Alien Knights

After detecting the enemy's defense information, he drew it on the map he carried with him. After finishing all this, Randall, with Aldenan and Kellogg, carefully returned to their camp.

In this way, one scout team after another fed back the detected information to the headquarters headquarters.

Seven days later, with the assistance of his adjutants, Cumberland had pieced together a relatively complete enemy's front line defense plan.

Looking at the dense red dots and flags marked on the sand table, Cumberland's brows twisted into a Sichuan shape, and his knuckles unconsciously hit the table without saying a word.

"Sir, you see, these marks represent the enemy's small outposts. Each outpost has no more than a hundred troops stationed. It has horses and muskets, but no artillery. It generally serves the role of early warning and surveillance. These marks represent the enemy's medium-sized strongholds. , the garrison has between 300 and 800 people. It has tunnels, trenches, bunkers and other defensive facilities. It is generally built in strategic areas such as hills, ridges, canyon mouths, and plains. It can look out and snipe the troops who want to pass. Easy to defend but difficult to attack.”

"And these, they represent the enemy's large camps, used to station troops and store supplies. The garrison has more than two thousand people. They have all the defense facilities available. They are located between several strongholds and can be supported at any time."

"Our scouts have now advanced the reconnaissance line to about ten kilometers deep into the forest. There are seventeen small outposts marked, eight medium-sized strongholds, and two large camps. The enemy's strength that has been detected so far is approximately There are about 11,000 people. According to our estimates, there should be other enemy fortifications deep in the forest, and the number of enemy troops should be far more than this number."

After listening to the adjutant's introduction, Cumberland nodded and said sadly: "Bromo Hesmond, I originally hoped that the old guy with one foot in the coffin would be so confused that he didn't know how to fight. Now. It seems that I made a mistake."

As soon as Cumberland finished speaking, a craftsman came in holding a musket about 140 centimeters long and said: "Sir, we are all ready."

Cumberland nodded and walked out.

In the open space behind the expeditionary camp, an area was cleared that would later be used for experiments.

The Muxi Knights, Crusaders, and Valkyries gathered around the plain, quietly waiting for the experiment to begin.

Looking at the bunker model made of earth and stone in the center of the test site, and the group of dummies placed next to it, Barbara asked doubtfully: "What does Lord Cumberland want to do?"

Werewolf Aldenan crossed his arms across his chest and whispered: "I guess he wants to assess the power of the enemy's weapons and fortifications."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cumberland led a group of craftsmen into the testing site under the gaze of everyone.

A craftsman held the heavy musket and said to Cumberland: "Sir, our scouts stole three muskets from the enemy. This one is the most common Imperial Rogui military rifle Type 5. ."

Cumberland looked at the musket as he walked: "This thing is a little different from the southern weapons I have seen."

"Yes, we believe this musket is a relatively new version of the Southern Empire's military musket. Compared with the past design, it has a longer barrel, a serpentine spring and a flintlock ignition, and it also has a new front sight and powder chamber. There has been some improvement.”

"What surprises us most is that the Southern Empire has reached a new height in parts design and standardization. You see, here is the blocker, here is the movement..."

"Stop talking nonsense! What are the shooting parameters?"

"A skilled hand can do three rounds a minute, and an average soldier can do two rounds a minute."

"Where's the range?"

"The killing range is about three hundred meters, but the accurate range is only about eighty meters."

Cumberland stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, then pointed to the dummy in the field and said: "Let's start the shooting experiment. Let's see how powerful this musket is."

Soon, under the watchful eyes of everyone in the field, the craftsmen quickly built the shooting stand and calibrated the angle.

He took an iron breastplate commonly used in the army and put it on the dummy. After getting Cumberland's approval, the craftsman pulled the trigger of the musket.

There was a huge explosion, thick smoke, and dazzling fire. Some soldiers who had never seen musket fire couldn't help but scream in fear.

When the smoke slowly dissipated, the craftsmen took off the breastplate from the dummy and showed it to Cumberland.

On the left chest of the armor, a round hole the size of a bronze star looked particularly glaring.

Cumberland looked inside through the round hole. The other end of the breastplate had not been penetrated, but only had a large dent in it.

The craftsman shook his head while looking at it: "The average thickness of this breastplate is 7.5 millimeters, which is the standard armor used by heavy infantry. The bullets from the musket first penetrated the armor surface, and then penetrated the wearer's body. When hit When it reached the other side inside the armor, it bounced back, causing a second damage to the human body."

Cumberland waved, called Ackerman, who was standing aside and watching, to his side and asked, "What do you think?"

Ackerman said seriously: "This breastplate is the standard armor used by most soldiers in the Crusaders. If the power of the musket is so powerful, then even those who are strong and have the ability to regenerate in the Crusaders will Orcs, I’m afraid they won’t be able to withstand this kind of attack…”

"As we promised, bring that up," Cumberland said to Ackerman.

Ackerman nodded and directed the two dwarves to bring a Tyrant Dragon Bone Parasite and put it on the dummy.

Cumberland motioned to the craftsmen: "Hit again."

A craftsman set up the musket, took aim, and pulled the trigger.

Along with the huge fire of the bullet coming out of the barrel, there was a crisp sound from the Dragon Bone Parasite.

Before the smoke cleared, Ackerman rushed to the dummy and took off the keel.

Cumberland took a closer look and saw a small crater on the insect armor on the front of the Dragon Bone Parasite. The bullet was stuck in the armor and did not damage the internal soft parts.

Ackerman breathed a sigh of relief: "Although the musket broke the outer armor of the keel, the tyrant keel can deform and superimpose multiple layers of insect armor to increase its defense the moment it is attacked. From this point of view, the keel can resist the musket. Attacking."

Cumberland asked, "How many sets of these keels are there?"

"Less than a thousand sets. There are 600 sets used by the Muxi Knights, and the remaining 400 sets are used by the Crusade commanders..."

Ackerman's voice grew quieter, realizing what Cumberland meant.

Keel growth is slow and reproduction is difficult, and there is no way to equip it on a large scale.

Cumberland touched the musket and said: "This is just the attack of one musket. If dozens of muskets attack a keel at the same time; in addition, the enemy also has shotguns, and the impact area of ​​​​that thing is much wider. wider, the shooting power is greater.”

Seeing Ackerman's solemn look, Cumberland sighed: "Let's discuss these issues later. Let's continue the weapons experiment. The notification goes on, the craftsmen prepare the bunker, and the soldiers clear the crowd. Let's try it next. Only by exploding these turtle shells!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a harpy that flapped its wings vigorously and swayed stumbled from the sky and fell at Ackerman's feet. He shouted anxiously: "Commander! Commander! It's not good. !problem occurs!"

Ackerman said displeased: "What are you doing in a hurry? You have to stay calm no matter how big the situation is. Could it be that the enemy is coming?"

"No, no! There are several shamans and commanders in the orc tribe. They were dissatisfied with not attacking for a long time, so they secretly took their tribesmen into the forest, saying that they wanted to use a great victory to prove their of strength and faith!”

"What did you say?!"

Cumberland opened his eyes wide, his body trembled unconsciously, and the musket in his hand fell to the ground.