The second wave of attack began with the long horn sound from the enemy's rear formation. Odo was still in charge of commanding the second round of defense in Talburg. As the defending side, the enemy's forces were less than three times superior, and the enemy lacked sufficient pre-war preparations, even lacking siege equipment. Such a castle siege was more favorable to the defenders, so Odo, who was familiar with Talburg's defense system, should be able to cope with this attack.
However, judging from the enemy's state and the current time, Baron Geoffrey obviously wanted to take down the outer wall in the second siege, so Art no longer stood by with his arms crossed. He led two squads, serving as reserve forces, to sharpen their spears and swords in the inner castle, ready to join the defense at any time.
On Talburg's outer wall, Odo had dispatched at least two people to defend each place where enemy scaling ladders might appear. Once the enemy's climbing position was confirmed, the Soldiers at the surrounding battlements would also rush to reinforce; three to five of the slightly braver laborers and serfs, who had been hiding below the outer wall, were also selected to go to the walkway battle stations to throw rolling stones.
The enemy's second wave of siege steps were similar to the first probing attack. The first to strike were a dozen archers from the rear formation, who launched several rounds of light arrows from a distance, attempting to disrupt the order of the defenders behind the outer wall's battlements. However, Odo had learned his lesson this time. When a round of light arrows flew over, the Soldiers responsible for shield cover promptly held a shield in each hand, raising them above their own heads and the heads of the combat Soldiers. The archers in the arrow towers, under the guidance of several Commanders (scout riders) with better archery skills, adjusted their firing angles. The light arrows shot this time were significantly farther than last time. Although they lost accuracy, they could steadily fly over the heads of the enemy archers. Although such unequal volleys would not cause substantial casualties to the enemy archers, the difference brought by high-angle downward firing and low-angle upward firing kept the enemy archers at a disadvantage throughout several rounds of exchange.
However, an expert archer knight, who was in command of the enemy archers, also timely adjusted the archers' attack strategy. He dispersed the fifteen archers to five or six positions with tricky angles. These positions were closer to Talburg and more convenient for close-range shooting at the defenders on the castle wall, but they were blind spots for the arrow towers on the castle wall. Given the archery skills of the archers in the arrow towers, it was difficult to imagine hitting the enemy archers below the city from such scattered ranges and tricky angles. Therefore, when the enemy archers dispersed, the archers in the outer wall's arrow towers simply stopped shooting, saving their arrows for the enemy Soldiers who were about to climb the wall…
"Baron Geoffrey has ordered: any Soldier who ascends the castle wall will be rewarded fifty fenny; for each enemy killed, one hundred fenny; the squad that first captures the outer wall will be rewarded one thousand fenny!" Below the slope in front of Talburg's castle gate, a blue-robed knight on horseback stood on his horse's back, yelling at the attacking Soldiers.
The allure of money is eternal. When the enemy Soldiers below Talburg's castle wall heard the "scent" of silver coins drifting from the rear, they instantly became agitated as if they had taken a strong stimulant. They continuously roared battle cries, and their steps, carrying shields and raising ladders, also quickened significantly.
On Talburg's outer wall, Kazak, under the shield cover of a nearby Soldier, raised his short bow and shot at the scattered archers below the city. These fellows, after suffering several rounds of downward shots from the two arrow towers, had dispersed to shoot at the defenders on the wall. Kazak was one of the few squad Commanders with better archery skills. He had already aimed at an enemy archer about sixty paces to the left of the outer wall's main gate. This fellow always hid in the arrow tower's blind spot, occasionally shooting an arrow at the outer wall. One Soldier on the wall had already been shot in the head. If not for the lucky protection of his iron helmet, this defender would have been shot dead on the spot.
Kazak leaned his head slightly against the battlement, glancing at the enemy archer. He saw that the archer's bow was aiming at a Soldier to Kazak's right, and the bowstring was already being drawn. Kazak did not hesitate, he picked up his short bow, drew out a diamond-headed heavy arrow, nocked it, and began to draw the string. The enemy archer did not notice an arrow protruding from the battlement on the castle wall, only concentrating on aiming at a defender's neck on the city wall. Just as this enemy archer had drawn his bowstring to its fullest and was about to release, unexpectedly, a heavy arrow suddenly shot from a battlement on the other side of the castle wall. The enemy archer had no time to retract his bow and dodge. That diamond-headed heavy arrow flew over at once, biting into the enemy archer's right arm. The huge impact pushed this fellow directly to the ground.
As soon as Kazak put down his short bow, a wooden ladder was propped against the outer wall's battlement in front of him, followed by Odo's roaring cry of "Prepare for battle!" from nearby.
Kazak threw down his short bow and ordered the Soldiers beside him: "Everyone prepare for battle! Push with the fork poles!"
