With the first volley successfully delivered, the profound silence of the Scottish highlands was entirely eradicated. Ragnar stood near the jagged precipice of a towering coastal cliff. Below him, nestled deep within the sprawling, rocky valley, the Tang warlord's newly conquered fortress was rapidly transforming into a blossoming inferno.
The tactical deployment had proceeded exactly as his blueprints dictated.
While the ironclad fleet remained safely anchored behind the dense fog and towering rocks of the loch, out of the enemy's direct line of sight, the siege mortars had executed their parabolic bombardment flawlessly. The problem of engaging a numerically superior force equipped with direct-fire brass cannons had been mathematically solved. By utilizing indirect fire, Ragnar had neutralized the enemy's primary advantage without exposing a single hull of his own ships to danger.
