Driven by the Sauron slaves' frenzied labor, regardless of cost, almost paving the way with flesh and blood, that winding, ugly network of trenches finally crept with difficulty to within a lethal hundred meters of Carnford's outer earthen wall.
At this distance, they had entered the effective direct-fire range of most light Cannons.
Seizing the cover of night and the gaps between bombardments, the Saurons drove more slaves and auxiliary troops to haul a batch of relatively portable field guns through the reinforced trenches in stages, secretly deploying them at the newly excavated frontline artillery positions.
At dawn, as the first pallid light illuminated the wasteland strewn with shell craters and corpses, the Saurons' frontline artillery positions suddenly unleashed a roar even more deafening than before!
More than ten Cannons fired almost simultaneously. Black iron balls screamed through the air on flatter trajectories, crossing the distance in less time before smashing viciously into Carnford's earthen wall and the gun emplacements atop it, scarcely a hundred meters away!
For a time, shells from both sides crisscrossed in the sky, their paths of death clearly visible through the morning mist.
Yet Carnford's defenders, holding an absolute advantage in terrain and fortifications, quickly regained their footing.
The earthen wall's thick, sloping structure offered superb protection against solid shot. Most Sauron shells merely buried themselves deep in the wall, blasting up great sprays of dirt, but failed to inflict structural damage or effectively kill the soldiers in the shelters behind it.
Conversely, after weathering the initial panic, the gun emplacements atop Carnford's earthen wall immediately returned fire with precision.
Following the observers' reports, the gunners made slight adjustments to their elevation and accurately sent shells of vengeance into the Saurons' newly exposed gun positions.
"BOOM!" With a thunderous blast, an imitation Sauron Eagle Cannon