Chapter 923: 909. The Explosive Arrow

I heard from Aphrodite that the mountain is likely to be a dead world tree.

Surdak even wanted to cross these arch bridges and take a look at the other side of the lake.

It was originally planned to set up crossbows and catapults on the stone bridge, and then just bombard them all the way.

After a night of rest, Suldak's army gathered under the stone bridge, and thousands of ghost-striped red ants gathered on the stone bridge. These red ants crowded on the stone bridge and kept hissing towards the army under the bridge. , Countless red ants opened their pincers to demonstrate against the army.

Suldak waved his hand, and pushed the thirty bed crossbows that had been assembled overnight to the front, and the eighteen armed Thunder Rhinos were also lined up at this moment, and all the bed crossbows were aimed at the ghost-patterned red ants on the bridge.

Seeing the bed crossbows set up by the army, the ghost-striped red ants backed away one after another.

Although they were crowded on the bridge, they retreated very quickly, and they retreated a thousand meters away in the blink of an eye.

Such a long distance already exceeded the maximum range of the bed crossbow. Even if the giant crossbow could fly there, it would not be able to break through the hard armor of the ghost pattern red ant.

Suldak ordered the cavalry to move forward.

...

The ghost pattern soldier ants stood outside the range of the bed crossbow. When they saw the cavalry stepping on the stone bridge, they rushed towards the entrance of the stone bridge and strangled with Andrew and dozens of dismounted cavalry.

The bridge here is not wide, and almost all the cavalry dismounted, wearing heavy armor and fighting on foot with the ghost pattern soldiers.

Although Andrew and Gullitem were at the front, the ghost-striped red ants could crawl freely under the stone bridge and attack the cavalry from the left and right sides of the stone bridge, causing the cavalry on the flanks to panic.

The cavalry who lost their horses completely gave up their speed advantage. They were actually forced to retreat steadily under the sour venom sprayed by the soldier ants.

Cavalry caught in foot combat won't fare much better than hoplites.

Fortunately, they are strong with their armor and their bodies have been strengthened by magic patterns. They are not inferior to ghost pattern soldiers and ants in terms of strength. Each of the cavalrymen has a handy magic weapon in their hands, and they don't look embarrassed even if they retreat.

The cavalry kept retreating, luring the ghost pattern soldiers into the range of the bed crossbow.

The bed crossbows surrounding the bridge fired at the same time, and a large number of ghost pattern soldier ants were hit by the arrows, and many red ants fell directly from the bridge into the lake.

What followed was a tug-of-war on the stone arch bridge deck.

It was all due to the limited terrain of the ghost-striped red ants, which could not take advantage of their numbers to suppress the cavalry. The cavalry abandoned their horses and fought on foot, which also gave up their greatest advantage. Pulling back and forth, basically let the crossbowmen take advantage of it.

The archers also gathered by the lake one after another, shooting arrows at the ghost pattern soldiers.

Even Suldak didn't expect that just in the battle at the bridgehead, a steady stream of ghost-striped soldiers and ants rushed out, causing the army to fight here for more than half a month, with cavalry and indigenous warriors taking turns to fight.

Materials and supplies were continuously sent from the rear. Surdak’s marching tent was set up on the top of the slope at the head of the bridge. He even built a few rafts by the lake, which were specially used to catch the ghost patterns that fell into the lake. soldier ants.

However, as the weather gradually became colder, the ice on the lake became thicker and thicker, and the ice had to be broken before the rafts could be rowed onto the lake.

But it would be impossible without these rafts. The three-centimeter-thick ice layer could not support people at all.

Since the ghost pattern soldier ants blocked the stone bridge to death, Suldak could only slowly consume the vitality of the ghost pattern red ants in this way.

During this period, the coalition of the adventure group and the mercenary group harvested a batch of magic herbs near the lake, and some adventure groups specifically excavated those thousand-legged poisonous insects on the poisonous swamp. Both the adventure group and the mercenary group made money.

As this batch of magical herbs entered the trading market in Dodan Town, the entire Bailin Plane knew about the Northern Expedition.

As soon as the beast tide subsided, Suldak, the new Lord of the Bailin Plane, summoned an army of 10,000 to go to the Dark Worm Valley, which shocked the jaws of many Wilkes people.

The beast hordes haven't fought enough, and they actually went to fight in other people's lair...

What's even more irritating is that after breaking through the poisonous swamp, the natural barrier of the Dark Worm Valley, a large number of magic herbs were harvested, and almost all the adventure groups and mercenary groups who followed them benefited.

Now the rest of the adventure group and mercenary group in Wilkes City can't sit still. Of course, they also want to walk by the lake to pick up precious magic herbs, and they also want to dig in the swamp. A poisonous insect that can gain a dead state.

Even many small lords in Wilkes City have gone to the military headquarters to inquire about these news these days, wondering if Lord Suldak has any plans to recruit troops in the near future, and they have some well-trained soldiers in their hands. army.

The response given by the military department was that this Northern Expedition was entirely the personal act of Viscount Surdak, and all the military supplies and troops were borne by him personally. If you know if Viscount Suldak has a conscription plan, you have to go to the northern front line of Invercargill Forest and ask Viscount Suldak personally.

Both the adventure group and the mercenary group were more flexible, they left as soon as they said they wanted to, and many adventure groups left Wilkes City that day.

There are also some businessmen in Wilkes City who are going to collect some supplies and go to Dodan Town to reap benefits.

However, the smart businessman didn't go to Dodan Town at this time, but ran to Malacombe and proposed to do business with him. Those who are well-informed know that Malacombe is the only material of Viscount Suldak supplier.

...

The battle at the southern end of the stone bridge lasted for more than half a month. Although a lot of supplies were consumed, a large number of ghost-striped red ants were also hunted down.

The daily expenses are not small, but the harvest is also enough.

For Surdak, at least, the balance of payments is still there.

But he has also realized that in such a stalemate at the bridgehead, once this winter passes, he may not be able to withdraw his troops even if he does not want to.

At first, I wanted to use bed crossbows and catapults to bombard them all the way, but since then, cavalry and tribal warriors have been taking turns to fight. Obviously, this way cannot capture the stone bridge.

So in the third week, Samira, who was already extremely irritated by the boring tug-of-war at the top of the city every day, pushed three ballistas onto the stone bridge, and the crossbow arrows she brought to the stone bridge this time were all Explosive crossbow bolts strapped with dynamite.

Behind the bed crossbow is a group of infantry preparing to fight, followed by two catapults.

Just as the ghost-pattern soldier ants on the opposite side charged, Samira shot three giant exploding crossbow bolts towards the opposite side very unscrupulously.

The giant crossbow exploded on the arched bridge deck, and at the same time, the desire for victory of the ghost-patterned soldiers was also shattered.

As the catapult behind threw explosives and exploded on the stone bridge one after another, the ghost pattern soldiers ants fell from the bridge into the icy lake one after another.

The stalemate in the battle was broken by these bursting arrows.