All Adventure Begins with Tragedy

Chapter XIV: When will we learn?

The soldiers I had called swarmed over to the western wall. But the words echoed through my mind.

"Too late!" The words told me.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment. How many lives did my mistake cost? What was the price?

We never do learn, do we?

Then I snapped out of it. I still had a war to fight.

"Jonathan?"

"Yes?"

"What should we do next?" I mused.

"The artillery on the western walls are loaded. Fire at the enemy. And don't forget the cannons!"

Of course, the cannons! The new innovation!

"Cannon one and two! Are you loaded?" My voice bellowed out over the fort.

The answer floated up to our position, "Yes sir!"

"Luke get your squad, we are going to need it!" I muttered to Luke who was standing next to me. "Cannon one! Face east! Cannon two! Face west! Let's finish this for good!"

The cannons swiveled into the correct direction.

"All artillery! FIRE!"

On each side of the fort, projectiles spun through the air. And I saw the power of the cannon. It was so accurate!

"All artillery reload! Archers! Lets do this more organized!"

The archers looked up at me.

"Form two lines all the way around the fort! One line right at the battlements, the other right behind! The first line will fire at my command, then kneel! Then the second line will fire at my command and kneel as well! As soon as the back line kneels, the front will stand up! Get to it!"

The archers did as I told them to.
"Silver, they are charging from three sides now, the south as well," Jonathan informed me.

"Good thing we have 360° firing range," I told him.

"Artillery fire! Cannons! Aim for wagons!"

The rounds spun from the launchers. The cannons scored direct hits, blowing ammunition wagons sky high.

"Reload! Archers! Front line fire!"

The arrows spread out into the sky in a large circle.

"Second line fire! First line fire! Keep it up!"

The arrows flew into the sky, then plummeted back down onto the heads of the Hammerite army. Volley after volley took down row after row of men. The artillery did just as much, if not more damage to the enemy force.

"We have thinned them out a lot, haven't we? And we haven't had a single casualty on our side!" Luke was liking the odds we had.
"Yes, but if they have this much man power, they have plenty more to throw at us. And for all our efforts, they will still reach the wall," I told him.

"Yes indeed. You are doing a fine job as commanded though."

"Why thank you, now about that job I was going to send you and you squad on."

"Oh yes?"

"Get then fitted with parachutes. I'll tell you what's going to happen after that."

"Yes sir!" He marched down the spiral stairs smartly.

"We are doing a fine job, but a military campaign isn't what we want. We want gorilla warfare!" Jonathan voiced the thoughts that many of the soldiers were most likely thinking.