Chapter 153 - 145: When Magic Crystal Cannons Meet Heavy Infantry
Chapter 153: Chapter 145: When Magic Crystal Cannons Meet Heavy Infantry
Orot was bellowing at his corps. To avoid the intense shelling, he had deliberately separated his unit from the main werewolf force.
The Magic Crystal Gunners had limited vision, so their shelling could only be aimed at a general area.
Of course, human armies often deployed griffins to assist the Magic Crystal Gunners, but Orot hadn’t spotted any in the sky. Besides, even griffins could only provide a general location.
This was also why human armies rarely used Magic Crystal Cannons in field battles. In fact, the use of Magic Crystal Cannons in open warfare was unheard of to Orot.
After all, mortal Magic Crystal Gunners couldn’t see specific targets. To spot something four or five kilometers away, you needed the vision of at least a Silver Knight.
However, advancing to the rank of Bronze Knight required special breathing techniques, supplemented by specialized Magic Potions.
This was also why, no matter how relentlessly Robson trained his Soldiers, he couldn’t turn them into Extraordinaries. Barring some truly impeccable genius, it was impossible to become an Extraordinary without external intervention.
Unfortunately, the relevant Magic Potions were all controlled by the great noble families. Of course, as far as Robson knew, Falan could also make these things, but his list of magical ingredients needed to be updated to the present day. After all, it had been a long time.
These efforts would still require Robson’s support. Of course, in the future, they might be able to just take what they needed directly from the Fengman Clan.
But Robson still hoped they could rely on Falan to develop them. After all, Falan’s Magic Potions were unlike ordinary ones; his understanding of Magic had always been uniquely versatile.
In other words, Falan might be able to develop Magic Potions that even commoners could use.
These costs were what made becoming an Extraordinary so expensive. A Silver-rank Extraordinary would never be assigned to a Magic Crystal Cannon, as the weapon could be operated by mortals and Extraordinaries alike.
So Orot planned to put some distance between his unit and the main army, making them appear to be a smaller target in hopes of avoiding the enemy’s concentrated cannon fire.
Orot’s reasoning was sound. Until now, the Magic Crystal Cannons had primarily targeted the most crowded areas or the weakest point in the middle of the bridge.
But unfortunately for him, that was then, and this was now.
Previously, Robson hadn’t taken personal command, so the gunners were just firing at will. From kilometers away, the enemy looked like nothing more than a dark, shifting mass. Hitting the bridge at all was a testament to the effectiveness of the high-ranking Magic Crystal Cannon Teams.
But Robson had held back for a reason: he wanted to catch the enemy completely by surprise.
After the last battle defending Qimo Fortress, Robson had all but annihilated their officer corps. Plenty of troops had fled, but they had no idea what had actually happened that night.
Furthermore, the Beast Emperor had recently performed a major restructuring of General Dor’s forces, and that unit had been reassigned...
Orot heard the thundering report of a Magic Crystal Cannon. As a Silver-rank Extraordinary, he was extremely sensitive to such sounds, and he had studied these weapons in detail.
As the projectile arced through the sky, it began to react mid-air, letting out an intense hum. Orot instantly knew—this shot was coming for him.
’Damn it! These humans are so unprofessional!’
Orot cursed.
He didn’t think the enemy was actually targeting him. He assumed the shell had been intended for the Gnoll unit in front of him, but an operational error had sent it flying toward his position instead.
After all, the Gnolls up ahead were so densely packed. It made no sense for the enemy to target him instead of that much larger formation.
’They can’t possibly tell we’re the elite unit from thousands of meters away, can they?’
That would be terrifying. At least, Orot knew he couldn’t do it with his own Silver-rank abilities.
"Spread out! Get down!" Orot commanded the hundreds of Warriors behind him. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret, as this one blast would kill a dozen or more of his Heavy Infantry at the very least.
Seeing the projectile about to hit, the Gray Dwarf Heavy Infantry, as professional soldiers trained from childhood, reacted immediately.
Unfortunately, being Heavy Infantry, their armor proved somewhat cumbersome. When the projectile smashed down, four or five men were hit directly. Orot clicked his tongue in annoyance, then quickly reorganized the unit to resume their advance.
Just as the troops restored order, Orot suddenly heard another whistling sound ripping through the air. When he looked up, the sky had turned into a cerulean canvas. Four fluorescent Magic Crystal Energy Balls were hurtling through the air, and at least three of them were heading straight for his unit.
"Shit..." Orot stared blankly at the Magic Crystal Balls in the sky. His mind went blank, and his hammer fell from his grasp. Even through his full suit of iron armor, Orot could feel the terrifying energy fluctuations rolling off the incoming projectiles.
"No! Spread out! Spread out! Disperse! Quickly, merge with the Werewolf formation ahead!" Orot shouted, snapping out of his stupor. He didn’t even bother to pick up his hammer, just screamed at the Gray Dwarf Heavy Infantry behind him.
As he yelled, Orot himself sprinted toward the Werewolf Corps. The enemy clearly had a way to lock onto his unit’s position. Since that was the case, Orot wasn’t foolish enough to keep his men clustered together to be pummeled by Magic Crystal Cannons.
Even a Gold-rank expert would give Magic Crystal Cannons a wide berth.
Orot certainly didn’t think he was durable enough to tank a hit from a Magic Crystal Cannon. As for disbanding the Infantry Corps...
Once the Infantry Corps was disbanded, its overall effectiveness would be severely limited, but limited was better than a total loss. By dispersing, they would at least add several hundred individual Gray Dwarf warriors to the battlefield. If they remained clustered together, they would just be waiting for the iron fist of the Magic Crystal Cannons.
The Gray Dwarves Infantry Corps had yet to fully react when three of the projectiles slammed into the center of their formation. The Energy Balls instantly sent out ripples upon contact with the ground, which then converged to create a secondary explosion—a signature feature of the Tilia Kingdom’s Magic Crystal Cannons.
The three projectiles were perfectly accurate, all of them detonating right in the middle of the clustered Gray Dwarves Heavy Infantry Corps. The formation immediately erupted in agonizing screams, and hearing them, Orot could only sigh.
His men had taken a solid hit from that four-shell volley. The death toll was probably at least fifty, not counting those who were seriously wounded and in need of recovery. In a single blow, this war had already cost him over a hundred men.
Orot didn’t even have time to feel sad. Suddenly, the roar of the cannons sounded again. His face changed in an instant, twisting with a look of pure misery, like a man suffering from constipation. A nameless fury he couldn’t unleash began to burn in his heart.
"They’re firing again?! Spread out! Everyone, spread out!" Orot threw his arms wide as he commanded the Gray Dwarves Heavy Infantry Corps.
The moment the order was given, Orot shot off like a gopher, darting into the werewolf formation without a single look back. Compared to his troops, Orot valued his own life far more.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he was in public and couldn’t do anything too drastic, Orot would have ripped off his armor and jumped right into the river.
Orot had never gone to the academy in the Beastman Capital City of Madar for advanced studies, but back in his hometown, he had acquired a whole set of practical skills.
Great rivers, things that flew in the sky, things that swam in the water—there was nothing Orot couldn’t handle.
The Gray Dwarves Heavy Infantry Corps reacted immediately. Breaking into groups of three, they began to flow like small streams into the great river of the Werewolf Corps.
Regrettably, the Heavy Infantry Corps was at a natural disadvantage when it came to speed, and Gray Dwarves were a slow-witted people. Robson’s next volley still caught them squarely.