Ironvine Territory (Seventy-Seven)

While the first Blazefire Gel was still burning, the Catapult, operated by the soldiers, had already fired six times in succession. The more than 200-meter-long log wall in front of them was completely ablaze, and the duchy soldiers behind the wall were so frightened by this terrifying weapon that they scattered and fled.

As the flames gradually died down, most of the logs had been burned through. The Catapult had chosen positions in the lower middle part of the wall. After the wall burned down and collapsed, only short wooden stakes of 30 to 40 centimeters remained, which the soldiers of the Southern Marching Legion could easily step over.

And so, after confirming that all the flames had been extinguished, Victor gave the order, and the troops, who had been eagerly awaiting command, immediately rushed out.

Only a squad of guards remained to protect Victor, while Baron Brown and his troops continued to guard the wagons loaded with Catapult and Bed Crossbow.

Knight Yellen stared intently at the carriages, the shocking scene still lingering in his mind. The wall that had seemed insurmountable had been swept away in just over ten minutes.

Of course, he wasn't the only one; even Victor's guards were all amazed, watching the soldiers who were putting away the Catapult with a mixture of surprise and envy.

The soldiers who had already charged out were proud of their formidable weaponry, their morale soaring, and they no longer took the Duchy Army seriously.

Of course, the Duchy Army was also in chaos. They had thought that with the sturdy wall protecting them, the enemy troops attacking at night could not harm them at all. But after witnessing the terrifying weapon, the Pikemen standing by the wall completely collapsed.

The archer troops behind them also fell into chaos. Some wanted to flee with the Pikemen, while others felt that such a formidable enemy was impossible to defeat and that they should surrender immediately. The officers tried to calm the troops down, but to little avail.

Once the enemy troops crossed over into the camp, and the archers saw the soldiers in black armor advancing like a forest, they completely lost control and scattered in all directions. The officers who tried to stop them with their weapons were killed by the fleeing soldiers.

However, this cannot be blamed on the duchy's soldiers. The charging force was simply too exaggerated. It was Victor's Heavy Infantry guard Orphan Brigade led by Bask. They all wore iron masks, and some soldiers deliberately drew sharp teeth on their masks, making them look like ferocious beasts.

It was just dawn, and in the darkness, these Heavy Infantry clad in black iron armor and wearing iron masks looked like ferocious beasts in armor. Having just witnessed those terrifying weapons, how could the soldiers of the Duchy Army not be afraid?

Bask stared blankly at the fleeing enemy troops, utterly bewildered, especially as the fleeing soldiers shouted things like, "The devil is here!" "It's a demon from hell!" "A fire-breathing dragon!"

Just as he was wondering if this was a trap set by the enemy to lure him in, and was about to order his troops to stop, his Military Judge, Gutierrez, overtook him and ran to the front of the column.

Seeing their beloved Military Judge rush out, the soldiers of the Orphan Brigade were naturally unwilling to be left behind, and they roared and rushed out after him.

They shouted, "Charge!" and "Kill!"

Upon hearing this, the routed ducal soldiers ran even faster, as if they would be devoured alive if they were caught by the enemy behind them even a step slower.

Seeing the enemy troops getting faster and faster, Gutierrez realized this wasn't working and shouted, "Those who surrender will not be killed, prisoners will be treated well!"

Soon, the other Orphan Brigade soldiers followed the Military Judge's example and shouted in unison:

At this moment, the Bask caught up, shouting the loudest, "Those who surrender will not be killed, prisoners will be treated well!"

Soon, some of the duchy's soldiers were too exhausted to run any further. The scene they had just witnessed and the sudden collapse of the main force had left them in a state of high tension, causing their physical strength to be depleted exceptionally quickly.

When he realized he couldn't run any further, and heard shouts behind him, he steeled himself, raised his longbow high, and knelt on the ground, shouting, "I surrender!"

After shouting, the soldiers became anxious, but the Orphan Brigade soldiers quickly overtook them as if they hadn't seen them at all.

Gutierrez paused for a brief moment and shouted to them, "Drop your weapons and assemble over there. Our troops behind you will be responsible for accepting your surrender."

After saying that, he continued to lead his troops in pursuit.

