flstandardbreds Chapter 397 Digging a Trench
Chapter 397 Digging a Trench
The air in the tent seemed frozen, and it was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe. The animal-skin carpet was wrinkled by Galixica's pace. His burly figure cast a huge shadow under the flickering candlelight, like an angry lion. He clenched his fists tightly, and his knuckles turned white from the force. His originally rough face was now covered with gloom, like the sky before a storm.
"damn it!"
He cursed in a low voice, his voice full of resentment and anger. He had led his cavalry to traverse the vast land of Kusha, and those once indestructible cities collapsed under his iron hooves. He seemed to have touched the crown that symbolized supreme power, and the throne of the Kusha Emperor was within reach.
However, at this last step, this victory that seemed within reach, was abruptly blocked by the stubborn pagan city before them.
Calixica knew very well that the reinforced walls and rumbling artillery were the pagans' greatest reliance, relying on the towering solid walls and dense artillery to keep his army out of the city. Every attack came at a heavy price, so that the blood of the soldiers dyed the land under the wall red.
He had to admit that how to get the soldiers to attack the city under the bombardment was indeed a difficult problem that gave him a headache, like a fishbone stuck in his throat, making him unable to sleep or eat.
At this moment, the curtain of the tent was opened, and a dusty scout knelt on one knee, presented a scroll with both hands, and said with a trembling voice:
"Your Majesty, urgent news from the rear! The transport team for the siege artillery...is expected to arrive in Acre in winter."
"what!"
Galixica suddenly stopped, and his already gloomy face instantly turned livid, like the leaden clouds before a storm. "It actually takes so long!" His voice suddenly rose, with undisguised anger and a hint of anxiety.
He turned around suddenly, and his strong arms swept across the table in front of him. The sheepskin map, feather pen and ink bottle on it were swept to the ground with a crackling sound, and the ink spread out a dazzling black on the animal skin carpet.
"Winter! Do you know what that means?"
He paced back and forth in the tent like a trapped beast, his heavy footsteps hitting the ground like the beating of war drums.
"Those damn pagans won't sit still and wait for death. Their reinforcements may arrive in Acre earlier than our artillery!"
This thought gnawed at his heart like a poisonous snake, adding a bit of anxiety and uneasiness to his original anger, so he immediately summoned all the Kusha generals to a meeting.
The most valiant and skilled generals of Kusha soon gathered in the camp, wearing heavy armor and with faces that showed the frost of having been through many battles.
Galixiga sat high up in the throne, looking at everyone with dignity. At this moment, he tried to straighten his back, showing the majesty of a future emperor.
He cleared his throat and then said:
"I called you all here today because I hope you can provide me with a strategy to conquer Acre City."
After a pause, Galixica changed his tone and said with a hint of irresistible temptation:
"You are all warriors of Kusha. If you can help me capture Akka City, I will never forget your contributions when I ascend the throne of the Kusha Empire!"
He waved his hand violently, his voice loud and full of ambition:
"Whoever can offer a strategy to conquer Acre and eventually take the city, after I unify Kushan and become the emperor of all Kushans, all the lands in the empire will be yours to choose as a reward!"
After a short silence, a burly general with a hideous scar on his face stood up. He knelt on one knee in front of Galixiga and said in a loud voice:
"Your Majesty, I do have an immature proposal. How about this..."
Inside Acre, the atmosphere was equally oppressive and tense. John frowned and paced back and forth anxiously on the castle's solid stone floor.
The sunlight shone through the narrow window, casting a long shadow under his feet, as if his inner anxiety was also materialized.
A month ago, he had sent out scouts to deliver the news that Acre was besieged by the Kushan army to Reynald in Slaver Bay and the distant French King's Hall. As time passed, not only was there no news of reinforcements, but there was not even a reply, which made him very uneasy.
Just as he was lost in thought, a soldier ran in hurriedly, knelt on one knee and reported:
"Sir! The enemy has new movements!"
"What? Did the other side launch another attack?"
The days of siege had made him nervous, and when he heard any movement from the enemy, his first reaction was to fight.
The soldier shook his head and said with a strange look:
"Not really, sir. Our men on the walls observed the Kushans...digging in the north of the city."
