World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 860 - 407: Countless dead and injured! Zhi Li retreats!_2

Chapter 860: 407: Countless dead and injured! Zhi Li retreats!_2

Fifty percent solid shot, thirty percent shrapnel, twenty percent chain shot.

This was an experimental artillery strike, aimed at demonstrating the effectiveness of shrapnel under existing technological conditions.

Furthermore, it was a comparison of the killing power between cannons and giant trebuchets at medium to long range.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Hundreds of projectiles swept across like black lightning.

The results were both optimistic and pessimistic.

It was optimistic because both the solid shots and chain shots could cause significant casualties even in land battles.

This was due to Zhi Li’s forces being overly numerous and densely packed.

When solid shots were fired, they plowed a bloody path directly through the troops, leaving a trail of scattered corpses and bones.

The chain shots were even more terrifying, slicing through like the scythe of Death itself, decapitating countless heads in their path, yet their power was far less than in naval warfare, making them unsuitable for land battles with their relatively inadequate range.

Regarding the shrapnel shells, as anticipated, each containing over ten kilograms of gunpowder, their lethality was mediocre at best, significantly inferior to massive explosive charges, and had a high likelihood of being duds.

Before the advent of high explosives, shrapnel shells were indeed of little significance.

The pessimism stemmed from the fact that Suo Lun’s target for this barrage was the enemy’s trebuchet positions.

However, after a round of firing, fewer than ten giant trebuchets were damaged.

This outcome was acceptable, but only equivalent to that of a hundred giant trebuchets.

The hit rate of giant trebuchets was lower, but they could launch explosive charges weighing several hundred pounds, causing a devastating blast that impacted all targets within a certain radius.

"Use giant trebuchets to destroy the enemy’s trebuchet and Giant Crossbow Battlegrounds," Suo Lun ordered, "All cannons, use solid shot to attack Zhi Li’s forces from a distance!"

"Yes!"

...

Zhi Li, whose body had just regained some warmth, now felt a chill come over him again!

Just now, he had watched helplessly as the first wave of fifty thousand soldiers attacking the city was completely annihilated.

It wasn’t just him; all the lords behind him also saw it clearly.

It was a devastating blow to everyone’s confidence!

Zhi Li’s gaze involuntarily turned to Turing Tuo!

He saw the kingdom’s top commander who seemed to have aged several years. Due to his frowning, his originally faint wrinkles now appeared as though they had been cut with a knife.

"Should we send the second wave of fifty thousand soldiers?" Zhi Li asked.

Turing Tuo shook his head.

Sending another wave of fifty thousand would be meaningless.

The war had changed, altered by Suo Lun’s gunpowder and artillery.

Previously, in the total age of cold weapons, the number of soldiers was decisive.

But now, faced with these terrifying war machines, having a large number of troops was of little use; at most, it was merely sending them to their doom.

"Launch Fish Oil Bomb, try to destroy Suo Lun’s giant trebuchets!" said Turing Tuo.

Turing discovered that although Suo Lun’s cannons were astounding, their lethality might not necessarily surpass the trebuchets by much.

The huge explosive charges launched by the giant trebuchets earlier, especially those last Primitive Cluster Bombs, had shocking destructive power, no less than the cannon’s grapeshot.

So, the two armies began a long-range bombardment.

Zhi Li’s forces launched hundreds of trebuchets, furiously hurling Fish Oil Bombs.

While Suo Lun’s giant trebuchets threw explosive packs.

Countless explosives crisscrossed the sky and then penetrated into the opponent’s positions.

It had to be said, these Fish Oil Bombs inflicted significant casualties on Suo Lun’s forces.

Once the troops were hit, nearly a dozen men were completely incinerated.

And once a trebuchet was hit, it instantly went up in fierce flames.

But the most terrifying thing was when it hit an explosive pack, it exploded directly on the city wall. Not only did it blow up the trebuchets into pieces, but the operators handling the trebuchets were also blown apart.

This way, both sides bombarded each other relentlessly.

Soon, the entire walls of Wind Thunder Fortress seemed to be engulfed in fierce flames.

Suo Lun’s hundreds of cannons aimed at Zhi Li’s forces hundreds, even thousands of meters away, bombarding them frantically.

The potency of solid rounds in land warfare completely altered Suo Lun’s perceptions.

In naval warfare, solid rounds didn’t show an overwhelmingly impressive lethality, unlike chain shots, grape shots, and shrapnel.

But in land battles, particularly when the enemy’s formations were densely packed, the effect of solid rounds was terrifyingly formidable.

"Boom..."

Once they hit, they could penetrate through dozens of meters, all soldiers along their path were maimed or even blown to pieces.

Those lucky enough had the cannonballs falling on soft, muddy ground.

Those less fortunate had them hit the hard stone ground, causing ricochets, whose lethality was incomparably devastating.

And as both sides bombarded each other with their trebuchets!

Despite suffering heavy losses, the several hundred pounds of explosives from Suo Lun were much more powerful than the Fish Oil Bombs.

Each volley from the trebuchets caused damage to seven or eight of Zhi Li’s trebuchet positions.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Just like that, both sides continued their long-distance bombardment.

Turing Tuo did this to reclaim the morale and confidence of his forces.

Because attacking Fenglei Fort Defense Line with oil bombs indeed looked spectacular.

After just a few volleys, the entire Fenglei Fort Defense Line seemed ablaze.

Visually, it appeared as though Suo Lun’s situation was unfavorable, as the entire defense line was ablaze with fire.

This helped diminish the tragic memory of the total annihilation of the first wave of fifty thousand soldiers.

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