Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks

Chapter 864 - 88: Operation

The Saluzzo Assassins ran through the mountain forest, the violent roar echoing behind them—a violent explosion, as if it intended to turn the entire New Basilicata into rubble and ruins.

That was the masterpiece of the Floating Airships and British Army Artillery working together. At this rate, the mountain city, supported only by the Magic Array and lacking reinforced concrete, would sooner or later have its hard shell pried open.

"The enemies have already ascended the city walls."

"This is probably what your father envisioned in battle: placing the enemies with superior weapons and equipment into street fights, where the Wolf Race’s close combat abilities could be fully utilized."

This was an act of desperation, but also one of the only two choices for the Texans. The other was to retreat into the wilderness, use the mobility of the cowboy cavalry for frequent harassment and guerrilla attacks, raise the cost of maintaining order, and force the British to compromise.

But without Losa and the others’ help, the chances of success were not high.

Valentina gently patted the young girl’s shoulder: "Alright, stop watching. Leave the main battlefield to those guys. To be honest, I never dreamed that one day I would fight alongside the Knights of Radiance as comrades."

They quickened their pace, and in just a moment, they reached the mountainside.

Across from them, separated by a small stream, and alongside a neatly marching British Army unit advancing up the mountain, was the enemy’s artillery position.

"Elmer, your squad will carry a batch of White Crystal Grenades to destroy the enemy’s artillery position; Lahore, your squad will flank and cover Elmer and the others’ retreat; Britney, you and your squad will execute the officers of the British unit, as for the others, just scatter them. Make them swim like fat catfish in a pond, muddling the waters."

Elmer, whose name was called, solemnly replied, "I guarantee the mission’s completion." Among Valentina’s trusted followers, his strength was not outstanding, but he was the only one who became a squad leader as an outsider.

"As for us."

Valentina’s lips curled slightly, her bright red lips like a bloody rose: "The crafty Brits surely have prepared backups to guard the artillery position in advance. Let’s see who’s the hunter and who’s the prey."

As she spoke, Elmer and others had already positioned the Saluzzo Assassins in the team.

In truth, the number of artillery on both sides was about the same, but whether in terms of quality or the number that could be deployed in battle at the same time, the British Army Artillery was far superior to the Texas Artillery.

On one hand, there was a significant gap in training volume compared to the wealthy British. The cannons taken from the British Army’s arsenal had limited ammunition, with no room for self-production.

On the other hand, the entire Texas had no dedicated institution teaching geometry, physics, or surveying. The only school there still taught animal husbandry and agricultural planting.

The literacy rate in Texas had always been a problem that remained low and unsolvable.

Unlike in later generations where illiterate people wouldn’t suddenly become regional ambassadors, such a farce would never happen.

War was one thing, but to develop industry, literate workers were indispensable. This was also why Texas had to cooperate with old Wolf Races like the Saluzzo Family and the German Federation; otherwise, they would really be no different from the Native Americans.

...

In the British Army artillery position.

A loader, panting heavily from exhaustion, couldn’t help complaining, "Can anyone really survive under this level of bombardment? We’ve fired at least ten thousand shells these days, haven’t we?"

Nobody responded to his words. The ears of the artillery soldiers were stuffed with cotton, so they couldn’t hear commands; they only recognized flag signals.

"After receiving the next stipend, I’ll never work as artillery again, no matter what. At this rate, I might end up like that deaf old woman selling butter bread on Minsk Street, with my chest sticking to my belly."

The mechanical labor made the loader’s backache severely.

He handed over another shell and turned to fetch a new one from the ammunition box, but suddenly froze—through a layer of smoke and mist, he could vaguely see bloody corpses lying on the ground.

He rubbed his eyes, somewhat disbelieving.

Then, he felt a chill on his neck, and in a daze, he saw a pair of yellow beastly eyes flash before him before losing consciousness.

The Saluzzo Assassins moved quickly and covertly, silently taking lives amidst the artillery’s constant firing, while the sentries on the perimeter were first to be executed by the Lahore Squad.

Subsequently, the two squads merged into the most perfect killing machine, swiftly reaping the lives of the British Artillery’s soldiers.

When their actions were finally noticed, they tore away their disguises completely, throwing grenades at the enemy’s ammunition boxes, artillery, and soldiers, turning the entire artillery position into a sea of flames.

Meanwhile, the British forces preparing to support the front battlefield were almost simultaneously attacked.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

The lieutenant colonel leading the team had just shouted when his throat was slit, and almost all the junior officers were assassinated at the same time. The remaining soldiers, like a group of frightened sheep, some blindly shot their guns, and those hit eagerly retaliated.

The gunfire sounded like popcorn popping, yet none of the shots hit the targets they should have.

Amid the chaos, translucent nets covered the battlefield, as dozens of fully armored advanced Holy Knights riding snow-white winged pegasi charged in, followed by more than ten Casters.

"Look, the prey has taken the bait."

With a radiant smile, Valentina struck like a beautiful snake towards the back of an advanced Holy Knight. Although he wore a Protective Talisman for detecting evil, it didn’t work at all.

Suddenly ambushed, the advanced Holy Knight wasn’t panicked at all; he loudly chanted prayers, and a golden Holy Shield formed by sacred radiance blocked behind him.

But then, it was as if an invisible hand gripped his throat, causing the originally formed Holy Shield to explode.

The Holy Knight seemed to realize something and exclaimed, "Be careful, it’s the Saluzzo Family’s Throat-Gripping Demon Wolf!"

Crack—

Valentina slid her dagger into the gap of his armor, piercing his throat: "You know too much."

...

At some point, the British artillery fell silent, and the combatants on the battlefield soon realized this.

A British major was shouting "Charge."

The next moment, he was hit by a shell and turned into flying flesh and bone fragments. The air filled with a burnt smell, but those British soldiers who had taken forbidden drugs were fearless, storming the city walls one after another under the encouragement of the Holy Knights.

They had lost their sanity to the point where they didn’t even notice that the artillery fire meant to cover their advance had vanished.