A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

Above the city walls is a very strict defense system from the last era.

But in this era, it is a little outdated.

This is mainly because firearms technology is developing, and the tall and thin city walls can no longer withstand artillery attacks.

But even so, it is still a difficult defense to conquer.

Smaller caliber cannons were also installed on the city walls.

However, the purpose of this artillery is not to kill the enemy (of course, it will be done if there is a suitable opportunity), but to attack siege equipment.

For example, ladders, siege towers, battering rams, etc.

The enemy was arrayed just outside the range of the artillery fire. It was as if an invisible dividing line blocked them from advancing.

On a green hill outside the city, the prince, Thomas, and many other generals and officers in the army stood together on the high ground, looking at the city wall in the distance.

Chapter 104: Join the Army 4

"There are still thousands of troops in the city," an officer said after a careful observation. "The numbers are still considerable, and it will be difficult to defeat them!"

The Byzantine army was several times larger in number, but siege warfare has always been difficult to fight.

"It's okay. Although there are a lot of them, they are not elite soldiers." The prince didn't care.

He was not wrong, because Thomas also noticed some chaos on the other side of the city wall.

It can be seen that this was caused by the sudden approach of a powerful enemy to the city, which caused the soldiers to panic and cause chaos.

Elite troops would not perform so poorly.

From this we can see that the people guarding the city walls should be locally recruited militiamen, not combat-capable troops.

Once a major setback occurs, such an army can easily suffer a collapse in morale and disintegrate.

He looked back at his fleet.

At this time, the fleet was divided into two groups, with a small number of warships on guard on the outside, and the other ships were unloading soldiers.

There is no dock, so soldiers are unloaded directly on the shallows using small boats, which has left a small number of ships semi-stranded.

But it doesn't matter because the boats can leave as soon as the tide comes in.

It is obvious that the Byzantines were very familiar with the hydrological conditions here.

At this moment, the cannon has been dragged up.

Unlike city defense cannons, siege cannons have greater range and power.

The prince looked back at his fleet.

Although the fleet had won the previous naval battle, it had still suffered considerable losses. At this moment, some warships still bore the scars of battle and had not yet been repaired.

The loss of soldiers was actually quite high, and the naval combat capability had actually been greatly reduced.

But this was unimportant. The navy would not be participating in the battle this time, merely transporting troops. In fact, if it weren't for the purpose of showing off their strength, there wouldn't be a need for such a large navy; a small escort fleet would be sufficient to protect the transport ships.

Because of the two victories, it was impossible for the enemy to stop this sea and land offensive.

There was no need to worry about the enemy's naval rescue. As for the enemy's army rescue... well, at least not within a few days' distance.

There was some unrest in the Sultanate of Rum, probably due to a border dispute with the Persians to the east.

It's a dispute, but it could turn into a war at any time. The probability is very high.

This situation created a precious vacuum. For at least a month or two, the Sultanate of Rum would not have the strength to support Smyrna. And if war broke out... they would not have the strength to spare for two or three years.

He inspected his troops.

First of all, there are his own trusted guards, about a thousand people.

These are the elite troops allocated by the emperor. They suffered some losses in the previous battles, but their combat effectiveness has not been weakened at all.

Then there was the Empire's regular army, numbering about 10,000 men and the main force of the battle.

This is a very good force for this battle.

There were also several other troops, including the Bulgarian vassal army and the Russian mercenaries.

The Bulgarians have always been at odds with the Empire, so it is natural to consume a wave of their young and middle-aged men for no reason.

The Russians are fierce and good at fighting, and have always been popular as imperial mercenaries.

The former are cannon fodder, while the latter can serve as assault force at critical moments.

In addition, the prince's eyes fell on the Italian mercenaries holding high the cross flag.

These are mercenaries hired by the Knights.

The mercenary navy hired by the Knights previously was indeed useful. If a large part of the casualties had not been transferred to the mercenaries, the prince would not be able to launch an attack now.

Although the final result was to kill 10,000 enemies and lose 8,000 of our own men, the loss of our own men was minimal. That was enough.

By this time, all the army had come ashore and were in formation, and the artillery was also in place.

This was a large siege cannon specially prepared by the Empire for this battle. It required magic to be transported from the ship to the land.

In addition to the port, the city has three main attack directions.

"Knights, listen!" the prince suddenly ordered.

Thomas' eyelids twitched, but he didn't stop. The mercenary captain was now in charge of this mercenary army.

Several captains walked out of the ranks and saluted.

"You will be responsible for the defense of that gate," the prince said sternly. "If the enemy attacks from that side, you will stop them and prepare for the subsequent siege."

His eyes were cold and contained a hint of cruelty.

It was obvious that if the enemy counterattacked, they would definitely attack from that direction, because in this way they could directly attack the artillery at the forefront.

In other words, as long as the Star-Moon Cultists fought back, they would be the front line. Of course, if the Star-Moon Cultists did not fight back, they would avoid the risk of casualties in the siege.

"I don't care what you do, you must stop the enemy's attack. Otherwise, no matter what your origins or background are... If the enemy doesn't die, you will die!"

But anyone with a little knowledge of military affairs knows that there are at least several thousand soldiers in the city, and among them there must be relatively elite troops!

