Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 555 Siege (VII)

  [Margit Island]

[Temporary ferry]

The Federalist attack was launched under cover of morning fog.

The Platonists predicted this accurately.

The first punch of the federal people was not directed at the Bishop's Fort, but at the "rebel" ferry.

The Platonists also made this judgment.

So when the figures of the Federal Provinces emerged in the mist, the musketeers of the Baishan County Infantry Regiment, who had already been in position, did not rush to open fire, but waited patiently for orders.

Unlike the Palatine people who charged into battle amidst thunderous war cries, the Federal Provincial Infantry were of the same lineage as the Monta Infantry. They regarded silence and discipline as the cornerstones of victory, and would never shout or scream whether they were advancing or retreating on the battlefield.

Seeing the federal people advancing quickly and silently, the veterans of Baishan County behind the breastwork immediately realized that the group of mud men who came this morning were definitely not the rookies from last night.

In silence, the distance between the two sides became shorter and shorter.

"Any closer is too close," the new sergeant Bo Qiao warned nervously in a low voice, "Lieutenant."

Alani Arthur shook his head slightly.

Wait, keep waiting.

Sweat oozed from Bocho's forehead, slid down his chin, and shattered on the parapet.

It was not until the outlines of the federal provincials' bodies became clearly visible, and Boqiao could even see the dark red embers of the tinderboxes wrapped around their wrists, that the lieutenant's roar exploded in Boqiao's ears.

"Fire!"

The snare drum played a rapid beat, and the flag that had been used in the Battle of Howling Valley was unfolded in the center of the position.

Bo Qiao cursed and pressed the firing rod, firing a round of accurate volleys together with his comrades.

Lead bullets drew tracks in the thick fog, like invisible spears, being thrown at the enemy's body.

Alani saw the vanguard at the front of the Federal Provincials' skirmish line fall down without any warning.

Within his field of vision, many enemies froze and were "nailed" in place, but they still did not make any noise.

Until a sharp whistle sounded behind the wall of fog.

The counterattack from the Federals came immediately - a series of lead bullets were thrown at the temporary ferry, and the wooden fences around the ferry were crackling.

Some of the lead bullets passed through the gaps in the fence and flew to the breastwork behind the fence, stirring up waves of earth on the breastwork.

Alani was not careful, and the sand blinded his eyes, blurring his vision. He fell back to the ground, leaning against the parapet, cursing and shouting the orderly's name.

Sergeant Boqiao was startled and quickly picked up the lieutenant. He was relieved when he found that the lieutenant was just blinded.

He handed the lieutenant over to the orderly, retrieved his musket, roared and loaded it, and continued to fire bullets of hatred at the Federalists.

The orderly hurriedly took off his canteen and helped the lieutenant clean his eyes.

Not being able to see drove Alani almost crazy.

But at the same time, he was very glad that he had rushed to repair the fence around the temporary ferry last night, otherwise what would be flying everywhere would not be lead and wood, but blood and flesh.

However, the next second, the lieutenant heard a crisp cracking sound.

Alani, who had regained his sight, turned around and looked at the person beside him. Bojo, who had just been cursing the federal provincials with great vigor, had his skull lifted up. He was lying on the ground, his head tilted back unnaturally, his lifeless eyes wide open, staring straight at the sky.

Alani was stunned for just a moment before Pocho's body was dragged away, with his yogurt-like brain contents spilling all over the ground. Another musketeer came up.

Alani stared at the skull fragments on the ground for half a second, then pushed the orderly aside and picked up Bocho's musket.

"Keep firing!" Alani yelled, pressing the reflex lever, "Kill them all!"

As both sides continued to shoot, the smoke further obscured the view of the battlefield.

The Baishan County soldiers in the temporary ferry could hardly see the situation outside the fence and could only fire blindly.

Under the cover of smoke and fog, the federal engineers approached the front of the fence.

A creepy dull blow sound immediately followed, as if the federalists were chopping the body of the position instead of chopping wood with axes.

"Protect the fence!" Alani drew his sword and shouted anxiously.

The attack and defense battle around the temporary ferry immediately entered the most brutal stage of hand-to-hand combat.

The Palatine people used every weapon they could get their hands on, killing the United Provinces people on the other side of the fence at all costs.

The federalists are doing the same thing.

