The Third Detachment commander returned to direct his troops, while Saster stayed at the command post on the wall, watching the battle.
The Main Fortress defenders had a simple plan: they never made their defenses too strong, leaving the Barbarians a chance to get scattered soldiers onto the wall.
Those scattered Barbarians had no cohesion. Most were cannon fodder sent to storm the fortress, and they posed little threat to the defenders.
The well-equipped Barbarian elites never even reached the top. The defenders' ranged troops picked them off as they climbed.
By luring the enemy in like this, the Main Fortress defenders kept alive the Barbarians' hope of taking the fortress. The Barbarians would not give up easily, and the defenders could keep using their fortifications to inflict casualties.
Saster knew the plan would not work for long. The Barbarian commander was no fool. He would soon spot their trick and respond.
The Barbarian forces besieging the Small Fortresses had already been routed, which would likely push the main force to adjust its tactics even sooner.
Sure enough, less than half an hour later, Saster noticed a marked drop in the intensity of the Barbarian assault.
No Barbarian units or stragglers were reaching the wall anymore. The Main Fortress defenders had not strengthened their defenses; the Barbarians had slowed their attack on their own.
The Third Detachment commander noticed it too and hurried over to report. "Deputy Regimental Commander, the Barbarians seem to have caught on to our plan. It looks like they want to withdraw."
Saster nodded. "I saw it too. Their commander really isn't a fool. He spotted our trick quickly."
"What do we do?
"If they withdraw, we can't stop them!"
The Third Detachment commander was frustrated. Their plan to wear down the Barbarian forces had been