"They just rushed over, bare-handed — all old men and old women, plus some old ladies and a dozen or so children of seven or eight, shouting for me to give back their sons, grandsons, husbands, and fathers. I just couldn't bring myself to do it, so I came back..."
The people in the tent looked at one another in blank astonishment, as if hearing some fantastical tale.
"It's absolutely despicable and shameless, my lord. I've been a mercenary for nearly thirty years and have been through over a hundred siege and defense battles, but I've never seen anything so absurd. This is... this is..." Horsk shook his head, not knowing what to say. His body was wrapped in bandages — wounds from the retreat during the last night raid. The injured mercenary he had been escorting at the time had served as his human shield, riddled with arrows and killed on the spot. Horsk himself had taken several arrows as well; had it not been for his iron armor preventing them from penetrating deep, he probably wouldn't have made it back either.
"The old patriarchs of Northwild Town's four great families are cunning old foxes. I suspect that the mercy I showed that old man when I last went up the wall may have given them the idea — a way to stop me from slaughtering those garrison soldiers. What's most ridiculous is that they treat Northwild Town as their own territory and us as bloodthirsty invaders, which is why they keep rushing forward one after another, utterly unafraid of death. Even these old men and women tried to charge over and drag me down with them..." Lorist said with a sigh.
"That doesn't add up, my lord. You said they were all bare-handed — how could they drag you down with them?" Pat said.
Lorist pointed at Pat. "Are you being dense again? Those old men and women rushed over to pin me down, keep me from moving or dodging, and then those three defensive siege crossbows would fire — boom, boom, boom, and we'd all go down together. When I went up there, I saw those three siege crossbows aimed in my direction but not firing. Then I looked at those white-haired old men and women reaching out to grab me, and I understood what they were planning. That's why I came down so quickly."
"My lord, those old people are relatives of the rebels, so their deaths wouldn't be much of a loss. Their sons and grandsons all died resisting us — they brought it on themselves. But I still think you did the right thing. If it were me, I wouldn't have been able to lay a hand on unarmed old people, children, and women either," Patchiko said.
"Then... then how are we supposed to attack the walls in the future? If Northwild Town puts those old men and women in front as human shields, are we just supposed to stand here and stare?" Paulbins said in distress. He was still only a squad leader, serving this time as an acting company commander. He had been hoping to distinguish himself in this siege to earn Lorist's recognition and be elevated to Family Knight.
"On the way back, I actually came up with an idea. Starting today, I'll go for a stroll below Northwild Town every two hours to keep the garrison soldiers and those old people on edge. Then at night, you lot will also take a small team of family soldiers every two hours, making as much noise as possible. Go below Northwild Town, bang drums and gongs, shout about attacking the walls — make sure those garrison soldiers and old folks can't sleep and can't find any peace. Give it just two days, and the next time I go up on those walls, I guarantee those old people will be sleeping like the dead. You could bang a gong right next to their ears and they wouldn't wake up..." Lorist said.
"Haha, I knew my lord would definitely have a solution. That's a great idea. I'll be the first one to take a team out tonight to scare them,"
"My lord, why do we have to attack the walls from the front? Right now all the garrison soldiers at Northwild Town are focused on the front, and their forces are concentrated on the forward wall. If we suddenly launched an assault from the rear gate wall, it would definitely catch them off guard. They wouldn't be able to redeploy their front-line troops in time to defend, and we could easily seize a section of the wall to support the follow-up troops in scaling the ramparts..." The one speaking was Reddy, suggesting they change the direction of attack.
Pat laughed heartily. "Reddy, you idiot, are you out of your mind? If we change our attack position, we'd still have to fill in the moat in front of the wall, wouldn't we? Then the garrison soldiers at Northwild Town would know exactly where we're attacking. By the time we assault, they'll already be fully prepared. So changing direction is no different from our current position — it's a pointless extra step..."
