Chapter 344: First Round Probe
At this moment, the over one thousand Barbarian Elders who had drunk the blood wine felt their originally weakening hearts beating faster and faster. Although this put a lot of pressure on their bodies, their gradually warming blood made them feel like they were back in their prime.
Like an old car, after a thorough warm-up, it might not be impossible to take it for a spin on Mount Akina.
Without any superfluous movements or words, these Barbarian Elders picked up their weapons and stepped onto the already harvested farmland at a steady pace. On the open field, they formed groups of three to five, cooperating tacitly yet maintaining a certain distance from each other. Just like hunting, they ran towards the most powerful prey they had encountered in their lives.
The behemoth-like North City stood majestically on the earth. Its towering walls were its shell, and the soldiers standing ready were its claws and teeth. Any enemy who dared to offend would face the wrath of guns and cannons.
As they ran with small steps, the Barbarian Elders got closer and closer to the towering walls of North City. Although they marveled at the height of the walls, their steps did not hesitate for a moment because they had already accepted their fate. This sight, witnessed by Howard through his telescope, made his heart skip a beat.
The Barbarian Elders were not weak. In fact, they were only in their forties, but the harsh environment of the Northland had prematurely exhausted their potential and lifespan. Therefore, if they truly fought to the death, their combat power was still not to be underestimated. This made Howard raise his vigilance and not dare to be careless.
Fortunately, the Barbarian Elders had not experienced much warfare. Their experience relied on hunting and fighting with other Barbarian tribes. Therefore, they started well, but as they approached, they unconsciously drew closer to each other. This was also a characteristic of the cold weapon era. Only by gathering together and concentrating could they exert their maximum combat power. It could be said that a loose formation in the cold weapon era was simply suicidal.
Even for firearm troops, before the invention of breech-loading rifles and machine guns, a tight and strict formation was also the key to victory.
When the first batch of Barbarian Elders stepped within the one hundred meter boundary, Howard raised his sword. All the Elite Musketeers raised their guns in unison, aiming at the opponents in front of them.
As the sword fell, a dense volley of gunshots rang out from the city walls. As the cold wind blew away the smoke, the Elite Musketeers did not even look at their targets, but methodically reloaded their weapons.
At this moment, three or four hundred Barbarian Elders had already fallen at the one hundred meter mark of the city walls. Although some were not killed instantly, the bullets that had penetrated their flesh were not like arrows. These things easily got lost inside the body. It was not impossible for a bullet to enter through the shoulder and exit from the buttocks. Not to mention, these things shattered, so it was nearly impossible for the Barbarians to stop the bleeding and heal their wounds through traditional means. The massive blood loss also caused the Barbarian Elders’ hard-earned warm blood to quickly turn cold.
If it were an ordinary army, they would have already been routed by panic. However, the Barbarian Elders, who had already made up their minds to die, only panicked for a moment before launching a final charge in unison.
As they closed the distance, the Barbarian Elders threw their wooden spears and stone axes with all their might and began to climb the city walls, without pausing for a moment.
The stronger the enemy, the more they had to charge, allowing the enemy to fully display their abilities, letting the Barbarians at the rear see more clearly. This was the meaning of their existence.
The Elite Musketeers were equipped with steel helmets, chest armor, shoulder guards, and leg guards. Although they were thin, they were enough to withstand wooden spears and stone axes. Even if they were hit and bled, it would not affect their ability to continue fighting.
Facing the death-defying charge of the Barbarian Elders, Howard showed no mercy. After the second round of firing, he ordered the Elite Musketeers to retreat and be replaced by the Gun Axemen.
The already impatient Gun Axemen, with grins on their faces, aimed at the heads of the Barbarian Elders who were about to climb over the city walls and pulled the triggers. One after another, single-headed bullets bloomed into flowers of flesh and blood, taking lives along the way. Then, without even needing to reload, they swung their gun axes and began to hack and slash.
Without siege towers or ladders, it was not that easy to climb the city walls with bare hands. Even if they managed to free one hand, they did not dare to swing their weapons with force, as it was easy to fall from the several-meter-high walls. Helpless, the few hundred Barbarian Elders who were still alive could only retreat, only to be met by a volley from the Elite Musketeers who had come forward to take over, taking away many more lives.
After one charge, only three to five hundred of the over one thousand Barbarian Elders survived to return. Such a terrifying kill rate made the faces of all the Barbarians look unpleasant.
The eldest Shaman sat in front of the bonfire, looking at the corpses with their grim expressions. Without any expression on his face, he inserted his finger into a wound and rummaged around for a while before retrieving a deformed bullet.
“It’s a musket from the Empire’s Southern Barbarians. This thing is more lethal than a bow and arrow, but it has a slower rate of fire and cannot withstand water.” The old Shaman handed the bullet to the Shamans beside him, letting them pass it around for a look. Then, he casually grabbed a handful of dirt, wiped the blood off his hand, and continued.
“But the Empire removed muskets from its army long ago, leaving only cannons with the Imperial Border Army. How come we encountered a fully equipped musket unit here?”
“Great Shaman, the musket’s lethality is too great. Even the strongest Barbarian warrior cannot withstand a volley of muskets. How can we deal with these Southern Barbarians’ muskets?” A Shaman looked at the blood-stained bullet, his face a bit unsightly. After all, over one thousand Barbarian Elders were almost wiped out after only a few rounds of firing.
“I noticed that each musket attack has an interval of three to five breaths, and its range is only one arrow’s flight. Therefore, as long as our warriors run fast enough, they only need to withstand one attack. As for the walls, they can carry ropes in advance to facilitate climbing.” Another observant Shaman said, immediately gaining the approval of the other Shamans.
“Well said, but we need more warriors. Spread the news and gather more Barbarian tribes.” The Great Shaman first nodded, then said.
Although they did not want more tribes to share the spoils of war, the Great Shaman was recognized as the wisest among the Northland Barbarians, and his words carried considerable weight. Moreover, these Shamans could not find a reason to object. Recalling the scene that could be called a massacre just now, they also felt that gathering more people to fight together would be more reliable.
Because there were many Barbarians heading south, within a few days, the number of Barbarians outside the city exceeded thirty thousand. They even invited the Wild Bull Tribe to participate, but were refused.
“Great Shaman, the Wild Bull Tribe refused. They are untrustworthy and must be in collusion with the Southern Barbarians in the city.” A Shaman responsible for recruitment returned from the Wild Bull Tribe and said resolutely to the Great Shaman.
“Of course they have connections, but that doesn’t mean they are untrustworthy.” Although the Great Shaman was very old, he was not senile. He knew very well what a Barbarian tribe established on the opposite bank of the North Boundary River meant.
Sending someone to inquire was just to ascertain their attitude and stance.
Being polite yet distant meant that they had connections with the city in front of them, but not to the extent of being allies.
In fact, this was impossible. Even if the Northland Barbarians wanted to find a Southern Barbarian as an ally, they would only be betrayed. This was a lesson learned by the Northland Barbarians over countless years. So they could trade, they could be hired, but they would never form an alliance.
Therefore, as long as they could achieve victory, there would be no obstacles.
In case they lost, the Wild Bull Tribe would also become their last lifeline.
