Fifth,73th Chapter: The Battle of Fallen Dragon Ridge

"Boom—"

As fire erupted from the 152-type naval gun, Iron Axe felt the steel warship beneath his feet tremble slightly.

A few moments later, a cloud of dust exploded on the distant city wall, and the muffled boom echoed a long while after. When the dust settled, he raised his telescope and saw that huge cracks had already appeared in the low stone wall.

Unlike the attack on the royal capital, Fallen Dragon Ridge was located in the mid-south of the kingdom and rarely encountered foreign attacks. The city wall was also very low, not even half the height of Longsong Stronghold. The top of the wall only allowed one person to pass, and it was impossible to set up large defensive facilities such as catapults. Therefore, the artillery unit had deployed field guns in the open space five hundred meters away from the city wall.

Considering the efficiency of the vanguard camp's entry into the city, Iron Axe decided to open three gaps in the city wall before acting simultaneously. Any enemy who dared to gather behind the gaps to try to defend would be mercilessly struck by the twelve-pound cannons. Now the city gate and the northern section of the city wall had been breached, and he would issue the order for a general attack as soon as the last entrance was opened.

If the witches could accompany the army, that would be great, Iron Axe thought with regret. It was still a bit of a waste to use these precious shells to deal with stones.

If Nightingale were here, three packs of explosives would be enough to send the entire section of the city wall to the sky—after all, the enemy's defensive power was far worse than that of the royal capital.

This change in attitude amused even himself. He knew that half a year ago, he still insisted that the army should independently complete the tasks assigned by His Majesty. But since cooperating with the Witch Union to conquer the royal capital, he suddenly felt that it would be perfect if the army had witches as eyes or raiding forces.

"Sir!" the soldier on the lookout shouted, "There's movement at the city gate! They seem to be gathering horses!"

Iron Axe moved his telescope and looked towards the already dilapidated city gate. Limited by the angle of view, he could only see some dust rising faintly behind the wall.

"Do you need to adjust the naval guns and fire there?" Vanna asked.

"No need, it would waste at least two or three more rounds to get the shells to land in that place." He shook his head. "Since it's horses, I think they must be trying to organize knights to take a gamble, using a charge to break through the field gun blockade—what's there to worry about? It's you..." Iron Axe turned to look at Earl Sperl, "After this charge, I'm afraid there won't be many knights left in your territory."

"Since they decided to stand on my brother's side, these people are no longer considered my knights," she replied calmly, "Let them pay the price for their betrayal."

"I understand," Iron Axe paused for a moment, "Have you decided what to do with Leidewin Pasi?"

Yesterday, he had just received a secret letter from the City Hall, demanding that except for Sperl's relatives, all other rebellious nobles be sent to Neverwinter City, and resisters could be executed on the spot. Their territories would then be sealed off by the First Army, waiting for the City Hall's statistical officials to arrive and search them.

Judging by this posture, the nobles' fate would probably be all mine labor—the mines in the fortress area were now worried about no one to exploit them. Counting the families, confidants, and servants, there would be several hundred people, and Neverwinter City could harvest a lot of iron ore.

As for the culprit Leidewin Pasi, the letter requested that he be handed over to the Countess herself to deal with.

A hint of hesitation appeared on Sperl's face, obviously she had not yet made a decision.

Iron Axe sighed inwardly. If it were him, he would definitely cut off the other's head without hesitation—nothing was more unforgivable than betrayal.

"They're coming!" the lookout suddenly shouted loudly.

He put these trivial matters aside, raised his telescope, and continued to watch the battlefield.

As expected, a team of knights rushed out of the city gate, heading straight for the outer artillery position.

Then, a dense sound of gunfire echoed in the wilderness and woods, and puffs of white smoke rose in front of the position. Before twenty or so knights and their retinues had rushed out a hundred meters, they fell one after another in the wet mud.

If Duke Ryan's invasion of Border Town with his army could still pose a slight threat to the First Army with its knightly cluster charge, now these iron turtles were almost defenseless targets.

The field guns didn't even need to reload, relying solely on the revolving rifles and two heavy machine guns to hold the enemy firmly on the road of the charge.

As the naval guns fired another round, the thin city wall finally collapsed. Iron Axe ordered the steam whistle to be sounded and launched a general attack.

The soldiers of the vanguard camp poured out of the line, divided into three teams, and rushed towards the three gaps.

The battle to retake Fallen Dragon Ridge officially began.

...

An hour later, the castle and the church fell into the hands of the First Army.

The enemy had long been frightened by the constant roar of weapons and did not organize any effective resistance at all. Or rather, the batch of knights who were annihilated the moment they left the city gate was all the manpower that Leidewin could muster.

And the Church did not appear at all. The supplies in the church were all emptied, and Priest Rosade was also missing.

Fallen Dragon Ridge did not have any secret passages or hidden side doors. The city, backed by mountains, had almost no way to escape. The soldiers caught the usurper on the top floor of the castle.

Iron Axe ordered the ministers who were kneeling and begging for mercy to be dragged away, then let the soldiers leave the bedroom, leaving only the Earl's brother and Countess Sperl. Of course, Leidewin was firmly tied to a chair, unable to pose any threat to the Countess.

"I don't understand..." Sperl opened her mouth after a long silence, "What good is it for you to become the lord? Neither you nor Third Brother understand how to manage government affairs, nor do you have any knowledge of trade. Even if you sit in this position, you will only hand over the power in your hands to other vassals. Do you think that I am not as good to you as these outsiders?"

"You are a witch, a claw of the devil!" Leidewin shouted, straining his neck, "Father was wrong about you, you deceived him!"

"But I'm still your sister!"

"You're not!" he gritted his teeth, "You're just a bastard adopted by Father!"

"Wha... what?" Sperl was stunned.

"I heard him say it after he got drunk, you are the mistake Father made when he was young, and you don't even have the Pasi name!" Leidewin said indignantly, "Why is it you who finally inherited the family instead of me? I'm just taking back what should have belonged to me from your hands, you are the real outsider!"

Sperl covered her head, but could not recall any memories of her childhood, "He... made a mistake?"

"Otherwise, why does your appearance differ so much from Mother? Don't you remember how you came to Fallen Dragon Ridge!"

"So... you're not my brother either."

"That's right, I am the true heir of the family, the Earl of Fallen Dragon Ridge! Release me, I demand to be treated according to my noble status!"

Sperl staggered out of the bedroom, and Iron Axe quickly supported her, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine..." She took a deep breath, "Take my—no, take Leidewin Pasi to Neverwinter City, he has lost his mind, I think the mine is where he should be."

"As you wish," Iron Axe nodded in response.