Rome Must Perish-Chapter 282 - 176 First Attack on the Camp_2

However, these past few days were not wasted for the Panoni Alliance Army; they have their countermeasures.

The warriors carrying wooden planks placed them on the ground, bracing them with their bodies to prevent them from falling. The warriors behind them, holding weapons, carried their Wooden Shields at an angle, carefully threading through the gaps between the planks, and maneuvering cautiously among the sharp stakes. The warriors originally carrying bundles of straw bent low to follow behind them, using the shield’s protection to begin uprooting the sharp stakes...

The Nix Tribe fortified their defenses according to the Roman Camp’s strict requirements to protect against the Panoni Alliance Army’s assault. These sharp stakes were deeply embedded in the ground, making them hard to extract, often requiring two people to exert all their strength to succeed.

The Nix Soldiers couldn’t allow the Pannonian warriors to act so freely, so javelins and stones rained down again.

This time, however, the Pannonian Army began their counterattack; because it was an assault on a camp, Andres had recruited some javelin throwers, who were hunters from the tribe. The Pannonians lived along the riverbanks, primarily making a living through agriculture and fishing, but some tribesmen ventured into the mountains to hunt for meat and furs.

These javelin throwers hid behind the wooden planks, hurling javelins at the Nix Soldiers on the camp’s wooden wall. Though their hit rate wasn’t high, it somewhat suppressed the enemy’s long-range firepower.

The Nix Soldiers, attacking from a higher elevation and at close range, had a much higher hit rate. Some strong soldiers even hefted large stones for hurling down, striking the shields like a sledgehammer, causing the enemy to release their grip or stumble, an even more effective tactic than javelins.

Siris was struck on the head by a stone while extracting a stake, immediately blacking out and collapsing. When he regained consciousness, he found himself surrounded by fallen comrades. As he struggled to get up, a sudden flash of insight struck him, and he quickly feigned death by collapsing again with his eyes shut.

Despite the increasing casualties, the assault on the camp had reached a crucial moment. Andres could not retreat; tribal leaders and chiefs shouted loudly, compelling their underlings to advance only forward, with no retreat.

Thus, the stretch from the deer spikes to the trench was nearly filled with the fallen Pannonian warriors, who cleared nearly ten paths with their blood and lives.

Once more, the large wooden planks were carried forward by the Pannonian warriors. The Nix Soldiers realized their intentions and attacked even more fiercely. As the distance closed, two or three of them heaved large millstone-sized stones or meter-long logs as thick as a man’s waist to hurl down.

The Pannonian warriors, tired from lifting the wooden planks, could not withstand such heavy blows and fell immediately, the planks crashing onto them with screams ringing out.

The subsequent Pannonian warriors surged forward, using one hand to shield themselves and the other to forcefully push the wooden planks onward. Once one fell, another quickly took their place, finally pushing the wooden planks to the edge of the trench.

The Nix Soldiers further intensified their assaults, causing the Pannonian warriors to hastily push the wooden planks across.

The plank tipped over into the trench, rendering it useless as a bridge.

Some Pannonian warriors, driven by the leader’s harsh shouts, braved the rain of stones, arduously turning the planks (typically three meters high, seven meters long, by Pannonian make) and pushed them toward the trench, managing to propped it against the opposite earthen wall before long.

But before they could celebrate, a massive stone from the wooden wall came crashing down.

There was no extra space on the opposite side of the three-meter-wide trench, just a compacted and slightly slanted earthen wall. With no stable support at the base of the wooden planks, the stone directly smashed them into the trench.

Andres’s attempt to use the wooden planks as a bridge to allow warriors to cross the trench failed, but their assault continued.

This time, warriors carrying ten-meter-long ladders charged to the forefront. When they reached the trench, a few riskily held the ladders firm, letting them drop, resting one end against the wooden wall top. Before the Nix Soldiers could push it away, a Pannonian warrior quickly clambered up and advanced swiftly.

The Nix Soldiers instantly focused their attacks on him; a stone struck him, and the warrior tumbled into the trench, which was also filled with many sharp stakes. One stake impaled his chest directly...

At the moment he fell, two more Pannonian warriors had already followed closely behind. Learning from their comrade’s fate, they discarded their long spears, grabbed the long ladder, shielded their heads, and endured the excruciating pain from stone blows to crawl forward with effort...

Soon after, another Pannonian warrior climbed the long ladder.

The Nix Soldiers hefted a stout log, placed it at the top of the wooden ladder, and let it roll down. The log rolled down the ladder, smashing against the first Pannonian warrior’s shield. The powerful impact caused him to lose his grip on the ladder, rolling backward and taking the following comrade down with him...

Some long ladders were struck by large stones, directly breaking in two, causing warriors on the ladders to scream as they fell into the trench...

These tragic scenes replayed on each long ladder...

The Pannonians didn’t solely rely on long ladders for camp assaults; the javelin throwers also advanced to the trench line amidst the Nix Soldiers’ scattered attacks, hurling javelins at the stronghold. The shortened distance improved hit rates, leading to rising Nix Soldier casualties...

Andres had the former straw-bundle-carrying warriors continue their tasks; this time, they carried grass sacks filled with soil, continuously transported to the trench line. The sacks were tossed into the trenches, and yet still, there were many felled by stones and javelins, becoming part of the trench-fill...

While the Nix Soldiers fully defended against the Pannonians, others in the camp were not idle; they formed long lines, loading stones and wood stored inside the camp into wooden frames, handing them along until they reached the wooden wall walkways...

Seeing the stone piles diminish noticeably, Capito and Volenus sought Maximus’s approval to open the camp’s south gate, leading people downriver to gather stones...

By afternoon, after relentless efforts, the Pannonians finally began filling parts of the trench with soil bags and their warrior’s corpses.

Another batch of Pannonian warriors charged up, crossing the trench and placing wooden ladders on the corpses and sod bags, leaning them against the wooden wall. This time, the ladders inclined at a larger angle, offering greater stability, and even if one fell, there were soft bodies and sod bags below for protection, enhancing safety.

Scaling the ladders were not the previous Light Infantry, but armored Heavy Infantry, the Nobles and Warriors of the Pannonian Tribe.

Ordinary stones had little effect on them; javelins, large stones, and logs, due to earlier combat depletion, were running short now.

Thus, the Nix Soldiers often employed pitchforks to prop the ladders, pushing them with combined force.

With gasps of astonishment, ladder after ladder toppled over, yet they were quickly righted again. This push-and-pull continued... At the ladder’s base, more and more warriors joined to press down on the ladder feet, stabilizing them...

Finally, a Heavy Armor Warrior reached the top of the ladder, immediately facing two or three long spears aimed at him. Dodging left and right, he was mercilessly speared in the chest, screaming as he plunged through the air.

"I killed a Pannonian Armored Soldier!..." The young Scodisiqi New Soldier exclaimed excitedly, and then heard a "thump" beside him. Turning his head, he saw a square shield blocking him, a javelin embedded in the shield face, realizing what had occurred: "Th... thank you for saving me!"

"If you don’t want to die, focus!" Casaridaoa said coldly, forcefully swinging his short sword to cut off the javelin’s wooden shaft.

"Oh... yes! Yes!" The Scodisiqi New Soldier respectfully nodded repeatedly, looking at the young face identical to his own.