Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 656: Cat God Buster's reaction speed is seven times that of Brother Tian

In the afternoon, civil strife broke out among the defenders in Damanhur.

In the city, some people wanted to surrender to the Roman army, but others could not accept it no matter what. Tuohuan sent people to the city to make a call, but no one who could control the overall situation responded. At first, some people escaped from time to time, but later, those who refused to surrender occupied several city gates and shot arrows at those who shouted, causing the negotiations to be suspended halfway.

So, after confirming that there were no large-scale enemies around, Tuohuan officially ordered the siege to begin at around three o'clock in the afternoon.

The Eighth Corps had sent many men to pursue the enemy, so the Thirty-Third Corps took on the task of attacking the city. The cannons that Zhu Wenkui had brought with great effort finally found a better place to use them. The Second, Third, and Fifth Battalions dealt with the southeast, southwest, and northeast gates of the city respectively. The other battalions stood by in the surrounding areas. Only the northern gate was left vacant for the enemy to escape from the city.

Damanhur was previously used as a transit point on the trade route. Although not very large, like almost all cities with names in Egypt, it has an incredibly ancient history. In the Old Kingdom, it was a town. The city's current name comes from the Coptic "Thema-en-Horu", and this strange Coptic name comes from the ancient Egyptian language, meaning "City of Horus".

Nowadays, most Egyptians have no idea who their ancestors are, but these ancient names are very tenacious and have been passed down from generation to generation.

Because it is located on a major traffic route, the city defense facilities here are relatively complete. Idris said that more than a hundred years ago, there was a major earthquake here, and the city walls and buildings were severely damaged. The surrounding Bedouin tribes took advantage of the situation and came here to buy things for free, which caused great trouble to the merchants.

Therefore, after the political situation stabilized slightly, the first Sultan of the Burji Dynasty, Barquq, spent money to rebuild the city defense more than 20 years ago. Because of its important location and the relatively new city, even if the Mamluks started a civil war not long after, the defense facilities here were relatively intact. The Mamluks chose to fight a decisive battle here, probably because they saw the geographical advantages here - if they couldn't stop here, then there would be no defense until Cairo.

However, because of the previous failure, many soldiers had become frightened. When the sound of the cannons was heard, people in the city immediately started to make noises. At the southwest gate, the surrenderists and the diehards even started to fight directly. Seeing this, the various teams did not continue the bombardment for a longer time, but directly started to attack the city wall, trying to take important positions in the chaos.

The southeast gate where Guo Kang was located probably had more die-hard enemies, so no real commotion occurred. However, their siege firepower was also the strongest.

Zhu Wenkui personally operated the cannon this time. In the second round of bombardment, the siege cannon hit the gate tower, causing the upper floor to collapse. Other large and small cannons also fired at the city wall, destroying the battlements and suppressing the enemies on the top of the city.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the second battalion of soldiers carried various tools such as wooden boards, ladders, sandbags, etc. and rushed towards the city wall.

The Mamluks' defense was not good. The number of trenches outside the city was small and not deep enough. The density of the defensive towers and the supporting fortifications outside the city walls were far inferior to those of the Europeans. The new Russian soldiers were not afraid of these obstacles. Under the command of the officers, they quickly filled the trenches and soon arrived under the city walls.

The enemies on the wall kept shooting arrows, and the second brigade pushed all the carts over to use as fortifications to shoot back at the enemy. However, the people below the wall were still at a disadvantage. The equipment they brought to climb the city walls was also seriously insufficient, and relying on a few hastily made ladders was still a bit too much.

After organizing two attacks and failing, Guo Kang became a little anxious. He called Father Ivan and asked him to gather all the Russian soldiers, collect all the reed baskets, fill them with soil, and make more ladders. During this time, he let Zhu Wenkui play freely.

When the field battle just ended, Guo Kang's brigade reported to the superiors because of the huge consumption of supplies, requesting to replenish them as soon as possible. As a result, the camp organized a large number of transport teams to quickly deliver them supplies and materials that might be needed for the siege.

The transport team was basically made up of local Egyptians who were responsible for hard labor, loading and unloading supplies from the docks, and delivering the large amount of military supplies piled up in Alexandria to the front line. The Egyptians were very surprised to learn that they could get paid for working for the Romans, so the news spread very quickly. In just three days, people from nearby villages came running over to ask if they were still hiring.

