Chapter 139: The Towers Close In |
After both sides had finished their prayers, Philip immediately raised his arm and signaled. A large group of militiamen wearing padded armor and carrying long spears formed rows, bearing ladders as they appeared alongside the towers. Between the two towers, soldiers, obviously of higher rank than the militiamen, pushed a construction carriage with all their might! This was a siege tower with a sloped roof that resembled the peak of a mountain.
This design was meant to prevent enemies from dropping stones on it; the sloped roof allowed the stones to slide off on their own. It was covered with iron plates on the top to guard against fire attacks. The roof, resembling the top of a house, had handles on wooden poles underneath for soldiers inside to push the siege tower. Two rows of wheels at the bottom, with a hollow space in the middle, were used to ram the city gate, featuring a ram's head made of finely forged iron on the wooden logs.
With everything in readiness, Philip mounted his horse, brandished his sword, and issued the attack order. Following the standard-bearer's signals, the siege towers, ladders, and siege engines immediately moved forward slowly, aiming directly at the magnificent city gates.
"Catapults! Where are the bed crossbows?" Count Carmon, positioned on the west gate, immediately gave the attack command. Over a dozen catapults and several dozen bed crossbows trembled, and with thunderous roars and the sound of rushing air, huge stones and crossbow bolts were launched through the city wall, densely aimed at the advancing siege forces. There was a deafening roar as the cascading rocks and bolts struck the siege towers. However, their effect was minimal, causing the towers to sway slightly but little more. "Don't stop, keep firing!"
Seeing the limited effectiveness of the attacks, Count Carmon was not discouraged and immediately ordered all catapults and bed crossbows to continue firing. Standing at the north gate, he watched as the militiamen below nervously carried the ladders towards the city wall. Giant rocks that rolled down after being thrown smashed both the ladders and the men carrying them, scattering them in pieces. The blood, unique to the battlefield, added a layer of rose petals to this garden. The arrows shot from above were embedded in the muddy ground of the battlefield, combined with the nearby rocks and spilled blood, creating a garden with a distinctive style.
"Ka-ka-ka-ka..." With each attack that yielded limited results, Count Carmon and his soldiers could increasingly hear the growing sound of the towers approaching in their line of sight. At this moment, a soldier on the battlements next to Count Carmon suddenly shouted to those below, "Four hundred paces!" "Good!" Count Carmon heard this and immediately raised his hand, shouting loudly. The soldiers on the city wall, seeing their commander's gesture, quickly retreated, allowing the archers behind them to step forward to the battlements. In the residential area behind, a large number of archers, like an ocean, bent their bows and nocked arrows, taking aim at the sky.
As Count Carmon swung his hand down heavily, the archers lined up along the city wall released the bowstrings they had drawn tightly. The arrows, accompanied by the mournful wails of death, poured down like a raging wind onto the slowly advancing siege party. "Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!"
Immediately, a series of desperate screams erupted from the enemy's ranks. While the siege towers and battering rams had cover, the soldiers carrying the ladders were mercilessly cut down by a rain of arrows, falling in droves like wheat in a field. Arrows found their way into eyes, chests, hands, and foreheads. The arrows showed no preference for where they struck, and the padded armor worn by the militiamen was no match for these arrows. The militiamen were pierced all over, screaming as they fell to the ground. They dropped the ladders they were carrying, and some didn't even have time to scream as arrows punctured their eye sockets, exiting from the back of their heads, leaving them lifeless.
"Forward! Do not retreat!" One of the armored figures in the siege party, who seemed to be their leader, saw some soldiers starting to waver and immediately drew his sword to boost morale. He deeply understood that once they retreated, their king, Philip, would not treat them kindly, and he suppressed his fear of death, pushing the siege towers and battering rams forward. They crossed the ground covered with arrow clusters and the bodies of their comrades, heading towards the city gates.
"Thud, thud, thud, thud!" The sound of arrows piercing wood echoed in the soldiers' ears. The soldiers inside the siege towers observed through the cracks as the militiamen outside, under the intense hail of arrows, were almost without exception mowed down. Some of them caught fire as the arrows ignited their cotton armor, turning them into blazing torches. It was even possible to see several militiamen who were so frightened that they dropped their ladders and fled. Unfortunately, as they ran just a few steps, the third wave of arrows from the archers on the city wall arrived. These fleeing soldiers were all killed amidst the arrow clusters, unable to escape.
"Launch!" Count Carmon shouted again, and the loaded catapults and bed crossbows roared once more. Massive stones, each the size of an adult, were hurled outward. One of the catapults had been loaded with rockets on the outside, and through the iron plates, the tower already slowly igniting was struck heavily by several large stones. The flaming tower emitted a creaking sound of collapse. The soldiers inside felt the tower shake and freeze. Seeing something unusual, they stopped with their aching arms. A group of them made eye contact and sensed the fear in each other's eyes, then turned and fled simultaneously. However, the tower immediately emitted a mournful cry, began to crumble in the middle, and collapsed. The burning wooden pieces even hit some of the fleeing soldiers, resulting in more screams resonating across the battlefield.
Although several consecutive waves of attacks had destroyed one of the enemy's towers along with the ladders, they were now less than two hundred paces away. It wouldn't be long before their towers connected to the city wall. That damned Philip would definitely not miss this advantage and would surely send elite troops to protect the siege engines and break through the city gates. By then, the outer defenses would undoubtedly be breached!
Count Carmon did not want to see this happen. Not only did they lose a significant advantage all at once, but it would also be a humiliation in front of the Grand Duke! His adjutant, Viscount Don Medz, standing by Count Carmon's side, saw the approaching towers and siege engines and then looked at the silent Count Carmon, he couldn't help but express his concern, "My lord, what should we do now? Our scorpion ballistae, which were meant to deal with the towers, are still in the castle. We didn't expect the towers to be deployed on the first day!"
"Don't worry, my adjutant," Count Carmon smiled faintly, looking at the towers drawing near, even able to see the enemy troops celebrating behind the towers, hiding behind them. He told the viscount beside him, "The towers can't get in, and I already have a plan. Philip probably guessed it too. These towers were sent to test me and to die."