Imperial Crown

No one knows what Raven talked about with Anthony, Thomas and Tyrone.

In short, after the meeting, the war will continue.

After resting in Monen City for 3 days, Raven led the Eagle Army to set off again.

There is still about 150 kilometers to the Sigh Wall. The supply line is not short, but it is all in the Nordic territory, so Raven did not wait for the logistics troops of the Northwest Five Counties.

Outside the city, only Hyde came to see him off.

"Do you want to fight Eivor with me?" Raven invited.

As a member of the Slater family, although Hyde's personal strength is only the second level at present, the soldiers under his command are also elite, not comparable to the miscellaneous soldiers of the Northwest Five Counties.

If he really joins, it will also be a help for Raven, and he can also get support from the Slater family.

Hyde also knows that since his father does not stop him from appearing here, it means that he is allowed to follow Raven.

But he still shook his head: "Forget it, I'm getting married next month, why should I join you now."

Then he joked: "And I'm a viscount, if you give me the command, then I can still consider it."

Raven picked up his whip and handed it to him: "The 2nd Legion is up to you, come?"

Hyde's heart was pounding, and he stretched out his hand, but just as he was about to touch the whip, he retracted it:

"Forget it, you know your own ability, I'm not that kind of material."

In the battle of the Death Hand Cult, Hyde led the elite of his family and had the help of a third-level magician, but in terms of military exploits, he was still weaker than Raven, who had only dozens of soldiers at the time.

From then on, he realized that he had no talent for war.

Although he had a good personal relationship with Raven, he didn't think Raven could really succeed.

"I won't keep you any longer." Hyde gently patted Raven's shoulder: "If it doesn't work, come back honestly. Save your life first."

"I can't die." Raven also patted his shoulder: "But you, don't regret it in the future."

After saying that, he turned his horse's head and rushed to the front of the team.

Looking at Raven's gradually receding back, Hyde felt an impulse in his heart. He wanted to urge his mount several times, but he finally held back.

In the next few days, the Eagle Army, which had thrown off its burden, started a rapid march, advancing at a speed of 40 kilometers a day, but it arrived outside the Sighing Wall in just 4 days.

In order to prevent the attacking troops from cutting trees and setting up camps on the spot, building siege equipment, and to prevent fire attacks, there was no tree within 10 miles around the Sighing Wall.

So the outline of the fortress can be seen from a long distance.

It is located on the only passage naturally opened up by the mountains on both sides, firmly blocking the lowest point in the center of the M-shaped mountains.

As the pace approached, the Sighing Wall became clearer and clearer.

It was a 130-meter-long man-made building, with gray-white walls up to 8 meters high, vertical and steep, embedded in the mountain on both sides, firmly blocking the only passage between the Principality of Eivor and the Nord Province.

The gate was 5 meters wide and 8 meters high, and was firmly sealed with three iron gates.

There was a tower on the gate, with a crossbow at each end, and then one was placed every 30 meters.

Judging from the faint luster flowing on the crossbow, these 6 crossbows were obviously enchanted and have been carefully maintained, and they are definitely not just for show.

Although it is at the bottom of the mountain, there is still a steep slope of at least 30° under the high wall of sighs.

There is no moat under the wall, but three rows of stone chevaux fixed on the ground. No matter who wants to move them in the face of intensive attacks on the wall, it will cost a huge price.

In the past, this place was always very lively, with a constant stream of caravans coming and going, but now with the war approaching, it is extremely desolate.

Raven ordered to set up camp by a river called "Drinking Horse River" 3 kilometers away from the Sighing Wall.

This distance can ensure that there is enough reaction time to face enemy harassment, observe the situation of the Sighing Wall at any time, and ensure that the battle line is short enough.

Raven had already known the surrounding terrain, so he not only brought camping supplies, but also disassembled the siege equipment for transportation. Now that the camp was set up, he immediately began to assemble.

That night, three catapults were set up in the camp.

At the same time, a military meeting was taking place in the main castle of the Sighing Wall.

Count Wanda sat in the first seat, and officers of all levels were on both sides.

Torches were inserted on the wall, illuminating Count Wanda.

Just like in the previous information, he looked gentle and elegant at the age of 44, with smooth and natural hair and a very delicate short beard under his chin.

If he hadn't been wearing armor, it would be hard to imagine that this man was one of the few 4th-level strongmen in the entire principality.

The whole conference room was in an uproar, and everyone was discussing, mainly out of surprise -

Most people didn't expect that Raven would dare to stop outside the Sighing Wall, and he really took an attacking posture.

"Does he really only have 10,000 men?"

"No doubt about it. Although their scouts are good, we are not bad either. We have confirmed that there are indeed only two legions."

