When a big hole was blown out in the outer city wall, everyone on the inner city wall stared at it in amazement.
Suddenly a breeze blew towards Chanup and his friends.
When the wind blows this way, it brings a strong and somewhat disgusting smell - this is a strange smell mixed with the stench of gunpowder and the smell of burning things, which makes people want to vomit...
"Prepare for the bombardment! The Japanese army's artillery should soon hit the inner city wall!" Faced with this scene that was like the collapse of heaven and earth for everyone in the Red Moon Fortress, Chanup was the first to react and shouted loudly to the people around him...
…
…
Outside the city, at the main camp of the shogunate army, the main camp of the entire army——
There was no need to use a telescope to see. Anyone with eyes could clearly see that a big hole had been blasted in the city wall that had blocked their way for nine days by their artillery fire.
Feeling proud, Inamori laughed with great satisfaction.
"It's so satisfying!" Inamori did not try to hide his smug smile, "Finally, we managed to blow down this damn city wall!"
Dao Sen waved his palm and said:
"Order the artillerymen and cannon operators! Keep firing! Give me the inner wall of the fortress as well... Hmm?"
Before Inamori finished his new order, he saw snowflakes flying in front of his eyes, landing on his military uniform and armor.
He raised his head and looked at the sky - what caught his eye was the snowflakes that beautifully embellished the dark clouds that had filled the entire sky since before dawn.
The snow was falling heavily. When Inamori looked up, it was still "moderate snow", but after just a few breaths , the snow turned into heavy snow with strong winds.
"Tsk..." Inamori curled his lips, revealing an extremely unhappy expression, "The weather is not good... It's snowing so hard at this time..."
"Lord Inamori." A confidant standing beside Inamori said softly, "With such a heavy snowstorm, we can't use firearms anymore."
"I know..." Inamori said in a deep voice, "There is no other way... Let the artillerymen and cannonmen withdraw temporarily. After the wind and snow stop, we can take down the last wall of this fortress."
In this era, even the most advanced artillery and gunpowder in Europe were extremely afraid of rainy, windy and snowy days - because in such weather, gunpowder was extremely susceptible to moisture.
So there was no need for this confidant to remind him, Inamori also knew that in the current environment, their firearms would be of no use for the time being.
"Due to the previous wave of bombardment, we lost at least one-third of the shells and gunpowder we brought..." At this time, another confidant twitched his mouth and continued with a regretful tone, "These are not cheap..."
"Don't worry about the money at this moment..." Inamori said helplessly.
After saying that, Inamori stood up and left the stool under his butt.
"I'll go back to the tent to rest for a while. If the snow stops or gets smaller, tell me immediately."
"yes!"
"Lord Inamori!"
Before Inamori had walked far, someone else shouted his name and stopped him.
The one who called him was Gui Yizheng.
"What's the matter?" Inamori turned and looked at Katsura Yoshimasa.
"Now, the outer wall of those barbarians has been destroyed by us. I guess they are scared out of their wits." Gui Yizheng said slowly, "Do we need to persuade them to surrender again?"
"No need." Inamori answered without hesitation.
He looked towards the fortress in the distance with disgust.
"These days, those barbarians have had countless opportunities to surrender to us, but they always chose to resist stubbornly."
"They need to pay the price for their foolish resistance."
…
…
Red Moon Fortress, Kunoa's clinic—
"Little girl, why are you sitting up again?"
As soon as Kunoya returned to the clinic, she saw Atachi sitting against the wall.
"Cunoya, you're back."
A-Machi looked at Kunoa in surprise.
"It's so rare to see you back at this time..."
"Didn't you say a few days ago that my body had recovered well and I could sit and walk slowly now?"
A-Ming patted his chest.
"Recently, I have been lying down all day, and I am getting tired of it. So I want to sit and stand more often now that I can sit and stand up."
"Well... I did say that. But you should also remember to get more rest and don't push yourself too hard."
"Kunoya." At this time, A-Ming asked, "You came at the right time... I want to ask: I just heard a lot of artillery fire, and... something seemed to be falling. What happened?"
Kuronoa: "It's no big deal."
