Chapter 722: Chapter 454: Nabile Forest Castle Campaign_3
Heavy wheels grinding echoed from the rear of the battlefield.
An enormous trebuchet, several meters tall, was pushed to the front line by a small squad of the Imperial Army. Its structure was aesthetically pleasing, adorned with square iron plates resembling the scales of a cold-blooded animal, and its main components were linked and supported by rivets and gears.
At the base, there was even a steam boiler and giant spring sheets, making it look like a retro siege engine that had been merged with a product of ‘modern’ black technology.
Chen Lun had already dismounted from his carriage and was standing at the rear, watching such a trebuchet. He knew that the reason the Empire’s extraordinary workshop had chosen to develop this type of old-fashioned siege engine was because of a special kind of ammunition!
Its raw material was a precious ore called ‘Sun Stone’, which, upon burning, produced extremely high temperatures and spread wildly! A piece of Sun Stone the size of a fist could burn for over ten hours, and its power was enough to turn several steel-reinforced concrete buildings into ruins.
Regular cannons could not use ammunition made from ‘Sun Stone’ as even steel would begin to melt after several launches… Only equipment like trebuchets, which could be disassembled and used frequently, were capable.
Teams of the Imperial Army were carefully transporting sealed wooden boxes, from which they extracted ‘golden’ ammunition wrapped in special oil paper that shimmered like gemstones, utterly eye-catching.
Under the command of a trebuchet squad officer, soldiers in front of about a dozen trebuchets each dripped some kind of gel liquid onto the surface of the ammunition, then immediately four soldiers operating each trebuchet turned the levers and switches.
Whirr whirr whirr—bang!
With a series of dull mighty roars, golden fireballs filled the sky, falling like a meteor shower onto the walls and within the Nabile Forest Castle.
Suddenly, intense flames lit up the sky.
Faint screams rose and fell, composing a song akin to that of purgatory. The stone walls gradually succumbed to the spreading flames, crumbling like weathered sand, revealing massive craters.
The defending soldiers caught fire, instantly turning into moving pillars of flame, struggling as they collapsed. In just a few breaths, they were reduced to ashes, leaving behind an undying flame and a nearly invisible shadow on the ground.
“This is a one-sided slaughter…”
Behind Chen Lun, his subordinates sighed as they witnessed the scene, and Golov shook his head, whispering softly.
Chen Lun said nothing, only staring into the distance calmly.
His eyes reflected the burning flames.
He had long known the strength of the Imperial Army. Even in his past life, defeats like the battle at the Hercules Bridgehead Fortress were rare exceptions… Wars in the west were almost a smooth push.
“Do not take this lightly. This battle is not like the previous ones, far from being as simple as it seems…”
Chen Lun, leaning on his Silver Staff, said without turning his head.
His subordinates exchanged glances upon hearing the Leader say so.
Sure enough, suddenly a deafening thunderclap resounded overhead—
Chen Lun’s subordinates and the soldiers on the battlefield were immediately drawn to the sound, looking up to see a dark red swirling cloud had formed over the Nabile Forest Castle, with strange blue-purple lightning flickering inside.
Then, a rain of blood began to fall from the sky.
Their vision was shrouded by a red mist, making it seem as though they were in purgatory.
In the castle still ablaze, the inextinguishable fires caused by the trebuchets began to die out unnaturally, but the countless screams did not quiet down; instead, they grew even more severe and hysterical…
“This rain seems like a tactic of the Red Apple Church.”
Floey held up a black umbrella for Chen Lun, whispering softly behind him.
The subordinates also opened their umbrellas, looking toward his silhouette with confusion, awaiting his explanation.
“To be precise, it’s the Rose Royal Family…”
Chen Lun spread his hand out from beneath the umbrella, catching the falling blood rain.
Sizzling sounds were incessant, and as the blood rain drenched his hand, blue smoke arose, yet his smooth, fair palm remained unscathed.
“It’s like some sort of ritual… Some kind, fiercer than the Red Calamity.”
Chen Lun’s face remained calm, his eyes slightly narrowed.