With that, he and the protecting Soldier beside him picked up the fork poles on the ground, attempting to work together to push down the wooden ladder propped against the wall. However, the enemy's improved ladders had a shallower angle and were more stable, making them difficult to overturn. They tried several times but could not push down the ladder. At this moment, two enemy Soldiers, clad in leather armor and holding round shields and longswords, had already climbed the ladder and began to ascend towards the wall.
"Long spears! Shield formation!" Odo's roaring voice rang out.
Following Odo's command, Soldiers from all parts of the outer wall's battlements gathered at the four places where wooden ladders were propped against the wall. Basically, at each enemy climbing point, there were five defending Soldiers lined up on both sides of the battlement, waiting.
Tuba, as the latest appointed squad Commander, had the least experience and an ordinary record, but his abilities were relatively balanced. In the first probing attack, only the section of the wall he was responsible for never allowed enemy Soldiers to approach the wall.
"Extend the long spears out of the battlement and sweep horizontally!" Tuba commanded the Soldiers beside him to directly extend a ten-foot long spear out of the battlement.
The enemy Soldier holding a shield and climbing up was about to reach the battlement. He was about to raise his round shield to block the spear tip coming from the front, but unexpectedly, the long spear opposite had no intention of thrusting directly. Instead, after a feint, it changed to a fierce horizontal sweep. The enemy Soldier had protected his front, but the long spear swept fiercely from his right side. The Soldier on the wooden ladder was unprepared for the flank attack. He took a heavy blow to his right side, lost his footing, and was directly knocked off the wooden ladder, falling to the base of the castle wall and losing his breath.
In Talburg's left-wing arrow tower, four archers simultaneously aimed at an enemy Soldier climbing a wooden ladder near the arrow tower. Under the command of a temporarily appointed archer, four light arrows shot towards that enemy Soldier at once. At such a short distance, such a large target, plus four arrows aimed simultaneously, after four "thwacks," that enemy Soldier was hit by two arrows, fell off the wooden ladder, and died. The four archers then began to concentrate on aiming at the leading enemy Soldier on another wooden ladder.
This was the improved firing method Art had developed based on the experience of the first round of attack. The archers in the arrow towers were indeed not very skilled. If each person was responsible for one target, they might not hit any, but if four people simultaneously aimed at one target and concentrated their fire, at such a short distance, it would be difficult to miss even once. After adopting this group-shooting tactic, the arrow towers on both sides of the outer wall had already shot and wounded at least four enemy Soldiers in the short time it took to boil half a bowl of soup after the enemy began climbing the wall.
After a brief period of slaughter, the most intense engagement on Talburg's outer wall began. Although the defenders continuously prevented enemy Soldiers from climbing the wall with long spears and push poles, these elite armored infantry, driven by money and protected by their armor and shields, continued to leap onto the castle wall.
However, the defending side still held the advantage. At each battlement where a scaling ladder was propped, there were four or five Soldiers with shields and spears (or swords) defending. The defenders at the battlements either formed a shield formation in groups of three, or attacked with alternating cover in groups of two. As soon as an enemy Soldier jumped down from the battlement via the wooden ladder, he would immediately face attacks from four or five long (or short) spears or longswords. If he defended above, he exposed below; if he dodged a short spear from the left flank, he was hit by a longsword from the right flank. Furthermore, with Odo, Kazak, and Tuba, three exceptionally brave Commanders, personally wielding their swords, enemy Soldiers who jumped onto the castle wall were usually cut down within three to five rounds.
Pattes, the first group leader of the Third Squad, was one of the earliest Patrol Team Soldiers. He was originally a fleeing manor Guard from Provence. After joining Art's team, he repeatedly achieved military merits, was promoted to Combat Squad Leader, and occasionally served as a temporary Commander of the Third Squad.
Pattes led two temporarily assigned peasant Soldiers to defend the left flank of a scaling ladder on the right end of the castle wall. When a giant man, clad in heavy armor and wielding an iron hammer, jumped onto the wall, he repeatedly blocked four direct thrusts from Pattes and his men's short spears. This fellow's leather armor was covered with another layer of thick iron plates; spearheads only left an indentation, and broadswords only left a white mark. The giant man's heavy iron hammer swung wildly without any pattern, but relying on his brute strength, the giant man had already smashed the arm of a right-flank defender.
Seeing another enemy Soldier about to climb the wall on the wooden ladder behind the giant man, Pattes disregarded the giant man's wildly swinging heavy hammer. Under the cover of the short spears and shields of the Soldiers beside him, he squatted down, rolled on the walkway, and reached the giant man's feet. The giant man saw Pattes rolling over, swung his hammer forcefully to parry a spearhead coming from his left, and then directly brought his hammer down on Pattes at his feet. Pattes kicked his legs, rolled behind the giant man, dropped his weapon, and tightly embraced the giant man's waist with both hands. Then, he pushed hard against the battlement with his right foot. The giant man had just lost his balance because his heavy hammer missed its target. Suddenly, he was pushed violently from behind, and his entire body was directly pushed to the edge of the walkway. The giant man struggled to stabilize himself and prepare to free his hands to strike Pattes, who was holding his waist. Pattes had no intention of letting go. Instead, he continued to exert force with his feet, holding the giant man tightly as they both fell from the walkway station, landing with a heavy "thud" on the stone slabs inside the outer wall.
