Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Clever Capture of Dunderam
Three days later.
The knights inside Dunderam Castle were patrolling the battlements. The camp outside, with dark clouds pressing down on the city, made them extremely nervous, unable to relax for several consecutive days.
"Any movement from the enemy?" An old knight asked briskly as he walked by.
The soldiers along the way stood straight and replied, "Reporting, sir, there's no movement outside."
After hearing the report, the old knight quickly left for another section of the wall. The soldiers who had just stood up straight soon relaxed again.
They lived like this every day, and everyone had some complaints in their hearts.
"This old guy is always like this, it's exhausting," one soldier complained, "Is there any point in doing this all the time? It's not like we don't know how to report."
Another soldier shrugged, "Who knows what he's thinking."
Watching the old knight go to harass the guards on the other side of the wall, the soldiers here started to relax and chat.
But soon, the militia in the corner of the wall started shouting. Their calls alarmed the soldiers, making those who were relaxing unhappy.
"Hey, what are you guys yelling about?" A soldier strutted over, ready to teach those militiamen a lesson.
But when he got there, he understood why the militiamen were suddenly shouting.
The enemy camp outside, which had been peaceful, suddenly became restless. Colorful knight banners waved like waves, and the sound of marching soldiers came in waves.
The soldier instantly sprinted, starting to shout on the walls.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
With the soldier's shouts, the alarm bells on the walls began to ring, and the knights started to put on their armor. However, the townspeople in the outer circle of the castle remained completely indifferent.
The gate on the southwest side was still wide open, and the guards there didn't seem to have any intention of closing it.
The old knight hurried over and grabbed a soldier to ask, "What's the situation over there?"
"I don't know," the grabbed soldier replied blankly, "The alarm bells are already ringing, why aren't they closing the gate?"
The two looked at each other until the old knight realized what was happening.
He instantly let go and, calling the knights who hadn't yet reacted, sprinted away. As for the soldier, he hesitated for a moment before deciding to go home and check.
Outside the city, John's army was quickly moving towards Dunderam Port. The southwest gate was still open, guarded by the town militia.
John wasn't sure when the enemy would react, so he needed to get inside the city as quickly as possible.
The Gloucester knights, led by Red-Nosed Hugo, were moving swiftly towards Dunderam, but they were still a bit slower compared to the knights inside the castle.
When Dunderam's old knight arrived at the gate, he roughly shoved aside the guards trying to block him and drew his longsword from his waist.
"Go, go close the gate, now!" The old knight's roar was as intimidating as thunder to the guards.
Although these guards were citizens and had some dissatisfaction with the feudal lord's exploitation, not all of them had strong resolve. Seeing the old knight about to explode in anger, some guards' legs began to weaken.
One guard tried to close the gate but was suddenly stabbed to death by a citizen representative who jumped out.
"For freedom, citizens! For freedom!"
The citizen representative raised his blood-stained sword high, directly facing the old knight. However, the old knight's attention was not on him but on the group of knights behind him.
The knights, holding high the banner of the English royal family, were already closing in on the gate. Now, even if the guards were dealt with, there wouldn't be time to close the gate.
Weighing the pros and cons, the old knight had no choice but to lead the knights back.
"Retreat, retreat!"
The old knight quickly mounted his horse and led the knights back towards Dunderam Castle. The citizen representative, who had just been full of fervor, suddenly deflated, letting his arms hang down.
Not everyone can be brave forever, and his bravery just now was momentary.
As soon as he calmed down and thought about it, he was filled with immense fear. If the old knight had insisted on closing the gate, he wouldn't have survived three moves against him.
As the adrenaline subsided, his strength seemed to be drained, and he fell to his knees. Meanwhile, behind him, the Gloucester knights had just arrived at the gate.
"Four knights, control the gate," Red-Nosed Hugo commanded decisively on the battlefield. "The rest of you, follow me to clear the walls and streets."
As these knights, clad in colorful surcoats, moved into action, a sense of dread crept into the hearts of the citizens.
The most worried was the citizen representative. He realized he might have brought in a ruler with an even stronger military force. No one knew if this ruler would honor his promise to grant them the autonomy they were promised.
All the citizens were anxious, but the knights had no time for worry.
They thoroughly searched the walls of Dunderam Port and roughly swept through the main streets, finding no enemies.
This indicated that the enemies had retreated into the castle.
Red-Nosed Hugo gazed at the tall walls of Dunderam Castle, his expression grim.
With John's arrival, more and more troops entered Dunderam Port. The citizens now saw the vast size of John's army.
Under John's command were Norman knights, noble retainers from Anjou, household warriors from England, phalanx soldiers from Ireland, and Norwegian warriors at the rear of the ranks.
This diverse army showed no signs of disobedience around John.
They followed the Plantagenet royal banner closely, accompanying John to Dunderam's city square. There, esteemed and highly reputable citizens were waiting for John.
They were filled with tension, knowing that John's army was one of the most formidable in all of Ireland.
"You've done well, at least nothing went wrong," John said in a relaxed tone that only he could manage. "Thank you for your support, citizens."
The citizen representative nodded and then asked, "So, Your Highness, will you fulfill your obligations as per the contract...?"
Before the representative could finish, John interrupted, "Of course I will. I'm not one to go back on my word. But first, I need to deal with that castle."
John pointed to the tightly closed gates of Dunderam Castle, where a few heads occasionally popped out, seemingly observing the troops outside.
This was exactly where John's focus lay.
"Thank you for your kindness and generosity, we praise you," the citizen representative, knowing this wasn't the time to press further, bowed to John and left quietly without further disturbance.
Once the citizen representatives had withdrawn, John began organizing the assault on the castle.
Dunderam Castle was like a thorn in John's eye, making him very uncomfortable.
John couldn't accept being stalled by this small castle. He had to remove it no matter what, as dealing with it was crucial to moving on with his next plans.
Otherwise, there was no guarantee that the knights inside wouldn't suddenly charge out.
As the saying goes, you can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against a thief for a thousand days. Rather than leaving it unattended and risking a surprise attack, John preferred to invest time and effort now to capture it.
"Your Highness, if we want to take this place, the cost could be quite high," Brétigny said, gesturing to the height of the walls. "Attacking from within the city means we can't use large siege weapons."
John stroked his chin, carefully examining the castle.
The castle wasn't entirely within the city; its northern part directly faced outside the city, providing a route to Downpatrick.
If they attacked from the north, they could use large siege weapons. But the castle's designer had anticipated this, so the northern walls of Dunderam Castle were especially high and thick.
How should he handle this problem?
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