Warlords of the witcher world

Chapter 88
For Edelsberg's attack, Herme did not adopt a violent attack method, but chose to bombard slowly with artillery and trebuchets.

The reason why he chose this way was that after the battle of Wenger Fort and the Battle of Burning God Tower, the Eastern Group Army had already existed in name only, and a strong life-saving thought emerged in the Aden Army.

It is almost impossible to stop the spread of this trend of thought, because it represents the morale of the Aden army and the thoughts of the entire army.

The conscripted soldiers want to go home, the Cossacks want to enjoy the money, and the knights and nobles want to manage their own land...

Even Hemei's direct descendants had such life-saving ideas. Everyone wanted to enjoy power after the war.

After all, it seems that on the Eastern Front, the war is coming to an end.

Then you can take a good rest for a while, that is to say, you can go home.

No one wants to lose their lives in the darkness before dawn, everyone has a lot of money and wants to enjoy it.

Such problems are indeed unsolvable, and the hearts of soldiers who have experienced a lot of wars and are exhausted can only be soothed through self-cultivation.

This mentality has led to the defeat of Aedirn's army in a series of small-scale battles.

The battle, which could be ended as long as they bravely rushed forward, turned into a failure because many of the soldiers were timid and wanted to save their lives.

After receiving a series of such battle reports, Herme made the decision to shell Edsberg.

Boom slowly, knock down the city wall, and then end the battle at once.

Based on the current situation of the Aden army, Herme didn't think that driving such an army to attack the walls of Edsberg would have any good consequences.

Now in the military barracks, all kinds of slack are also everywhere. You can see contempt or even ignorance of military discipline everywhere. Some people don't think about how to fight anymore, and they are thinking about going home.

Herme has also rectified this several times, but the effect is better than nothing.

After these two bloody battles, many soldiers became courageous and dared to ignore military discipline based on their merits.

And Herme is really hard to deal with them. They won the war for themselves on the front foot, and they killed people because of some trivial things (as most people think) on the back foot. This is too bad for their reputation.

So the current situation can only be rotten like this, and Herme can only take a step back. Fortunately, the Nilfgaardians in Edelsberg cannot make a comeback, and there is no problem in slowly encircling them.

And after a month-long bombardment, even Edelsburg's solid walls were in tatters, but it still stood.

After all, the current artillery of the Aden army is still mainly small-caliber, and the bombardment frequency is still limited due to the problem of bombing rate and gunpowder supply that have not been solved, and the walls of Edsberg are thick and hard. .

The Nilfgaardians really spent a lot of money in repairing this fortress, and the performance of the city wall now proves that it was worth the money spent.

Not to mention that between shelling, they would work hard to repair the city wall, and put in protection to buffer the shelling, which made it more difficult to destroy the city.

And with the onset of winter, the Nilfgaardians kept pouring water on the city walls.

The water formed a thin layer of ice on the wall, which strengthened the protection.

It seems that this situation will have to grind for a while.

Herme was very annoyed by this, and now with the arrival of winter, in order to provide enough winter clothes and fuel for his army, he had to collect and scrape all over the country again.

It would ruin his reputation and waste his hard-earned reputation. He really wanted to end this damn battle as soon as possible.

These reputations are meant to be used, and they shouldn't be used at this time.

But the situation changed after the arrival of the same weapon.

"Are they willing to surrender?"

Once again, Herme issued a surrender request to the city.

Now the messenger sent to convey the news has returned from Edelsberg on horseback, and his face is not good.

Facing Herme's question, he just shook his head. The meaning expressed in it was already very obvious. The Nilfgaardians once again rejected Herme's offer to surrender.

"Hmph, Adal still maintains that kind of arrogance. It seems that the only way to speak to a person like him is by force and sword. If that's the case, let's carry that thing up."

Herme's order made the guards behind him very excited, and they whispered almost subconsciously.

It wasn't until Marondo yelled at them that this phenomenon stopped.

And on the city wall, the Nilfgaardians were also looking at the Aedirian army formation.

Hemei had already spread out his [-] army outside the range of the city's siege equipment, as if he was going to attack the city.

At a glance, the huge army formation seems to be endless, and countless Adians and Cossacks are standing there.

It's just that most of the people here are thinking about how to catch fish on the battlefield in the future, but the Nilfgaardians watching them don't know, so the impact of this scene is still great.

But now neither the tall trebuchets nor the artillery in the artillery positions were fired.

There were no siege vehicles or siege towers in the Aden army formation, not even a ladder, and it didn't look like they were going to attack the city at all.

"What do you think they are planning to do?"

asked a Nilfgaardian soldier, while the others just shook their heads and continued with their work,
Right now the city wall is very busy. Although they haven't seen the siege equipment of the Adian people, but judging by their formation, there will definitely be a hard battle next.

Although Edsberg's Nilfgaardian defenders were all remnants and defeated generals, the rigor and order of the Nilfgaardian army remained.

