Traveling through The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

Moira's hands were shaking.

As the saying goes, experts see the doorway, while laymen see the excitement. Although those battering rams were destroyed without even touching the outermost wooden fence, as the mentor of the three people on the wall, the female chief knew that her apprentices would also find it difficult to continue. At the end of the fight, the frequency of magic attacks and the damage caused were significantly reduced. These people needed to rest for two or three hours before they could fully recover.

Obviously, the enemy did not intend to wait that long.

"We only have two city gates, why do they have so many battering rams?!"

"When the rams reach the designated position, the wheels will be removed and then connected to form a passage. The enemy can then ignore the harassment from the archers."

"Look!"

Aigis shouted, pointing at the enemy camp in the distance.

A flagpole nearly ten meters high was erected, and a red battle flag with golden tassels rose slowly. The diamond-shaped black dragon emblem was like a dark cloud in the sky. Lydia felt bitter in her mouth. This was a flag that could only be used by the commander of an imperial army, and there was only one commander in Skyrim right now—General Tullius.

Under the protection of four guards, the general came to the front. He was not very tall, but he was upright and his steps were firm. The heavy armor was engraved with complex golden patterns, shining with the glory of the Holy Spirit under the baptism of the morning sun. The red cloak fluttered behind him, like a raging flame, eager to devour the ants who resisted stubbornly. His face was hidden under the helmet, but his majestic and sharp eyes pierced the people on the top of the tower.

"Long live the Empire!"

As the commander-in-chief arrived, a roar like a tsunami resounded throughout the camp. The general slowly raised his right hand to salute the soldiers, and then slashed down heavily.

After nearly two months of testing, the real attack began.

Lei Mei was worried. She knew that facing such an opponent, she would have to go all out, and if she did, she would probably not be able to protect Helgi.

The advantage of the Reachmen lies in their long-range firepower, but once the city gate is breached, the Imperial Legion can climb up the city wall from the internal steps and engage in hand-to-hand combat. Whether it is a cloth-clad mage or an archer wearing only simple leather armor, being approached by heavy infantry is nothing short of a nightmare. Lund got twelve sets of iron armor and eight shields from the orc tribe. With Lydia and Herata, there are only fourteen heavy armored warriors in the city, and most of them have been trained for less than two months.

The thirty spears and twenty tower shields that Dad had provided were also distributed, but Lydia did not count on them. Poor training was only one aspect, the most important thing was the lack of heavy armor. A spear formation without protection was nothing but a joke, and a dense formation moved slowly, which would make it a living target for enemy archers. Moreover, the terrain in the castle was complex, and shields could not cover everything.

The situation was urgent, and she had no time to think carefully about countermeasures. Before the loud horn of the Imperial Army sounded, Moira waved her staff and fired three magic light bullets in succession - this was the signal for everyone to assemble. Looking at the boiling castle under her feet, the crow witch gently touched Lei Mei's left shoulder.

"Miss Lydia, I leave those children in your care. May the God of Crows protect you."

Lei Mei bowed, avoiding the giant claws without leaving a trace, silently gave Helgi a look, and strode downstairs. A moment later, Aigis and Helgi also left separately, conveying the order of the female leader.

Aigis first found Lund and asked him to go to his father's base to request support, and then gathered all the scouts, including Helgi, a total of 14 people, as a reserve force. Keeping a reserve force in the war was something that his father had repeatedly emphasized to Moira. Although the female matriarch could not fully understand the significance of doing so for the time being, she still decided to follow his advice.

Helgi went to find Annis, while the old aunt gathered other wizards and brought 20 archers to quickly climb the city wall. They had learned from their classmates that although this house was strange, it was not without weaknesses. The supporting pillars and the wheels on both sides were the weak points. However, the people who were full of confidence were soon poured with a basin of cold water.

The three destroyed rams were still burning. The snow and cowhide caused a lot of smoke, which not only blocked the defenders' vision, but also affected the flight trajectory of spells and arrows. The siege party, encouraged by the commander's presence, fought bravely and rushed to the front. Next to each ram, there was a small team of shield-bearing warriors guarding them. They were fearless and brave. Even if they were hit by stray arrows or burned by flames, there were others to take over. The wounded were treated simply and immediately joined the follow-up team.

