Chapter 333 (1/2)

Chapter 333 The Defense Battle at the New City Wall

In that instant, the sound of the bells echoed. It was as if the emotions of the entire camp had been roused.

Van’er rushed out of the tent. Along with the stream of people, he rushed to the top of the wall with hurried steps and took his combat position. This series of maneuvers had already been rehearsed countless times. Even without someone to command them, everyone was aware of what they should do next.

It was the same as the Month of Demons last year. Under a state of alert, only a small patrol team would be assigned to each segment of the wall as two or three soldiers were enough to deal with the scattered demonic beasts. Only when the lookout post detects a large scale attack from the demonic beasts would an alarm be rung.

In the horizon, a shadow was approaching. Van’er did a rough calculation of the enemy’s numbers and found that they numbered around a thousand. If this happened a year ago, what followed would absolutely be a bout of arduous fighting. Back then, as a pikeman responsible for buying some time so the Firearms team could reload, it was necessary for him to take turns rotating with a member that was in reserve. Only by doing that, would he be able to persist to the very end.

But now, the strength of this small town had already undergone an earth-shaking change.

Cat’s claw removed the cover on the cannon and shook off the snow that had been collecting on it, while Rodney inspected every inch of the artillery’s barrel. After confirming there was no foreign matters inside, he began to load it with gunpowder. Although the current city walls were altered and made using a pile of mud bricks, its height and width had been increased to a certain extent. In addition, a shelling platform was set up every hundred meters, causing its defensive ability, as well as firepower, to improve greatly.

The width of the passageway allowed four people to fit through it side by side. During a battle, the first row would consist of soldiers from the firearms team, while the second row would then be recruits who would load up the guns. The latter group was responsible for putting bullets into the cylinder of a gun, then handing it over to the regular soldiers ahead of them.

“They just never get bored of this, do they?” Rodney yawned. “When the Month of the Demons arrives each year, all of them run towards this place like a bunch of lunatics. Even if they succeeded in attacking such a small town, they wouldn’t get any sort of benefits from it, right?”

“Well, they’re here just in time for us to hone our skills.” Horatio said with a smile. “Compared to immobile wooden targets, it’s more interesting to shoot at demonic beasts.”

“Speaking of target shooting, I recently heard an interesting rumor that had something to do with us, the gunner team.” Jop said with a mysterious expression.

“What sort of rumor is that?”

“From what I heard the people in other gunner groups say, the people that were able to hit their targets accurately would be incorporated into an elite gunner team, where they would undertake new tasks.” He paused for a moment. “Do any of you here have any more insider knowledge about this?”

“An elite gunner team?”

“How could it be possible for us to know more when even you, who proclaims yourself as experienced and knowledgeable about matters is clueless about it?”

“I bet it’s a cock and bull story made up by some bored person.”

Within the gunner group, only Van’er was silent. After listening to Jop’s words, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows. Someone had actually treated this matter as flaunt-worthy material and blabbered it out?

Sir Iron-axe had previously looked for him a week before and told him that His Royal Highness had intended to develop a new type of artillery. It would be completely different from the field gun they were currently using and would also not be dispatched for use in the First Army. Instead, it would be installed on the bridge, turning it into a warship that was capable of long distance attacks. The operators of the new artillery gun would be undertaken by the most outstanding members of the gunner team. If one wishes to be a member, they could send their application to Iron Axe.

It went without saying that Iron Axe agreed without the slightest hesitation. This was evidently a chance for him to advance a step further in the army. According to what Iron Axe said, His Royal Highness had an extremely high expectation towards this new branch of the army, to the point that it was possible for it to break away from the First Army and become a brand new army. If one is able to perform great feats, the new warships manufactured in the future would be named using that person’s name too.

It was such a honor! If there were a warship named Van’er, he would be perfectly contented for the rest of his life. Recalling his origins, he was just an odd-job labourer in the mines, yet had always posed as someone extraordinary. In the end, Van’er was not able to save even his brother’s life when he was in the slums of the stronghold. However, the current him no longer required to flaunt about anything. There was no need to worry about food or drinks in the army while the uniforms were thick and warm; Even when he returned to the district, the surrounding neighbours would greet him as well.