The Dwarves' Oilpaper Parcel

Kang De and Preston rushed out of the operations room and into the outside world.

A group of officers followed them out.

In an instant, the noisy and intense world returned to normal. He looked up at the sky, where dark clouds pressed down, and the world was deep and dark, with a faint hint of bloodlust.

There were no shouts of battle from the city walls, only the constant clatter of spells and the buzzing of arrows. Kang De, lost in thought, immediately asked, "Haven't the elves started their siege yet?"

Preston glanced at him, gritted his teeth, and said, "Soon!"

His tone betrayed a hint of anxiety; he had no time to explain to Kang De, and immediately ordered, "Messenger! Send a message to the city hall to summon the reserve war sorcerers, engineering teams, and geometry groups to assess the damage to the destroyed No. 5 catapult and attempt to repair it!"

"Order the reserve forces to move to the area beneath City Two and stand by, ready to reinforce at any time!"

"Order the first and third archer companies..."

As he ran, he gave orders, and officers and messengers kept leaving the ranks. The attacks on the city walls became increasingly urgent, like the prelude to a torrent.

Kang De lagged a few steps behind, while Hong San walked alongside him.

Preston, as the commander, didn't have time to explain the situation to him, but Hong San did.

The Cathayan lowered his voice and quickly explained, "The damaged No. 5 catapult is a crucial long-range support point. It's enormous, utilizing the latest advancements from the Dwarven Engineering Institute, and overseen by a war sorcerer. It's a perfect fusion of magic and mechanics, possessing immense power and extremely high accuracy."

"The components are complex, extremely large, heavy, and cumbersome, making them impossible to mount on the city walls. Furthermore, with such firepower and size, even if forcibly placed on the walls, they would only be sitting ducks for the elves..."

"Therefore, it was positioned in precisely calculated firing positions within the city, enabling long-range strikes through the observation spells of war sorcerers and the calculations of the geometry team."

"The advantage is that it's well-concealed. A large number of cover and bunkers have been built on the firing positions, and even large tracks have been constructed at great expense and manpower. In critical situations, pack animals can be deployed to pull the positions for cover and evasion. The disadvantage is that, after all, there are blind spots when firing from under the city walls and in the city. It's not as convenient as installing the equipment on the city walls and towers... There are always areas that cannot be covered."

Hong San spoke very quickly, "But there are many such catapults, scattered throughout the city, their firing ranges overlapping to cover every battlefield; however..."

Upon hearing this, Kang De roughly understood. "However, the fact that this aircraft was damaged indicates a corresponding deficiency in the density of saturated and perfect firepower. In other words, the elves will choose to attack at the corresponding deficiencies to reduce the defenders' defensive advantage, is that right?"

Hong San nodded and said, "Sir, you are wise. That's exactly right. Besides, a thousand-mile dike can be breached by an ant hole. War is a clash between two entire systems. The fact that one of our valuable catapults has been damaged will trigger a series of reactions. If it can't be repaired quickly, things will get complicated..."

The location of catapult number five was not far from the temporary operations room. Almost all the officers present were imbued with Dou Qi, and even the weakest among them were physically strong and robust. They quickly arrived there and saw that the air was filled with the acrid smell of lightning, the embers of the scorching fire flickered and scattered, and broken flesh and blood were everywhere.

This place has clearly encountered fierce and intense firepower.

It wasn't that the elven mage stumbled upon the location by chance; rather, it was the result of meticulous calculation and preparation. They seized upon the human mage's mistake and, with lightning speed, eradicated the place.

Surrounded by dismembered limbs and corpses, the massive catapult stood silently, like a proud and powerful giant that remained standing despite suffering a heavy blow.

Even those completely ignorant of dwarven engineering could tell that the proud and powerful giant was dead, not from a limb injury, but from an internal one.

The catapult still retains a nearly intact exterior, but its internal structure has been pierced and destroyed by countless jagged stone spikes. Many parts and fragments, still bearing traces of magical energy, are scattered on the ground, and the intricate structure has been utterly ruined.

Preston stood there for a moment, then slowly exhaled.

As the commander, he shouldn't have come in person, but he wouldn't be convinced unless he saw it with his own eyes. Moreover, he needed to find out how the well-defended fire positions had been taken down.

This is the most important thing.

He said slowly, "Messenger, immediately inform the war mages and support mages at other firing positions..."

"Take the example of Catapult No. 5 being destroyed by the Rending Stone Pierce magic, which directly damaged the core magic and transmission structure of the catapult. This attack was meticulously planned; the fierce and dense bombardment of spells was merely a cover..."

His gaze swept over the surrounding corpses and the numerous shelters erected to attract and reduce the destructive power of spells, before he continued, "The real deadly attack comes from the earth... Make sure all relevant personnel are on high alert and vigilant to prevent similar casualties."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Kang De but said nothing.

Kang De remained silent.

The moment he saw the catapult, he knew he was powerless to do anything about it.

Heavy weapons from the era of cold weapons on Earth were generally not complicated, at least from the perspective of modern people. Even the extremely advanced counterweight catapults that appeared in the later period of cold weapons could be understood by a modern-educated person after looking at a few diagrams. It would only be a matter of time before they could build and debug them.

