Chapter 403: Apa Besieges the City, Artillery Fire Roars

February begins with clear skies, shallow streams, and gentle wind. The bright sunshine falls on the Apa Plain, bringing hope of life to the fertile wilderness. The warm wind blows through the mountain forest, and fresh new shoots emerge from the tall treetops. In the southern rivers, young salmon hatch from their eggs and play in the freshwater rivers. And when they grow up enough, they will swim back to the western ocean and start a new cycle of life.

Changfeng moved all the way east until it reached the foot of Appachingan City. The scene full of vitality suddenly disappeared, leaving only solid killing and destruction. Looking around, the surrounding farmland is withered and yellow, the villages are withered, the trees are cut down, and the wild animals have fled. The fortified Apatchingan military city has been trapped in despair for nearly three months.

In these three months, the red-haired army moved as fast as the wind, plundered, ambushed and then left; the pike army was as solid as a mountain, established a siege camp, and then divided half to go west. Then the Black Wolf's royal flag arrived, and the Imperial Guard army spread out violently, bringing with it the thunder of destruction.

At this moment, Black Wolf's royal flag stands in the south of the military city, symbolizing the location of the king. More than 10,000 warriors of the royal army were full of killings and surrounded the entire military city, leaving no chance of life. The besieged kingdom's military camps are rolling up and down, blocking the broken terrain of the north and east, and occupying the flat terrain of the west and south.

Apatchingan Military City is built on the mountain, and the terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack. To the north of the military city are steep mountains, to the east are rolling hills, and to the west and south are fertile wilderness.

The fortress-like military city was six meters high. Below the city were hundreds of fallen corpses, and above the city stood thousands of demoralized militiamen. Next to the militiamen were unused stones, wood blocks and lime jars. The rocky city wall is full of pits and gaps, as well as blackened by the fire. Even the wind was filled with the smell of gunpowder smoke.

"boom!"

A terrifying thunder suddenly exploded outside Nancheng! Then, a two-pound stone bullet spun, flew over a distance of more than 200 steps, and bombarded the stone wall of the military city under the horrified eyes of the militiamen at the top of the city. In an instant, the stone bullets fell, stone fragments flew away, a shallow notch was made in the stone wall, and the surrounding walls shook slightly.

Wearing bronze armor and leading hundreds of personal guards, Shulot stood outside the camp in the south of the city, watching the bombardment of the 2-pound Condor Cannon.

A hundred steps in front of him, ten condor cannons were lined up. The muzzle of the Condor Cannon faced the city of Apatchingan, which was more than 200 steps away. The barrel of the gun was reinforced and supported by a copper-wood frame, and the tail of the gun was pressed against the ground. Dozens of gunners were busy around the cannon, while thousands of janitor warriors were guarding the surrounding area. The ten condor cannons are like the bronze beast of death, constantly making terrible calls. And if the militiamen in the military city dare to attack, their lives will be harvested by the long-awaited armored warriors.

"boom!"

There was another loud roar. Along with the smoke from the muzzle, a stone bullet shot out, passed over the militia at the top of the city, and fell into the mountain city, hitting a simple wooden house in the middle. The wooden house made a "bang" sound, and a large amount of wood chips and thatch flew out. Then, the roof cracked, the beams broke, and the simple wooden house suddenly collapsed, half of it collapsed. Several civilians in the city howled wildly and ran out of the wooden houses, praying randomly to the gods.

"Yes, Not Bad."

Seeing this, Shulot smiled and nodded. The 2-pounder Condor Cannon cannot cause effective damage to rock walls, but it has sufficient lethality against wooden buildings. And if accuracy is not required, the 2-pound Condor Cannon can shoot two miles and hit most buildings in the entire mountain city.

"Damn it, keep your sights straight! His Highness is watching personally!"

Two guns missed, and the artillery battalion commander Tupa's face turned red and he roared in a low voice. His fierce gaze swept across the gunners, and everyone was shocked.

"let me!"

Senior gunner Vaidika shouted and walked directly to the third condor gun waiting to be fired. Seeing that it was him coming, the gunner of the third gun moved out of the way.

Vadika was born in the Mexica Temple Guard. He was once an excellent longbowman, and then he was transferred to the Crossbow Team and became an excellent crossbowman. He has always been good at shooting, especially from long range, and has a recognized title, "Eagle Eye".

When the wooden cannon battalion was established, he became the first gunner. It's just that the wooden cannon cannot control the accuracy at all, and his title of Hawkeye cannot be used. It wasn't until the Condor Cannon came into use that he truly became an outstanding gunner.

Eagle Eye Vaidika squinted his eyes and used the simple indexer on the condor cannon to take aim. This is the aiming device added after His Highness Shenqi's prompt, which is roughly the same as the Wangshan on the crossbow. Vaidika is familiar with crossbows, and controlling this condor cannon is like controlling a huge crossbow.

"A little higher! A little higher! A little lower! It's almost there! Stop!!"

Following Vaidika's call, seven or eight gunners worked together to raise or lower the tail of the artillery. The Condor Cannon had just been cast, and a lifting device that could easily adjust its height had not yet been invented. Now if you want to adjust the shooting angle, you need to dig a hole at the rear of the gun mount to lower it, raise the stepping stones, or use similar clumsy methods under the wheels.

