Cataphracts, surviving in a world full of mods

"incite!!"

The swinging axe ripped open a soldier's carotid artery, the gushing blood staining his shield red. As he blew his bronze whistle, everyone simultaneously took two steps forward, trampling the still struggling men underfoot.

"incite!"

The short sword, thrusting down from above, pierced the soft area between the collarbone and shoulder blade, penetrating all the way into the lung. As it was pulled out, it brought with it a gush of hot blood, causing its victim to fall to the ground like a stake.

.........

Whistle—Raise shield, whistle—Attack, whistle—Advance—

With the ease of a worker felling a tree and the skill of a butcher slaughtering livestock, Imperial soldiers, with their terrifying discipline and silence, slaughtered their opponents like machines. These men, who had rushed to the front with only a surge of bloodlust, were torn apart like waves crashing against rocks, pierced, cut, smashed, and chopped to pieces with each sharp whistle.

The severed limbs were still twitching and clenching. The severed heads were still opening and closing their mouths... In the blink of an eye, seven or eight more people had died or been injured. The remaining dozen or so turned and fled without looking back, not even caring about their wounded companions who were still groaning in pain. They quickly disappeared into the mountains and forests.

They fled so resolutely and swiftly that even Baria didn't have time to react... By the time he realized what was happening, he was about to order the others to give chase when he saw them disappear into the woods, disappearing into the distance with the swaying of branches.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, somewhat bewildered:

"What are they here for...?"

………………

"Captain, three of us have died. Besides Bathory and Saldo, Pssanios was also stabbed in the stomach and just died."

"This time we chopped off 12 heads..."

Baria silently stared at the dead Kurist vice-captain, at the arrow lodged in his neck, a somber feeling settling over him. He quietly knelt down and turned the man over...

The vice-captain, who was still reporting, suddenly froze. Both men stared at each other in utter astonishment at the man whose neck had been pierced but whose eyes were still blinking. They exclaimed in unison:

"You're still alive?!"

The Kurist man, Bathory, who was lying on the ground, blinked his eyes, blood foaming from his mouth. He rolled his eyes with great difficulty, but dared not move his neck at all, for fear of touching the arrow shaft.

"Quickly, quickly, get to him! Get him to the medical camp in the back, hurry!"

Baria jumped up as if he had just sat on a red-hot stove. Although he was pacing around anxiously, he couldn't hide the joy on his face.

The others hurriedly gathered around, and the two quick-witted ones immediately picked up axes and chopped down two tree trunks about the thickness of a wrist from the nearby bushes. The group untied the leather ropes from their waists, tied them to the tree trunks to make a simple plan, and prepared to carry their injured vice-captain up there.

"Wait! Break the arrow shaft first, he won't live to see the destination in this state."

Another centurion reached out, drew a sharp dagger from his waist, and directed two strong soldiers to firmly grip the arrow shaft. Then, with swift and light movements, he severed the finger-thick wooden shaft.

"No, his throat is starting to feel blocked. We need to turn him over, or he'll choke to death!"

So everyone hurriedly turned him over again. The two strongest and most enduring men lifted the stretcher and hurried back along the road. With the jolting of their arms and the road, the deputy captain, whose throat was still bleeding, left clear marks on the ground as he gradually disappeared behind the distant woods. Those left behind looked at each other for a while, silently worrying about him.

"The bridge still needs repairing, everyone hurry up! Move those two corpses to the side."

Chapter 277 Idea (1)

Stopping his horse on the high slope, under the fluttering double-headed eagle banner, Tersolius squinted at the city before him. Numerous armored soldiers and cavalrymen surrounded him, making the hillside gleam like it was covered in iron.

Of course, there was no convenient telescope available for him in this era, but based on his limited knowledge of optics, he managed to get a simple telescope made of crystal by the most skilled gem craftsmen in the imperial capital to be of some use. Although what he saw was upside down, he could at least make out the details.

He opened the telescope, made of three sections of brass tubing, and began to observe patiently from a distance where, in theory, one could only see a blurry outline of the city. It was like a hunter eyeing a rare and robust wild beast in the jungle, considering how to hunt it without damaging its precious fur.

The city's structure can be described as ingenious and magnificent. A river runs through the center of the city without dividing it in two. This is thanks to the relatively narrow river channel, which allowed them to build city walls and water gates like huge arches across the entire river, connecting the two sides of the city. The towering, huge sluice gates can both block enemy attacks and allow their own fleets to pass through at any time.

The Holstein fleet, now the last remaining of its kind, resides within this city. Imperial ships cannot sail into Holstein's inland rivers, nor can they travel thousands of miles on land. Therefore, only Holstein fleets currently operate on this river; however, they dare not obstruct the Imperial army's crossing—after all, the Empire's formidable military engineering is no joke.

