lizard lord

Chapter 159 Authentic
Waiting patiently for another half an hour, let Bourne take the new dwarf fighters to familiarize themselves with the situation, and then Tang Zhao went directly to the dwarf engineer.

【How should I address you as? 】

"Gerge Ossian Sass, the son of Michael Sass, just call me Little Sass. You should be the lord of this place?"

Sas must have done some homework before he came, knowing the general status of Tang Zhao in the settlement.

But to be honest, even if he knew it was purely a cultural difference, it was still difficult for Tang Zhao to call the old man with white beard and hair in front of him. After all, the other party was conservatively estimated to be three or four hundred years old. In terms of age alone If so, it is enough to be the ancestor of Tang Chao.

[Mr. Sass, you can think so, of course I prefer you to call me the chairman of the executive committee, because I have no right to order others to do too many things. 】

Seth rolled his eyes: "Come on, my lord, it's just a better name."

[You have the right to reserve opinions.New here, how does it feel? 】

"If you want to hear the truth, you should listen to the polite words."

【. Just say it straight, anyone has the right to express their opinions. 】

"Based on human standards, this place is passable. However, based on dwarf standards, this place can be regarded as a temporary military camp. The city walls are not thick enough or high enough. Facing the enemy's air attack, you can only use Crossbow arrows are lucky. Once the city wall is breached, the above-ground part can probably be abandoned and completely underground, and the underground part has no decent defense. At that time, I think we can run away. I hope that the secret road will be blocked. Thousands of people have to go in."

When Sas spoke, he was merciless, but Tang Zhao didn't have any opinion on this, after all, he was telling the truth.

Their settlement is still a rush product, and only the outermost city wall can barely be seen, which is really not enough for the dwarves who have fought for thousands of years to defend the city.

[What you said is very reasonable. There are indeed many areas worthy of improvement. Some areas must be optimized in time before the hobgoblin discovers its weaknesses. Can you, as Bourne's deputy, assist in handling this matter? 】

Speaking of Bourne, Sass' tone became more respectful: "Working under the famous Bourne Silver Helmets? No problem, I am willing to do my best."

A dwarf with the title of "Living Ancestor" will be respected by all dwarves unanimously, and it is very convenient when doing many things. For example, now, Bourne doesn't have to worry about his subordinates' disobedience to command.

【Thank you for your hard work. In addition, there is another very important matter that must be resolved by you. 】

"Let me guess. For this?"

Bourne shrugged, pulled out the musket from behind, and asked Tang Zhao to observe carefully.

It's easy to see that this isn't even an arquebus, but a flintlock.

[Yes, Mr. Sass.I need to equip the kobold warriors with a large number of muskets. Only in this way can they make up for their fatal flaws of insufficient endurance and strength to a certain extent. 】

Suppressing his excitement, Tang Zhao replied like this.

"I can't help but praise, you are still far-sighted. It takes a long time to train a qualified crossbowman, but it takes only two months to train a qualified musketeer. You see Yes, the future of war. One day, these muskets will replace crossbowmen and strongbowmen, and maybe knights and ironbreakers."

Sass is not particularly popular in the dwarf kingdom, but he is a well-known dwarf engineer after all, and there are many families who are willing to support him, but none of these sponsors fully agree with Sass' philosophy.After all, for the race of dwarves, muskets are not the best solution at any time.

The main reason he is willing to come to Tang Zhao is that Tang Zhao agrees with his ideas, and even speaks more eloquently than him (after all, he has various experiences in previous lives). The blueprint conceived by Tang Zhao in the letter is very attractive to Sass, so he That's why I'm willing to come to this dangerous and poor place, where I can't even get much beer.

Seriously speaking, if it was in the previous life, what Sass said is completely correct, but in this different world, it needs to be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

In the previous life, firearms could cause a very serious blow to morale. When European colonists dealt with local residents, the local residents were often in chaos because of firearms. Can crush the enemy.