These people carried a lot of reed baskets. This is also a very ancient container, made of reeds that are everywhere along the Nile River, so poor families will also have a few to carry various things. Naturally, there are many in the transport team.

Father Ivan led his men to the legion headquarters and took away all the baskets used by the Egyptians who were carrying things there. He also called hundreds of Egyptians who were carrying baskets and brought all the wood they could find. After arriving, everyone started digging the soil and making ladders, and they were very busy.

After getting ready, Guo Kang immediately ordered the drums to be beaten and the troops to march forward. All those who were still able to spare a hand joined the charge. Some pushed carts, some carried baskets on their backs, and some simply carried them on their heads. They charged towards the city wall again in a mighty force. The enemies on the top of the city continued to shoot arrows and throw stones, but the troops ignored them, dropped their baskets and left.

Not only the soldiers of the brigade, but also the Egyptians, participated in the transportation and charge. The translator told Guo Kang that these people came here specifically because of the extra subsidies for high-risk missions.

In the past, Egyptians had never been paid for working for various masters. But these days, the Romans really provided food and wages every day. Therefore, everyone believed in Father Ivan's call, even though they did not even have basic protective gear and many people died and were injured during one move, they did not flinch - compared with the hard life on weekdays, this kind of danger was not so scary.

With so many people working together, they soon built a platform of earth under the corner of the wall. The enemies on the top of the city wall began to fire rockets and pour kerosene, setting the reed baskets on fire. But even if the baskets were burned, the sand remained and even became stronger.

After running two laps, a wide earthen slope had been built under the corner of the wall. The people involved in the action were still in high spirits, charging forward under the arrows and stones and stepping on the flames.

Seeing this, Guo Kang ordered an immediate general attack.

This time, the 100-man team took the lead in attacking the city. Guo Kang, with Ma Wanjun and others, personally ran to a bunker built with carts under the city and gave orders nearby.

The enemies on the top of the city saw the flag and knew that this was a headquarters, so they concentrated their firepower and fired indiscriminately at it. The battalion flag was shot with holes all over it and was almost reduced to rags.

His men advised him to stay back, but Guo Kang said that as long as they were here, they could make the front line feel at ease and help them share the firepower. How could such an easy task be impossible to accomplish? Therefore, they never retreated.

Because of the additional earth slope, the height to be climbed was reduced by nearly half, and the pressure on the enemy suddenly increased. But they also concentrated their elite troops to defend the city. The 100-man team climbed the top of the city twice, but failed to gain a foothold and was driven down again.

Seeing this, Guo Kang told the others not to take turns to rest, and as long as they had equipment, they should all join the attack and make sure to take down the city wall. He also rushed out of the bunker and led the charge towards the city wall.

When he came to the corner of the wall, he saw a ladder being pushed away by the enemy. The ladder they made hastily did not even have a decent iron claw, and was falling backwards. Guo Kang shouted loudly, used all his strength, and rushed forward, pushing the ladder back directly. The Mamluk on the top of the city was still using a long pole to push the ladder, and Guo Kang was holding it down from below. For a while, the two sides were evenly matched.

The morale of the other soldiers was greatly boosted, and they took this opportunity to quickly climb to the top of the city wall. But the people on the city wall immediately concentrated their firepower on Guo Kang. Arrows flew like locusts, and in an instant, several arrows pierced his body. It felt like he was hit by someone, and he relied on his armor to withstand it.

Ma Wanjun followed him and told him to go back quickly. Guo Kang grabbed him and pushed him towards the ladder, telling him to go up first and occupy the top of the city. Ma Wanjun had no choice but to draw his sword, bite it in his mouth, jump up, and quickly rush up using his hands and feet.

Guo Kang continued to grit his teeth and turned his head to call on everyone to hurry up. However, at this time, the enemies on the top of the city began to throw stones down again. One of them hit Guo Kang's helmet exactly. He felt a black screen in front of his eyes and lost consciousness.

In the darkness, Guo Kang's consciousness gradually became light and agile. His senses were somewhat dull, and his mind was slightly scattered, as if he had not yet recovered. But he could clearly feel that he was flying upwards quickly.

As time went by, he flew higher and higher, and the darkness gradually dissipated. Soon, the surroundings changed from dark to hazy, and then bright. His vision gradually became clear, and he found that he was standing on a small island in the middle of the river.

