Drawing Cards in the Middle Ages to Rise in Ranks-Chapter 342 - 35: The Might of the Iron Pagoda

The enemy’s light cavalry has withdrawn.

Replacing them are the heavy cavalry, equipped with round-domed Emei helmets, covered in heavy Zha armor from head to toe, including their steeds, exposing only slits for their eyes.

"Is this what they call the Iron Pagoda?"

Within the vehicle barrier, someone muttered, "I’ve heard that the Iron Pagoda in these Eastern people’s language means ’Iron Tower,’ which is quite fitting."

Renault watched the enemies surge like a tide in the distance, feeling no waves in his heart.

Even he wasn’t sure where he got such courage.

Those dark masses of cavalry, stepping on the earth like the mythical Titans, were launching a charge, especially the iron cavalry with armored horses, each weighing around a thousand pounds.

Without these barricades, he felt that they would surely be engulfed by the tide in an instant, not leaving even a bone fragment.

Bang—

The bowstring released, the sound of arrows shooting forth echoed by his ear.

Among the armored iron pagoda cavalry, someone immediately fell off their horse.

The woodland archer whistled, showing a proud expression; even with full heavy armor, not every spot could have the same strong defense. Hitting those weak points still allowed for killing the enemy.

"Seems there’s nothing bad about being a woodland archer."

Watching the woodland archer precision kill an enemy rider with each draw of the bow, Renault couldn’t help but feel a little envious.

As infantry on the front lines, each enemy they killed had to be fought for with their own life. In comparison, woodland archers killing one with every draw seemed both easy and safe to him.

He had earned enough credit to now choose to enter any squad among the woodland archers, Varangian Guard, armored archers, and winged cavalry. He just hadn’t had the chance to return from Limassol to Hebron to switch roles.

He originally wanted to be a winged cavalry, but it was already full. For a promotion, he would have to wait for an opening.

Thanks to the famous reputation of the winged cavalry, nearly everyone after receiving a promotion opportunity aimed to become winged cavalry, despite their superior equipment invisible rank of Imperial Cavalry.

Bang—

The woodland archer raised his bow again, but unexpectedly, an arrow shot straight from the enemy cavalry, directly through the narrow shooting aperture, hitting his head.

The arrow mixed with red and white fluids pinned the woodland archer’s head to the wooden board behind the barricade.

Renault opened his mouth, thinking that men should be crossing horses and wielding spears, and being an archer shooting stealthy arrows really harms a devout Christian’s honor.

...

On the city wall. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The Song army, standing higher and seeing more clearly, each had a pale face.

From time to time, the infantry archers were shot off the city wall by arrows from the iron pagoda heavy cavalry below. In their hands, only ten Divine Arm Crossbows and two Giant Crossbows mounted on the city wall posed threats to these iron lumps.

The county captain’s body was trembling, as he seemed to understand the feelings of the Song army, who had collapsed and fled before meeting the people of Jin Kingdom head-on.

Any army facing such a terrifying iron cavalry charge would be understandably terrified.

Many auxiliary troops kept their heads down, hiding behind the parapet without daring to show their heads.

Calling them cowardly?

Indeed so.

But they had neither received proper training nor truly fought on the battlefield, having done more work as artisans, laborers, bridge builders, road pavers, and grain transporters.

A good man doesn’t become a soldier, a good woman doesn’t sing opera.

Auxiliary troops and actors are both considered lower-class; if they indeed went to battle, fought fearlessly, and routed the iron cavalry of Jin Kingdom, that would be an enormous joke.

Someone was crouching on the ground, trembling like a sieve.

"Even the elite Western army failed. These barbarians won’t fare well either. We might as well surrender before they take the city by storm, angering Jin Kingdom, who might massacre the city upon entering."

"Precisely, we have neither family wealth nor wives and children; if the city falls, it’s the dignitaries who will be unlucky."

The county captain heard this and furiously kicked the person over, "What nonsense are you spouting? Stand up for me; the barbarian envoy is fighting fiercely, and you are only to support by shooting arrows. If you don’t dare even that, I’ll start killing folks!"

Seeing the archers of the county office staring aggressively, under the butcher knives, the auxiliary troops shivered but reluctantly stood up to shoot arrows.

Yet the arrows shot were feeble and weak, posing no threat at all to the fully armed iron pagoda cavalry of Jin Kingdom.

...

The iron pagoda cavalry surging like a tide revealed cruel smiles under their iron masks.

In their view, these "Song people" hiding in their shell dared cause them slight threats; once engaged in close battle, they would collapse instantly.

This had been their constant encounter against the Song army in recent years.

Even the supposedly elite Western army of the Imperial Guard could be slightly threatening if defending a city but were quickly crushed once challenging outside.

Golden Wushu looked indifferent as he spoke to the Han military officer next to him, "Do you understand why Song people are so weak and vulnerable?"

The Han officer showed confusion, "I don’t know; please enlighten me, Crown Prince."

Golden Wushu laughed heartily, "Our Great Jin warriors, if they fight bravely, even a military slave can achieve the high rank of Meng’an, equating to a regional lord when sent out, thus always relishing battles."

"Whereas I hear your Song Country troops are treated like slaves, with civil officials freely trampling on military generals’ heads. How can such an army compete with our Great Jin warriors?"

The officer was stunned, his voice somewhat bitter, "Crown Prince’s remarks are very accurate; this Song Dynasty is decayed, and its prosperous lands are due for Great Jin to take use of."

Golden Wushu listened, his spirit soaring, "Once Talan captures Lu Region, he can be ennobled as the Luland ruler. I am determined to head south once the weather turns cold, claiming a country’s land for myself."

The officer praised, "Crown Prince will surely have his wish fulfilled!"

...

Renault did not know how the enemy’s Commander-in-Chief regarded them. A spear thrust from the enemy had already pierced through the gap between connected war vehicles, aiming for him; this thrust perfectly embodied precision, speed, and force, leaving no room for him to dodge, forcing him to raise his shield to deflect.

A clang was heard.

The iron shield was pierced through by the spear.

But the spear thrust made it difficult to retract at once, seeing the pagoda cavalry of Jin Kingdom readying to kick at his shield, trying to leverage out the spear.

Renault had been through numerous battles and wouldn’t let go of such an opportunity, releasing the shield while stabbing forward with his spear.

This thrust was his months of training condensed into purification, directly hitting the chest of the Jin man’s armor, but the opponent’s armor was so sturdy that it didn’t penetrate, instead it knocked himself off balance.

At this moment.

A sudden force came from behind.

Evidently a burly figure, wrapped in heavy armor and wielding a great axe from the Count’s Guard, saw the fallen Jin man make a comeback and precisely cleaved into his neck, spraying blood.

The Count’s Guard kicked the Jin man, extracting the Two-Handed Axe embedded deeply in his bones.

"Hey, a good axe is what you need to handle such folks!"

These iron pagoda, facing the heavy vehicle barriers, naturally wouldn’t be foolish enough to crash directly with horses.

Upon approaching, the lead Moke commanded his iron pagoda to dismount and charge towards the barricades.

Subsequent Mokes commanded their iron pagoda to suppress with long-range archery.

With the vehicle barriers backed against the city wall, their charge was significantly restricted. If in an open field, they could circle the barriers to find weaknesses, but now the barriers only faced the enemy on one side, making finding weaknesses increasingly difficult.

More and more iron pagoda infantry attacked the barricades.

Some iron pagoda lifted great axes aiming to chop through the chains connecting the barricades, intending to push or pull them open, but were immediately injured by iron thorns hidden in the dirt.