Shturko Bey's barricade was quickly completed—a makeshift Great Wall assembled from furniture, carriages, cargo crates, door panels, and corpses.
At this moment, the Russian army also charged out from the other end of the street, driving the routed Ottoman soldiers before them toward Shturko Bey's hastily erected barricade.
Shturko Bey had long been prepared for this. He immediately gave the order.
"Fire at will! Don't let a single coward escape!"
The routed Ottoman soldiers swiftly died beneath the guns of their own side, but the Russians had achieved what they wanted. They had drawn close to the barricade; just a few dozen more steps and they could rush up onto it.
At that point, the Ottomans would lose the advantage of cover, and it would come down to which side could endure greater casualties. Judging from the earlier fighting, the Ottomans were clearly far less capable of bearing such losses than the Russian army.
Stepan Khrulyov therefore believed this would be another victory ripe for the taking. Yet he soon discovered that things were not as simple as he had imagined.
The street was too narrow, and the corpses and blood on the ground had become obstacles. The Russian massed charge was like a target steadily closing in; the muzzles of the Ottoman New Army could hardly miss even if they tried.
Russian soldiers fell layer upon layer, while their return fire caused little harm to the Ottoman troops behind the barricade. This was simply an unequal battle.
Only after sacrificing countless men did the Russians reach the barricade. Then they discovered something even more terrifying: rows of black cannon muzzles aimed directly at them.
A solid shot roared out, instantly tearing a bloody line through the Russian ranks. Not one Russian soldier in its path was left with an