Leaving aside the incidents on the battlefield, at this point, there were no more Duchy Army in this duchy camp capable of launching a counterattack. It could be said that Victor and his men had successfully breached the inner walls of the Fourth Legion.

Victor was satisfied with the results. When the other officers asked him if he needed to split up his forces to inquire about the other two battlefields, he waved his hand and said, "No need. More lost Coalition of Nobles will catch up later, and they will naturally send troops to assist us. We will continue our advance."

The enemy camp stretches for over ten miles. As long as we completely break through this camp and find that Ursus Legion Commander, this battle will be over. Everything else is just a minor detail!

In fact, Victor was well aware that since their night raid force was far smaller than the Fourth Legion and the Hampshire Noble Army, their initial advantage was entirely due to the night raid.

At this moment, there are still a large number of well-organized enemy troops in this company, and several enemy camps have not suffered any losses. If the battle drags on and the Sun gets high, victory may not be achieved.

Just as Victor was about to order the advance to continue, Knight Yellen found him. "Viscount Victor, I apologize for disturbing you at this time, but I am simply too curious about what this Blazefire Gel is?"

Victor was surprised that Knight Yellen would ask this question directly at this time. During this period, Knight Yellen had been acting with the Southern Marching Legion and had always followed orders. He could be described as having a very military style. His current behavior was quite different from his usual self.

But when Victor saw the face of Knight Yellen, flushed red whether from excitement or the heat, he realized that Knight Yellen seemed to be younger than him. Victor smiled inwardly, thinking about the curiosity of a young man.

Victor did not answer Knight Yellen's question immediately. Instead, he ordered the army to continue advancing and launch an attack deep into the enemy camp, while ordering his guards to raise his Golden Sunflower battle flag high.

After doing all this, Victor and Knight Yellen walked forward together, with Victor explaining to Knight Yellen as they went, "You should know about gunpowder, right?"

This world also has a kind of gunpowder, but it is completely different from the black powder of the previous life, which consisted of one part sulfur, two parts saltpeter, and three parts charcoal. This gunpowder is not man-made, but comes from a plant called the Explosive Tree, making it a purely natural gunpowder.

The fruit of this plant is very large, and the seeds inside are wrapped in a thick and hard shell. When the fruit is fully ripe or when it is stimulated, the fruit will explode, with an effect similar to dynamite, scattering the seeds inside in all directions. The explosion also breaks the hard shell, making it easier for the seeds to germinate.

This plant is exceptionally terrifying. Not only do other plants avoid it, but even animals and insects dare not approach. When it explodes, the seeds it shoots out are like bullets, and even the trunk of the Explosive Tree itself will be destroyed.

However, the plant was discovered to have a use long ago. By cutting down the fruit before it was fully mature, a flammable and explosive material could be obtained from the fruit. It would explode when the temperature was high or when it was squeezed, and its power was not small, basically the same as the most refined gunpowder.

However, because the production of this gunpowder is highly dependent on manual labor, and the Explosive Tree are also scarce, the output is not very large. As a weapon, it is also very unstable, and most of the time it can only be used as a last resort.

For example, when Victor fought against Barbarians chieftain, he encountered a suicide trap.

Yellen, of course, knew about this kind of thing. He nodded, then seemed to understand something. "Could it be made of gunpowder?"

"Almost there! But I've made a lot of improvements!"

Victor initially wanted to replicate gunpowder in this world, but he had to give up because he couldn't find sulfur.

But after witnessing the power of this world's natural gunpowder, he became very curious and kept trying to analyze and replicate it.

However, after examining the gunpowder, the Flame Seed Module concluded that it contained a large amount of a mixture of magnesium and phosphorus, which explained its power and instability.

This plant is special; it can extract these elements from the soil, absorb and transform them, and generate these substances in its fruit. According to Victor's previous life's botany, this substance is the pulp of the Explosive Tree fruit.

This discovery greatly shocked Victor, who could only marvel at the wonders of this world.

But this also meant that his original plan had to fall through, because this substance was too difficult to replicate, and even with the technology of the Two Rivers Territory, it was impossible.

Moreover, even if it were possible, such unstable gunpowder would be difficult to apply.