Black Iron City is located behind the Beitang Defensive Line and is primarily responsible for communication and logistics between the Beitang Defensive Line and the Northern Border region.
Due to the construction of the Beitang Defensive Line, what was originally just a more convenient location has now become an important military town.
If the Beitang Defensive Line is a cluster of fortresses, then Black Iron City is a single fortress.
“How boring, there’s not a single rebel on the main road.”
General Kiss of Black Iron City stood on the city wall, watching the merchants coming and going below.
Indeed, although it is an important military fortress, it only recently became one this winter; before that, Black Iron City was merely a commercial hub.
And now it was still receiving merchants.
“Is it really okay to keep the gates open? Aren’t we at war?”
A soldier nervously glanced at the merchants below beside Kiss.
Strictly speaking, the state of war had never stopped; it was just that Lind and Doug had coincidentally chosen this winter to take a break and recuperate.
“Do you think the rebels can cross the Beitang Defensive Line to attack us directly?”
Kiss shrugged; no one understood the defensive capabilities of Beitang Fortress better than him.
“And besides, it’s about making money. If we don’t take advantage of this, are you really going to wait for the Lord Governor to pay the troops?”
The soldier was convinced by this very pragmatic reason.
Doug’s military pay was typically half paid in the first year, half owed in the second year, and by the third year, it was uncertain if they would receive anything at all; that was for a relatively important army. The rest had to find ways to manage on their own.
The simplest way was for the army to loot, but right now in the Northern Border, there was simply nothing left to take from the common people.
As he looked at the distant mountains, the soldier suddenly asked, “General, what if the enemy manages to take the Giant God Mountain Range and comes down to attack us?”
“That’s why I am the general and you are just a soldier. It’s such a simple matter; do you think I haven’t thought of it? How many people do you think they can bring down from the mountains? How much logistics can they carry? As long as we stay behind closed doors, wouldn’t the rebels end up isolated? What do we have to fear from a lone force?”
“I see, the general is wise. So should we close the gates now?”
The soldier nodded repeatedly and then asked a somewhat off-topic question.
“What? Why close the gates? I still have to do things here.”
“But the rebels are already coming!”
The soldier pointed toward the distant mountains.
“Damn, close the gates, quickly!”
In the chaos, the gates of Black Iron City were firmly closed.
Although Kiss liked to boast in front of everyone, in reality, he had never fought a battle. His position was secured entirely thanks to his family’s help in fabricating experiences and financial support.
After all, the garrison of Black Iron City was a lucrative position; it seemed dangerous, but in fact, it was flanked by the Beitang Defensive Line in front and reinforcements behind. If the enemy really attacked Black Iron City, it would mean the Beitang Defensive Line had collapsed, rendering Black Iron City meaningless and no longer worth defending.
Unless something unexpected happened, Black Iron City was very safe, but now the unexpected had arrived.
However, Kiss wasn’t overly frantic; after all, what he had to do was simply to close the gates. Just as he had analyzed while boasting with the soldiers earlier, the rebel army coming down from the Giant God Mountain Range couldn’t possibly number many, and they wouldn’t be able to bring much logistics either.
Moreover, although Black Iron City had just been converted into a fortress this winter, the equipment was complete, including a magical barrier that could defend against the enemy’s strange trebuchets.
It could be said that as long as there were no traitors within, Black Iron City would be as indestructible as the Beitang Defensive Line.
In the midst of his apprehension, Kiss fondled the firearm in his hands, a gift from Governor Doug and rumored to be a crucial weapon used by the rebels. It was indeed very powerful and useful, but it had no effect on attacking a fortress; it was only needed to defend against the enemy’s explosive trebuchet.
As he watched the rebel army approaching in the distance, Kiss shouted, “Quick, bring the professionals who supply power to the barrier! Don’t let anyone near the gates except our soldiers!”
Kiss’s choice was indeed very wise; after all, although he had never fought a battle, he was afraid of dying.
In this era, unless the opposing force had a significantly larger number of professionals than the defending side, attacking a fortress was very difficult, especially since the rebel army looked like it didn’t number many.
When the flag of the Northern Wind Bear, flapping in the cold wind, reached the city below, Kiss finally saw the enemy’s configuration clearly.
Rather than a siege unit, it looked more like a small raid force, likely intending to rush quickly; the enemies wore cloth armor and carried backpacks.
Kiss wasn’t mistaken; it was indeed cloth armor. Even their leader didn’t wear a proper suit of plate armor but rather had some iron pieces added to the cloth armor.
In an instant, Kiss felt that the enemy’s army might be just as Doug the governor had said; it was seriously corrupt and that soldiers could only gnaw on tree bark daily, meaning they could only use the weakest protective cloth armor.
Doug spoke vividly, even explaining the methods of corruption, as if he had seen it with his own eyes or had personally engaged in it, making it hard not to believe.
On the city wall, crossbowmen and soldiers with firearms were haphazardly shooting at the rebel army.
A team of rebel soldiers moved forward with shields towards the city wall; Kiss took the opportunity, drew his firearm, and fired at the gaps amongst the shield bearers. Immediately, he witnessed a shocking sight.
The bullet was deflected.
“What the hell, is it fully enchanted cloth armor?!”
Kiss cursed on the spot.
This wasn’t even a low-level enchantment; it was truly a specialized magic enhancement. Kiss believed that this firearm, specifically designed by an alchemist and maintained daily, would hit even against plate armor at this distance, making the opponent feel pain due to the impact.
Yet now, it couldn’t even pierce the enemy’s cloth armor.
At this moment, the professionals acting as mages finally arrived at the city wall.
After chanting, several fireballs landed solidly on the enemy’s shields, causing the soldiers to be blown back by the explosions of the fireballs and quickly dragged away by their allies. Kiss couldn’t help but think that magic was indeed useful.
My Lord, the era hasn’t changed.
However, Kiss soon noticed something was wrong. After several incantations from the mages, the enemy drew a clear line on the ground; it was obvious they were calculating the maximum attack range from Kiss’s side.
Moreover, he saw the injured soldiers being administered various potions right under his nose, quickly revitalizing them.
Some even gave the middle finger to the spellcasters on the city walls.
Well, the potions manufactured by the rebels were popular throughout the Northern Border; even Kiss’s troops had some of the enemy’s potions. How could they possibly be out of money and medicine?
But that didn’t matter; as long as they waited for reinforcements to launch their attack, everything would be fine.
Yet, as he watched the maximum attack range defined by the enemy, a feeling of ominous premonition arose in Kiss’s heart.
Soon, a figure that looked like an alchemist began assembling something beyond the drawn line with the help of several soldiers. Based on its basic shape, it seemed like the strange trebuchet mentioned in the intelligence report that the rebels possessed, something referred to as a cannon.
Seeing this, Kiss’s heart finally settled; what was he worried about? Did the enemy have no worthwhile equipment? To defend against this so-called cannon, Black Iron City had specially spent a fortune to install a magical barrier. With the few people they had, how much ammunition could they possibly bring after a long rush?
They might not even need to use the magic stones to supply the barrier; relying solely on the professionals would be enough to completely block the enemy’s attack.
With this thought, Kiss also popped his head up over the city wall and gave the rebels below the middle finger.
