Atrometos' stupidity gave Hilde an opportunity to vent her anger.
Hilde had always felt that someone on the Greek peninsula had to be killed as a warning to the others. Originally, Hilde was planning to put this burden on Athens, but considering the need to preserve Athens' strength, as a nail to deter the Greek peninsula, Athens could not suffer too much loss. But Thebes was different. Hilde was not afraid at all, even if he messed up Thebes.
Since Thebes wants to be the nail.
Well, Hilde thought.
It's time to complete each other.
Atrometus had actually been preparing for the defense of Thebes for a long time. Now that Atrometus was sure that Thebes would resist the attack of the Byzantine Empire, the soldiers in the city suddenly entered a relatively high state of mental stress. After all, everyone knew that fighting against the Byzantine Empire would only lead to certain death. However, Atrometus directly said that a god would come to help Thebes.
But there really are words from God.
Why did it take until this time!?
After the sun set, the people of Thebes fell into a sleepless night.
The Byzantine Empire was ready to take action.
Although the people of Thebes did not want the sun to rise at all, time was destined to pass.
When the sun rose east of Thebes, Atrometus, who had been thinking all night in the archon's palace, raised his head.
"It's time."
When the sun rises, it means everything is about to begin.
He walked to the wall, took his general's helmet from the shelf, and then put on a set of armor with the help of the slave. When everything was ready, he took a deep breath, turned around, and walked out of the house.
After Atrometus arrived outside the Praetorian Palace.
Many officers and nobles stood on both sides.
They were all waiting for Atrometos to come.
"Mr. Archon."
"I see."
Atrometos gently raised his hand.
"It goes without saying."
"Now……"
"Get ready to fight, everyone. Even if we die on the battlefield, we will die for Thebes and for the gods!"
Atrometos was prepared for the worst.
This shows that he is very clear in his mind how terrifying the enemy he is facing now is.
At this time, outside the city of Thebes, the soldiers of the Byzantine Empire had raised their horns. The dull sound of this musical instrument from the northern nomadic peoples made the defenders on the walls of Thebes fall into a kind of oppressive fear. Then, the army of the Byzantine Empire also began their action.
Early in the morning, Hilde rode a white horse to the front line.
With the queen in charge.
For the soldiers of the Byzantine Empire, this was an act that greatly boosted morale.
"Byzantine boys!"
Hilde raised the spear high in her hand and pointed it at the wall of the Byzantine Empire.
"Now, it's time to test your ability! This time, the enemy has no oracle, and no gods have descended. Our enemies are only these Thebans who are resisting stubbornly. In this battle, I will only stand behind you, and it depends on you to win this victory! Warriors of the Byzantine Kingdom!" Hilde had a confident smile on his face, "The first person to climb the city wall will be rewarded!!!"
"Yes!!!"
Hilde's move.
Of course it is very useful.
For soldiers, money is the best tool to boost morale.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Listen to my command, attack--!!!"
When Hilde gave the order.
The Byzantine Empire's siege weapons began to take action.
The catapults displayed in front of the city wall had already opened fire. These huge wooden siege weapons threw huge stones high up, and in the sight of the Thebans, these stones hit their city walls at a very fast speed.
"Be careful!!!"
The commander yelled at the top of his lungs.
The soldiers also shrank back immediately.
The huge stone smashed hard on the wall of Thebes, and the soldiers on the wall felt the wall begin to shake violently. Under such a blow, some unlucky people fell directly from the wall and died. The thick wall suddenly became riddled with holes and looked fragile.
(I have nothing to say except sorry for the interruption during this period. Starting today, I will work hard to resume normal updates. I promised you all before that this book will not be a failure, and it will not be a failure. I will not interrupt updates again. As for what happened recently, I will put it in the postscript later and talk to you all about it.)
The sixth tune, the eighth section, has no ability to resist
Trebuchets were rarely used in the Greek world.
This is a weapon that was used almost a hundred years later.
The people of Thebes at that time had naturally never seen such a terrible weapon.
The huge stones thrown by the catapults almost turned the proud city walls of the Thebans into a piece of tofu. The shaky city walls seemed unable to withstand such an attack for too long. The light infantry on the city walls could only hide behind the battlements as much as possible to avoid being directly crushed to death by the rubble. However, even so, the strong shock brought by the falling boulders still made the Thebans feel as fearful as a raging sea.
And now Hilde came to the siege position in person.
She walked to the side of the catapult and looked at the barrels behind it.
Those wooden barrels were extremely dangerous, and the soldiers did not dare to keep them separately.
"Give them a taste of this."
"Yes!"
After Hilde gave the order.
These wooden barrels were immediately installed on the catapult.
This is the secret weapon of the Byzantine Empire - Greek fire.
Before, Greek fire was used to resist the Thracians' attack on Byzantium. Now, the fuel for Greek fire was put into wooden barrels. As long as the trebuchets threw these barrels out, the terrible fuel would inevitably fall on the enemy's head. Although it was a bit cruel, that was how siege warfare was. If you were not cruel, you would be cruel to your own people.
The commander did not dare to slack off. After all, Greek fire was a very dangerous thing. If one of his own men was set on fire, it would be the end of him. So the slave soldiers carefully installed the barrels and then pulled out the fire starters. When the launch preparations were completed, the fire starters were ignited by torches, and then, with long and thick force arms, the barrels were thrown high up.
