitlan."
"If we can follow His Majesty's instructions and quickly attack the northeastern region of Midland and successfully join forces with the army in the south, we will be able to encircle the Midland capital, Wendam. By then, the Midland Kingdom will no longer be able to resist, and this war will soon usher in the dawn of victory."
Although General Bosgod felt that it was a bit hasty to launch an attack at this time, he was still full of confidence in the upcoming siege.
With the help of his attendants, General Bosco put on the black and purple rhino armor in an orderly manner. The armor shone with a cold light in the sun, as if it also showed the domineering and majesty of its owner. After putting it on, he walked towards the main battlefield in front with steady steps.
On the field, the artillerymen were already on full alert. Several heavy siege guns stood there like beasts ready to go, exuding a chilling atmosphere. Following the artillery officer's passionate and loud command:
"Light it up, set it off!"
Instantly, the cannon roared, deafening. The prepared siege artillery seemed to be given life, roaring one after another. The huge recoil made the earth tremble slightly. The huge shells flew through the air like meteors, carrying the power to destroy everything, and smashed straight into the wall of the Earl's Castle.
Under this fierce attack, dust and smoke flew up from the city wall. Soldiers squinted their eyes to block the smoke and dust.
However, after a round of bombardment, the expected scene of a breach in the city wall and flying stones did not occur. The shell only left a not-too-deep crater on the city wall, and then fell down from the bottom of the city wall without any hindrance.
The artillery officer's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief. He rubbed his eyes repeatedly, as if he couldn't believe what he saw. The surrounding artillerymen also stopped and looked at the city wall in confusion. The gun pit seemed so small, completely different from the huge destructive power they had expected.
Soon, a soldier in charge of reconnaissance rushed into the tent, knelt on one knee, and reported in a hurried voice:
"Marshal, news has come from the front that the first round of bombardment failed to create a gap in the wall of the Earl's Castle!"
Marshal Dougal was standing in the center of the tent, pondering the battle plan while looking at the map. Upon hearing the news, his brows furrowed tightly, and a hint of worry flashed in his eyes.
However, he was a battle-hardened, calm and wise marshal after all. After a brief pause, his expression quickly regained its composure and decisiveness.
"First, have the artillery concentrate their firepower and aim at the city gate. Make sure to blow it open."
"Then order the infantry to attack the city wall under the cover of small-caliber artillery."
After receiving the order from Marshal Dougel, the artillerymen immediately adjusted the muzzles of their guns, and the black muzzles of the guns began to slowly turn.
Soon, all the gun barrels were pointed at the tall and sturdy gate of the Earl's Castle.
Following the loud and resounding command from the artillery officer, several shells shot out from the muzzle like arrows from a bow. The moment the shells left the barrel, they tore through the surrounding air, making a sharp whistling sound.
The city gate trembled violently under the fierce impact of the shells, and stones and wood chips flew everywhere, as if being torn apart by an invisible giant hand.
Under the continuous bombardment, the city gate began to be overwhelmed. Finally, under the attack of another shell, a huge stone fell from the top of the city gate. Then, the city gate made a loud noise, as if it was hit by a giant's fist and collapsed.
The moment the city gate collapsed, the deafening roar seemed to tear the whole world apart. The flying dust covered half of the sky. Under the leadership of the centurion, Yoda's soldiers carried ladders fearlessly and rushed towards the city wall like a raging torrent.
The cannons on the city walls made deafening roars, and one shell after another flew over the city walls like angry dragons, smashing hard into the Yoda soldiers.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The moment the shells hit the ground, dust flew, smoke filled the air, and many soldiers were knocked to the ground by the blast.
At the same time, dense arrows poured down from the city wall like raindrops. The arrow tips flashed coldly in the sun and pierced into the air with a sharp whistling sound.
A group of Yoda soldiers, armed with a huge siege cone, rushed in directly from the ruins of the city gate under the arrows and began to hit the inner gate continuously.
After a fierce collision and slashing, the inner door finally couldn't bear it anymore, and finally it was broken open from the outside with the joint efforts of everyone.
"Go, capture the Earl's Castle!"
When the centurion saw the inner door being knocked open, he shouted excitedly.
The Yoda soldiers rushed in like a tide, with the dawn of victory in their eyes. But before they could react, they heard the centurion shout:
"Be careful, there seems to be a trick!"
When they came out of the city gate and greeted the sunshine again, they found that what was waiting for them was not the Midland soldiers who were ready for battle, but a wall without gates on three sides.