The shells roared across the sky, landed on the ground and exploded, emitting orange fire and sending several Semitic soldiers flying high like rag dolls.
At the same time, the violent explosion also kicked up white snow all over the sky.
"Fire~! Fire~!" as the officer yelled at the top of his lungs.
The security soldiers holding on in the frozen trenches raised their guns one after another, constantly pulling the triggers, and shooting particle bullets at every suspicious black figure on the snow.
"Thud, tug, tug, tug..." The unique rhythm of the machine gun also sounded.
On the battlefield surrounding Ruman City, there was a loud sound of gunfire, fighting, screams, and shouts.
More than 100,000 elite Semites broke into Ruman, and they fought fiercely with the soldiers of the Ruman Empire. Both sides were elite soldiers selected from thousands of people, and neither side would take a step back.
It is already the middle of winter, and heavy snow has been falling for several days, with no intention of stopping.
Feather-like snowflakes fell from the sky one after another, turning the whole world into a vast expanse of white.
The snow in the wilderness was nearly one meter thick. The white snow buried the bodies of dead soldiers and concealed the cruel battlefield.
The snow is so thick that it often takes a lot of effort to pull it out once you step into it.
The endless snow in the wilderness looks quite poetic, but it has a great impact on the actions of the two armies on the battlefield. Whether it is transfer, mobilization, or transportation of supplies, it has become much more difficult than before.
But in general, the harsh environment was even more unfavorable to the attacking Semites.
The Ruman people were backed by a fortified city, had sufficient supplies, had houses to shelter from the cold, and were on the defensive.
Although from a strategic point of view, this is an unfavorable factor, but precisely because of their persistence, they can rely on their solid defense line and calmly wait for the enemy's attack.
However, due to the invasion and war, the Semites traveled long distances, so they were seriously short of supplies.
Out of their deep-seated hatred of the demons, the Ruman Empire's policy of clearing the country was extremely successful. When they retreated, they burned down almost all the houses.
Therefore, when the Semitic soldiers arrived here, they could only camp in the wild. Only a small number of senior officers could find a house in a small village that had not been burned down by the Ruman people and use it as their own high-end residence.
The scariest thing is when attacking.
Due to the heavy snowfall, the Semitic soldiers could only crawl slowly in the snow, moving their bodies bit by bit, advancing foot by foot, using their own bodies to attack the enemy's solid defense line, which was armed to the teeth.
And this also gave the Ruman army's artillery a longer time to bombard them.
Soldiers of the security forces can also stand in the trenches, hold up their guns, and aim and fire calmly like target shooting on a training ground.
What annoyed the Semitic officers most was that the heavy snow made their proud night battle useless.
The Semitic army had just learned to crawl on the battlefield where cannons were roaring and bullets were flying, and they had also figured out some tricks.
Compared to humans, Semites have pretty good eyesight in the dark.
In the wars a thousand years ago, once they encountered powerful enemies or fortresses that were difficult to conquer, they often adopted night attacks to deal with the human race.
Not long ago, they organized their soldiers, and under the cover of night, they used small units to sneak in and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, often achieving some results.
Therefore, in order to guard against Semitic night attacks, human soldiers desperately fired flares into the sky at night, illuminating the entire land as if it were daytime.
Even so, in small-scale infiltration operations, many Semites were able to rush over and charge into the enemy's trenches, making the humans scream and flee in a hurry.
But this heavy snow completely ruined their tactics~!
Moving on thick snow at night will make a crunching sound, giving away their position.
Moreover, the Semitic soldiers were dressed in black military uniforms. Not only was it difficult to hide on the white snow, but it was also clearly reflected by the white snow.
The human soldiers could easily spot them without even using flares.
However, despite facing various adverse conditions, under the command of Orlandini, the Semitic soldiers were all extremely tenacious and still attacked the Ruman soldiers' defense line day and night.
Moreover, with the support of war fortresses, poison gas cannons... and other weapons, they have broken through the first line of defense and slowly but firmly advanced to the front of the Ruman people's second line of defense. There is only a mere distance left from Ruman City.
