Chapter 116 - Power of Crossbowmen! Rebels Tremble Together!
“Master, should I go and kill their leader?”
After receiving the news about the arrival of the rebel army, Dorothy the fox girl asked.
Dorothy and Mia were both excellent assassins. Even with seventy thousand opponents, Dorothy was confident she could sneak in during the night and deal with their leader.
Richard shook his head and said, “No need.”
To be honest, if Richard opted for a night raid, he could indeed defeat the rebel army.
If Mia and Dorothy went for the head, taking out General Rigg and his command structure in one go, and then the cavalry charged, causing chaos, with the main forces advancing, there would be a 70-80% chance of a decisive victory.
But that would only mean a defeat.
Once the rebel army was in disarray, they would surely scatter and flee.
With seventy thousand people, Richard’s forces were still too few; catching half of them would be an accomplishment.
Richard would then need to spend time gradually clearing the remaining rebels.
Too troublesome.
If the opponents were an elite army that put a lot of pressure on Richard, he might consider a surprise attack to win. But right now, there was no need.
Any strategy would lead to victory.
The simplest way would be best.
Moreover, having collected two thousand gold coins from the nobles and taken half of the northeastern region, Richard wanted Count Zane and the nobles to see how he fought.
“Mia, Dorothy, go and rest!”
Richard sent the two girls to rest early.
After Miwei served Richard and finished cleaning up, she also went to rest.
Meanwhile, the seventy thousand rebels set up camp on a slightly elevated spot.
They didn’t have tents; many slept directly on the ground. Only some leaders had a piece of cloth to lay on the ground.
As for General Rigg, he did have a large tent.
To prevent a surprise attack from Richard, General Rigg had arranged for a large number of rebels to take turns on guard duty.
Before dawn, the rebels gradually got up.
The food they brought was just enough for one meal.
“Send the order: everyone finish the food they have. If we don’t take the territory, we will starve on the way back!”
General Rigg coldly instructed one of his subordinates.
This was his usual strategy.
In fact, after plundering for a while in the interior, the food he had was sufficient for the rebels for some time. But before every major battle, General Rigg only distributed a small amount of food.
This forced the rebels to fight desperately.
Following General Rigg’s orders, the rebels consumed their last bit of food and then swarmed toward Richard’s territory.
“Report, Lord, the rebels have entered the territory!”
By mid-morning, the bulk of the rebel army appeared outside Richard’s territory, densely packed.
From the city walls, one could see a black line stretching for several kilometers, looking extremely impressive.
“Young friend, they’ve come!”
On the city wall, Count Zane was also present. At this point, he could walk on his own.
When Richard saw the black line, he had already opened the livestream.
Even while the livestream was still black-screened, over two million people were already waiting.
These viewers knew the rebels were coming today and had eagerly waited in the livestream. As soon as Richard opened the livestream, the number of viewers skyrocketed.
In a short time, the number of viewers in the livestream surpassed five million, approaching six million.
【The anchor finally showed up; I’ve been waiting since last night!】
【Wow, look at all those people!】
【Haha, the battle is finally starting!】
【Scary!】
【This scene is more shocking than in the movies!】
【I’m suddenly a bit worried—so many people, can the streamer handle it?】
【I want to send the anchor a Gatling gun.】
【Actually, no need for a Gatling; a micro-submachine gun with unlimited ammo would solve the problem.】
【Why not just use a nuclear bomb?】
【…】
In the livestream, as soon as viewers saw the black line outside the territory, they became excited.
Such a grand scene could only be seen in the age of cold weapons.
People were packed tightly together. Tens of thousands of troops looked overwhelming, covering the ground!
As the black line drew closer, it turned from a black line into a black carpet.
From a distance, it looked like a massive crowd, a sea of black heads.
【It’s so spectacular!】
【This is the first time I’ve seen so many people gathered together!】
【Damn, what’s going on, so many people?】
【Newbie here, confused. Is this a movie?】
【…】
The livestream continued to attract more viewers, with many newcomers both shocked and puzzled.
