Duke Flamar witnessed it all firsthand.

All the defensive positions built on the coast were destroyed. The dense explosions were breathless. The trembling earth seemed to be invaded by some kind of monster, constantly twisting in pain, and all the attachments covering the surface of its body shook off, either collapsed in the epicenter or torn to pieces by powerful forces.

A 200-mm caliber shell accurately hit the shore sentry tower, smashing the building from the middle, losing support in the upper part and slowly breaking it.

Although I had made enough preparations before and set up defense lines in advance in the face of the northern river, I could not imagine that there were such powerful weapons in the world. Luzhai, which was set at the front of the position, turned into toys, and the people who were running away in screams were like groups of ants.

The musketeers who had crossed the river were completely disbanded. Although Turner and Hoggis issued a timely alarm at the last moment of their lives, no one linked "destruction of the world" to reality. From officers to soldiers, everyone's understanding of artillery was limited to the part of the heavy steel barrels seen in the naked eye, firing black solid iron balls.

If the guards around him hadn't reacted quickly and grabbed the reins and dragged the duke's mount forward, Framar would have been blown to death and turned into a pile of flesh and blood mixed with other dead people.

The military system that had crossed the river and was gathering on the west bank was completely disrupted.

There is no better target than a dense crowd. As the artillery positions on the west side of the river bank were destroyed, the giant warships began to descend down the river and approach the fire. This was a ship that Flamar had never seen before, and they swept through any seemingly valuable target with fierce artillery fire. A shell fell into the crowd, without the conceptually familiar solid heartbeat (harmony) bomb, but reaped life with a dispersed explosion.

A human head rolled to the side of Flamar, blocked by his feet, and finally stopped moving after tilting twice. One of the eyes of the deceased was gone, and the right half of the face was blown away, and the true face could not be seen at all.

"What kind of weapon is this?"

"Didn't it mean that giants are all barbaric creatures? Why did they own this?"

"Is that giant weapon... really a cannon?"

No one answered Flamar's question, and no one knew the answer.

All kinds of terrible thoughts grew wildly in the Duke's mind, disturbing him almost breathlessly.

The battle process was very smooth some time ago, and all aspects of information showed that there was no established army nearby. Only then did Flamar issue an order for the entire army to cross the river.

By last night, more than 700,000 Viking soldiers had crossed the Pantuo River.

This morning was the last batch, with about 50,000 people. They encountered a fleet of giants that suddenly appeared halfway through the journey, followed by a vast array of shellings. Regardless of the intensity of the explosion or the frequency of the shooting, it completely subverted Flamar's understanding and basic concept of "artillery attack".

Everything is premeditated.

The Viking Duke's brain has never been clearer than it is now. He found himself falling into a terrible, deep trap.

No, not only me, but all the troops in the southern mainland will suffer this bad luck in the future.

Who said that the northern giants were barbaric and ignorant?

They are proficient in tactics and dare to make choices. Framar is willing to use his head to bet that the giant cavalry on the other side of the canyon on the east bank of Pantuo River was a major attack, which must be part of their war plan. On the battlefield, if you want to confuse your opponent and let the enemy relax your guard, the best way is to deliberately send the fat to the opponent's nose and let them achieve victory after victory.

The honor of soldiers needs victory to highlight. Only those who win will gradually lose their calmness and become proud. They will despise their opponents and think that the defeated enemies are not worthy of attention at all. Just like the winner at the gambling table, watching the opponent lose almost all the bets, holding the last little chips in his hands, and his eyes are red, the heart will always be filled with infinite pride and satisfaction. Whenever this happens, the winner will not be anxious at all, but will leisurely ask for a glass of champagne, or lit a cigar, look at the opponent with a playful look, and treat the various complex emotions on the opponent's face as the most gorgeous performance, until the trump card is finally opened and the last game is won.

If it weren't for the nearly tens of thousands of cavalry charges, Framar wouldn't have chosen to cross the Pantuo River at this time.

He is well aware of the importance of information!