A distance of several miles.
With their naked eyes, the soldiers could see the densely packed high-rise buildings in Ruman City, as well as the dazzling light reflected from the golden roof of Ruman Palace in the distance.
Every time they see this, the Semitic officers all boil with excitement: The Semitic tribe's thousand-year dream has never been so close as it is now, as if they can pick the rich and sweet fruit in their hands just by reaching out.
Afterwards, they urged their soldiers even more crazily, forcing the animals to continue launching wave after wave of attacks towards the human defense line.
While fighting continued day and night outside the city, there was another scene inside Ruman City.
Heavy snow covered the entire city, with high snowdrifts piled up on both sides of the streets. Pedestrians struggled to walk on the icy roads, and from time to time some people slipped and fell to the ground.
The entire city seemed to be frozen, and the residents of Ruman City were experiencing the coldest winter in their memory.
What makes them even more sad is that there is a lack of heating fuel in the city, and many people have died because they could not survive the cold.
The residents in the city had no choice but to cut down trees. The nobles also tore down their beautiful gardens and filled their furnaces with all kinds of precious flowers, plants and trees.
And it is said that the palace is doing the same thing.
In the past, coal and firewood could be supplied from the surrounding areas, but the war blocked the three directions of Ruman City. Only the frozen river in the south of the city was accessible.
This only channel has become the lifeline of Ruman City. Weapons, ammunition and food are the highest priority materials.
War supplies brought by train from the East would be unloaded hundreds of miles away, transported by local residents to Ruman City, and finally pushed onto the ice dozens of miles away.
Horse-drawn sledges converted from carts shuttled across the thick ice of the river day and night, delivering these urgently needed supplies to Ruman City.
This important passage was attacked and harassed by Semites every day - Orlandini also knew the importance of this ice highway and tried every means to destroy it.
However, Archduke Julius was also tit for tat, investing a considerable amount of troops here and setting up defenses along both sides of the river.
Ruman's soldiers piled soil or thick wood not far from the river bank, and then watered it directly.
When the cold wind blew, it froze into a long wall and a fortress. Then they hid inside the fortress and tried their best to block the Semitic attack with the help of grenades.
Around the fortresses, both sides continued to invest their troops and engage in bloody battles. Sometimes, a fortress would have to go through dozens or hundreds of battles until it was blown up to the sky by the humans with gunpowder, or burned by the Semites with fire.
into ashes.
The war fortresses of the undead will also come to attack from time to time, but their powerful dark spells have little effect on the ice.
Big holes are often made in the river surface, and the large number of elemental mages in Ruman City come in handy at this time. It only takes a few minutes for them to repair and strengthen the broken ice.
Ruman City itself is the seat of the Ruman Royal Mage Association. There are hundreds of resident mages in the city. For them, this is just a small job to raise their hands.
However, for the people living in Ruman City, their lives have become increasingly difficult.
Sylvia was wrapped in a thick scarf, holding a sack in one hand and a small wooden cart with the other, walking with difficulty on the street.
Sitting on the cart was her young daughter. Sylvia was worried that she would be alone at home, so she had to take her with her.
The little girl thought that riding in the car was a good game, and burst into laughter from time to time.
After it snowed on the street, when passers-by stepped on it or wheels pressed it, the ground formed an inch-thick layer of ice, as hard as steel. Even if a steel drill hit it, it would just be a white mark.
The militiamen and volunteers have given up on clearing the ice and will let it melt naturally. They just throw some weeds on some steeper sections to prevent people from slipping.
However, later on, those weeds were also covered up by the new heavy snow.
The howling cold wind blew towards the face with flying snow, like a knife, which hurt people's faces. Sylvia had to walk with her head down, and a layer of white snow soon fell on her body.
Many Ruman people like her were walking around with their heads down. They all had a common goal, the food supply station in the south of the city.
