Chapter 106: Battle of North Soqya (Part 2)
The letter from Charlotte briefly outlined, in code, her plan to attack Dolrcocha and requested Robin Mancini to prepare for receiving and guiding the siege forces.
Robin Mancini swore that the message he sent to the Lanwan Viscountcy was intended only to make Miss Charlotte prepare for defense, not to notify Charlotte to hurry up and attack. However, the Viscountess's will certainly wouldn't change based on his thoughts. Charlotte had already said she would attack tomorrow, meaning she might already be on her way.
After careful consideration, Robin also realized that the Viscountess taking the initiative to attack was actually a rather wise choice.
Dolrcocha's defenses were weaker than Robin had anticipated, and not just because of dispersed forces. Through more detailed observation, Robin discovered that the flourishing mercenary industry was actually a double-edged sword for Dolrcocha. On one hand, it provided Dolrcocha with battle-hardened citizen-soldiers; on the other hand, it also imbued Dolrcocha's citizen-soldiers with a free-spirited and undisciplined temperament.
Robin Mancini himself came from a mercenary background. He knew very well what mercenaries were like: sober when there was business, but a pack of lechers, drunkards, and compulsive gamblers when idle. Expecting them to behave properly was harder than climbing the heavens.
Robin and his men had approached Dolrcocha's barracks, armories, city towers, and watchtowers (both overt and covert) multiple times for reconnaissance. They found these important military facilities often unmanned. When asked where the citizen-soldiers on duty were, the usual answers were "gone drinking" or "gone whoring (harmonized)".
Against such a city-state, as long as the attack was sufficiently surprising, it would be very difficult to organize an effective defense.
After pondering for a moment, Robin said to the subordinate before him, "Harlan, go fetch Logan and Frank."
This subordinate named Harlan was not one of the seven Gray Cloak knights Robin had recruited in Ambratu, but an assistant Robin had requested from Charlotte. Originally his squire, practically an adopted son, Harlan had awakened but lacked a knightly title due to insufficient merits.
Soon, Frank and One-Eyed Logan arrived in Robin Mancini's room.
Frank was a subordinate Robin had recently recruited locally, a Dolrcochan freeman filled with hatred for Dolrcocha. Such individuals were common in various city-states; the relatively comfortable lives of Soqyan city-state citizens were built upon the harsh exploitation of freemen and slaves.
"The Viscount of Lanwan will attack Dolrcocha tomorrow," Robin began.
As Robin expected, both subordinates showed unconcealed surprise. But time was short, and Robin didn't have time for them to slowly process the situation. He directly started assigning tasks: "To make the Viscountess's siege smoother, we need to make these preparations..."
Just as Robin had anticipated, not long after sending the message via raven, Charlotte had already assembled her army and was preparing to march out.
To ensure the secrecy of the military operation, Charlotte ordered the gates of Ambratu closed in advance; no one was allowed out. Many merchants and residents were shut outside, unable to enter, cursing loudly at the gates.
As darkness fell, the gates still showed no sign of reopening. The people outside gradually lost patience, thinking about finding a place to spend the night.
However, just then, the city gates suddenly swung open, and troop after troop of cavalry thundered out of Ambratu.
The populace hastily scrambled to the sides of the road.
Then, large shadows suddenly fell from the sky. The people looked up in confusion, only to see two dark clouds obscuring the sky – they were two griffins taking flight.
Even though they weren't the griffins' targets, just standing beneath those enormous figures was enough to turn the people pale with fright.
This time, Charlotte deployed almost all the forces she could muster: nearly nine hundred knights, two thousand squires, and two griffins. Only the hundred-plus Direwolf warriors, along with three hundred knights and one griffin led by Pacino Mellerfield, remained to defend Ambratu.
There was no choice. This surprise attack required speed, but the Direwolf warriors, unskilled in riding, had to be left behind. Yet, Charlotte couldn't possibly trust the unruly Direwolf warriors alone in her main base, so she stationed them in Ambratu.
Ambratu had to be defended because it was too close to Little Sassinian. If Little Sassinian's general learned of Charlotte's major troop movement and decisively counterattacked, an undefended Ambratu would be too dangerous.
As for Charlotte's heartland, the Lanwan Viscountcy, although Little Sassinian could attack across the sea, the patrolling Swordfish Island fleet could guarantee safety. Even if they couldn't defeat Little Sassinian's fleet, they could delay them.
