Under the city walls of Katushir's North Gate, the morning mist had not yet dissipated when it was torn apart by a cacophony of cries.
The city militia soldiers' hands, gripping their weapons, tightened abruptly—what first appeared in their sight were not the hairy beastmen, but a group of ragged humans, their necks bound by coarse ropes, like a string of livestock awaiting slaughter, driven by the beastmen behind them, inching towards the city walls.
Most of these people were villagers from outside the city; some were barefoot, their soles raw and bleeding from the gravel; some held dying children in their arms, their faces streaked with tears; still others, elders, were supported by younger people, swaying with every step, emitting faint moans.
Their clothes were torn and tattered, revealing bruises and bloodstains on their bodies, clearly having suffered considerable torment on their journey.
"Don't shoot arrows! I'm from Kabu Village, west of the city! I'm not a beastman!" A middle-aged man broke free from the pushing of a nearby beastman and shouted towards the city wall, his voice full of despair, "Escoville! Save us!"
His cry was like a stone, striking the hearts of the city militia.
The soldiers on the city wall peered over, looking at the familiar yet strange faces below—some soldiers recognized distant cousins, some saw the blacksmith they often went to the tavern for ale, and some even found their brother, who had been missing for three days, among the crowd.
"That's my cousin! We can't shoot arrows!" A young archer suddenly dropped his short bow, his voice trembling.
A nearby spearmen also frowned, muttering, "They're all common folk; shooting arrows means killing our own people!"
The soldiers began to stir, and the previously taut defensive line showed signs of wavering.
The Militiamen were even more terrified, their faces pale, their stones dropping to the ground, no longer daring to look at the tragic scene below—they were all city dwellers, and none wanted to personally shoot their compatriots.
"Keep your arrows raised! Do not lower them!"
A clear yet undeniable command came from the arrow tower.
Caelesal, riding a white warhorse, stood at the highest point of the arrow tower. She wore a silver-white light armor, intricately carved with griffin patterns, a slender knight's sword at her waist, and her golden hair was tied into a ponytail, fluttering in the wind.
As the commander of Katushir's five hundred Knights and Escoville's adopted daughter, she knew better than anyone what hesitation meant at this moment.
The soldiers all looked up at their commander.
Caelesal's gaze swept over the common folk below, then fell upon the wavering soldiers on the city wall, her tone icy: "They are the beastmen's 'battering ram'! Let them approach the city wall, and the beastmen will use the chaos to climb over! By then, not only will they die, but everyone in the city will too!"
"But… they are common folk!" The young archer couldn't help but retort.
"Softness now is cruelty to everyone in the city!" Caelesal abruptly drew her knight's sword, its tip pointing downwards, "Shoot arrows! Anyone who hesitates will be treated as a traitor!"
Her voice was not loud, but it carried a chilling authority.
The soldiers on the city wall stiffened, looking at their commander's resolute gaze, and finally slowly raised their bows.
The young archer gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his cheeks, yet he still trembled as he drew the bowstring—he knew his commander was right; mercy now would only lead to more deaths.
"Shoot arrows!"
Caelesal's command rang out again.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!"
A dense rain of arrows shot down from the city wall, like a black cloud, engulfing the crowd below.
The middle-aged man was still shouting "Save us" when an arrow pierced his throat. Blood spurted out, and he clutched his neck, falling to the ground, his body convulsing a few times before falling still.
The woman holding her child screamed, trying to shield her child with her body, but she was struck by several arrows simultaneously. Mother and child fell together into a pool of blood.
The soldiers on the city wall closed their eyes, some even daring not to look at the scene below.
The Militiamen trembled with fear, some uncontrollably gagging.
Only Caelesal remained standing rigidly on the arrow tower, her gaze fixed on the scene below, her face devoid of any expression, only her hand gripping the sword hilt, knuckles white—how could she not want to save these people? But she was the commander of the Knights, Katushir's defense line; she could not retreat.
"Hahaha! Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!"
Below the city wall, the beastmen let out maniacal laughter.
A Great Horned beast, carrying a giant axe, pointed at Caelesal on the city wall and roared, "Your compatriots are all sacrifices to Chaos! Katushir will soon become ruins!"
The roars of the beastmen and the screams of the common folk intertwined, like a dirge from hell.