The demons' war fortress just came yesterday, and according to their pattern of actions, they won't come again today, so there are a lot of people going out to collect food.
The supply depot is located in the military camp in front of the south city gate.
Although Sylvia got up early, when she arrived, there was already a long queue in front of the military camp, and the queue turned several corners along the street.
She was at the end of the queue, looked out worriedly, and couldn't help but sigh: It's such a long queue, I don't know how long it will take.
At this time, a gust of wind and snow blew, and a low cry of killing came from the south of the city - obviously the Semites had launched another attack.
Perhaps prompted by the enemy's shouts of killing, the supply station distributed food much faster.
Only an hour passed and it was Sylvia's turn.
She untied her clothes, took out a card from her pocket, and handed it to the officer opposite.
The officer opposite finally took a look at the numbers on the card, and then quickly flipped through the account book. They found that they matched. The officer nodded, looked up at Sylvia, and said: "Still a member of the military.
You can get an extra portion, sixty pounds."
Then he stamped a stamp on the card.
The soldier next to him took the bag and quickly filled it with food.
He filled the sacks and then helped Sylvia put the sacks on the flatbed truck.
Little Katie had already climbed down from the flatbed truck, and without any instructions, she had already sensibly pulled up the rope, hoping to bring home the food rations for the family of four with her mother.
At this time, a horse-drawn sledge ran across the river very quickly. Before the sledge could stop, someone shouted anxiously: "Come on, help! Someone has been hit by an arrow!"
A group of soldiers rushed out immediately and carried out a cart driver in a hurry.
I saw an arrow stuck on his waist, and his clothes were soaked with red blood.
And there were several arrows stuck on the sledge that transported grain. Apparently many people had shot arrows at it.
From this alone, we can know what kind of danger this sledge took in order to pass the blockade.
Sylvia hurriedly made the sign of the cross on her chest and prayed for the brave groom in her heart.
At the same time, she couldn't help but think of her husband who was fighting against the demons in the Kingdom of Kiel. A look of worry flashed across her face, and she urged her daughter to leave the supply station quickly.
When mother and daughter were staggering all the way to their home, a group of priests in white robes led a large group of soldiers and hurried past them.
At the same time, several priests were talking hurriedly.
"It is no longer a sporadic outbreak. Several households have appeared at the same time. It is already certain."
"Is it still the same disease?"
"Yes."
"How many people died, how were the bodies disposed of? Others were not allowed to get close."
"I've told you everything."
"Still haven't found the source?"
"No, Ruman City is too big, and the outbreaks are scattered."
"We judge that it has an incubation period of several days and is very tricky."
The leader of the old priest looked solemn and kept urging: "Hurry up, hurry up, at any cost. We must not let it spread."
Sylvia's expression suddenly changed, and her heart immediately became anxious. Recently, a plague suddenly began to spread in the city, and it was said that many people had died.
These pastors deal with this all day long.
At this moment, the priests, dressed in beautiful white robes, were no longer noble messengers of God in the eyes of the Ruman people, but became messengers of death.
If a white robe appears there, it means disaster has occurred there.
And now, they are going in the direction of their home.
"Let's go," Sylvia's heart was so heavy that she could barely breathe. She picked up her daughter, used all her strength to hold on to the flatbed truck, and walked quickly towards her home.
Fortunately, the white figures of the priests did not stop at her door, but ran past her door and plunged into another street.
This made Sylvia breathe a long sigh of relief and express her gratitude to the God of Light in her heart.
Not long after she returned home, the sound of a large group of soldiers running came from outside, and the army also rushed over. It seemed that something was serious.
Sylvia comforted her parents and daughter, covered her mouth and nose with a scarf, and carefully opened the door a crack.
The streets were filled with soldiers. Each of them covered his face with a mask, leaving only his eyes exposed. They stood solemnly on both sides of the street.
"The first squadron, the west side of the street, the second squadron, the north side of the street, the third squadron..."
"Yes~!"
The officers' loud orders and the soldiers' responses came from outside. Their voices were urgent and they sounded very nervous.