On the griffin heading out, Charlotte stood with her hands behind her back, enjoying the evening breeze.
The griffin's back wasn't bare; it was equipped with a special saddle. With this saddle, a single griffin could carry up to one hundred fully armed knights. However, carrying that many combat personnel was rare. Generally, an Oran Empire griffin knight combat squad consisted of twelve knights and twelve squires. Of course, this was just a general rule; sometimes the number of personnel in a griffin knight squad was adjusted based on needs. For instance, this time, each of Charlotte's two griffins carried thirty knights.
"Miss Charlotte, you didn't need to come personally. Even the Duke of Green Plains doesn't always go to the front lines when commanding major battles," Old Jack came up behind Charlotte and said. "If you remained in the Lanwan Viscountcy, we would still do our utmost to capture Dolrcocha for you."
Charlotte smiled and said, "Naturally, I don't doubt you. But this is, after all, the first real war I've commanded in my life. I can't help but feel uneasy without seeing it with my own eyes. Please forgive this superficial thought of mine."
"No, no, it's only human nature. How could it be considered superficial? It was I who was inconsiderate."
Jack Moore bowed slightly, while inwardly complaining a little.
Charlotte saying she wanted to witness her first war might be true, but Old Jack couldn't detect any anxiety in her; instead, he sensed a hint of excitement.
Recalling Charlotte's bold and ingenious decisions before the battle, Old Jack couldn't help but lament: if not for being female, their Viscountess was practically a genius born for the battlefield.
Considering the griffin's massive size and rapid energy consumption during flight, griffin troops usually had to stop and rest every half-day during marches. However, prioritizing the element of surprise, Charlotte mercilessly canceled the midway rest stop.
Thanks to this high-intensity forced march, by the faint light of dawn the next day, Charlotte could vaguely see the walls of Dolrcocha.
Today, the walls of Dolrcocha were still sparsely guarded by only a handful of citizen-soldiers.
"Open the gate! Open the gate! It's already noon, why isn't the gate open yet!"
In the early morning, merchants and villagers from outside, eager to enter the city for business, banged loudly on the city gate.
"Coming, coming! What's the rush? What's the rush? Eager to lick your grandpa's toes?"
A lame old citizen-soldier descended the tower, still dressing.
"Igor, why are you up so late again? Where did you go whoring last night?" a merchant acquainted with the old soldier greeted him through the gate.
"Of course, I went to patronize your mother's business..."
The old citizen-soldier called Igor yawned as he took out the key to open the gate. Suddenly, his words trailed off, and his movement stopped.
Rumble, rumble...
A faint, muffled thunder echoed in the air.
On the ground, small blades of grass, wet with dew, trembled almost imperceptibly, as if stirred by the wind, or perhaps resonating with unsheathed swords.
All this alerted Igor, a veteran of many battles.
Suddenly, a rapidly enlarging dark shadow appeared in Igor's field of vision. His face changed drastically.
"Scatter!"
Igor yelled and turned to run.
Despite being lame, his running speed was surprisingly fast.
"What's going on? Igor, open the gate!"
The merchant who had greeted Igor earlier was bewildered, shouting into the crack of the gate.
Before his words faded.
Boom!
A griffin descended from the sky.
A dozen or so civilians clustered around the gate were caught off guard and crushed into paste.
Charlotte, on the griffin's back, was nearly thrown off by the sudden dive and landing.
Dolrcocha's city walls averaged just over ten meters in height, with the gate tower slightly taller at fourteen meters. But for the beast beneath Charlotte, which stood eight meters tall at the shoulder, this was hardly an obstacle.
Screeeech~
The griffin squad leader let out a long whistle.
Thump! Thump!
The griffin reared up, its two eagle talons slamming heavily onto the city wall – griffins have lion claws on their hind legs and eagle talons on their forelegs.
Then, the distinctly jointed eagle talons gradually exerted force, their sharp points digging into the bricks of the wall, constantly making cracking sounds.
When the force reached a certain point, the eagle talons suddenly erupted in bright white light.
The white light was blinding.
Boom!
After an explosive roar, dust filled the air.
A third of Dolrcocha's city wall had already collapsed.
Screeech~ Screeech~
The griffin squad leader repeated the technique.