If he was fighting with another white country in the south of the mainland, Flamar would become very cautious. Without obtaining accurate and detailed reports from the scouts, he would rather remain calm.

However, this time it is different.

"No. 6" captured the Dragon Lock Pass, and the monster with powerful devouring ability killed all the giants inside the pass. The soldiers and officers of the Kingdom Alliance witnessed that moment, and the Viking Kingdom also enjoyed the war bonus it deserved. It was from that time that Framar truly believed in the saying "the northern giants were barbaric and ignorant". The reason was very simple, so many giants, including officers and commanders. No one thought of "fire attack" when the situation was most dangerous.

Why not try using a rocket, or pour the boiled hot oil down from the wall, then throw down the torch and ignite a raging fire outside the wall?

Isn’t this the most basic way of fighting?

The reason why humans are called the "spirit of all things" is because we can learn and understand flexibility.

Haha, the facts prove that the northern giants do not understand this truth.

When there was no more than half of the defenders at Lock Dragon Pass and the Kingdom Alliance occupied this empty thousand-year-old pass, it was only when it found that there were enough supplies to consume 300,000 people in the whole year. From this, it can be imagined that the northern giants attached great importance to Lock Dragon Pass and how large the defenders here are!

None of them thought of using fire!

Duke Flamar believes that stupidity is an infectious disease.

There were so many cavalrymen, they were all powerful soldiers. Knowing that the positions ahead were strong, the dense infantry platoons and artillery cooperated with each other, and there were dense horse pits and deer forts at the front of the position, they still rushed up like moths to the flames.

Flamar did not know Hu Gang's name, but the young man's performance on the battlefield left a deep impression on him. Apart from barbarism and ignorance, the biggest advantage of the northern giants is that they are fearless and fearless. Especially those giants who did not reveal any flaws after being captured, which once made Flamar think that "transformation is successful."

A low-level race with an absolute advantage in physical fitness but not civilized at all, and is even less likely to have a high-tech technology.

This is what Flamar defines the northern whites.

The cruel reality in front of him told him that he was outrageously wrong. The God of Destiny looked at him like an idiot who thought he was self-righteous but actually understood nothing.

Flamar has never seen a shell that would explode. His conceptual understanding of artillery is very simple and solid iron balls, which fly out of the barrel by igniting the energy generated by gunpowder to achieve the effect of destroying the target.

The principle of musket is the same.

Flamar has always believed that the most direct way to increase the power of guns is to expand the caliber. Just like bows and arrows, the degree of damage to the target is determined by the arrows.

All kingdoms are conducting new weapons research work, both openly and secretly, but the progress and results are not satisfactory. Apart from increasing the caliber and gun barrel length, there has been no better way. The technicians at the Military Research Institute have never come up with better and refreshing proposals.

This shelling gave Flamar an idea that he had never had before. He felt that the "explosion" had infected every thinking cell in his mind like a virus.

It is actually not difficult to create shells that will explode. With the current military-industrial capabilities of the Viking Kingdom, it is entirely possible to do this. Of course, the actual power is far less than that of the Giant Artillery, but as long as you tell the experienced craftsmen and technicians of the Military Research Institute to write their ideas and ideas, they can at least tinker with "a hollow iron ball with internal charge, plus a lead that is ignited at the same time when the gun is fired."

Joy just flashed through the Viking Duke's mind, and then he was strangled by deep fear.

This means that the Northern Giants have more advanced technology than us.

This is impossible!

If so, why didn’t the northern giant use it before, but instead watched "No. 6" kill all the barbarian warriors outside the Lock Dragon Pass?

If so, why did they give up the pass and be chased by the "No. 6" who had swallowed flesh and blood and reproduced in large quantities from Lock Dragon Pass to chase it all the way?

If so, why have the Giant Cavalry never used in previous battles?

Duke Flamar, who was covered in smoke and blood, began to tremble. He gritted his teeth tightly, preventing his inner thoughts from appearing on his face in an expression.

