Moderation Mark
The gunfire had been constant.
For five long days, Gusko's Rest had been subjected to shelling that had toppled buildings, sparked fires, and chewed up the earth that the Firetooth would march across. The Sacryan defenses had been bloodied but not broken. Then the tenor of the artillery changed. The shells became heavier as did the casualties. The siege guns had arrived. Yet for Chief Aedsword's grand assault, it demanded the greatest artillery barrage of the war thus far. Depleted ammunition stocks were dragged forth, every gun small and large was brought up for a mass shelling that would involve three hundred seperate artillery pieces.
In the darkness of course, the effects of the artillery barrage were difficult to observe but that was hardly the point. The Sacryan's were supposed to keep their heads down and for the early part of the offensive it worked. Yet hiding such a massive force was impossible, tens of thousands of Orc's advancing on the city was enough to make the ground shake, and the defenders hastily crept out of their fox holes and hovels to the battered walls to fight.
The Northern / Northwest Fronts:'' STEADY! '' Came the cry from Sacryan Sergeant's pacing down the lines of firing pits. The artillery barrage was incessant and the Sacryan positions were increasingly becoming exposed from the bombardment. The Sacryan Musket, a massive contraption, could fire at more than double the range of its its Firetooth counterpart. Yet that didn't make the fire accurate. A combination of factors inhibited the Sacryan's from the raw untested ability of the troops to stand up to such a bombardment and the darkness was a tricky thing.
It was only when the Firetooth had closed to a hundred yards that the volleys began their true damage. Massive musket balls tore through the condensed ranks, splitting men open or in half. Sometimes the ball would kill one orc and then slam into the man behind. The result was that like waves of wheat, the Firetooth infantry and their allies were scythed down. Many of the Sacryan swivel guns had been knocked out or the damage would've been far worse but the guns that were firing wreaked terrible havoc on the Orc lines.
In some cases, the Orc's tried to stop and fire back at the entrenched defenders. The suicidal tendency was soon stopped as it proved a death sentence. In one instance, an entire company was annihilated in a thunderous barrage that left the killing fields covered with corpses. All the Orc's could do was keep advancing in the face of horror. Caught up in the advance were dozens of Zwerkirs attached to High Chief Aegon Aedsword, chanting hymns to Aed over the boom of artillery fire and the crack of bullets. When troops fell out of line, the priests shoved them back in, even if it meant certain death. The advance had to continue at any price -- which grew heavier by the minute. With a throaty roar, the personal guard of Chief Aedsword were the first to storm the breaches created by the artillery shelling. Thousands followed them and soon Trugsog Redwinter found himself on the receiving end of a powerful infantry charge.
A grueling melee had begun on the Northern and Northeast sections of the line and like cracks in a dam, the giants struggled to keep the Orc's from breaking through.
The Southern Front:Taking place in concert with the Northern advance under Firetooth commander Nortag Willowise, the Southern front benefited from the inclusion of massive siege guns and siege mortars that been supplied by the Stonefoot. While the Field Guns fired en masse were an effective way of breaking down the defenses, it took time. The siege guns used in combination with the massive mortars extended the reach into the interior of the Sacryan lines and therefore the scale of the destruction. The target? The military district and the walls surrounding the heart of Emperor Aonag's defenses where the Firetooth hoped to catch the enemy off guard.
Nonetheless, the Sacryan's prepared desperately to fight and had brought its elite troops to the forefront. The Sacryan riflemen had much more range and devastating punch then their musket armed counterparts and the Firetooth paid in blood dearly from it. A similar scene of death and devastation played out in the South.
However, the Sacryan riflemen were noticing a strange trick. Bullets directed at some targets seemed to 'bounce off' in great flares of witch fire. It was as if the bullet was eaten by an invisible shield before it made contact with the enemy. Clearly, the perfidious Firetooth had some strange magic granting their warriors special protection.
The mass artillery barrage from mortarboats, siege guns, and siege mortars however was enough to rock the foundations of the military district. The first wall began to crumble slowly down, a cloud of ash and smoke appearing. The gladiators began their charge towards the breach, the Firetooth guns were forced to cease firing or risk hitting their own. The shocktroops were greeted by a barrage of musket fire from the Emperor's Imperial Guard.
The survivors were bloodied, dirtied, but still standing (though they had taken heavy casualties) and were prepared to die for their emperor. Meanwhile, the attacking troops were treated to heavy fire rifle from the surrounding districts. With the single goal of penetrating the military district, the assault would be bloody.
SUMMARY:
-- The Firetooth assault becomes bogged down in the North and Northeast amidst Sacryan entrenchments and resistance. The line is holding -- for now.
-- The Firetooth assault has created a breach in the walls of the military district. An assault en masse by infantry, spearheaded by gladiator shocktroops take place. Sacryan Imperial Guard rush to hold the breach and will soon be reinforced.
-- Firetooth gunboats have begun shelling the military district from the river, presenting a major thread to the last fortified posting of Emperor Aonag.
