Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

"According to the locals we've found, the walls of Tachi have been around for some time. The exact construction date is unknown, but they are at least fifty years old—this place was once the duchy of Red Sulfur Island. After the Alliance seized power, it gradually fell into disuse, until it was repaired again two years ago, with no major alterations,"

The atmosphere inside the temporary military camp's strategy tent was exceedingly oppressive. Most of the senior officers were silently smoking their stale cigarettes, listening to the intelligence chief's briefing without uttering a word.

The officer who was speaking flipped a page in his small notebook, licked his lips, and continued, "The main body of the wall isn't lime mortar, but volcanic ash concrete, which is the material used in the dome of Saint Marco Cathedral, made by mixing volcanic ash with lime and seawater to create artificial stone. The outer wall is covered with volcanic rock quarried nearby. In simple terms, the core of the wall is one massive stone, with another layer of stone wrapped around it."

A staff officer cursed under his breath, and the expressions on the others' faces also turned grim. The officers at this meeting each had at least fourteen years of military experience; the more solid the walls were, the greater the cost the attackers would have to bear.

Seeing that the mood was growing somber, the intelligence chief hurriedly continued to explain the disadvantages of the wall: "However, the biggest problem with Tachi's defensive system is its antiquity; it's an outdated model, still relying on height for defense and an earthen slope below the high wall to counter siege ladders."

"Due to the expense of stone walls, the main body of Tachi's wall is rather thin, only barely two meters in thickness, which makes it difficult to deploy cannons. During that renovation two years ago, those Tani bastards realized this problem, but they didn't undertake a comprehensive overhaul. They only added a protruding demi-lune on each of the eastern and western walls to mount enfilade cannons,"

The intelligence chief took a breath, turning another page in his notebook: "Because digging is difficult, there is no moat in Tachi. After Alliance troops fled into Tachi, they thought about digging one temporarily, but gave up after less than a meter and a half. However, they used the excavated earth and stone to build another breastwork below the city wall and covered the city gate with a temporary rammed earth trilateral bastion..."

"Somewhat methodical. William Kidd is just a mere pirate; I doubt he has the ability. Who is really defending the city?" Antonio interrupted the Third Legion's intelligence chief.

Sweat immediately appeared on the intelligence director's forehead; he did not dare retort, but had to say, "…We don't know that yet."

"We don't need to discuss the defensive issues; we can all see them. Tell us some other more important information," Antonio continued to ask, "Is there a water source in the city? How many civilians? What about the food supplies?"

The officers' thoughts began to waver upon hearing Antonio's questions, suggesting that Major General Serviati was already considering a long siege rather than a forceful assault.

The intelligence director hurriedly flipped through his notebook again: "The civilian population of Tachi mainly consists of sulfur mine workers and their families, not amounting to more than three hundred households. The Alliance did not establish a granary in Tachi, so there should only be the food stores of the sulfur mine workers' households and the food they have collected from nearby villages in recent days. There are no wells in the city; it mainly relies on stream water flowing down from the mountains, with two to three water storage reservoirs. According to locals, there is a volcanic crater lake higher up behind Tachi, but the water there is brackish due to the proximity to the sulfur mines."

Antonio, holding his forehead, ordered, "Send a few men into the mountains to find out exactly how many streams there are and whether we can somehow cut them off."

The intelligence director promptly acknowledged the order.

The air in the council chamber grew heavy once more.

Layton, unable to contain himself, slapped his thigh and cursed, "[Army swear word]! [Army swear word]! These Tani bastards have stolen all our stuff! [Army swear word]!"

Though Layton's words seemed somewhat nonsensical, they indeed voiced the inner thoughts of the gathered officers.

Ever since the Republics broke away from the Empire, they had always been on the defensive in strategic terms. The Empire, though defeated, still retained a strength far greater than the Senas Alliance.

Although there had been no more fighting between the Empire and the Republics after the end of the Sovereignty Wars, relations under Henry III had become increasingly close.

However, strategic pressure is strategic pressure; on the other side of the Sheltering Mountain range lies the most powerful empire on the continent. Even the friendliest of giants remains a formidable threat.

Thus, the military doctrine of the Republics' armies was primarily defense and counterattack, which had been the successful experience of the Sovereignty Wars. They used fortified towns to deplete the aggressors' forces and morale, while the field armies sought opportunities for decisive battles.

In the strategic thinking of the Alliance, no fortress was impregnable; as long as sufficient casualties were inflicted and enough time was won before its fall, the fortress would've achieved its strategic goal.

The Tani inside Tachi were clearly intent on this. It was a doomed lone fortress—ten thousand troops from two legions besieged a small city defended by less than three thousand men, with no reinforcements for the defenders.

Normally, in the face of such inevitably doomed combat, the defenders would've surrendered by now. At most, during negotiations, they might propose some conditions, such as being allowed to leave with their arms. However, the Alliance defenders simply refused to surrender, not showing even the slightest intent to negotiate.

The Tani behind the city walls had accurately targeted the weaknesses of the Republics' military system: the political system determined that Vineta couldn't mobilize armies counting in the hundreds of thousands, regardless of the cost, like feudal kings could.