Ironvine Territory (Forty)

Foss hesitated for a moment, "Viscount, wasn't the plan to keep the enemy troops occupied and not inflict too much damage?"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Just have the Catapult fire in groups of two, two shots per round, to keep the firing going."

The goal is to disrupt their Catapult, and also their Bed Crossbow. We can't let them use these weapons so recklessly. Besides, if the troops are constantly being attacked, it will affect their morale.

Unfortunately, to ensure a fast march, we didn't bring any of these heavy weapons this time, and had to use the old ones we sold to the Ironvine Territory. But they're enough to suppress the enemy."

Foss thought Marvin's point made sense, so he stopped insisting on his objection.

Meanwhile, the first wave of the Allied Army right flank had approached the camp walls. The defending archers had already set up their targets, and seeing that the enemy had reached their positions, the archer commander ordered, "Bring them in!"

"Three rounds fired simultaneously from directly in front!"

"Put!"

With a command from the commander, the archer units of the Southern Marching Legion began to unleash their power. To increase penetration, the first volley consisted entirely of heavy arrows.

With a whoosh, the arrows soared into the air, arcing through the air before landing on the right flank of the charging Coalition of Nobles.

Under the influence of gravity, these heavy arrows were so powerful and heavy that the Coalition of Nobles' exquisite rattan armor could not defend against them, and the soldiers at the forefront were shot down in droves.

Yule and his squad of soldiers also witnessed this scene from behind the wall. Yule pounded on the wall and shouted, "Brothers, did you see that?"

The enemy was wearing rattan armor, which offered no protection whatsoever. We were wearing the chainmail issued by the territory, which was far superior to their rotten wooden armor.

As long as we remain calm and follow instructions without fear, we will be able to defeat them quickly.

Moreover, if you repel this enemy attack, you will be credited with defending against the enemy, and according to the Viscount's regulations, this is a acre of Military Support Farmland."

The soldiers' expressions hardened. Most of them knew about the new military merit reward and punishment system established by Lord Viscount Victor, since the Military Judge read it to them during meals and before they went to bed.

They all knew that as long as they could achieve meritorious service, they could obtain more Military Support Farmland, making their families' lives better.

After obtaining the Unlimited Frontier-Development Edict, Victor changed the original reward policy of combining money and land grants, making land grants the primary reward. After all, for him, the cost of land was basically zero; he only needed to delineate the areas and distribute them to the soldiers and their families.

Just Yule was encouraging his soldiers, the second and third volleys of arrows fell. Because the enemy was closer to the camp, they did not use volleys, so the damage was much less.

The Allied Army soldiers charged forward despite the hail of arrows, as the arrows were much less powerful and even those in rattan armor could handle them.

Seeing this, Yule shouted loudly, "Stand!"

The soldiers, who were originally standing in two horizontal lines behind the Yule wall, immediately raised their spears, which were originally stuck diagonally, and pointed the spearheads towards the camp wall. The gaps left in the wooden planks of the camp wall were just enough to allow the spearheads to pass through.

By this time, the soldiers could see the ferocious faces of the enemy soldiers charging towards them through the gaps in the camp walls.

"Front row stab!"

The soldiers in the first rank thrust out their spears, the tips of which pierced through the wall like lightning, striking the enemy soldiers who had rushed to the wall.

"Ah!"

The enemy soldiers who were stabbed screamed in agony.

Yule's booming voice rang out again, "First row, gather; second row, thrust."

The soldiers in the first rank withdrew their spears, and the soldiers in the second rank followed suit, thrusting their spears forward. The charging enemy troops were once again met with a crushing blow.

In an instant, screams, thuds of falling to the ground, and the clash of weapons rose and fell. Stimulated by the scattered blood and the stench of blood in the air, the soldiers' movements became even more fluid.

At this time, the front half of the camp was under attack by enemy troops, and the shouts of battle drowned out the entire battlefield.

