Lord of the Oasis - Chapter 135
Chapter 135: The Heavily Guarded Fortress
Sunday, the last day of the week.
Drawing on the reins to stop the horses, they stood on the top of the dune, overlooking the horizon.
The desert bandits in the patrol did not expect that they would actually find the enemy troops advancing in the morning. Moreover, the horizon was covered with the enemies’ silhouette, it was obvious that they had traveled quite a distance.
Based on the speed of their advance, they would reach the Oasis Lookout within two hours.
The enemy troops had already entered the desert bandits’ patrol zone.
“Don’t just stand there.”
The leader of the team opened his mouth and spat to the side.
Although he was mentally prepared for the enemy’s arrival, he was still surprised to see them so suddenly. He couldn’t help but clench the spear in his hand, turned his head, and berated, “Damn it, we should go!”
“Go, go, go.” The desert bandits all nodded.
They were not afraid of the enemy or trying to avoid the battle.
But, as scouts cavalry, they needed to quickly inform the Oasis Lookout about the enemies’ arrival.
Turning their horses around, they quickly returned.
There was no need to send a signal to inform the other teams because the desert bandits in other regions must have noticed the arrival of the enemy’s troops that were heading south on the horizon.
These desert bandits had an extremely acute sense of smell.
Or rather, those foolish ones had all died under the encirclement and suppression of the army of the Sarrand Sultanate.
They rode their horses at the top of the dune.
They returned to the Oasis Lookout as fast as they could.
And on the arrow tower, the Vaegir archers in charge of guarding the fortress soon discovered that they had all returned.
This was an unusual situation.
Usually, these desert bandits would patrol until noon before returning.
And them returning in a rush could only mean one thing.
The enemy had arrived!
The Swadian crossbowmen on the city wall also sensed that something was wrong. They all gathered together, holding their crossbows as they stood behind the window, vigilantly staring at the agricultural area to the north, which was already evacuated, as well as the dune to the north.
“It’s an emergency. Open the city gate!”
All the Swadian Light Cavalrymen had a solemn expression. They pushed open the heavy city gate.
It was not that they were not flexible.
The desert bandit at the front rushed into the fortress with a solemn expression on his face. The people on the street saw him riding his horse so fast and made way for him. He stopped in front of the Council Hall.
“Stop! You are not allowed to enter!”
The two Swadian Infantrymen who were standing guard put their hands on the swords hanging on their waists and warned, “Soldier, tell us why you’re here!”
The Council Hall was the center of the fortress.
It was the heart of the fortress. Moreover, Lord Kant was living there, it was not easy to get through.
The guards’ first consideration was safety.
“I need to see Lord Kant!”
The desert bandit who was the first to discover the enemy dismounted and said in a hurried tone, “When we were patrolling, we discovered that the enemy’s troops are approaching the Oasis Lookout. They would probably be here in less than two hours!”
“One moment please.” The soldier instantly frowned.
He had already sensed the seriousness of the situation, but just to be safe, he still turned around and went in to report.
It didn’t take too long. In less than two minutes, he walked out and said to the desert bandit through the door, “Lord Kant summoned you. Come with me.”
“Yes, sir.” The desert bandit immediately followed him.
In the hall, torches were lit.
Kant was sitting in his seat.
After receiving the news, his face hardened. He stared at the desert bandit who was brought in by the guards and asked right away, “Did you note down the size and composition of the enemy?”
Kant went straight to the point.
There was no need to talk nonsense now.
“I’ve noted it down clearly,” the desert bandit immediately nodded.
“Tell me more,” Kant said.
“Yes, Lord Kant.”
The desert bandit quickly reported everything he saw in a concise way, “The Jackalan troops are marching towards us in the desert to the north. According to our estimations, there are about 1,500 to 2,000 people. They are all infantrymen. If our calculations are correct, we will see them from the top of the city wall in less than two hours.”
“So there are about 2,000 soldiers?” Kant’s heart beat faster.
“Yes.” The desert bandit nodded. He knew that he was not mistaken.
These bandits who relied on plunder for a living had eyesight that was as good as the Vaegir archers.
“I got it.”
Kant tapped his finger on the table and gestured at the desert bandit, “Return to your team.”
“Understood.” The desert bandit saluted and was about to leave.
“Wait.” Kant said to him, “Tell Firentis and Manid to come immediately to the top floor of the Council Hall after setting up the defense system. I will wait for them there.”
“Yes, sir.” The desert bandit nodded and left.
