The Lord Of Blood Hill

Chapter 562: Cannon Fire and War Drums

The Night Falcon Knights have already moved past the fortress group. They are now essentially behind the fortress line.On this defense line, Henwell has deployed three heavy fortresses as strategic support points.

Next are nine medium fortresses, which form the operational blocking zone.

Finally, there are thirty small fortresses serving as tactical anchors for the line.

Every fortress is equipped with steam-powered Thunderclap Ballistae.

A small fortress has one steam furnace driving three ballistae. A medium fortress has two steam furnaces driving eight ballistae.

Each of the three heavy fortresses has only one steam furnace, but it is a giant steam furnace. It can drive fifteen ballistae as well as two super-heavy ballistae.

The super-heavy ballistae are enormous and can only be placed in heavy fortresses. Their range is twice that of a standard ballista, reaching eight kilometers.

The Thunderclap Ballista Bolts they fire are even more terrifying.

Henwell's confidence in swallowing the Night Falcon Knights comes from these two hundred standard steam ballistae and six super-heavy ballistae.

Right now, the Night Falcon Knights are enduring fire coverage from nearly forty standard ballistae and two heavy ballistae.

Each ballista fires twice per minute, constantly projecting firepower into the area occupied by the Night Falcon Knights.

What does one volley from forty weapons look like?

A single Thunderclap Ballista Bolt carries a lethal warhead no weaker than a 155-millimeter high-explosive shell.

If forty of them fall evenly, they can cover an entire village or town.

Now the Night Falcon Knights are taking two such volleys every minute.

Although Marquess Wallace does not know what weapon Henwell is using, he is clear about one thing. He must withdraw from this area immediately. They cannot keep passively taking fire like this.

However, this fortress group was built according to geometric principles.

There are no true dead zones in its fire coverage. Once someone enters the range, they must endure strikes from at least thirty Thunderclap Ballistae.

Marquess Wallace immediately orders the knight order to change direction and break out.

But his earlier hesitation has cost him the best opportunity. The path they came through has already been blocked by a legion.

Peace Haven's newly formed Fifth Legion arrived yesterday.

Now it has already come out from the fortresses and assembled, blocking the passage the Night Falcon Knights used to enter.

Heavy anti-cavalry shields have been erected. The support rods behind the shields are down, and the spearmen and crossbowmen are ready.

When Wallace sees the Fifth Legion's formation, he knows they must fight with everything they have.

The remaining seven thousand-plus knights split into several waves and begin charging the Fifth Legion's line under the bombardment of the Thunderclap Ballistae, linking their fighting spirit and transforming the formation into a sharp assault edge.

As their linked fighting spirit shifts from a defensive posture into an offensive one, the damage from the Thunderclap Ballistae becomes far more obvious.

Behind the Fifth Legion, more than a dozen heavy Grand Carriage wagons are fitted with Giant-Force Ballistae that fire medium-caliber Thunderclap Ballista Bolts.

After receiving the signal, the vehicle-mounted ballistae, whose firing arcs were adjusted long ago, fire at once.

Thunderclap Ballista Bolts fly over the heads of the Fifth Legion, cross nearly a kilometer, and smash into the ground more than a hundred meters before the military formation.

They land directly inside the first charging wave of the Night Falcon knights.

Explosions, neighing horses, screams, horns.

For a moment, the battlefield erupts in the cruelest possible sense.

But the dense fire coverage does not stop the Night Falcon Knights' charge.

As an elite force with a long history and outstanding battle record on the continent, the Night Falcon Knights have their own pride and an iron will.

Once the two sides enter close combat, the Fifth Legion holds a major advantage with heavy shields blocking the enemy and the Thunderclap Ballistae supporting them.

The first thousand-man wave of cavalry is almost wiped out in front of the shield formation.

But the Night Falcon Knights do not retreat. The second wave of the charge follows immediately.

By the time the third wave arrives, the heavy shield formation has already been torn open.

More and more knights charge inside, and the two sides become tangled together.

The knights lose the speed of their charge, but fortunately for them, the melee makes it difficult for the Thunderclap Ballistae to keep attacking.

On the Fifth Legion's side, although they have lost the support of the Thunderclap Ballistae, they still hold advantages in numbers and formation.

One side has elite soldiers. The other side is trained to perfection.

The most brutal kind of close-quarters battle begins.

Henwell watches the battlefield from the observation post atop the medium fortress. He sees squad after squad of his soldiers fall beneath the blades and spears of the Night Falcon knights.

These are elite soldiers he raised himself.

In the future, they might have become senior commanders of Peace Haven. They had better futures ahead of them. They could have become husbands and fathers.

Now they are dying on this damned night.

But Henwell cannot let them withdraw. They must be pinned here and block the Night Falcon Knights' retreat.

The Night Falcon Knights have not lost enough men yet. They have not reached the point where they will fear entering later battles.

In just half an hour, the Fifth Legion loses twenty percent of its strength.

If this were an ordinary legion, it would already have begun to collapse and flee.

But they are Peace Haven's elites. Many among them are veterans who have participated in multiple battles.

They comfort the recruits around them, telling them not to panic and to keep close.

Marquess Wallace, like Henwell, feels his heart bleeding.

These are the finest knights under his command.

And they are dying here tonight.

Another half hour passes. The Fifth Legion's casualties exceed half its strength, and signs of collapse begin to appear in the line.

Berkner, the deputy legion commander, finds Garcia. "General, let us pull back! There are still two garrison warbands. Let them take over."

"Give the brothers a chance to breathe! If we keep fighting, we will be wiped out! The Fifth Legion cannot be annihilated here!"

Garcia's eyes are red. "Retreat? Where are we supposed to retreat? You saw it too. Even we cannot stop them. The garrison warbands will stop them even less!"

"If we catch our breath now, the enemy will be able to reform their ranks. When that happens, even more of us will die!"

With that, Garcia draws his longsword. "Personal guards! Charge with me!"

Henwell also notices that the Fifth Legion is about to fail. Cumberland steps forward beside him. "My lord, let me take the garrison warbands up."

Henwell understands what Cumberland means. Cumberland made this plan. If the Fifth Legion is destroyed here tonight, he will have a hard time facing Peace Haven's senior officers in the future.

Especially because Cumberland comes from Pi, while the commander of the Fifth Legion belongs to the local faction.

Henwell pats his shoulder without saying anything, then walks past him toward the huge war drum nearby.

Henwell picks up the drumsticks and strikes the war drum.

The deep sound echoes outward. At first there is only one drumbeat. Gradually, more and more war drums begin to sound.

Dozens of castles and hundreds of giant war drums slowly settle into the same rhythm.

The entire battlefield hears them.

Only the bonfire on top of Henwell's fortress is lit, and many people can see from afar that their lord is beating the drum himself.

Marquess Wallace suddenly discovers that the enemy soldiers who had been on the verge of collapse are gradually stabilizing under the drumbeats.

Formations of different sizes begin to combine again, once more blocking the Night Falcon Knights' path of retreat.