The New Shield-carts

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

This time, they clearly learned from their initial defeat and made more targeted adjustments.

What appeared at the entrance to the passageway was no longer the relatively simple Shield-carts of the past, but new ones that had been significantly reinforced and improved by craftsmen working day and night.

These Shield-carts are much larger and have a more complex structure.

The most noticeable change is that, in addition to the still thick main shield on the front, which is used to withstand direct fire, an extra long canopy made of thick wooden planks has been added to the top of the Shield-carts.

Although the canopy cannot completely stop the penetration of lead bullets, its main function is not to withstand them directly, but to provide shelter.

The long canopy cast large shadows above, effectively blocking the view of the defenders on the city wall looking down. This made it difficult for the defenders to accurately target the specific positions and movements of the soldiers behind the Shield-carts and in the passageway below, and they could only conduct general area firing.

This would undoubtedly greatly increase the difficulty of the defenders' firing and their ammunition consumption, while reducing casualties on the Sauron side.

Of course, the enhanced protection also resulted in a dramatic increase in weight.

To solve the problem of propulsion, the new Shield-carts was fitted with a long wooden bar on each side, requiring multiple people to hug it. The bar had multiple handrails at the front and back, allowing eight slaves to push it simultaneously, barely ensuring the possibility of traveling through the rugged tunnel.

What's even more ingenious is that this huge canopy is not fixed in place, but is connected to the main body of the Shield-carts by several thick wooden pins.

Clearly, the Sauron had taken into full account the obstacle of the boulder blocking the passage.

Their plan was that when the Shield-carts were pushed with difficulty to the foot of the boulder, the slaves could pull out the pins and push the heavy wooden roof forward, so that one end rested on the boulder and the other end on the Shield-carts, instantly forming a crude but usable siege ladder, creating a passage for the elite infantry to climb over the boulder and continue their assault!

This meticulously modified giant Shield-carts, propelled by eight slaves, slowly sank into the narrow passageway like a clumsy steel tortoise.

Its long wooden plank at the top, like a huge brim of a hat, cast a deep shadow in the passageway and greatly obstructed the view of the defenders.

Almost the instant the Shield-carts entered effective firing range, the defenders in the fortifications on both sides of the passageway immediately began to resist.

Arrows and bullets rained down from both sides from above! However, the effect was far less than before.

Because of the extended roof panel, the defenders were unable to accurately aim at the exact positions of the soldiers behind and below the Shield-carts, and could only conduct wide-area coverage fire.

Although stray bullets and arrows can still cause casualties, their efficiency is far less than the first time, when they were almost targeted by snipers.

Lead bullets can occasionally penetrate the roof, sending wood chips flying, but they are unlikely to cause continuous and effective damage.

The slaves below, though they knew the wooden planks above their heads wouldn't stop the deadly lead bullets, felt much safer psychologically because of this physical cover, and their shouts as they pushed the carts seemed to have gained a bit more strength.

Driven by the pressure of the Sauron blades behind them and their meager sense of security, they pushed the Shield-carts even harder, inching upwards with difficulty but perseverance.

The defending troops naturally wouldn't stand idly by. Soon, orders came from the mountainside positions, and the soldiers worked together to push the prepared Rolling Stone and Logs down! The heavy stones crashed down with the force of thunder!

"Boom!"

A huge rock struck the roof of the Shield-carts with perfect accuracy! The thick wooden roof was no match for the absolute force, and a large hole was smashed through it instantly, with shattered pieces of wood flying everywhere.

The boulder continued its relentless descent down the slope, instantly crushing several slaves behind the Shield-carts who couldn't dodge in time into a bloody pulp, carving a bloody path through the crowd.

However, the bloody scene failed to deter the slaves behind.

Under the cold threat of Sauron's Supervisory team's arrows, the following slaves practically trampled over the warm corpses and severed limbs of their comrades, howling as they pushed forward to continue pushing the damaged Shield-carts.

At the same time, Sauron Army also responded strongly.

Harald was clearly determined to overwhelm the defenders with sheer numbers. This time, he mobilized over two thousand archers, who quickly formed a massive firing square in a relatively safe open area some distance behind the tunnel entrance.

At the commander's order, the dense twang of bowstrings merged into a deep hum!

Thousands upon thousands of arrows soared into the air in an instant, like locusts blotting out the sky, tracing high parabolas, passing over the slave caravans that were engaged in a bloody battle with the defenders in the tunnel below, and with a mournful whistle, they covered the vital long-range positions of the defenders on the mountainside on both sides of the tunnel!

However, the defending troops have not been idle in the past few days.

Under Karl's orders and Brendan's urging, soldiers and laborers risked their lives to hastily construct sturdy earthen and stone breastworks on the hillside.

More importantly, the Suspended Shelters and Grass Bunkers that Karl requested have been largely completed. Behind the breastwork, a huge rope net was erected using thick ropes and wooden frames, covered with multiple layers of thick cotton quilts soaked in mud, thatch, branches, and other composite materials, forming a soft, buffered canopy.

Further up, there were sloping thatched huts quickly erected with wooden poles and thatch, serving as the first line of defense.

At this moment, these temporary yet effective defensive fortifications immediately played a crucial role!

The dense rain of arrows hurled by the Sauron mostly struck the thick, elastic buffer layer of the Grass Bunkers with a "thud, thud, thud," greatly reducing their force as they were firmly entangled or slipped off. Only a few arrows with greater force penetrated the first layer of Grass Bunkers, but were then blocked and deflected again by the overhead Suspended Shelters.

The very few arrows that managed to penetrate the two layers of protection were already at their last gasp when they reached the heads of the defenders, striking their helmets or leather armor with a clanging sound, causing almost no effective damage.

With the "ceiling" protecting them from above, the morale of the Musketeers and archers hiding behind the breastwork was greatly boosted.

They were able to lean out from behind the crenellations with relative ease, aiming at the relatively dense array of Sauron archers below, who were firing in formation, and launch a precise counterattack!

In an instant, the roar of muskets and the volleys of arrows fired by the defending archers also rang out from the hillside positions.

Bullets and arrows whistled towards the distant Sauron archer phalanx, with Sauron archers constantly being hit or struck, falling to the ground with screams, causing commotion and chaos.

The defenders used the breastwork and Suspended Shelters for protection, and immediately retreated to reload after firing, minimizing casualties.

The Sauron's arrow barrage suppression tactic was significantly less effective.