Roland learned about the approaching large force on the morning of the next day when Lightning's routine patrol spotted the slow-moving group.
“What, more than a thousand people?” He paused, surprised. Wasn't it supposed to be a delegation of fifty?
“Um-gu,” Maisie added, “but there aren't many riding horses, only six!”
“What about the people on foot... their clothing and weapons?”
“Nothing special, most don't have armor, just ordinary linen clothes,” Lightning said, “The weapons are also all kinds, but several hundred people have short spears on their backs.”
Such a poor level of equipment, are they all conscripted civilians or serfs? Roland wondered. This era has no specialized training for militias at all. In short, they are responsible for transporting food and supplies for the knightly forces, and sometimes they can be used as cannon fodder to consume enemy arrows.
If Tiffeco wants to use force to deal with himself, he can't not know about the battle that broke out between the Longsong Stronghold and Border Town. More than two hundred knights of Duke Ryan's coalition army failed to even touch the edge of the town, let alone this group of militiamen running on their own two feet. Knowing the battle process and the result, they still want to march on the town, which can only mean they are confident of breaking through the dense firing line.
Roland couldn't help but think of the Church's pills.
He had previously speculated whether the Church was supporting Tiffeco along with himself and Garcia. If these people all have pills, the situation will be completely different.
It can make humans run at speeds close to horses in a short period of time, while not fearing pain, which means that the firing line will face the impact of more than a thousand "knights." As long as one person breaks into the ranks, it will cause casualties to the First Army.
Fortunately, the First Army is no longer the army it was two months ago.
Although only a hundred or so revolving rifles have been replaced, the density of firepower delivery has far exceeded that of flintlock troops. Especially after equipping shooters with dedicated loaders, enemies entering the 300-meter range will encounter continuous attacks. The artillery team has also been expanded after the stronghold battle, from the original four groups to the current twenty groups, each equipped with a modified twelve-pound field gun, increasing the caliber and making the effective range reach more than a thousand meters.
However, Roland thought of another question.
“Did you notice if those people on foot were wearing God's Punishment Stones?”
“I didn't dare get too close,” Lightning pointed to Maisie, “This guy can see much more clearly when she turns into an eagle.”
The latter shook her head, “Didn't see it, maybe it's hidden in the clothes, gu!”
“In that case...” Roland pondered, “Take Nightingale for another flight. Carrying only one person can give you a flight altitude of about ten meters, right? Fly along the Redwater River, with Maisie on guard in front. If you encounter passing ships, have Nightingale enter a mist state to move forward.” He looked at Nightingale, “After approaching the enemy, observe from a distance whether anyone in the main force is carrying God's Punishment Stones. Do not attack without authorization.”
“Yes.” Nightingale and Lightning said in unison.
Just as the three were about to leave, Roland stopped them, “Remember, safety is the most important thing, protect yourselves.”
“No problem,” Nightingale winked and smiled.
After the witches left, he felt a little uneasy. Was that last sentence too much like setting a flag?
And he also realized a major mistake in his work, that is, he had too weak control of intelligence on the Longsong Stronghold—if it weren't for Peiluo sending a messenger, he might have encountered the enemy attacking his door before realizing the situation. Once caught in street fighting, the First Army, which loses its firepower advantage, would find it difficult to recover the situation.
I'm still too young and too simple, Roland thought. This link must be made up for after the war, and it's not just intelligence, I should also place my own people around Peiluo.
The prince sat uneasily at the table, not in the mood to eat lunch, until Lightning carried Nightingale into the room like an elf, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Maisie flapped her wings and landed on Nightingale's shoulder, shouting, “No gu, no gu!”
“No God's Punishment Stones?”
“Most don't have them,” Nightingale took off her hood, and a head of
blonde hair fell out, “I observed from the front to the end of the line. Apart from the ten leaders, there are only three or four black voids in the militia team.”
“Very good,” Roland immediately formed a preliminary combat plan in his mind, “You must be hungry, right? Go to the dining room first, and tell the chef what you want to eat.”
“Honey-glazed roast meat, gu!” Maisie spread her wings and looked up.
*******************
Outside the east end of town.
Vanna glanced at the busy stonemasons and workers on both sides of the avenue, "What on earth are they building?"
Several hundred people first dug several large pits in the ground, and then built brick walls around the pits. He originally thought that these walls would be connected at both ends to block the road, but he didn't expect them to be built around the pits.
“Who cares, I only know there are more enemies to beat up,” Youpi said excitedly while fixing the gun carriage in place.
Indeed, Vanna thought. Since the last time they defeated the Duke's coalition, His Royal Highness the Prince personally awarded each member of the artillery team a copper badge... no, a medal. The front of the medal has a pattern of the high walls symbolizing the Longsong Stronghold, and the back is engraved with the year and battle achievements. It is very well-made and makes the musketeers envious.
And in addition to this honor, everyone was promoted by one level. Now Vanna is the captain of the artillery team, in charge of ten artillery groups. The Rodney brothers, Cat's Claw, and Youpi have been promoted to group leaders, and three of them have been transferred to the newly established groups to teach the new recruits how to operate the cannons.
The most exciting thing is that His Royal Highness the Prince fulfilled his promise. Vanna was allocated a piece of land on the east side of the town, at the foot of the Endless Mountains. Although it is currently just a forest, a stone tablet has been erected on the ground, symbolizing his right to use the land.
So when they learned that enemies wanted to invade the town, the First Army immediately boiled over, and everyone was eager to make contributions in this battle.
When dusk came, Vanna, who had finished a day of training, wiped the sweat from his forehead and leaned back on the gun carriage to rest. He had been checking among the various artillery groups all afternoon to see if the new recruits were following the firing procedures, and his throat was almost hoarse from shouting.
“Have some water,” Youpi handed over a leather bag.
“Thanks,” Vanna unscrewed the lid and drank it all in one gulp.
“I think I know what they are building,” the former curled his lips and said smugly.
“Really?” He returned the leather bag to the other party. At this time, the brick wall had been built to half a person's height, roughly enclosing the earthen pit into a hexagon. However, each wall has a narrow horizontal seam about thirty or forty centimeters above the ground, a bit like a window, but it seems a bit narrow. "It can't be a house."
"It's not wrong to say it's a house. I just asked a stonemason," Youpi nodded, "He told me that this is something His Royal Highness the Prince came up with. As long as the musketeers hide in this house that is half-buried underground to fire, they will have no worries. But it has a unique name, His Highness calls it a bunker."(。)