The Swadian Infantryman who was standing guard at the door also left and returned to his post.
All the soldiers of the Oasis Lookout were mobilized.
Vaegir archers occupied all four arrow towers and waited in formations on the top floor inside the towers. They were holding longbows and looked outside the city walls vigilantly. They would shoot any enemy that appeared.
The Swadian crossbowmen were also holding crossbows in the attic on the city walls.
Each of the two long-range troops would be on the arrow tower and the city wall respectively.
The longbows were either for curved trajectory or rapid fire.
The crossbow was for collineation and aimed shots.
In coordination with the 20 Ravenstern Rangers at the top of the Council Hall whose firepower could provide support at any time, the city wall could be defended against the enemy’s approach for a short period.
Not to mention that even the peasants had climbed up to the top of the attic and were holding long scythe to help defend.
Although their combat strength was relatively weak, they had rocks beside them.
The power of throwing the rocks from the top of the 10-meter-high wall was no less than that of the shooting of a ballista. No matter how strong the Jackalans were, their heads would probably be split open, exposing their brains.
For the sake of their home, they would do their best.
“Everyone, stand by and wait for orders. Inform me immediately if you see the enemies.”
After examining the already stable defense system, Firentis’ expression relaxed slightly. He said to the few captains who were following him, “I’ll go see Lord Kant. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Understood.” The captains nodded.
They were all commanders at the basic or middle level.
Firentis left the city wall.
He met Manid, who had just finish making arrangements for the peasant men and women, and walked towards the Council Hall together.
The two of them nodded to each other solemnly and did not communicate much.
They entered the council hall.
They walked quickly to the opposite side of the long table and bowed gravely, “Lord Kant.”
“You’re here.”
Kant nodded and said to the two of them, “Sit down. The situation is urgent. There’s no need for so many formalities.”
“Yes, sir.” The two of them did not refuse.
They sat on both sides of the long table and continued to look at Kant solemnly.
This was the real city defense since the establishment of the Drondheim fortress. They had to treat this batch of enemies with caution.
Just like when Kant personally led a team to attack the Jackalan tribe.
But now, the situation was even more dangerous.
“Is everything ready?” Kant asked in a deep voice.
“Everything is ready.” Firentis and Manid nodded.
These affirmative words made Kant nod slightly, but his voice was still heavy, “We cannot lose this battle. If the defense fails, I think you both understand the consequences.”
“We… will do our best.”
Firentis and Manid looked at each other, then nodded affirmatively.
The price of failure was too great.
It would be like falling into an abyss. Although they came from the Continent of Caradia, they understood that once the Drondheim fortress, which was at the crucial to the Oasis Lookout, fell, everything they had built would crumble.
Their current strength was not enough for them to bear the consequences of losing the war.
Currently, the military force of the Drondheim fortress consisted of 37 Swadian Light Infantrymen, 50 Swadian Infantrymen, 50 Swadian Heavy Cavalrymen, 50 Swadian crossbowmen, 50 Vaegir archers, 20 Ravenstern Rangers, and 5 Mamlukes, 15 Sarrandian Horsemen, 25 elite desert bandits, and 40 usual desert bandits.
324 soldiers in total.
And 500 civilians and 50 peasant women could be recruited if necessary.
There were less than 1,000 soldiers.
Their number was at a disadvantage.
But Kant was not too stressed.
He had even thought of an idea to fight back and destroy the army of more than 2,000 Jackalans outside the city gates.
Of course, that was a risk that Kant would not take.
This was what made him confident.
The troops that Kant currently had were elite troops.
The infantry, cavalry, and archers were to be commanded by a baron in the Dukedom of Leo. After all, full armor, warhorses, and those precious crossbows were important resources. Ordinary craftsmen could not make them, and they were so expensive that they could not be used to equip the soldiers.
Back then, Baron Dylan’s vassal knights were willing to betray him for the sake of the Sarrandian Horsemen’s chainmail armor.
That was enough to prove how precious the equipment that Kant’s soldiers had was!
On the battlefield, these weapons and equipment could easily guarantee the enemy’s defeat!
“Good weapons bring victory.” was always true.
In a war, excellent weapons and armor would guarantee victory.
Thinking about this, Kant stopped tapping the table with his fingers. Instead, he raised his head and solemnly proposed to the two men, “I plan to let the light cavalry leave the fortress. Each of them will carry food and water that is enough for three days, they will form small groups to harass the Jackalan troops of the Kingdom of Grey Mane. Just like what the Khergits did, harass them until they become extremely tired.”
