I'm not a lord

Chapter 374 Landing on the Beach
The town of Dawa, located dozens of kilometers away from River Bend, is Otto III's current temporary residence and a trading hub on the lower reaches of the Tinh River.

Otto and his 9,000-strong army have been stationed here for nearly two days.

During this period, he kept a close eye on the battle situation at River Bend Fort and was prepared to launch a surprise attack at any time.

From Dawa Town to Hewanbao, a full-speed march would take less than three days.

However, Lynn did not reveal any weaknesses, only bombarding River Bend with his fleet, while his army stayed in a group and also sent out a large number of reconnaissance cavalry.

In the past few days, the scout cavalry of both sides have engaged in fierce battles between River Bend Fort and Dawa Town, with the number of scouts killed exceeding the casualties of the River Bend Fort defenders.

Unable to find an opportunity to attack, Otto could only wait idly in Dawa town, eating and sleeping on time every day.

He inexplicably overslept today, and when he opened his eyes, the sun was already high in the sky.

Sitting in the sunny little garden, looking at the sumptuous breakfast laid out on the table, Otto suddenly felt a pang of anxiety. He gently pressed his right hand to his chest, looked up at the clear western sky, and frowned, saying:

"Strange, it's a windless morning, but my heart is inexplicably pounding. I have a bad feeling about this."

A beautiful young woman, not yet twenty, walked up behind Otto, massaging his shoulders and softly comforting him, "Your Majesty probably just had a little nightmare last night, it's alright."

Like Earl Schultz and other southern nobles, Otto did not give up his personal enjoyment while fighting abroad.

When he left Amber Harbor last autumn, he was accompanied by a whole retinue of servants, including his two new lovers from Amber Harbor.

In terms of female aesthetics, Otto, like most aristocratic men, preferred young, beautiful, and energetic girls.

His eighteenth year is gone forever, but there will always be girls in the world who are eighteen.

Whenever he spent long nights with young girls in his arms, he always had a wonderful illusion of returning to his youth.

Otto reached out and stroked the girl's soft fingers, his annoyance easing slightly: "No, I slept very soundly last night and didn't dream at all. Send someone to fetch Arno."

"His Majesty."

Before long, Arno, dressed in military uniform, arrived at the small garden led by his guards, and the young girl withdrew at the appropriate time.

Otto pointed to the wooden chair: "You're here? Sit down, and tell me about the current situation at River Bend."

Arno slowly sat down and replied, "Until noon yesterday, there was still no sign of the western wall of River Bend Castle collapsing. If nothing unexpected happens, Lynn's fleet should still be bombarding River Bend Castle. The morale of the soldiers in the city has indeed been affected, but I believe that under the command of Earl Schultz, River Bend Castle remains His Majesty's strongest shield."

Lynn concentrated the majority of his forces on the north bank of the Jing River, sending only a small number of troops to the south bank to gather intelligence.

Therefore, Otto's cavalry could still operate on the south bank of the Jing River and report the situation at River Bend Fort to Otto in real time.

Although River Bend was surrounded by Lynn's fleet, it was not able to completely cut off the city's defenders from the outside world.

Every night, Count Schulz would send out soldiers skilled in swimming to secretly swim to the south bank of the Tranquil River and inform Otto of the situation in the castle.

"The walls of River Bend Fortress will break sooner or later, probably in the next few days. Artillery is far more effective than catapults. I wonder where Lynn got this technology from." Otto sighed softly after saying this.

Otto was indeed very good at "winning strategies," but such tricks could only be used in internal and external propaganda. If leaders also incorporated winning strategies into their decision-making, they would be no different from idiots.

He only sells this kind of thing; he himself would never touch it.

Otto was very clear about the situation at River Bend Fortress. He knew that Lynn was using a large number of cannons to bombard a few points on the city wall, and that the outer layer of the city wall had been breached the day before yesterday.

If things continue like this, it's only a matter of time before a large breach is blasted into the city wall.

Arno cautiously reassured him, "Your Majesty, I think even if a breach appears in the city wall, Count Schulz can certainly hold out for more than two weeks. After all, there are still five thousand brave and skilled soldiers inside River Bend Castle."

"Brave and skilled in battle?" Otto looked intently at Arno, his eyes filled with obvious suspicion.

The soldiers in River Bend were all recruited by Arno from the North, and their quality varied greatly.

