Rocar raised his hand and shouted, "Helm over! Helm over!"
Immediately, three or four strong men pushed the rudder with all their might, slowly turning the ship's rudder, and the hull began to shift sideways.
This was not an attempt to escape or engage in a boarding battle, but Kailar's secret weapon—"Ballistae, prepare!!!"
The ballistae did not fire arrows. The crossbows, embedded on both sides of the ship's hull, were soaked in tung oil for sixty days, then strung with sinew ropes. The sinew was treated with fish glue and pine oil, making it very elastic. Even an ordinary person couldn't draw such a bowstring, so there was a device called a windlass.
The windlass was cross-shaped, with a strong man on each side slowly pushing it. Finally, the string was pulled halfway back. This was about right; pulling it further might increase range and power but would damage the bowstring. This half-drawn state was already enough to shoot over a thousand meters. In a century where only bows and arrows existed, with an approximate range of two hundred and thirty meters, this weapon was truly epoch-making.
Of course, this weapon was not without weaknesses. First, the reloading time was long, about thirty seconds per shot. However, given its power, this was not an issue, as one Red Leaf Battleship had eight ballistae on one side, totaling sixteen ballistae on both sides. Then there was the issue of ammunition.
The tracks of this device were concave, meaning it fired stone projectiles. These stone projectiles required high standards; they had to be quarried and polished by at least intermediate-level stonemasons, which increased cost and time.
Perhaps some might ask why not use metal? Once melted, metal could be easily mass-produced into ammunition using molds.
However, one point could not be ignored: in this era of underdeveloped mining, iron was very precious. From armor, swords, arrowheads, spears, horseshoes, and barding, down to pickaxes, shovels, and plows, all required vast amounts of iron. Camelot, being an island nation, simply could not afford to waste iron on a large scale.
Lead was too heavy, posing a huge strain on the ship's carrying capacity, and bronze was even worse than lead. Therefore, they could only use the abundant stones found everywhere to make ammunition (a side note: England really has a lot of stones).
However, do not underestimate this device. It was not made by Kailar, nor was it created by Kailar using the wisdom of a thousand years from the future. Instead, he provided the idea, and his students completed it as a 'homework assignment' over three years!
Never underestimate the wisdom and power of ancient people!
The ballistae had wooden sights, similar to a grenade launcher's aiming device, which could be adjusted through experience. This was a very ingenious setup; with aiming, one could accurately hit the target. This method increased accuracy by at least twentyfold!
After Rocar raised his hand, the sixteen bare-chested strong men, exhaling white mist, vigorously turned the windlasses in front of them. Then, another handle, thick as a baby's forearm, rotated in front of them. With another turn, they, being strictly trained, slowly pulled the massive ballistae to a half-drawn state, chanting a 2, 1, 2, 1 rhythm.
Because of their strict training, they all completed the action almost simultaneously.
"Aim!" Rocar shouted, spreading his five fingers.
Immediately, strong men knelt down and began to adjust with the sights.
"Two thousand meters!!!" Rocar shouted, giving the distance using visual estimation.
Adjust two notches up.
"Fire!" Rocar swung his hand down decisively.
Like meteors, the head-sized stone projectiles flew out with a sharp whistling sound. Such speed combined with mass was not just about breaking skin and bleeding!
Anyone who has been hit by a stone knows that swelling and bruising should be considered lucky. Breaking skin and bleeding is medium, while broken bones and splattered brains are normal!
But the destructive power brought by these stones, accelerated by the sinew, was absolutely not that simple!
Before the Barbarians could react, these six stones directly smashed into their ship's cabins. The outer wood was shattered, and seawater continuously poured in. Even worse, while the stones that shot through were bad enough, the ones that didn't exit were the most dangerous. These stones, after breaking the ship's wall, directly pierced dozens of people inside, either blowing their heads apart or breaking their ribs and internal organs. The Barbarians who merely had their limbs broken by glancing blows should kiss the toes of Lady Luck, just look at their companions beside them—a mush of flesh! Mush! Mush! Blood mixed with flesh mush, like a red mashed potato, it was disgusting!
And the attack was not over. As the ship began to flood and sway, they might be able to bail out the water with their numbers, but there was more than just one Red Leaf Battleship!
Since the first test shot was successful, would the subsequent waves of attacks be far behind?
Red Leaf Ridge had at least a hundred ships. This was a mixed fleet, not just Red Leaf Battleships. There were fifteen large ships, each with sixteen ballistae, six hundred archers, and three hundred marine infantry, plus logistics and administrative personnel, totaling a thousand people per ship.
There were thirty-five medium ships, each with eight ballistae (four on each side), two hundred archers, and one hundred spearmen, plus logistics personnel, totaling four hundred people.
There were fifty small ships, divided into two types: one was a ramming ship with long horns and thick hulls, extremely fast; the other was also an extremely fast harassment ship, carrying fifty-plus archers and arrows besides the helmsman and sail crew, specifically used to shoot drowning enemies or suppress enemy ships. Both types were for close-quarters combat and could be considered frigates.
Two hundred and sixty ballistae fired simultaneously. Many might miss and fall into the water, but more accurately hit enemy ships through the sights and skilled shooting.
More than fifty dragon-keel ships, like fragile eggs, couldn't even withstand a single blow. Their hulls were directly shattered, and seawater poured in. Many dragon-keel ships that took over thirty hits slowly sank. The sinking of such large ships brought about huge whirlpools. Even the Barbarians who tried to swim away at that moment were slowly sucked into the massive whirlpools and buried at the bottom of the sea...