75 - Fort Shi Part One
Morris has been waiting with his men for two days. A trio of scouts keeps an eye on Fort Shi, while the two platoons of soldiers and the thirty-seven cavalrymen stay out of sight.
The long days of waiting have ensured that Morris now has a pretty good idea of the defenses of the fort. Every time he was on the lookout himself, he gradually drew his map of the fort.
That's a good thing, otherwise he would never have discovered the weak spot in the fort's defenses.
Like the forts Falwyn built near the southern border, Fort Shi was originally intended as a base of operations. The scale is slightly larger, because Chakra only has one fort, against the five forts of Falwyn, but it still isn’t much more than a bunch of barracks and warehouses with a wooden palisade around it.
What Morris has discovered, however, is that over time that palisade has not been maintained. Probably because the warriors of Falwyn never get this far east of the border.
The consequence of this neglect is that some of the tree trunks are rotten and that at the back of the fort some trunks have even fallen over. Already, a small person can enter the fortress without much difficulty, and with a little work, even the heavily armored men of the New Legion can find their way inside!
On the third day of waiting, there is finally movement at the fort.
"Captain Morris, it worked! It seems as if it is emptying, I’m guessing only a few hundred are left behind. Arnaut and I had already counted five regiments when I came to get you, who knows how many men have already left."
"According to the latest information we have, there are a lot more than the standard five regiments in that fort. Let's hope you and Arnaut are right and they’re all leaving. If more than one or two are left behind, we have a problem."
Fortunately, it seems as if Raidon and Morris' plan succeeds, because by the time night falls, the scouts have counted thirteen regiments of infantry and seven regiments of cavalry. This means that only one regiment has remained to guard the fort.
That same night Morris and his men sneak to the fort. At the back of the fort where the palisade is broken, the forest has been allowed to encroach on the walls, allowing the soldiers to hide between the shadows of the trees. Morris has instructed everyone to secure all parts that can make noise. Even the horses, which they have secured a long way back in the forest, have been given cloths tied around their feet.
"Careful now, we wait for that lookout to walk the other way, then we rush to the palisade. First the cavalrymen, who can go through the hole without too much noise. Then you come with your men. Ice, your job is to make that hole big enough for your men to easily pass through. We meanwhile, will try to silence that lookout. If they manage to sound the alarm, try to get inside as soon as possible. Go straight to the barracks where light is on to keep those doors closed. If two soldiers push against a door with their harnesses on, it has to be a really strong guy to get those doors open."
"Got it, Morris," Sergeant Ice replies, "let's hope your men are successful with the lookout. Otherwise, otherwise it could go terribly wrong. We don't even know exactly how many warriors they have left behind. I hope they didn't get any reinforcements after you got the estimate."
"Let's not worry about that now. It is what it is."
A little later, the lookout turns around to walk his round again. Without a word, Morris and his warriors rush to the breach in the palisade. Just behind them is a squad of sergeant Ice's soldiers, who are moving even quieter.
The first part of the plan proceeds without difficulty. Morris' warriors know how to take down the lookout without him being able to utter a sound. A few minutes later, the soldiers of the legion also break through the palisade.
Right after that, however, things start to go wrong. One of the other lookouts sees something out of the corner of his eye, and immediately sounds the alarm.
The rest of the legion's soldiers are now rushing to the fort to get inside as quickly as possible. No one tries to move quietly now that the Chakras know they are there.
"Ice, take care of those barracks!" Morris shouts to the big soldier, "we will take care of the men on the walls."
Even before he is finished, the first soldiers have already rushed away in duos. Sergeant Ice himself was just as quick to assess the situation as Morris, and he immediately sent his men on their way without waiting for the older captain.
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"Shit, this place is a lot bigger than I thought," Sergeant Ice shouts. He and his men have to walk a lot further than he had thought to reach some barracks. In each barracks a hundred men can sleep, thus it’s important to keep them inside.
The first three barracks are soon blocked by two burly soldiers. Unfortunately, this means that there are still seven barracks left where light is on. With a final sprint, two other duos manage to reach the next barracks.
In the distance Ice sees the next squads of his platoon coming running, but they will never be in time to block the last barracks. He quickly calls the squad leader of his first squad to run together with him to the next building.
With six out of ten barracks blocked, it will at least be a fair fight. A little later, the other squads also run past Ice.
"You two, come and relieve us!" he shouts to the last two soldiers.
The moment he shouts it, he suddenly feels a huge thud against the door. He almost falls over, but the weight of his harness helps to keep the door closed. The Chakras have finally woken up to the persistent sound of the screaming warriors on the lookout. However, after pushing two more times, they seem to give up trying to get through the door.