"Why do we have to fill in the moat?" Reddy said indignantly.
"If we don't fill in the moat, how do you plan to get across? It's over three meters wide — can you jump that?" Pat thought Reddy was being incredibly dense.
"When we attack, we just lay a few long wooden planks across the moat, and the troops can cross, can't they?" Reddy said.
Pat was dumbfounded. "That, that..."
No one had thought of such a simple method to cross the moat. Everyone in the command tent was stunned.
Lorist clapped his hands together. "That's right! Reddy, you did great — that's an excellent idea. It really will catch the garrison soldiers at Northwild Town completely off guard. Besides, those three city-defense ballistas are all aimed at the front wall, and it would take them most of a day to turn them around once they realize what's happening. That's what we'll do — next time we'll prepare to attack the rear wall. The entire army will mobilize, and we'll aim to take it in one strike."
"Then... then should we still go scare them tonight?" Jim asked.
"Bring out the cart-mounted crossbows. For this night raid, I want speed. By the time Northwild Town's garrison realizes what's happening, we'll already have victory in hand."
Lorist combined his strategy of wearing down the enemy with Reddy's feint, finding the perfect method to break Northwild Town. Everyone in the command tent rubbed their hands in anticipation, eager for the siege two nights hence.
…
On the twelfth day of the campaign, dinner was lavish. Everyone knew tonight would be a sleepless one — whether they could take Northwild Town or not hinged entirely on this night raid.
Over the past two days, Northwild Town's garrison soldiers had been thoroughly exhausted by Lorist. Setting aside the fact that they couldn't rest at night, even during the day Lorist kept them jumping at shadows. He would occasionally scale the city walls using a long wooden pole, kill a few defenders before the old men and women could rush over, then calmly retreat back below the wall, leaving the garrison utterly helpless. Now they knew firsthand how formidable Lorist was — without piling on bodies and paying a heavy price in lives, there was simply no way to drive this new lord off the wall. Several self-proclaimed Silver-rank experts had been finished the moment they exchanged blows with Lorist, and he'd made it look effortless, as though he were slaughtering chickens.
If they hadn't discovered that Lorist couldn't bring himself to lay hands on the elderly, women, and children — and if they hadn't used those bereaved old men and women to pin him down — the garrison soldiers might well have been driven to such despair that they'd have thrown down their weapons and surrendered. As things stood, the four great families of Northwild Town could only rally the defenders with slogans about protecting their homeland and loved ones. On one hand, they egged on the family members of fallen soldiers to crowd the walls and entangle Lorist; on the other, they waited with agonizing slowness for Duke
Everyone knew the nightly commotion was the enemy's harassment, yet they couldn't afford to let their guard down lest another real attack slip through. After just two days, the garrison soldiers were on the verge of mental collapse. A few leaders saw that the situation was untenable and wanted to rotate squads off the wall in shifts to rest, but they feared the wall would be undermanned and Lorist would storm it by force. So they could only force the soldiers to endure their suffering.
…
"
"Yes, sir. We understand."
"Jim, do you understand your task?"
"I do, my lord. I'll take the mercenaries ahead with long wooden planks and long ladders and hide in that patch of scrub forest over there. Once you've taken the walls, I'll have the planks and ladders set up so Pachiko's family soldiers can follow them up onto the ramparts," Jim replied.
"
"Yes, my lord."
"
"Don't worry, my lord, rest easy. Never mind these bandages — that little scratch won't slow me down. If those Northwild bastards really show up, I won't let a single one slip through."
"Good. Northwild Town falls tonight. We—" Lorist hadn't finished when the sound of galloping hooves came from outside the command tent, followed by a rider reining in, the shout of a man hauling his mount to a stop, and the horse's protesting whinny.
