Street Fighting
The next day, the darkness before dawn was the deepest, with only a sliver of light outlining the distant mountains.
Just then, a deep and oppressive horn sounded once again from the Sauron camp, like a death knell, piercing through the cold morning mist and echoing inside and outside the dilapidated walls of Ward Town, startling every soldier who was barely able to close their eyes.
After a night of respite, the Sauron were not discouraged; instead, they mobilized even more troops.
The camp was brightly lit with fires and bustling with people, clearly indicating that they were working through the night to complete tasks and deployments.
A small, crudely constructed catapult was pushed to the front lines. Its massive boom cast a menacing shadow in the dim morning light, aimed at the low, dilapidated walls of Ward Town.
In addition, more Cloud Ladder and reinforced battering rams were also displayed in the formation.
After a night of rest and pre-battle stimulation, the soldiers of the Tiger Corps were now burning not only with the anger of yesterday's setbacks, but also with a naked desire for plunder and slaughter.
Like a pack of wolves that had been starving for a long time, they growled in low voices and once again surrounded the small Ward Town.
On the city wall, the defenders took advantage of the short night to carry out intensive repairs and take turns resting.
The damaged battlements were barely reinforced with sandbags and timber, and more support pillars were added behind the city gate.
However, all these efforts proved so fragile in the face of the enemy's newly added siege equipment.
Every soldier's face was etched with indelible weariness and deep solemnity. They gripped their increasingly worn weapons tightly, silently awaiting the final moment.
They knew in their hearts that yesterday's miracle was hard to replicate, and what they would face today was a real, desperate bloodbath.
Governor William, still clad in his heavy armor stained with blood and dust, stood in the most conspicuous and dangerous position on the city wall.
The morning breeze ruffled his silvery-white beard and hair, and on his weathered face, his eyes were sharp as an eagle and calm as still water, as if he had completely disregarded his own life and death.
His eldest son Little William., and his sixteen-year-old grandson followed closely behind him. The young men's faces were inevitably filled with fear and paleness, and their hands gripping their weapons trembled slightly, but they stood straight and showed no sign of backing down.
"Prepare for battle!" Governor William's voice, hoarse from days of shouting, carried an unwavering determination that resonated clearly throughout the city walls, striking the hearts of every defender.
The battle erupted once again with a fierce roar as the first boulder launched by the catapult tore through the air!
The boulder crashed heavily onto the city wall with destructive force, causing the ground to shake and debris to fly everywhere. A section of the parapet collapsed, burying several soldiers who were unable to dodge in time.
This time, the Sauron's attack was no longer a probing attack, but a well-organized and deadly strike.
The catapults continued their relentless bombardment, focusing their attack on sections of the city wall that had already been damaged the previous day.
A dense rain of arrows poured down on the city walls like locusts, suppressing the defenders so much that they could barely raise their heads. Meanwhile, the infantry, carrying even sturdier Cloud Ladder and protected by thick shields, roared wildly, surging towards the foot of the city walls like a black tide.
The defenders fought desperately, and stones, logs, and the last remaining hot oil were hurled down with all their might.
The archers risked being riddled with arrows, leaning out to fire as many arrows as possible at the crowded enemy below.
However, the gap in strength is brutal and cannot be completely bridged by willpower alone.
The defending forces had been severely decimated after yesterday's bloody battle, and most of the survivors were wounded, their strength and energy nearly exhausted, and their arrows and other defensive supplies were running out.
In contrast, the Sauron seemed endless. As the soldiers in the front ranks fell, the soldiers in the back ranks would immediately surge forward, stepping over the corpses of their comrades. The offensive was wave after wave, giving the defenders no chance to catch their breath.
Boom!!!
A deafening roar, more violent than any before, rang out. A section of the city wall, repeatedly bombarded by catapults, finally gave way and collapsed completely amidst billowing dust, revealing a huge gap several meters wide!
"The breach! The enemy is coming up through the breach!" A terrified and desperate cry erupted from the defenders.
Upon seeing this, the Sauron soldier let out bloodthirsty howls of excitement and surged into the town through the breach like a flood!
"Hold on! Spearmen, forward! We'll block the breach even if it kills us!" Little William roared hoarsely, his eyes bloodshot. He personally led a squad of the most loyal and elite family guards down the city wall, rushing against the flow of people toward the breach, and engaging in a brutal hand-to-hand battle with the surging Sauron soldier.
Swords slashed and hacked wildly, spears thrust viciously, and every second someone screamed and fell. The soil at the breach was quickly soaked with blood and turned into mud.
But once the breach is opened, it's like an anthill appearing on a dam; collapse is inevitable.
More and more Sauron soldier poured in not only through the breach, but also by climbing Cloud Ladder from various points and jumping into the city walls.
The defending troops on the city wall were quickly divided and surrounded, trapped in a desperate situation of fighting their own battles, and were cut down in droves.
The city wall defenses have, in fact, collapsed.
"Governor! The city walls can't be held! Enemies are everywhere! Retreat! We can hold out a little longer if we retreat into the town!" A blood-soaked officer in tattered armor rushed up to William and shouted anxiously, almost in tears.
Governor William's gaze swept across the battlefield, where the entire front was collapsing. The walls and surrounding areas were now a chaotic mix of enemy and friendly forces, and the defenders' resistance was being rapidly eroded.
He took a deep breath of the air, thick with the smell of gunpowder and blood, knowing that the final moment had arrived.
He decisively gave the order, his voice clear. "Abandon the city walls! Everyone retreat into the town! Resist step by step, using the streets and houses as cover! Fight to the last drop of blood for the kingdom! Never surrender!"
The order was quickly relayed, and the remaining defenders began to retreat as orderly as possible from the city walls and towers into the intricate streets and alleys of Ward Town on which they depended for survival.
They knew every corner, every low wall, and every household here.
However, the real hell was only just beginning.
The Sauron swiftly and completely occupied the city walls, and with great effort, they opened the twisted and deformed city gates. Their main force surged into the town like a black tide.
They thought they would be greeted by kneeling civilians begging for mercy and wealth to be plundered at their disposal, but they were wrong. What awaited them was a cold arrow of revenge!
Deadly arrows and Crossbow Bolt were shot from attic windows, from the shadows of street corners, and from dried-up ditches, piercing the unprotected Sauron soldier with deadly accuracy.
Bricks, tiles, and even boiling water rained down from the roof.
Occasionally, defenders, determined to die, would suddenly rush out from behind doors or cellars, grab the enemy, roll on the ground, and fight to the death with daggers and short swords.
This was Governor William's tactic: street fighting! Using every inch of familiar land and every familiar house to wear down the enemy, buy time, and make the enemy pay a heavy price in blood for every step they took forward!