Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

While Winters and Andre racked their brains to build credibility on Red Sulfur Island, several small-scale battles erupted around the tunnel entrance as the two opposing armies at Tachi clashed.

William Kidd only had light artillery, which was not powerful enough to destroy the tunnel entrance from a distance. Once he discovered its ineffectiveness, the defending troops quickly ceased the bombardment.

That night, nearly a hundred Cavalry from the Federation assembled quietly outside the city under the cover of darkness.

When the Federation Cavalry led their warhorses out of the city gates, the Vineta sentinels a few hundred meters away were completely unaware, as their view of the city gates was obscured.

The people of Tanilia had constructed a temporary triangular fortification in front of the city gate, which hindered the view of the Vineta forces, preventing them from seeing whether the city gate was open or closed.

It was only when the thundering sound of hoofbeats reached their ears that the Vineta sentinels realized the Tanilians were attacking.

Barely had the Vineta sentinels rung the alarm bell when the Federation Cavalry had already charged to the forefront of the tunnel entrance. Instead of entering the tunnel to attack the Vineta camp, the riders stayed at the edge of the tunnel and hurled grappling hooks toward the walls.

They were not there to raid the camp, but to dismantle the wall.

The grappling hooks used by the riders were modified from those used in boarding battles at sea, one end featuring a metal claw like an eagle's talon, and the other end tied to the breastplate of a warhorse. With a quick pull from the warhorse, they easily dragged down baskets filled with soil and stones from the wall.

However, as the riders were working hard to dismantle the wall, William Kidd, who was watching the battle from atop the triangular fort, noticed something amiss... It seemed as though there were bushes shifting vaguely on both the east and west sides.

"Sound the cannon! Get them back! Quickly!" William Kidd suddenly realized his mistake, shouting frantically, "Get them back!"

The cannoneer by his side promptly pulled a red-hot iron rod from the charcoal furnace and inserted it into the touch hole.

In the silent night, the roar of the cannon was clearly audible even from a great distance.

By the time the sound of the cannon reached the Vineta encampment, Layton could hardly catch his breath for laughing; he ordered with glee, "Why the hell hide anymore? We've been spotted! Signal the flanks! Have the large units move in immediately!"

A Spellcaster officer, following orders, raised his hand and shot a signal flare dozens of meters into the sky. The green flare exploded midair, a much more efficient means of communication than firing a canon.

On the eastern side of the battlefield, Colonel Field, who was moving covertly, saw the signal flare and leapt onto his warhorse. Enhanced with a spell to amplify his voice, he shouted, "No need to hide anymore! Second unit, follow me!"

Having said that, he buckled on his helmet and charged at the head of the Cavalry units from the Federation, shouting the name of the patron Saint of Vineta as he led the charge, "Saint Marco!"

The soldiers of the second unit of the Saint Marco Legion hesitated at first, but then with cries of "Saint Marco," they followed Field and charged towards the enemy.

The same happened with another unit on the left flank.

The two infantry units from both flanks were enveloping the Federation's Cavalry like encircling arms.

In the meantime, a large group of Halberdiers poured out from the main tunnel entrance, dragging down and killing several Cavalry from the Federation who had not untied their ropes, so panicked they even forgot they could cut the grappling hooks with their swords.

"William Kidd is too dumb. Not only is he dumb, but he also thinks everyone else is as dumb as he is..." Layton, still not having caught his breath, wiped away tears of laughter as he said to Antonio, "...are we really at war with this kind of opponent?"

For seasoned military professionals like Antonio and Layton, William Kidd's strategy was as transparent as clear water.

If bombardment didn't work, then attempt a night attack—such logic was far too straightforward, and naturally, Antonio and Layton were prepared for it.

Layton had initially thought the Tanilians wouldn't cause trouble that night, considering, "Surely William Kidd wouldn't be so foolish that after failing to bombard us, he'd try to sneak attack the same evening, right?"

But the Federation Cavalry really did come.

"I'm a bit puzzled myself," said Antonio, shaking his head with a mix of confusion and resignation, "as if we've changed opponents."

"If you ask me, that's just William Kidd's level. He's just a pirate, what else do you expect? Just keeping these thousands of men together without falling apart is already him punching above his weight," Layton dismissed Antonio's doubts, though it was unclear whether he was deriding Kidd or praising him.

Antonio thought it over and actually found Layton's words to make sense.

Over thousands of years of evolution, war had transformed from a brutal contest between primitive tribes to a precise technical profession.

A fool, given systematic officer training, could learn how to allocate troops and arrange formations, whereas an untrained bright person, no matter how intelligent, could not intuitively organize a large army.

That is the purpose of training, not to make smart people smarter, but to make the foolish appear less foolish.

From Antonio and Layton, to Field and Moritz, to Winters, Bard, and Andre, they had all undergone comprehensive military command training. They haven't become smarter, but they know how not to make mistakes. Discover more content at empire

And tonight, the commander of the defending forces at Tachi had made a big mistake: he underestimated his opponent.

The infantry units from the left and right flanks were coordinating smoothly with the Halberdiers at the front, rapidly closing in the encirclement.

Upon hearing the retreat signal, the Cavalry of the Federation started fleeing toward the city walls in disarray. Field, noticing this, immediately redirected his charge to intercept the gap between the Federation Cavalry and the city walls.