It was with this in mind that Kang De thought about whether he could be of any help. After all, the ability to Extraction enchantments was well-suited for this task, and repairing broken, simple machinery was no problem at all. He could just grab some material, stick it together, and then apply an enchantment.

But this is another world.

This catapult exudes the aura of an elite monster.

He couldn't help but think of the ballistae on the elven warships captured on the Holy Seal Archipelago. He was immediately awestruck when he saw them; these things were in no way inferior to the elven ballistae, and were even superior.

Not to mention that these various parts and fragments are daunting to look at, and they are Magic Power components that combine so-called magic and mechanical mechanics, so much so that he probably wouldn't understand them even after looking at them for a whole day.

Therefore, Kang De was powerless to help.

Moreover, it would be embarrassing for them.

Fortunately, although Preston was annoyed and frustrated, he was still rational and knew the gravity of the situation. He did not make any sarcastic remarks about Kang De. He glanced at the officers around him, who were all smart enough to understand the significance of the complete destruction of this precious catapult—although it could not shake the overall situation, it was a bad precedent.

"Cheer up, everyone!"

Preston retorted sharply, "War isn't a stage play; it doesn't follow a script! All sorts of bad things can happen. So what if a catapult is destroyed? When the mayor formulated the defense strategy, he already considered all the worst-case scenarios. All contingencies are on file, and everything is under his control! These strategic and decision-making issues are not our concern!"

"We soldiers only need to do our jobs and fulfill our missions, that's all!"

He roared, "Now that the elves have taken down this firing position, the formal siege is not far off! Everyone, it's time for us to fight a bloody battle... Return immediately and prepare for war!"

The messenger delivered the invaluable experience gained at this heavy price to the mage regiment and other fire positions, while Preston and the other officers returned to their designated battlefield.

--Just think about the fire support range of the No. 5 catapult, and calculate the weakened fire support area as a result, and you'll know where the elves will launch their attack from.

Kang De stayed behind last. He stepped forward and looked at the damaged catapult. A volley of Rending Stone Pierce through the ground directly beneath the catapult's massive base—it was the Thousand Years of Death.

This spell, long in preparation, was extremely powerful. Thick, long, and sharp stone spikes slashed out haphazardly, destroying all the internal structures of the catapult, becoming one with it, and jamming all the transmission mechanisms.

Extraction could remove the stone spikes, but that would be pointless. While the spikes would disappear without a trace, the massive catapult would collapse instantly.

He shook his head.

Let the war sorcerers and engineers from the reserve force fix it; such precise and specialized stuff should be left to the professionals.

I heard it's a high-end product made by dwarves.

-- Hopefully, the dwarves are careful enough to bury a package of oiled paper containing a full set of spare replacement parts underground near the catapult.

He turned to Hong San, who was waiting in place, and said, "Let's go, it's about to begin."

Hong San nodded solemnly.

Meanwhile, outside the city, the spirited elven infantry, fully equipped, stepped onto the battlefield. Their gleaming armor and shields reflected the sunlight, resembling rolling waves of light. With elite troops guarding them, the elven commander surveyed the battlefield from a high platform, watching the destructive radiance of the mage formation, trailing a dazzling tail of flames, crash towards the city walls.

Immediately, he said, "Give the order, Lord Ailras, to begin the siege according to the established plan."

The elven adjutant beside him bowed and said, "My lord, why not wait for the mage corps to achieve further merit? They have already destroyed a powerful catapult, weakening the ranged forces on a section of the battlefield. If we destroy one or two more catapults in the same manner, the ranged advantage will be completely ours."

The elven commander shook his head and said, "Though they are human, they should not be underestimated. In my opinion, this resisting city is controlled by a human official with an iron will. He will stop at nothing to survive, even abandoning honor and shame. This is the pathetic way humans always act—disregarding dignity for survival. This means that under his iron-fisted control, this city will defend itself with extremely high efficiency..."

"In other words, the method we used to destroy that weapon of war will soon be discovered by the enemy, and they will notify other areas to be careful in their defenses... The same method will no longer be effective."

"Let's preserve the mages' precious magical power to support our brave soldiers."

At this point, the commander looked at his adjutant and shook his head, saying, "Sir Ailras, I know what you're thinking, but war is about exchange—exchanging our own soldiers for the enemy's soldiers, in exchange for victory."

"I know that if we attack now, our soldiers will still advance under the threat of weapons of war, and casualties are inevitable. But that's how war is. We can't expect a war without casualties, just as I wouldn't fantasize about the existence of an alchemical bomb that could destroy a city and force a country to surrender... right?"

Upon hearing this, the adjutant sighed helplessly, "If the elders of the council want victory, then we must shed blood."

The commander said slowly, "Complaining is pointless, Lord Ailras. We must achieve the victory the adults desire, thereby establishing our merits, rising step by step until we enter the Council... and replace them!"

The adjutant nodded vigorously, a fanatical glint in his eyes. He took a deep breath, took down the horn, and blew it loudly. The desolate sound of the horn swept across the land and soared into the sky, heard by both friend and foe.

The next moment, the silver elf formation began to move, their ancient war cries resounding in unison.

"Prepare--"

"Prepare--"

Shouts rose and fell from the city walls—from veterans, officers, and all those who were willing to fight.

Fear, anger, and then facing war.

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PS1: Ah, I can't take it anymore, I'm stuck on this. That's all for now, time for bed.