Imperial Crown.

Chapter 326 Shaking Walls

Many thanks to Qidian Dad [Accept w's Big Watermelon] for the 100 reward!

……

At the Raven Camp, as the horn sounded, all the officers rushed into the tent.

"map!"

At Raven's command, someone hung up the prepared map, and someone else pressed the thumbtack representing Eivor's army on it.

Raven's expression was quite serious: "This time, I have to admit that I misjudged the situation and underestimated the ability of the Principality of Eivor."

"Now, there are 7 troops trapped under the Wall of Sighs. Not only is the Wall of Sighs in danger, but our retreat has also been cut off."

The total number of troops of 7, including auxiliary troops and farmers, is probably more than 20.

A troop mobilization of this scale could not be concealed from the nobles of Tiehua County, where the Sighing Wall was located. Moreover, the large-scale changes in food and commodity prices when raising military funds could not escape the eyes and ears of the merchants.

Raven didn't get the news until the 7-strong army was at the gates of the city and their retreat was completely cut off.

Inferring from the results, the layout of the Principality of Eivor this time should be to block from the front and back.

Duduo sent out troops to defeat him and force him to retreat; the 7 troops behind him were to ensure that he could not retreat back to the Nord province.

What a brilliant and reasonable layout! Is there such a master in the Principality of Eivor?
Faced with such an army, the Eivor people would probably believe that they would be defeated and killed.

That's why the local nobles and merchants kept it strictly secret from him, and that's why Du Duo chose to commit suicide on the battlefield.

Once Raven fails, Du Duo and the family behind him who surrendered to him will be uprooted!
Looking around the entire place, Raven lightly punched the map:
"Do you think we are in a desperate situation now?"

The Eagle Army was in high spirits after two consecutive victories. When they heard this question, they all straightened their chests:

"no!"

"Yes." Raven said calmly, "We are indeed in a desperate situation."

"The retreat route was cut off, and the supply was also cut off."

"Even with the food and fodder we have with us, including the spoils of war, we can only last for four months at most. If that time passes, we will all starve to death in Eivor."

"You said that there are always more solutions than problems!"

Hojaz was already qualified to attend the meeting. He stood up and said loudly: "The Principality of Eivor has a vast territory. We have the advantage of aerial reconnaissance. We can completely break up the whole into small groups and take food from all over the place. Even if the Eivor people have local advantages, they can't do anything to us."

"That's a good idea." Raven nodded approvingly. "But if that's the case, what's the difference between us and the bandits?"

"An army that abandons its political purpose in order to survive is just a group of bandits. No matter how destructive it is, it will be wiped out one day."

"At that point, our life and death will be meaningless."

Hoyaz's face turned red and he was speechless.

Raven nodded, motioned for him to sit down, and asked loudly:

"Does anyone have any other way to break the deadlock?"

The atmosphere was slightly dull and the officers exchanged glances.

The next person to speak was Linden, who had just come over.

As Wanda's deputy, he first glanced at another surrendered person, Lancha, and then said:
"Sir, I think we can capture Bolan City first."

"Earl Duduo has just been defeated, and Bolan City will not have any decent defense. In addition, Lancha is also in your army. Bolan City can be taken down in one battle without any losses."

"With Bolan City as the base and remote control of the Bolan Gold Mine, we have both money and food, and the advantage of defending the city is far greater than fighting in the field."

Lancha's expression was obviously much more gloomy. He glared at Linden fiercely, but didn't say much.

Raven nodded slightly: "That's a good idea, but we are too few in number and it's difficult to replenish our troops. I'm also an outsider."

"Once we are trapped in an isolated city, we will have to face Eivor's constant attacks. Even if I am a master of military strategy, I will eventually be unable to cope with it."

"Your Excellency is right. It was my fault for not thinking it through." Linden leaned forward and sat down.

He is not like Lancha, who has his own team. If he wants to show his value, he can only perform more in front of Raven.

At worst, when Raven is defeated, you can still strive for the qualification to escape with the Wind King.

Raven looked around the room again, making sure no one else wanted to stand up, and then he said:
"That's why I said that we have been forced into a desperate situation now."

