Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 420: Chapter 55 Digging_2

…

The shield carriages approached the earthen wall, musketeers suppressing the archers atop it, while sword and shield bearers leaped over wooden fences, low walls, and trenches to fight the Herders.

The short winter days meant that by afternoon, the Paratu army hadn’t even cleared the fortifications at the base of the city.

As dusk approached, General Sekler was compelled to order a retreat back to camp.

After the sun had set, Andre and Mason gathered in Winters’s tent again. This time it wasn’t just the two of them; all the Lieutenant Vineta’s at the frontline camp also hurried to the dinner gathering.

More than ten people squeezed into the small military tent, so cramped they couldn’t even stretch their legs, resigned to hunching over.

Yet the atmosphere inside the tent was vibrant, and someone even brought wine.

Since dispersing to the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, it was the first time so many Lieutenant Vineta’s had assembled together. Schoolmates, fellow countrymen, brothers-in-arms reunited after a long separation, barely holding back tears.

Outside the canvas, the piercing cold wind howled, but those seated around the iron stove didn’t feel cold at all.

Bard wasn’t present, for he was on night duty, counting stars in the trench at that moment.

“Seems like day in, day out these yokels are useless?” With only their own people inside the tent, Andre commented without restraint, “With that level of skill, I could do it too! It’s just a matter of using lives to fill the gap.”

“Actually, the savages have some tactics—the triangle bastion, multiple trenches, crossfire from above and below the city—it’s a headache for anyone who comes. Even with artillery support all afternoon without bursting the chambers, they are not ordinary savages,” said Wetter from the artillery corps, swallowing a mouthful of distilled liquor before passing the bottle to his right.

To Wetter’s right was Winters, who took the bottle but didn’t drink, passing it further to the right.

He sighed and said, “I spent the entire afternoon digging trenches, not even knowing who we are fighting. Who is the commander of the city’s defense?”

“Seems to be someone called… Yasin,” Wetter recalled while rubbing his temples, “Chief of the Red River Tribe, the savages call him White Lion.”

Andre instantly perked up, “White Lion? Winters hunted a giant lion! Its head was as big as a cartwheel! Weighed hundreds of pounds!”

“Is that so?”

“Not me, it was a Hunter who killed it.” Winters was not inclined to discuss the topic further.

Berlion lifted the tent flap and brought in a pot of steaming meatball soup.

With the cold weather, the food would cool quickly, so Berlion set the pot on top of the tent’s central iron stove to keep it cooking, while Winters casually added some more wood to the fire.

Conversation paused for the food; everyone first fished out the meatballs, then cooked noodles in the remaining broth. In the wilderness at the edge of this “civilized world”, the Venetian soldiers found a taste of home.

After a hearty meal, Cavalry Corp Lieutenant Sanu licked his fingers and said, “I’m curious—where did the savages get their cannons? Can they cast cannons now? And gunpowder? Cannonballs? Gunners?”

Picking his teeth, Andre scoffed, “If the Tanilia people can get ahold of cannons, why can’t the Herders? Old Marcelo said the inscriptions on the cannons from Red Sulfur Island were all filed off.”

Mentioning Marcelo, who had fallen in battle, cast a somber mood over the group.

Winters reminisced about Marcelo approaching him carrying two bottles of wine at the victory celebration, as if it was just yesterday.

Koner hesitated, then asked, “You mean… someone is deliberately providing cannons and expertise to the savages?”

“No ‘maybe’ about it—it is so! Now that savages know how to defend a city, do you really believe no one taught them? It’s definitely those United Provincials making mischief! They were against us last year, now against the Paratu People!”

“We cannot jump to conclusions…” Koner was still conflicted.

Andre, glaring, blurted out, “Around Paratu, who can cast big cannons? The Federated Provinces, Venetians, and the Oathbreakers to the north. If it’s not us, and not the United Provincials, could it be the Oathbreakers? Stop fooling yourself! It’s the mudslingers bolstering the savages.”

Lieutenant Mason’s face turned a bit awkward; without Bard there, he was the only United Provincial in the tent.

Andre quickly added, “Senior, I wasn’t speaking about you.”

Mason looked even more embarrassed, his smile bitter, “No worries, the United Provincials never saw me as one of their own, and neither do the Paratu People. I belong to neither.”

The mood cooled for a moment.

“In Paratu, we’re all foreigners,” said Winters, trying to steer the conversation back to military matters, “I think it’s quite normal for the Paratu People to not excel at sieging. They’ve always fought the Herders with cavalry dominance; where would they have needed to employ siege tactics? With such high regard for cavalry, infantry becomes suppressed. Isn’t Alpad ranked higher than Sekler?”

