Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

On the waters outside the docks of Red Sulfur Harbor, a large fleet was slowly sailing in, led by big sailships and heavy galleons. The size of the Fuste warships boarded by the Saint Marco Legion seemed insignificant in front of the incoming large warships.

The large warships stowed their sails and were nearing the docks. Plumes of white smoke spurted from the sides of the ships, followed by the thunderous sound of cannons that reached Winters' ears.

This fleet firing salutes was all too familiar to Winters; it was the reinforcement he had longed for, day and night.

One day after Red Sulfur Harbor had changed hands,

The Vineta Revenge Fleet had arrived.

...

...

Meeting after meeting, the endless meetings.

Bureaucracy is indeed the cancer of mankind.

Field hadn't even left before he was called to attend a joint senior officers' meeting between the Saint Marco Legion and the Da Weineta Legion.

Winters was not qualified to attend such a high-level meeting, and he was more than happy to have his leisure.

Inside the council hall, the atmosphere was very awkward.

Even without recognizing the subtle differences in uniform decorations between legions, one could clearly tell from their facial expressions which officers belonged to the Saint Marco Legion and which were from Da Weineta.

With the battle achievement of capturing Red Sulfur Harbor in hand, the officers of the Saint Marco Legion were beaming with pride, their backs ramrod straight. Especially Major General Layton, who, having sat on the sidelines for many years, finally had his moment of satisfaction; even the volume of his voice had risen by a notch.

On the other hand, the officers from Da Weineta Legion looked on with disgruntlement and sat in silence. They had done the grunt work, but others claimed the victory. Seeing the triumphant demeanor of their allies, the officers of Da Weineta had a mix of sourness and irritation in their hearts.

However, Major General Serviati had tremendous prestige within his legion, so the officers of Da Weineta refrained from sarcasm or strange remarks, maintaining an outward sense of harmony.

Legionnaire Antonio Serviati first exchanged greetings with Layton before moving onto the main subject, "Now that Red Sulfur Harbor has been captured and our two legions have united, we should consider how to clear out the enemy within Red Sulfur Island as soon as possible..."

Before he could finish, the haughty Layton interrupted Antonio, "The Confederate troops were so scared by us that they ran into Tachi. Leave it to our Saint Marco Legion; within a week, I'll take Tachi!"

"I understand the situation in Tachi quite well, and relying on one legion might be difficult to make substantial progress in a short time," Antonio replied mildly, "We'd be better off not launching an assault and instead trying to persuade the garrison to surrender."

"Tachi, such a tiny place, can their city defenses be as solid as Red Sulfur Harbor's Bastion? I took down the Bastion of Red Sulfur Harbor in one day; how could I not take Tachi?" Layton, full of confidence, slapped Antonio's shoulder, "You don't trust us, do you? Don't worry, you can rest well in Red Sulfur Harbor while we take Tachi."

Antonio instinctively wanted to dodge, but he restrained himself and let Layton pat his shoulder grandly, his face still wearing a polite smile.

Seeing Layton's disrespect, several hot-tempered officers from Da Weineta were about to explode on the spot, but upon seeing Antonio's composed demeanor, they gritted their teeth and endured.

"The situation in Tachi is quite complicated; we should first scout the area," Antonio pondered for a moment before adding more diplomatically, leaving Layton some dignity, "Even if an assault is necessary, we can't let just your legion do it—give Da Weineta a chance to earn merit as well."

"Alright, alright," Layton laughed heartily, and with a slap to his forehead he said, "Then what are we still gabbing about here for? Let's go! Directly to Tachi, I want to see what's so special about this little Tachi!"

He dragged Antonio along and rushed off eagerly; however, upon arriving at the scene, he could only utter three words, "Eh? My grass! This…"

What happened?

A natural barrier with mountains on both sides, positioned high and looking down.

A narrow front that made it impossible for the attacking troops to fan out.

An outer wall nearly ten meters tall, encased in volcanic rock, imposing and formidable.

Outside the wall, a swarm of people, like ants, busily dug a moat around the city.

Layton dismounted and dug into the soil; beneath a less than an inch-deep layer of dirt was the same tough volcanic rock—there was no digging through this cursed place. Explore new worlds at empire

Although Layton was recognized among the land army officer academy graduates of his year as a reckless man, he was not lacking in intelligence.

Although Tachi was small, it was undoubtedly a hard nut to crack—no, not a nut, granite.

This… how the hell can we attack this?