This is a wide and abundant river, connecting the south and north of the Kingdom of Hols, through which countless goods are transported every day. It is also an extremely convenient and vital supply line, and he naturally cannot tolerate handing over such a strategic advantage to his enemy. Therefore, he must seize control of the city that controls the river before heading south.

However, the current headache is that as long as the Hols' fleet exists, their siege forces cannot be deployed at will. They are constantly threatened by those large ships, ballistae, and catapults, while the enemy ships can use the city walls for cover, making it difficult for them to attack.

"Are we really going to have to sail across the land and tow a few warships over from the Gulf of Boris in the east?..."

He touched his chin with some distress and began to seriously consider his next move. He quickly abandoned the idea of ​​using a boat on land, since it would take who knows how long it would take to drag the warship here.

Every day, the army's deployment cost money like water. Although the successive victories had indeed brought great rewards, the rewards for the soldiers were also substantial. As the commander of the legion, he had to plan ahead and be meticulous in his calculations.

The legion's camp had appeared near the city, but unlike the attack on Torakasi, the Imperial soldiers gathered here consisted of only two legions, totaling just over 2 men, which was much weaker than the formidable force they had when besieging the first major city.

But no matter how foolish and arrogant the Hols were, they would not feel even the slightest bit relaxed, because the one leading these 2 elite troops was none other than Tersolius! He could capture a major border town with only a few hundred men, let alone with these 2 elite troops.

Yes, he did not intend to concentrate all his troops here. The offensive in other directions continued. His ambitions had never been small. Although he was still advancing steadily, he was not prepared to give the enemy a chance to breathe.

"Bring me the map."

Alka immediately took down the leather tube on his back and pulled out a large parchment map, the edges of which were wrapped with fine gold thread to prevent excessive wear.

The two cavalrymen carefully unfolded the map on their horses and remained motionless in that position. Tersolius slowly moved his finger across it, deep in thought.

Until his finger moved to an inconspicuous corner, he suddenly felt a pang of excitement. After comparing the distance and shape, he slowly nodded.

………………

"Has someone already given themselves away? And been caught by the city's militia?"

Tersolius raised his eyebrows in surprise, astonished by this somewhat unexpected news, while Talina nodded affirmatively before him.

"That's right. Mr. Saiyaros's men are pursuing him. I heard that he caused one injury or death during his resistance. They expect to arrest him by tomorrow."

"I'm starting to suspect that this is just an ordinary spy... how could he have revealed his true colors so easily, and not even half a month has passed."

"We should know the answer tomorrow. Once we catch him, we'll figure it out."

"That's right... Doctor, could I take a look at that little thing?"

Tersolius's change of topic was so sudden that Talina didn't even realize what he was referring to. After a moment of stunned silence, she realized that he was talking about the round little guy standing on her shoulder.

That curious and inquisitive glint in Thesolius's eyes. For the first time, Tarina felt such hesitation and uncertainty in the face of his request, a kind of worry akin to entrusting a carefully nurtured child to someone who lacked tenderness…

But Thesolius took her hesitation as a tacit agreement and reached out to grab her shoulder quite naturally. Before the plump little bird realized what was happening, his fingers deftly flicked and squeezed, turning his five fingers into a small cage that firmly trapped it inside.

The nimble little creature immediately panicked, trying to bite Tersolius's hand with its tender yellow, hooked beak, while its two claws, each about the thickness of a little finger, struggled desperately. Its wings also flared, displaying a fierce will to survive, much like an insect caught in a spider's web.

"Sir, be gentle! You'll hurt it!"

Tarina hurriedly placed the parchment clip in her hand on the table, and let her approach with a look of panic and worry. She reached out as if she wanted to rescue her little one, but hesitated and withdrew halfway, and then immediately reached out again hesitantly.

"Don't worry, doctor, I won't hurt it... I'm just curious."

Tersolius loosened his grip slightly, maintaining a pressure just enough to keep it from escaping, while gently scratching the pale gray feathers on the round head with the index finger of his other hand:

"The welcoming words I heard outside the lab that day, were they spoken by it itself... or by you? I don't think a little guy like that could imitate tone so vividly and naturally. For a moment, I almost thought it was you talking to me from the door frame."

Talina watched as the unruly little creature suddenly quieted down, its previous desperate struggles vanished, as if someone had injected it with anesthetic gas. It adopted a rather complacent attitude, quickly ceasing its struggles… Remembering all the effort she had put into taming this little thing, even the gentle Talina couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

"It seems to like you very much, sir..."

"Thank you for the compliment, Doctor. I'm honored too. It seems this little thing doesn't see me as a threat... You haven't answered my question yet."