"Four months, we only have four months."

"If we fail to return to the Wall of Sighs and obtain enough supplies by then, we will be dead."

“So.” Raven pressed his finger on the map, his nails scratching across the Wall of Sighs.

"We can only have one direction of operation from now on, and that is to return to the Wall of Sighs and defend it at all costs!"

"Now, everyone return to your posts, gather your soldiers and prepare, and set out tomorrow morning!"

All the officers stood up, shouted their orders, and then withdrew.

Raven's expression remained calm.

The reason for this meeting is not only to pass on the message, but more importantly, Raven wants to dispel the blind optimism in the Eagle Army.

It also helps to dispel one's blind optimism.

During this period of time, Raven has also been sorting out the gains and losses on the battlefield.

The more he reviewed the situation, the more he realized how lucky he was to have won so quickly.

If Hoyaz had not acted decisively and liberated the hyena's heavy cavalry, even if Eric had entered the scene at the right time, it would have been difficult to directly shake Duduo himself.

If Quarry had not been so arrogant as to reveal his position in the army, and instead had released his spells in a more covert manner, the situation in the center of the army would have been very likely to have been shaken.

If Du Duo had not placed too much emphasis on the Wind King's troops and cared too much about the troops in his hands, but had chosen to concentrate long-range firepower on one of his flanks from the beginning, then it would be unknown which side would collapse first.

Even if it was not cloudy that day but a rainstorm, the Wind King's sustained combat capability would be greatly reduced.

In contrast, Duduo's army will only lose 2000 archers, while the crossbowmen will not be affected too much.

Now, they are about to face an army of 7.

With the examples of Wanda and Tuduo, the opponent's commander, unless he is an idiot, will probably learn from their experience.

This war will be difficult.

He can underestimate the enemy strategically, but the Principality of Eivor has already made such a tough and sophisticated response. If he still holds a contemptuous attitude, then he will be the only one to be destroyed.

Therefore, Raven’s goal was not to defeat the 7-strong army, but to penetrate it as much as possible, find an opportunity, and return to the Wall of Sighs!
The next morning, the Eagle Army broke camp and set off.

Raven was not anxious because his retreat was blocked. Instead, he sent out scouts and rushed towards the Sighing Wall with absolute caution.

There are still 9 days to go.

……

Inside the high wall of sighs, the guard Howell was standing on the city tower, looking out through the lookout.

This was the first time for the young viscount's son to witness a war of such a scale.

An army of 7 men and a logistics support force of more than 10 men, a camp with a total population of 20, formed a dense area several miles outside the Wall of Sighs.

The 20 camps are connected to form an oval with inner and outer parts embedded in each other, which looks like a huge eye from a distance.

There were flags of various colors flying above, including the flag of the Principality of Eivor and flags of nobles of all levels. The colors were dazzling.

There are wide passages between each camp, which are wide enough for large groups of soldiers to pass through, and can also effectively prevent a large fire from affecting all the camps.

Between this camp and the Wall of Sighs, there is a group of soldiers guarding more than 200 catapults, like a spectacle rising from the ground!
"It's about to start again." Howell gripped the hilt of the sword, his cheeks puffing up slightly.

Sure enough, just after he finished speaking, the force arms of forty catapults dropped heavily, and then threw them high into the air!

A row of stone bullets cut through the sky, almost instantly crossing a distance of hundreds of meters, and bombarding the inside and outside of the city wall!
The bang of huge rocks hitting the city wall, the sound of houses collapsing, and the scraping sound caused by stones bouncing on the surface of hard objects were heard one after another.

Accompanied by screams and panicked cries.

boom--

Howell even watched a huge rock hit the battlement in front of him and shatter on the hard wall. The flying stone chips hit his breastplate, making him feel a dull phantom pain.

This is the sixth day of the siege on the Wall of Sighs.

It was also the third day that the enemy launched an attack.

The last batch of logistics troops set out 7 days ago. Now there are only 5000 defenders from the Snow Maple County Legion and 500 Eagle Soldiers led by Link left behind by Raven in the city.