All kinds of weapons on the city wall are classified into categories and put away, which looks quite orderly and beautiful.

The spears were shining coldly, and the bows and arrows were all stringed, ready to be used at any time.

"I don't know, let's do our work first."

Another soldier replied, and then took him to continue carrying the bag.

And the doubts of the Nilfgaardian were quickly answered, because at the moment the man was pulled away, there was a sudden orderly shout from the Aden army formation.

"Dogs of War! Dogs of War! Dogs of War!"

According to the prior order, the soldiers made way in the center of their line in an orderly manner, and then they began to shout "dogs of war", because the powerful weapon that was about to be pushed onto the battlefield was the name.

The officers told them that this thing was enough to break through the city wall in front of them, allowing them to win easily.

A giant cannon mounted on a cannon carriage was torn down by three strong horses, and moved forward through the passage made aside by the soldiers.

Walking beside the "dogs of war" was Herme's best artilleryman, one of the chief masters of the gunpowder workshop, the dwarf Bernin.

As for Dirban, he was still recuperating in Wenger Castle. In the battle of Burning God Tower, the warlock was actually seriously injured, and no part of his body was healthy. This was a side effect of excessive use of chaotic energy.

So that guy can only lie on the bed, even if he wants to get out of bed to work, he can only lie down, so he regrets not being able to operate the cannon, after all, this is the largest cannon cast in the entire world.

There are several carts behind the "dogs of war", which are filled with all kinds of materials needed for artillery firing, ranging from ammunition to gunpowder, everything is available, and they are all of the best quality and specially made.

This cannon is a typical cast iron splicing cannon. It is a giant cannon made by the gunpowder workshop in Sazarburg after burning countless money.

Its length reached 4 meters, its naked weight reached five tons, and its muzzle diameter reached 50 centimeters.

The manufacture of this kind of cannon was actually experimented before the war began, and the actual casting was started after the Sazarburg army drove to Aden.

Herme once thought about what to do if the cities of Aden were completely occupied before he arrived, so he issued such an order to Fort Sazar.

If the situation really develops to that point, he needs a cannon that can quickly break through the city wall.

Its manufacture was approved by two chief engineers, and several artillery engineers were also responsible for the loyalty of Herme.

In fact, the process of making large artillery is not difficult, the key is how to reduce the rate of explosion, for this reason, the gunpowder workshop took a long time to come up with this thing.

In order to transport this thing to the front line, there were all kinds of tossing along the way.

Since there are all kinds of roads from Fort Sazar to the front line, the artillery transport team often had to build roads on the spot, and was harassed by Scoia'tael during the road construction, which delayed a lot of time along the way.

But fortunately, this giant cannon was sent to the front line, which is worth it.

On the walls of Edsberg, the defenders couldn't help but panic when they saw the appearance of this giant cannon. They had never seen such a giant cannon.

Based on their previous experience, that kind of ordinary artillery is already very scary, and this thing must be more scary and powerful.

Herme watched Bonin yelling at the artillerymen to work in the loud voice of a dwarf, and then he subconsciously saw the iron frame on the gun barrel, which contained a string of words that not many people could understand.

Externally, the artillerymen claimed that it was a magical rune from Mahakam, but Herme knew what it meant—it was he and others who made it up.

"Gods bless, don't explode."

This is the meaning of the rune on it, and it is mainly used to fool the people below.

If it doesn't blow up, it means the gods bless you, and if it blows up, it means your heart is not sincere.

So subconsciously, Hemei moved his position a little farther away from that thing. It would be a disaster if it happened to him, and he didn't want to be the unlucky one who was killed by the explosive cannon.

Moreover, it is said that the bombing rate of this thing is higher than that of ordinary guns in gunpowder workshops - after all, the technology is not stable.

The artillery moved very quickly, and after a while, everything was ready.

However, when igniting the fire, all the artillerymen, including Bonin, hid behind the bunker, and then used the gun barrel to ignite the matchlock on the artillery from a distance.

It seems that the artillerymen still know what the so-called magic runes are, so they are so cautious.

"Boom!"

Driven by the power of gunpowder, the carefully polished shells flew towards the stone walls of Edelsberg.

This is the first time such a cannon roared on the battlefield, and it attracted the attention of everyone on the battlefield.

It's just that the shell hit the battlements of the city wall, directly leveling those solid battlements, and the Nilfgaardians behind them. The Nilfgaardians nearby were terrified. hit.

"Damn it, why did you miss it!"

Bo Ning looked at the blow, his face became very ugly.

Lord Protector is still watching over there, why did he pull his shoulders.

"Get out of the way, I'll come."

The chief dwarf rushed out first, and he came behind the "dog of war" to adjust the shooting angle of the cannon himself.

And the artillerymen are the ones who wipe the gun barrels, and the ones who install the matchlocks.

Urging the gunners to complete the loading with a dwarf's loud voice, after stuffing the gunpowder and shells in, Berning lit the match with a gun barrel, and finally hid behind the bunker with the gunners.

