V6C28 The First Siege of Teripol - Santairiku Eiyuuki

Stefan's landing forces appeared on the sea off the coast of Terripol City exactly thirteen days after Hercule had crossed the desert. Their timing was almost simultaneous with Jebe's cavalry setting out from the village. The day after the battle of Terripol, Hercule dispatched a ship to Marne Island. It took three days for the ship to reach its destination, and from there, it took Stefan four days to receive the news, depart Marne Island, and arrive off the coast of Terripol City. The Lemurian Navy stabilized their vessels by chaining them together and aligned them to form a cover over the bay's port of Terripol City. They lined up landing craft one after another. In response, the Kingdom of Cerdia had already abandoned hope for a naval battle. They sank all available ships, rendering the port unusable. Moreover, they sealed the bay's port with thick chains. "The Emperor, a signal fire has been lit," Alicia informed him. "So it seems," Hercule responded, looking in the direction Alicia pointed, a fearless smile on his face. At the western gate of Terripol City, there was already a force of 33,000 soldiers deployed. "The signal fire is lit; in other words, Stefan is ready to attack at any moment," Hercule remarked with a sly grin. He then ordered his soldiers, "Light a signal fire and send the signal. Commence a full assault." From the land: 33,000 troops. From the sea: 20,000 troops. A total of 53,000 Lemurian soldiers began the assault on Terripol City, where 10,000 soldiers had fortified themselves. On the first day of the Lemurian army's attack, they relied primarily on projectile weapons. On land, the trebuchets constructed by the engineers of the Lemurian Empire roared, hurling various objects towards the city. These included simple stones, bundles of straw soaked in oil set ablaze, the corpses of humans and animals, and pots filled with excrement, among other things. Meanwhile, the Bulgaron cavalry and medium-armored cavalry Catafract utilized a tactic of approaching the city's walls to the brink, launching their arrows, then retreating immediately, gradually depleting the enemy forces. At sea, large arrows were launched from ballistae mounted on ships. Occasionally, small bottles would be attached to the arrowheads, containing 'Sacred Flame'—a weapon made by refining petroleum mixed with pine resin, sulfur, and saltpeter—to be unleashed upon the port. "The enemy's counterattack seems rather weak, doesn't it?" That night, Alicia shared her impressions of the siege with Hercule. In a typical siege battle, arrows rain down from the enemy side. From atop the walls and below, the former undoubtedly reaches farther. Despite the excellence of the Lemurian Empire's composite bows, the disadvantage of height is difficult to overcome. However, the number of arrows raining down from the Kingdom of Cerdia was not substantial. "Perhaps it's the loss of their light infantry impacting them," Hercule speculated. In the Kingdom of Cerdia, archers are drawn from the light infantry. However, in the previous battles, their forces had been reduced to one-fifth. Particularly, the light infantry took significant damage due to being pitted against both the formidable Bulgaron cavalry and medium-armored cavalry Catafract. "Instead, their stone throwing is more conspicuous. It seems the citizens are participating," Scheherazade noted. The enemy general, Carmine, had mobilized able-bodied citizens to substitute for archers, having them throw stones and household objects to retaliate against the Lemurian Empire. Even untrained citizens could at least throw objects. Simply dropping something from the city wall had enough impact to kill someone, so it wasn't a poor strategy. However, despite the height, there were limits to how far amateurs could throw by hand. Consequently, there were considerable sacrifices among the citizens. "Your Majesty, is today just a reconnaissance day? Will you launch a full-scale attack from tomorrow?" Alicia inquired. This was because Hercule had not conducted aggressive attacks today. The attacks mostly consisted of projectile weapon bombardment, with sporadic assaults on the city walls. Projectile attacks were still ongoing. Particularly with the trebuchets, Hercule intended for their full operation throughout the night. It wasn't necessary to hit the city walls. As long as the projectiles struck the houses inside the walls, causing casualties, it was sufficient. Merely doing so inflicted psychological stress on the enemy. "I plan to maintain this approach for a while. If the trebuchets can aptly strike the walls, that would be beneficial," Hercule said. Before Stefan's arrival, Hercule had his troops cut down nearby trees to construct trebuchets. Four in total. This weapon, utilizing the principles of levers, was immensely powerful and sufficient to destroy city walls. The problem, however, was that it rarely hit its target. Even when it hit, it struck only the upper or middle sections of the wall, causing minor damage. To bring down the wall, it must be hit at the base, which rarely happened. (Should I call Nia back?) The thought crossed Hercule's mind. Nia's Mystic Eye could see vectors. Perhaps she could skillfully operate the trebuchet. However, upon calmly reconsidering, being able to see vectors and being able to skillfully operate a trebuchet weren’t necessarily connected. Moreover, calling her back at this point was impossible. "Well, don't worry. In five days, the city will fall." "Why do you say that?" Scheherazade asked, with Alicia also keenly interested. Hercule shrugged. "I've dug tunnels in the meantime, while waiting for Stefan. Five in total. In five days, these tunnels will reach under the city walls. Then, it's just a matter of destroying the base of the wall." The tunnel strategy involves digging beneath the city walls and destroying the entire foundation they rest upon. Supporting the tunnel with timber as it progresses beneath the walls, at the right timing, the timber is set ablaze, collapsing the unsupported tunnel. As the ground sinks, the walls break under their weight. This strategy is extremely effective, minimizing casualties. However, it requires advanced tunneling skills. Yet, the Lemurian army, being a standing army, had Hercule instill tunneling skills into his infantry, making this tunnel strategy relatively easy to employ. To counter the tunnel strategy, the enemy must dig counter-tunnels