The Fall of Silver Maple City, Part One

The sun blazed fiercely above Silver Maple City, its heat unbearable, as if it were melting the earth.

Outside this city, the Northern Alliance Army converged like an iron torrent. Their banners fluttered, drums blared, and tens of thousands of soldiers stood in perfect formation, forming a massive army that resembled an impregnable fortress, exuding a chilling aura.

These troops were fully armed, with swords and spears standing ready, gleaming coldly, waiting only for a command to launch a fierce attack on the city walls.

The War Department, who had been standing ready and in high spirits on the city wall, were now in complete disarray, like a swarm of bees disturbed. They completely disregarded the enemy troops watching them from outside the city and rushed to flee down the city wall to avoid danger.

Dozens of massive counterweight Catapult stood like behemoths in the attacking camp, their thick, menacing arms swinging incessantly. Each swing was accompanied by a dull thud and an arc that pierced the sky—these were the deadly stone projectiles!

These enormous objects, weighing hundreds of kilograms, spewed out of the Catapult at astonishing speeds, raining down on the city walls and various parts of the city.

The entire city was plunged into chaos and panic: the city walls trembled violently, bricks and stones flew everywhere; houses hit by the falling debris collapsed instantly, and dust filled the air; innocent civilians fled in all directions, their cries echoing throughout the city...

Just then, another enormous stone projectile struck a crenellation above the city wall.

With a deafening roar, the sturdy low wall was instantly breached!

Countless rubble and debris scattered in all directions, forming a powerful shockwave that swept across the area. A group of soldiers guarding the city behind the low wall were caught off guard and were swept away like kites with broken strings, before crashing heavily to the ground.

Their bodies traced eerie arcs through the air before crashing to the ground with a series of chilling, agonizing screams.

These gruesome and horrifying scenes intensified the fear and panic among the already terrified soldiers. Their eyes widened in terror as they stared towards the city gates, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, behind the Catapult positions, Victor stood quietly atop a tall watchtower. Holding an exquisite telescope, his gaze, sharp as a hawk's, was fixed on the distant city walls.

After the harrowing Battle of Sextus County, he assumed the command of the Northern Alliance Army.

Immediately afterwards, he threw himself into the intense and busy work—spending a whole week clearing the battlefield.

After the cleanup was completed, he did not delay. He led his large army and many prisoners of war south along the Blackwater River, heading straight for Blackwater City, allowing the exhausted soldiers to rest.

At the same time, a series of shocking news, such as the Duchy's army suffering a crushing defeat and Grand Duke Mora's tragic self-immolation, spread rapidly like wildfire, sweeping across the entire Grand Duchy with lightning speed.

Suddenly, the once turbulent Eastern Region, plagued by frequent noble Rebellion, seemed to have been magically transformed into a peaceful and tranquil place.

Moreover, even the nobles of Cornwall County and the independent nobles of Hampshire in the south felt unprecedented pressure.

Knowing that the situation was hopeless, they immediately dispatched messengers to Blackwater City, eager to meet Victor and express their willingness to surrender to the Northern Alliance Army.

Victor accepted their request without hesitation and issued an order requiring the nobles of the Eastern Region and Southern Region to quickly dispatch their respective military forces and assemble in Blackwater City within the next two weeks.

After this battle, it is no exaggeration to say that the eastern and southern regions of the Grand Duchy underwent tremendous changes—those loyal nobles who had once steadfastly supported the rule of the Grand Duchy turned against it!

However, faced with such a complex and ever-changing situation, Victor was not blinded by his emotions and acted rashly; on the contrary, after careful consideration, he resolutely decided to first carry out a comprehensive reorganization and restructuring of the army under his command in Blackwater City.

With the arrival of the nobles' armies from both regions, Victor's army was also fully reorganized.

Thus, Victor gathered 60,000 troops from the nobles of the two regions, adding them to his existing forces, totaling 130,000 troops, which he claimed to number 200,000, and directly entered the Central Region.

After more than a month of fighting, Victor led his elite troops across the land, sweeping through everything in their path!

Notting County, Lincoln County, Derby County, and York County, among other places, fell to its powerful military force.

By this point, except for Milan County, all the other counties in the central region had been raised with the flags of the Northern Alliance Army.

It wasn't until autumn that Victor decided to enter Milan County and launch a full-scale attack on Silver Maple City.

It is worth mentioning that although Silver Maple City currently has many supporters who originally belonged to the Ducal House, the actual number of troops available for deployment in the war is quite limited.

The reason is simple: just as Victor was sweeping across the entire central region, he had dispatched a large number of his Cavalry legions to suppress the ducal armed forces that were attempting to flee to Milan County.

This led to a situation where a large number of displaced refugees flooded into Silver Maple City, while at the same time, the number of regular troops available for combat in the city was pitifully small.

Let alone organizing effective defensive fortifications to resist enemy attacks, even maintaining order within the city is difficult.

It wasn't until Victor personally led his army to arrive and complete the siege of Silver Maple City that the ducal officials in the city suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly took action, doing their utmost to select some of the stronger men from the swarming refugees to serve as temporary militiamen to assist in the defense of the city.

It could be said that this city was at its weakest point since its founding, but Victor remained very cautious and would not underestimate the enemy.

The siege had lasted for more than a week, but Victor remained inactive, never sending a single soldier to attack the seemingly impregnable city.

All of this was not without reason; Victor had been waiting for the right moment—waiting for his Logistics Department unit to deliver a critical shipment of weapons and equipment to the front lines.

Finally, when the massive fleet arrived, Victor breathed a sigh of relief. For this fleet consisted of counterweight trebuchets manufactured by the Mesopotamian arsenal!

Vic knew full well that the fortified castle before him was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Vera.

Its city walls were not only tall and majestic, but also incredibly thick, making it no easy task to conquer.

But the situation is now different: no reinforcements are coming from outside the city to support the defenders inside; and the city's forces are sparse and its defenses are relatively weak. It can be said that now is the best opportunity to breach the city!

However, Victor was also well aware that if he relied solely on a direct assault to conquer the city, his troops would suffer heavy losses and massive casualties.

Therefore, after careful consideration, he resolutely decided to adopt a more stable, reliable, and safer siege strategy.

In reality, these Catapult were merely used to probe and distract the soldiers guarding the city walls.

After all, even the tallest and most powerful Catapult is not a proper Artillery; stone projectiles cannot destroy a city wall made of rammed earth on the inside and Bluestone on the outside.

Before deploying these Catapult, Victor had foreseen that the actual effect of using Catapult might not be particularly ideal; however, when he witnessed the scene before him, Victor was still somewhat disappointed.

Since the attack began at dawn until this very moment, the Catapult team has continuously fired hundreds of stone projectiles, creating a truly terrifying spectacle!

But in reality, they were utterly ineffective against this incredibly sturdy city wall, like scratching an itch through a boot!

Only those stone projectiles that hit the top of the city wall could inflict any real damage or destruction on the enemy troops holding the top.

Most of the stones hit the outer walls of the city or fell inside, injuring far more residents than the soldiers defending the city.

"Without real gunpowder and Artillery, it would indeed be very difficult to take this city!"

"We've already fired almost half of the stones, which is like tickling the city wall. Even if we fire all the stones, it probably won't have much effect, and more innocent civilians will be harmed!"

Victor thought for a moment, then immediately ordered the Catapult to stop firing!

The various units thought Victor was about to launch an attack, and they all sent people to volunteer for the battle.

"Please be patient, everyone. We'll see the outcome soon!"