Hilde looked at the barrels.
"That's enough for them to drink a pot."
"Drink, drink a pot?"
Xerxes, who stood on Hilde's side, obviously didn't understand what Hilde meant.
"The people of Thebes must pay the price for their arrogance."
"Yes."
Xerxes also looked at the weapons in front of him with great interest.
Although she helped Hilde a lot, she actually never understood the military capabilities of the Byzantine Empire. The large trebuchet used in this siege opened Xerxes' eyes. This counterweight trebuchet can throw huge stones or stone balls to a very high height, and then smash everything in front of it at a very fast speed.
Xerxes knew all too well the role of these weapons in siege warfare. In previous sieges, soldiers had to fight to the death with the enemies on the city walls through ladders, or use battering rams to destroy the enemy's city gates. However, after arriving in Byzantium, Xerxes saw the towering walls of Byzantium, as well as the moat and the system of inner and outer cities, which allowed Byzantium to easily resist almost all ladders and battering rams. Now he understood why Hilde built his capital in this way.
Because she has more powerful siege weapons.
And now, the Greek fire was thrown over the city walls.
After the fire starter burned in, it exploded immediately.
The black liquid spilled from the barrels and jars onto the city walls and Thebes, and the flames immediately ignited the black liquid. Suddenly, the areas covered by the Greek fire were engulfed by flames. When the soldiers were touched by the flames, they immediately began to burn.
"Fire! It's fire!"
The soldiers rolled desperately on the city wall.
But this kind of flame is difficult to extinguish by rolling.
The sudden onset of fire immediately caused chaos among the Thebans.
The morale of the Theban soldiers was already shaken, and now they were suddenly attacked by flames, with screams ringing out. Under such circumstances, the morale of the Theban army plummeted even further.
The Greek fire that flew into the city directly ignited some buildings outside. The civilians in the city saw the flames start to burn and fled into the city. At this time, the second wave of Greek fire also arrived as expected, causing the entire main attack direction to be engulfed in a sea of fire.
Even the Thebans now began to doubt.
Am I the one being punished by God?
The flames turned the city walls into a living hell.
The soldiers could only run down from the city wall to avoid being burned by this terrible flame.
This is exactly what Hilde and the others need.
After several waves of Greek fire attacks, the frontal defenders were basically destroyed, and the enemy lost the ability to protect the city wall in a short period of time. So, the catapults continued to attack the city wall with stones. Under Hilde's watch, the boulders hit the city wall, and soon, a huge crack was knocked out of the wall. In just one morning, the wall was riddled with holes and almost collapsed.
When the sun reaches its highest point.
One side of the city wall could no longer hold.
With a deafening sound, the city wall collapsed, revealing a narrow pass several dozen meters wide.
After the first wall collapsed, the second, the third... Under the continuous attack of the catapults, the walls of Thebes did not last long before they turned into ruins. At this time, Hilde stopped the attack of the catapults and ordered, "All troops, listen up! Attack the city! Enter Thebes!"
Woo——! ! !
When the longhorn made a majestic sound.
The soldiers of the Byzantine Empire began to take action.
The city wall had been almost destroyed, so there was no need to climb it. The vanguard troops prepared by Hilde were directly transformed into the vanguard troops. The heavy infantry armed with spears became the main force and core of the battle line, while the light infantry armed with javelins and bows approached the city wall under the protection of the heavy infantry.
Facing the advance of the Byzantine Empire.
The Thebans also began to rebel.
They relied on the remaining city walls and formed their own spear phalanx. At the same time, the Theban archers were also ready to go, waiting for the last fight. But at this moment, a crossbow arrow suddenly rushed into the Theban phalanx, just like a string of candied haws, stringing up several poor heavy infantrymen in one breath and nailing them to the ground.
The trebuchet is indeed not in use for the time being.
But next, it’s the bed crossbow and scorpion crossbow.
This lightweight weapon is capable of firing deadly stone bullets and crossbow arrows.
Under the attack of these weapons, the defense line that the Thebans had built with great difficulty immediately became riddled with holes.
Chapter 6, Section 9: Pointless Resistance
"Maintain the formation!!!"
The Theban commander shouted at the top of his lungs.
The spear phalanx was the last line of defense for the city of Thebes.
Now that the city wall had been destroyed, it was easy for the enemy to enter Thebes. All the Thebans could do was to use the spear phalanx and the light infantry to attack the enemy's attacking army. In this situation, the Thebans knew they had no way to retreat. The Byzantines in front of them were like devils from hell. Their gray armor and red cloaks, as well as the eagle flags erected in the phalanx, made the Thebans tremble with fear.
"Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid! Hang in there!"
"The gods will protect us!"
The soldiers held their shields and spears tightly in their hands.
Crossbow arrows and stone bullets may fly at any time and from anywhere.
It could easily take their lives.
What about the gods' protection now? That's all fictitious. The only thing that can protect you is the shield in your hand and the enemy's crossbow arrows not to pierce you.
"Archers, take your positions!"
The Theban commander immediately gave the order.
Let the light infantry be ready.
Came to the rear of the square.
These archers immediately drew their bows and, under the command of their commander, shot arrows at the Byzantines in the distance.
