The two discussed matters in the tent for most of the day. It was not until a messenger ran to the tent and knocked that they came back to their senses.
Heshima allowed the messenger in to report. After entering the tent, the messenger dropped to one knee. "Great Chieftain, the forces attacking the city have been repelled again."
Heshima had been full of excitement from discussing the battle plan with Keledu, but the messenger's report instantly made his expression collapse.
Fortunately, Keledu was there, so Heshima did not fly into a rage on the spot. He waved a hand and dismissed the messenger for the time being.
Keledu said, "Great Chieftain, we've been talking for quite a while. Let's go take a look first. We don't know how badly the siege forces have suffered."
Heshima nodded, and the two left the tent together.
Standing at the entrance to the tent, they could clearly see the Barbarian army retreating from beneath the distant city walls. To Heshima's relief, the withdrawal remained fairly orderly. They had not thrown away their armor and weapons just because the siege had failed.
Heshima asked the Commander of Ten Thousand in charge of the battle about the situation. As expected, the Barbarian siege forces had actually performed quite well this time. Relying on a surprise assault and close coordination between the various units, they had quickly reached the city walls.
However, once they reached the walls, the fortress defenders reacted and organized many troops to fight the Barbarians for control of the ramparts. With too few troops able to climb the walls to keep up with the losses, the Commander of Ten Thousand had been forced to withdraw.
Even so, the Barbarian siege forces had held out on the walls for a long time. Only