Outside Talburg, Baron Geoffrey, who was supervising the battle from the rear of the siege army, saw that although his most elite infantry had suffered heavy losses on the wall, they had almost gained a foothold. So, Baron Geoffrey decisively ordered the remaining twenty elite infantry and ten dismounted cavalry (knights) to lead the armed peasant Soldiers from the first wave of attack and the selected laborers and farmers to rush forward in a single surge, attempting to continuously widen the breach torn by the elite infantry until the outer wall was occupied. Even Baron Geoffrey himself rode his warhorse and led his Guard to rush forward, continuously shooting arrows at the castle wall.
The shouts outside the castle grew louder. Art, in the inner castle, received a warning from the Soldier in the tower about the enemy's massive attack. He had a premonition that this was Baron Geoffrey's final desperate assault.
"Both reserve squads are to go to the outer wall to fight."
"The trebuchets are temporarily unusable. Have the trebuchet operators take their weapons and be ready as a reserve squad to go to the wall at any time."
"Blow the horn! Have the watchtower begin harassing the enemy's flank!"
Art, while drawing the knight's sword from his waist, led the Soldiers waiting in the inner castle out and onto Talburg's outer wall.
Of the forty elite enemy Soldiers who first ascended the outer wall, over twenty had been killed or wounded, while the advantageous defending side had paid the price of three dead and five severely wounded.
Just as the two reserve squads ascended the outer wall, one battlement had already been captured by the enemy. Of the five defenders guarding that battlement, one was dead and two were wounded, and the remaining two defenders were being pushed back step by step by three entrenched enemy Soldiers. Other battlements were also in precarious situations due to the enemy's massive attack. However, this critical situation significantly improved after Art joined with the Soldiers from the reserve squad.
Art's shoulder injury had not yet healed, so he could not draw a bow and shoot arrows. Therefore, he rushed onto the wall and desperately swung his knight's sword at the enemy Soldiers who were continuously jumping onto the castle wall.
Several defenders on the left, right, and rear sides of the outer wall saw that the fighting on the front of the castle wall was too fierce, and these three sides had not been attacked due to terrain. So, after leaving one defender on watch on each of these castle walls, the remaining six men, gripping their swords and spears, rushed to the front to support the defenders.
The front of Talburg's outer wall was once in a stalemate, as both attacking and defending sides were continuously increasing their reinforcements. The attackers were trapped at the ladders and battlements, and the defenders could not immediately drive all the climbing enemy Soldiers off the wall.
Bass, anxiously watching from the right-wing watchtower, had long been fuming. The enemy's second round of attack on Talburg had suddenly increased several times in intensity. It seemed the enemy was about to gain a firm foothold on the outer wall. If the enemy's reserve forces tore through the defenders' line through the breach on the wall, Talburg's defense would fall into an absolutely passive situation.
Just as the stalemate could not be broken, three short horn blasts sounded in Talburg.
Bass in the watchtower breathed a sigh of relief, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly: "Archers, aim at the enemy's flank and empty a quiver!"
The archers in the watchtower each carried two deerskin quivers. Each quiver contained twenty-five flat-headed light arrows and five diamond-headed heavy arrows. These archers could at most fire thirty light and heavy arrows at a time; any more, and they wouldn't be able to draw their bows.
When successive waves of arrows flew from the flank watchtower, the enemy ranks below the city began to fluctuate violently. Enemy Soldiers near the giant wooden shields immediately hid beneath them, while those who couldn't squeeze into the giant shields and had no shields, such as peasant Soldiers and a small number of infantry, suffered terribly. They had to dodge arrows constantly shot from Talburg's outer wall arrow towers on one side, and on the other, they had to endure deadly blades raining down from the flank watchtower. Most importantly, subsequent enemy reinforcements all hid under the giant shields below the city, and the number of enemy Soldiers climbing ladders and ascending the city wall sharply decreased. The climbing enemy Soldiers, deprived of rear support, quickly became unable to withstand the defenders' tightly coordinated spear-and-shield formation. After three more Soldiers were cut down, the enemy, who had almost gained a foothold on the wall, finally collapsed and began to retreat back to the wooden ladders, then hastily withdrew from them…
"Woo~~~~"
Baron Geoffrey, supervising the battle from the rear, watched his Soldiers continuously retreating from the wall. He turned to look at the sun gradually setting behind the hills to the west, cursed, and then ordered a symbolic retreat horn to be blown…
… … … …
Art stood on Talburg's outer wall, holding a dripping knight's sword, listening to the enemy's horn blasts and the cheers and shouts around him. Looking at the setting sun in the west, he knew that Talburg had truly survived a calamity.