According to the instructions sent by the Hippogryph Cavalry, they have to hold out for at least six days before Raven returns.

Can you hold on?

Howell was unsure, but held the hilt tightly.

Young people are not good at giving up.

However, from the initial panic to the current familiarity, Howell has matured a lot in just three days.

At least they would not be tempted to rush out of the city to fight to the death with the enemy because of the enemy's trebuchet attack. The trebuchets were still hurling, round after round.

Two days ago, at Link's suggestion, Howell erected catapults in the city to fight against the enemy.

But as the last catapult was destroyed by the enemy last night, now they can only passively take the beating and endure the bombardment that is like the non-stop sound of war drums.

Howell sometimes couldn't even distinguish the sound of stones falling from his own heartbeat.

He pinched a piece of charcoal between his fingers and drew it across the wall.

A group of 4 vertical and 1 horizontal lines counts as 5 rounds.

When the six groups were finished, Howell threw down the charcoal and gave the order:
"Have people prepare on the troop transport route!"

There were more than 200 trebuchets, about 40 in a group, and they would launch 30 rounds every day before the formal attack.

Now that 30 rounds have passed, it is time for the Eivor people to seize the city.

Eivor's army, clad in blue battle robes, surged out like a sudden rising tide.

Without 7 people, the battlefield would not be able to accommodate so many people.

This group of siege troops that filled the battlefield numbered only about 2 people.

Siege machines were pushed out one after another.

The first thing to appear was the siege hammer.

This is a device that looks like a crossbow and its working principle is similar. The only difference is that it shoots siege cones instead of conventional crossbow arrows.

20 siege hammers fired at the same time!

The siege cone is 3 meters long, with a flat and wide tip and an iron beam as thick as a human leg at the back. If it is shot into the gap in the wall bricks, it can be firmly fixed, becoming a fulcrum for infantry to climb up and fix the ladder.

when--

Faced with the smooth and solid city walls, most of the siege spikes were ineffective, and only a few were deeply embedded in the iron gates.

Then came 20 siege vehicles and more than 40 ladders.

The siege vehicle is 12 meters high and is made entirely of huge wood, reinforced with iron chains and nails. It looks like a moving tower.

There are stacked stairs inside. As long as you get close to the city wall, you can use the iron hooks on the top to firmly fix yourself, and then the attacker can rush out!

Like an ant colony guarding its queen, Eivor's army pushed the 20 siege vehicles slowly towards the Wall of Sighs.

Howell's military order was carried out. Rows of Snow Maple County soldiers climbed up the dirty city wall covered with blood and flames, and raised their crossbows.

They came from different families and territories and were originally just a group of rabble.

But war is the best teacher.

Most of the people who are still alive today can clearly judge the distance of the enemy and whether they are within the shooting range with their naked eyes.

When the blue tide of Aiwor surged to about 120 meters outside the wall, the soldiers on the top of the city finally stuck their heads out and began to fight back under the covering hurling of the enemy's catapults.

Several flying rocks hit the top of the city wall.

Some cut off half of the city guards who had just appeared, leaving only half of the body spurting blood; some imprinted the soldiers on the city wall and turned them into a pool of meat paste.

Even though they were terrified and screamed and roared, most of the soldiers still completed their mission.

Crossbow arrows rained down, and their target was not the marching soldiers, but the siege vehicles that were constantly advancing towards the city walls!
Even though the vehicle had been hung with sandbags in advance, when dozens or hundreds of enchanted crossbow arrows were fired at the same time, a raging fire still ignited on the siege vehicle.

Occasionally, a crossbow arrow would fall into the crowd, causing balls of fire and screams, but the casualties were limited.

After one round of salvos, eight siege vehicles caught fire, but twelve of them only had sporadic flames - the siege vehicles that had been treated with fireproofing were not so easy to ignite.

There are only a limited number of enchanted crossbow arrows left in the Wall of Sighs, and the last round was the last reserve.

Therefore, when the reloading was completed and the defenders on the city wall appeared again, they aimed at the soldiers transporting the siege vehicles.