"God bless you!"

Hawkeye Vaidika stretched out his arm, opened and closed his eyes back and forth, and gestured at the distance and angle. It felt like it should be about the same. He prayed silently and then shouted loudly.

"ignition!"

The gunner lit the fuse of the fire door, and then many gunners covered their ears and squatted on both sides of the gun body.

"boom!!"

A huge thunder exploded suddenly, causing everyone's eardrums to hurt. A heavy stone bullet was shot out with a "boom", roaring towards the city head with unparalleled power! Its speed was so fast that the militiamen at the top of the city only had time to howl in fear before they were hit by precise stone bullets!

"Bah!"

In an instant, bright red was flying and the body was torn apart! At such a close distance, the stone bullets could not resist at all. They ran over the bodies of the militiamen, leaving a bloody trace several meters long, and then hit the city head. Two or three militiamen at the top of the city died on the spot, and their bodies were stuck together and could not be separated at all.

"Okay! The shot was accurate!"

Shulot exclaimed in admiration. The 2-pound Condor Cannon fires solid stone bullets, and its power is reflected in its precise shooting at long distances. When the gunners can achieve sufficient accuracy, they can carry out decapitation tactics in the battle formation, or bombard a weak point on the city wall at a fixed point, thereby defeating the enemy and breaking the city!

"Let him change the cannon and shoot again! If he can still hit the target, I will reward him heavily!"

The king's orders were passed forward. Hawkeye Vaidika suddenly turned red with excitement. Your Highness has always kept his word, and if he says he will give a generous reward, he will be rewarded generously. He spat twice, rubbed his hands together, and then continued to adjust the fourth cannon.

".Okay! Okay! Stop! Fire up!"

"boom!!"

After a few breaths, the thunder exploded again, and the stone bullets let out a roar of death and hit another city head! This time, the 2-pound stone bullet hit the wooden shield erected at the top of the city and shattered the shield into pieces.

"Crack!"

Countless wood chips flew in an instant, like flying blades, injuring more than a dozen civilian militiamen. The militiamen howled hysterically, rushed down the city in panic, and even jumped off the city wall. Soon, the supervising team under the city killed several people and drove the militiamen back to the city again.

"Good, excellent!"

Shulot laughed with satisfaction. If you can hit it twice in a row, you are not fooling around, but you have real experience. He immediately waved his hand to summon his personal guards and announced the reward.

"Reward the gunner who operates the artillery generously! Reward ten pieces of cloth, two bags of cocoa, and ten gems! The warrior level will be promoted by two levels. If he is a senior warrior, he will be promoted to a military noble! Let him serve as the centurion of the artillery battalion and summarize the shooting. The experience is passed on to the whole army!”

The generous bounty was announced to the artillery camp, and the gunners' eyes suddenly turned red. But a quarter of an hour of accurate shooting is worth several years of fighting!

Hawkeye Vaidika knelt down in the direction of His Highness, kowtowed repeatedly, and trembled with excitement. He has been in the army for many years and is already a senior warrior. This time he was promoted to a military noble, completing a crucial class breakthrough and becoming a member of the nobles!

Seeing this scene, Shulot smiled and nodded. The artillery battalion has not been established for a long time, and there are too many places that need to be explored and improved. Therefore, he wants to set such an example and inspire the gunners to work hard.

"Boom!. Boom! Boom!"

The condor cannons were fired one after another, constantly bombarding the defenders of Nancheng. Every half-quarter of an hour, a stone bullet was fired, either shaking the city wall, blasting into the city, or hitting the top of the city, creating a new round of panic. After days of bombardment, the morale of the defenders at the top of the city had already hit rock bottom. The militiamen all looked pale, their limbs were stiff, and their expressions were numb. Only the supervising team hidden behind the city wall can still maintain a resolute fighting spirit.

Xiulote looked at it for a long time, smiled slightly, and felt confident. The city of Apa in front of us has been besieged until today. It is already a ripe fruit and will fall at any time. The city's defenders were hopelessly trapped beasts, held on by the vague hope that the Turks would come to their aid as their last breath. As long as thousands of elite guards attack vigorously and pay hundreds of casualties, they can enter the city in less than two days.

"Black Wolf's three thousand elites broke into the enemy's rear in the mountains and looted wantonly. The Tekos coalition retreated northward in panic, unable to protect itself. Ezpan led his army to pursue and eradicate the enemy. The Palm Family in the city has long since lost any chance."

Thinking of this, Shulot smiled and shook his head. He somewhat blamed Hei Lang for his recklessness. As a general, he always liked to take risks. But in his heart, he greatly appreciated this generous spirit of hard work, and even envied it. Because he is the king who rules millions of people and has a heavy responsibility. He has already lost any chance of taking risks and fighting.

"Apa City is at your fingertips, so there's no rush. It's just a good time to use this strong military city to let the newly built artillery team have a good practice and become familiar with the tactics of condor cannon siege."

Shulot smiled confidently, and memories of several months flooded into his mind. At this point in the Southern Expedition, the overall situation has been decided. Although there are some twists and turns, it is generally within the plan.