"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! ON THE WALL NOW!" Jarza's voice echoed across the city walls, a command that sent a ripple of urgency along with movement through the defenders.
Alpheo gazed at the scene before him, his eyes taking in the chaos. Men armed with spears and shields rushed to their positions atop the walls, their gazes fixed on the distant enemy forces gathering for the impending assault.
Of course, the reactions to such a sight were different; some were gulping nervously, others fidgeting in fear.
In the meantime , children and women darted through the city, ferrying arrows and small stones to bolster the defenders' supplies.
The first to be shot and the latter to be thrown.
'This one is to be a brutal day' , he thought as he eyed the enemy's formation. His interest mostly shifting from the troops to their preparations to storm the wall.
Which, luckily was devoid of any siege tower.
"They will try to assault the walls using the ladders while battering the gate with their ram," Alpheo mused, his gaze fixed on the enemy formations taking shape in the distance. "They are probably putting all effot into breaking the gate, as once it falls, the city goes with it."
Despite this, he remained vigilant, not growing so fickle as to bet everything on a simple opinion, instead ensuring that all sections of the wall were adequately defended in case of any unexpected maneuvers.
The last thing he wanted was for everything to be a ruse and his ass to be handed to him by his own arrogance.
While most of the defenders manned the walls, Alpheo had allocated two hundred of their forces to serve as reserves, ready to reinforce any weak points as needed, and also exchange positions with the men on the front once they got tired.
Supplies of arrows, stones, and chopped wood were meticulously stocked, ensuring that the defenders had everything they needed to repel the enemy onslaught.
With the city bracing for the impending assault, Alpheo knew that every ounce of preparation could make the difference between victory and defeat. Everything had been done, and the fate of the city was in the hands of the gods.
Or at least so the common opinion was, Alpheo was the exception. He did not know if something existed in the sky or deep in the dirt, but he did not think that the numerous gods of these lands existed.
After all, there was a reason why most polytheistic religions went extinct, giving way to monotheistic ones....
Still this wasn't really the best place to discuss of religion
"At least it's not going to rain," Alpheo muttered to himself, his gaze drifting upwards with a hint of relief.
He despised the discomfort that rain brought, especially during a tense situation like this.
His attention shifted to the other gates, where each of his trusted companions was tasked with a command. Jarza would oversee the defense of the front gate, while Egil and Laedio were stationed at the eastern and western walls, respectively. Asag was in charge of the reinforcement units, ready to move wherever needed.
Meanwhile, Clio was given authority over the infantry positioned on a wall adjacent to the gate, a position that offered action without excessive risk, as the enemy would likely use only ladders for their assault.
As Alpheo walked toward a silent Jarza, he was quick to let out his orders, "Make sure to let the ram enter into action before proceeding. We want it to be thoroughly destroyed. If we destroy it, the enemy will lose any chance of gaining the city for the day.
What we search for, is to waste the enemy's time.
If you have to choose between delivering them casualties and destroying their equipment, go for the latter, always."
Jarza in response nodded in understanding, barely muttering an "Understood,".
Still, as Alpheo began to walk away, Jarza called out to him, a note of concern in his voice. "Hey, Alph, make sure to stay out of harm's way, we both know you aren't built for such actions...."
Alpheo smiled reassuringly, raising a hand in a dismissive gesture. "Don't worry about me," he replied with a confidence that wasn't really that much baseless.
Despite holding one of the most important roles in the defense, he knew it was also one of the safest. Positioned within the towers guarding the gate, he would be shielded from the initial enemy assault. To reach him, the enemy would have to breach the gate itself, an obstacle that would prove daunting, to say the least.
For the moment ,however, Alpheo choose not to stay inside either of the two towers; he preferred to stay on top of the wall and gaze onward at the sight of the enemy he would have to oppose.
Dozens of men holding horns gave the signal for both the sides.
—WUNNNN-
At the sound echoing in the air, the men begun to move.
Alpheo could not see their face, but he knew that if his men were getting nervous, then the enemy peasants must have been shitting themselves.
That was what they were, peasants .
The prince had no time to drill his men, which meant that apart from the hundreds of elite of nobles's cavalry and the prince's special footmen , the entire army was made of undisciplined levies.
If there was one thing that Alpheo desired, it was to meet the prince.
He wanted to know the face of the crazy son of a bitch that decided it would be a good idea for a winter siege...still, he probably wouldn't have such honor.
His gaze fell on the enemy's banner, as many as the clouds in the sky, fluttering in the wind and dancing in the breeze, like leaves in the wind.
''SLINGERS" Jarza shouted as he raised his hand, bringing one hundred men put stones on their slings and started building the kinetic energy for the throw .
There was no order given by the commander, as soon as they thought they were on range, they started to rain down stones. Dozens of stones were hurled in the skies, cutting the air with their body.
Soon, some men on the approaching lines fell to the ground, stones hitting the heads of some and the limbs and chests of others.
''RAISE SHIELDS'' Officers shouted as their motions soon were copied by their men.
The men raised them diagonally to their heads, as that was the part of the body they had to protect. The shields, bulky and cumbersome, offered protection against the hail of stones. Officers barked orders, urging their men to advance while shielding themselves from the incoming projectiles.
The air was soon filled with the sound of stones colliding with wood, supplanting that of bones breaking and bodies hitting the ground.
-Smash-Smash-Smash-
The relentless barrage of stones rained down upon the enemy lines, most deflected by hastily raised shields, but a few of course, found their mark, inflicting painful wounds upon the unfortunate who were struck.
The cries of the injured pierced the air, their agony serving as the mouth that reminded all of the brutality of war. Yet, despite their suffering, the wounded remained a small minority, their injuries unable to deter the resolve of the advancing army.
Alpheo's gaze remained fixed upon the enemy's progress, his expression unreadable as he assessed the situation with a cool detachment. While the mass of men moving forward held little interest for him, his attention was drawn to the battering ram steadily advancing towards the city's defenses. It was this looming threat that occupied his thoughts, the potential breach of their walls a far greater concern than the mere foot soldiers approaching.
As the enemy forces closed in on the second moat, Alpheo knew it was time for the archers to shine. With the enemy now within range, both sides unleashed a storm of arrows upon each other. The defenders, positioned high upon the walls, had the advantage of elevation and cover, while the attackers, lacking such protection apart from a few wooden shuffles, were sitting ducks and were left vulnerable to the deadly rain of projectiles.
Jarza's archers targeted the advancing infantry, aiming to thin their ranks and disrupt their formation. The narrow path created by the enemy's makeshift bridge provided a prime opportunity for the defenders to concentrate their fire, picking off their foes with deadly accuracy, as they could not march all at once and had to instead pass through in lines of barely two.
It did't take long for arrows and stones to reap casualties among the enemy like a scythe with grain.