Conspiracy, everything is conspiracy.

The northern giants were deliberately retreating, and they were showing weakness. In order to make themselves careless, they led their team forward, the northern giants would rather give up the Dragon Lock Pass and gave up the lives of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people, just for the moment.

There were too many Viking Kingdom soldiers crossing the Pantuo River, more than 700,000, and nearly 800,000 were there. Framar's caution was not wrong. He asked some of the baggage to cross the river at the same time, minimizing the danger of the supply line being cut off. However, the most worrying thing was that the pontoon bridge was destroyed and the supply was interrupted.

The giants in the north have been giving up and deliberately creating various appearances of ignorance, backwardness, and even irrationality. What’s ridiculous is that we always think that this is the truth.

Flamar couldn't think of any way to kill the giant fleet that was shelling on the river. It was too powerful, and whether it was the hull or the power of the artillery, it completely overturned his logic.

The food the soldiers carried with them couldn't last long. The northern giants had frequently sent various baits to their mouths before... Yes, in the eyes of Framar, they were baits. What the giants wanted was the main force of the Viking Kingdom crossing the Pantuo River. They used their fleet to cut off the retreat, and then waved their knives and forks to the large fat meat of hundreds of thousands of people.

Even if you stick to the support, how long can you last?

Saxon, Rhine, Goreth, the Kingdom of God, and the Holy See who claims to be the most powerful combat power. Can they really defeat the giants in the north, build a floating bridge on this river, and rescue us who also worship the Holy See and share the faith of the common faith?

Grey and disappointment slowly rose in Duke Flamar's eyes, and he felt his heart tremble constantly with the explosion of the shells falling.

"We're done...it's really done this time."

His eyes were decayed.

...

The violent shelling never stopped, from around 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The squadrons took turns to fight, and the transport ships in the rear added a round of shells. By dusk, the banks of the Pantuo River were in chaos, and the air was filled with thick smoke that was suffocating. Looking around, there were flesh and blood everywhere, and there was no living person or any military target with attack value.

Zhenchao was very satisfied with the results of the artillery. According to the plan, he left three squadrons and supply fleets to patrol the nearby. He led the main force of the Inland Fleet to Gangwei City, where he temporarily stayed there and then replenished supplies.

The next task is handed over to the Army.

...

Flamar did not dare to delay for a second, and led his army to move desperately to the west. Anyone with a little brain knew that he had to stay away from the river bank, otherwise he would become a living target for the giant fleet. God knows where they got such powerful weapons from. The best way to ensure safety is to be as far away as possible from them as possible.

No one cared about the dead bodies everywhere, and the wounded who struggled and groaned in pain seemed to Flamar as "scrap materials that must be abandoned". It was impossible to walk far with these people, and it was impossible to increase the speed. It was indeed cruel to make such a choice, but he could only issue orders with his heart.

I am the commander-in-chief and I will be responsible for all the living soldiers.

At night, the main force of the Viking Kingdom had retreated to a safe area far from the river bank. Despite being exhausted, the soldiers still set up tents. The extremely intense shelling destroyed most of the baggage, without enough fuel, and people could only chew on the cold and hard bread, fell silent in loneliness and distress, and then fell asleep.

Large flakes of snow fell slowly from the air, and Flamar reached out to catch the cold fragments. This means the snow will not last too long, but it will still be difficult to walk in such heavy snow tomorrow morning.

What should I do now?

This is the biggest question mark lingering in the depths of Flamar's mind.

The correct answer is "going east". That is where you come from and the way to the Viking Kingdom, where all the soldiers go home.

In the darkness, a bitter smile appeared on Flamar's face.

Without a bridge and not enough building materials, what should I use to cross the bridge?

What's more, even if the Holy Lord has such a bridge, the giant fleet will destroy it as soon as possible.

There is also an imminent and serious problem. The shelling caused heavy losses to the Viking Kingdom's army, especially various military supplies that could not be moved in the artillery fire. Without enough food, what should the soldiers eat?
Chapter completed!