Suddenly Appearing Cannon
On the edge of the Sauron camp, in an inconspicuous corner, Einar was silently gnawing on a hard rye bread, swallowing it with difficulty while drinking the cold water from his leather bag.
Yes, Einar is still alive.
In the last fierce battle at the Carnford Mountain, his team was almost completely wiped out.
In the final melee, Einar miraculously survived. He later feigned death amidst a mountain of corpses, thus escaping the ensuing fierce battle and saving his life.
When the cavalry reinforcements from Fran City launched their charge, he almost thought he was going to die.
But in the chaos, to his disbelief, his Broomflower slave Thomas somehow found and brought back his frightened warhorse!
Amidst the shouts of battle, the master and servant rode a single horse and fled that land of death in a sorry state.
Later, after many twists and turns, he finally found the main force of the Sparrow Corps.
However, because he had not achieved any merit in that battle and had instead lost most of his equipment, he was ashamed and unable to return to his hometown of Yarvik. He could only continue to fight with the legion, hoping to make a contribution and save face.
Today, he returned once again to the foot of the hill in Carnford that had left him with such deep psychological trauma.
In the morning, when he saw those terrifying magical creatures rushing towards the city walls like cannon fodder, and heard the familiar, heart-pounding roar of the muskets on the city walls, his heart began to pound uncontrollably, and his palms were covered in cold sweat.
The gunshot instantly brought back to the nightmarish battle a month earlier, where many of his comrades, including the experienced Uncle Tokel, clad in fine plate armor, had their armor easily pierced and died on the spot amidst that terrifying sound...
Thomas stood quietly to one side, carefully guarding their most precious possession, their warhorse, which had lost weight but was still capable of getting around.
After finishing his bread, Einar hesitated for a moment, then got up and walked to the large pot, asking for a bowl of steaming hot meat soup with a few drops of oil floating on top.
He carried the bowl, walked up to Thomas, and handed it to him.
Thomas was flattered and quickly waved his hand, bowing his head respectfully, "Master, you should eat... I... I'll just have the Black Bread..."
Einar frowned, his tone harsh but leaving no room for argument. "Eat what I tell you to eat! Enough with the nonsense! You'll have the strength to guard my horses when you're full!"
Thomas dared not refuse any longer, and quickly accepted the bowl with both hands, thanking him repeatedly.
After Einar turned and walked away, he eagerly and quickly took small sips, not caring that it was scalding hot.
He couldn't remember the last time he had tasted meat; this simple bowl of meat soup was an unparalleled delicacy to him.
As evening fell, with the tireless labor of auxiliary soldiers and slaves, several simple but sturdy wooden Shield-carts were hastily cobbled together.
These Shield-carts resembled enormous, wheeled wooden houses, their fronts and roofs covered with thick logs and looted door panels, enough to withstand ordinary arrows and musket bullets.
The call to attack has sounded once again!
The second wave of the offensive has begun!
However, this time, the vanguard was no longer a frenzied army of slaves, but a few heavy Shield-carts that were slowly but steadily advancing!
Some of the Broomflower slaves hid behind the Shield-carts, pushing these cumbersome creatures toward the city wall.
Behind the Shield-carts, Sauron soldier drove the pale-faced, crying Broomflower slaves with whips and swords.
They were forced to move forward with the Shield-carts, becoming veritable "human shields" and expendable resources.
The guards on the city wall immediately noticed the anomaly.
"Release the arrows!"
"Musketeers, take aim!"
Arrows and bullets immediately rained down on the Shield-carts and the crowd below.
However, the arrows were deflected by the thick wooden planks with a clanging sound, and the lead bullets could only embed themselves deep in the wood, unable to penetrate.
Although stray bullets and arrows that passed over the Shield-carts occasionally struck the slaves behind it, causing some casualties, they were of no use in stopping the overall advance of the Shield-carts.
Upon seeing this, Karl immediately ordered, "Cease fire! Conserve ammunition!"
The ranged attacks from the city walls abruptly ceased, leaving only the creaking of the wooden wheels of the Shield-carts and the noisy clamor of the slaves.
Hermod, watching from afar, saw the defenders cease firing and couldn't help but smile smugly.
He believed that the defenders were helpless against the Shield-carts and could only watch as the enemy approached the city walls, preparing for a brutal hand-to-hand combat.
"Hmph, it seems that's all you've got..." Hermod muttered to himself, a smug smirk playing on his lips, as if he could already see the dawn of victory.
He could almost picture the despair on the faces of the Carnford defenders as the Shield-carts approached the city walls and the elite Sauron warriors swarmed forward.
However, his smile froze on his face and did not last long.
The heavy Shield-carts at the very front, propelled by a large number of slaves and auxiliary soldiers, had successfully advanced to a critical distance of less than 100 meters from the outer wall of Carnford, and were about to enter the final charge!
To the astonishment of the Sauron, the heavy city gate of Carnford, which had always been tightly shut, slowly opened inward!
This sudden turn of events caught the advancing Sauron soldier and auxiliary troops off guard, causing a brief halt to their offensive.
What horrified them even more was that, instead of cavalry charging out from the open city gate, or infantry counterattacking, dozens of defending soldiers pushed out a colossal creature.
A heavy Cannon gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen!
The cannon, with its robust barrel, was mounted on a sturdy gun carriage. Its dark muzzle, under the sunlight, exuded a chilling aura of death.
Several swift gunners followed closely behind, disregarding the danger, quickly performing simple aiming adjustments, and steadily pointing the terrifying muzzle at the foremost and most sturdy Shield-carts in the advancing formation!
"Cannon! They have Cannon!" terrified shouts rang out from the front lines from the Sauron soldier.
Some of the quick-thinking Sauron archers, though extremely shocked, immediately realized, through their long years of combat experience, that this was their last chance to destroy the enemy's deadly weapons! They swiftly drew their bows and attempted to shoot down the exposed gunners.
However, the defending troops were clearly prepared.
Just as the archers released their arrows, a squad of infantrymen armed with large shields rushed out from both sides of the city gate, forming a tight shield wall in front of the artillery!
"Dawdawdawdawdawdawdawdawdawdawd!" Most of the Sauron's arrows struck the shields, failing to inflict effective damage on the gunners behind them.
Under this lightning-fast cover, the main gunner had completed the final preparations.
With a calm expression, he deftly inserted a long fuse into the touch hole at the breech of the Cannon, and then, without hesitation, touched it with the lit torch in his hand!
"Laugh!"
The fuse was lit, sparking, and burned rapidly, shortening its lifespan!
Almost simultaneously, all the gunners skillfully turned their heads to the side, covered their ears tightly, and crouched slightly.
The entire battlefield seemed to fall into an eerie silence at this moment.
Everyone who witnessed this scene, whether the attacking Sauron or the defending Carnford garrison, had their hearts in their throats.