"Digging?"
John was stunned for a moment, with a puzzled expression on his face. He didn't understand why the Kushans were digging at this time. Were they trying to dig a tunnel?
But he rejected this idea immediately. He knew the soil around Acre too well. It was mostly sand and loose soil, which was not suitable for digging tunnels. Not to mention digging under the city wall, the tunnel would probably collapse soon after digging.
"What the hell are they doing?"
John frowned, his doubts growing even more intense.
"Come on, take me to the city wall!"
He ordered the soldiers with a hint of urgency in his tone. He had to find out what the Kushans were up to.
Soon, John climbed up the city wall. He took a shiny monocular telescope from the guard and looked towards the north of the city.
The Kusha camp in the distance was still busy, but what was different from the past was that in front of the camp, near the direction of Acre City, there appeared winding ochre lines.
John narrowed his eyes and carefully observed the busy figures. The Kusha soldiers worked in groups of three or five, each holding a shovel, digging the soil one by one. Their movements were not fast, but they seemed very organized.
As the telescope zoomed in, the outlines of the khaki lines gradually became clear. They were deep gullies that did not extend straight forward, but rather showed a zigzag direction, like the letter "Z", extending one section after another, gradually approaching the wall of Acre.
"Damn it! They're digging trenches!"
He cursed in a low voice, with a hint of anger in his voice. He immediately realized that these seemingly insignificant trenches would pose a great threat to the defense of Acre.
The Kushans were very cunning. The trenches they dug were not straight lines, but "Z"-shaped. This design cleverly took advantage of the blind spots of the defenders' firepower. Each section of the trench was precisely calculated to ensure that it was in the blind spot of the defenders' firepower. In this way, the Kushan soldiers could avoid being hit by the defenders' firepower to the greatest extent during the digging and advancing process, greatly reducing casualties.
Once these trenches were extended below the city walls, the Kushan soldiers could hide in the trenches and approach the city walls safely.
What worried John even more was that once the enemy approached the city wall, they could use the trenches as cover to place explosive packs and blow up the city wall. If the Kushans successfully blew a gap, then the fall of Acre would only be a matter of time.
"We can't let them keep digging!"
John's heart was filled with alarm. He knew the situation was critical. He turned around decisively and shouted to the messenger behind him:
"Pass on my order! All catapults, crossbows, and artillery fire at the trenches ahead to force those Kushans out of the trenches."
The shells whistled through the air like angry giant birds and landed heavily near the trenches dug by the Kushans. Stones followed closely behind, whistling dully and smashing into the ditches, making a deafening crash and instantly splashing up a cloud of dust.
Dust filled the air, covering the sky and the sun, blurring the battlefield for a short time. However, when the smoke gradually dissipated and the vision became clear again, John's expression became more solemn.
Although the winding trenches were pitted by shells and rocks, he could clearly see that in some of the loose trenches, new soil was still being shoveled out and rolled down the edge of the trench. This meant that the previous wave of attacks, although powerful, did not cause much substantial casualties to the Kusha soldiers who were digging trenches.
Just as John frowned, he heard a heavy sound of wheels rolling and soldiers shouting from the direction of the Kushan camp. His heart sank, and he immediately turned the telescope in that direction. He saw a row of rough-looking, yet heavy and solid artillery pieces being pushed out from deep in the camp by the Kushan soldiers. They were clumsily pushed behind the trenches that had been dug, forming a simple artillery position.
The Kushan soldiers moved quickly and skillfully. They took out the black shells from the ammunition boxes, put them into the gun barrels, and then compacted them with tamping rods. John's eyes were sharp and he instantly understood the Kushans' intentions. These cannons were not used to directly attack the city walls, at least not now. Their purpose was obvious, to cover the soldiers who were digging trenches and suppress the firepower of the defenders on the city walls, so that they could not counterattack with peace of mind.
"Damn it! They're trying to cover their digging with artillery fire!"
John growled with gnashing teeth, his tone carrying a hint of anger and anxiety. He immediately realized the urgency of the situation. If the Kushan artillery positions were allowed to be deployed, the defenders on the city wall would face greater pressure.
