They were not numerous, only several dozen in each squad, but they moved with lightning speed and kept tight formations. These elite veteran soldiers swiftly crossed the narrow strip of open ground between the passageway and the earthen wall, then nimbly jumped into the outermost section of their own trench, which had been partially filled in and lay extremely close to the Sauron tunnels.
The moment they entered the trench, they immediately took cover behind the breastwork and raised their bayonet-fixed Flintlock Rifles, their black muzzles aimed at the nearby Sauron slaves and overseers, who were either bent over digging or momentarily stunned by the sudden sound of drums and horns.
"Ready—fire!"
At the officer's command, a volley erupted like popping beans!
At such close range, the concentrated fire of the Flintlock Rifles was terrifying.
The slaves at work fell in unison like wheat flattened by a gale, blood mist filling the air. The surviving slaves let out screams of utter terror. No longer caring about the threats of the Supervisory team, they threw down their tools and fled madly toward the rear tunnels, crashing into the Sauron Supervisory team rushing over to suppress them and causing even greater chaos.
"It's the Carnford People! Return fire!"
The Fire Shooter Guards reacted quickly. Some soldiers took cover around bends in the tunnels and began exchanging fire with the Carnford soldiers in the trenches, who exposed only their helmets and gun muzzles.
However, the Carnford soldiers occupied prepared, relatively solid cover and could fire with far greater composure, while the Sauron Musketeers returned fire hastily amid the chaos, falling behind in both accuracy and density of fire.
"Boom!"
To make matters worse, a Minin Cannon atop the earthen wall, which had long been aimed in that direction, fired! A four-pound solid shot