"Seal the block and don't allow anyone to come in or out. Remember, don't come into close contact with the residents, especially if you have a cough. Act~!" The officer outside the door ordered loudly, and then shouted in a stern tone: "Our mission is related to the whole world.
For the safety of Manchester City, no hesitation or relaxation is allowed. Violators will be punished by military law~!"
"Yes~!"
The soldiers roared in unison and then moved quickly.
Sylvia saw that an intersection in the distance was blocked by soldiers with debris, and then a team of soldiers guarded it.
Residents who were blocked in the intersection were driven back by soldiers at a distance. Many people walked out of their homes and gathered on the streets, watching helplessly as soldiers surrounded the entire block.
They are quarantined~!
xxxxxx Emperor De Rossi and General Melun followed behind Herod, obediently listening to Herod's instructions like subordinates, with a respectful attitude.
"I'm already aware of your difficulties, and I will report them to the throne of God. As for how to deal with them, we will follow the orders of the throne of God." Lich Herod said as he walked: "However, the lack of troops is indeed our real difficulty.
The damn Elf Kingdom actually dares to suddenly attack us, we will definitely teach them a profound lesson."
Emperor De Rossi said helplessly: "If it hadn't been for the defeat in the naval battle, my soldiers would not have to defend Delong while transporting supplies to the front line. The task would be too heavy."
Anyway, all the responsibility lies on the head of the Semitic Navy, and De Rossi is also a victim. This is exactly what the two people have agreed upon.
The navy has been completely wiped out, and they are not worried about anyone jumping out to refute them.
General Melun also cursed angrily: "The Elf Kingdom is so hateful that we cannot spare them."
But I can't tell what it feels like.
If the Elf Navy hadn't participated in the war, he and the Fourth Caribbean Division might have been caught in the middle by humans along with Veraplani, unable to advance or retreat, and would have faced disaster soon.
There is a tough battle under Fantino, and General Melun knows very well the virtues of his fourth division.
He didn't think that as long as he ran up to Lorraine and said "I am your uncle", Lorraine would not stop bombarding him.
As an uncle, he could at most get some good treatment after surrendering.
Lich Herod nodded and said: "Our top priority is to rescue the trapped Veraplani and the Semitic army."
Emperor De Rossi said sternly: "Master, please rest assured. I will reorganize the army immediately and catch up to reinforce Veraplani. Even if I fight to the death of one soldier, I will break the enemy's siege~!"
Then he glanced at General Mellen.
Melun reluctantly curled his lips and said with a serious face: "Although our Fourth Caribbean Division lacks weapons and supplies, this is not a problem. Under the inspiration of the God, we can set off at any time."
I prayed secretly in my heart: I am just talking, you must not take it seriously.
"Okay," the lich Herod applauded and said, "His Majesty will be very happy to hear what you have to say. If you want to atone for your sins, please set off as soon as possible."
Emperor De Rossi raised his hand and vowed: "I will lead the vanguard and set off."
Lich Herod was very satisfied with his attitude and said: "I will also go to Veerapurani to see what his requirements are. I will also bring His Majesty's action plan. I will tell him that His Majesty is on his way."
Come to rescue him and tell him to hold on."
"Farewell, Master." Emperor De Rossi and General Melun bowed at the same time and watched Herod walk onto the war fortress.
Melun stared at the black war fortress until it disappeared into the horizon, then he breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Emperor De Rossi and said: "Your Majesty, you are not really going to lead the army, are you?"
Emperor De Rossi shrugged his shoulders and said: "If you don't show off, the throne will be angry. But..."
He changed the topic and said with a sneer: "This road is more than a thousand miles away from Fantino, and the road is full of human guerrillas. It's hard for me to get there in time~!"
Melun's eyes lit up, he cupped his hands to De Rossi, and said with a smile: "Who said otherwise? Time is precious, and our Fourth Division is ready to go on an expedition."
The two people looked at each other and smiled, saying nothing.