and collapse the Lemurian Army’s tunnels. However, this is no easy feat. Destroying all five tunnels is impossible. "Well, I plan to conduct battering ram attacks and also attempt scaling the walls with ladders... but those are all diversions. The true coup de grâce is the assuredly victorious tunnel strategy." The victory of the Lemurian Army was already certain. Thereafter, the Lemurian Army continued the siege without pause, day and night, wearing down the Cerdian forces. All the while, they steadily advanced their tunneling beneath the city walls. The Cerdian forces, realizing the presence of Lemurian tunnels, managed to destroy two out of the five tunnels by creating counter-tunnels. However, by the evening of that day, three tunnels had already reached directly beneath the city walls. "Well, at dawn tomorrow, we will launch the full-scale assault with the sunrise. Before that, let's send a demand for surrender," Hercule decided just before sunset. He wrote a letter urging for surrender and sent it to Terripol City. The letter stated, "The tunnels have already reached under your walls. Resistance is futile. We'll start a full-scale attack tomorrow, so open the gates and surrender by then. You don't want to harm innocent civilians, do you?" "Is it wise to inform the enemy about the tunnels, Your Majesty?" Alicia asked, concerned. Though they withheld the exact timing of the assault, revealing the intention to collapse the wall by tunnels seemed like giving too big a hint to the enemy. "It's no problem. Think about it, can they dig counter-tunnels now?" Hercule reassured her. "Indeed," Alicia agreed with a nod. "We’d prefer to avoid urban combat, if possible," Scheherazade noted. "Yes, because it would increase the casualties," Hercule concurred, nodding. Siege warfare doesn't simply end with breaching the walls. Subsequent urban combat results in substantial losses. The enemy holds the advantage of knowing the terrain, which can cause significant damages to their own army. Furthermore, a large number of innocent civilians would likely perish. Excessive civilian deaths could adversely affect future governance. "Besides, I’d like to leave the city walls intact," Hercule added. The prospect of ending the war immediately after capturing Terripol City was unlikely. The enemy might attempt to recapture the city. Therefore, keeping the city’s defenses as intact as possible could crucially influence the future course of the war. "Well, it would be nice if they surrendered," Hercule mused. What was certain was that by the next morning, the two-headed eagle would be flying over Terripol City. That night, Carmine and his subordinates debated whether to surrender. The proponents of surrender argued that continuing the fight would be hopeless. If the walls were breached, they would be crushed by the overwhelming five-to-one disadvantage in numbers. Furthermore, the defeat in the open field and the fatigue from consecutive defensive battles had severely dampened soldier morale. On the other hand, there was significant opposition to surrender. Their argument was that the claim "the tunnels have reached directly beneath the walls" was a bluff by the Lemurian army. There would be no breach in the wall come morning, and they could still fight on. Terripol City was the second most important city in the Kingdom of Cerdia and a key stronghold for national defense. Losing it was unthinkable. However, the opposition's belief that "claims of tunnels reaching beneath the wall were false" was dismissed by those who had observed the "tremors" that occurred when tunnels were being dug during wartime. Although the exact locations were unclear, several tunnels seemed to be extending, and they weren’t destroyed. It was highly probable that they reached directly beneath the walls, according to these observers. “We have no choice but to surrender. Sacrificing soldiers and civilians is unacceptable,” Carmine murmured. Yet one of his subordinates shook his head. "We can't, sir! If you become a prisoner, the palace will fall into the hands of that traitor, Hoamel!" “That’s…” Carmine hesitated. Indeed, if Carmine were captured by Lemuria and absent from the palace, it would undoubtedly strengthen Hoamel’s position. He couldn’t imagine his daughter, Sonia, effectively countering Hoamel as his stand-in. “Should we not, sir, attempt an escape, just us?” One of his subordinates suggested, provoking a frown from Carmine. “What do you mean?” “Everyone here is a key figure of your faction, sir. It is indeed a problem if you are captured... But it would be a great loss if others were as well. Furthermore, there are few remaining leaders capable of commanding the military in the current Kingdom of Cerdia.” During the recent civil war, many of the warrior-like Beastfolk nobles, known as the Warbeasts, sided with Laus I. Consequently, many skilled generals either perished in battle or were executed. If Carmine, his faction’s nobles, and his subordinates were all captured, effectively no generals would remain in the Kingdom of Cerdia to lead the military. “Yet abandoning the soldiers and civilians...” Carmine muttered, silently weighing his options. (… The Teripoltania region is Hoamel's stronghold. Losing it wouldn't be a significant blow to me), he mused. Is there truly a need to protect it so desperately? (After all, this situation arose from that half-baked fool, Jason. Pushing all the blame onto him could even strengthen my case against Hoamel). Carmine allowed a smile to form. (Why hasn't any reinforcements arrived? Perhaps Hoamel whispered some treachery into the King's ears, leading him to believe we don't need them. All this is Hoamel's fault). That was the narrative he choose to adopt. Indeed, Carmine might face some blame for the defeat... But ultimately, Hilderic II had no choice but to entrust the army to Carmine. There wasn't anyone other than Jason who could effectively counter the Lemurian Emperor, and besides, a considerable portion of the Kingdom of Cerdia’s soldiers were provided by Carmine's domain. “We have no choice then... We'll leave behind a few commanders and make our escape from the city,” Carmine decided. Thus, Carmine and his faction slipped away from Terripol City under the cover of darkness, through a hidden passageway. The next morning, the gates of Terripol City opened, and 53,000 Lemurian troops entered the city. This marked the eighteenth day since Hercule began his desert crossing.