A guard burst in. He was covered in dust, gasping for breath. It took him a good while to recover enough to salute and report: "R-Reporting, my lord — the Ken-kenmes family sent over two thousand armed soldiers, and they reached
Everyone inside the command tent erupted in alarm. Everyone knew Rock Fortress was the gatehouse guarding the family's territory — the future family seat that Lorist had poured his all into building. It could not be allowed to fall.
Lorist recognized this messenger well — he had seen him at Ovegus's side several times; there was no mistaking him for an impostor. "Catch your breath and take it slow. Ovegus sent only you?"
He casually passed his own cup over.
The messenger guard accepted the cup gratefully, gulped down several large mouthfuls, wiped his mouth, and said, "Yes, there was really no one else to send. The enemy launched two assaults, and we beat them both back. We lost about a squad's worth of casualties. With manpower stretched thin, Lord Ovegus had no choice but to send me alone to report. When I reached Maple Forest Manor, the guards said you were still over here, so I rushed over right away."
"What happened? The defenses on Rock Fortress's wall were already quite thorough. How did the guards take such heavy casualties? How was Ovegus commanding?" Lorist was puzzled. Could Ovegus have sortied outside the walls to meet the enemy head-on? That couldn't be — he wasn't that foolish…
"No, my lord. The Kenmes family brought two squads of regular longbowmen this time. Those two hundred-odd longbows were devastating — their range exceeded even our wall-mounted ballistae. We simply couldn't hold the first wall. Most of our casualties came from those longbowmen. Lord Ovegus had no choice but to order a retreat to the second wall, which neutralized their longbowmen. But the enemy didn't come away unscathed either — they stormed the first wall twice, and both times our wall-mounted ballistae hidden behind the second wall drove them back. I'd estimate their casualties were at least double ours." The messenger guard finally delivered some welcome news.
They had launched the attack — even if it had been delayed by a single day, they would have already taken Northwild Town. What should be done now?
Lorist paced back and forth inside the command tent. Everyone watched him, waiting for his decision. The siege had been on the verge of victory, yet here came a distress messenger from Rock Fortress. Everyone felt bitter reluctance in their hearts.
"I command..." Lorist finally made his choice. "End tonight's operation. The entire army is to march back to Maple Forest Manor through the night. Paulbins, once we return to Maple Forest Manor, select a company of family soldiers. Sedecamp, after we return to Maple Forest Manor, coordinate with Steward Spell to requisition a batch of wagons. Once Paulbins has selected that company of family soldiers, they are to board the wagons and set out immediately for Rock Fortress. Is that understood?"
"Yes, my lord." "Understood, my lord."
"Pacheco, once we return to Maple Forest Manor, see to it that the wounded soldiers recover properly. The remaining soldiers are to maintain their training. I'm entrusting the defense of Maple Forest Manor to you."
"Rest assured, my lord. As long as I'm here, Maple Forest Manor will be safe," Pacheco vowed.
"Reddy, go to the military pass and have Steward Kedan withdraw the laborers back to Maple Forest Manor first, in case North Field Town's garrison retaliates."
"Yes, my lord." Reddy still had bandages on his shoulder — he'd taken an arrow during the first siege while rescuing several Family Knights.
"Harsky, Jim, I'd like to entrust you mercenaries with a task."
"Name it, my lord," Harsky said.
"Go back to Maple Forest Manor and recover, and meanwhile send men to monitor North Field Town's movements. If you see an opening, eliminate any scouts they send out — make sure North Field Town goes blind and deaf. The bounty is the same as for the Hill Barbarian tribes. Can you handle it?"
"My lord, we'll do our utmost."
"My lord, we're just letting North Field Town off like that?" Jim said, looking rather displeased.
"North Field Town isn't going anywhere — it doesn't have legs, and it can't run. Once we've repelled the Kempes family's assault, we'll deal with them then," Lorist said. "Pat, get ready. We set off immediately for Stone Fortress Castle."
"My lord, can I come with you?" Jim asked, somewhat nervously.
Lorist laughed. "Of course you can. Come along, Jim."
…