“General, the walls of this city are quite tall.”
A staff officer among the rebels said to General Rigg.
At that moment, General Rigg was on horseback, standing in a higher place, observing the Florencia City.
He saw the low walls outside the city and the moat.
However, General Rigg was not concerned.
Since the uprising began, he had conquered many cities.
Although every time they took a slightly larger city, the rebels usually lost thousands or tens of thousands of people, to General Rigg, these people were destined to die anyway.
Whether in battle or from starvation, they would die. He felt no sympathy.
Florencia City appeared to be well-prepared, and in General Rigg’s view, it would probably be harder to capture than the Stone Fort City. However, he now had more troops.
If it required filling the city with bodies, so be it!
The walls of Stone Fort City were filled with bodies by the rebels. Even a ten-meter-high wall could be filled with a few thousand corpses to create a path.
To General Rigg, human lives were worthless!
“Only half of them might die, which is just right.”
After a glance, General Rigg felt assured.
“Order the attack!”
“Woo-woo~”
At his command, two people beside him sounded the attack horns.
With the sound of the horns, the dense mass of rebels began to move.
Their battle strategy was chaotic, and they didn’t need one. Just a relentless charge was enough.
“Faster, faster!”
In front of the rebels, many carrying ladders surged forward.
These rebels were poorly equipped, with many using wooden weapons, but they had plenty of ladders.
In an instant, the rebels surged toward Richard’s city like a tidal wave!
【They’re coming, they’re coming!】
【Get them!】
【Go, husband!】
【…】
In the livestream, when viewers saw the rebels charging forward, they were both nervous and excited.
The automatic camera on the phone captured nothing but heads in the frame.
After the phone transformed into a “system”-like device, it not only didn’t need charging, but also produced high-definition footage, with the ability to zoom in and out.
Currently, the automatic camera was providing a wide-angle view.
That is, a very broad scene.
But in this wide-angle shot, it was all people!
The rebels had formed a battle line stretching several kilometers, charging toward Richard’s city!
“This— there are too many people!”
On the tower above the city gate, Sir John swallowed instinctively, feeling a bit dry in the mouth.
The number of rebels this time seemed even larger than during the previous siege of Stone Fort City!
Count Zane was also feeling some anxiety.
This reminded him of the battle at Stone Fort City.
In that battle, Count Zane and the defenders of Stone Fort City had fought with all their might, but they were ultimately overwhelmed by the rebels!
At this moment, Count Zane noticed that outside the city walls, behind the outermost low wall, a line of crossbowmen had appeared, though he wasn’t sure when they had taken position.
The crossbowmen were positioned on the slope behind the low wall, their crossbows already set and ready.
“Charge~”
Amid the shouting and screaming of tens of thousands, the rebels at the front had reached the low wall, now less than 50 meters away!
“Attack!”
On the slope behind the low wall, the commanding captains issued orders.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
Instantly, 2,000 crossbows were fired simultaneously.
The two thousand crossbow bolts flew towards the rebels at a terrifying speed.
“Ah~”
“Ugh~”
“…”
Immediately, the rebels screamed in agony.
In this round of attack, at least over a thousand rebels were hit by arrows!
However, a thousand or so rebels, compared to their vast number, was just a drop in the ocean.
The remaining rebels continued to charge forward.
“Load arrows!”
The crossbowmen on the low wall quickly reloaded their crossbows.
These crossbowmen had undergone several days of training, which included not only accuracy training but also speed training for loading arrows.
After a few days of training, except for some particularly clumsy individuals, most of the crossbowmen could reload in about four seconds!
And in four seconds, the rebels couldn’t cover 50 meters!
In a short span of four seconds, the 2,000 crossbowmen completed another round of reloading and fired another volley of arrows at the charging rebels.
Once again, the rebels screamed in agony!
Over a thousand more rebels were hit by arrows!
Rebels hit by arrows were either dead or incapacitated, significantly reducing their combat effectiveness.
“Load arrows!”
