Herald of Steel

Note: Sorry Guys, my country just went through a semi coup d'état. The government cut all broadband and cell phone internet access. That's why I was unable to post anything. But expect regular uploads from now on.

"Sir we have successfully landed all our men. They are moving up the shore as we speak!"

There was a scout with a very pleased face reporting as such to Lord Macht, who was currently sitting atop a large, magnificent black steed- the only one that was brought to this expedition.

"Hmmp…. Good. Keep it up!" The favorable news got a small humming nod from the large, black man, although his stoic face was yet to betray an ouch of pleasure.

But it could be gleaned from his body language he was glad with the results.

For a brief moment back then, Lord Macht had even assumed he might have to call off the attack, as the bodies in the water began to pile up.

However, after that initial scare, they seemed to be finally now back on the right track, as the men pushed on even after taking much more casualties than expected.

Lord Macht was silently pleased by the tenacity his men displayed here.

While observing his strict commander reveal the slightest gentleness, the messenger quickly produced a flattering smile and went on to add with a swing of his arms in an elaborate gesture,

"Also, our men have captured two strange weapons of the enemy's. Those were probably the ones they were using to throw stones at us. Look! Here they come, my lord."

As if it had been rehearsed, the moment the scout said this, the two catapults were wheeled in front of Lord Macht right on cue, each being pushed by only two men.

The veteran warrior was privy to a lot of Sybarian secrets and so naturally recognized the weapon that his scout was alluding to.

Wooden, on four wheels, with a strange metal like bucket attached to a lever tied to some kind of wound up rope, the sight of them very closely matched the descriptions in the reports as well as some of the primitive concepts the Heeat family themselves had built in the meantime, although Lord Macht judged these weapons to be far more refined than their crude attempts.

Comparing the two was like trying to compare a vase made by a professional potter as opposed to that done by a child- one was a great work of art in perfect shape and painted beautifully, while the other was a misshapen attempt with blotches of unmatching paint scattered all over.

At least that was what Lord Macht felt like when observing his captured loot, as Alexander's catapults had quite the mature, finished aesthetic look to them.

It had smooth, round polished wooden edges that were clearly sanded down.

There were strong iron sheets with steel rivets nailed to them, holding them firmly in places where the catapult's body needed a bit more support.

It was painted in bright, vibrant colors with eyes drawn on the front to give the weapon an anthropomorphic feel as if it was looking at you.

The launching steel bucket was shiny and engraved with luxurious patterns.

And lastly, its wheels were not made of wood, but of solid cast iron!

It was a sight that most definitely caught Lord Macht's greatest attention, especially given that it did not look like one solid round mass.

Rather these wheels appeared to be shaped like a car's, meaning while its outer fringes stuck out much of the center of the surface was hollow, allowing it to be dressed in a black leathery substance that Lord Macht was unable to determine at the moment.

That was a combination of rubber, leather, and linen, all sewn together to make moving the thing easier.

And that was one of the reasons why just a single catapult could be moved by just two men, when the Heeat family's own weapon, which was much smaller and lighter still needed a horse, sometimes even two if going over uneven ground.

Lord Macht's eyes thus produced an extremely rare glow of appreciation upon gazing at these elusive 'artifacts' and unable to fully hide it, quickly chimed with some urgency,

"Good job! Now hurry and get them on the ships! We can study these later!"

None of the men were surprised at Lord Macht's excitement, especially since they had been given a live demonstration of the tremendous application of the weapon.

Thus under that fateful wintery morning, two samples of Alexander's most sophisticated weapons were whisked away to the enemy's camp, completely unbeknownst to him, the effects of which remained yet to be seen,

But it could be certainly guessed- it would be profound.

Perhaps it would be able to do nothing in today's battle, or even the current campaign, but studying its design was sure to yield tremendous results for the Heeat and who knows, maybe the entire Sybaris country.

Scorpyo should have destroyed those weapons when he realized he could not carry them.

However, in the heat of battle, that thought never crossed his mind.

And even if it had, the simple question then would have risen was- how?

This was not the era of hot weapons where one could drop a single grenade down the tube of artillery or inside the closed hatch of a tank to destroy it.

If Scorpyo wanted his catapults destroyed, he would have had to have a couple of his men smash it with a hammer or chop with an axe, both of which he neither had on hand nor did have the time to acquire.

And perhaps much greater than all of that, the officer, as experienced as he was, simply did not appreciate the value of this weapon to be that great.

Unaware of the engineering secrets used to construct the weapons, Scorpyo at the moment was far more concerned about saving his forces than protecting them than some stone throwing machine.

He was thus rather glad to shed this heavy burden and had the two horses that were used to pull the thing quickly put into better use- serving as mounts for two of his messengers.

Thus as the catapults were loaded into the Heeat transport ship, Scorpyo concentrated much more on holding his formation together, shouting and urging his men to keep together and not let them be overwhelmed.

"Hold your lines! Stay together! They cannot get us as long as we stay together!"

"We are almost there! The camp is within our sight! Just a bit more!"

"Do not buckle now men! These cowards are nothing! You have faced better enemies! And you have beaten better enemies!"

"You have done well till now! Keep it up! Once we are inside the walls, we will be safe!"

"Commander Remus will be here with his relief force any moment! We only have to hold on until that! Hold the line till then! Hold the line!"

In this way, the officers and commanders tried to keep morale up while their units kept retreating, unwilling to stand and fight.

Because Scorpyo knew the moment they were caught and became engaged in melee, would be the moment they became pinned down.

After that, retreating with any form of cohesion would be a pipedream.

Thus, the experienced officer wisely decided to run away to his camp and try his luck there.

And courtesy of the head start they had as well as the legionaries being much more mobile than their bulky, long spear wielding counterparts, they luckily managed to reach their destination before the enemy could overwhelm them.

"Get in! Get in! Quick!"

"Hurry! Hurry! There is not much time! We cannot keep the gates open for long!"

"They are right behind you! Quickly! We need to close the gates… quickly!"

The camp gates were guarded by a small token force that Scorpyo had left there, along with the camp servants, who noticing the rising dust cloud and recognizing the familiar cheers worked to hurriedly remove the large bars holding the gates together and open the door.

And as the retreating legionaries approached the end of their line, in their excitement, they quickly broke off their brisque march and turned it into a full fledged marathon, sprinting to enter the door as fast as they could.

Like the men holding the gates said, Lord Macht was right on their tails, and the gates needed to shut before they could get there.

Fortunately for them, due to their small numbers and the substantial distance between the two parties, all the legionaries managed to retreat into the safety of their camp with little trouble.

"Quick! Man, the walls! Up the towers!"

"Hurry! Arrows! Where are the arrows?"

"Bring every bolt we have! Shoot till we run out!"

"I don't want to see a single arrow left by the end of the day! Make sure every single one of these bastard get a taste!"

Upon entering it, the legionaries did not waste a single second to catch their breath, but under Scorpyo's orders swiftly worked to take up the various defensive positions along the walls, aiming their replenished crossbows and javelins at the incoming enemy and letting them rip.

"Dammit! Not again!"

"Again with this farce! Urgghhh!"

" Slow down! Shields up! Slow down and get your shields together!

While facing this second round of fire, the commanders of the leading units cursed so, frustrated at the thought of having to deal with a siege.

And this would not be all that they needed to worry about because by now Remus had already landed on the island.