The dwarf has great confidence in this cannon, and in his opinion, this cannon can definitely hit.

There was another deafening bang, and this time the shell hit the city wall of Edelsberg.

The effect of this blow was very obvious. The ice protection on Edelsburg's city wall was directly shattered, and then the existing cracks and cracks were severely intensified. A large number of stone chips shook from above, and the entire city wall seemed to be trembling.

Seeing this scene, Bo Ning was still a little unhappy. He hoped that the shells would directly penetrate the city wall, which would have the best effect and let the Lord Protector see that his money was not wasted.

But it's actually okay now, the city wall is already crumbling, and it's still not satisfactory.

"Let the other cannons and trebuchets be launched as well to make the scene more lively."

Hemei ordered, let these siege machines roar.

Following the order of the Lord Protector, the long-awaited artillery began to roar, firing at the city walls that they had bombarded countless times, and the trebuchets also started, throwing stones into the city.

However, Bo Ning took this as a sign that the Protector of the Kingdom was dissatisfied with him, and thought that the cannon did not achieve the desired effect in the Lord Protector's opinion.

So the dwarf anxiously urged the gunners to quickly load the shells and launch them.

The roar of the giant cannon and its huge power caused the Nilfgaardians inside the city wall to panic. They looked at the city wall trembling under the shells in front of them anxiously. This was the first time they had seen such a terrifying cannon.

The officers who were supposed to comfort people and stabilize morale were not much better, and it was the first time they encountered such a situation.

In this way, under the continuous bombardment of artillery, the city wall of Edelsberg finally collapsed, and a huge gap appeared.

In the process of collapsing the city wall, the "dog of war" can be said to have made great contributions. If it were not for the powerful firepower brought by this giant cannon, the city wall would not have collapsed like this.

When the city wall collapsed, the cheers of the Adian people almost resounded between the heaven and the earth. Without the thick city wall, the army in black would surely be defeated!
The morale of the Nilfgaardians also dropped to the extreme, and their biggest reliance disappeared like this, and then they had to fight with the northerners on the streets.

But when the Aedirians were about to move, the Lord Protector ordered to stop them.

The Lord Protector asked the artillery, especially the "dogs of war" to open the gap as wide as possible, leaving enough room for his troops to attack, instead of only fighting in a narrow space.

According to the order of the Lord Protector, the artillery continued to roar, and the shells flew towards the city wall.

Soon, Duke Protector's request was fulfilled, and the city walls beside the gap collapsed one after another, and the gap became even bigger.

This is still mainly the achievement of the "dogs of war". After all, this artillery is powerful enough to hit the walls of Edelsburg, and everything else seems to be tickling.

The task of the other small cannons was to destroy the efforts of the Nilfgaardians to rebuild the city walls, and to destroy the barricades built by Nilfgaard at the gaps in the city walls, without giving them a chance to reorganize the defense line.

And they completed this task very well. More than 20 doors ran to bombard that gap. fortifications.

Finally, at this time, Duke Protector issued the attack order that everyone was expecting.

However, the first group to receive the order to advance was not a certain Aedirian army.

It was the dwarven volunteer army from the high mountains of Mahakam.

The dwarf volunteers were sent out, on the one hand, considering that the life-preserving thought prevailing in the Aedirian army did not affect these dwarves, so their fighting was not bad, and they were already full of fighting spirit.

On the other hand, considering that it is a brutal street battle right now, use less of your own people if you can. Anyway, the volunteers sent by the dwarves will have to leave after the war is over.

Anyway, if it is not your own army, then use it to your death, and maximize the combat effectiveness and value of this dwarf army.

Amid the deafening drumbeat, bagpipe screech, and fife screech, a column of infantry marched, armed with halberds, battle axes, and spiked flails.

These short soldiers were all wrapped in iron helmets, leather armor, and chain mail shirts. They looked like short iron cans, which looked rather funny.

Although they are short in stature, no one dares to deny their combat effectiveness.

And every time he saw equipment like the dwarves, Herme would complain in his heart, what kind of volunteer army is this? This equipment is better than many regular troops in the north.

And this is the wisdom of Hogg of Mahakam. He said that it is a volunteer army, and that is a volunteer army. No one can deny it.

The dwarf army marched towards Edsberg in an extremely stable formation. During the period, the Nilfgaardians in the city seemed to be stupid. They were silent for a while before the archers started shooting.

But these attacks were all tickling to the dwarves, either falling on the dwarf's shield or being blocked by the dwarf's armor, and these attacks were quickly suppressed by the crossbowmen and matchlockers of the Aardian.

Soon, they came to the gap in the city wall, where there is no Nilfgaardian shield wall, and the men in black should be lying in ambush on both sides of the collapsed city wall.

What follows is bound to be a tough fight.

And at this moment, the howling of wild beasts came from inside...

(End of this chapter)