Chapter 115 Defense of Border Town (Part 1)

When the enemy appeared in the distance, Faner saw those knights in full armor, riding tall horses and wearing shiny armor, slowly approaching the town.一≥Novel≧≦≦≤≤≤≤≤<≤﹤Usually a knight master in the town is a high-ranking existence, but now there are nearly a hundred people coming out at once, this scene made him gasp.

Faner felt that his palms were sweating again, just like when he stood on the city wall and faced the evil beast for the first time, but this time, he was facing the same kind - the noble coalition army of Longsong Fortress.

No, he spit and pushed his thoughts aside, the same kind? When did those nobles treat you as a kind? he thought to himself mockingly. Their purpose of this trip was to snatch Border Town and bring the North Slope mining area back under the control of the fortress. What's more, they actually planned to drive His Royal Highness the prince out of the Western Region, which was simply unacceptable to all members of the First Army.

His Highness made it very clear in his pre-battle lecture yesterday that Timothy Wimbledon, His Highness's older brother, used intrigue to seek the throne and killed the old King Wimbledon III. Originally, Faner had no opinion on these matters between the royal family and the nobles—who should be the king? The Duke of Kelian wants to take this opportunity to take away His Highness's territory, which is too much.

Think about it, what was Border Town like before His Highness came here? The previous lord seemed to be an earl, and he was rarely seen. He always brought personal guards with him when he bought furs, and he often forced them to buy good goods from hunters at low prices. The first to flee when the Demon Moon came, the townspeople never bothered to ask as they suffered in the keep slums.

Today, Border Town is getting better and better under the governance of His Royal Highness, and everyone can see these changes. Fanner thought that the more miners produced, the more they were paid. After His Highness put the black machine into the north slope mine, the extra output was still counted on the miners. Whether it is building a city wall or mining gravel, the folks are paid on time. Not even a single person died of starvation and freezing this winter.

Of course the biggest change is the militia—no, the current First Army. With them guarding the town, everyone doesn't have to curl up in the cold wooden sheds of the fortress in winter, begging for a bite of food from the big men. If His Royal Highness is gone, will the Duke still allow the First Army to exist?

Faner took two deep breaths and wiped the sweat on his clothes. Of course they would not allow it. The nobles in the fortress don't care about the life and death of the townspeople. This is exactly what His Highness said: Only an army composed of the people will be willing to fight for the people.

He raised his head and looked to the left side of the sky. There was a faint black spot hovering in the distance. If he looked casually, he would think it was a huge bird. That was the firing command of the artillery team—Lightning. She used the woods on both sides of the road as cover to observe the enemy's movements from a high position. When she flew back, Fan Na also noticed that as long as she didn't take the initiative to go to the open area, the people below would only see the branches on both sides if they looked up, and it would be difficult to spot the witches investigating from above.

Lightning once flew to a closer position in front of the formation within a quarter of an hour, flashing a green ribbon.

That means that the enemy has entered the 1,000-meter preparatory shooting range. Faner still didn't know how far the "one thousand meters" His Highness said, but when he saw the green signal, he subconsciously called out the command to load and adjust the firing angle according to the regulations during the comprehensive exercise.

The four gun groups quickly completed this set of actions, the muzzle firing angle was adjusted to the third gear, and the gunpowder and solid shells were all loaded into the gun bore.

He thought that standing on the city wall and confronting evil beasts would be considered as experienced, but Faner realized today that he was still far behind Iron Ax and Brian. When the formation was assembled in the afternoon, it was difficult for his heartbeat to stabilize. And the two led their respective teams into the shooting position, not only did they look normal, he could even hear a trace of eagerness in Bryan's shouting voice. But until now, he still hasn't regained his composure, and even Brother Rodney seems to be performing better than himself. This made Fan Na a little depressed.

He licked his dry lips, looking again for the location of the lightning.

At this moment, the enemy's progress suddenly slowed down a lot.

"What are they doing?" Rodney asked.

"I don't know." Cat's Claw stared and looked around. "It seems to be adjusting the formation? Their people look a little messy."

"They are waiting for the troops behind," Youpi's voice trembled, "Master Knight can't fight alone, there must be a large number of people behind them."

"You know all this?" Nelson pouted.

"I've seen it! A knight master will bring at least two followers, and a dozen serfs will carry food and grass for them," he counted with his fingers, "Look, a fortress duke has at least a hundred men. A knight, right? There are at least 300 people who can fight on horseback alone. In addition to the earls and viscounts in the territory...there are even more! There are also mercenaries. Don't blink! We only have 300 people in total."

There are less than 300 people, Fan Na corrected in his heart. There are only more than 270 people in the Musketeers equipped with weapons. According to His Highness, this is called insufficient production capacity. Those without guns were now assigned to the artillery crew, carrying ammunition for the four guns. But seeing that there were others who performed worse than himself, he felt a little better.

"That's the mercenaries, they're here!" Youpi whispered.

Fana picked up a look, and saw a group of guys dressed in all kinds of clothes gradually occupying the front of the battlefield. They didn't ride horses or line up, but gathered in twos and threes towards the middle of the field. The knights spread out to the sides, as if they were making room for the mercenaries. Compared with half a quarter of an hour ago, the Duke's coalition army was much closer to him.

At this time, a knight galloped out from the coalition army and rushed towards Border Town. Fan'er's heart tightened, and he almost called out the command to fire.

What is this for? He raised his head, but still did not see the lightning, while the opponent was getting closer, and at the same time waved a white flag.

"He is an envoy sent by the Duke," Youpi muttered, "he should be here to persuade him to surrender."

"That's none of our business." Rodney squatted behind the cannon, and aligned his gaze with the centerline of the barrel. "Captain, the cannon needs to be adjusted. Most of the knights have already left the field."

During the previous live ammunition exercises, they were repeatedly taught that the attack range of the artillery is on the straight line in front of the muzzle, so in order to hit the target, the target must overlap the centerline of the barrel. The five of them turned the cannon carriage slightly together until the cavalry troops at the forefront of the coalition forces were brought into the direction pointed by the cannon.

The envoy who came alone was immediately escorted behind the line of defense by Lord Carter, but Faner knew that the Duke's move was just a waste of time, and His Royal Highness would never agree to surrender.

Suddenly, lightning suddenly flew towards the town's defense line, her arms waved, and the yellow ribbon in her hand fluttered in the wind.

——The yellow signal means that the opponent has entered the range of 800 meters. Within this distance, the solid bullets of the artillery have a chance to hit the target. As long as the captain of the artillery team did not signal the prohibition of firing, the artillery groups were free to fire.

The team members also noticed this signal, and everyone turned their attention to Faner, who nodded and took a deep breath, "Fire!" (To be continued.)