In this world, the morale damage caused by muskets is basically negligible—soldiers often have to fight against terrifying undead creatures, ferocious alien behemoths, magicians full of special effects, and elite fighters with one enemy against one hundred. Even in the face of invulnerable and fire-breathing dragons, they can wield weapons. Their combat effectiveness may not be good, but their mentality has been honed to an amazing level by various sufferings.

Predictably, muskets that "squeaked only a little" did not affect their morale.

At the same time, the level of metallurgy in this world is much stronger than that of the ancient world, which means that the enemy can make more powerful armor for elite fighters to use. You have to rely on middle and high-level fighters and spellcasters.

However, for all its limitations and shortcomings, the musket is still a fate-changing weapon for kobolds.

[You have also visited Karak Solma's metallurgical workshop before. To be honest, it is relatively simple, and many things are in the initial stage.I was wondering, in this environment, how many muskets can fire each day you can provide? 】

"You know, I can't make a conclusion until I carefully check the technical level of blacksmiths and helpers. But muskets are not such complicated weapons and equipment. I believe that with the technical level of dwarf craftsmen, it is not difficult to follow me to produce. In terms of raw materials, It’s not a big problem here for you, after all, you’re sitting on top of the veins, and you can dig high-quality ore by digging down. The main problem is, how many craftsmen can you get out? I have no doubts about the power and advanced nature of muskets, but now this One weapon doesn't turn the tide of battle, you need to know that."

Tang Zhao has thirty dwarf blacksmiths in his hands. The dwarves are at a standard level and their skills are very good, but the number is still too small.

This kind of precious technical occupation takes time to cultivate. At the same time, reptiles such as kobolds and lizardmen are not resistant to high temperature and cannot stay in the blacksmith workshop for too long, so this kind of work can only be done by dwarves.

Tang Zhao is also working hard to involve the elves, but these elves are ordinary villagers, and few are proficient in forging. In terms of proficiency, they are not as good as ordinary dwarves. At most, they will help the dwarves.

【Our other war supplies are also very tight. Sorry, I may not be able to provide you with too many craftsmen. You can negotiate with the blacksmith workshop to see if they can be distributed to you. 】

"Forget it," Bourne waved his hand, "I noticed that there are elves on your side, and they seem to be quite idle."

[It can be considered that the elves are not a race where all the people are soldiers. Those are refugees I accepted. They have no combat effectiveness and can only be responsible for some logistics tasks, such as making military rations. 】

"Then, don't you mind assigning dozens of people to me? I'll let them be apprentices."

[No problem, as long as you want. 】

"I have no objection. It's not fun to see elves, but it's more important to save their lives. The elves are very skillful and almost have rich experience in making handicrafts. They can be regarded as high-quality apprentices. I am confident that I can make them in a short time. Put it in line."

[I understand, and I can provide you with some other support by the way. 】

After all, Tang Zhao used his psychic power to summon the three trolls who were fishing in the cave.

After Franken dealt with the hobgoblins and demons in the south of Insula, he was transferred to the front line of the elves to continue fighting. The three trolls were returned and stayed in Tang Zhao's settlement.

They also know that with their own fighting power, even if Tang Zhao is not around, they can't offend many people in the settlement. Tang Zhao has always given them food, so they have always been quite safe. To be able to mess around like this.

"Hey~ Boss, what's the matter?"

The leader of the trolls said awkwardly, and the other two also looked at Tang Zhao eagerly.

【You are under his command during this time, so you probably won’t go directly to the battlefield. You need to do some coolies and guards, and you can do whatever you are told, understand. 】

In the plan, these three trolls are of course useful. After the city gate is breached, they can be used to block the gate. Now they are really useless. The city wall is not enough for the three of them to toss, and throwing it to Sass is no problem. Tang Zhao believes that Sass will be useful to them.

"clear!!"

Seeing that they seemed obedient, Sass didn't need to object: "I really need a strong helper, who can be used for carrying ore and heavy objects. By the way, I also have some very interesting ideas. Maybe I can experiment."

