Chapter 355 - 348 — The Hellmaw Battery

Southwest demon command

"The fodder goes first," Kharos said. "The Iron Maw Legion and the Bloodfang Detachment wait for my order."

He stood over the map inside his command tent. The officers gathered around him watched as he pointed to the two firing shelters beside the tollhouse.

"Our artillery will strike these positions before the advance. Once the lesser demons reach the defenses, the Iron Maw Legion will assault the tollhouse. Bloodfang will take the connecting trench and hold it open."

Gorvak, one of the clan officers, studied the marks on the map.

"What about the Warhounds, my lord?"

"All eleven are to be ready. I will give their commanders their orders before the attack."

Gorvak leaned closer.

"We could send twice as many demons in the first wave. That should get more of them to the wall."

"And if the guns cut them down?"

"Then we send another wave."

Kharos stared at him.(This fool)

"I can find more fodder, Gorvak and right now i am trying to find a use for the officers."

Gorvak withdrew his hand from the map.

Before Kharos could continue, the tent flap lifted. Rhaz entered, stopped beside the table and bowed.

"My lord. The Hellmaw artillery has arrived. Captain Drazek is waiting in the assembly yard."

"With the ammunition and all additional supplies?"

"Yes, my lord. The entire convoy is here."

Kharos took his gauntlets from the table.

"Gather the lesser demons and keep both formations ready," he told the officers. "And you fools listen with your eyes,ears and with every hole you got in your body,no advance without my order."

With that he walked out of the tent, with Rhaz following.

Lesser demons crowded between the fires and rough shelters scattered across the camp. Some gnawed strips of meat. Others fought over scraps of armor or dragged chipped swords through the dirt. Most carried knives, crude maces or clubs.

Overseers shouted and struck at those wandering out of their groups. The demons understood where they were being driven, though keeping them there required constant attention.

Beside the path, a thin demon was poking a much larger one with a bone.

The larger demon sat by a fire, chewing. He growled when the bone jabbed his shoulder.

The thin demon waited until he looked away, then poked him beneath the ear.

A heavy hand swung backward.

The thin demon flew into the mud, landing on the bone and snapping it beneath him. He sat up and stared at the broken piece with an expression of complete confusion.

Kharos stopped and covered his face with one hand.

Rhaz waited beside him.

After a moment, Kharos lowered his hand.

"Keep them away from the artillery."

"Yes, my lord."

"And make certain the ammunition wagons are guarded."

Rhaz hurried ahead.

Six guns stood in the assembly yard beneath the banners of the Ash Cannon and Emberworks clans. Demons were unhitching the hauling beasts while the crews removed the covers from the barrels.

A broad-shouldered demon with a scar across his jaw approached and bowed.

"Captain Drazek, my lord. The battery is ready for inspection."

Kharos took the delivery list from him.

"Six guns, crews, ammunition and spare parts?"

"All accounted for."

"Rhaz will check."

Drazek handed the remaining papers to Rhaz and led Kharos toward the nearest gun.

Without the armored body of a Warhound around it, the weapon looked bare. Its long barrel rested on a heavy frame between two wheels.

A demon with burned hands and a broken horn stood beside it.

"This is Vorth," Drazek said. "The Emberworks forge master responsible for the mountings."

Kharos examined the frame.

"You have brought the faults mentioned in the report under control?"

"The frame holds," Vorth replied. "It still needs firm ground. Put it in soft mud and the gun will shift when it fires."

"Then make certain your crews know where to place it."

"They have been taught,my lord."

Kharos glanced at the demons beside the ammunition wagon.

"And those loading it?"

"Selected from the clans and trained for the work," Drazek said. "They follow their gun officer’s commands. The aiming is handled by the officer and a mage."

"Good show me what they can do."

Drazek had one gun hauled behind a low hill outside the camp.

The other five remained in the assembly yard. Kharos followed with Rhaz and Vorth while the crew moved the cannon into position.

A robed demon waited beside a flat stone table.

"Sareth," Drazek called. "Show Lord Kharos the target."

