Chapter 1066 Caltrop Field

Chapter 1066 Caltrop Field

Alexander's legionaries were of course observing their opposing side's misfortune from their perched ramparts and pallisades with relished glee.

The powerful initial charge that was meant to have shattered the defensive walls had unexpectedly lost all its steam even before it could begin, with the attacking men being now much more concerned about jumping and skipping in one leg in an attempt to try and lot step on these large, spiky traps than doing anything else.

And the chorus of short pained gasps and yelps that they let out each time they landed on these pointy metal thorns sounded like the sweetest music for the listening legionaries, many of whom laughed, joked, and even taunted the other side.

"Hahaha, go right! Go right! There are no traps there."

"No! It is on the left! Turn left."

"Idiot, my left, not yours."

"Don't listen to these fools. Go back! There are certainly no traps from where you came from... hahaha."

Like this, Alexander's men had quite a bit of fun and even managed to release some of the pent up stress.

But it was likely none of the Heeat family soldiers ever heard them, mostly because they were quite far away, and it was already very noisy all around.

You could not even properly hear what the person standing right next to you was saying half the time, much less the jeers of men you could not even see due to the night's darkness.

Never mind, most of the legionaries also spoke a completely different language.

Hence most of the Heeat soldiers were more preoccupied with extracting themselves from their current dilemma than engaging in a futile bantering debate with the other side.

And credit to them, they soon managed to, as these trained men performed exceptionally well under such trying conditions.

Being faced with such an unforeseen situation, even in the pitch black darkness of the night, after the initial shock, these men quickly managed to suppress their panic.

And with the help of their offers soon got their formation under control.

It was visibly apparent that these martinet men wielded great fear and respect within the ranks, as while the other men were crying and moaning,

"Ahhh! Who would do such a thing?"

"Clever bastards! Really got us."

"Maybe we should turn back! Attack in the morning?"

"Right! Then we can see better."

It was with one loud shout that all such cowardice talks were demolished, "Stop praising these snakes and straighten your back men! We are warriors! Under Lord Parker's direct command! So show a bit more spine, women!"

It was that last single word that truly got the men's attention, much more than the utterances of the name of their lord, or their call to duty.

One was because Alexander simply forgot! The man had too many things to do, and the time to do them in too short, only a few hours at best, so even this obvious move skipped his mind.

As did the minds of so many other brilliant officers, who too were swamped with numerous other obligations.

And then there was the logistics of being able to carry out such a move.

Surely if Alexander were to try and do this, he would have to move the inhabitants somewhere else first.

Which was not only a great pain, but would also of course alert the enemy without a shred of a doubt. And that risked ruining the whole plan.

And lastly, if these archers were put in these houses, they would have found themselves outside of the defensive lines and Alexander did not want that.

All these reasons worked together to produce their absence and thus the first layer of defense proved to be relatively tepid, one which was relatively easily bypassed once the shock factor wore off.

And with the 'caltrop field' clear, the soldiers quickly got into formation and just like planned, lumbered towards the rows of ditches with haste, their swelling numbers making the earth shake as if in trepidation.

Seeing this, Alexander's officers were too quick to get their men in battle formations, shouting,

"Archers! Ready yourselves! They are coming."

"Swords out! Shields locked together! Do not falter!"

"Stand your ground and let them attack. They will tire themselves out quickly."

"Be brave men! Haven't you heard how these chickens were crying out just now? There are more women than men there. After we beat them, we will be sure to gift them some nice skirts, hahaha,"

This last officer, named Kazid was considered an especially good commander even when compared to all the good officers of this elite legion, both loved and respected by his men.

And the reason was readily apparent.

The talented man had a great sense of what the soldiers were thinking at the moment, as in the case of now.

Sensing a thick tension gripping every soldier right before the start of this conflict, he lightened the mood with his humorous jokes, making all the surrounding men chuckle and their hearts feel relieved.

Fighting at night was always more stressful for the men due to the limited visibility as well as the various superstitions that surrounded this foreboding time.

Such as the very famous saying that killing a man at night would cause him to rise up as an evil spirit and come to visit you later, strangling you in your sleep.

Which might have well been started by a ruler to prevent murder by scaring the populace, but inadvertently led to this.

Anyway, as the legionaries readied themselves, the Heeat family soldiers closed in, and after withstanding a barrage of arrows and then a shower of javelin, the two sides soon began to exchange steel with steel.

Let us say no to Original! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!