After two more loud bangs, Dolrcocha's city wall completely crumbled.
This was one of the many miracles possessed by griffins – the Claw of Mountain Sundering. Ordinary city walls couldn't stand against it for even a moment.
Therefore, lords of the Oran Empire favored building large castles with layer upon layer of nested structures, and reinforcing the castle walls with various extraordinary materials, only then could they somewhat withstand the assault of griffin flocks.
Some of Dolrcocha's non-hungover citizen-soldiers displayed their seasoned battlefield discipline. As soon as Charlotte's griffin breached the wall, they had already gathered spontaneously with their weapons.
However, these citizen-soldiers, lacking experience against griffins, suffered another setback.
Screech! Screech!
After two short whistles.
The griffin spread its massive wings and beat them forcefully.
A fierce wind arose, sweeping up the rubble left from the collapsed wall and pelting the hastily arriving citizen-soldiers.
This was the miracle attached to the griffin's feathers – Wind Control. Some scholars believed giant eagles' feathers possessed a similar, albeit much weaker, miracle.
The newly gathered Dolrcocha citizen-soldiers were scattered and routed by the debris before they could even face Charlotte's knights.
The griffin squad leader's move not only temporarily repelled the enemies trying to block the breach but also conveniently cleared a path for subsequent troops to pass through quickly.
Suddenly, a column of purple smoke rose from a corner within Dolrcocha city, exceptionally conspicuous in the bright morning light.
Charlotte pointed unhesitatingly towards the smoke column and said, "Go towards the smoke!"
The squad leader immediately executed the order, and the griffin took to the air again.
Rumble, rumble.
The Lanwan Viscountcy cavalry arrived subsequently, pouring like a flood through the breach opened by the griffin, raising their blades against anyone daring to obstruct the iron charge.
After flying low for a short while, Charlotte spotted the source of the smoke column on the roof of a building. It was a smoldering pile of firewood. Beside it stood a man in simple linen clothes, waving a purple flag and pointing towards a large courtyard nearby.
He was clearly an intelligence operative from the Gray Cloak Order.
Just as Charlotte wondered what was in the courtyard, two black spherical objects flew out from it.
Two quick-eyed griffin knights immediately deployed Iron Walls. The peculiarity of the Royal Griffin Knight faction manifested again; the Iron Walls didn't appear directly in front of them but attached to the griffin's body, covering two vulnerable spots that might be hit by the black spheres.
However, the black spheres shattered easily upon impact with the Iron Walls. The black liquid inside splattered everywhere, coating the Iron Walls.
When the Iron Walls dissipated, the liquid dripped onto the griffin's feathers.
The griffin let out an uncomfortable low cry.
Before the griffin knights could figure out what the black liquid was, two more spheres were launched from the courtyard.
"Their forces shouldn't be numerous. Have the knights attack directly," Charlotte ordered decisively.
The Oran Empire knights, very familiar with griffin tactics, neatly formed four ranks and stood at the griffin's shoulder level.
Screech! Screech~
The short whistles sounded again.
The griffin beat its wings in rhythm with the whistles' commands. With each beat, four to eight knights were deployed to the ground.
This deployment was anything but gentle; it looked like throwing the knights like stones into the enemy formation. However, there was actually a buffer just before landing, preventing the knights from being killed on impact. Oran knights were also specifically trained to avoid injury upon landing.
Thirty knights breached the courtyard in just a moment.
As Charlotte had expected, there wasn't much defensive strength within the courtyard – only a dozen or so defenders, mostly unawakened ordinary citizen-soldiers.
After the aged but still strong Jack Moore smashed the last Dolrcochan citizen-soldier's head with his warhammer, Charlotte also entered the courtyard.
In the center of the courtyard stood rows upon rows of contraptions, about twenty-odd in total. These devices somewhat resembled ballistae from Charlotte's memory, but their structure was more complex.
In a room within the courtyard, Charlotte saw wooden frames filled with those black spheres, packing the entire room.
Charlotte bent down, drew her short sword, and cut open one sphere – the outer shell seemed to be made of some kind of tanned fish skin.
Once cut open, black liquid oozed out.
"Please be careful," Old Jack reminded Charlotte.
Charlotte shook her head, dipped her index finger into the liquid, and rubbed it between her fingertips.
"This is..." Charlotte frowned. "Very viscous oil."
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