Sareth placed a dark tablet on the table and passed his hand over its markings. Pale light rose above it, forming an image of an empty field.

A broad stone wall stood in the middle, with a large red mark painted across its center. Wooden figures had been placed beside it.

"The target is five kilometres away," Drazek said. "On the other side of this hill."

Kharos looked from the image to the slope hiding the field.

"So you intend to hit it from here?"

"Yes, my lord. Sareth will watch through his observation spell and tell us where each shot lands."

"What is new in this,Skullbreakers can fire over a hill."

"They can," Vorth said. "But their shells are poorly made, and their shots scatter. These guns should place repeated shots much closer together with a high precision."

"Should?"

"We have done it in the trials. You asked to see it for yourself."

Kharos turned toward Sareth.

"Can you keep that spell working during a battle?"

"Unless their mages interfere with it. If they hide the target behind a concealment ward, I may lose the view."

"And then?"

Drazek answered.

"We would no longer know where the shots were landing."

Kharos studied the image. The wall was clear enough for him to distinguish the wooden figures standing beside it.

"Can the gun reach farther than this?"

Vorth nodded.

"It can fire farther, but five kilometres is the distance at which we have finished repeated tests."

"Then start."

Drazek called the crew forward.

One demon lifted a shell from an open box. Another took it from him and pushed it into the gun. The breech closed with a heavy clack.

Sareth kept his eyes on the image while Drazek checked the gun.

"Fire!"

KA-BOOM!

Flame burst from the barrel. The gun jolted backward, throwing dust around its wheels.

Kharos watched the target through the spell.

A moment later, the shell exploded in the ground well in front of the wall.

"Miss," Sareth said.

"I saw it," Kharos replied. He looked at Drazek. "How many of those do you expect before you hit something?"

"From a new position, I cannot promise you a number yet, my lord."

"You know how far away it is."

"We know the distance. We are still learning how to set the gun for it. The marks we have are from our earlier trials."

Vorth held up the slate on which he was recording the results.

"We are keeping the settings that work. Until we have enough of them, the mage must help us correct the aim."

Kharos looked back at Sareth.

"Then help him."

Sareth studied the place where the shell had landed and spoke quietly to Drazek. The captain adjusted the gun, then ordered the next round loaded.

The demons repeated their work. One brought the shell; the other loaded it and stepped aside.

"Fire!"

The second shot passed over the hill.

This time, the explosion rose beside the target. Dirt and stones struck the wall, but the red mark remained untouched.

"Missed again," Sareth said. "Closer, though."

Drazek came to the table and examined the image himself.

"Can you hold the view there?"

Sareth nodded.

The captain returned to the gun and changed its aim again.

Kharos waited beside Vorth.

"How quickly can you do this against another target?"

"We will have to find the aim for that one as well," Vorth said. "It will take time."

"And shells wasted."

"Yes, my lord."

Kharos watched a loader carry another round from the box.

The gun could reach a target hidden from its crew, but reaching the right place still depended on Sareth’s spell and Drazek’s corrections. Neither had tried to pretend otherwise that seemed the most wise thing anyone has said from morning to him.

The third shot struck the target.

Stone burst from the wall just below the red mark. The explosion tore a hole through it and knocked down two of the wooden figures standing nearby.

"Hit!" Sareth called.

Drazek moved beside the table as the dust cleared.

Kharos leaned closer. Broken stones covered the ground, and a wide gap had opened in the wall.

"Again," he said.

Drazek looked at Sareth.

"Keep watching."

The next shell was loaded. Drazek made a final adjustment and stepped away from the gun.

KA-BOOM!

The shot struck the remaining section beside the hole.

The wall broke apart. Stones flew across the field, and the wooden figures disappeared beneath the dust.

Sareth held the spell steady until the target became visible again.

Most of the wall lay in a heap on the ground.

Kharos watched it for several breaths clenching his hand before turning to Drazek.

"Can you destroy a warded shelter?"

"That would depend on the strength of the ward, my lord," Drazek said. "A strong one may withstand the first few hits, but repeated attacks should break through. Then we can bring down the shelter."

"Good remember your words."