"Two legions dare to attack the Sighing Wall?"

In siege warfare, the defenders have a huge terrain advantage. The attackers must have at least three times the number of troops as the defenders. This is common sense.

In the eyes of these officers, being able to do this can only mean that Raven is either a madman or an idiot.

Or a crazy idiot.

Wanda's deputy Linden stood up:

"Sir, why don't we just attack Raven while he's just set up camp and is unstable?"

"Anyway, he has already stepped into the principality's territory, which is actually an invasion. Let's teach these Nords a lesson!"

Wanda neither agreed nor refused, but asked:

"What about the details? What do you plan to do?"

Since Linden dared to bring it up, of course he was prepared: "Although Raven's camp is well located, according to our scouts, his legion has been marching rapidly, and his combat effectiveness is definitely insufficient now."

"We don't need too many people. Let me rush up with 2,000 elite soldiers. A round of enchanted crossbows will burn Raven's camp. In a panic, they can only let us slaughter them."

This statement immediately aroused a lot of echoes, and the officers clamored to kill.

Wanda suddenly chuckled and looked at Linden deeply. The latter immediately stopped talking and sat down, and the meeting room instantly became quiet.

"It's a good idea, but you haven't considered some issues."

Wanda's left index finger gently rubbed his middle finger, which was his habitual action when he was thinking or nervous.

"Since you want to attack, what is the composition of the two legions under Raven?"

"He chose to camp 2 miles, that is, 3 kilometers away. We don't have cavalry, and it will take at least 30 minutes to get there. You also said that Raven's scouts are excellent. What if he finds out and is prepared?"

"The last question is, Raven is a third-level magician. Do you know what magic he masters? How to deal with it?"

Three questions were thrown in succession, pouring a big basin of cold water on the originally excited atmosphere.

Wanda sighed faintly.

It's also because they haven't fought for a long time. The soldiers under his command don't take the war seriously.

This can't be blamed on them. The last time the Principality of Eivor participated in a war was nearly 40 years ago. At that time, Insa borrowed Eivor to attack the Nord Province, and Eivor also participated in it.

Wanda began to rub her middle finger again, and she thought of the private letter sent by Gatugen.

It did mention that Wanda should take the initiative to attack and annihilate the army.

But Wanda didn't want to do that.

Gatugen was a court noble, and he didn't know or didn't value the importance of private soldiers to a noble.

It was okay for Wanda to lie about military intelligence, but he would never do it if he really had to risk his family for Gatugen's career.

Thinking of this, Wanda raised her eyelids and looked around the room: "So, are there any more questions?"

"No, sir!" Linden said.

Wanda nodded: "Very good, then pay attention to defense, patrol shifts more strictly, no one can take the initiative to attack without my order."

He looked around the room and emphasized:

"Remember, we are border guards, no mistakes, is a great achievement!"

The military meeting was thus disbanded.

In the next few days, Wanda did not relax, and went to the city wall every day to observe the movements of Raven's camp.

Watching the catapults rise from the ground, and watching the logistics troops deliver supplies to Raven's camp.

May 5, 1199, the 7th day after Raven arrived.

Wanda received a letter that someone shot at the city wall with a crossbow.

The slightly ugly handwriting contained extremely arrogant content - Raven asked Wanda to open the gate and surrender immediately, otherwise he would launch an attack tomorrow.

He also threatened that the day the Sighing Wall fell would be the day when blood would flow in the city.

"Ha!" Wanda sneered:

"I can defend this city until I die of old age!"

He really can have this confidence.

Since the establishment of the Sighing Wall, no one has ever been able to break it.

That night, Raven, Eric, Simon, Weston, Link and others perfected the attack plan for the last time.

The next day, May 6.

The sound of war drums dispelled the morning fog.

After breakfast and putting on armor, Raven's army rushed out of the camp and lined up outside the camp.

The sound of rumbling and the creaking of wood rang out, and the assembled catapults were pushed out of the camp one by one.

The wooden wheels and triangular frame were 5 meters high, like the arms of a giant.

Raven sat high on the claw yellow flying electric, took a deep breath of the slightly cool air in the morning, and waved his arm suddenly: "Attack!"

The order turned into flag signals, and then into the horn of attack.

The army moved.

There was no thunderous charge, only silent footsteps.

1,000 heavily armored soldiers, in groups of 20, were dispersed into 50 small square formations, with the inner layer carrying ladders and the outer layer holding large shields.

Behind them, 26 catapults slowly moved forward.

The defenders on the city wall had already discovered the movement of Raven's troops, and the bed crossbows were equipped with crossbow arrows as thick as beams, adjusting their respective targets.

