The Queen had complex emotions running through her heart as she watched her enemies burning on the battlefield. Despite being far from the war, she could still see from her vantage point.
Even King Sahir, who was beside her, was sweating profusely. He saw the wisdom of welcoming her and her people. He hated to think what he would do if he was on the receiving side of those boulders.
Soon after, they saw a small group of soldiers on horseback amassing before the gate, as though they wanted to exit and confront the enemy. Although the numbers had dwindled considerably, they were still a formidable force. There was no way a force of was looked like a 1,000 soldiers would do anything. However, Seeing Commander Greer at the lead, she wondered what the plan was. Soon the gates opened.
Commander Greer had been waiting for this moment as well, so were the soldiers with him. Each of them was holding a new weapon. The commander had 2 main forces, these were the firearm force and the bowmen.
The firearm force wielded the firearms as their primary weapon. The commander had 500 of those with him included. The other 500 were in the rear, and the type of weapon they wielded was even deadlier.
In his past life, Barda used to watch very old movies and epic depictions. In one of the recreations of an old film called Rambo, he had seen a brilliant idea. He could put explosives on the tips of arrows. The impact would trigger the explosion.
Each warrior that would wield this kind of power was specially selected for their bow-arm strength. They needed to shoot over long distances and to handle powerful bows, so they had to be strong themselves.
After exiting the gates, the commander had his people get into formation. They formed 4 rows of 250 men each, with him at the lead. As an experienced vanguard, he led his forces forward.
Ever experienced an explosion near you. The first thing you hear is a loud blast, but you don't quite hear it since at the time you are busy being tossed by the force of the explosion. It is so instantaneous that it disorients someone. One moment you were standing, the next you are on the ground. Such was the reality of the soldiers at the front.
If they were just far enough, they would be tossed away from impact, with bodyparts of their fellow soldiers on them. Even those that were completely unaffected wouldn't stand around waiting their turn, they tucked tail and ran.
The war machines were all destroyed, and even if they were standing, there weren't people to man them as the entire formation was in disarray. Now was the time to attack.
***
"The Tristans are attacking! Stand and fight! They will not fire on their own! Stand and fight, cowards!" An ambitious captain was yelling at the fleeing forces. Despite the stunning effect of the boulders, many were beginning to take pause.
He was as charismatic as he was ambitious, Captain Korir. Many under him would follow him to the ends of the world, and hearing his rallying call, they formed up under him. To his thinking, the frontal assault had been thoroughly beaten, but they still had a chance.
He knew of the hidden assault, and so he took it upon himself to buy them enough time. He also wanted a piece of Tristan, the dogs had sucker-punched them too hard this time. He wanted to hit back.
Usually, when receiving a calvary of fully armored knights, a formation was little more than butter in front of a hot knife. However, this formation had discovered a trick to deal with these horsemen, a well-known tact of de-horsing the horseman.
It was well known. All they needed were long spears, twice the length of a man. Once the calvary got close enough, they would lift the edges of the spears, while pinning the other side to the ground. The momentum of the calvary would do the rest.
Watching the oncoming cavalry, the formation scrambled to find whatever long spears they could. At the same time, the archers in the rear were trying to whittle down the oncoming cavalry. Seeing this, the commander nodded to the Hornblower beside him.
With the blast of the horn, the archers knew their time had come. They took out the specially made arrows whose tips were the size of an infant's fist and nocked them. The next moment, a volley of arrows flew at the formation.
The captain and her people received the arrows as any military formation would, with their shields up. A wise move on any other occasion but here. They braced for impact, they just had no idea how hard the impact would be.
Activating on impact, the shields blew up upon contact with the tips. The ensuing explosion shattered the formation, instantly shredding the front lines, giving the charging cavalry an open door.
A murderous grin flashed across the commander's face. He had spent many hours practicing shooting this beautiful weapon just for this moment. This was it, the chance to hit them hard and hit them fast.
With his firearm in his hands, he pulled the trigger, lighting up the gun in full-automatic fire. He didn't care what he hit just he hit something. The moment he started firing, the soldiers with him did not hold back as well, they started firing nonstop, offloading onto the enemy their pent up fury.
The battlefield lit up again. The Tristanite cavalry was mowing down the enemy with fury. From the city, they heard the reports of the rifles and were shaken, wondering what fresh hell was going on. Many were not sure who was causing all this since there was smoke all over the battlefield in the wake of the explosive-tipped arrows. They were not sure who was shelling who at this point.
***
Barda had massed 2 groups in preparation for the incoming flank attack, both on there west and east side. Moreover, he had moved the ballistae to the 2 locations overlooking the coming strike. Since the enemies were trying to remain unseen, they were not coming in fast, believing their approach was still a secret. This had bought him enough time to get the forces in place in preparation for the incoming attack.
Watching their approach on the 3D map, Barda mapped out when the right time to strike was. The ballistae had a range of about 700 meters, but since they were behind the walls to remain unseen, their range was greatly reduced. Similarly, the rifles on the warriors' hands were also limited to 400 meters. If he was going to execute a sweet strike, he needed the enemies well and truly in the kill box.
600 meters ...
500 meters ...
400 meters ...
300 meters ...
Once they crossed the 150 meter-line, they would be clear of the city's surrounding residential structures. Once they were there, they would try to dash upon the city walls with whatever siege towers they had. They must have quite a lot, but they assumed by now everyone would be engrossed in the frontal assault, facilitating their attacks.
At this point, everyone needed to remain concealed. Any wrong move and their positions would be revealed. There was no need for picking over the wall, Barda was scanning on both sides. Critical seconds passed. Barda shot at the ballistae commander on the western end, the signal.
200 ballistae bolts took to the air just as the bulk of the forces were massing by the sides, ready to make their climb. They were prepared for any attack, they also knew the enemy was going to react, they just didn't expect such a reaction.
Just as Commander Greer was lighting up the troops at the front, the ballistae staves were landing on the flanking enemies. Before the enemies could react to the explosions all around, the warriors at the top of the walls lit up. The remaining gunmen under Commander Greer were there, and their rifles were relentless.
In less than an hour, the tables had turned. The huge legion was utterly destroyed. No formation left and no proper leadership. The prestigious hell legion of the Gumina Kingdom was sent parking without taking a single casualty. It was unbelievable, and by the evening word of this had spread across the continent.
Meanwhile, Barda and the commander had joined forces in eradicating the remaining forces, hunting them through the night until morning. It felt good to have a win after taking so many losses.