The aerial cannon had a smaller caliber, around 25mm by estimation. Its shells were much more miniature than what I considered "cannonballs" but significantly larger than heavy machine gun rounds, falling somewhere in between. The shells had colored markings on their tips, the meaning of which I didn't know. I only knew it was a "cannon" and not a "gun." In modern weapon classification, the distinction between guns and cannons wasn't just caliber; more importantly, guns fired solid projectiles, emphasizing linear penetration, while shells contained an internal explosive charge, emphasizing blast effect.
Therefore, even with its small caliber, this aerial cannon could explode. Unfortunately, the distance was considerable, and the yellow mist obscured my view. I couldn't see the effect of the explosions, only a few flashes within the fog. However, this wave of attack successfully halted the enemy's advance. According to Jiang Jun, the enemy should have been setting up trebuchets to prepare for area bombardment, but we waited for a long time, and nothing was thrown into the city.
Yet, the enemy hadn't retreated. Their presence remained in place, possibly analyzing my previous attack.
"Did they run?" Jiang Jun asked. He didn't have soul-sensing abilities and was about to dispatch cavalry to scout.
"No need. They haven't run. If they stay put, we stay put," I said. "Bingbing, use this opportunity to teach everyone how to use the weapons, how to aim, how to fire. Our ammunition is limited. When the fighting starts later, fire single shots, aim for important targets. We don't need to annihilate them; just push them back."
The enemy wasn't yet within rifle range, so there was no need to rush. If this large weapon in my hand could push them back, it would be ideal.
However, I had underestimated the enemy.
I felt a bit uncomfortable at my artillery position and was about to ask the ghost soldiers to fetch me a chair when Jiang Jun suddenly shouted and pressed my head down, shoving me under the feet of two ghost soldiers, even knocking off my hat!
Two seconds later, a deafening roar erupted from my left.
I turned my head and looked through the gaps between the ghost soldiers' legs. About ten meters to my left, the parapet of the city wall had been blasted open with a large gap. The ghost soldiers who had been guarding there were gone, and the other defenders on the wall descended into chaos, scrambling for cover.
"Get out of the way!" I pushed away Jiang Jun's arm that was shielding me. What was that thing? Its power was so immense that hiding behind the parapet was useless!
Looking up outside the city, I finally saw it. Within the yellow mist, five enormous wooden contraptions appeared. Beneath the frames hung a large pendulum, resembling the "nodding machines" used in oil extraction. These must be trebuchets.
"What did they just throw? Why didn't I hear anything?" I asked Zheng Bingbing, who had crouched back towards me.
"It was a large stone!" Bingbing gestured with her hand, indicating a diameter of over a meter. Such power was understandable.
"Be careful, sir!" Jiang Jun warned again.
This time I saw it. The second trebuchet from the left rapidly lowered its counterweight, the throwing arm swung up, and it launched a dark, irregularly shaped object, likely rough stone quarried nearby.
However, this time, the projectile wasn't aimed at us. Its trajectory clearly headed further left.
I tracked the parabolic arc of the stone ball. With a clang, it struck the parapet again. But the ghost soldiers on that side, having been alerted, dodged to the sides and were not hit. After creating a gap, the stone ball rolled along the inner walkway of the rampart and fell into the city.
It did not explode.
Immediately after, the trebuchets opposite began launching stone balls one after another. I immediately ordered everyone on the parapet to grab the modern weapons Zheng Bingbing had just distributed and take cover in the buildings beneath the gate tower to avoid the stone bombardment. The enemy's five trebuchets had clear targets: the parapets. They had fixed their positions, lined up in a row, clearly having calculated their trajectories.
Several ghost soldiers helped me carry the aerial cannon into the gate tower. The parapet was equivalent to the seventh floor, and we hid on the sixth. There were windows here, and I observed through one. Behind the five trebuchets, five more emerged, forming a second echelon. They advanced a few dozen meters forward and similarly launched stone balls. I thought they were aiming for the city's interior, but they weren't. The second wave of trebuchets attacked the city gate's wall.