Chapter 927: The Three-Pronged Siege
Kobe Castle was the gateway to North Ise and the Ise-jingu.
The Daoist army had already arrived at its gates.
But unlike the traditional method of scaling the walls, the Daoist positions were set further back from the walls. All that could be seen were rows of cannons already in position. Their barrels stood like a forest, their muzzles aimed at Kobe Castle’s walls, ready to destroy the city.
The spring wind howled, whipping banners so they snapped and fluttered. The soldiers on the city walls gripped their muskets, with only a handful of cannons in support, yet despair weighed heavily upon them.
That was because beneath the walls were not catapults, but heavy artillery. Could cannon shells even be compared to rocks?
Their own cannons were the traditional solid shot, mere lumps of iron. However, the Daoist cannons fired explosive shells that exploded with devastating force.
Moreover, the Donghai Fleet was closing in from the sea, the range of its naval cannons capable of covering nearly half of Kobe Castle.
Yet none of this brought them such despair, since the city walls still offered some cover.
Kobe Castle was not like Hisai Castle. Hisai Castle was little more than a jin’ya, with crude fortified walls that were easily reduced to rubble. However, Kobe Castle was a grand city, fortified and maintained by the Tenmon Sect for many years.
One only had to look at the depth of the gatehouse to gauge the thickness of its walls. They were not like courtyard walls made of a single layer of thin bricks. The top of the ramparts was about 12 meters wide on average, enough for six horses to ride next to each other without crowding. Only such walls could support the placement of cannons, ballistae, and other defensive weapons. Their core was rammed earth encased in brick. Blasting off the outer brick was easy enough, but piercing through 12 meters of rammed earth would not be a simple task in a short time.
What truly crushed morale was the sky above. This time, the Daoist Order had deployed its flying ships, capable of soaring directly over the city walls and striking within the city.
The colossal Yinglong Warship cruised over Kobe’s skies, casting a massive shadow on the ground, bringing about an oppressive aura, as though every heart was smothered beneath a dark cloud.