3 kilometers, 2 kilometers, 1 kilometer...

500 meters.

The horn sounded louder, and the vanguard of the Eagle Army carried the ladders and launched a charge!

At the same time, 26 catapults were fixed and launched a round of neat hurling!

Whoosh——

26 huge stones streaked across the sky and fell in an irregular parabola.

Most of them passed over the Wall of Sighs and smashed into the city, bringing with them one scream of terror after another; a small part fell outside the city wall, smashing the stone chevaux de frise to pieces.

Only one whistled and landed on the top of the city wall, smashing three defenders who were boiling hot oil, including the pot, to pieces.

At this moment, the string of a crossbow on the side of the city tower was tightened, and the crossbow body flashed with light, shooting out a thick crossbow arrow.

After the crossbow arrow flew away, it was stained with a layer of blazing white flames, and then it slammed into a charging squad.

The arrowhead was not sharp, but the huge kinetic energy it carried easily tore the shield, heavy armor and the flesh and blood inside, and pierced through 4 soldiers in succession before barely stopping.

Then the fire exploded, enveloping more soldiers, turning them into firemen, howling and rolling on the ground.

Only half of the 20 soldiers survived.

Among the survivors, some were stunned in place, some howled and rushed forward desperately, and others barely maintained their sanity and found the nearest team to merge into it according to wartime regulations.

This tragic scene did not stop the Eagle Army's attack.

Wanda on the tower was not satisfied with the result:

"I said, without my order, the crossbows cannot be fired!"

"Aim at the enemy's trebuchet - don't let that thing continue to attack!"

Under Wanda's order, the crossbows that had just been fired began to reload, and the remaining 5 aimed at a trebuchet each and fired.

The stability and accuracy of the crossbows far exceeded the trebuchet.

In just one round of volleys, 3 trebuchets were completely destroyed. Although 1 was only hit and the core components were not damaged, it could not be repaired in a short time.

Only one arrow fell into the air.

The vanguard of the Eagle Army rushed to 200 meters below the city wall, and the steep slope slowed their pace.

At the same time, rows of archers stood up on the top of the city and launched their projectiles from a high position!

The feather arrows flew across the sky, almost blocking the sun, and then shot down like waves.

Most of the feather arrows were blocked by the raised shields, making dense and dull sounds.

Occasionally, feather arrows passed through the gaps in the shields and landed on the soldiers of the Eagle Army, but they were completely helpless against the heavy armor on their bodies, which slipped off one after another.

Over the battlefield, another round of stone bullets was thrown, but this time they were unlucky and none of them landed on the wall.

However, three huge stones hit the outside of the wall, opening up three passages in the dense stone barricades.

In this era, catapults were usually used as tools to bombard city walls, so they often needed to constantly adjust the counterweight and angle in order to achieve the best hit rate.

But Raven had a different idea.

Anyway, no matter how the catapult was adjusted, its accuracy was not as good as that of the bed crossbow, so it would win by the density of firepower!

As long as it was thrown out, it would be considered a success.

Under the guidance of this policy, Raven's catapult could launch a round of projection every 30-40 seconds.

And the reloading frequency of the bed crossbow took at least 5 minutes.

Under the cover of the catapult, the vanguard of the Eagle Army advanced to less than 100 meters away from the Sighing Wall.

At this moment, they were finally able to vent their accumulated anger, fear and anxiety, howling and launching a real charge!

The archers on the top of the city were withdrawn and replaced by rows of crossbowmen.

With the order of the officer, the enchanted crossbow arrows whizzed down.

However, the result surprised Wanda on the city wall.

This is a crossbow arrow specially designed for heavy armor and enchanted with "sharpness", but even at a distance of 100 meters, it still cannot cause too much effective damage to the Eagle Army.

Most crossbow arrows were blocked by shields and bounced off by armor. Only a few crossbow arrows shot into the eye sockets or the connection of armor could cause limited casualties.

This is armor made by gray dwarves. It has not only been carefully designed, but also some mist heavy iron was added during the forging process.

Although the overall weight of the armor is about 13%, the defensive capability is even higher.

"Damn, where do they get such good armor!? Are we facing the Iron Legion?"

The index finger of his left hand began to rub the middle finger again. Although Wanda had read a lot of books, it was the first time for him to command a battle, which made him nervous.

He licked his lips and recalled the contents of the tactical book:

"Stop the crossbowmen first, and wait until the enemy reaches within 20 meters before shooting!"

Just then, a scream sounded on the top of the city.

Wanda frowned and was about to get angry when one of his guards rushed in:

"My lord, there is something in the sky, in the sky!"

Turning around, Wanda suddenly discovered.

On the city wall, a shadow covered it at some point.

...