On the vast river, the water waves rise and fall slightly, soaking the shores of a number of small islands. There are reeds growing there, and the breeze blows, and the reeds sway gently, bringing a fresh breath. In this quiet and beautiful environment, people's mood seems to be light and happy.

However, Guo Kang did not feel relieved, but became even more confused.

"Was I killed by a stone?" he said to himself in surprise. "But I am a Han Chinese. How come a stone hit me in the reed field?"

"Hey, just borrowing a place temporarily, don't worry about it." Suddenly, an old man's voice came from the side. Guo Kang turned around and saw an old man with sparse hair and white beard, wearing a simple robe, leading a cow, walking towards him from somewhere.

He walked forward a few steps, stretched out his hand and pushed aside a bunch of reeds: "Here, come over here."

Guo Kang didn't understand what was going on, so he could only follow him forward. He then discovered that behind the tall reeds was a large open space where several people were standing and talking to each other.

"If things continue like this, something bad will happen." An old man with a turban and a long beard, with his back to Guo Kang, said to the others, "You can see that after so many attempts, my followers still haven't made any progress. If I am powerful, they will become overly conceited, not motivated to make progress, and spend all their energy on internal strife. If I am weak, they will fall into mania and inferiority, and either try to please outsiders without any bottom line, or reject everything foreign. I don't know what to do now."

"Our location in Greece is not good either. We are too close to the barbarians. Once the barbarians rise up, it will be difficult for us to turn things around. So I think the poor geographical location is the most critical reason." At the table next to them, two strong men were arm wrestling. One of them, wearing a Chiton robe and a curly beard, said:

"I think Lao Kong is much luckier. They are surrounded by barbarians who are greatly influenced by the Chinese, and the most deadly and savage barbarians are too far away from them. Even with my apprentice's ability, it is difficult to send a large-scale army over. By the time they are finally able to send a large army over, his followers have enough time to react in many ways."

"It's not luck." A sturdy man in ancient Central Plains dress opposite him said as he exerted his strength, "If the barbarians were close, they would inevitably become Chinese; barbarians who are not Chinese can only exist in very far places. If China suddenly ran to the location of Greece, there might not be the barbarians you mentioned - isn't this what we are experimenting and observing now?"

These two people attracted a lot of Guo Kang's attention. After all, it was the first time he saw two muscular old men arm wrestling and engaging in a philosophical debate without even breathing.

However, a middle-aged man with long hair next to him couldn't help but interrupt and said, "Old Kong, you can't just give the conclusion, you have to help people think of a solution."

"There are common senses in the world, and we cannot interfere recklessly. You and Teacher Li have already caused a big stir. In this era, we can't really try to change the earth, right? Therefore, only education can change the situation of the entire civilization." The muscular old man in Central Plains clothes replied.

"Isn't this the truth?" The long-haired middle-aged man spread his hands and said, "How to educate, and what to educate?"

"Of course it's Ren." The muscular old man from Central Plains said as a matter of course.

"Hey, you're repeating it again." "It's the same sentence..."

"Meow……"

Everyone sighed with emotion.

When Guo Kang heard the cat's meow, he discovered that there was a black cat next to them. The cat also had a very human expression on its face, as if it was also complaining about Old Man Kong.

"Ren is too broad. Let's be more specific." The muscular old Greek man advised: "Is there anything more specific that everyone should strengthen and learn more about?"

"Yi, Wu!" Old man Kong said two words this time.

"emmmm..."

At this time, the old man leading the cow also came over and interrupted, "Stop chatting and settle this child down. Do you want to tell him what you didn't tell him before?"

"Eh?" The long-haired middle-aged man was the most surprised and turned around quickly: "Now is not the time to come here..."

"You guys..." Guo Kang felt as if he knew who they were, and quickly asked a question that he had thought of from time to time over the years but had never been able to verify: "How did you get me here?"

"I did it. It's none of their business. Of course, Mr. Li also agreed." The long-haired middle-aged man took the initiative to say, "If you want to blame someone, you can blame me. This is indeed the crime I should bear..."

"There's no need to talk about guilt or anything like that now..." Guo Kang said helplessly, "But why me?"

"Actually, this was an accident." The long-haired middle-aged man explained, "Originally, you shouldn't have come here. My old friend, a neighbor in Xiaoya, hoped that you could go there to help him. I was responsible for sending you to that distinguished guest. However, there was an accident along the way, and you fell off halfway and fell into this world - you should know what happened next."

