Reincarnation Paradise Park-Chapter 788 - 19: Siege Warfare

Dong, dong, dong...

The exhilarating sound of war drums echoed from the rear of the Imperial Army, as the empire’s three hundred thousand troops advanced towards the Black Soil Fortress.

Facing the towering black walls, the Imperial soldiers showed no fear but maintained a tidy formation, advancing at a consistent pace.

At the forefront of the Imperial Army was a large row of Heavy Shield Soldiers. They held their shields tilted upwards, as no enemies would appear in front of them; any deadly attacks would surely come from the fortress dozens of meters above.

The soldiers behind the Heavy Shield Soldiers were quite unique. They wore lightweight armor, didn’t even carry weapons, and each had a basket strapped to their back. These baskets contained irregularly shaped stones, which were crucial to this battle.

The front of the Imperial Army consisted of rows of these formations, with groups of Heavy Shield Soldiers, followed by stone-carrying transport soldiers, then more Heavy Shield Soldiers, forming a cycle.

As the Imperial Army advanced, the Tribal Army on the Black Soil Fortress’s walls tensed their bodies.

The edge of the fortress wall was equipped with large city defense crossbows, resembling cannons, entirely forged from metal. To reload this device, one must use a crank wheel, which resembled the starting lever of an old-fashioned hand tractor, only in a larger model.

Ka-da, ka-da, ka-da...

The sound of the crossbows being wound resonated as one, as their immense draw strength would deform the crossbows if not fired within a minute after being wound. Such was the fearsome power of these weapons.

Numerous Dwarves bustled on the walls, with three Dwarves stationed at each crossbow; one fired, one reloaded, and the other wound the crank. Their actions were performed with precision, and in less than ten seconds, over three hundred crossbows on the walls were fully wound. Do not think only these three hundred were on the Black Soil Fortress; looking around, at least a thousand crossbows filled the fortress, though others weren’t needed due to the length of the battle line. These mobile crossbows had already filled this part of the wall.

Before the Imperial Army could assault the Black Soil Fortress, it was almost a one-sided massacre by the tribe. As for retaliating with arrow rain, it was virtually ineffective.

These terrifying war weapons were called ’City Defender Heavy Crossbows,’ invented and constructed by the Dwarves.

If the ’City Defender Heavy Crossbow’ only fired ordinary large crossbow arrows, the tribe wouldn’t have used it to defend the fortress. No matter how powerful the arrows were, their effect on a battlefield of hundreds of thousands would be minimal. The crossbow’s attack was not simply one point but covered a vast range instead.

"Prepare."

A Dwarf, almost entirely covered in armor, stood on high ground, holding a small red flag.

When the Dwarf flag bearer raised the small flag, the Imperial Army had already reached the fortress. The soldiers carrying baskets charged, attempting to spill the stones beneath the walls. As long as they completed this ’simple’ task, they could retreat to the backlines.

Unfortunately, they never had the chance.

"Charge!"

Soldiers surged forward.

"Fire!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

On the fortress, the Dwarf flag bearer waved the flag down, and the Dwarves behind the three hundred ’City Defender Heavy Crossbows’ pulled the triggers forcefully.

Boom, boom, boom...

The crossbow strings emitted a dull roar, not because they broke, but due to the immense force causing the strings to rapidly friction against the air.

Crossbow arrows over three meters long were launched. These arrows didn’t have pointed tips but oval heads, resembling oversized matches. The arrows’ midsections had rows of reverse airflow holes, and once their speed reached a certain limit, these slaughter weapons would reveal their fierce nature.

The entire arrow shaft spiraled, beginning to spin at high speeds upon firing.

Cling~

A large arrow spread a circle of ’wings’ in mid-air, but they weren’t wings. Instead, they were three-meter-long twin blades.

The arrows, already spinning rapidly, transformed into high-speed cutting blades as the twin blades unfolded.

Whirr~

A piercing whistle resonated as hundreds of high-speed spinning arrow cutters targeted the Imperial soldiers beneath the fortress.

The arrow cutters penetrated the crowd, slicing through bodies. Armor offered no protection; blood and gore splattered everywhere. Dozens of soldiers were shredded in an instant, and that was not all. As the arrow cutters’ tips were round, they’d continue to mutilate enemies upon hitting the ground. With the right angle, they spun like tops.

Dirt flew, limbs flew apart, and a vast area of corpses appeared under the fortress after the tribe’s barrage.

"Hahaha."

"These scoundrels."

"Come on again."

As the Dwarves on the fortress laughed loudly, the second barrage was ready.

Under the fortress, Legion Commander Carlos had a stern face, standing next to a shattered arrow cutter.

"Continue."

Carlos roared. Hearing their Legion Commander’s voice, the soldiers with baskets shouted and charged, inspired as their revered leader watched them.

Boom, boom, boom...

The fortress’s second barrage began—though the Imperial soldiers suffered heavy casualties, they charged fearlessly under Legion Commander Carlos’s lead.

In less than two minutes, a pile of stones under the fortress reached a meter high, though the stones alone didn’t account for this result, especially with the inclusion of shattered bodies.

While the Dwarves on the fortress were busy reloading, the Elf Archer Squad positioned at the Imperial Army’s rear had been preparing for a while.

Whoosh~

A dense arrow rain formed a parabolic trajectory towards the fortress. Seeing this arrow rain, the Dwarves on the fortress didn’t care. The ’City Defender Heavy Crossbow’ was initially invented not for defense but to counter the Elf Clan’s arrow rain—though cumbersome to move, it wasn’t very effective against the agile Elf Archery Squad.

But during a siege, the ’City Defender Heavy Crossbow’ demonstrated its counter-arrow rain capability.

Before the dense arrow rain descended, the arrow cutters were already heading forward.

Crunch, crunch...

The arrow rain was shredded into wooden shreds, and not just that; the arrow cutters then moved towards the middle ranks of the Imperial Army.

The arrow cutters landed, slicing through large groups of soldiers before they could even scream, and the tribe’s situation appeared victorious.

But was this the case? Not at all. Once the stones and corpses beneath the fortress reached a certain height, the Imperial army would charge up the fortress and begin hand-to-hand combat.

Oddly, there was no large-scale magic in either army—no Fire Rain Technique, nor Gale Technique.

It wasn’t because there weren’t any mages in the factions, but the spellcasters of this world lacked strong group battle abilities. One-on-one, the spellcasters were capable, but large-scale magic hadn’t appeared since the Empire’s founding, for reasons unknown.

Nowadays, spellcasters rarely joined wars, preferring to explore magic itself, not involved in the struggle for power. As for the Second Tier Contracted Mages, their chances of mastering large-scale magic were even less unless possessing special bloodlines or equipment, as conventional large-scale magic’s mana cost was astronomical, and recklessly wasting mana in such a war meant courting death.

This world’s backbone force was its army; each soldier’s physical prowess was formidable. With the army bearing down, even the strongest spellcasters could only pack up and flee.

At this time, Su Xiao stood at a higher terrain on a small hill in the middle ranks of the Imperial Army, holding the Spider Queen.

Although it seemed somewhat incongruous for the Spider Queen to appear in this world, under the Reincarnation Paradise’s disguise, other soldiers merely saw it as Su Xiao’s special ability, akin to alchemy or magic.

Of course, Su Xiao wasn’t the only one using a sniper rifle on the battlefield. In such unique skirmishes, Contractors’ influence on war began to manifest.