Kunoya, who didn't want to stand and talk to people, sat cross-legged next to Atachi, and continued talking while cleaning the tobacco residue in the pipe that she never left with her with a skilled hand.
"It was just that the Japanese troops outside the city used firearms to blow a big hole in our outer city wall."
Kunoya summarized what had just happened in just a few words.
"…Now it suddenly started snowing hard, making the Japanese army's firearms temporarily unusable, so the Japanese army's offensive has been temporarily stopped."
"Fortunately, Chanup gave the order to retreat in time, and everyone on the outer wall escaped before a hole was blown out of the wall. Only a few people were slightly injured because they were accidentally hit by the fragments splashed after the wall was broken."
"So I don't have too many injured people to deal with today, so I can come back early to rest."
After learning what had just happened, A-Ming did not immediately express any comments on this event which was undoubtedly bad news for everyone in the Red Moon Fortress.
Instead, he gave Kunoya an expression of disbelief.
"...Kunoya, you are so calm..." Atachi couldn't help but whispered in a surprised and puzzled tone, "A big hole was blasted out of the outer wall, and you can still remain so calm..."
"I've said it many times before." Kunoya shrugged and smiled. "I've seen a lot of storms. I've seen a lot of storms. Now there's basically nothing that can make me panic."
Kunoya put the cleaned pipe back into her arms.
"Right now, Chanup and his men are taking advantage of the fact that the offensive of the Japanese army has stopped and are discussing how to deal with the firearms of the Japanese army."
"But I don't think they can come up with anything..."
"The Japanese army's artillery and cannons are all placed where our bows and muskets cannot reach them, and we cannot send anyone to attack them, as that would only mean death."
"Today...maybe this is the last day of this struggle..."
These days, Kunoya, who basically had an expression of "not caring about anything", now showed a rare serious look.
"...Little girl. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever thought about how to protect yourself after the city is breached? Hmm? Little girl, are you daydreaming?"
It was then that Kunoya realized that Atachi beside her had been lowering his head slightly for some time - he looked like he was thinking about something.
Seeing that Ating did not respond to her, Kunoya was about to raise her hand to shake Ating, but Ating suddenly raised his head:
"Ms. Kunoya, can you take me to Mr. Chanup and his friends? Right now."
…
…
Red Moon Fortress, Chanup's home——
"…There is no other way except sending people out to kill those guys with firearms…" After saying this, Reitanoe slowly bent down as if his waist had lost its support.
"But this is no different from suicide." Lin Ziping, who was sitting opposite Reitanoe, refuted bluntly, "You should have seen it just now, there are many guards beside those artillerymen and cannonmen ."
"And the Japanese army also has cavalry. Once they see us sending people out of the city, they can immediately send out cavalry to encircle and suppress us."
"Charging down the city wall is just an act of suicide."
"So what can we do now?" Lei Tannoy and Lin Ziping argued. "Wait quietly for the snowstorm to stop, and then sit back and watch them continue to bombard our city walls?"
Lin Ziping: “…”
Lin Ziping said nothing and lowered his head.
The atmosphere in the room became even more depressing because of Lin Ziping's silence.
After the offensive of the He army stopped, Chanup and his men held an emergency meeting to discuss what to do with the He army's artillerymen.
However——They have not come up with any perfect solution after discussing it till now...
"…Retannoy is right." At this time, Chanup's deep voice sounded, "Now we have no choice but to leave the city and deal with their artillerymen and cannonmen."
"Gather all our dog sleds together. This will increase our movement speed a bit."
"I will personally lead a group of the most powerful archers out of the city and use rockets to shoot at the artillerymen and cannonmen. As long as we can ignite their gunpowder and cause an explosion, we can blow them all up into the sky."
As soon as Chanup finished speaking, everyone present looked at him in shock.
"Mr. Chanup, do you want to lead people out of the city yourself?" Lin Ziping asked first.
"This is an extremely dangerous mission," Chanup said calmly. "We need to leave the city and face the Japanese army. This requires someone with enough weight to lead the charge, and the others will have the courage to follow."
"This type of operation was proposed by me, so it is most appropriate for me to lead the charge."
"At the same time, if I personally go into battle, it can boost morale and fighting spirit to the greatest extent, and increase the chances of winning this battle to a certain extent."
