Chapter 227 “Breaking into the camp alone!” (Part one)
Riding for one full night and day, Du Wei gave the order down that none is to rest. Such a command may be a bit cruel to the soldiers that had just went through a life or death battle, but the Tulip troops still carried it out without any complaint.
“I know you’re all very tire, but I’m even more freaking tired!” Du Wei impolitely shouted this aloud so everyone can hear his voice: “Unlike you guys that received intensive training for this type of hardship, I’m only a frail mage. I’m not afraid to tell you all this, but my butt and thighs are about to burst into flames from how painful they are. However, my brave warriors…. In front of us are 20,000 wolves ready to devour our brothers and ravage our sisters! We must insist and ride on!”
Du Wei’s powerful voice ranged through the ranks of every Tulip soldier. It must be mentioned his voice really did carry a lot of weight. After practicing the Star Dou Qi martial set for the past year, his body is no longer as weak as he once was. Also, he had secretly used a wind based spell on himself to make his body light as possible, thus reducing the burden on himself.
The one that is truly suffering through all this is in fact Muse. Right now, this kid really wanted to cry out in pain because every fiber in his body was about to fall apart due to the excessive strain. However, Muse also knows that if he shows the slightest hint of weakness, this cruel Duke would not hesitate for even a second in tossing him aside.
“My Lord!” The scout furthest ahead pulled in his reign to retreat to the back of the pact for his report: “Behind this hill is Anglia City!”
“Send the order down that all personal is to reduce speed!” Du Wei wipes his sweat filled forehead.
So tiring….. Though he did cheat by using a spell on himself and his steed, but the friction caused by the saddle is killing his crotch and thigh.
It must be mentioned though that Du Wei really is blessed with good fortune. Despite the fact that the Gold Wolf General is personally leading his forces to assault Anglia City, there hasn’t been any encounter with the other scouting teams along the way.
Such an outcome is more than welcomed because he’s currently in a race against time. Before the enemy is able to block off Anglia City from any reinforcements, he must have his men enter the city for the impending battle.
The hill before him now is small, or to be precise, it’s merely a mound in the landscape. Having most of his men stay at the bottom, he and several of the soldiers dismounted and made their way to the top.
Looking out from afar, Anglia City is right before his eyes!
Filled with stars in the starry sky, the contour of the crumbling city is easy to make out. Although he did make some repairs to the wall, but it’s merely a band aid job to keep the slaves inside.
If Du Wei had to bluntly describe the situation from a military standpoint, then Longbottom’s description of this place is perfect: “he could easily overrun this place with a single charge!” that’s exactly what this 250 said.
When Du Wei first climbed up the mound with some of his men, the first reaction they had was a deep gasp of shock.
With Mount Kilimanjaro in the background, the land outside Anglia City is a vast stretch of open landscape! With more than 10 square miles of wasteland, the only exception was the gravel like brown bushes scattered across the ground.
It can be said that there is no better place for a force of cavalry riders to fight because the land has no obstacles to stop the charge.
And now, the vast stretches of wasteland outside Anglia City are occupied by the people of the prairie.
Unlike the well-built base camp with walled fences of the empire, these prairie wolves only had tents erected in their camping ground.
If Du Wei had to make a guess as to why this is so, it’s likely because these people didn’t have any supply wagons with them.
Fortunately, the one relieving factor that eased his heart right now was the Tulip Flag flying atop of the rampart.
The meaning behind this is simple, the city still hasn’t fallen yet and Knight Robert is still inside!
Showing a flash of hope in his eyes, Du Wei looks over to the other men by his side and said: “It seems we have to find a way through the enemy camp.”
From the looks of things, the prairie natives seem to have no intention of stopping their continuous assault. It’s almost like they knew Anglia City didn’t have enough man power to fully defend itself.
Anglia City may have been the former capital of Desa Province, but the 4,000 men under Knight Robert is simply not enough to fully man the wall against 20,000 barbarians!
Standing atop of the rampart, Robert’s face was clouded with gloom as he peered down at the blade wielding prairie wolves.
These people were already here since this evening. Upon arrival, these bastards didn’t even give any indication of their intent and made a premeditated raid against the city. Deadly and fast, it was clear to Robert they wanted to finish this as soon as possible regardless of the casualties.
If it was any other general, the person in charge would have likely abandoned the place long before the actual siege took place. As to the reason why this loyal knight didn’t give up was all due to Du Wei’s words: “Listen Robert, the factory in the city is everything I have! No harm can come to the things here. Remember, I’m putting my lifeline in your hands!!”
From his lord’s firm grip, Robert can feel the importance of his responsibilities on his arm. In order to not disappoint the faith placed on him, Robert had always kept a vigilant watch over everything, especially the defensive guards standing atop of the wall.
When he found out one of the soldiers were dozing off on the job during one of his rounds, Robert had this poor bastard severely lashed in front of everyone. Witnessing such a scene, many of the soldiers were inwardly complaining: “why is he being so harsh when this city only has some slaves and a workshop, it’s not like anyone is going to come to such a remote place when there’s no valuables to take.
Other than always forcing the soldiers to be on alert, Robert also took advantage of the city’s greatest asset: stones!! Anglia City may not have anything of value, but it did have a lot of rocks. Despite the complaints, Robert had his men litter the wall with stones of certain sizes to be thrown over the ledge in time of need.
Toward his over the top demands, it finally paid off on this day.
During the prairie wolves first raid against the city, the soldiers were able to discover the attackers much sooner than what a normal watch could have usually done.
In the first assault at noon, the prairie natives failed and had to leave behind 300 dead bodies in their retreat.