Caelesal took a deep breath, suppressing the pang in her heart—fortunately, those skaven, after helping the beastmen dig a tunnel, had returned to their underground lair with the stolen ore and food , not staying to besiege the city.
If the skaven and beastmen had joined forces, attacking the city from the ground while digging tunnels underground to enter, Katushir would have been impossible to defend.
"Prepare! The beastmen are attacking!"
Caelesal's voice rang out again.
The soldiers on the city wall suddenly snapped back to attention, wiped the tears from their faces, and re-gripped their weapons—the death of their compatriots had turned their fear into rage, and the fire of vengeance ignited in their eyes.
Indeed, before the bodies of the common folk below had even cooled, a heavy sound of footsteps came from afar.
Dense hordes of beastmen rushed out from the ruins, like a black torrent, charging towards the city wall—at the forefront were Ungor and Gors, short in stature but incredibly fast, some pushing rudimentary siege engines, some carrying ladders, dressed in chaotic iron and leather armor, some even wrapped only in rags, holding sharpened wooden sticks and rusty axes, their faces full of cruel smiles.
"Kill! Climb the city wall! Kill them all!"
The leading Ungor roared, carrying a ladder, and was the first to rush to the base of the city wall.
He stepped on the bodies of his comrades, trying to hook the ladder onto the city wall, but a city militia spearman pierced his chest with a spear. His body fell from the ladder, crashing onto the beastmen below.
"Shoot arrows! Throw stones!" Caelesal shouted.
The ballistas on the city wall boomed, and arm-thick bolts whistled through the air, shooting into the beastman crowd, instantly piercing through several Ungor.
The archers drew their bowstrings full, and a rain of arrows, like dense raindrops, shot towards the beastmen below.
The Militiamen picked up stones from the ground and hurled them fiercely downwards—the stones smashed into the heads of the beastmen, instantly splattering brains and blood all over the base of the city wall.
But the beastmen were like madmen, completely disregarding casualties.
They stepped on the bodies of their comrades, continuing to charge towards the city wall, some even grabbing cracks in the city wall with their hands, trying to climb up bare-handed.
The siege engine pounded against the city gate, making the door panels tremble slightly, and the iron rings on it screeched harshly.
Just then, a sharp horn blast came from the rear of the beastman army.
Caelesal looked up and saw, in the center of the beastman army, several Gor Shamans in tattered cloaks dancing around a Blackrock—it was the Monolith of Chaos!
The Gor Shamans chanted obscure and incomprehensible incantations, waving their hands in the air. Black chaotic energy emanated from the Monolith of Chaos, like a black mist, enveloping the heads of the attacking beastmen.
Immediately after, rings of black magical light suddenly appeared above the beastmen's heads. The rings spun, emitting an eerie glow.
The eyes of the beastmen enveloped by the light rings instantly turned blood red! Their already hideous faces now gained an added touch of madness, and they emitted strange "ho-ho" sounds from their mouths, their strength doubling—an Ungor actually caught an arrow shot down from the city wall with his bare hands, breaking the shaft clean off; a Gor was hit in the head by a stone, but merely swayed and continued to climb towards the city wall.
"Chaos magic! They have Shamans!!" Caelesal's expression was grim. She drew her knight's sword and shouted to the Knights beside her, "Knights prepare! Once they climb the city wall, cut them down with your swords! Do not let them gain a foothold!"
"Yes, Commander!"
The Knights of the five hundred Knights all drew their long swords, their silver-white blades glinting coldly in the sunlight.
They formed neat ranks, standing on the inner side of the city wall, their gazes vigilantly fixed on the fearless beastmen below—these beastmen, empowered by Chaos magic, were ten times harder to deal with than before, and this siege battle was destined to be a bloodbath.
Below the city wall, the beastmen's siege engine was still furiously battering the city gate, and the ladders were covered with red-eyed beastmen; on the city wall, crossbow bolts and stones continued to fall, the shouts of the soldiers, the roars of the beastmen, and the swirling sounds of the magic rings intertwined, deafening.
Caelesal stood on the arrow tower, her golden hair disheveled by the wind, yet she still held her knight's sword straight.
She knew that this siege battle had only just begun, and Katushir's fate rested on this gray-green city wall.
In the distant forest, a green army was rapidly advancing towards Katushir.