The Siege Paused

Kadok was furious at the soldiers' hesitation and shouted, "Attack now! Whether they are forced or not, we cannot let them fill in the moat!"

Fortunately, Kadok still enjoyed high prestige in the military, coupled with his decisive orders.

The soldiers finally began firing arrows, and soon the unprotected laborers were subjected to a barrage of arrows.

Too many people were shot dead on the spot, and the bags of earth and stones they were carrying fell to the ground and were scattered everywhere.

Faced with such a horrific scene, the forcibly conscripted laborers were unwilling to charge any further.

Even when Shanno and his men killed several laborers who had escaped earlier, they couldn't stop them.

But the soldiers of the Sixth Legion did not stop there; they built several makeshift bridges over the moat.

Apart from the soldiers carrying ladders, most of the other soldiers were armed with shields and clad in armor. Even if they were hit by arrows, as long as it wasn't a vital spot, they could still launch a charge.

Kadok looked at the enemy troops below the city with a serious expression and muttered to himself, "As expected of a well-organized direct-command legion, their fighting spirit is truly terrifying."

The first batch of ladders had reached the city wall, and the soldiers of the Sixth Legion began to scale the walls.

The Sixth Legion's crossbowmen were also suppressing the city walls, and relying on their numerical advantage, they fought to a draw with the crossbowmen on the walls.

The defenders on the city walls also began to use pushers, logs, and rolling stones to attack the attacking soldiers.

Ladders were constantly being pushed over, and soldiers who had climbed halfway up the city wall screamed as they fell to the ground below.

The defenders who peeked out to attack the soldiers scaling the city walls were also picked off one by one by the archers of the Sixth Legion, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides as soon as the battle began.

Lenster found Kadok. "Regimental Commander Kadok, we can't keep defending like this. The enemy's fighting spirit is very strong. We must disrupt their offensive rhythm."

"Young Master, what do you suggest? I'll listen to you."

"Viscount Ferry had previously purchased a batch of Catapult, which were used to Catapult at the temporary wooden bridge over the moat, preventing their subsequent troops from crossing."

"Good!"

These Catapult had already been calibrated and could hit all the important points within range of the city wall.

After several rounds of slinging attacks, the temporary wooden bridge over the moat was quickly destroyed.

Seeing this situation and realizing that the trench-filling troops were not very effective, Turas ordered a retreat.

After receiving the retreat order, the soldiers of the First Regiment immediately began an orderly retreat. Some soldiers raised their shields to help the wounded and archers evacuate first, and the troops orderly used the remaining temporary bridges to retreat back to the other side of the moat.

Kadok had hoped to use the retreat as an opportunity to inflict more casualties on the enemy, but seeing the situation, he had no choice but to give up.

"Kadok, how are our losses?"

"Not bad. Our front wall defenses can only hold 1,000 men. Just now, we suffered more than 260 casualties due to being suppressed by the enemy's archers."

When Lenster heard the number, he gasped. The battle had only lasted a little over half an hour, yet so many people had been lost.

Keep in mind that the entire Ironwire City Defense Regiment only has a size of over 3,000 men. If they lose nearly one-tenth of their strength in one battle, wouldn't the vast majority of the garrison be wiped out by tomorrow?

Kadok noticed Lenster's surprise and quickly comforted him, "Young Master, don't worry too much. This time, the enemy charged too fiercely. Many of our soldiers are new recruits and have little experience in defending the city, which is why the casualties are so high."

After a few more rounds, they should be able to adapt, and many casualties can be avoided.

Lenster nodded. "How about this: don't send too many regular troops at once. Pick a Reserve Force from the residents who built the city earlier and mix them with the garrison troops at a 1:1 ratio to reduce the consumption of regular troops."

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away."

I believe everyone will agree; otherwise, you'll end up like those laborers filling the trenches.

After completing their response, Ironwire City immediately began distributing weapons to the militia forces defending the city.

Inside the Sixth Legion camp, Turas convened a meeting with all officers.

"The First Regiment lost more than 400 men, Shanno's battalion lost more than 300 men. The enemy's losses were about half to a third of ours."

After listening to his adjutant's report, Turas shook his head. If the casualty ratio continued like this, his troops would be severely weakened by the time he captured Ironwire City.

Turas looked at Shanno and shouted angrily, "Shanno, why aren't your troops charging forward and continuing their trench-filling mission!"

Shanno had a bad feeling; he guessed the Legion Commander was going to find someone to take the blame.

He knelt down on the ground. "Legion Commander, don't blame me. These are all conscripted laborers. After suffering heavy casualties, their performance is definitely not as good as that of the regular army."

"That's no excuse. They didn't even throw a single bag of dirt into the moat. So what if they all died?"

"You don't want to be too harsh on your fellow villagers, do you? Since you're so eager to protect them, next time you should personally lead your men to fill in the moat!"

"My lord, I was wrong, please spare my life!"

When Shanno heard that Turas wanted him to fill the river, he was terrified and knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

The officers of the Sixth Legion around him all showed disdain; this surrendered man truly had no bottom line.

At this moment, Shanno suddenly said, "My lord, give me another chance. Tonight, I will personally supervise the battle and fill the river under the cover of darkness. If I fail, you may take my head on the spot, and I will have no complaints!"

Turas said with an unfriendly expression, "You mean, you want me to stop attacking the city today and wait for you to fill the river?"

"My lord, you see, the main force has already made one charge, and everyone is quite exhausted. Why don't we call it a day and continue tomorrow after I finish filling the moat tonight?"

Shanno's suggestion pleased both Regimental Commander, who actually didn't want to continue fighting, as their troops had just completed a forced march and were heavily depleted.

Attacking the city under these circumstances would result in many unnecessary casualties.

At this moment, Turas's adjutant also advised, "Legion Commander, the troops are indeed very tired. Why not follow Battalion Commander Shanno's suggestion and let the main force rest for one night? We can also use this time to manufacture some siege equipment, and at least prepare more ladders."

"Yes!" "That makes sense!"

Several officers echoed this sentiment.

Although Turas looked displeased, seeing that so many people didn't want to continue the siege today, he had no choice but to agree.

"That's settled then, but Shanno, you have to fill in the front moat tonight. If you can't, I'll use you as a sacrifice tomorrow."

"Yes!"

"Your troops must be punished. One in ten of those who retreated will be executed!"

After hearing this, Shanno turned pale, but he could only nod to indicate that he accepted the order.

After everyone else had left, only Turas and his adjutant remained in the tent.

"Sir, this way the troops can take a short rest."

"But why do you need me to offer advice? You could just give the order directly!"

Turas smiled bitterly, "I underestimated them. I thought I could take advantage of the momentum of the rapid march to give the eldest son of the Ironvine family a hard time."

I didn't expect them to fight so well, even against their own people, they were so decisive!