In the Paratu military, Major General Alpad was cavalry-bred, whereas the infantry-bred Sekler was merely a Brigadier General, and General Yano, the commanding officer, was also a cavalry commander in the Sovereignty Wars.

“All the harsh words have been said, I can’t help but speak my mind.” Despite being sullen, Andre adamantly sought to bring the topic back, “Since everyone is here, there’s something I want to discuss with all of you.”

All eyes gathered on Andre.

Andre cleared his throat and said gravely, “I think that regardless of whether the Paratu People can win or not, we need to prepare early…”

…

…

The first day of the siege went poorly, and on the second day, General Sekler grew ruthless, pushing toward the city walls from early morning, while the tunneling troops also intensified their digging throughout the night.

The mud walls of the city were not tall, but the Paratu army lacked artillery—and even if they had artillery, it would not be effective against the low earthen walls—so they could only clear the area beneath the walls with mantlets first, then proceed to undermining and blasting operations.

The Herders had added two bastions on the western wall, dug multiple trenches outside the city, erected wooden fences and low walls, and positioned archers—mainly bowmen and a few with muskets—both atop and beneath the ramparts.

The Paratu army’s main focus was on the two bastions; without removing these two bastions first, there would be no way to attack the city gates.

Sergeant Miller of the Fifth Legion’s chief battalion pushed the mantlet up the hill and finally reached the first parapet, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

Due to the terrain, each parapet at the base of the city was positioned higher than the last, ensuring unobstructed lines of fire.

Arrows struck the mantlet from above and below, producing a series of dull “thumps.”

Miller’s men held their shields high, desperately trying to hide behind the mantlet. Many Herders were still using bone and stone arrowheads, which were ineffective against plate armor, but no one wanted to take their chances.

Moreover, the sword-and-shield bearers wore only partial armor, and the Herder bowmen aimed specifically for their legs.

Amid the Whoosh of the arrows, occasionally mixed with the muted boom of muskets—a sound that chilled the sword-and-shield bearers to the bone.

They were now ten steps from the wall, but everyone hesitated to move forward. Sergeant Miller gritted his teeth and, with a shield over his head, roared as he charged toward the parapet.

An arrow struck Miller squarely in the chest with a piercing crack, sending a shower of the arrowhead and splinters flying; Miller faltered but continued his charge.

Seeing the sergeant taking the lead, the other Paratuan soldiers bit down and followed. The musketeers set up their barrels on the mantlet and began firing at the archers on the walls.@@novelbin@@

After a fierce struggle, the Herders were defeated, and Miller led his men in clearing that section of the parapet.

While arrows still rained down from the walls, Miller took an arrow to his right leg, and his tentmate dragged him behind the protection of another side of the parapet.

The Paratuan soldiers temporarily used the Herders’ parapet to defend against the projectiles.

Next, they needed to fill in the trenches and attack the next parapet, then fill in more trenches, and attack the subsequent ones to finally reach the city wall.

While the Paratuan soldiers were engaged in a fierce struggle with the Herders below the city, Winters continued to dig the Z-shaped trench extending towards the city walls.

In his eyes, the Paratuan soldiers were sufficiently fierce and brave, but the generals were too impatient and underestimated the enemy, always looking for a quick victory.

Be mindful that shaving foam doesn’t delay shaving, the attack positions of the Paratuan army and the city walls were separated by more than six hundred meters uphill.

Without finding a way to shorten this distance, how could they mount an effective assault on the city wall?

Moreover, the Paratuan generals had yet to realize the importance of locking the enemy within the city walls.

Having closely observed Antonio command sieges, Winters noticed that the elder’s first action during every siege was to find a way to trap the enemy inside the city walls.

In the mid-phase of the Tachi siege, the Venetian soldiers even sneaked into the city ditch at night to retrieve cannonballs, while the Federated troops were stuck behind the city walls, helpless to do anything but watch.

Once the defending army was unable to leave the city walls, the fall of the city wouldn’t be far off.

But now, as the Paratuan army attacked Bianli City, according to Bard, who was on night duty the evening before, it was the Herders who slipped out of the city gate to retrieve arrows and repair their works.

If this continued, the siege would turn into an outright war of attrition, definitely not the situation the attackers wished to see.

So while the half-armored Paratuan sword-and-shield bearers fought against the Herders under the city walls, Winters led his men, diligently digging the trench with heads down.

Lieutenant Jeska had not given such an order, but he did not stop it either.

The Lieutenant Colonel went to see General Sekler, and soon more civilians and militia were allocated to Winters—for digging trenches.

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