Farming in a Parallel World and Becoming a God
Chapter 873 - 557: Treant Brigade Besieges the City_3

Chapter 873: Chapter 557: Treant Brigade Besieges the City_3

The more than forty Treants split into eight squads, with around five in each. The two leading Treants in the front each held a colossal shield—if those could be called shields at all. They were essentially cobbled together from fine logs using the Wood Shaping Technique, crudely fashioned nonetheless.

The Treants guarded behind them each gripped a colossal stone projectile, most of them possessing the capability to hurl stones.

Not far apart, the eight Treant squads began their slow march towards Efanso City.

"Ballista Carts, get ready."

"Catapults, get ready."

Another shout erupted from atop the walls of Efanso City accompanied by the hustle of people and the winding of the City Defense Crossbow Carts and Catapults. All the city’s defense weapons aimed at those colossal beings that stood as tall as the city walls; should they get to the base of the walls, the walls would not withstand their bombardment.

The Treant Brigade was oblivious to these threats, advancing slowly but resolutely. Behind them, the steeds of the Red Falcon Cavalry Brigade and the Nort Guard Heavy Cavalry snorted heavily, ready to charge at any moment.

Anybody with a rudimentary understanding of warfare knew that even when defending, one could not just passively take hits, especially when the enemy’s siege engines began rolling towards the city. Defense weapons alone were insufficient. It was vital to deploy elite units to work alongside the defense weapons, destroying the siege engines and safeguarding the city defenses.

That explained why, despite the city gates being the weakest point and the most vulnerable to enemy breach, the defenders were still reluctant to completely blockade them.

Because once the gates were sealed, it would mean losing the initiative in the battle. There would be no chance to launch a counterattack against the siege engines or pursue the enemy, effectively granting the attackers an unbeatable position.

Previously at Nort Castle, even with only a handful of cavalry at Zalanda’s disposal, they had taken the risk to sally forth and destroy the enemy’s catapults for this very reason.

Most battlefield gambles begin with a bloody fight for mobility. Whichever side wins this clash gains control of the battlefield’s initiative.

It wasn’t until the Treant Brigade, serving as living siege engines, reached the firing range of the City Defense Crossbow Carts and Catapults that there was any sight of Efanso deploying its Mobile Units. From start to finish, the city gates remained firmly shut.

It was unclear whether the Commander of Efanso was unaware of this basic military principle or if there was a lack of confidence in their own Mobile Units. Perhaps there was a fear of not only failing to defeat the Treant Brigade but also being broken by the Conqueror Army’s Heavy Cavalry, who could then follow up and seize the city gates.

The latter seemed more probable, as not every city could afford to sustain Heavy Cavalry.

Particularly across the disjointed Giant Dragon Coast, cities able to support two to three hundred Heavy Cavalry were indeed commendable.

After all, this region was dominated by mercenary warfare and assassination rather than large-scale cavalry battles, which were more typical for Thacel.

Among the one thousand two hundred Nort Guards of the Conqueror Army, only about two hundred could truly be considered Heavy Cavalry. The remaining thousand were merely auxiliary cavalry, lacking not only the fine equipment typically associated with Heavy Cavalry but also years of training and the necessary Professional Level.

In Thacel, Knight is seen as an Advancement profession, overall leaning towards the warrior type but with the Special Ability akin to the Holy Warrior’s companion mount, allowing one’s mount to improve alongside their Professional Level. The Professional Abilities unlocked also centered around mounted combat.

A charge enhanced with Magic versus one that wasn’t differed greatly in both power and safety.

Such a ragtag Heavy Cavalry unit, excluding equipment renewal, cost a staggering sum of merely five or six thousand Gold Coins/month for basic sustenance, including food, drink, and other essentials.

Undead Armies were never renowned for their mobility, and Efanso was no exception.

"Fire."

"Fire."

"Fire."

The rumble of Crossbow Carts and Catapults was heard once again atop the city. Now the defenders could only pin their hopes on the quantity and power of their defense weapons.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A barrage of Crossbow Arrows and stones severely smashed against the Treants’ colossal wooden shields. The impact was formidable, with wood chips and stone shatters flying everywhere; the noise it created was thunderous, but that was all.

The Treants’ colossal shields were even more formidable; crude though they may be, mass could lead to a qualitative change.

Most of the Ballista Cart’s bolts only managed to penetrate these colossal shields, with no strength left to strike the Treants behind.

The stones could only make the colossal shields sway chaotically but were insufficient to shatter them.

Occasionally, a bolt or stone breached the colossal shields and struck a Treant behind, but rarely did it cause a fatal injury.

Because they were Awakened Plants without vital organs, having a dozen bolts stuck in one’s body did not impact their life essence.

The same was true for the stones, which could hardly pose a deadly threat to their robust bodies.

As for the quantity of Efanso’s defense weapons, it also failed to provide a decisive advantage.

Since the Treant Brigade wasn’t spreading their assault along the entire line but rather maintaining about twenty meters between each other, those eight squads facing off against a mere two to three hundred meters of city wall defense weaponry—beyond that range wasn’t possible.

The actual Ballista Carts and Catapults they needed to handle couldn’t have totaled more than fifty, evenly split between the two types.

Despite heavy fire, the Treant Brigade lumbered forward.

Because they relied purely on Strength rather than mechanical assistance, the Treants’ stone-throwing range was quite short, needing to advance within fifty meters below the city to be effective.

However, the Ballista Carts and Catapults, perched high, boasted ranges above a hundred meters for Catapults, and the Ballista Carts exceeded two to three hundred meters.

Even though the Treant Brigade’s progress was slow, their colossal Body Type meant their strides were much longer than those of ordinary individuals, ensuring their Speed was still relatively substantial.