The Allied Army soldiers found that the camp's walls were extremely sturdy, impossible to breach by manpower or even with the battering rams they had prepared.

The original plan was to break through the camp's walls and send the attacking troops inside. The first wave of assaults consisted mostly of Sword-and-Shield Soldiers, but they were unexpectedly stopped at the walls.

These Allied Army soldiers became targets for the camp's defenders, who rained arrows down from within the camp and were hampered by the constant barrage of spears, making it difficult for them to advance.

On the observation deck, Marvin, Foss, and Manzo witnessed the battle unfolding on the front lines. Manzo cheered excitedly, Foss looked smug, and only Marvin remained composed, though he was also quite relaxed inside.

Foss suggested, "These guys aren't very good either. Should we hold back and not hit them too hard all at once, or they'll become too scared to attack again?"

Marvin shook his head. "The enemy only sent two or three battalions, and they were all wearing rattan armor. They were obviously not our main force, and it was just a test for us. There's no need for them to put on an act."

In the right flank, Dawan and Melendo astonished by the battle at the front. They hadn't expected to make any progress at all. The wooden walls, which they had thought were not very sturdy, had actually blocked their attack.

"Damn it, where are my ballistae? Get them to bombard the wall!"

Dawan, enraged, summoned his men and ordered them to immediately Scorpion Ballista.

Melendo quickly advised his cousin, "Dawan, our troops are still at the front. Ordering a crossbow attack now could easily injure them."

Dawan said nonchalantly, "Most of them are my troops, so even if there are friendly fire incidents, it's no problem."

Seeing Dawan Dawan's words, Melendo had no choice but to shut up. Asur did not participate in their conversation, keeping a close eye on the camp in front of him through his binoculars, searching for any possible loopholes.

A short while later, Dawan Dawan's men returned. "Your Excellency, our ballistae and Bed Crossbow have been attacked by enemy Catapult and can no longer be fired. We have to move them to a new location."

Dawan was even angrier, "Damn it!"

But he couldn't bear to part with these heavy weapons, so he had no choice but to accept his subordinates' suggestion and quickly move these precious treasures to a different location.

At this point, Asur finally spoke, "Let our troops withdraw first. It was just a probe anyway. We'll launch another attack when we're ready."

"The enemy camp is indeed very well fortified, but I have already discovered several weaknesses. The next attack will surely be successful."

Following his order to withdraw, the War Department at the front immediately abandoned their offensive and hastily retreated.

Fortunately, the battle did not last long, and most of the troops had not yet really started fighting, so the casualties were not too great. Seeing that the retreating troops still had 80% of their strength, Dawan and Melendo breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Viscount Asur's expression was very serious. Melendo curiously, "Asur, what's wrong? Why do you look so pale?"

"Something's not right. The enemy didn't retaliate and easily let our retreating troops go."

He pointed to several camp gates and said, "After receiving the retreat order, our troops were already somewhat disorganized. If they had just sent out a small number of troops to counterattack, they probably could have completely routed these troops. But they didn't move at all, and I don't know why."

Dawan thought Asur was overthinking it, "They only have so many troops, it's normal that they wouldn't dare to leave their camp to fight."

"We can't just hold our ground blindly, or the morale of the troops will suffer. Never mind, that's not important."

"Dawan, I suggest you divide your heavy weapons into multiple units. The enemy shouldn't have many Catapult. As long as we have multiple firing positions, their Catapult won't affect your precious weapons."

Dawan found the suggestion very reasonable and nodded repeatedly, "Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

Asur then pointed to the walls of the opposite camp and said, "You had these positions bombarded; they should be weak points. These will be the focus of our attack in the next round."

On the lookout tower, Foss asked Marvin, "You said they'd find those vulnerabilities you set up, will they?"

"Probably. Judging from the enemy's retreat just now, the commander on the other side is not stupid. He even prepared a support force to ambush any pursuing forces we might send."

They've probably already started preparing for the next attack. We'll see in a bit.