Commanders equipped with radios shouted commands at intervals.
The crossbowmen reloaded their crossbows again!
Meanwhile, the rebels had already covered more than half the distance.
Before the third round of arrows could be loaded, some rebels had already reached the low wall and found that—
The low wall, though it didn’t seem high, was extremely difficult to climb!
At two to three meters high, it didn’t seem very tall from a distance.
But up close, it was hard to get a grip.
“Quick, ladders!”
The rebels called out for ladders from the rear.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
At this time, the third round of arrows from the crossbowmen was already in the air.
With the dense formation of rebels, the crossbowmen didn’t need to aim; they could just shoot into the crowd!
Two thousand crossbow bolts struck over a thousand more rebels.
“Retreat!”
After firing three rounds, the crossbowmen retreated while continuing to reload.
Soon, they retreated to the second low wall, unhooked their grappling hooks from their backs, and quickly hooked them onto the low wall to climb up.
Meanwhile, the rebels finally used the ladders to scale the first low wall and surged forward.
“Master, should we electrify it now?”
On the tower, Dorothy asked.
Richard shook his head: “Not yet.”
Below, after the rebels had advanced halfway, the 2,000 crossbowmen launched another attack.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~”
Another wave of arrows fell, hitting over a thousand more rebels.
Due to the barbed wire between the two low walls, the rebels’ speed was slowed. By the time they reached the second low wall, the crossbowmen had completed four rounds of shooting!
Including the previous three rounds, that meant, with the cover of the two low walls, the 2,000 crossbowmen had completed seven rounds of shooting, with at least ten thousand rebels falling under their arrows!
Now, the area between the two low walls was covered with bodies!
Many injured rebels, fearing being trampled, crawled to the base of the low wall, crying out in pain.
The sheer number of casualties in such a short time left Count Zane on the city walls stunned!
In previous sieges, whether at Westgar City or Stone Fort City, although the defenders had killed over ten thousand rebels, it had taken several days and came with heavy casualties on their side.
But now, just shortly into the battle, before the rebels even reached the walls, ten thousand had already been lost!
Such an efficiency in killing was unimaginable to Count Zane!
He had no idea that Richard possessed such a terrifying force!
Though Count Zane recognized the crossbows, the ones Richard had were far more powerful than those commonly used in this world.
The crossbows in this world were quite primitive, slow to load, and prone to breaking.
Such crossbows were far from mainstream.
There are indeed many bows, but training archers is also not easy.
After Count Zane arrived in Florencia City, Richard naturally wouldn’t let him go to the military camp. He hadn’t seen the crossbowmen train either.
So, this was the first time Count Zane realized the power of Richard’s crossbowmen!
It was also the first time he had seen the effectiveness of crossbows!
The concentration of so many crossbowmen created an overwhelming impact!
Of course, this was also due to the poor equipment of the rebels.
Facing these rebels with rudimentary equipment and few shields, the deterrence of the crossbowmen was immense.
Especially with the low wall blocking their advance!
The momentum of the rebels was significantly slowed because those at the front had started to falter!
Their renowned tactic of human waves had suffered a severe blow in front of the 2,000 crossbowmen!
【Awesome!】
【Ha ha, the crossbows are unexpectedly so sharp!】
【Are these guys stunned?】
In the livestream, as the rebels’ numbers had decreased by over ten thousand in a short time, many viewers relaxed their concerns and focused intently on the broadcast.
“General, there are too many archers; we need to send in the elite troops. Otherwise, more than twenty thousand will die before even reaching the walls!”
On the high ground, a staff officer observed the rebels who had suffered over ten thousand casualties and said.
This staff officer had never seen crossbows before and thought they were a special type of bow.
General Rigg looked at the crossbowmen who had retreated to the last low wall, paused for a moment, and finally spoke: “Alright!”
“Wooo wooo wooo~”
The horn sounded again.
General Riggs had his methods, such as using different horn sounds to convey orders.
Of course, this method of communication had its limitations.
With the sounding of the horn, a group of rebels numbering over ten thousand, equipped distinctly, began to move.