Seeing Otto's gaze, Arnaud had no choice but to lower his head.

To be honest, he didn't really believe that those soldiers could be brave and skilled in battle.

But it wasn't his fault; soldiers these days generally couldn't handle tough battles.

In terms of sheer bravery, the self-governing militias in a city-defending state should be the most courageous on the entire continent, after all, they have to protect their cities, families and property.

Arno changed the subject at the right moment: "Apart from the garrison of River Bend, the more than 20,000 men under the command of Earl Tristan have now left Mirror Iron Territory and are advancing toward River Bend as you commanded."

For Otto, the situation was far from dire.

Count Tristan successfully completed his mission, forcibly bringing back Count Harvey's more than 10,000 troops.

Otto withdrew his suspicious gaze, picked up a few round hazelnuts from his plate and played with them casually, while saying, "Tristan is always reassuring, but Lynn also knows to pay attention to the rear. I have ordered Tristan to go to Darvat as soon as possible. To save River Bend, the army on land alone is not enough."

Lynn's patrol boats on the Still River proved effective, completely cutting off Tristan's flanking maneuver.

Otto also made timely adjustments, ordering Tristan to come to Dawa town to join forces with him.

This was a perfectly normal strategic adjustment, but Arno sensed something different about it. He lowered his head and rolled his eyes, thinking to himself: Could it be that Otto has decided to abandon River Bend?

That's right. After Neil's fleet was destroyed, River Bend was destined to fall.

After a moment's thought, Arno flattered, "Your Majesty, once Count Tristan's troops arrive in Dava Town, you will have an overwhelming numerical advantage and can completely crush Lynn on the front lines."

“I hope so.” Otto looked at Arno again, a hint of impatience flashing across his face. “Speaking of which, what about the gunpowder samples and formulas I ordered you to collect? Haven’t you gotten your hands on them yet?”

Arno replied hastily, "Your Majesty, please give me some more time, I promise."

"I've emphasized this many times: we must act quickly! This matter is far more important than a castle. If I could also control gunpowder and cannons, why would we be so passive in the war?"

The enraged Otto was unaware that the western wall of River Bend Fort had already been breached by artillery fire.

As he was reprimanding Arno as usual, Lynn's army had already landed on the mudflats of the island in the middle of the river.

On the shallows of River Bend Fortress, an exceptionally fierce amphibious landing operation is underway. Leading the vanguard is the 1st Infantry Battalion of the 1st Army Corps, commanded by Lucas.

The core of this brigade consists of refugees from the Crown Territory. Having experienced numerous wars, more than half of the initial recruits have either died in battle or been discharged due to injuries. Those who remain in the army have all been promoted to officers, and none of them are elite soldiers.

Before the official landing, Lucas shouted from the ship's deck: "According to the pre-battle drills, set up the planks on the mudflats as quickly as possible! The King has spoken, and the first person to set up the planks will be promoted one rank!"

In Lynn's army, officers who could become company commanders usually held titles, or at the very least, honorary knighthoods.

Don't underestimate Lucas just because he's only a battalion commander of 500 soldiers. He has already been promoted to a third-class earl and receives a generous title allowance every month in addition to his battalion commander's salary.

Nobility not only symbolizes status, military achievements, and glory, but also means attractive high income.

However, since Lynn only divided the nobility titles into thirteen levels, it is relatively difficult for lower-ranking soldiers and officers to advance in rank. They often have to go through two or three life-or-death battles to accumulate enough military merits to advance in rank.

It is precisely because the ranks are difficult to rise that the soldiers' fighting spirit is more easily ignited at crucial moments.

"A promotion of one rank? Hehe, this top-tier merit is mine!"

"Dream on! This achievement is mine. It's just sticking a plank in the riverbed, isn't it? My five-year-old son could do that!"

Before the warships had even fully docked, and before the ladders had even been lowered, soldiers from two squadrons on board were already yelling and jumping off the ship.

As soon as they gained a foothold in the shallow water, they heard the sound of crossbow bolts whistling through the air overhead and saw enemy soldiers yelling in front of them.

Lord Schulz, the garrison commander of River Bend, had ample experience in defending cities. Although the breach in the walls was unexpected, he at least knew to send soldiers out of the city to prevent Lynn's forces from establishing a beachhead.