Crossbow arrows fell like locusts, making a snapping sound on the shields, but some of them would always fly over the shields.

Each round of crossbow arrows could take away dozens of Eivor people, but it had little impact on the vast siege army that was as numerous as ants.

When the battle line advanced to 80 meters away from the Wall of Sighs, part of Eivor's army stopped and began to build fortifications on the spot.

With sandbags as the base, logs are spread out and gradually piled up.

That's the shooting tower.

Shooting towers are specially built to make up for the range difference between the upper and lower parts of the city walls. Archers can climb up them and effectively attack targets on the city walls.

Every time a construction was completed, Howell would send elite troops to destroy it at night, but every time he attacked the city, he could not prevent the enemy from building it again.

When the siege vehicle was pushed to the city wall covered with corpses and traces of gunpowder, Eivor's army had already left behind hundreds of corpses.

The roar of huge rocks in the sky finally stopped.

Shouts and footsteps became the mainstream again.

When tens of thousands of people gather together, the sound of their breathing alone is like a strong wind!
The siege vehicle got closer to the city wall, and due to the slope, the closer it got, the more difficult it became.

At this time, wooden poles would be pushed out from the city wall, with one end supporting the end of the wall and the other end firmly resisting the approach of the siege vehicle.

Then soldiers would come forward, pour buckets of kerosene on it, and then throw torches.

This process is not safe.

The shooting towers erected in the distance were filled with archers. The arrows pouring down from their hands suppressed the crossbowmen on the city walls and continuously reaped the lives of the defenders.

To burn down a siege vehicle, more than a dozen lives were often required; and if kerosene rolled down, an entire section of the city wall would begin to burn.

The ladder equipped with iron claws hooked onto the top of the city wall with a clear metallic sound.

The soldiers defending the city picked up iron hooks and worked together to hook the ladder and overturn it. The feather arrows thrown from the shooting tower made this step extremely difficult.

But there are always more backup plans for defending the city.

The boiling hot oil was poured down the ladder, and the sizzling sound was accompanied by bursts of screams.

"Ahhh-"

The attackers who had just climbed up the ladders were covered with blisters and fell down at the foot of the city, twitching.

Then, just one torch can make the entire ladder burn!
Stones, rolling logs, and spiked hammers were pushed off the city wall, taking away several lives without the need for deliberate aiming.

The most lethal thing is the boiling feces. If it is splashed on people, no matter if they are wearing iron armor or leather armor, it will cause them unbearable pain!

But there were simply too many attackers.

Kill one and there is another one. Kill one and there is another one.

Even though a layer of corpses piled up under the city wall in just half an hour, the number of enemies did not decrease at all.

However, the number of defenders on the city walls became smaller and smaller.

Nearly a thousand enemies were killed, and their own casualties were around 500.

The defense of the city is getting weaker and weaker.

Finally, a siege vehicle broke through the obstacles and flipped out a wide wooden board from the top and placed it on the top of the city wall.

An elite soldier wearing full body armor appeared, with a blue battle robe on the outside representing the Principality of Eivor.

The armor he wore was thick and tough, and in his hand he held a dark sword that gleamed with a dull metallic luster.

Judging from the naturally blooming layers of patterns, it is definitely not an ordinary piece.

On his face, he wore a ferocious wolf-shaped iron mask that flashed a faint cold light.

He stepped heavily onto the top of the city wall.

The moment he landed, more than a dozen crossbows aimed and fired at him.

Do do do do

The crossbow arrow broke through his armor and pierced into his chest, turning him into a hedgehog. The huge force even made him jump on the spot.

But then, the wolf-faced warrior seemed to be unaware of anything. He took a step forward, swung his sword horizontally, and cut open a thin kite shield. Blood splattered, and a piece of arm fell on the trail with a scream.

He strode forward, struck with his sword, and ended the life of the defender with a broken arm.

More wolf-faced elites poured out of the siege vehicles.

Looking from the sky, the northern wall of the Wall of Sighs looks like a piece of bread, dotted with red and black patterns.

Blue mold began to grow on it.

The battle for the city wall begins!

……

(End of this chapter)