These were General Riggs’s “elite troops”!
They were the core of rebel forces.
In general siege warfare, General Rigg rarely sent his “elite troops” into the fray directly. He preferred to have them supervise from the rear, urging ordinary rebels forward, and dealing with any who dared to retreat.
To General Rigg, as long as these elite troops were present, ordinary rebels, who were essentially conscripted laborers, were expendable cannon fodder. Sending them to their deaths was fine as long as they could overwhelm the city.
However, this time, ordinary rebels couldn’t withstand the crossbowmen. At this rate, before even reaching the walls, over twenty thousand might be lost.
How many would die during the actual siege?
Although rebel lives were cheap, General Riggs did not want to see excessive casualties. So, reluctantly, he decided to deploy his elite troops early.
This elite unit was armed with captured swords, and many wore armor and carried shields. As soon as they appeared, they quickly moved past the other rebels and took the lead.
The other rebels followed behind with weapons and ladders.
“Advance with shields!”
The elite unit moved forward, shields up, steadily advancing towards the last low wall.
“Attack!”
On the low wall, after receiving the command through radios, the numerous captains shouted.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~”
Two thousand crossbow bolts shot towards the elite unit.
This time, a lot of crossbow bolts were blocked by the shields of the elite unit.
The equipment of this elite unit was evidently much better than the previous group of over five thousand.
They were using equipment captured by General Rigg from the defenders of Westgar City and Stone Fort City. The shields were made of high-density wood, which the crossbow bolts could not penetrate easily.
Of course, many still got hit by arrows, as shields couldn’t cover everything.
But compared to before, the casualties were much lower.
The elite troops formed several rows and quickly pushed towards the low wall.
Behind them, the tide of rebels surged forward again, quickly filling the space between the low walls.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~”
The second round of crossbow bolts was fired, but again, most of them were blocked by the elite troops’ shields.
“Retreat!”
Seeing that the second round of crossbows didn’t cause as much damage as before, the 2,000 crossbowmen quickly withdrew, crossing the moat via the bridge and retreating into the city.
“Charge!”
General Rigg’s elite troops advanced with their shields.
However, when they reached the moat, the bridge over it had already been withdrawn.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~”
At that moment, from behind the city walls, a large number of arrows flew out, with some rebels being shot down immediately.
“Defend against the sky!”
The members of the elite unit crouched down and used their shields to cover themselves from above.
“Hurry, hurry, ladders!”
There was constant shouting for ladders to be brought over to cross the moat.
The rebels had indeed brought a lot of ladders, including some long ones. However, many of these ladders had already been used on the three low walls.
Still, many ladders were carried over and placed across the moat.
But the rebels quickly discovered that crossing the moat using ladders was not a good idea!
When the ladders were laid horizontally, they swayed and made it difficult to stand firmly!
As a result, the moat effectively blocked the charging rebels.
“Put down more ladders!”
The rebels did have a way. They managed to overlap a large number of ladders, creating a passage about ten meters wide.
However, due to the delay, many rebels had piled up together.
Now, outside the city walls, between the three low walls, the area was densely packed.
There were at least 40,000 to 50,000 rebels just between these three low walls.
“Electrify!”
Seeing the rebels had piled up enough, Richard gave the order.
“Electrify!”
Dorothy quickly relayed his command.
In a dedicated room in Florencia City, a few soldiers pressed down the electrical switch.
Immediately, the fifteen layers of barbed wire between the three low walls were electrified.
Due to the dense concentration of rebels, many were close to the barbed wire, and some even had their hands touching it.
As soon as the barbed wire was electrified, many rebels started convulsing.
Moreover, because they were packed closely together, the convulsions seemed to spread rapidly, like a contagious reaction.
Tens of thousands of rebels were all convulsing at the same time.
“What’s happening?”
One rebel, seeing the person in front of him shaking uncontrollably, reached out to touch them.
Then, he felt a tingling sensation and lost control of his body, immediately starting to shake as well.