章節 18: Repelled

Wizardry, a practice of mana. To manipulate and mold into spells, by incantations, or mind. Though rare amongst the population, they have been gathered by powers of the world. Be they empires, or the Oracle Faction. A foundation of mages, powerful entities and demigods. A powerful people, a powerful group. But they simply aren't the only ones.

By Gerald Osir, historian of the world

Trumpets roared, drums beat like thunder, and bandit armies cried their bloodlust out in fearless tones. Adilen listened as he watched their ladders and troops approach, the inevitable was here, carrying warhammer in one hand. Its shaft resting on his shoulder as he examined the enemies who were dying too few, for his liking. Their shields weren't wood, but iron. They took a beating hard. Each barrage hardly 10 would fall. Their steady speed at approach was too close. "Archers cease fire! move down the wall, infantry move in place!"

As archers filtered down the towers, soldiers of sword and shield took their place. A team of 12 set every 10 meters. This was done due to the fact he knew all too well. Hadn't much to work with, the walls will fall with the army that outnumbers him and so will the gap. They just need to buy as much time as possible for reinforcements.

He may be brutish, but as a veteran, a captain and a soldier, to disregard his enemies as bandit scum, which they were, but also weak idiots was like calling mischievous children innocent puppies.

Soon enough ladders came barreling into the walls. Thwacking into place. First unfortunate soul that peeked his head over the battlements widened his eyes as a massive man stared down at him like an unmovable mountain. Warhammer held in both hands and arched over the muscle monster's back. Only to swing forwards and crush his skull

Crunch!*

Their head exploded before the body crumbled and fell into the astonished crowd below. In retaliation a hail of arrows peppered the battlements. Few Guardsmen meet their fate at the end of a wooden shaft. This allowed only a bandit or two to manage to climb upon the walls only to be cut down. Whilst down below upon this gap bandits flooded over debris and lunged into thin lines of guardsmen. With barely a hundred and fifty on the walls. Twenty absent and eighty holding out the gap. Only five and a half dozen archers were of use. Lining up behind the guardsmen and firing at will against the oncoming enemies. Only firing at whoever came over the debris hill. If they aimed any lower down they would hit their own brothers and sisters in arms.

The battle between defenders and the sieging bandits waged on. Both sides gained and lost ground until Lark on the bandit side called a momentary retreat. Almost two hundred bandits left dead out of a thousand minus those who died on approach. Lark estimated him having seventy five percent of his troops left. Not bad, but still a loss.

He will have to hit the city during nightfall as the sun approaches the burning horizon slowly. For now they continued bombardment of the city causing drops of morale in Adilens forces. Alongside the inevitable collapse of parts of the walls and caving in houses in the city from stray shots!

He didn't like the losses he took today. with the constant barrage of arrows and boulders. Not to mention the persistent army. Took damn near a hundred losses. Sure they did some serious damage to the enemy, but after reinforcements arrived he did a count, even Rogers returned beaten and with bad news on such a worse day. With less than two hundred from Roger, sixty from the adventures twenty making that.. Bah the point is they are still outnumbered by at least three hundred. The walls were becoming obsolete, constant bombardment and no sleep hurting his men's health.. To say the least, if they manage to survive this. It would be a very costly victory. Cost they couldn't afford.

His forces reported of bandit activity within the city, undead activity and now about half of Garlen is basically zeroed out. Should they fall, this city will be a critical loss to the kingdom. As it is a port city, a trade hub and a pass between the mountains, this is actually the best defendable city as to why its troop count isn't high, not to mention their absent lord and the army that followed. After all the cities had thousands of troops, they had barely a 5th of that here. Which led him to suspect that this sudden rise of banit activity followed by signs of a third party and a king amongst thieves. This was no unlucky event. But rather a staged oppertunity.

Almost a good portion of the army here were patrolling the city, but now a lot of them are dead in the streets. Hopefully there are pockets of his troops keeping the enemies within, at bay. He cannot help them, without losing the walls of course.

He needed plans and fast, no doubt a night raid is due. It's only logical for the enemy to assume that the darkness will cover their advance.