"Prepare to siege the city." Instruct the count.
Naharog soldiers quickly move in an orderly manner like a group of ants the second their monarch gives out his instruction.
They've all already been given a briefing on what to do which is to follow a preplanned strategy.
Gradually, they took a steady step in walking out of the forest. Since the soldiers no longer need to hide, they openly approach the city.
A detachment army led by his general immediately separates from the main force and moves to the east with the intention to block another exit point.
Like the count had long predicted, the guards on the city wall were absorbed by the joyous atmosphere in the city. They pay more attention to the inside of the city than the outside. A large number of them outright abandoned their post and secretly went to the festival held near the main street.
When the Naharog army marched near the vicinity of the city, the soldiers at the top of the city wall finally realized the massive threat on their doorstep. With fear on their face, they scurried for a bell.
"Ring the bell! Ring all the bells!" They shouted.
Alas, it's already too late for a warning.
Not only they failed to detect the enemy, their number is pitifully low to effectively all the bells at once.
All activity in the city pauses briefly when a bell rings out of nowhere. The Napuna resident begins to look here and there for the source of noise that interrupts their festive mood. And they spotted the frightened-looking guards scurrying along the wall in the southeast direction.
Thus, they realize something wrong is happening outside the city. Panic begins to seep into the heart of every citizen.
Their human survival instinct kicks in.
The first move they made is pretty obvious, to escape danger when there's danger. And the place that becomes crowded is the gate in the northwest.
But, they're bound to be disappointed as they spot the enemies there as well.
The sight of the opponents aiming a weapon in their direction horrified the crowd. Eventually, both of the land routes were completely blocked.
Their only escape way left is through the port with a merchant ship.
Meanwhile, on the outside, the count is staring at the tall stone wall. Unlike any other city, Napuna had a moat that is not so deep and not so wide in between. He couldn't simply aim to destroy the gate and rush his soldiers in.
His soldiers would end up gathering in one tight spot.
No matter how disarrayed Napuna's soldiers are, they surely not stupid to missed the worth-taking opportunity.
Therefore, the count chose to evenly distribute the bombardment area on the wall. It is a costly tactic that consumes a lot of ammunition but he is willing to fork out his wealth for it. Not to mention, Ryntum gracefully gives them another discount for their big purchase and they deliver the goods much faster than he thought.
With all these advantages added up, he is confident in tearing down a large portion of the wall so Naharog can enter from any direction.
Napuna won't have sufficient manpower to defend the entire area.
"Your Majesty, we're ready to break in," Rupert reported.
"Begin now." With two words he utters, the artillerists start to shoot.
*Boom*
The iron ball keeps smashing the wall. Each time the shot was made, the wall trembled. However, hours have passed but the damage on the wall is too little compared to the damage on the barons' town wall.
"Keep shooting, the wall may be thicker but that doesn't mean it is impenetrable. Sooner or later the damage will build up," said Rupert to the grudging artillerist.
Rupert's words proved to be true when an outer layer of the stones fell and crumbled to the ground into pieces after the continuous bombardment, killing the soldiers on the top along the way. Such heavy stones not only fall but also cause destruction below.
The houses near the wall weren't escaped from it. It instantly turned into rubble and crushed the inhabitant inside. Those who are lucky to survive sustained severe injuries.
Even so, the count didn't order the artillerists to stop despite all the wailing and cries he heard.
"Your Majesty, the northwest side has collapsed a substantial amount of wall. They are waiting for your order to cross the moat and march into the city."
"Did they see any of Napuna's soldiers waiting on the other side? I don't want them to be lured into a trap."
Rupert denies, "From their words, they're no sign of them. We can assume they're in the palace area guarding the nobles which gives us an ample amount of time to assemble a makeshift bridge. As for the citizens, they're heading to the port."
"Tell them they have my permission to begin building the bridge. We'll begin it as well. I have to say, the idea of preparing the bridge parts beforehand is ingenious and saves so much time."
....
At the port, two platoons of figures clad in black clothing are busy conducting a mass killing of the people in the port. They've done such atrocities since the dawn break.
In the beginning, it is a silent assassination of the dockworkers here and there. But when the noises of panic spread across the city, they began to intensify their killing rate. At any moment, people could be leaving for the port. They're running behind schedule.
"Sir, how should we destroy the ship?" asked one of them.
"Do whatever it takes. Burn or submerge them, I'll leave it to your creativity. Just make sure nobody can use the ship to escape. And don't touch the ship that I've marked." said the first platoon leader.
"What about the goods on the merchant ships? I don't think we've had time to secure all of it."
"Then, grab whatever you can. We're running out of time here. It's our secondary mission anyway. Our main priority is to destroy the ships and block people from using the port to escape."
"Sir! We found a royal dockyard. Should we rob it as well?"
pαndα`noνɐ1~сoМ "Leave it alone. It is locked and in a desolate location. Just to be safe, make sure to obstruct it from being spotted by people." said the second leader.
Before long, one of them comes back in a hurry to inform his superiors, "They're almost here! The people are here!"
"Alright, everyone. Hurry up and be careful when you sneak into the crowds. If you get caught, you're on your own."
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