Chapter 1644: Chapter 85: A Fierce Battle Amid Flying Dust
“Pass down the orders, have the cooking division start fires and prepare meals immediately!”
The enemy has delivered themselves to our doorstep; not reacting would be inexcusable.
Long marches are extremely exhausting, and with the Demonic Crocodile Army coming from afar, they are at their most physically and mentally exhausted.
Striking while the enemy is unsteady on their feet is undoubtedly the best choice.
Time passed by the minute and second, and as the sky gradually brightened, the army majestically marched out of the camp under the first light of dawn.
The imposing march quickly drew the enemy’s attention, but by this point, it no longer mattered.
Since Hudson started his career, he has been through hundreds of battles, yet the times he’s commanded a full-scale frontal army corps battle have been few and far between.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to win honorably, it’s just that his own capabilities are limited, and such opportunities are scarce.
Glancing at the surrounding mounds of earth around the enemy’s camp and the rows of wooden stakes in front, Hudson couldn’t help but smile.
The pitfalls and horse-blocking stakes were all prepared, especially with added traps in the pitfalls; once a war horse falls in, it won’t emerge unscathed.
It’s evident that the enemy hasn’t been idle lately.
However, their learning is clearly inadequate; pits in all directions can indeed hinder cavalry charges but also complicate their own troop movements.
“Pass down the orders, have the artillery immediately get into position and target segmental firing at the enemy camp!”
Charging a fortified camp with cavalry when the enemy is prepared is something only a foolish general would do.
With Hudson’s orders, the thunderous roar of the Magic Crystal Cannons instantly echoed across the heavens and earth.
The most distinguishable King Flag became the first casualty under the dense artillery bombardment.
The two guards in front of him, one lost half a head, and the other half a body, splattering the Demonic Crocodile King’s face with blood.
Witnessing this, the Demonic Crocodile King was infuriated beyond measure; just a little misstep and he would’ve been taken along. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveI-Fire.ɴet
It has been proven that placing the King Flag near one’s own tent incurs a heavy price.
“Artillery, immediate counterattack!”
After swiftly leaving the tent, the Demonic Crocodile King ordered with lingering fear.
Amidst the panic, there was even more relief.
Fortunately, for the sake of attacking cities, a batch of Magic Crystal Cannons was purchased at a high price from the Stone People Race. Otherwise, today they would’ve been at a disadvantage, just taking hits.
At this moment, he suddenly understood why the old rival, the Giant Centipede, was utterly defeated by the Human Race.
Without the power to counterattack and being purely passive, even the most elite troops can’t withstand it!
The artillery battle initiated, creating another first on the continent.
Since the inception of the Magic Crystal Cannon, everyone saw its role as sieging and defending cities.
It wasn’t that no generals used Magic Crystal Cannons in field battles, but in the past, it was just a few cannons being tested.
The power was indeed considerable, but before they gathered, a few Magic Crystal Cannons alone had too little impact on a battle.
Moreover, early Magic Crystal Cannons were cumbersome, each heavier than the last.
The few-ton cannons were a relatively recent development in the past few decades, and the invention of ten-plus-ton cannons is less than a century-old—transporting earlier Magic Crystal Cannons was a logistical nightmare.
Often, before the cannons reached the frontline, the battle was already over.
After multiple failed attempts, generals from various races who are accustomed to learning from predecessors’ experiences put the Magic Crystal Cannons on the field battle blacklist.
The possibility of a Magic Crystal Cannon duel arose primarily because the Demonic Crocodile Clan lacked experience in using them, subsequently not being shackled by past failures.
Fortune and misfortune often come together.
The lack of experience led them to invest heavily in transporting the cumbersome cannons, gaining the ability to counterattack.
But the same lack of experience made them fall into difficulty as soon as the artillery battle began.
The Allied Human Army’s Magic Crystal Cannons, once fired, create significant gaps, whereas the Demonic Crocodile artillery fires in a scattered manner.
Not only is the visual disparity massive, but the hit rate is also disappointingly low.
The Demonic Crocodiles operating the Magic Crystal Cannons merely fired the shells, uncaring of the target—aiming and such were all based on experience.
And they just happen to be lacking the experience!
A bunch of rookie artillerymen, on duty for less than two months, know only how to load and fire, without any systematic training.
Worse still, most of the Magic Crystal Cannons in the Demonic Crocodile army are antiques handed down countless generations, requiring the entire cannon to be moved to adjust the muzzle.
“Marshal Kent, what is the meaning of this?”
The Demonic Crocodile King angrily questioned.
Both being artillery, the disparity between the two sides was as vast as heaven and earth.
With a single round of enemy artillery fire, a significant portion of their forces suffered casualties.
When it was their artillery’s turn to powerfully counterattack, it was as if setting off firecrackers; the noise was significant, but success relied entirely on luck.
To say nothing of accurately targeting, managing to land a shell among the enemy ranks classified one as an “excellent Demonic Crocodile artilleryman.”
“Your Majesty, it’s all because that Stone People Race held back, not teaching us the essence of using Magic Crystal Cannons.
Relying on soldiers to figure it out themselves; it’s inevitable for there to be technical shortcomings as they’ve only recently been introduced to the Magic Crystal Cannons!”
Marshal Kent replied with a face full of rage.
In his view, the current tragedy was entirely due to the Stone People Race’s deception.
Selling them a heap of junk was barely acceptable, but burying a major setback during the technical handover was insidious.
If they had known earlier that Magic Crystal Cannons needed concentrated use with segmented firing, they wouldn’t have scattered the cannons across different units.