I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 341 (Patreon)

Chapter 341: Brutal Defense of the Royal Capital

"Third column, fire!"

A spirited cry echoed atop the city walls.

Old York hastily pulled the trigger, adjusting the scope on the gunstock, targeting specifically the nobles adorned in elaborate attire.

He had marked his targets during the two previous volleys, especially eyeing the most flamboyantly dressed among them!

"Charge... Charge!" Duke Baro's booming voice echoed below the royal city's walls. Despite the dense gunfire and the continuous roar of cannons on the battlefield, he harbored no fear. He believed in divine protection and in the impeccable armor bought at a hefty price.

Faintly, Baro envisaged himself rushing into the city, slaying the false king Hatar, and seizing the crown!

An indescribable excitement filled his mind. But in the next moment, his thoughts froze. A round lead bullet whizzed through, piercing the divine shield instantly and penetrating Baro's eye!

The power of divine protection waned, consciousness rapidly slipping away. At the moment of losing consciousness, Baro finally realized that the throne of a king was nothing but an elusive temptation. They were all merely pawns meant to exhaust the enemy.

"Perfect!" Old York, who had claimed another victim on the wall, cheered for his exceptional marksmanship. That unfortunate fellow in such exquisite armor must have been a high-ranking noble, surely?

That meant a handful of gold coins earned!

With a gleeful change of bullets, Old York resumed using his telescope to search for the next target.

Similar to him, many riflemen harbored such thoughts. Controlled by magic and desire on the battlefield, the nobles soon met their demise amidst the successive gunfire.

While not everyone was a sharpshooter, and despite the nobles wearing the finest armor, facing a barrage of several rifles resulted in them being riddled with holes after a single volley.

Increasing casualties gradually liberated Hebrew and his companions from the grip of magic.

Not easily deceived commoners, despite the temptation to rule a kingdom, succumbed ultimately to their fear of death. Their charge slowed down, some even withdrew to command their troops...

The soldiers suffered even more casualties. In less than an hour, over four thousand perished beneath the city walls, painting the land beyond in crimson...

Slaughter and gunfire resounded continuously on the battlefield, occasionally accompanied by sporadic arrow showers, quickly interrupted by cannon bombardment, leaving only scattered arrows, posing little threat...

These sacrifices were not in vain; they had breached the line of death, reached below the walls, where ladders had been set up.

Similarly protected battering rams arrived at the city gates under the human shield but were hit by several cannonballs, causing them to tilt.

The iron heavy hammer struck the gates, producing a bearable dull sound.

Yet, despite the gate shaking slightly, it stood firm, backed by a half-meter thick cement wall magically constructed by Lynn and others, extremely sturdy. Not just the battering ram, even divine arts might struggle to breach it.

As soldiers amassed below the gate, the wizards on the walls finally took action, casting flames, frost, lightning, and falling rocks... turning the entire battlefield into hell!

Under this barrage of magic, thousands more perished. The meticulously constructed siege ladders and rams were reduced to ashes...

After clearing the soldiers near the walls, Elok and the others ceased casting spells, leaving the riflemen to continue their assault.

A wizard's magic wasn't limitless; usually casting five or six spells of the same level would strain their mental power. Considering these sorcerers hadn't directly entered the battlefield, they couldn't exert too much strength.

The immense casualties didn't daunt the remaining soldiers. They continued as if oblivious to the harrowing screams of their comrades, rallying for "the divine" while continuing to erect the siege ladders...

The deeper their belief in the supportive magic, the greater the influence it held!

To these impoverished commoners with nothing, who usually relied on prayers to endure life's hardships, Lynn and others on the wall seemed like the perpetrators of all suffering, the ones responsible for their misery!

Their madness even caused hesitation in Old York before firing. These people were like demons from hell, even with a leg missing, they crawled to the wall, scratching at the sturdy barrier with their nails!

"Truly dreadful!" Raphael sighed, unable to bear witness. This was his first experience with such large-scale warfare, yet he had no intention of intervening, simply observing quietly. This small scene was far from necessitating their action.

Lynn furrowed her brow, thoroughly puzzled. She couldn't fathom Edweil's intentions—bringing these people here to their deaths?

According to military strategy, without multiple times the troops or more advanced weaponry and tactics, a direct assault on a city was no different from a massacre...

Even if these tens of thousands were all slain, they wouldn't budge this stronghold an inch...

Edweil couldn't possibly be a brute who only understood direct assault. Otherwise, he wouldn't qualify to lead the army, commanding both the Divine Punishment Army and the Griffin Knights, two elite forces.

"Could they be planning to exhaust our ammunition with these people's lives?" Sanchez speculated.

At those words, Raphael and the others grew concerned.

Guarding the walls, the ten thousand riflemen, after a few rounds of fire, had already expended tens of thousands of bullets. Their hourly consumption rate started at a hundred thousand!

They weren't familiar with the lead bullet's production process, but they noticed its roundness and consistent specifications, although not complex, would still consume a significant amount of time.

"Haha, that's just wishful thinking! Perhaps you don't know how these bullets are made!" Dennis chuckled, speaking up.

"Even if it's simple, how many can a person make in a day?" A great wizard laughed heartily. "Bullets don't fall from the sky, do they?"

He could guess the production method somewhat: melting lead ore at high temperatures, then somehow shaping them into consistent-sized spheres.

"No, indeed, they do fall from the sky!" Dennis said with an eerie expression.

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