Bombardment

"Zhuzi, you damn bastard, you missed!" "Get lost and play on the side! From now on, you're only allowed to touch wheelchair guns!" Gangtie Kuangchao shoved Zhandi Lunyiren aside, cursing under his breath. He had thought the guy actually knew how to fire artillery, but it turned out he was just bluffing and had wasted one of his precious shells for nothing. Seeing that the general had not yet withdrawn from the battlements, Gangtie Kuangchao immediately began recalculating and aiming again. The distance was not very far, and the terrain was exceptionally simple and open. Gangtie Kuangchao barked orders in rapid succession: "Set firing data!" "Azimuth 27-00, elevation 06-80!" Serving as the gun carriage, the ogre Datou immediately shifted his stance according to the instructions, casting a contemptuous glance at Zhandi Lunyiren beside him. Meanwhile, another ogre fetched a shell and primed the fuse. Zhandi Lunyiren stood there dumbfounded, unable to get a word or hand in edgewise. *Did an ogre just look down on my IQ?* he thought to himself. Yet Gangtie Kuangchao had no time to coddle his bruised ego. His mind was set solely on taking down that elite mob, so he bellowed: "Ready—fire!" With a deafening boom, another shell howled through the air, tracing an elegant arc across the sky. This time, properly calibrated, the projectile's trajectory was exceptionally precise, hurtling straight toward the general. ... Atop Teluo City's gate tower. A pitch-black metal cannonball plunged from the sky, landing right beside Count Dawson. *Boom!* An earth-shattering explosion ripped through the air. Shrapnel scattered in all directions amidst churning plumes of dust. Count Dawson was blasted straight off the gate tower, plummeting to the ground below. He was reduced to an unrecognizable heap of charred flesh and blood, mangled together with shards of his shattered ancestral armor. His adjutant and the garrison soldiers beside him were almost entirely wiped out. Many blasted bricks and stones rained down into the crowd below the city walls, inflicting even more casualties. "Heavens—" "The Lord Count is dead!" "The Cinder Nest is breaking in!" "Help! They're invading!" The refugees jostled, wailed, and fled in every direction, triggering trampling panics. The city garrison was completely powerless. Their lord count was already blown to bits, and many soldiers were paralyzed with shock by the shell falling from the heavens, utterly at a loss. "W-what do we do?" "Do we keep following orders?" "B-but... the Lord Count is dead! Even the captain is dead!" "I don't know..." And so, the garrison soldiers could only stand by helplessly. News of the count's death swept across the city in no time. Teluo City plunged into chaos. There were loyal confidants resolved to fight to the death to fulfill the count's dying wish, shameless nobles looking to save their own skins and surrender to protect their status, and even yuan-ti pureblood spies secretly fanning the flames of unrest throughout the city. ... Meanwhile, at the Cinder Nest's encampment. While the monstrous minions were bewildered by the commotion inside Teluo City, the players understood perfectly well. [You killed Count Dawson Vileir, gaining 1,200 XP] [You defeated an enemy general, gaining 5,500 Cinder Nest Faction Contribution] "Holy crap, one-shot kill!" Gangtie Kuangchao's eyes went wide as he stared at the lavish rewards refreshing on his panel, filled with pleasant surprise. Zhandi Lunyiren whispered, "Boss, how does this ogre understand fire commands, and how can he aim so accurately?" Gangtie Kuangchao sneered, "This ogre is way smarter than you. He even memorized the artillery firing table! It only took three hundred jin of raw meat as incentive to train him. Unlike you, he doesn't just aim out of his ass." "How is that possible..." Zhandi Lunyiren stood there as if struck by lightning, muttering in disbelief. Had his intellect actually been bested by an ogre? Gangtie Kuangchao gave his shoulder a sympathetic pat. "Complex stuff like this isn't for you. Once we have more resources, I'll personally build you a Type 2 submachine gun. Now go run along." The ogre Datou seemed to realize they were talking about him, turning his head to flash a provocative grin on his ugly mug. Wiping cold sweat from his brow and desperate to change the subject, Zhandi Lunyiren abruptly cheered, "Boss is mighty! Give 'em another shell!" "Let them feel the shock and awe of artillery!" Surprisingly, the hobgoblin commander and siege general Duoluo was also drawn by the commotion. He came over in person to ask if these Starfallen could blast the city walls wide open. "Probably not," Gangtie Kuangchao said, rubbing his head in embarrassment. He patted the scalding barrel. With a sharp crack, the metal barrel suddenly ruptured, the muzzle peeling open like a blooming flower amidst wisps of grey smoke. "This was just an experimental prototype brought out for a field test." "It could only handle two shots at most." *Definitely not because I cut corners and secretly skimmed the mithril specially allocated by the Cinder Nest to craft my armor, substituting substandard scrap into the mortar barrel instead...* Gangtie Kuangchao added silently to himself, swearing never to speak a word of this to anyone. More than half a day passed, and the turmoil inside the city gradually subsided. Duoluo felt a twinge of disappointment, but he still grinned ferociously at the towering walls. "Master said we must maintain order inside the city." "Yet if they refuse to surrender, I'll have no choice—" A glimmer of cruelty flickered in his eyes. Word had it that the master would personally attend this siege, and he intended to put on a grand display of his valor and loyalty, striking terror into enemies at the mere sound of his name. *Rumble—* Yet just as he was lost in his reverie, the heavy gates slowly swung open. A white flag fluttered atop the tall gate tower. Teluo City, unbreached for a century, had fallen just like that—costing the Cinder Nest a mere two artillery shells, one of which had even missed. At Duoluo's command, the most disciplined hobgoblin and lizardfolk troops were the first to enter the city, followed by the players, while monsters prone to causing chaos, such as the ogres and wyverns, remained encamped outside. With the gates open, the Cinder Nest's army marched inside in orderly formation. The once-bustling streets were completely deserted, save for the occasional fearful, anxious eyes peering through cracks in windows and doors. Following Count Dawson's death, the highest-ranking figure in the city was the deputy governor, Viscount Boli. At that moment, he stood respectfully at the city gates to welcome the Cinder Nest army. Facing the towering, ferocious Duoluo, every fold of fat on his body quivered. "M-My Lord, on behalf of all the citizens of Teluo City, I welcome your arrival." "Very good." Duoluo grinned, his scale-covered face straining to produce a cordial smile. Yet it had the opposite effect, leaving the viscount trembling in dread, terrified that this dragonblood hobgoblin might, in a fit of fury, turn him into a hearty meal. ... "People often look upon the fall of Teluo City as an immense disgrace, an utter farce. Yet in my eyes, it was merely an extension of the outcome of the Battle of Trier. Had the coalition army not been entirely annihilated, had those spirited citizens returned to Teluo City, the course of events would never have unfolded this way." —*History of the Principality: The Fall of Teluo City*, Duke Luton