"Stones, move stones, there are no stones left in the catapult!"

"Crossbowmen, don't waste arrows by hiding behind the shield all the time, give a stand up and shoot!"

"Hold on, brothers, keep attacking, don't stop, the walls of Viruga won't last long!"

In the Rhodok siege camp under the city walls, the officers were busy directing their troops to attack the city. The heavy crossbowmen from Djerkhara hid behind the shields below the city and kept firing at the defenders on the walls. They have the advantage in weapons and experience, while the defenders have the advantage. Because of the division of troops on the Rhodok side to surround the city, the number of crossbowmen on both sides of the south gate was quite incompatible, and they always maintained a state of firing at each other. And Rhodok's siege engines were already approaching the city walls, and Rhodok's soldiers were already planning to lower the baffle and climb to the top of the city.

However, at this time, the city defense advantage of the Svadia army was reflected, under the command of the Svadia sergeants, the ballistas and catapults were all aimed at the siege vehicle close to the city wall, and the huge crossbow bolts and stones were all smashed on the siege vehicle, and after a while, the bottom of the siege vehicle was smashed by the catapult stone projectiles flying from the side, and the wheels used to propel the weapon forward flew out directly because the unbalanced siege vehicle pressed down, This huge engineering weapon broke down less than ten meters from the city wall, and with the size of the siege vehicle's baffle, it could not reach the edge of the city wall at all.

But after blocking a siege engine, the defenders of Swadia were unable to stop the battering ram. Rhodok's spearmen took cover with shields, and escorted the battering rams as they approached the gates, with arrows and stones thrown from the walls. Swadia's troops immediately poured down the hot oil and fired rockets to drop torches, and if not to burn the battering ram, they had to use boiling oil and flames to drive away the battering ram soldiers.

The most aggressive south gate held off the Rhodok attack, but that didn't mean the other gates had the same luck. At the west gate of the city, the siege tower managed to reach the edge of the city wall and lowered the baffle. Dozens of hoplite Rhodok infantry ascended to the top of the city, all of them veteran spearmen who had lowered their spears, the elite of the troops, and were dedicated to taking the most important part of the city. The officers of Djerkhara promised that when they took the wall, everyone would be paid handsomely, in the way they wanted. So the morale of the hoplites was very high, and they fought the Svadian crossbowmen on the walls with broad shields, hoes and hammers.

These crossbowmen were not inferior in close combat, and they were trained to use their swords as well as light infantry units, but they quickly fell into a disadvantage when faced with the hoplites of Rhodok. They lacked shields to protect themselves, and their one-handed swords and pickaxes did no noticeable damage to their opponents' defenses. So in close combat, the crossbowmen were quickly repulsed, and the Swadian infantry and heavy cavalry who had left their horses immediately replaced the crossbowmen and began hand-to-hand combat with the Rhodoks on the walls.

Svadia's troops were not inferior in combat effectiveness to the other side, but because of the city defense, the number of city defense troops at the west gate was not sufficient, and when more troops rushed from the siege tower to the head of the city, the siege troops at the city gate position were even more insufficient.

Under heavy pressure, Swadia's troops took out their "secret weapon", concocted their own black powder according to the recipe provided by Byron, and sealed the opening in a clay pot, leaving only a small hole for inserting the fuse to ignite. They threw these clay pots off the walls and tried to destroy the battering rams with gunpowder weapons and drive away the besieging troops. He also threw clay pots at the Rhodoks gathered on the siege towers, hoping to inflict a lot of casualties on the opposing side.

However, there was a serious problem with the recipe given by Byron, even after the Swadia engineers adjusted the formula, the power of the explosion did not destroy the battering ram, although it injured the Rhodok soldiers who operated the battering ram, but one group of wounded soldiers was withdrawn, and another group of troops were filled. As for the Rhodok troops on the siege tower, although they were startled by the gunpowder and wounded many people, and two fell from the siege tower and fell half to death, they still stopped their attack.

A similar situation arose in the direction of the North Gate, where Rhodok relied on his numerical superiority and ample siege weapons to suppress the city defenses of Svadia for a time. At this moment, the troops who had stayed in the city as a backup and to maintain law and order immediately rushed to the west gate and the north gate under the order of the anxious prince, and the east gate was fine. Since Byron took Viruga by detour, the level of defense of the eastern wall of Viruga has been greatly strengthened, and it can barely be supported.

The arrival of a new group of troops did help stabilize the situation for the previous defenders. Rhodok's troops made it to the city walls, but they also became targets for crossbowmen in the surrounding towers. The new arrival of troops also made up for Swadia's numerical advantage, and when the west gate was deadlocked, the Rhodok troops who climbed the north gate on the city wall were even forced to retreat to the corner near the siege tower, put up a shield formation on the city wall, and mobilized crossbowmen to climb the siege tower to support.

Prince Harauu thought he could breathe a sigh of relief, but when Conish heard the prince's arrangement, he broke out in a cold sweat. The reason why there has been no accident in the city so far is because there are still hundreds of soldiers and incorporated militia stationed in the city, so that the people dare not resist. But just now after the prince gave the order, the troops in the city rushed to the city wall to support in a hurry, and even many people were shouting "the city wall is in danger", and the language of Rhodok and Swadia was basically the same, and under the spread of those militiamen, the citizens would soon think that the city wall was going to be captured, and the rule of the Swadias was about to end. As the number of people controlling them decreased, they naturally began to rebel and support their fellow citizens.

Therefore, Conigs's first order was to ask the remaining troops to spread the news that the city walls were solid, and to let the troops run back in the streets, making a scene where the city was well defended and the garrison in the city was sufficient. This method played a role, and half of the city was still hiding in their homes and did not dare to do anything, but the other half of the city was only half a day after the distance was due to the problem of the troops, and by this time the people there and many merchants, nobles and even gang members' private soldiers and thugs had already taken out their hidden weapons and took the lead in killing the Swadias guarding their doorstep, and the militia immediately defected and stood in the middle of the street with the mob force, blocking the Swadia troops who came to support.