Kingdombuilding: All My Inventions Are Novelty

Chapter 170: Battle Ready

The scent of green grass and damp earth drifted in from the land north of Dunmere City.

Outside the city, golden sunlight poured across the boundless prairie. A narrow trail led into the distance, and the occasional collapsed thatch hut by the roadside whispered of a past long gone.

"After the reavers took West Ham, they burned homes and forests, captured civilians. What was once a flourishing land turned into a wilderness of weeds within ten years, now reduced to grazing fields for the Alkamite tribe." Benjamin said as he stood on the city wall, gazing across the vast prairie with a voice tinged with melancholy.

Ten years ago, he had stood on this very wall, watching reaver cavalry sweep across the land. Flames had raged for months, painting the sky crimson like fresh blood.

Aiden stood beside him. After working tirelessly for over two months, he had grown visibly thinner. But with tens of thousands of slaves labouring day and night, a majestic wall had risen from the earth.

"It’s a shame. Prince Augustus guarded West Ham and was once the most powerful among the princes. Yet even he couldn’t hold off the reavers." Aiden said.

Simon gazed at the fertile land beyond the walls. From Dunmere to West Ham, it was about four hundred miles. West Ham was where the Forbidden City stood.

Prince Augustus’s territory had been completely overrun by the reavers.

If Benjamin had not held firm in Dunmere back then, and if the reavers hadn’t encountered resistance from the Sapphire Empire, they would never have stopped their push south. In that sense, the Sapphires had inadvertently delayed the downfall of the Eldorian Empire.

"Don’t boost the enemy’s morale and dampen our own spirit," Simon said calmly. Right now, with the Eldorian Empire trembling at the mention of the reavers, what they needed most was morale. Simon had no path of retreat left; if he didn’t hold Dunmere, death would be his only fate.

Aiden snapped out of his thoughts. He had fallen into the same fatalistic mindset as many scholars of the Eldorian Empire.

Benjamin nodded. "There’s nothing to fear about reavers. They bleed just like we do. What we should worry about is our soldiers losing heart before the battle even begins."

Aiden looked embarrassed. "I’ve disgraced myself before Your Highness and the General."

Simon patted his shoulder. "Still, your point isn’t entirely wrong. Tactically, we must respect the enemy. Strategically, we must view them with contempt."

"Hahaha... That’s a classic line, Your Highness. It should be written into our military doctrine." Benjamin exclaimed.

Aiden, thoughtful, nodded slightly.

Simon smiled. "I didn’t come up with that. It was spoken by a great man. But it certainly applies to our situation with the reavers."

As the three of them conversed, they continued their inspection along the city wall. The section facing the prairie was five hundred meters long.

Simon had now gathered most of the territory’s forces in Dunmere, totalling fifty thousand troops, just as planned.

Among them, only the Brambleford Army had been equipped with the new-style plate armour and weapons. The rest of the newly raised forces had inferior equipment and served mainly as reserves.

After completing the inspection of the walls, Simon could see that Aiden had fulfilled his vision.

On the ramparts, a watchtower stood every ten meters, and every fifty meters there was an extended bastion.

These bastions jutted out perpendicularly from the wall, giving soldiers more protected positions from which to defend.

Each bastion was equipped with repeating crossbows and catapults. Archers were already stationed and ready.

Outside the bastions, the walls were lined with logs, stones, iron caltrops, long spears, and other defensive tools. The long spears were meant to push back enemy siege ladders.

The rest were for hurling down on attackers.

Inside the walls, rope baskets had been installed leading into the city. Below each basket was more defensive material. Once the logs and stones on the walls ran out, reinforcements could be hoisted up by supporting troops.

At the base of the walls, every twenty meters stood large iron cauldrons filled with oil, intended for pouring onto climbing reaver soldiers.

Outside the wall was a very different scene.

A trench three meters deep and three meters wide had been dug along the perimeter. Inside it were sharpened bamboo stakes sticking upward.

Reaver soldiers in this era wore soft leather boots. The thin soles couldn’t withstand such sharp traps.

Beyond the trench were dense half-height poles, each driven into solid foundations underground. Their purpose was to hinder large-scale charges and bunch the enemy together, making them perfect targets for the cannons.

"My Lord, we’ve also placed traps outside the trench. They’re hidden beneath sod and won’t be easy to spot." Aiden said.

The entire defensive strategy had been developed by Aiden, trenches, pillars, everything.

Benjamin said. "This young man is quite the schemer. The reavers are going to suffer this time."

Aiden laughed bitterly. "General, are you praising me or insulting me?"

"Of course I’m praising you!" Benjamin roared with laughter. Like Baldwin, he appreciated talented people.

In his eyes, Aiden far outshone most of the aristocratic youths.

Simon was also satisfied with Aiden’s layout. Between the stone pillars, Aiden had tied vine ropes soaked in tung oil.

Once soaked, the vines became incredibly tough, and even blades took time to cut through them.

During that time, archers atop the walls would be free to rain down arrows.

"Good work," Simon said approvingly.

Siege warfare was always difficult. Even with five times the number, attackers often failed.

And the more obstacles placed in their way, the heavier the losses for the attackers.

After touring the wall, Simon realised he hadn’t seen Lancelot or Liam. He asked. "Where are Lancelot and Liam?"

At this, Benjamin gave a wry smile.

"Ever since receiving Your Highness’s telescope, those two haven’t rested. Every day, they take soldiers out to scout. With the telescope, they can spot reaver scouts long before being seen. They’ve become obsessed."

Simon shook his head with a helpless smile. ’It’s like the farsighted bullying the nearsighted. No wonder they can’t stop.’

Just as they were speaking, a group of riders appeared in the distance. At the front were none other than Lancelot and Liam.

As they neared the city, the two quickly dismounted and climbed the walls.

Lancelot, breathless, reported. "My Lord, the Alkamite tribe has picked up their pace. They’ll likely reach the city by noon tomorrow."

"This time, the entire Alkamite tribe is relocating to Dunmere. It looks like they intend to set up camp here. I suspect their army is not far behind. They’re bringing livestock to feed the main force."

Benjamin asked. "What about their numbers?"

"Just the Alkamite tribe alone has twenty thousand cavalry, and countless slaves," Liam replied gravely.