"This place is 15 meters above the ground. I have placed 10 targets in this area. Follow my instructions, aim and shoot."
Totti patted Totti's shoulder, indicating that he did not have to hold the crossbow horizontally. There was a folding frame at the front of the crossbow. With a click, the crossbow could be easily propped up on the battlements.
Totti took two steps back and pointed at the 10 large targets in the white snow below the city wall. "The first target is 300 meters away. Don't worry, there are plenty of arrows. Take your time to get used to it. Don't be nervous."
Totti's fangs had just grown out, so he was not as big as his father's. His face was a little thin, but his eyes were clear and bright. After listening to Totti's words, he nodded and began to aim according to the posture that Totti had taught him.
Daugen's eyes widened as he watched Totti hold his proud work. He now understood that all the things that Totti had made from the blueprints were his proud works.
"Ka — Bang!"
The sound of something tearing through the air suddenly rang out.
The crossbow was fired steadily from the bristle-like arrow platform. Hiknitz and Klunze could not see the trajectory of the arrow at all.
What an incredible speed!
The two officers with military backgrounds widened their eyes in shock!
The sound of the steel crossbow's string slicing through the air made their scalps tingle. Something on the snow-white ground in the distance suddenly moved.
It was a target placed 300 meters away!
It was a relatively large round target. To better test the stability of the crossbow, Totti had made the target very large. It was slanted in the direction of the castle and had a diameter of more than two meters.
On the surface were circles of alternating red and white circles that he had specially hand-drawn. They were made from several layers of cloth bags that were covered with a layer of iron sheet that was as thick as ordinary armor. At this moment, an unremarkable tail feather was exposed near the center of the target. It didn't even sway a bit!
Only a quarter of the arrow was exposed. Snowflakes splashed up from the ground.
"It's okay. Adjust it a little. Let's continue."
Many encouraged Torty. The young troll did not understand the concept of the power of the weapon in his hand. He obediently pulled out a quiver from the side, quickly nocked it, and aimed again.
Both Hicnitz and Krenze did not care about their manners at that moment. Both of them grabbed onto the battlements and leaned their bodies forward. Their eyes were wide open as they stared at the bright red target 300 meters away.
Three hundred meters!
Oh, God of Light!
This was the maximum range of a 45-degree downwind throw!
Although they were on top of the city wall, both of them understood what this meant. Because the almost untraceable trajectory showed no signs of descending!
In other words, the range of this crossbow had already surpassed all known long-range weapons!
Of course, catapults were not included.
After shooting ten arrows, the target in the distance was already densely covered with arrows — a crossbow was much simpler than a bow and arrow. After familiarizing himself with its functions, the accuracy would be very shocking!
"Three hundred and fifty meters, four hundred and fifty meters, ten arrows per target."
"Yes, my lord."
Torty's movements became more and more adept as he continued to nock the arrow. In the end, when he was shooting at the target 450 meters away, he could consecutively shoot two to three arrows in less than 10 seconds!
This kind of shooting speed completely caught up with, or even surpassed, archers!
What was even more unbelievable was that after shooting so many arrows, Torty's expression did not change at all!
He did not use much strength at all. In contrast, the crossbowmen of Saint-Rames had to go through a long period of arm and waist strength training to ensure that they could continuously shoot arrows on the battlefield. Almost after 20 arrows, these crossbowmen had to be replaced by the reserve team to rest!
That was because it consumed too much energy!
This was a very radical innovation. It could even be called revolutionary!
It was like suddenly changing an old car into a Lamborghini. This change was simply earth-shattering!
After completing his task, Torty stood up straight and waited for Many's next orders.
"Well done, Torty."
Many gestured for him to hold the crossbow. After that, he nocked the crossbow, lifted it up, and shot it 45 degrees into the sky!
"Bang!"
The entire arrow suddenly disappeared from everyone's sight. The powerful force that reached an initial speed of 400 meters per second made this crossbow a monstrous weapon. At this time, the two officers' eyes had changed from shock to envy. They knew that this thing did not require any complicated processing techniques, and there was no need to engrave magic arrays. Once it was mass-produced … and used on a large scale …
Before the two officers could imagine the specific situation, they were led by Many to observe the targets.
Starting from the nearest target 300 meters away, the scattering range of the arrows gradually increased. However, it was well maintained within a stable range, which meant that the arrows would not shake or deviate too much after flying such a long distance.
None of the ten arrows missed the target 300 meters away!
And all the arrows penetrated the iron plate under the cloth!
This was the result of a troll who had never used a crossbow before. The two officers were so excited that they couldn't speak. From that position, an untrained crossbowman could easily concentrate the crossbow bolts in a circle with a diameter of two meters from 300 meters away. This was a kind of flying leap!
If one could not understand why they were so excited, one could refer to the Sith's army at that time. Their archers could only shoot intensively from 300 meters away. Whether they hit their targets or not depended entirely on luck and numbers!
But now?
Three hundred meters away, they just aimed and shot!
They shot wherever they wanted to shoot!
In close combat or long-range combat, the survival of the soldiers depended on the quality of their equipment to a large extent, in addition to their own strength. For example, a slightly weaker bow and arrow would not be able to penetrate a knight's iron armor beyond a certain range and when it was shot from a projectile!
If a slashing sword could not penetrate the enemy's defense, what was the point of fighting?
But with the strength of this crossbow, Hiknitz and Klunze believed that even a shieldbearer holding a door-sized shield would be directly penetrated by it!
Its penetrative power and accuracy were too terrifying!
At the target 350 meters away, the iron armor was similarly penetrated by the arrows, and the landing point was slightly scattered. Six arrows hit the target, and up to the furthest point 450 meters away, only one arrow hit the target. But this was enough to make this crossbow a 'war artifact'!
450 meters!
This was the effective range of a catapult!
If an ordinary person used a bow or crossbow to aim at something 450 meters away, they would not even be able to see a fart, let alone aim properly.
When the archers on the wall saw the enemy within this range, they could only watch and do nothing!