At the same time, Lynn's two company commanders jumped off the ship, brandishing their longswords and charging at the head of the column: "Charge! Charge! Kill them all!"

The First Infantry Battalion of the First Army Corps has always been known for its fearlessness. In the war to capture Turbulent County, this battalion even set a terrifying record of being the first to scale the walls six times.

Because of their elite status, this brigade is now fully equipped with the latest plate armor. With the support of their superior armor, the soldiers are like tigers descending the mountain, charging straight at the enemy soldiers.

In their eyes, enemy soldiers were no longer living people, but merely walking soldiers waiting to be harvested for military merit.

Of course, the First Infantry Battalion was not fighting alone; to their right, the Second Battalion of the Wildling Legion had also disembarked.

The temporary captain of the second battalion was none other than Karula, the "Goddess of War" of the Wilderness tribe.

"Listen up, finish this battle before sunset, or I'll miss my victory celebration tonight!"

Karula's long military service instilled in her a strong military mentality. She treated her comrades like brothers and sisters, and she would show her enemies what a war god was.

"Yes, God of War!" The warriors of the wilderness displayed their various weapons and responded excitedly.

The second battalion of the Wastes was also known for their bravery; they were among the first Lowland Wastes to follow Lynn.

It was because of Lynn's kindness that these wastelands and their families were able to live a prosperous life.

Besides their bravery, this unit was also particularly skilled in mountain warfare; it was in the mountains south of Perch City that they found and killed Earl Reiner of the Southern Territory.

After landing, the two battalions quickly engaged in combat with Otto's troops stationed on the mudflats.

On the chaotic battlefield of shallow waters and mudflats, there was no such thing as a military formation. Soldiers on both sides fought based on their fighting instincts and past combat experience.

This was entirely in Lynn's favor; they had accumulated rich experience in close combat over the past few years, and after a long period of rest and recuperation, their morale was extremely high.

Moreover, they all knew that behind them were His Majesty's generous rewards and the strong support of their comrades-in-arms.

"Fire on the city walls! Bomb those damned Southerners and Northern lackeys down here!"

Mayor Leon of Mikawa City piloted his flagship, the Shirakawa, and with his roar, more than ten warships aimed their bow cannons at the crossbowmen on the west city wall and took turns firing.

Ahead of the Baihe, nearly twenty small assault boats carrying a large number of barbarian archers advanced to the edge of the mudflats, suppressing the city's defenders and the enemy forces on the mudflats with a dense rain of arrows.

During this period, a small number of shells and arrows may accidentally injure friendly forces, but this is not a serious matter.

With close coordination between land and sea forces, the resistance of the River Bend Fort defenders was almost ineffective.

Less than fifteen minutes before the official start of the landing operation, the advance troops of Lynn's army had already erected a large wooden fence two meters high on the beach.

The wall was made of sandbags and planks; it wasn't very thick, just enough to stop crossbow bolts, but it was perfectly adequate.

Lynn was clearly taking advantage of the fact that the city's garrison did not have heavy weapons like artillery.

"No retreat! Push the enemy back into the river! Don't let them occupy the mudflats!" Count Schulz roared in fury on the city wall as he saw his soldiers constantly turning back on the mudflats.

No matter how furious he was, or how many generals and soldiers he sent to hold the line, he could not stop Lynn's army from advancing.

There is a clear gap between the two sides in terms of soldiers' fighting spirit and military skills, as well as weapons and armor.

This cannot be compensated for by so-called willpower or courage alone.

Moreover, when it comes to willpower and courage, Lynn's soldiers still hold a firm advantage.

Just as Count Schulz was trying to continue mobilizing troops to support the mudflats, a whooshing sound suddenly came from above him.

"Sir, be careful!"

His adjutant was the first to react, grabbing Schultz and rolling him to the right.

The shell grazed the adjutant's head before slamming heavily against the city wall, kicking up a cloud of stone fragments and dust.

Schultz barely managed to lift his head and saw the shocking hole in the city wall. Turning his head, he saw his own soldiers being chased by the enemy on the mudflats. He was both shocked and furious, and said, "Damn it, Lynn!"

Half an hour after the landing operation began, Lin Enfang had already deployed four battalions of two thousand soldiers to the mudflats of the island in the middle of the river, and the siege was about to enter the next phase.

(End of this chapter)