"Right there!" Roderick jabbed a finger down hard and ordered the Mountain Company commander, who had just climbed the tower, "Mountain Company, all of you! Take every tool you have and seize that high ground ahead at once! I want a field defense line facing east and north built there within two hours! Trenches, breastworks, caltrops—build them as fast as you can! Go!"
"Yes, sir!" The Mountain Company commander did not hesitate. After saluting, he immediately roared down at the Mountain Company soldiers assembled below the tower and awaiting orders. "Mountain Company! Attention! Objective: the high ground ahead! Bring your tools, double-time—move out!"
With a clatter, nearly a hundred Mountain Company soldiers, leaving only a handful of sentries behind, immediately shouldered entrenching shovels and pickaxes, strapped on sacks filled with earth, and surged toward the high ground like cheetahs released from a gate. They trained in mountain warfare year-round and climbed with astonishing speed, soon reaching the plateau.
Once they had taken the high ground, the experienced officers immediately began dividing up the defensive sectors.
The soldiers needed no further urging. They swung their tools at once and began digging like mad. The entire defensive formation was quickly laid out as an irregular fan shape thrust forward around the plateau as its core.
The face of the fan directly faced the likely enemy approaches from the north and east, while its flanks rested against the steep slopes, facing the main body of the military fort in the rear from afar and forming a horned position where they could support one another with firepower.
"Quick! Dig deeper! Pile the dirt behind!"
"We need stakes over here! Send some men to cut trees!"
"Watch for falling rocks!"
The damp, frigid air was instantly filled with the dense scrape-scrape of digging and the