After receiving Tang Zhao's permission, Sas left excitedly and started to prepare.
-
Tang Zhao, who was busy with work, just wanted to take a rest and bask in the sun for a while, when Cynthia hurriedly woke him up and asked him to go to the city wall to observe the situation.

[What an annoying race, goblins are like rabbits, they can't be killed at all]

Looking at the number of tents on the opposite side, Tang Zhao felt a little worried besides restless.

"In fact, they can give birth a little more than rabbits, and their growth rate is similar to that of dogs. It is difficult to count their numbers. In the former Kingdom of Greybeard, there would be a wave of green tide every year after winter, that is, wild goblins can't find food in the mountains. , anyway, it is dead anyway, so I directly choose to attack the dwarf city."

Bourne is no stranger to this kind of thing. He has been killing goblins since he can remember, but he can't finish killing them. Instead, there are more and more, and finally swallowed the entire Gray Bearded Kingdom together with the hobgoblins.

【. Forget it, let’s not mention these things, how many people are there in this wave of hobgoblin reinforcements? 】

"At least two thousand, almost all ordinary goblins, used to supplement the consumption of the previous tentative attacks, and came with the baggage team. They have learned to be smart and are using various methods to strengthen the power of the baggage team. The size of the baggage team It is also getting bigger, and those elf rangers outside the city only dare to harass, but have no ability to break through."

[Don't blame them, I dare not take action directly because there are too many people. 】

The hobgoblins have been using their troops in an extravagant way. It's not that they have a problem with their brains. It's that the cannon fodder is rich enough. It's profitable to trade them for anything.

While Tang Zhao was chatting with Bourne, horns sounded again in the hobgoblin's camp, and today's attack started again.

The dwarf warriors on the city wall shouted two slogans in unison, and began to string their crossbows silently, aiming at the open space below the city, and started shooting when the enemy entered the distance.

The kobolds also started to get busy, calling each other to carry various combat supplies.

The lizard people were still sharpening their javelins under the city wall. They were the last to attack, and going up the city wall now would only cause meaningless congestion.

【Which wave of their offensive is this? 】

Bourne replied directly without thinking: "Not counting the two penetrations of the Watergate, it is No. 12."

[How about the material reserves? 】

"It's holding up anyway. I've seen a lot worse. If they keep attacking the city with cannon fodder, as long as they have ammunition, they won't be able to attack. But you know, it can't happen."

Bourne pointed to the open space on the opposite side, where the hobgoblin was cutting down trees and using the wood to make siege vehicles and rush vehicles on the spot.After they are done, there will definitely be more tragic battles.

[Be prepared, let the trebuchet shoot more during this time, practice the accuracy, it's better than nothing.The trump card and the like are all ready. After the attack of the siege tower, it's time for us to fight back. 】

"Of course, I understand."

Bourne replied, and then drew out the horn bow that he carried with him, drew the bow and set up an arrow, and prepared to shoot at the goblins below the city.
-
The stalemate siege continued for another two days, and Tang Zhao heard another report from the dwarves—the goblins were digging tunnels.

There are only so many siege methods in the ancient world. Seeing that simple consumption can't achieve any visible results, and the trebuchets on the ground can't cause obvious damage to the city wall, the method of cutting off water and food is temporarily useless, and the tunnel is naturally used. put on the agenda.

Contrary to what many people imagined, the primary purpose of digging a tunnel was not to dig a passage leading to the inside of the city wall, but to use the tunnel to shake the foundation of the city wall, causing the wall to collapse so that soldiers could file in.

The countermeasures are not too complicated - tunnels will also be dug, and the two sides will compete for the underground space, and the winning side will naturally take the initiative.

So Tang Zhao didn't worry much about tunnel warfare. The dwarves and kobolds were experts in digging holes, and the goblins couldn't be opponents at all. Fighting with them in the underground space would only increase casualties.

As soon as the goblins were digging, Tang Zhao received the information. Maybe Tang Zhao knew the progress of the tunnel digging better than the hobgoblin commander himself.

【By the way, this seems to be a good opportunity to make a move, maybe we can counterattack or something like that】

(End of this chapter)