Retannoy: "Chanoup..."
Just as Reitannoe was about to say something else, Chanup interrupted him and said:
"Rentanoe, I know what you want to say."
"You don't need to persuade me anymore."
"Whether we can eliminate those artillerymen and cannonmen today will determine the success or failure of our struggle."
"If anyone else were to lead the charge, the effect would definitely not be as good as if I were to do it myself."
"So don't waste your time trying to persuade me."
"I will lead the charge myself - to give this battle a better chance of success."
Chanup's tone was without any hesitation or hesitation, leaving no room for argument.
Retannoy's lips opened and closed, opened and closed, and finally all the words in his heart turned into a long sigh.
The atmosphere around was still solemn—but there was a hint of sadness in the solemnity.
"Before the Japanese army's offensive begins again, start mobilizing everyone and making rockets."
Chanup said as he slowly stood up.
“We’ll do as much as we can.”
"Retannoy, go to the warehouse and take the oil we have in stock..."
"Chanoop! Chanoop! Chanoop!"
Suddenly, loud shouts calling Chanup's name came from outside the house.
Chanup frowned and looked outside the house: "Kunoya?"
call!
The door curtain was lifted, and two women appeared in the field of vision of Chanup and others through the opened curtain.
One of the women was Kunoya, who was very familiar to everyone present.
As for the other woman, most people were unfamiliar with her - except Chanup and Lin Ziping.
"Hmm?" Chanup raised his eyebrows. "Kunoya, why did you bring Miss Ating here? And - what is that thing on your back?"
The woman who was unfamiliar to everyone except Chanup and Lin Ziping was Ating.
At this moment, Ating was following closely behind Kunoya. Because she had just recovered to the point where she could walk normally in the last few days, her cheeks were still pale and her steps were a little weak.
"This is the girl's stuff." Kunoya smiled bitterly and patted the large cloth bag on her back. "I'm not sure what this is. It's quite heavy."
"This little girl seems to have something important to tell you, and she insisted that I bring her to see you."
"And he asked me to help carry this heavy thing as well."
Kunoya was carrying a large, long-pole cloth bag on her back.
Because it is wrapped tightly with cloth, it is difficult for outsiders to see what is inside the bag.
"Do you have something to tell me?" Chanup gave Ating a puzzled look.
"Mr. Chanup," A-Ting said, "I have heard everything from Kunoya about what happened this morning."
"Maybe I can be of some help."
Having said that, A-Machi took down the things that Kunoya was carrying, put them on the ground, and then untied the cloth that tightly wrapped the things inside.
Soon, Ating untied the big cloth bag.
After the big cloth bag was opened, everyone present - including Kunoya who had just carried the thing over - looked at the things exposed after the cloth bag was opened with shocked eyes.
There were five muskets in the cloth bag.
5-barrel musket of slightly different style from the flintlock.
"Kentucky...long rifle..." Lin Ziping said in a daze as he looked at the five muskets.
…
…
Outside the city, at the main camp of the shogunate army, the main camp of the entire army——
Inamori stretched lazily and slowly walked out of his tent.
Just now, Inamori took a short nap - because of his good mood, Inamori had a rare and very sweet sleep.
"Very good...the snow and wind have stopped." After leaving the tent, Inamori looked up at the sky with a smug smile.
After Inamori walked out of the tent, several of Inamori's confidants who had been guarding outside the tent immediately came to greet him.
The sky, which was blowing snow and wind just now, has now stopped roaring, and even the dark clouds have dispersed a little, with some sunlight faintly shining through the gaps in the clouds.
Inamori, who was looking forward to taking over the Red Moon Fortress today, has been secretly praying that the snow and wind would stop soon since it started.
And now that the wind and snow have finally stopped, why should we delay any longer?
"Send a message to the artillerymen and cannonmen!" Inamori shouted to his trusted followers who had just come over, "Blast down the last wall of those barbarians!"
The same scene as this morning occurred.
The gunners pushed their guns.
The big barrel bearers carried their big barrels.
Under the escort of hundreds of soldiers, they slowly walked out of the barracks, marched to the shooting position this morning, and then stopped, and began to load gunpowder and shells into the cannons and cannon barrels they were responsible for.