There is a high probability, or even an extremely high probability, that they will attempt a surprise counterattack to destroy the artillery.

The expressions of several mercenary captains changed slightly.

They saw the huge risks they were facing, and that it was a risk for their lives.

But... in this situation, no one dared to disobey and could only respond in a low voice.

A gloomy look flashed in Thomas' eyes.

Although they are mercenaries, these are not ordinary mercenaries, they are supported by the Pope.

If they suffered heavy casualties but gained nothing, then Thomas would have to pay an extra price, perhaps a high price, if he wanted to hire troops in the future.

"Andrea, go over there," Thomas whispered to the knight beside him. "Give them specific instructions!"

"Grandmaster...you..."

"Joseph and I are enough," said Thomas.

Over there, the siege artillery has begun to bombard the city walls, but it's just a test fire, to calibrate the muzzles.

He shifted his gaze and saw teams of Byzantine troops fully armed and ready to go.

Each team is led by an elite officer.

There was a time when the elite class was something Thomas could only dream of. But now, elite warriors, even high-ranking elite warriors, were no longer worth mentioning in his eyes.

Thomas felt a little emotional.

In this world, the elite level is almost the dividing line between masters and strong ones.

In small places, it is difficult to see one or two in a city.

But truly powerful forces do not lack elite warriors.

Over there, the prince was dispatching the Bulgarian vassal troops.

Once the city wall collapses and it becomes possible to climb from the front, these cannon fodder will be the first to rush up.

"Okay, fire the cannons at full speed!" The prince raised his hand with a cold look in his eyes.

"After taking the city, we must kill all the pagans in the city!" he said.

"But, Your Highness, there are many Christians in this city..." A general hesitated.

"Now that we are at the gates of the city, they still refuse to show their loyalty to Christ... This is the best proof of their betrayal of Christ!" The prince's hand was like a blade, swung down with force.

"Those who have abandoned Christ and colluded with pagans are considered pagans! Kill them!"

Chapter 105: Join the Army 5

Gunfire roars!

The old-fashioned city walls were ultimately too weak to withstand the artillery fire. After only half an hour of bombardment, noticeable cracks had appeared in the walls.

Finally, a shell hit the city wall.

The city wall collapsed with a loud noise.

A huge gap was revealed.

The soldiers on the city wall were in an uproar, and it seemed that morale was about to collapse.

But at this moment, a group of people dressed in white robes and dressed as clergymen appeared on the top of the city wall. They shouted loudly, said something, waved their arms, and were very emotional.

Under the encouragement of these people, the soldiers' emotions quickly stabilized, as if they had found spiritual support, and did not collapse without a fight as the Byzantines had expected.

However, from the beginning, the Byzantines did not place much hope in this regard.

The Bulgarians were ready for the first wave of attack.

The prince raised his sword high and shouted: "Kill!!!"

The next moment, the Byzantine army began to charge.

The Bulgarians, holding their shields to hide their figures, rushed towards the gap.

Behind them were the musketeers and archers, providing cover fire. The archers ran and shot, their hands repeatedly releasing the bowstrings, and with the sound of the strings snapping, arrows rained down from all directions, arcing and crashing down onto the city walls.

Among the ordinary arrows, there are also rockets.

The flying red dots traced streaks in the air as they flew into the city. Some of them landed on the non-combustible ground and soon extinguished naturally, but many more landed on roofs, walls, or other combustible materials. Flames rose, and some houses gradually caught fire.

At this time, the first wave of Bulgarians had rushed into the city through the gap.

The shouts and screams were concentrated around the gap. It seemed that the Bulgarians who rushed into the city were not making smooth progress.

The archers and musketeers on the city walls were attacking the heads and backs of the Bulgarian vassal troops non-stop.

After a while, the Bulgarians fled with heavy losses, and only half of the number who rushed in escaped.

A group of Crescent Moon believers followed closely behind and rushed towards the Byzantine formation.

Obviously they wanted to take advantage of this favorable opportunity to attack the main force of the Byzantines.

"Shoot!" The prince swung the sword in his hand again.

The crossbow and musket team that was previously responsible for covering the shooting and attacking the city walls immediately changed their targets.

Amid the crackling sounds of gunfire, the endless stream of bullets and crossbow arrows, like a storm of death, wantonly slaughtered the Star-Moon Cultists who rushed out of the gap.

In an instant, dozens or even hundreds of people fell to the ground, like wheat being cut, falling one after another, and blood splattering everywhere.

The counterattack of the Star-Moon Cultists was thus repelled.

It was obvious that the crux of the matter was that the gap was not large enough. The troops could not deploy themselves after rushing in, and were blocked from the front and then shot at from behind and overhead by the city walls. This was a huge disadvantage. Ultimately, they could not withstand the casualties and were defeated.

"Keep the cannons firing!" the prince ordered.

It's still early today, so there's plenty of time to open the second and third gaps, and make the first gap even bigger.

We can also take this opportunity to punish the defeated army and enforce military discipline.

Several Bulgarian officers had been tied up and brought before the prince.

"Your Highness... They're just too strong! We can't defeat them!" The officer at the front cried out for mercy. "My best fighters were wiped out in just a few minutes!"