NOVPUBChapter 450 -70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades
After that epic duel at the front, Jeska鈥檚 squad had been fighting for six hours.
The setting sun hung low, with corpses strewn inside and outside the trenches, both human and horse alike.
Every body was horribly disfigured by solid shot, grapeshot, and bullets, but at least they still had a shape.
Just a few steps away鈥攖he area between the trenches and the walls鈥攖he scene was completely different.
In stark contrast to the trenches, the ground beneath the walls was littered with shattered chunks of flesh, scattered limbs, spilled entrails, and horses with eviscerated bellies.
Those who died here were mostly torn apart by exploding grenades.
...
By comparison, deaths by sword were a more tolerable sight.
At the edge of the ditch, a Herder, trapped under a horse carcass, was begging for relief from a life he could not cling to and a death he could not reach.
His intermittent groans, incomprehensible to the Paratu People, made everyone鈥檚 skin crawl.
Finally, a musketeer couldn鈥檛 bear it any longer and stood up to shoot the Herder, and the others soon followed suit, granting him a swift end.
Upon hearing the gunfire, an irate sergeant slapped the musketeer hard across the face for wasting ammunition.
The Terdon Tribe, having been repelled once again, was regrouping to the west of the Bridgehead Fortress, with the Khan鈥檚 symbolic blue horsetail banner moving towards the southwest.
At the cost of a thousand lives, the Terdon People slowly discovered the weakness of the fortress: not the north or south, but the east and west.
潡堭潣凁潣潡?co
This Bridgehead Fortress only had gates to the south and the north, with the southern gate pressed against the river and the northern gate protected by a bastion, the strongest points in the defense system.
Since there were no gates on the east and west walls, the Paratu soldiers had to detour from the southern and northern gates to counter-attack, allowing the besiegers the opportunity for interception.
Moreover, there were no bastions on the outer sides of the east and west walls, enabling the attackers to strike directly at the walls.
The fortifications outside the west wall had been severely damaged, with barricades uprooted, trenches filled in, and breastworks overthrown. 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓅𝓊𝓫.𝒸ℴ𝓶
The Terdon People pushed their rudimentary equipment, advancing step by step toward the west wall. This time, there were no divisions, no feints; the pyremen were going for a decisive strike.
The Paratu soldiers with any fight left in them were also concentrated on the west wall.
鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid!鈥 Winters walked among the soldiers, patting each one on the shoulder and back, 鈥淭he Herders can鈥檛 hold out! This is just the last shiver of taking a piss!鈥
Corporal Heinrich held the regimental flag high behind the Centurion, with a large medal tied to the tip of the flagpole.
The faces of the soldiers were caked with a thick layer of gunpowder soot, sweat, and mud, obscuring their features from Winters鈥檚 view.
The wounds of the lightly injured soldiers were hastily wrapped with bandages they made themselves, many of which had been soaked through with blood.
The Paratu People were exhausted to the point that they couldn鈥檛 even muster the energy to speak.
Only the Centurion鈥檚 voice, though hoarse, remained loud and clear, 鈥淚f that monkey-assed face meets us, it鈥檚 his bloody bad luck! When this fight is over, he鈥檒l piss blood in his next life, and it鈥檒l even split!鈥
A burst of laughter erupted on the ramparts.
On his rounds, Winters collided with Father Caman at the southwestern bastion.
鈥淗ow did you get up here?鈥 he quickly pushed Caman towards the stairs, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e the only surgeon! Get down!鈥
Surgeons were already scarce, and with the Church forbidding clergy 鈥渢o stain their hands with blood,鈥 clergy trained in surgery were even rarer than dogs that walked upright.
The old priest was in the main camp, leaving only Father Caman among the clergy at the Bridgehead Fortress.
With him in charge of the infirmary, the wounded felt at peace regardless of whether they lived or died. Winters could not afford to lose Father Caman.
鈥淒on鈥檛 spill it!鈥 Caman protected the silver chalice in his hand, a bag with a holy emblem hanging from his chest, 鈥淓veryone should receive Communion, right?鈥
鈥淚s it Sunday today?鈥 Winters paused, only then noticing that Caman was wearing a holy robe.
鈥淵es.鈥 Caman took out a small biscuit from the bag, dipped it in the wine in the chalice, offering it to the Spellcasters, 鈥淲ould you like one?鈥
Winters snorted softly and reached into the bag to pull out a handful of biscuits, 鈥淚鈥檒l help myself.鈥
Amidst the banter, the Herders had closed in to eighty meters, and Mason fired first.
The seven cannons positioned at the northwestern and southwestern bastions roared in succession.
Walnut-sized grapeshot swept across the battlefield like hail, tearing Herders to shreds and even blasting several gaps in their formation.
The cannons were like starting pistols, the battle drums rolled thunderously, and the Terdon Tribe shouted as they rushed toward the west wall.
The drummers on the fortress also struck their snare drums.
Musketeers stepped to the edge of the wall, setting up their muskets. Each one chose their target, aiming carefully.
The drumming stopped abruptly, and the clang of the gong pierced the noise, 鈥淐rash!鈥
鈥淏oom! Boom! Boom!鈥 A volley of gunfire.
Several Herders fell to the ground, but many more pressed forward.
The drumming continued, and the second team of musketeers stepped to the edge of the wall.
After dozens of rounds of live firing, the execution of the rotation tactic no longer required Winters to shout commands.
But just as the musketeers had fired their third volley, with a 鈥渃lang鈥 and 鈥渃lang,鈥 two ladders had already been placed against the wall.
The Herders, clenching curved knives in their teeth, quickly climbed towards the top of the wall.
This was the consequence of losing the works at the base of the wall; the window for ranged weapon fire was greatly reduced.
Some musketeers were in the watchtowers; though they were in an excellent position, they were continuously shot down by the Herder archers.
鈥淪ergeant Karl! Take your men to the wooden wall! The rest of you, fire at will!鈥 Winters shouted, 鈥淪pearmen! Push them down!鈥
A portion of the musketeers hurriedly ran to the second wooden fortification at the rear, where Colonel Jeska personally commanded.
The musketeers from the watchtowers should have been effective, but they were continuously taken out by the Herder archers.
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