Monster Minotaur

Just as the civil war in Elam was about to break out, Carthage also fell into a disadvantage in the war with Maro. As the war between Carthage and the Maroons prolonged, the Maroons, who had completed their military deployment, put 230,000 soldiers into the front line and continuously attacked the Carthaginian defense line, forcing them to only Continuously retreating and shrinking.

As the regent princess, Arturia didn't know how this situation came to be. At first, she believed that the reason why the Maroons were able to successfully attack was because the Macedonian Fort had not been completed, and the lack of natural barriers in the north allowed the Maroons to advance straight in.

But now the battle line has been in the south where the Carthaginians have been operating for thousands of years. Most of the garrisoned cities have adequate facilities and strong military forces. There is even a river that separates the north from the south. Even if Caesar can capture those cities, he will have to pay a heavy price, and let The Maroons gradually fell into exhaustion.

But the reality was different from what Artoria thought. The heavily deployed defense line only delayed for a month before the Maroons broke through, forcing a large number of soldiers to retreat to the second line of defense. Carthage once again lost a lot of land and some important cities.

But the authorities are confused, but the bystanders know clearly. What seems impossible in Artoria is completely normal in the eyes of other countries on the mainland. Compared with Maro, Carthage's army was mostly composed of hired overseas barbarians. Not only were they undisciplined compared to Maro's legion, but once the battle situation was at a disadvantage, these mercenaries would retreat regardless of their command.

Most of Carthage's warriors were merchants. Most of them were weak and incompetent and hated labor and military service. Joining the army is a last resort, as they prefer doing business to fighting.

In the eyes of the Carthaginians, the life of a Maron was only worth twelve gold coins, while a Carthaginian life was worth at least twenty gold coins. It only cost ten to hire a barbarian to fight on behalf of the Carthaginians. gold. So the Carthaginians, who were good at calculation, thought this was a good deal. No matter how hard you attack Maro, you will lose money. Maro will definitely not be able to defeat Carthage for a long time.

In reality, battles cannot be calculated using numbers. The Maro people's tenacity and discipline are recognized in all Central Plains countries. Historically, Maro fought against invading enemies, refusing to surrender even after losing one-third of the country's men, and eventually drove the enemies out of Maro.

But today's Maro, under the leadership of Caesar, has not lost the qualities of their ancestors. Maro warriors, most of whom came from peasant families, were extremely brave in battle. Even when the city's magic shield had not been breached, they all dared to bear the Carthaginian crossbows, carrying scrolls to eliminate magic traps, and climbed towards the attacking city wall wave after wave.

Our defense line is gradually collapsing. In the Luxembourg combat command center, Archduke Obas pointed at a city in the sand table and said: The day before yesterday, another city was captured by the Maro people. Now if we Unless the Maroons are restrained near the mouth of the Casa and Mount Barker, our two cities will be surrounded, and Luxembourg will be within range of the Maroons.

I remember that there were 30,000 people defending there. I really want to know why it was captured so easily by the Maro people! Arturia looked at the territory gradually occupied by the Maro people. Her expressionless face looked extremely cold. Taiji's continuous retreat made the princess's dissatisfaction reach its limit.

Ahem... That's because Maro's people are too powerful. They have prepared nearly fifty trebuchets to attack the city shield day and night. Grand Duke Obas on the side said with some embarrassment: Eventually the city's shields were overloaded and the city's defenses were weakened.

But there are 30,000 people there! It's 30,000 people! It's not 30,000 pigs there. Arturia vigorously patted the border of the sand table and shouted loudly: Even if the city's shield is lost, the city will not survive. It should have been captured by the Maro people within a day of losing its shield! Are those hired overseas barbarians seriously fighting!

Obviously we have to consider the credibility of those mercenaries from Rand. Justice Obas said calmly: If they really don't fight hard, we will consider terminating the contract with them and replace them with more reliable ones. Swiss mercenaries, although their prices will be more expensive.

