With Gwenis's command, the archers swiftly switched to shortbows. These bows, unlike Gwenis's specially made longbows, were about 120 centimeters in length, making them more compact and agile. This was particularly effective for shooting at the Hafdans positioned just beneath the walls.
Moreover, the local population was more accustomed to using these shortbows, so their proficiency with them was undoubtedly higher than with the longbows.
"Fire at will," Gwenis ordered.
Thus, the one-sided slaughter began. At such close range of about ten meters, shooting lightly armored or unarmored targets, especially from a relatively safe position where the enemy could hardly retaliate, was akin to a turkey shoot. Many of the Hafdans had even discarded their shields in their charge, making them easy targets.
Arrows, light yet sharp, whistled through the air from the city walls, striking down the enemies below. The Hafdans quickly regretted their reckless and uncoordinated charge, realizing too late the mistake of abandoning their shields in the heat of battle.
Now, they faced the deadly short arrows raining down from the walls, turning them into live targets for Gwenis's archers. Accustomed to the heavier longbows from their training, the archers found the lighter shortbows effortless to use, releasing arrows quickly and accurately at close range. In a matter of seconds, they could unleash a volley, rapidly thinning the Hafdan ranks.
Approximately two to three hundred Hafdans had charged to the base of the walls, but after several rounds of shooting, they were all but annihilated. Death came so swiftly that they hadn't even had a chance to retreat.
...
Gwenis peered over the wall to survey the carnage below. The ground was littered with corpses, blood staining the earth and flowing into the moat, pooling shallowly at the bottom.
Facing such a severe defeat, the Hafdans' commander, Brock, looked visibly disturbed. Not just him, but "Six-Finger" Harald was almost grinding his teeth to dust. Many of the elite warriors who led the charge came from his tribe. Seeing his comrades fall so easily was infuriating, causing Harald to glare furiously, his eyes nearly spitting fire.
In this first round of the siege attempt, the Hafdans had already lost over three hundred men, while Gwenis's side suffered no casualties.
Well, not exactly no casualties – the archers had depleted some of their arrows. Strictly speaking, as the defenders, their resources were limited. During preparations, the Targas domain had produced about eight thousand long arrows and fewer than two thousand short arrows. A prolonged siege could indeed lead to a shortage of arrows, a common cause of defeat in historical sieges.
Gwenis was considering whether to send people out to retrieve arrows from the bodies of the fallen Hafdans, provided it was safe to do so.
Meanwhile, Brock was also reflecting deeply. In his over twenty years of combat, this was the first time he encountered heavy arrows that could easily penetrate shields.
Previously, whether it was the locals of the North or the Hafdans, they were accustomed to using shortbows. The latter especially scorned the cumbersome longbows, with their heavy draw weight, slower firing rate, and unwieldy length that made them difficult to carry and maneuver through forests. Using longbows extensively also required the construction of shooting platforms, and once an enemy got close, they were at a significant disadvantage.
For the Hafdans, the effectiveness of a weapon was judged primarily by its ability to crush the enemy's skull. However, despite Brock's reluctance to acknowledge it, he had already suffered a significant setback at the hands of what he considered an inferior weapon. It was time to change tactics.
...
As noon approached, the Hafdans regrouped after a period of chaos. This time, they organized a group of archers and ingeniously used vines to bind two shields together, creating simple but effective thickened shields. These archers, under the protection of the shield bearers, advanced to about eighty meters from the castle to exchange fire with Gwenis's archers.
Despite continuous shooting from Gwenis's side as the Hafdans advanced, their long, heavy arrows could not penetrate the doubled-up shields. The Hafdans' approach was crude but effective. The shield bearers crouched down, providing maximum cover for themselves and the archers behind them, who then began shooting at the city walls.
While the Hafdans' shortbows were less powerful than Gwenis's longbows, they were still effective at a distance of eighty meters against lightly armored or unarmored targets. However, their accuracy left much to be desired. The arrows were shot in a disorderly fashion, with many missing their intended targets and flying over the walls or hitting the wooden barricades.
Occasionally, an arrow with better aim was easily blocked by the shields of the defending archers. Despite the apparent lack of effectiveness, this tactic allowed the Hafdan siege team to launch another advance, carrying heavy ladders and moving quickly towards the castle.
This put Gwenis in a reactive position. If his archers targeted the siege team carrying the ladders, the Hafdan archers would have free reign to shoot at the city walls. If they focused on the Hafdan archers, the siege team would be able to advance safely. Although the Hafdan shields didn't provide complete protection and some archers were hit, the rate of casualties was too slow to deter the enemy.
Ceddis, Gwenis's archery commander, began to sweat nervously. The Hafdans might not understand complex tactics and often acted rashly, but they were capable of devising practical solutions. For the moment, Gwenis couldn't quickly find a way to dislodge the crouching Hafdan shield bearers and archers.
Having a heavy cavalry unit to charge out and wipe out the enemy would have been ideal, but that was just a fantasy. Gwenis knew that relying solely on archery wouldn't keep the enemy at bay indefinitely, and he had to start considering the worst-case scenario.
"Prepare for close combat, hand-to-hand fighting," he commanded, anticipating that a direct confrontation was becoming increasingly inevitable.