Talina adjusted her emotions slightly:

"It is indeed one of its functions, but the current distance is still very short. It can't transmit beyond three rooms... It's more suitable for short-distance errands and communication. As its body develops, the distance will become longer, but how far it can go depends on each individual's talent."

“I once heard my teacher say that he had seen a friend’s pet that could cover a large forest and was even smart enough to collect some medicines for him… My little thing will take a long time to grow to that level.”

"How exactly did they do that? It's really unbelievable."

Taking a small box from Tarina, and opening it as she instructed, Tersolius pulled out a still-wriggling mealworm. Watching the bird stretch out its head and snatch it away, then tuck it into its mouth like it was eating noodles, Tersolius found it increasingly amusing, even feeling an urge to keep one as a pet himself.

This also reminded him of the peregrine falcon still in Alpert—he wondered how that raptor, capable of flying so high and far, was doing now, whether it was still on its mission of delivering messages…

"This involves some issues of mental and magical control, which is also a considerable test for me. I am far from being able to control it as easily as I control my own arms and fingers."

“That’s a bit of a shame. I was planning to give it a try... I bet my generals would be terrified to hear my voice coming from a bird’s beak, and maybe even... I suddenly realized they would most likely think it was some kind of evil witchcraft and shoot the little guy dead.”

He finally stopped "torturing" Talina's magical creature, and the girl carefully took it from his hand, reminding Tersolius of the first time he got his own cell phone... Back then, he would turn on the light in the middle of the night to check if there were any new scratches on it.

"Have my staff not arrived yet? I don't remember them all becoming a bunch of lazybones."

After a brief period of playful banter, Tersolius finally got down to business and received Talina's answer in an instant:

"They're still on their way. After all, there are many logistical and transportation issues they need to resolve, and as you know, sir, the road conditions here are terrible, so it will definitely be slower than expected."

"Then let's wait a bit...maybe we can use this time to get something to eat?"

"Ok!"

........................

"I want to dig a canal from this area of ​​Cape Habaros to Lake Sador, so that the Imperial fleet can sail all the way in, and even reach the Sea of ​​Us."

Upon hearing this, several of the staff members who were munching on crispy pancakes inhaled the crumbs and coughed violently, their faces turning red. Others, doubting their ears, chewed on half a pancake, trying to make sense of what was happening.

This loss of composure stemmed solely from the utter absurdity of Thesorius's words, which struck them as if someone had suddenly appeared and told them...

Humans can grow wings and fly in the sky.

"Sir, are you serious..."

"...This is indeed feasible!"

Just as one of his aides calmed himself down and voiced his question, a voice suddenly broke the silence beside him, interrupting his train of thought. Confused, he turned to look at his colleague... only to find this scholar from the Imperial Library intently studying a map on the wall, his fingers and lips trembling with an extreme emotion...

“We should have noticed this sooner! This area in the southwest is now under our control, and the obstacles of the past are gone... It is indeed feasible to dig a canal from here, so that our fleet can travel down the rivers within the Empire, through Lake Sador into the Barbilo River, and all the way to the Sea of ​​Us south of Hols.”

"In this way, we can bypass the Atherans' tight blockade at the eastern sea entrance and sail our fleet directly to the Hols' rear!"

The other staff members finally realized what was going on. After all, they were all quick-witted and experienced, and after a little thought, they all understood what the scholar meant. They were immediately taken aback by this sudden and huge surprise.

"This distance is a bit long, but it's totally worth it in the long run! It's even enough for us to temporarily halt our offensive and invest more resources and manpower here... This will make the conquest of the entire south much smoother..."

Now, everyone was restless and swarmed around the map, looking at the inconspicuous bumps and depressions in that corner, as well as the dots and lines representing rivers and lakes.

"Alright, alright, calm yourself down first." Tersolius finally spoke, drawing everyone's attention to him:

"Whether it will work or not is not something we can figure out by just pointing at this map here. Ultimately, we need to conduct a thorough on-site survey and let engineers and scholars come up with a solution. Right now, this is just a concept, so don't get too excited. It may not be so easy to implement."

"Before that, I need your advice to solve a new problem—"

Chapter 278 Idea (2)

"It seems that even goddesses are blessing me."

This is an arrogant statement, delivered with a self-righteous tone, as if the gods were obligated to bless him, making him invincible and ensuring everything went smoothly for him.

But when he uttered these words, they only elicited cheers and praises from those around him, simply because he was Thesolius, and he was entitled to say such things; he was entitled to be proud and powerful, and to be invincible.

The engineers and scholars who went to survey the terrain and geology have returned, and they have given an affirmative answer—digging a canal is no problem at all, and there are no particularly difficult geological conditions along the way. As long as an entire engineering legion is sent, it will not be long before the Empire's warships can sail into the rivers of the southern lands.