"I think you can relieve us now." Ice tells the two soldiers. But even as he says this, they hear a huge scratching sound of iron on iron. The Chakras have thought of sticking their swords between the cracks of the door. Only the heavy armor saves Ice from being impaled. He quickly lets the soldiers take their place.
In the distance he sees that the next barrack is also blocked, and that his men near the door of the barrack after that are battling a dozen Chakran warriors. With their shield wall, the more than thirty soldiers push their opponents further and further back, until they can finally close the door of that barrack.
"Hold the line there!" Sergeant Ice shouts to his squad leaders, "Those last barracks are lost. If we form up here, at least they can't free the others. The other platoon will come and help us when they are finished with the other barracks."
Indeed, Sergeant Mateo's platoon is busy setting fire to and securing the previously blocked barracks. The first building is already burning like a torch, while a squad of soldiers walks around the building to ensure that no warriors manage to come out through the windows. From the inside fearful screams can be heard from the trapped warriors. Meanwhile, the other squads are also on their way to their assigned barracks, with torches that they have lit at the cooking fires of the fort.
There is also a lot of fighting on the walls. A fort the size of Fort Shi has a lot of lookouts, and the watchmen have joined together to face their attackers. Morris and his warriors have already killed a dozen lookouts, fighting in two groups of twenty along the walkways. Almost half of the walls of the fort are already in their hands when Morris sees that the soldiers of the legion have not succeeded in blocking all the barracks.
"That's enough men, if we push further we will be attacked in the back by two hundred warriors. We’ll hold here until the soldiers have done their part."
As the fire spreads further and further through the fort, Sergeant Ice and his soldiers are also attacked in the back. He has already sent five soldiers with a squad leader to give the soldiers that keep the doors closed some cover. That's all he can spare from the shield line. He has already lost two of his men due to lucky hits from the enemy, so he himself has already taken his place next to his soldiers.
Slowly the legionaries are driven back until they reach the door of the eighth barrack. The two soldiers who are pushing against the door look at each other for a moment, after which they both draw their large two-handed swords. First one, and then the other makes room so he can push his sword deep into the. As a result, the door can be opened a little bit, but the soldiers can join the shield wall without the enemy warriors escaping.
Meanwhile, in the first two barracks, it has become quiet, and the soldiers there rush to the next buildings. The four soldiers of Ice's platoon help to give the shield wall cover against a bunch of warriors who make circumferential movements between the other buildings.
From the walkway, Morris has a good view of the battle that takes place inside the fort. Although he started to doubt for a moment whether the legion would be able to hold its own, it seems as if that doubt is unfounded. Half the fort is already shrouded in smoke and flames, while the soldiers with their blackened armor have now managed to set fire to the seventh barrack. Here and there a bunch of warriors have managed to escape from the hell of burning barracks, but most of them don't even have their clothes on.
Then he sees a group of about twenty warriors working their way behind the shield wall of the soldiers by making a wide detour. For a moment Morris doubts whether he should help with a bunch of men, but then a squad of soldiers comes running who have just torched a barrack. With their shields in front of them, they make their way through the small group of enemies like a battering ram, leaving death and destruction behind them.
When these soldiers have also joined the shield wall, it is no longer pushed back, and they even manage to push the Chakrans back. Slowly but surely, ground is being gained again.
Sergeant Mateo, meanwhile, begins to make a circumferential movement with his half platoon, just like the Chakras tried a few moments ago. Slowly the enemy is pushed further and further into one corner of the fort, leaving Morris and his men free to advance further as well.
Although the Chakras are still in the majority, their morale is totally broken. Most have only grabbed their swords and are now shivering from the cold in their underwear. After a few minutes of retreat, the warriors shattered. The once tough men run like terrified hares to the front gate of the fort. When they manage to remove the heavy beam from the doors, they run south as fast as they can in the same direction as their comrades earlier that day.
For the soldiers and cavalrymen of the New Legion, however, there is little time to celebrate. Twelve men were killed, including nine soldiers. Almost double that is injured but out of danger. The just over a hundred remaining men plunder the fort as quickly as possible, taking only what they can carry, or stack on the two wagons and the seventeen horses left behind, with the wagons also having to transport the dead and wounded. Morris and the two sergeants, meanwhile, rumble around headquarters looking for any papers that might be important.
By sunrise, there is little left of the once proud fortress. After the rapid looting, every building was set on fire and even the old palisade had to pay the price. With pieces of roofing from the buildings, the palisade was lit in various places, after which the soldiers quickly run off. They still have a long way to go to reach the border and the escaped Chakras will warn their comrades in the meantime. Maybe their cavalry is already on its way back!