A Baishan County soldier had just stabbed a federal man to death, and the next moment he was knocked down by a musket at close range.

The engineers of the Federation were also constantly shot to death at close range by the Palatine people.

Shouts and the sound of gunfire could also be heard from the Bishop's Fort in the distance. According to the original arrangement, the musketeers on the Bishop's Fort should have attacked the flank of the Federals when they attacked the ferry.

But the fog was so thick that although the distance between the Bishop's Fort and the ferry was less than two hundred meters, they could not see each other at all.

And from the sound of it, there was also an exchange of fire in Bishop's Castle.

The isolated and helpless ferry defenders were forced to use their most powerful weapon - iron-shell grenades - in the first round.

This weapon, provided by the Tiefeng County Arsenal, proved its power in Hegu Village.

The soldiers of Baishan County, who had accumulated a wealth of practical experience, were even better at using this weapon than the people of Tiefeng County.

They cut the grenade fuse to the length of a finger, leaving no chance for the enemy to step on the flames. Some skilled and courageous grenade throwers could even make the grenade explode in mid-air.

Faced with the fierce offensive of the Federalists, Alani Arthur and his grenadiers threw iron-shell grenades outside the fence frantically as if they were throwing stones.

Deafening explosions rang out continuously, and the federal engineers were blown to pieces.

The wind was rolling, and the body parts were blown into the sky along with the soil. The mist was constantly pushed away, and fresh, hot smoke kept coming out.

Finally, the people of the Federation could no longer bear such tragic casualties and retreated from around the fence.

In the mist, the painful groans of the dying were heard.

"Are you guys starting to yell too?" Alani's eyes were red and tears were flowing as he shouted at the smoke that wouldn't dissipate, "Federal Man?!"

What answered him were a dozen crystal clear glass jars.

Each jar was filled with pure colorless liquid and wrapped in flames. They appeared from the mist, drew elegant arcs in the air, and fell into the fence.

“Get out of the way!” Alani pulled away his subordinate who was holding his knees and gasping for breath, and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Liquid fire!!!”

Before he finished his words, a ball of liquid fire had already landed on the head of a Baishan County soldier who had not yet recovered from the previous fight.

With a crisp cracking sound, the soldier who was directly hit by the liquid fire instantly turned into a fire man.

The soldiers engulfed by flames rolled wildly on the ground, screaming in their throats that made everyone present tremble.

The comrades next to him wanted to help him put out the fire, but the fire could not be put out, and their clothes were also set on fire.

The liquid fire that fell in other places was just as its name suggested, flowing in all directions like liquid.

The open space behind the fence was quickly covered by flames, leaving no place to stand.

The scorching flames made it impossible for anyone to get close, and the Baishan County soldiers fled from the fire scene like they were fleeing from the devil. Alani rushed to the soldier who was engulfed by the liquid fire, quickly took off his coat, and was about to cover the soldier with it, but was dragged away by a strong force by the belt.

"Look out! Lieutenant!" The orderly's voice had changed in an anxious tone, "Here we go again!"

Another dozen or so cans flew out of the fog and shattered near the fence. The already dilapidated south fence instantly turned into a wall of fire.

However, the liquid fire of the federal people had not been used up yet, and another round of throwing began. This time the landing point seemed to be farther than the previous two times, and it was heading towards the inside of the position.

Alani realized that something was wrong, and he yelled like crazy, "Move the grenade away!"

But it was too late, a liquid fire bullet had already fallen into the wooden box containing the grenade.

After a few breaths that seemed as long as a lifetime, dazzling flames burst out from inside the ferry.

The empty grenade boxes were blown away, the full grenade boxes were blown to pieces, and the heavy grenades were pushed in all directions by the shock wave. Some did not explode, but others were ignited by the flames.

In Lieutenant Alani's desperate eyes, the deadly red light burst out again.

……

Fifty meters southeast of the temporary ferry, there is a completed temporary artillery position.

The fort was built with a triangular wooden frame and filled with earth. It was simple but strong enough to withstand musket fire.

The battery was about two hundred and fifty meters from the Bishop's Fort, just within the effective range of the cannon but not too accurate for the musket.

The artillery position was only fifty meters away from the "rebels'" temporary ferry crossing.

Setting up cannons at such a short distance was almost like pointing the muzzle of the gun at the heads of the rebels.

