dognovel Chapter 389 Defeat
Chapter 389 Defeat
Seeing that the siege failed, the Kusha envoy frowned and quickly summoned all the generals. He shouted:
"Keep charging! If anyone retreats without permission again, I'll kill them all!"
Before long, the Kushan army outside the city was ready to charge again. First, the cannons on the war elephants began to roar one after another. One after another, the shells spewed out from the mouth of the cannon like thunder and flew towards the direction of the city wall. The deafening explosion sounded throughout the battlefield. Several shells hit the city wall and smashed the bricks. The fragments flew everywhere. The surrounding soldiers were hit by the flying stones and fell to the ground in pain. The dust in the sky was mixed with screams and wails.
At the same time, the Kusha soldiers on the ground also began to move. They carried the ladders without hesitation and rushed towards the city wall again under the counterattack of the archers. The shouts of charge accompanied by the sound of rapid footsteps seemed to bring the atmosphere of the entire battlefield to a new climax.
"Keep loading the shells. Their artillery is no match for ours. Aim at those war elephants and shoot them back."
John on the city wall saw the critical situation and accepted the action order without hesitation. He calmed down and immediately ordered the soldiers to continue firing back. The roar of artillery fire sounded over the battlefield and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder. He then ordered the soldiers to throw rolling logs and pounding stones to the city to try to curb the attack of the Kushan soldiers.
Following the order, the rolling logs rolled down quickly under the combined efforts of the soldiers, pouring down from the top of the city wall, hitting the Kusha soldiers below one by one. The hammer stones flew like a storm, hitting the enemy's heads heavily, causing screams. The sound of artillery from all directions on the battlefield intertwined, forming a deafening roar, overlapping with the continuous shouts and painful screams.
However, despite the heavy casualties, the Kushan soldiers did not retreat. Despite the huge casualties, they advanced forward step by step, firmly placed ladders on the top of the city wall and climbed up with all their might. The battering rams were quickly transported to the bottom of the city gate and bombarded the city gate over and over again, making heavy banging sounds.
"Quick, pour the kerosene, don't let them climb up the city wall!"
John immediately ordered his soldiers to pour the kerosene used for Greek fire down to the foot of the city. The soldiers acted quickly and sprinkled the kerosene from the city walls. The oil droplets slid down the ladders and quickly gathered on the ground below the city.
At this moment, John raised the torch high and threw it down with all his strength. The torch flew through the air and fell into the kerosene. With a deafening explosion, a raging fire instantly ignited under the city. The flames spread rapidly, forming a sea of fire. The flames illuminated the battlefield red, reflecting the tense and resolute faces of the soldiers.
The burning flames engulfed the enemy, and the Kushan soldiers were horrified to find that the ladders and battering rams were also engulfed by the fire, and the wood crackled under the erosion of the high temperature. The flames shot up into the sky, illuminating the surroundings, and the flames were like a giant beast, madly surrounding the enemy.
The Kusha soldiers hiding under the battering ram were suddenly panicked. They looked at each other, unable to believe the sudden change. The blazing flames approached, the thick smoke made it difficult to breathe, and chaotic shouts echoed over the battlefield. Faced with the unstoppable flames, they had to flee in all directions, trying to find a safe hiding place.
Seeing the Kusha soldiers in front of him retreating again, the Kusha envoy could no longer remain calm and shouted angrily:
"Since this wall cannot be breached, let's attack from other directions! I don't believe that the walls of this city are all as well-defended as this one!"
At the messenger's call, the Kushan army quickly divided into two teams and rushed towards the east and west of the city like wild beasts, eager to find an opportunity to break through the city.
At the same time, John had no time to indulge in the joy of success. He quickly analyzed the situation and then sent someone to summon the two centurions who commanded the Murcia Camel Cavalry. He said solemnly:
"Each of you will lead your camel cavalry and attack from the south gate, going around to the rear of the Kusha army in the east and west directions. When you see the flags waving on the city wall, you will immediately launch a surprise attack and deal a fatal blow to the enemy!"