Annis threw a fireball, wiped the sweat off his face, and his eyes were full of despair. Including her, four mages had exhausted their magic power, and the result was only to paralyze a battering ram. As Lydia expected, the Imperial Legion connected the battering rams end to end to form a passage. A team of engineers ran up with shovels in their hands. Under the cover of shields and smoke, they threw burning wood onto the wooden fence outside the city. For a moment, the flames shot up to the sky, and the billowing smoke, carried by the valley wind, flooded the city like a surging flood.

The Rich people were completely silenced.

Whether shooting arrows or casting spells, they must be able to see the enemy first, but now they can hardly even open their eyes, and many of them are still coughing constantly. How can they draw the bow and aim?

Annis had no choice but to organize a retreat.

A muffled thumping sound came from the gate of the outer city, like a death knell in people's hearts. The wooden gate soon broke and disintegrated, and battering rams filed in. They were greeted by a rain of arrows, and a few reckless people were shot into hedgehogs. The heavily armored soldiers of the legion raised their shields to cover, and the engineers hurriedly overturned the three battering rams to the ground, forming a simple protective wall.

The burning obstacles had been cleared, and the defenders' vision became clear again. They then discovered that the legion's engineers had all covered their mouths and noses with scarves, which clearly indicated that they had planned the fire attack in advance. Moira was afraid that the enemy would repeat the same trick, so she did not dare to let the mage take action again. She watched helplessly as the enemy leisurely arranged their positions and took over the outer city's front wall.

But the two wings of the outer city wall were still in the hands of the Richmen. After more than a dozen people were shot dead, the legionnaires calmed down and gave up the attempt to attack the inner city gate with battering rams. The two sides fired at each other across the open ground, and the number of casualties increased.

Lei Mei divided the few heavy-armored warriors into two groups, one led by Moira's male favorite Dehengu and the old cat Jakir, guarding the relatively narrow east side, while she and Herata were responsible for the more open west side. She knew the fighting power of the Rich people very well. Once the two sides came into close combat, these rabble would probably collapse in an instant, so she had to do everything she could to stop the enemy.

It was almost noon, but no one had any intention of cooking. Instead, they gritted their teeth and tried to get to the job as soon as possible.

The Imperials knocked down several more rams, dividing the outer city into two. Soldiers continued to pour into the city, and archers also used fortifications to fight back. What puzzled Lydia was that Tullius's flag did not move at all. Logically, the commander-in-chief was on the battlefield, and he was determined to win, but the general seemed to be watching. However, she quickly collected her thoughts and focused her attention, because the enemy's heavy infantry had raised their shields and pressed forward under the rain of arrows.

The short distance of 20 to 30 meters was not easy for the imperial army. Moira was high above, and the battlefield situation was clear at a glance. Seeing that the outer city had been breached, she issued orders frequently. Teams of soldiers rushed to the commanding heights and looked for suitable targets on their own. For a while, arrows flew like locusts. Although most of them were blocked by shields and armor, there were still a few unlucky ones who lost their balance and fell from the top of the city wall and died under the wall.

However, this small setback did not disrupt the enemy's position. They continued to advance steadily and eventually collided with the heavy infantry of the defenders. Lei Mei drew her sword, roared, and was the first to join the fight. On the narrow wall, the Imperial Legion's numerical advantage was difficult to play, but the Reachman's spearmen showed their prowess. Under the cover of a small group of light infantry holding tower shields, they kept stabbing through the gaps in the crowd, and the results were impressive.

The archers of the Imperial Legion were suppressed by their counterparts on the commanding heights. They could only watch those beggar-like savages commit crimes but were unable to launch an effective counterattack.

Precious time passed by, and precious lives also died. Both sides believed that victory was just around the corner, and they both gritted their teeth and persisted.

Lei Mei had been at the forefront of the battle line, her battle robe and armor were covered with blood. A hammer came at her face, she raised her shield to block it, but she felt a piercing pain. Her left arm, which had been broken before, could not bear the heavy burden in the continuous high-intensity combat, but she did not dare to retreat. Years of hard training made her swing her sword almost like a conditioned reflex and cut the enemy.

The sword's blade had been bent at some point.

The continuous accidents disrupted Lydia's rhythm. When she was distracted for a moment, she was hit twice more. Fortunately, her comrades came to her rescue in time, which allowed her to catch her breath. Lydia threw away her sword and picked up an axe. She took a deep breath, suppressed the sweet smell in her throat, and tried to chop at the man.

