Kayal's most critical objective in this operation was Bradford!
Therefore, it was imperative to capture it and use it as a transfer station and bridgehead for the entire army. Whether for offense or defense, it offered great potential, making Bradford the primary element of this war.
The army marched!
Sixteen kilometers from the battlefield, they split up directly. Three Knight Captains of the Knights of the Round Table led the light cavalry to directly penetrate Preston, while the main force, breaking into smaller units, bypassed Bradford and entered enemy territory to execute the noble-slaying tactic.
Bring back everyone who can be brought back... execute everyone who dares to resist! With units of five hundred and a base of one thousand, they had no enemies in this land—Kayal had completely crushed them!
Only three thousand troops remained for the attack—everyone excluded Kayal's five thousand infantry from the combat units.
It must be said that the British idea of knight supremacy was truly stubborn and deeply ingrained.
Whether British, Scottish, or Irish, it was all the same!
"Do you have a plan?" Standing behind Kayal, Teresa was full of heroic spirit. Clearly, to others, her charm was even greater than Artoria's… especially for many who liked mature women.
However, Teresa's identity as a Claymore made everyone hesitate. More importantly, despite her proud and arrogant nature, she smiled at everyone, but that was just a mask. She would never open her heart to anyone except Kayal and Irene—even the Artoria of the past, now the King, was no exception.
Facing Teresa's question, Kayal smiled slightly, confident in his plans.
Teresa really disliked that smile of Kayal's, the one that had been on his face since childhood… it was truly annoying!
Taking two steps forward, her iron boots clanking, she reached Kayal and pulled his face out of shape: "I told you, don't make that expression in front of me!"
"Haha, is it because this expression made you realize your true intelligence?" Gently pushing her hand away, Kayal laughed heartily, completely unfazed by her intimate display.
Ten years of friendship, even feeding each other was completely normal.
Her gaze involuntarily fell on the two making affectionate gestures on the hill to the left. Artoria felt a slight pang in her heart for some reason.
"King," Bedivere asked with a hint of concern beside Artoria's horse.
"It's nothing," Artoria smiled and shook her head gently, looking at the panicked enemies on the city walls, moving defensive equipment. Artoria, however, showed a confident smile.
Bradford was a castle situated on a hillside (see Gondor in The Lord of the Rings for reference).
It was identical to Grand Duke Andrei's castle and also the defensive style of the inner keep of the current Red Leaf Ridge.
Using the mountain wall for cover, with simple excavation and carving, an absolute defensive domain could be easily created. From a high vantage point, the slopes, thorns, mountain walls, and sixty-degree angle of the city walls made it impossible for infantry to set ladders and for Knights to charge on horseback in vain.
This type of defense had been passed down for many years, perhaps initially just to prevent the powerful attacking force of knights that could break through city gates?
But after many failed attacks, this type of castle eventually became mainstream.
Layers upon layers of defenses extended upwards towards the castle, with the lord or liege residing at the very top.
The advantage of this defense was that no matter how incompetent the commander, even if one layer was breached, the subsequent street fighting and layered defenses could still ensure they could reclaim it using the terrain.
Moreover, the layered defenses greatly restricted the speed of Knights and their mounts.
It was precisely because of the existence of such castles that most suitable terrains had huge castles built, one for territory and the other for defense.
This type of castle became even stronger and more suitable for other terrains in the Middle Ages, with the emergence of star forts with superior defensive capabilities, which then caused these absolute defensive walls relying on mountains to withdraw from the war system.
Of course, in later generations, many such castles were mostly used as tourist attractions (mainly in Germany and Britain).
(Perhaps using Gondor from The Lord of the Rings as an explanation is not ideal. If anyone wants to see details, you can search on Baidu: "Crusader Castle." There are design drawings on Baidu.)
"Charge!" Artoria swung her Sword of Victory, truly vibrating, and five large wagons were pushed out… The front of each of these five wagons was flat, with a platform three horse-lengths long. Behind the platform was an extending ramp at a 45-degree angle. Each side of these wagons had six wooden wheels, moved by fifty people hiding inside, slowly pushing the wagons forward.
Nobody could see outside except for the two holes in the front for observation and giving orders.
This war chariot, named the Assault Vehicle, was spearheaded by Kayal and developed by his students. It allowed Knights to directly ascend the city walls using its platform. (There were such vehicles in the Song Dynasty, but I don't know what they were called. I would be very grateful if anyone could help me find information.)
These vehicles were at a forty-five-degree angle, suitable for cavalry charges. As long as they were sturdy, once they leaned against the city wall, even heavy cavalry could advance on the platform made of iron plates.
In other words, the advantage of the city wall was instantly nullified by these five vehicles!
The enemy commander, his face ashen, roared, ordering his subordinates to throw rolling stones, logs, and torches at the five assault vehicles. But for some reason, these seemingly wooden objects were completely undamaged by the rolling stones and logs. If these damned things were made entirely of iron or bronze, they would never be pushed up the slope!
But these vehicles slowly and steadily approached the city wall on the slope.
When they crashed against the wall with a bang, and the huge vehicles stopped, several hands reached out simultaneously to pull down a mechanism on the wheels.
The vehicles, stuck in place like tortoise shells, left the enemy with no way to attack them.
True to her usual style, Artoria, holding her golden sword, led the Knights of the Round Table to charge onto the city wall first… Bradford, a strategic location, was captured by the Camelot army!