Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

On the day following the minor skirmish at the moat, both the attacking and defending forces sent people to collect the bodies, with neither side taking any further action.

The second day, the defending army sent men out to dig the moat again.

However, this time they were not working under the cover of night but openly during the day, with clanging and banging.

Clearly, the defenders had keenly sensed the Venetians' weakness: no artillery, too few expendable troops, and a lack of cavalry.

Therefore, there was no need to work at night like thieves trying to muffle the bell, which would just allow the Venetians to approach under the cover of darkness.

So they brazenly worked during daylight when those on the city walls could have a clear view of the Venetians' every move from above. Continue reading at empire

The defenders were as if spreading their legs open and taunting the Venetians, "Come on, you come now. Don't you not come."

On the city walls, the half-moon and triangular forts, the Federation soldiers were ready for battle, with cannons and muskets loaded, crossbows strung, and bundles of arrows stacked by their sides.

It was obvious that if the Venetians were willing to risk bullets and arrows to fight for the moat, the Tachi defenders would be more than happy to oblige.

Atop the Venetian ramparts, Layton was so angry he was close to smashing the battlements with a slap, cursing vehemently, "Fucking hell! To be underestimated by these Tanilian bastards! Send a battalion there! This time we must massacre them until they dare not step outside again!"

"If we send troops to inflict casualties on those in the moat, I fear we would be playing right into William Kidd's hands," Antonio said with a smile, "Rust [Layton's nickname], who do you think are in the moat right now?"

"Don't beat around the bush! Always speaking in riddles every day, it's annoying. Just speak plainly!" Layton did not play along, glaring fiercely at Antonio.

Unperturbed, as he was accustomed to his old classmate's temper, Antonio answered his own question, "William Kidd would definitely not send his own soldiers out there. Those in the moat are probably miners who originally lived in Tachi. For every miner we kill, that's one less mouth for him to feed. To exchange those spare mouths for the lives of our soldiers, William Kidd sure knows how to make a good deal."

"So what do we do then?" Layton glared again.

Antonio rhythmically tapped his fingers against the parapet, "This is an overt scheme. They come out during the day to more effectively inflict casualties on our assault teams. Estimate the distance from here to the city wall."

"About half a kilometer, I guess."

"That distance is already within the effective range of the cannons, not to mention the advantages the Federation's elevated artillery positions provide. Why haven't the half-moon and triangular forts bombarded us yet? Why watch us build siege works without taking action?"

Layton's nostrils flared in anger, berating, "Still playing guessing games? When will you ever stop?"

"Think, my friend, think. The juniors are watching; don't be so impetuous," Antonio urged.

"Get lost."

Seeing Layton about to explode, Antonio patted his arm, explaining, "The enemy must be running low on gunpowder. That's why they're waiting for an opportunity to inflict maximum casualties on our forces. Otherwise, they would have bombarded us with cannons by now. Our numbers are few; we cannot afford to waste lives. William Kidd, on the other hand, is short on gunpowder and cannot afford to waste it either. These maneuvers are nothing but an attempt to bait us closer to the walls..."

"Enough talk; get to the point," Layton said impatiently.

"Whatever William Kidd wants us to do, we'll do the opposite. We currently lack heavy artillery, and since the enemy's gunpowder is scarce, there's actually no difference," Antonio brushed dust off his hands, "There's no need to send troops to kill the miners in the moat. Forced to labor after last night's battle, whether it's them or anyone else, none would work with any enthusiasm. Moreover, these miners, who now harbor resentment towards the Federation, may prove quite useful to us."

Layton's eyes bulged like a bull's, "So we just watch while the Tanilians fortify their defenses?"

"Since William Kidd can have people digging moats, we too can engage in engineering works," Antonio stated nonchalantly, "Let the enemy do whatever; we'll do the same. We certainly won't follow their plans. Let's see who scares whom."

That afternoon, as the guards on the Tachi city walls began to tire from a morning of vigilance, the Venetians' fortification began to inch closer to the city walls, several hundred meters away.

A sentry on the triangular fort spotted the unusual activity of the enemy opposite and hurriedly called his superior. After several reports up the chain of command, Tachi's supreme commander, William Kidd, made his way to the triangular fort in front of the city gate—this location being the closest to the Venetian earthworks.

After careful observation for quite some time, Captain Kidd ultimately figured out what the Venetians were up to. He slammed his hand against the earthen wall of the triangular fort, cursing loudly, "Son of a bitch!"

Directly opposite the city gate and the triangular fort, the Venetians had made an opening in their earthwork wall and were constructing an angled passage at 45 degrees to the line connecting the gate, the triangular fort, and the opening itself.

This was why the first sentry to notice reported that "the enemy's earthwork is approaching us."

On the Tachi side, the Tanilians were energetically digging trenches.

Meanwhile, outside the city, the Venetians were busily building walls.

The greatest defensive feature of Tachi was not the city walls, but the foundation. The entire city was situated on a large slab of volcanic rock, with soil created from weathered rock swept away by strong sea winds to lower-lying regions.

As a result, the soil around the city was extremely thin, too thin even for farming, with the hard volcanic rock lying just beneath the surface layer. This made it impossible for attackers to dig trenches to approach the walls or use mining and blasting tactics to destroy them.