Chapter 155 - 146: Establishing a Foothold
Chapter 155: Chapter 146: Establishing a Foothold
It was a wolf’s howl. Unfortunately, it was daytime—and the time of day when the sun was at its most vicious. The Wolfman Light Infantry, sweltering under layers of fur and leather armor, had no intention of responding to their leader.
Eric wasn’t surprised that the howl had failed to rouse them. He’d only done it on a whim; if it failed, it failed.
"Arrows! Quick! Shields!"
"Shields!"
When the werewolves were still five or six hundred meters from the enemy’s Magic City Wall, the first volley of arrows rained down from the distance. Eric’s initial estimate was that at least two or three hundred people had fired at once.
The enemy’s aim was clever; they were arcing their shots primarily toward the most densely packed areas of werewolves.
Eric sneered. ’Good thing I came prepared.’
"Raise shields! Raise shields! Archers, counter-attack! Have the Wanderers counter-attack!" Eric commanded.
"General, we’re out of our Archers’ range at this distance," the adjutant replied awkwardly.
"Then just raise the shields! Protect the Archers! Hurry up! Where are the Wanderers? Why aren’t they here yet?" Eric said, fuming.
The adjutant didn’t reply, simply turning back to order the werewolves to raise their shields.
"Aargh!"
"My hand! Wait! Something’s wrong with these shields! They’ve been pierced!"
The first volley of arrows fell. The shields Eric had been counting on failed to do their duty. That initial barrage proved the failure of the Beastmen shield-making industry.
An arrow shot toward Eric but was deflected by his battle aura.
’Such power!’ Eric was a little shocked. The shields he had gathered were no shoddy goods. He had carefully researched them; in the entire Beastman Kingdom, only the absolute top-tier bows could pierce them!
’What’s going on?’
Puzzled, Eric picked up an arrow from the ground. As he was pondering, several loud booms echoed.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Unrestrained, the sound of four Magic Crystal Cannons firing, followed by the sound of Energy Balls resonating with the space around them!
’This is bad!’ Eric’s expression changed. ’Weren’t the Magic Crystal Cannons firing at the rear?’
Eric was in such a hurry precisely because he was afraid the enemy’s Magic Crystal Cannons would inflict too many casualties.
Eric turned his head and saw the Dwarf Heavy Infantry hiding within his own army, and his face darkened.
"Charge! Just charge straight ahead!" Eric raised his Long Sword and roared.
Four blasts from the Magic Crystal Cannons staggered their impacts across the Werewolf Corps. The Energy Balls exploded in the crowd, their superheated cores killing one group while the circular shockwaves spread out, grievously wounding nearby Werewolf Soldiers.
Four clearings were instantly blasted into the dense werewolf formation. A single cannonball had wiped out an entire section! Even the Grim Reaper couldn’t claim souls as efficiently as Robson.
Eric’s face was grim. Those few shots had caused at least a hundred direct fatalities among the werewolves, with at least 300 more wounded.
The Werewolf Corps currently on the bridge only numbered 2,000 in total. These were the elites of the Werewolf Race!
Stuck on the bridge, Eric found himself in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.
The enemy’s combination of Bow and Crossbowmen and Magic Crystal Cannons was nearly perfect. They could effectively inflict casualties from several hundred meters away with their Archers, each one shooting like a Divine Archer. If they got any closer, Eric believed their accuracy would improve dramatically.
Initially, Eric had been worried about the enemy’s arrows and had specifically equipped his army with shields. But they had been pierced with unreasonable ease. While Eric admitted the shields he’d found weren’t top quality, this was still terrifying.
If they spread out and advanced slowly, they would surely be whittled down by the enemy’s endless volleys of arrows. But if the main force charged in a dense formation, the threat of the enemy’s Magic Crystal Cannons meant they couldn’t wipe out the enemy in a single wave.
"Go and ask Young Master Aurora to come out. Have him order the Gray Dwarf Infantry Corps to abandon their armor and follow my lead. We will combine the Extraordinary forces from both our sides and charge to the other end at top speed! As long as we capture those openings, there will be nothing to stop us on the other side!" Eric ordered, looking at his adjutant.
"Yes, sir!" the adjutant nodded in agreement.
Eric immediately began gathering the Extraordinaries from his clan. In this situation, their only hope was that their combined Extraordinary power could smash through the enemy in one go. In any case, Eric was certain that his side’s Extraordinary forces were superior to those of the Human Race.
They didn’t need a huge advantage. Even with just fifty more people, they could use that advantage to eliminate the Archers on the wall. Then they would no longer have to fear the rain of arrows.
The only thing that worried Eric was whether Aurora would agree to his idea. After all, the essence of this plan was to sacrifice the lives of the Gray Dwarf Heavy Infantry. But there was no other way. The Gray Dwarves were short-legged and naturally slow.
Even for an Extraordinary, trying to cross this distance quickly while wearing several hundred pounds of armor was wishful thinking. If they couldn’t cross quickly and the enemy’s cannonballs landed in their midst, it would be another scene of flying flesh and blood.
Of course, when Eric said "abandon armor," he didn’t mean taking everything off and charging in bare-skinned. They would surely lose to the armored Extraordinaries on the other side if they did that. Beneath their outer heavy armor, the Gray Dwarves wore an inner layer of mail. This mail was made of a special material and was much more effective than the outer plate.
In truth, Eric had another option: retreat.
’Unfortunately, that’s not an option I can choose.’ As he thought this, Eric suddenly felt a pang of regret. He had cut off that stupid bear’s escape route earlier, acting too ruthlessly. Now, he was tied to General Dor’s ship for good.