"Order! All trebuchets and artillery, give priority to attacking the enemy's artillery positions!"
However, the Kushans reacted just as quickly. Their artillery had also finished loading, and with a deafening roar, black shells, carrying the breath of death, whistled towards the walls of Acre.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The continuous explosions made the city walls tremble slightly. The heavy shells hit the solid bricks fiercely, bursting out dazzling sparks and flying debris. Some shells hit the battlements, shattering the thick stones; some hit the wall directly, leaving charred marks and even blasting cracks on the wall.
The artillery of both sides began to fire fiercely. The walls were filled with smoke, roars and flying debris. The soldiers defending the city had to hide behind bunkers and carefully avoid the whistling shells.
"This is not the way to go..."
Just as John was anxiously thinking, a flash of inspiration suddenly came to his mind, and a bold plan emerged in his mind. John's eyes suddenly became sharp, he turned around and shouted to the messenger:
"Order the catapults! Throw those pottery jars filled with kerosene into the trenches across the way! Make sure you throw them accurately, and the denser the better!"
The messenger immediately took the order and passed on John's order. Soon, the catapults on the city wall roared again, and the sturdy throwing arms were raised high, and sealed pottery jars were placed in the huge bags. With an order, the catapults suddenly exerted force, and the pottery jars drew arcs with the whistling sound and flew towards the Kusha trench in the distance.
The Kusha soldiers in the trenches were wielding shovels and pickaxes, digging tirelessly. Suddenly, they noticed some strange-shaped objects flying in the sky.
"what is that?"
A Kusha soldier pointed to the sky and asked with some confusion.
"careful!"
The experienced corporal immediately shouted, reminding the soldiers to take cover. These objects flying from the city walls were usually deadly stones or burning fireballs.
Seeing that the cans were flying towards their trenches, the Kusha soldiers did not dare to delay and chose to lie down in an attempt to avoid possible impact.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Dull crashes rang out one after another, and the pottery jars hit the ground near the trenches hard, breaking into pieces in an instant. A thick black liquid spurted out from the broken jars, flowing like black blood, and soon soaked the surrounding soil. Some unlucky jars fell directly into the trenches, shattered, and the black liquid inside was like ink, splashing directly onto the lying Kusha soldiers.
"What is this?"
A Kusha soldier got up carefully from the ground, touched the sticky liquid on his body, put it under his nose and sniffed it carefully. A pungent smell penetrated his nostrils. Other Kusha soldiers also observed this strange black liquid curiously. They had never seen such a thing before, and they didn't know its use. They just thought it was some kind of mud. After the doubts, they didn't care too much. After all, the most urgent task was to continue digging trenches.
"Oh my god, look at this!"
At this moment, a sharp-eyed Kushan soldier suddenly pointed in the direction of Acre City, with a hint of fear in his voice.
Everyone looked in the direction of his finger, and saw huge fireballs rising from the walls of Acre City. With blazing light, they were flying towards them rapidly like falling meteorites.
"Get down! Get down quickly!"
The Kusha soldiers instinctively wanted to lie down on the ground as they had done before to avoid rocks and shells. However, this time, their reaction seemed to be a step slower, or the danger they were about to face was far more terrible than they had imagined.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
When the fireball hit the ground, it also ignited the black liquid that had been thrown over earlier - kerosene.
"call--!"
The ground instantly caught fire. The flames spread rapidly along the traces of the kerosene flowing, like countless fire snakes, licking everything on the ground. The kerosene spilled in the trenches instantly turned into a sea of fire, completely engulfing the Kusha soldiers lying in it.
"what--!!"
Sharp screams instantly resounded throughout the battlefield. The Kusha soldiers who were splashed with kerosene were instantly engulfed in flames. They struggled to climb out of the trenches like firemen, and rolled on the ground in pain, trying to put out the flames on their bodies. However, the kerosene burned extremely fiercely and could not be easily extinguished.
John stood on the city wall, holding a telescope, and saw this hellish scene clearly. Groups of Kusha soldiers, all burning with flames, rolled on the ground like headless flies, making horrifying screams. He knew that his plan had succeeded.