"Minor Asians? Turkmen?" Guo Kang was even more puzzled. "But why would the Turkmen come to me? I don't even know such a powerful person. Who is he? Is he another relative of Meltem?"

"Oh, this is going too far. I can't explain it to you in detail for now. Anyway, just know that this is what happened." The long-haired man waved his hands in obvious embarrassment, indicating that he had nothing to say for the time being.

Only then did Guo Kang discover that there was a hole that looked like a wound on both of his hands.

"No wonder it fell halfway, so this is what happened..." He muttered, and suddenly thought of a bigger problem.

"Since you sent me to this world, shouldn't you give me some... do you know what cheats mean?" he reminded quickly.

"I know. I also understand the later sayings. Otherwise, you wouldn't understand the Hebrew and Syriac I spoke at that time." The middle-aged man shrugged: "Well... I'm sorry. Originally, according to a friend's request, I did prepare a gift for you, so that you would have enough strength to stand there. But during the transportation, I accidentally lost it..."

"Uh……"

"That's actually where the inner strength you guys call it comes from." He told Guo Kang, "That strength fell into this world, instantly spread out, and entered the rules of the world. Fortunately, the impact was not very serious, and we couldn't take the initiative to interfere further. So, many people were also affected, and the source of their strength was here."

Guo Kang always felt like he was at a disadvantage. But although the long-haired man spoke politely, he did not seem particularly regretful, as if he was actually giving Guo Kang an advantage. Guo Kang had no choice but to nod his head to show that he understood.

"Hey, you can't stay here for long. We all need your help with many things." The long-haired man continued: "Let's stop here for today. I'll take you back later."

"Then should I go and say hello to those gentlemen?" Guo Kang asked.

"No, no, you shouldn't have contact with them." replied the long-haired man.

At this time, the two arm wrestlers decided the winner. The old man from Zhongyuan exerted his strength suddenly and pressed down the old man from Greece.

"Your master is still stronger." The old man Zhongyuan said with a smile.

When the two men saw Guo Kang, Guo Kang greeted them with two etiquettes. The two old men looked very happy and greeted him in return.

The bearded old man and the black cat next to them were muttering something. Guo Kang wanted to go and take a look, but the long-haired man quickly stopped him and stretched out his hand to block Guo Kang's eyes: "Alright, alright, stop looking around..."

But having said that, because there was a hole in his hand, Guo Kang could actually still see. Realizing this, Guo Kang couldn't help laughing. Although he felt it was impolite, he still couldn't help laughing.

"No, kid, this is not funny..." The long-haired man was a little flustered.

"I roughly know the rest, but that cat...who is that?" Guo Kang insisted.

"What do you mean by 'only'? That's the cat god Buster. He is actually the host here." The long-haired man said helplessly.

Guo Kang wanted to explain, but the black cat suddenly jumped over and stared at him. Guo Kang quickly followed the line of sight and found that what it was staring at was not strictly speaking himself, but the amulet with the Horus symbol painted on it that his sister had given him.

"Is there anything wrong with it?" Guo Kang subconsciously grabbed the amulet and asked.

"Meow--"

The cat did not respond in a language he could understand, but pounced directly on him. Although it looked like an ordinary-sized cat, Guo Kang flew backwards as if he had been hit by a giant beast.

Before he could react to what was happening, he fell backwards as if he was thrown out of a window.

Finally, he only saw the long-haired man dancing and explaining something hurriedly, and the old man looking at him with a smile. Then, he felt a strong sense of weightlessness.

This feeling startled him and he subconsciously tried to struggle. As a result, he jumped up.

"Ouch!"

"Woke up?"

"I told you it's okay, you see he's still very energetic..."

Guo Kang came to his senses when he heard a voice beside him. He found himself standing in front of the bed, surrounded by Tuo Huan, several senior officers and a group of subordinates. Looking down, he still held the Horus Amulet in his hand, which was still slightly hot.

"What's wrong with you? Are you okay?" Tuohuan came up first and asked, "You suddenly yelled and scared us. Did you see anything before? You laughed, hesitated, and muttered..."

"It's the cat god Bast." Guo Kang answered immediately: "He is very fast, faster than Brother Tian..."

"Wait, what's going on?" Tuohuan and others were confused.

"Well, let's talk about it later - is the battle over? Come here all of you." Guo Kang waved his hand.

"The battle is over. We've taken the city." Tuohuan replied.

(End of this chapter)