So far, every scene is exactly the same as this morning.
But at this moment——
“Aaaaaaaaa——!”
Someone suddenly covered his left shoulder, fell to the ground, and rolled on the ground while wailing miserably.
This miserable howl slowly made the scene begin to become completely different from this morning.
The gunner who suddenly fell to the ground and wailed naturally scared everyone around him.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?!"
"what happen?!"
"Hey! What's wrong with you? Let me see your shoulder!"
"He's been shot!"
"Hit? Where did the bullet come from?"
"Was it the bullet fired by those barbarians?"
“Impossible! From such a long distance! There’s no way I can hit you… Aaaaaaaaa——!”
The soldier who had just shouted "Impossible" covered his stomach before he could finish his words, wailing and rolling on the ground, and the blood instantly dyed the snow beneath him red.
Everyone was just about to check on the second companion who was suddenly shot and injured——
“Aaaaaaaaaaa——!”
Another person was hit by a bullet, this time in the thigh.
Then the fourth person was shot, the fifth person was shot, the sixth person was shot...
More and more people were hit by bullets shot from somewhere unknown.
The cries of those who were shot intertwined together, like a huge hammer smashing into the hearts of the remaining people who had not been shot.
Not knowing where the bullet came from, and not knowing whether the next person to be hit would be oneself - this fear of the unknown caused the panic to spread at an extremely terrifying speed.
"Where on earth are these bullets coming from?"
"It must be the bullet shot by those barbarians!"
“From such a long distance, it’s impossible to shoot so accurately…Aaaaaaaaaa——!”
…
…
At this moment——
"Shoot." Ating said to the shooter beside him in a sad and breathless tone.
A young man who was responsible for interpreting for Ating immediately translated what Ating had just said to the shooter who was squatting next to Ating.
Bang!
After receiving the "shoot" command, the shooter immediately pulled the trigger, then handed the empty Kentucky long rifle in his hand to the person next to him who was responsible for refilling the bullets, and took the new gun that was ready for shooting.
Ah Ming held the gun barrel, stared at the artillerymen and barrel operators outside the city, and fine-tuned the gun.
"It's hard for me to aim when I'm being held so hard."
The translator once again translated Ating's words to the shooter, who then quickly relaxed his grip on the gun.
"Okay, shoot."
Gunfire shooting.
Another gunner was hit by a bullet and fell to the snow, wailing.
Ating's body was still very weak. The injury was on her collarbone, so she could not withstand the recoil of the Kentucky long rifle.
So——A-Machi handed the task of shooting to someone else.
You are responsible for adjusting the gun and aiming at the enemy.
The shooter only needs to pull the trigger.
Next to the shooter sit four people responsible for filling bullets. Their task is also simple: to reload the rifles that have been emptied of bullets.
Ating had a total of five Kentucky long rifles, one for shooting and the other four as reserves - this number was enough to ensure a continuous rain of bullets.
One person is responsible for aiming, one person is responsible for shooting, and four people are responsible for loading bullets - such a "shooting team" seems a bit unusual at first glance, but it is this unusual combination that gave the artillerymen and cannonmen outside the city a heavy blow.
"So amazing..." Lin Ziping stared blankly at the artillerymen and cannonmen in the distance who were already in chaos. "Although they are using Kentucky long rifles, which are famous for their range and accuracy, this shooting technique is really amazing..."
Even the worldly-wise Lin Ziping was amazed by Ating's shooting skills, let alone others.
Chanup, Retannoe, Tang Shen... everyone is basically stunned now.
And they were not the only ones who were stunned.
Outside the city, Inamori, who had been expecting to see a big hole blasted in the inner wall of the Red Moon Fortress, now had his eyes wide open and his mouth wide open.
…
…
Outside the city, at the main camp of the shogunate army, the main camp of the entire army——
It was not until more than ten people were knocked down by Atachi's long-range sniper fire that Inamori noticed the abnormality of the artillery formation.
Because he had just focused all his attention on the inner city wall, looking with hope at the wall which, as he expected, would soon be blasted with a big hole.