Lieutenant Colonel William Lodwijk lowered his eyes and tilted his head to listen, and confirmed that the continuous explosions came from the enemy's position.

"What's going on?" asked Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk, frowning.

Lieutenant Colonel Montecuccoli, who was directing the artillery to enter the gun position, turned his head, thought for a moment, and guessed uncertainly, "Could it be that the ammunition carriage exploded? If so, we are lucky."

"I never count on luck," said Lodewijk dryly, "Lieutenant Colonel."

"I used to be as confident as you, Lieutenant Colonel," Montecuccoli narrowed his eyes and deliberately dragged out the word "Lieutenant Colonel", "but now I believe that good luck is the greatest skill."

"Get the cannons ready as soon as possible," Lodewijk said, not wanting to talk to Cornelius's men. "Let me see if you, the 'elites' who stay on to teach at the school, have any other skills besides good luck."

"Don't worry," Montecuccoli shot back sharply, "you did your job, and I will do mine. Let your men withdraw, and as soon as the fog clears, we will begin bombarding the rebel positions."

The two men were like two bulls fighting each other, staring at each other for a long time. The lieutenants around were worried that the two officers' foreheads would collide with each other at any moment, but they did not dare to interrupt.

In the end, it was Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk who nodded first, called a messenger, and issued an order to regroup.

The fort was quiet for a short while.

Until Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk sighed, "Actually, the kid on the opposite side is pretty good. He correctly judged our main attack direction and guessed the time of our attack."

"Who let them know us as well as we know them."

"Understanding is understanding, and decision is decision. You people in the artillery department always like to confuse these two things."

“I don’t know how to make a decision?”

Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk did not want to debate, so there was another silence.

"In time," the infantry lieutenant colonel said, "perhaps the kid on the other side will be more capable than us."

"Yes," sighed the artillery lieutenant colonel, "but unfortunately, he won't have this opportunity."

……

On the west bank of the Ten Arrow River, Woods Frank stood on the shore, staring intently in the direction of Margit Island.

The fog was so thick that I couldn't see anything.

The intense gunfire and explosions just now have also stopped.

Woods kept biting his nails. His thumb nail had been bitten into the flesh, but he was completely unaware.

"Should we send reinforcements to the island?"

This question was driving him crazy.

This time, however, someone made the decision for him.

The Baishan County troops on Magit Island took the initiative to cut the ropes for crossing the river.

……

The fog dissipated and the sky cleared.

William Lodwijk and Raymond Montecuccoli were surprised to find that the rebels had withdrawn from the ferry and retreated to Bishop's Castle.

The ferry position had become an empty shell, with only charred marks from the explosion left on the ground.

And the whirlpool formed by the dirty blood on the beach.

……

  [The camp of the Baishan County Infantry Regiment]

"This is the situation," Woods Frank said with a pale face. "The United Provinces cut off our connection with Bishop's Castle. It was me who sent Arthur and his men into the trap..."

Woods stood up, his nose twitching slightly. He held back his tears and bowed deeply. "It's my incompetence... I'm very grateful that you can come and take over."

In the tent, Richard Mason, who had been traveling for a day and a night, felt at a loss.

Because he was just here to deliver supplies.

"No! Don't do that!" Mason jumped off his chair as if he had stepped on a mousetrap. "I'm not here to compete with you for the command of the siege of Kingsburg."

"Do you think the command of this siege is something worth fighting for?" Woods asked.

Mason wanted to cry but had no tears: "So why did you push it to me?"

"Because you're the right person," Woods said firmly.

"I... I'm not," Mason was speechless. "Winters is the most suitable person. I... I don't have his decisiveness."

"And where is Major Montagne?" Woods asked bluntly.

"Well," said Mason, deflated, "he went to the new land."

"So, you are the most suitable person," Woods said, like a drowning man who had grabbed a lifeline and refused to give up. "Besides, you are the highest-ranking artillery officer in the new army, so you should be in charge."

Mason was really stumped because he was indeed the highest-ranking artillery officer in the new army - although he was only a major.

The key point is that he realized that Woods Frank's mental state was very bad, and there were even signs of collapse.

Mason bit his lip, grabbed his hat, and touched his junior's shoulder in a casual manner, "Let's go - let's check out the terrain first."

Woods Frank seemed to have all his strength drained away at once, and with tears in his eyes, he bowed to his senior.

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