Lydia was not good at using an axe. It was too short, top-heavy, and the edge of the axe blade was always hooked, far less flexible than a long sword. Moreover, her physical condition was getting worse and worse. The shield seemed to be filled with lead, and it was difficult to hold it straight, let alone parry. The enemy seemed to be desperate. One group of people fell down, and another group of people rushed up with howling, endlessly. The Rich people fell one by one, and the front line retreated step by step.

Finally, Lei Mei and Herata were lying back to back, like the remains of a destroyed dam, waiting for the next wave to hit them and leave nothing behind.

"I still can't defend it... I... should be qualified to go to Sovngarde, right?"

A purple light flashed, and Lydia's eyes blurred and she fainted.

Seeing the woman who looked like a demon falling down, the imperial army cheered and rushed forward. However, the next second, a huge monster suddenly appeared among them, and the cold air almost made people's blood coagulate. The body of the ice element occupied half of the city wall. It waved its arms and pushed away all the guys around it who were in the way. Five soldiers were unable to dodge and fell down screaming, dying on the spot.

On the other wall, the old cat Jakir had been seriously injured and retreated, while Dehengu was still holding on, but he could not hold on alone. The reinforcements led by Dad arrived at this time and finally reversed the unfavorable situation.

The attackers and defenders had been fighting for most of the day, and both were already exhausted. However, a sharp-eyed legionnaire glanced back from the top of the city wall. The imperial dragon flag, which symbolized the presence of the legion commander, was still fluttering in the wind, but the golden-armored general under the flagpole was nowhere to be seen!

"The general has withdrawn?"

"The general has withdrawn!"

Panic spread and the soldiers scrambled to escape.

The gates of the inner city were opened wide, and the Reachmen, led by Chief Moira, rushed out. Anger and hatred flowed in every wrinkle on the face of the hag, gathering on her giant claws and condensing into a red fireball. After a deafening explosion, a battering ram broke into pieces, and the flying wood chips hit the soldiers' faces, and some even pierced the unlucky ones' eyes. Screams rose and fell, but they stopped abruptly with the hum of the bowstring.

The panicked crowd rushed to the city gate, pushing and shoving, cursing, and some even hacked and killed their own comrades, just to escape as soon as possible. The Rich archers had given up aiming, and just occupied the advantageous position, pouring arrows on the city gate. In the end, most of the two centuries that rushed into the castle were killed, with less than 60 people escaping, and more than 20 people were captured.

Everyone later realized that the Imperial Army's attack was obviously premeditated. While the Western Army launched the siege, the Eastern Army also attacked the Rocky Canyon defended by the old man, making it impossible for him to provide support in time. Fortunately, the two veterans cooperated well, and Tagel decisively raided the enemy's flank and helped his in-laws hold the position. After a hard battle, the old man saw Lund and immediately led his men into the castle. When he saw the scout team standing neatly behind Moira, his nose was almost crooked with anger.

You are kept in the reserve team so that you can be deployed to key positions on the battlefield at critical moments, not to be cheerleaders!

According to Aigis, the old man scolded her harshly, but Moira endured it, so Helgi was able to save Lydia at the critical moment. The old man apologized to the female leader afterwards, because he found through observation that Helgi was the only one who could fight in the entire scout team, and it didn't seem to matter whether such a reserve team could go up or not...

Although they won the final victory, the situation of the tribe was not optimistic. Eight of the fourteen heavily armored warriors were killed, and the rest were all injured. Lei Mei was unconscious, Dehengu was disfigured, and Jakir and Herata were also seriously injured. The archers suffered heavy casualties in the exchange of fire with the enemy. One third of the spearmen on the west wall were killed by the enemy's final attack. In addition to the loss of personnel, the gate of the outer city was destroyed and the arrows were exhausted.

The imperial army was only repelled, and could come back at any time. Especially the soldiers who didn't have time to enter the city, they retreated very calmly, and even took back four or five battering rams without panic. The tribe lacked good hand-to-hand combatants, and the people brought by my father were exhausted and didn't dare to go out of the city to pursue.

Considering that there were not many medicines in the castle, Moira discussed with her father and decided to transport the seriously injured out of the castle, preferably to Falkreath for recuperation. The reinforcements would stay temporarily to help clean up the battlefield, recover as many weapons and equipment as possible, and rebuild defense facilities. Her father also planned to take a few days to teach Moira some common sense of battlefield command.

The task of transporting the wounded naturally fell on the scout team which had weak combat effectiveness but was incomplete in organization.