"All of you, charge! Charge through!!"
Seeing that their own arrows were unable to harm the defenders, the officer in charge of the siege had no choice but to order a full-scale assault.
Upon hearing this, the soldiers had no choice but to raise their round shields, steel themselves, and rush toward the city wall.
Upon seeing this, Kemolai on the city wall immediately shouted, "Aim at their groin and legs, fire freely!"
The able-bodied men, who were hunters, also lowered their bows as instructed, and thousands of arrows once again pierced the air, whistling towards the approaching soldiers.
In an instant, the three hundred soldiers who were holding round shields and walking in the front row fell to the ground, letting out miserable howls.
Although this volley of fire did not kill many people, it caused considerable damage.
Looking around, some of the soldiers who had fallen to the ground were clutching their thighs, some their calves, some their feet, and some, even more unfortunate, were clutching their groins, their faces ashen.
Hearing the screams coming from ahead, the soldiers behind also stopped in their tracks and halted their advance.
"No one is allowed to stop! Keep charging! Anyone who stops will be executed!!"
Upon seeing the soldiers stop, the commanding officer immediately drew his long sword and shouted, while the supervising team behind him also stepped forward to urge the soldiers to continue advancing.
Soon, after suffering thousands of casualties, the attacking soldiers finally reached the foot of the city wall.
"Smash it!!"
Just as the attacking soldiers were preparing to erect long ladders, a loud shout came from the city wall. Immediately afterwards, thousands of stones the size of human heads came crashing down, smashing the soldiers near the city wall, causing them to bleed profusely and scream in agony.
Meanwhile, the able-bodied men on the city wall, armed with bows and arrows, aimed at the enemy archers behind them to prevent them from harming their comrades who were throwing stones.
The attack lasted less than half an hour, resulting in the loss of more than 2,000 attacking soldiers, with the rest retreating in disarray, while the defending army suffered only a dozen or so casualties.
Watching the retreating soldiers, Kemolai on the city wall showed little excitement.
Because this city has never experienced war since its construction, it does not have many arrows stored in it. The enemy's first wave of attack has already consumed half of the arrows. If the enemy launches several more attacks, the casualties of the defenders will increase sharply once the arrows are used up.
Thinking of this, Kemolai immediately ordered his men, "Go, send men into the city to collect all the arrows, and also bring up some more stones and beams!"
"yes!"
The subordinate agreed and then led his men to run down the city wall.
On the other side, watching the retreating soldiers, Sakqi also looked at the officer with a gloomy expression: "Didn't you say you could take the city in an hour? What's going on?"
The officer, looking terrified, replied, "Your Excellency, although Ansu City's walls are not high, its terrain is treacherous. Our army cannot utilize its numerical advantage, and the enemy is well-versed in city defense. Our soldiers have suffered too many casualties and dare not advance..."
"Hmph~, my 200,000-strong army was blocked by a small town guarded by only a group of civilians. Don't you feel ashamed?"
Arrange for reinforcements and continue the attack. No matter what, we must take the city tonight!
Tell the brothers that they may plunder all the cities they pass through on the march, but only if they capture the city!
Upon hearing his subordinate's explanation, Sakhosky's expression darkened further, and he immediately issued a stern order.
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
The officer excitedly agreed and then ran towards the rear of the army to relay Sakqi's orders.
Soon, another 10,000 soldiers stepped out of their ranks and rushed toward the city wall with excited expressions.
"Prepare the kerosene!"
Seeing the enemy troops charging again, Kemolai immediately ordered his men to bring over several large barrels of oil, and then ordered them to pour all the oil onto the enemy corpses outside the city.
When the enemy troops outside the city rushed to within two hundred paces of the city wall, dozens of torches were thrown down from the city wall and landed on the corpses covered in oil.
In an instant, a raging fire burst into flames in front of the city, and an extremely foul stench of burning wafted through the air, making people want to vomit.
The soldiers who rushed forward covered their mouths and noses and retreated in fear.
"That damn bastard!!"
The officer in command, seeing that the defending troops dared to burn the corpses of his own soldiers in order to hinder the attack, couldn't help but curse loudly.
Despite his immense anger, the officer had no choice but to order a temporary retreat.
From a distance, Sakqi watched the siege troops retreat once again, his face growing even more grim. Although he was extremely anxious, he forced himself not to urge them on.
After all, no one would dare to rush into the raging fire without unwavering faith, especially when the source of the fire is the corpses of their own countrymen.
If he were to force those soldiers to charge, they might immediately mutini and turn their weapons on him.
Seeing the enemy forces retreat temporarily, Kemolai immediately ordered his men to continuously collect flammable materials from the city and throw them down into the city to keep the fire burning, hoping to buy as much time as possible.
As darkness fell, the fire outside the city continued to burn fiercely.
The officer in charge of the siege also approached Sakqi and hesitated, saying, "Your Excellency, it's getting dark. Why don't we rest for the night and continue the siege early tomorrow morning?"
"Sigh, at this point, there's no other way!"
Seeing the raging fire outside Ansu City, Sakqi nodded reluctantly and then ordered the entire army to rest temporarily.
"Lord of the city, the enemy has retreated. It seems they won't attack again tonight. Shall we evacuate as soon as possible?"
Seeing the enemy troops outside the city starting to cook, an official approached Kemolai with a solemn expression.
Kemolai frowned: "How far have those women and children gone?"
"They've already retreated twenty miles..."
Kemolai shook his head: "No, if we retreat, the enemy will definitely enter the city under cover of night. Once they discover that it is an empty city, they will pursue us relentlessly. Without the city's protection, you, me, and even the women and children will be slaughtered!"
"My lord, I have a method that may stop the enemy's pursuit!"
"Oh? What method?"
"Set it on fire! Burn the city down!!"
"Burning the city?"
Upon hearing his subordinate's suggestion, Kemolai's brow twitched.
"That's right. The women and children in the city fled in such a hurry that they didn't have time to take much wealth and food with them. We just need to collect them, then place them in the middle of several passageways in the city, and put tinder in all the houses. Finally, we'll set them on fire. When the whole city is ablaze, the enemy will definitely find it difficult to advance an inch..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
