Shield-carts

After three days of silence, the bugle call to attack sounded again in Sauron's camp.

This time, Harald did not send out his precious Sauron warriors, but instead adopted a more ruthless and effective attrition tactic.

Thousands of captured Broomflower civilians and surrendered soldiers, driven by the gleaming swords and whips of the Sauron Supervisory team, gathered in terror at the front of the battle lines like lambs being led to the slaughter.

They were ragged, emaciated, and their eyes were filled with despair and fear.

Harald, mounted on his horse, coldly surveyed the trembling cannon fodder, and loudly announced his command in Sauron, which was then translated aloud by the interpreter into the language of Broomflower:

"Listen! You worthless Broomflower! The Great Chieftain is giving you a chance to live! See the castle walls ahead? Charge! Each person who brings back a single intact brick from the walls will receive a piece of Black Bread and a bowl of meat soup, and you won't have to go up today! If anyone dares to come back empty-handed, or retreats in the face of battle..."

He abruptly drew his curved sword from his waist, a flash of cold light, and shouted sharply, "Kill them all!"

This command, like a cold shackle, was placed around the neck of every slave.

Advancing means facing the enemy's swords, spears, and arrows; retreating means facing an even more merciless butcher's knife.

Driven by the instinct for survival, the desperate group let out suppressed cries and screams, ultimately forced by the whips and blades behind them, surging like a tide towards the narrow and deadly passageway.

This was merely the first probing attack since the siege began. Given the extremely narrow and treacherous attack routes, Harald, for the sake of fairness and to test the combat performance of each corps, ordered that roughly equal numbers of troops be drawn from his major corps.

The attack was led by 800 archers who would provide suppressive fire from the rear; 500 elite infantrymen, clad in heavy armor and armed with sharp blades, followed closely behind, ready to launch the real assault after the slave troops had worn down the defenders.

Leading the charge were over a thousand Broomflower civilians captured during the previous looting, who were ruthlessly driven to the front lines.

However, the Sauron didn't completely send them to their deaths empty-handed.

Over the past three days, the captured Broomflower artisans, under duress, worked day and night to create a rudimentary small Shield-carts.

This Shield-carts has a simple structure. The main body is a huge shield made of thick hardwood, with a thickness of 25 centimeters. The front is also covered with multiple layers of tough raw cowhide, thick enough to withstand lead bullets fired by all the muskets currently equipped by the Carnford garrison within their effective range.

The Shield-carts was fitted with wooden wheels at the bottom and was propelled at the front by two slaves. Its width was precisely calculated to be the limit that the deadly passageway could allow.

Above and behind the Shield-carts, other slaves held up large shields for protection.

These shields underwent special treatment, covered with three layers of water-soaked cowhide, and their surfaces were also covered with damp mud and water-soaked cotton blankets. These layers made them almost effective against rockets and Fire oil attacks, making them simple fire shields.

And so, this strange force, under the hoarse shouts and lashing whips of the Sauron soldier, pushed its heavy Shield-carts and held up its heavily protected shields, slowly and steadily filling the narrow passageway, inching its way toward the seemingly impregnable breach in Carnford's inner wall.

On the city walls, the defending soldiers, who had experienced countless bloody battles, had faces as hard as iron.

They were already used to killing and death, and their hearts may have been stirred, but at this moment all that remained was almost numb obedience.

The commander's orders are everything; pity is the deadliest poison in the brutal defense of a city.

They silently gripped their weapons, their eyes fixed on the approaching Shield-carts below.

Otto was currently leading a company of Musketeers, defending the city wall position directly above the left passageway.

Just a few days ago, he was only a Platoon Leader in this company, but yesterday, he was promoted to company commander because of his calm and composed performance.

His original company commander was transferred to command a new infantry company composed of both new and veteran soldiers.

The responsibility on his shoulders suddenly increased, Otto could feel his heart pounding like a drum, but he forced himself to remain calm, his sharp eyes sweeping over the approaching crowd below, estimating the distance.

Just as the front rank of these desperate pioneers was about to cross the middle of the passageway and was less than a hundred meters from the city wall!

"Waaaaa!!!"

A deep, long, and penetrating horn suddenly rang out from the command tower on the city wall, drowning out all the noise on the battlefield!

Otto recognized that horn sound all too well! It was the long-awaited order to retaliate!

Almost the instant the horn sounded, Otto exhaled the breath he had been suppressing in his chest, and with all his might, roared hoarsely, "All hands on deck! Aim! Free fire! Fire!"

The order was like lighting a fuse!

A barrage of gunfire erupted immediately from his section of the city wall!

However, the gunfire was not a dense volley, but rather carried an intermittent rhythm.

Although Otto's company was organized to have sixty Musketeers and forty archers, at this moment, judging from the sound, only about twenty muskets were actually firing.

This was precisely the tactic Karl had devised: abandoning the limited and wasteful area-of-effect volley fire in favor of ruthless and efficient precision sniping! Especially when facing Sauron elite, the goal was to eliminate an enemy with a single bullet!

Therefore, the company's twenty best Musketeers were selected to serve as "prime marksmen".

Each main shooter is accompanied by two auxiliary soldiers, who are responsible for cleaning the breech and passing a loaded spare musket, ensuring that the main shooter can immediately get a loaded musket ready to fire after completing a shot.

This is the "Three-section" precision shooting method. Although the firepower density per unit time decreases, the accuracy and sustainability of the shooting are greatly improved!

At this moment, the effectiveness of this tactic is becoming increasingly apparent!

In the passageway below, the bloated and slow-moving slave corps, despite being protected by Shield-carts and thick shields, continued to fall, riddled with bullets from the sides and above, almost in a targeted manner!

The lead bullets whistled through the gaps in the shields or into the exposed limbs of the slaves pushing the Shield-carts, spraying out bursts of blood.

Screams rose and fell, the march of the column was clearly slowed, and panic began to spread.

Almost simultaneously, the same precise and deadly gunshots rang out from the city wall positions on the right side of the passageway!

Crossfire from both sides, like the scythe of death, relentlessly reaped lives.