After John finished explaining the task, he quickly ran to the west gate. His eyes were fixed on the Kusha war elephants gathered outside the city. The air around him was filled with a tense atmosphere. As the artillery of both sides fired again, the battle to defend the city began again. The smoke and the sound of artillery on the battlefield intertwined, making people feel extremely oppressive.
This time, the number of artillery on the city wall far exceeded that of the Kushan army, and the sound of artillery was like thunder and roar. The shells hit the war elephants accurately, and the war elephants fell one after another under the violent impact, and the tragic wails continued, as if the earth was crying. The surviving war elephants also seemed to be swaying from side to side, restless, as if they could feel the approach of death, and they let out low roars from time to time.
Seeing that the battle situation was not favorable to his side, the Kusha envoy had to come to supervise the battle in person. He shouted loudly:
"Whoever climbs the city wall first, regardless of life or death, will be promoted three levels after the battle and will be rewarded with a box of gold coins! Anyone else who climbs the city wall will be rewarded with ten gold coins!"
His voice penetrated the noise of the battlefield and aroused the fighting spirit of the soldiers.
These words were like a shot in the arm, boosting the originally low morale. The Kushan soldiers were encouraged, raised their weapons angrily, and charged towards the city wall. Under the pressure of the continuous falling of shells and arrows, a large number of soldiers still rushed towards the city wall without hesitation, scrambling to seize the solid barrier.
However, John's defense still failed to satisfy the Kushan envoys. John used the same trick again and quickly ordered the soldiers to continue throwing rolling logs and pounding stones down the city wall, and adding kerosene. The flames burned fiercely under the west gate, and the raging flames devoured everything around it like a beast, completely stopping the Kushan offensive. Suddenly, in the sea of fire, no matter how great the interests of the Kushan soldiers were, they could not cover up the fear in their hearts, and they questioned whether they could climb the solid city wall.
Chaos gradually spread on the battlefield. Under the threat of flames and boulders, some Kushan soldiers realized their situation and began to retreat. This originally vigorous attack turned into a great rout in an instant. No matter how much the Kushan envoys shouted and ordered the cavalry to intercept, they could not stop the trend of panic spreading. The soldiers fled in all directions like wild horses.
What was even more terrible was that the remaining elephants seemed to sense the danger and rushed out of the team like crazy, fleeing away from the battlefield. This loss of attack power made the Kushan army no longer able to continue the siege. Seeing this, John immediately ordered the soldiers on the east and west walls to wave flags, signaling the cavalry outside the city to charge.
Time passed slowly, John's eyes passed through the fighting crowd, and suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a group of camel cavalry appearing behind the sand dunes in the distance. They swept past the dazed Kushan fleeing soldiers like the wind, and rushed straight to the Kushan cavalry beside the envoy. Seeing this, the Kushan cavalry who reacted immediately turned their horses around and tried to fight against the coming camel cavalry. However, due to the suddenness of the incident, they could not speed up at all.
The camel cavalry charged with irresistible momentum and dispersed the Kusha cavalry in an instant. Sharp shouts and the sound of metal colliding intertwined, and the camel cavalry rushed into the scattered Kusha cavalry like a gust of wind. The battlefield instantly fell into chaos, and the balance of victory quietly tilted to John's side.
At the same time, the west gate was opened, and with an order, countless infantrymen poured out of the city like a tide, rushing towards the remnants of the Kusha army outside. The soldiers, with high morale, rushed forward with all their might, inspired by victory.
The infantrymen rushed towards the Kushan soldiers like a raging wave, unstoppable. After a fierce battle, the Kushan envoy was surrounded by the infantrymen in the chaos, with nowhere to escape. Under the siege of several infantrymen, the Kushan envoy was finally forcibly pushed off the horse and fell to the ground, in a state of embarrassment.
The messenger's face turned paler and paler. He realized that his fate was completely in the hands of the enemy. Then two soldiers came forward, lifted him up, and began to escort him back to the city.