Outside Giurgiu, on the vast plain, the Ottomans army of 50,000 spread out like a surging tide, their battle flags fluttering, exuding a chilling pressure.
Veli Mahmud sat astride a powerful white warhorse, his stern gaze fixed on Giurgiu Castle, like a lion about to pounce on its prey.
"Fire!"
At his command, the Ottomans cannons roared in unison. Shells whistled through the air, carrying the scream of death as they slammed into Giurgiu's city walls.
Instantly, earth and rocks flew, smoke and dust billowed, and huge craters appeared on the city walls.
At the same time, on the Danube River, the Ottomans fleet also approached menacingly.
Dozens of oar-sailing ships of various sizes formed a line on the river, their black hulls like giant beasts lying in the water.
The fleet commander waved his hand, and the cannons on the ships fired, shells arcing across the sky, striking the castle like meteors.
The Wallachian soldiers on the city walls dodged and weaved amidst the fierce artillery fire; occasionally, soldiers were hit by shells, their limbs flying and blood splattering.
Under the cover of artillery fire, the Ottomans vanguard launched a charge.
Clad in armor, holding shields and scimitars, they chanted "Allah Akbar" and surged towards the city walls like a tide.
Ladders were quickly set up, and Ottoman soldiers climbed desperately like ants.
On the city wall, Vlad's face was grim, his eyes bloodshot, as he loudly directed the soldiers to resist.
"Shoot arrows! Shoot them down!"
The Wallachian soldiers drew their bows and fired, a dense rain of arrows pouring down.
But the Ottomans siege momentum did not diminish in the slightest, and people continuously climbed onto the city wall.
Soldiers from both sides engaged in fierce close-quarters combat on the city wall.
Swords and blades clashed, shouts and screams intertwined. Vlad personally wielded his sword, his swordsmanship sharp, each strike taking an enemy's life.
But the number of Ottomans soldiers was simply too great, and the Wallachian soldiers gradually felt overwhelmed.
Below the city wall, the Ottomans battering ram, pushed by a group of strong soldiers, violently struck the city gate.
Each impact made the city gate emit a dull thud, as if groaning in pain.
Inside the city gate, Wallachian soldiers used huge stones and wooden stakes to hold the gate firmly, sweat soaking their clothes.
Despite the extreme difficulty, the six thousand defenders inside the city still resisted the fierce Ottomans assault.
The first day of battle lasted from dawn until dusk, and the city walls and the ground below were already piled with corpses, blood staining the earth red.
The Wallachian soldiers suffered heavy casualties, but they still held their ground on the city wall.
On the second day, the Ottomans attack became even more ferocious. They brought in more cannons and siege engines, launching a barrage of attacks on Giurgiu.
The defensive facilities on the city wall were even more severely damaged, and the Wallachian soldiers' resistance became increasingly difficult.
But with their tenacious will, they repelled the Ottomans attacks again and again.
On the third day, the siege battle reached a fever pitch, and Giurgiu's defenses were on the verge of collapse.
A crack Ottomans unit broke through a large gap in the city wall and charged into the city.
Vlad led the remaining soldiers in a desperate resistance, but the enemy's assault was too fierce, and the Wallachian forces retreated step by step.
Vlad ordered his soldiers to throw scorching charcoal and burning wine bottles into the gap, instantly forming a wall of fire that completely cut off the Ottomans troops who had entered the city from their reinforcements.
"Come on, Ottomans, come all of you."
Despite the extremely difficult battle, Vlad revealed an unusually twisted smile.
Just at this critical moment, a loud horn suddenly sounded within the city.
Three thousand Hungarian soldiers, like divine warriors, rushed out from hidden streets and tunnels.
They were high-spirited and well-equipped, instantly disrupting the Ottoman attack rhythm.
The Hungarian soldiers formed tight formations and launched a fierce counterattack against the Ottomans troops who had broken into the city.
Their spears were like a forest, their swords like frost, catching the Ottomans soldiers off guard.
The Ottomans soldiers did not expect such a fresh force to suddenly appear in the city and immediately fell into disarray.
Having originally held the advantage, they now began to panic as their retreat was cut off and they were surrounded.
Vlad saw this scene, was overjoyed, and rallied, leading the Wallachian soldiers to fight alongside the Hungarian soldiers, launching a counterattack.
On the city wall, both sides engaged in an even more intense struggle.
The Hungarian soldiers' courageous fighting greatly boosted the morale of the Wallachian soldiers, and everyone erupted with unprecedented combat power.
After a fierce battle, the Ottomans attack was finally repelled.
Countless enemy corpses were left inside the city and on the city walls, and blood flowed down the city walls, as if recounting the ferocity of the battle.
Veli Mahmud looked at Giurgiu, his face grim.
He never expected that this seemingly about-to-be-breached castle would still have such tenacious resistance.
Night fell, and the battlefield fell into silence.
The soldiers on the city walls seized the time to rest and treat their wounds, preparing for an even more brutal battle that might come the next day.
Outside the city, the Ottomans encampment was brightly lit, and Veli Mahmud was discussing new attack strategies with his generals.
The next day, as dawn broke, the Ottomans attack began again.
But after yesterday's battle, the soldiers inside Giurgiu had become even more determined to resist; they vowed to defend this castle until the last moment.
The arrival of Hungarian reinforcements significantly reduced the immense pressure of defending the city.
Veli Mahmud, who had suffered heavy casualties with little effect, immediately discovered the problem.
The enemy had likely received reinforcements from an unknown source.
They had clearly blockaded Giurgiu Castle on all sides...
"These despicable Hungarians were actually hidden in the city beforehand?"
Upon hearing the report from the general involved in the siege, who had seen Hungarian soldiers on the city wall, Veli Mahmud finally realized he had been deceived—Giurgiu was a huge trap!
As he understood this, an ominous premonition enveloped him.
Veli Mahmud had already realized this was a Hungarian conspiracy.
After days of siege, his army had suffered over eight thousand casualties.
It was now winter, and the soldiers had to endure both the cold weather and immense pressure.
The morale of the troops was rapidly declining.
Veli Mahmud decided he could not continue like this; he had to wait until the Sultan himself arrived before attacking Giurgiu.
Thus, at noon on the fourth day, the Ottoman army stopped its direct assault, but the artillery fire did not cease for a moment, continuously pounding Giurgiu's city walls from all directions.
If not for the reinforced and modified city walls here, Giurgiu would have long since been reduced to ruins by the intense artillery fire.
At this moment, no one noticed that a fleet that had set sail from Belgrade was rapidly sailing down the Danube River towards Giurgiu, fully laden with high-spirited Hungarian elites.