There is no need to think about it anymore. Those Rand mercenaries have no intention of fighting at all. Artoria stood back on the seat next to the throne and said: Have Seri's mercenaries immediately go to the mouth of the Kasa River to block it. There, the resting Raven Legion and Unicorn Legion were also assigned to garrison at Mount Buck.

Follow your orders. Obas saluted Artoria.

Arturia seemed to have a headache. She sat on the seat and waved to Obas to get out. The long-term lack of rest left her with dark circles under her eyes. Although she applied some makeup to cover them up, the gray and black bags under her eyes could still be seen. The Maro people's successive victories have put a lot of pressure on her, and she even had a headache recently.

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Just when Arturia was worried about the Maroons, there were waves of roaring sounds on the outskirts of Thunder Bluff. A group of gray dwarves were holding a thick tube. The square stone slabs opposite them had been broken into pieces. The roaring sounds came from the tube held by the gray dwarf.

After the gray dwarves replaced the goblins with new slates, they began to take out each paper bag, bit open one end, poured the black powder inside into the tube, put an iron projectile in, and finally used a long The iron bar is inserted into it and twitches continuously. He stood up straight and pointed the tube at the stone slab one hundred and fifty meters away.

boom! boom! boom! After the gray dwarves pulled a trigger on the tube, bursts of fire spurted out from the opening of the tube, making a huge roaring sound, and billowing white smoke rose among the neatly rehearsed gray dwarves. Some stone slabs in the distance were loaded with projectiles and turned into pieces of gravel.

The shooting accuracy is not bad. Mo Yan nodded as he looked at the mostly shattered stone slabs on the high slope and said, Although the current technology cannot make rifling, and because of the power of black powder, thickening it will make it easier to shoot. The barrel of the gun and some parts. But so far, the effect seems to be good. Of course, it would be better if the cost could be lower.

Yes, the weapon in the gray dwarf's hand is the Suifa gun, a weapon from the era of queuing to kill. After learning that the gray dwarves had black powder, Mo Yan began to design firearms. It is obviously impossible to make modern weapons with current technology, but Suifa Gun can still be made with difficulty.

These weapons will be distributed to gray dwarves who wish to join the army as a special unit in the legion. Gray dwarves lined up in a row using Suifa guns will deal a fatal blow to the enemy when they charge. At present, except for thick iron shields, nothing can withstand the Suifa gun projectiles.

The standard configuration of the legions of Elam and the Central Plains countries are mostly wooden shields used to protect crossbows, which makes it impossible for their warriors to block the gray dwarves' shots. The shooting accuracy of the Suifa gun is maximum within 150 meters. This distance allows the gray dwarves to shoot at least twice, and if three-stage shooting is used, the firing speed will be faster.

This is a very good weapon on the battlefield, but it is very disadvantageous for assassinations. Regel, who accompanied Mo Yan out, looked at the gray dwarf who was holding his new weapon for inspection not far away and said, It's The sound is too loud, and the white eyes that appear will expose the assassin, and the accuracy is not as good as the crossbow.

This is originally used as a battlefield weapon. Mo Yan smiled and said: It would be too wasteful to let these gray dwarves fight hand-to-hand. Therefore, it is better to let them shoot support from a distance or a high place. If possible, in the future I’m getting them some suitable mounts to make up for their shortcomings in height.”

Have you decided to let these gray dwarves have some real power? Regel asked carefully: Although it is a bit overstepped, I want to say that this will make Thunder Bluff more complicated and the situation will be more difficult to control.

Yes. Mo Yan nodded and said, But at the same time, it is also true for the enemy. Although an overly simple structure is easy to manage, it is not very safe. A more complex structure will be of some benefit to Thunder Bluff. And Ignoring the demands of the gray dwarves for a long time is not conducive to the stability of Thunder Bluff.

I understand what you mean. Hearing Mo Yan's words, Reger nodded and stood aside without saying a word.

Let those gray dwarves do it again. Mo Yan turned to No. 1 beside him and said: This time, use goblins as targets and see how lethal they are.

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