On Knight Robert’s side, he lost 200 people with 300 injured.
In the absence of sufficient strength, Robert made a decisive decision and had the slaves mobilized to defend the city.
He didn’t say much pretty words to persuade these slaves, instead, he only aimed his blade at the prairie natives down below: “You see those people? They are the wolves of the prairie! If they make it in here then all of you will be killed! I assure you, they won’t hold back! I’m not asking you to help me defend this city, I’m asking you to fight for your own survival.”
Luckily, Du Wei had treated these slaves well. Without much hassle or difficulty, these slaves consciously picked up a weapon and joined in the fray.
By the afternoon, the prairie natives had launched another three assaults; fortunately, each attack was beaten off through the combined effort of soldier and slave.
Nevertheless, the main problem was still placed in front of Robert: his main combat force had already loss a total of 800 soldiers, almost one fourth of his combat capability. As for the slaves, their injuries and death are especially high due to their lack of equipment and armor.
Taking advantage of the brief recess in the enemy’s retreat, Robert gave the order to demolish large numbers of abandoned houses to use their door and walls as shields.
As nice as it was to have a brief period of relief from the continuous onslaught, the prairie natives seems to have no intent of letting Robert and his men recuperate. Detaching from the main body, two separate raiding parties were always attacking in rotation, leaving no time for Robert and his people to properly tend to their wounds.
Looking down at the fearsome enemy, Knight Robert is starting to get worried.
“Is the gate sealed off properly?” He turns to look at one of his subordinate nearby.
“Yes it is my lord.” The person to reply is an officer of commanding rank: “We’ve sealed off the gate with whatever rubble or rock we can find!”
Sighing at the answer, Robert’s face showed no sign of relief at the news because sealing off the gate is a last resort which he didn’t want to do.
Due to the natural terrain of the Northwest, most cities in this barren land do not have a moat around the wall; therefore, the natives could easily charge right up to the fortification and begin their attack.
One of the methods to breach a gate is to send a team of death squad ahead of the main force. Using a special type of iron hooked arrow, the natives could then lodge the arrow head into the gate and tie the rope to their mount. Using the pulling force of dozens of horses, no wooden gate would be able to withstand such a pulling force.
During the first raid this afternoon, the other side did exactly just this and was able to breach the gate by ripping it apart from the hinges.
At that time, Robert and a brave squad of full armored soldiers took to the front and stood their ground at the enemies charge. Through much effort and bloodshed, Robert and his brethren’s did manage to repel the attackers, but as a consequence, his only heavy armored unit was lost during this skirmish. What’s more, a horrifying scene containing a mountain of corpse lay at the entrance, which was the real reason the enemy had to back off.
After the crisis came to an end, Robert ignored the pain from his wounded arm and immediately gave the order to seal off the entrance!
This way around, the city seems to be safe once again, but this also means that any hope for help from the outside is cut off.
The reason is because even if reinforcement did arrive, Robert won’t have a way to receive them into the city……
Nevertheless, decisiveness is of upmost importance at the moment. If he had not blocked off the gate, the city might have already been lost by sunset.
Under the illumination of the twinkling stars, a sharp blowing horn sound came from the tents erected by the natives. Hearing this familiar noise made by their own people, the riders that were constantly harassing Robert and his men suddenly turned back.
“What are they doing?” Robert frowns at the sight.
The commanding officer nearby is a local of the Northwest. Thinking over the question, he looks up into the dark sky and said: “My lord, it must be midnight. The prairie natives have a custom where they burn the corpses of their brethren at this time. In their minds, they believe midnight is the time where the soul of the dead ascends to the heavens. During this period, they will stop everything and focus on only that …. I estimate we have about an hour before they resume their attack.”
“An hour?” Robert lets out a long relieving sigh: “If so, we can finally rest for a bit.”
“I don’t think so my lord!” Contrary to Robert’s expression, the commander had a look that was even worse than before: “I think we have an even bigger problem on our hands!”
“Why?”
The commander began to whisper his words, “I went to the prairie before and my father even participated in the war 20 years ago. If these people are willing to go so far as to stop fighting in the middle of a battle, then there is only one explanation!”
“Oh?”
The expression on this guy became very unpleasant like he didn’t want to say the next part: “Within their ranks is a SHAMAN!! Only a shaman is capable of sending off the soul of the dead. Like the magicians of the empire, these shamans wield powers beyond our imagination.”
Robert could not say a single word. Turning to look at the tents down below, he could only smile bitterly at their situation: “Magicians…. Shamans….. GOD DAMMIT!! Why the hell did the shamans not attack us earlier with their main force this afternoon?”
In return, the commander shakes his head: “My lord, my knowledge is not complete, but I’ve heard the shamans are different from us because they follow their own set of strange rules. Unlike our magicians that can harm someone at will, Shamans will only retaliate under certain circumstances. This is especially true in times of war where they will only attack when the other side makes the first move. If a Shaman does kill someone without reason, it is perceived as a sin in their culture.”
“Strange rules…..” Robert’s hand that was holding his sword tightens up a bit.
“My lord.” The commander suddenly made a pitiful laugh. Though this guy is not handsome by any standard, but his eyes were carrying a sense of determination: “I think by the break of dawn, the shaman will make his move… Whether we can live to see the next sunset is questionable at this point, but I do want you to know it’s been a great honor to serve by your side and die under the Tulip Flag!”
Robert was silent for a long moment as he faced this usually quiet subordinate. Taking in a deep breath, Robert raises his own sword into the air and cried out in a loud voice: “Everything is for the family!”
“For the family!” This commander also drew his sword and gently tapped it against Robert’s sword.