It was not until the artillery array stopped firing that Inamori looked at the artillery array with a telescope with a puzzled look on his face, and then he saw the gunners and barrel operators being knocked down one after another.
Inamori didn't know what exactly happened.
But he knew that if he didn't evacuate his men quickly, the few people he had who knew how to operate artillery and cannons would all die.
So, after putting down the telescope, Inamori immediately shouted to the messenger beside him in an anxious tone:
"Send a message to the artillery formation! Tell them to withdraw immediately!"
…
…
Red Moon Fortress, inner wall——
"I found something good..."
As Atachi muttered, he smiled like a bad boy who had successfully played a naughty prank.
He had amazing eyesight and could clearly see the positions of the generals and soldiers in the army's artillery formation even without a telescope.
She had been looking for something since the beginning.
After shooting down nearly twenty people, clearing away debris, and making her vision clearer, she finally found the target she had been looking for - the box of gunpowder.
Ah-Ming gripped the barrel of the rifle beside him and adjusted the gun.
A gunpowder box is much smaller than a human body, so even if it is Ating, there is no guarantee that he can hit the gunpowder box.
In order to hit the target with one strike, Ating was so focused that even his breathing slowed down unconsciously.
"...Shoot." Ating let go of the gun barrel.
Bang!
The scorching bullet flew out of the barrel, drawing streaks of scorching heat in the air.
Because the distance was quite far, the projectile deviated from its original trajectory after flying for a while, and its flight path changed from a straight line to a parabola.
The projectile fell in a parabolic trajectory and landed on the gunpowder box full of gunpowder.
boom!
The loudness was no less than the roar when the outer city wall collapsed this morning.
The projectile that fell into the powder box ignited the gunpowder and caused an explosion.
The fire wave generated by the explosion also ignited the gunpowder in the remaining gunpowder boxes.
Explosions superimposed on explosions, finally mixing into a huge explosion that enveloped almost the entire artillery formation.
…
…
Inamori stared blankly at the artillery formation where flames were still raging after the explosion...or rather, the "original artillery formation".
Everything that happened before my eyes was too dramatic...
This morning, he had successfully accomplished the heroic feat of bringing down the outer city wall, and his artillery formation, which he had placed high hopes on, was completely destroyed in the sea of ​​fire in the blink of an eye.
This overly dramatic change gave Inamori an extremely strong illusion that he was wondering if he was dreaming.
Inamori now really wants to punch himself to see if he is really in a dream.
The expressions of the generals around him were similar to those of Inamori.
Some generals who came to their senses lowered their heads consciously, looked at their noses with their eyes and their hearts with their noses, and remained silent.
After an unknown amount of time, the eerie silence in the main camp was finally broken by Inamori.
"...Send a message to the Second Army." With his eyes slightly red from anger, Inamori gritted his teeth and said, "All troops, march out and capture the last wall of the Red Moon Fortress!"
…
…
"Successfully..." Tang Shen, holding his Japanese sword, looked at the huge group of flames in the distance that destroyed the Japanese army's artillery formation, and subconsciously murmured in a low voice, "Successfully destroyed the Japanese army's artillery formation..."
After the artillery array was blown away, there was silence on the inner city wall at first.
Then gradually there was some noisy talking.
Finally - it turned into cheers.
On the inner city wall, almost everyone was cheering, cheering for the victory that had just occurred.
The artillery array that had caused them so much pain this morning and that they had been helpless against had now been destroyed in a sea of ​​fire - this feeling of satisfaction, this feeling of surviving a disaster, made almost everyone cheer and celebrate spontaneously.
As the absolute protagonist of this great victory, Ating, she breathed a sigh of relief, with a slightly tired and smiling face.
Everyone gathered around Ating and celebrated the victory - this is what should have happened next...
Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!
But the sudden sound of the conch shell brought everyone's cheers to an abrupt end.
"...Looks like we have to wait until tonight to celebrate properly." Tang Shen muttered as he clenched the Japanese sword in his hand.
"As expected..." Chanup said in a deep voice, "The artillery array is gone... so we just send ordinary troops to attack..."
Chanup took the bow and arrow from his back and said, "The Japanese army is about to attack! Get ready to meet them!"