Chapter 54: Treacherous Turncoats

Camped outside Jenkas the supposed 100,000-strong army of Luxenberg began preparations for their siege. Dozens of cannons were being positioned along 2 sides of the city. Each side had at least 110 cannons and 40,000 infantrymen.

The standards of Luxenberg and Cassell flapped gracefully in the light wind while drawing the attention of the onlooking defenders. They were severely outnumbered, almost 10 to 1. The disparity between both sides was glaring. Half the Maximillian defenders were militia-based soldiers or those who had not seen real combat. They were astronomically outgunned.

Osiris stood on the walls and looked out to see the army that had crushed his father. They were well-organised and exuded a foul stench of death. These men had been forged for war and their success in battle only tempered and refined them.

Victor saw Osiris and his advisor on the walls. All he could think about was if Captain Nowak and his unit had successfully infiltrated the defender's ranks. If they had then they would proceed with the second part of the mission.

On the first night of the siege, they would quietly kill the guards on the least defended part of the wall and let soldiers slowly scale the walls. With a sizeable force inside they would make a push to the gate and open it for the main army to come in. Luckily Captain Nowak was deployed and his men were deployed to guard 1 of the walls that the main army was besieging.

The day went quietly, there were no parlays with each other, and there was no exchange of gunfire. This made Osiris suspicious but he had no cause to act. He had been astute in his defensive planning, supplies were well distributed to the city's people and ammunition depots were set up in strategic locations so that his men would not have to run all over the place to restock their ammunition.

With 10,000 infantrymen and 20 cannons on the wall, his options were limited in how deployed his men. Osiris had not met Victor but ascertained that he was not someone to bombard the city. He made the assumption that Victor was looking for a more peaceful approach to this conquest. 

Guerrilla tactics were an option for Osiris, sending a handful of soldiers out the main gate and hoping they could sabotage the enemy camp by burning supplies or assassinating officers. The only drawback is that opening the main gate is a slow and loud process, that could easily attract enemy attention.

With the fall of the sun, darkness engulfed the land. Torches flickered in the wind and many soldiers remained vigilant on the walls. The moon was full and its faint light illuminated the city ever so slightly. While the majority of the watchmen were focusing on the sides with Luxenberg forces stationed outside them, the other walls were not as well patrolled.

Captain Nowak and his men stood watch on the walls on the far side of the city. Due to the lack of manpower, 150 men in total were guarding the 2 other walls. Luckily for Victor 100 out of the 150 were his men. In the dark 2,000 Luxenberg soldiers hid in darkness waiting for a signal from Captain Nowak.

A few hours after midnight Captain Nowak made his move. Giving a nod to his men they used their bayonets to silently slit the throats of the other soldiers stationed with them. With sadness and loss in the eyes of the Maximillian soldiers, they perished with no opposition.

Using a handheld lantern as a signalling device, the Luxenberg soldiers slowly and lowly crossed the open space before the walls. A couple dozen hooks flew in the air and attached themselves to walls. In a disciplined fashion, the Luxenberg soldiers began to scale the walls. 

Thanks to the sheer size of the capital the walls were quite long, meaning that multiple enemies could scale the walls without any of the sides noticing. Hundreds of soldiers began to form a foothold inside the city near the wall they had just scaled. The plan was proceeding as planned. The other sides of the walls were unaware of what danger they soon would be in.

Within an hour 2,000 Luxenberg soldiers were now in the city, however scaling the walls and getting in was the easy part of the plan, and now it was the hard part. They had to discreetly traverse the streets of Jenkas to the other side and quickly take control of the gatehouse and the gate before being overrun by the enemy.

The turn cloak soldiers had an important task now. They would lead the soldiers through the city and kill any guards deployed in their way. It was a tall task due to the fact they had to silently lead 2,000 enemy soldiers through a city full of people. Nevertheless, they still executed their task without question or complaint.

As the Luxenberg soldiers crept through the city, they had been silent as a mouse. No words were whispered, no gear was rattling and no enemies could cry out for help as Captain Nowark and his turncoats silently butchered them. After almost an hour the soldiers had arrived near the gate. The sun was soon to rise so they had to act quickly.

At least 800 men had been sent to guard each side of the wall that had enemy forces stationed outside it. There was no way they could silently take the gatehouse especially when the gate and the gatehouse had a few hundred men. 

Acknowledging the fact that they had to take it by force all the soldiers loaded their muskets. The Maximillian soldiers were about to find the string of dead bodies in the city and on the wall. There was no time for hesitation. With a hand signal, the soldiers began their approach.

There were a couple dozen of me guarding the gate itself, seeing the approaching soldiers they brandished their muskets. Before they could even load their weapons a flurry of shots were fired. Precise in their shooting the Luxenberg soldiers dealt with the guards at the gate with ease.

The noise from their muskets alerted many civilians and soldiers nearby. Unrelenting in their mission the soldiers climbed the staircase next to the gate and took on the soldiers atop of the wall.

Close-quarter combat ensued as bayonets began to fly. Slashing and stabbing their way through, the Luxenberg soldiers were quick to overwhelm the soldiers on the wall and in the gatehouse with their numerical superiority.

Time was of the essence. The soldiers of Maximillian were now converging on their location. Frantically a few of the Luxenberg soldiers began to use the 2 wheel cranks to open the portcullis. The gates had been unlocked and swung open and now the portcullis was slowly rising, the infiltrating soldiers had done their job. With the enemy soldiers bearing down on them, they hoped Victor and his army could do their part.

Victor and his army had been ready for hours, hoping for the inside team's success. With the sound of musket fire in the city, they knew what was to come. Forming ranks the infantrymen began to march towards the city. As they got closer they could see the slowly rising portcullis and their comrades fighting hard. Bearing a satisfied grin Victor yelled at his men.

"Charge! Let us go forth and take this city!"