Chapter 503
"Your Highness, there's a platoon guarding the pier area," Lightning, who was responsible for monitoring the enemy's situation, reported . "There are about 100 of them, and judging from their uniforms, they seem to be militia . "
"Only 100?" Roland was slightly surprised . It was predictable that Timothy would deploy troops to the pier of the outlying district—the massive fleet was certain to be noticed when it passed through Redwater City and Silver City . Though steamships were much faster than sailing ships, and could in five days cover a distance which the latter would require seven days for, they were still not as fast as messengers who continuously changed horses and traveled round the clock . Not to mention pigeons—if the new king's spies used pigeons to deliver their report, Timothy would have received the news two or three days in advance .
But it was unexpected that Timothy would deploy only 100 men to defend the pier . Roland had imagined that the first battle would take place in its vicinity . He anticipated that crossbowmen, musketeers, and even mangonels would be stationed along both banks of the river in order to prevent his troops from landing on shore successfully . This was why he wanted to build inland river gunboats in time for the spring offensive . The efficiency of transportation by water was much higher than that of by land, but its disadvantage was that the troops had to alight at a dock and thus could be easily ambushed . If his army had the capability to attack across the shore, it would be able to handle any ambush easily and create a secure landing point .
It seemed as though Timothy had already given up on the "massive advantage" he would have while Roland's troops were landing . From Roland's perspective, although this was the right decision, it was unjustifiable—it was impossible that Timothy knew about the range and power of his 152 mm naval artillery .
As Roland thought about this, he beckoned Sylvie over . "Are the militiamen carrying any Berserk Pills?"
Sylvie summoned her Eye of Magic and took some time to observe the scene . "I don't see anything that looks like a pill . Some of them don't even have any weapons on them . But . . . there's something strange about the ground . "
"The ground?"
"They have buried a few things in the ground . . . there're also some on the pier . " Sylvie strained her brows to observe even more carefully . "Crocks and barrels . . . they're filled with dark gray powder . "
"Gunpowder?" Nightingale exclaimed uncontrollably .
"Well, that makes sense," Roland said, acting as calm as he could . "The militia is just a bait to draw our attention . By presenting us with a false opportunity to scramble ashore and capture the pier, Timothy will then ignite the gunpowder and blow all of us up . "
In his heart, he was not as calm as he appeared . This strategy was similar to the landmine warfare of the past and was indeed a good plan . Though he saw through it early, his troops would still need to land on shore—having made the choice to travel by water, the pier was a necessary crossing, and it seemed that Timothy was aware of this inevitability . He probably hoped to catch Roland by surprise by setting up an ambush instead of fighting straight up . If Sylvie was not around, there was a chance that Roland would have walked right into the trap .
The solution to this was fairly accomplishable . As Timothy did not have wireless methods to ignite the gunpowder, he would have to deploy people near the barrels to do the ignition . All that Roland had to do was to eliminate these people . In any case, it was important to preserve the pier, or else he would not be able to transport his cannons and ammunition on shore .
Through Sylvie's careful observation, Roland was able to pinpoint two places where the ignition was likely to be carried out . One was situated in a shack on the edge of the pier, as evident from a long iron pipe that connected it to the nearest barrel . The other was situated in the pier's warehouse . The two places had a similar feature - a shifting black hole formed by a God's Stone of Retaliation .
After some discussion with Iron Axe, Roland quickly decided the battle plan .
First, Nightingale would sneak into the warehouse, silently dispose of the ignition crew, and guard the gate against substitutes running in and igniting the gunpowder . Then, Roland would use the naval artillery to destroy the shack . There was no problem even if it caused the gunpowder to ignite—so long as the pier remained in good condition .
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