Land of Mirriam

Simon and Paramour were true to their words. The following days were filled with intense sparring sessions. They pushed each other to their limits, often practicing in the plaza. Despite the harsh weather conditions, they didn’t let it deter them. Paramour even started developing a technique to navigate through the snow more efficiently.

On that particular day, the two of them were engaged in a fierce spar in the plaza. Their bouts had become somewhat of a spectacle for the townspeople, who gathered to watch. It had been five days since the incident.

“Sir! Urgent report!" An engineer rushed in, waving for attention. “A meeting has been called!” The spar came to an abrupt halt, and a restlessness spread through the crowd.

<--->

The warriors, adventurers, and scouts, along with the Mayor, Percival, and the hero of the Era, gathered on the stage. Simon watched from the crowd. Some had to be left outside due to lack of space. The number of defenders had increased from just over 400 to nearly a thousand, excluding Gallo’s engineers, improving the odds.

“The scouts have been sighting them frequently,” Percival, leading the meeting, announced.

“Andy said it will be a day or a day and a half from now on.” Despite the Mayor allowing Andy time to mourn, he refused and immediately returned to work.

“It's probably tonight,” Simon, near the stage, spoke up, easily heard by the crowd. He had earned the title of expert scout after participating in the mission outside the wall. Gaining respect from the northerners, the hero, and the adventurers, his words now carried weight.

“The ground is restless, but the feeling is not of marching,” Simon continued, though nobody could confirm it.

“Not marching?” Gallo repeated.

“Since it is snowing, we cannot see dust, but there is a way to check, as per Andy’s advice. Since the Spike's body is warm and there are hordes of them, it will take some time to be seen, depending on the distance and wind speed. Oh, and all of our preparations are finished, just to report,” Gallo, who had been measuring distances from the wall to the desolated lands for the past weeks, reported confidently.

Andy before explained how the Spike hordes traveled; they are not immune to the cold. In fact, there were sightings of frozen dead spikes. It's the reason the spikes traveled together as three, acting as a scout. They still need heat, and crowding was the best way to preserve heat, creating a warm air that can be seen miles away.

After a few warnings and a bit of question and answers the meeting was concluded and everyone now is on an alert mode.

“Just follow the plan; we'll keep an eye on the horizon. We already have the plan for them scaling and breaking the gate,” Gallo said, crossing his fingers.

“We will survive this!” He screamed, igniting cheers from the crowd.

“Thank you, Sir Gallo. Of course, they will try to scale the wall, and we will proceed as planned,” Percival concluded.

<--->

Most of the warriors who have defended the wall for the last 10 years were accustomed to the siege. The tense atmosphere could be felt among them. Half of them were now atop the wall, with Gallo, as usual, standing on his favorite wooden box to get a better view of the bigger picture. The cannons were mounted into the walls, with engineers fully equipped to battle wind and cold, wearing thick gloves for the work ahead. There were even markers of distances outside the walls, he had done all the things he could do… it was time to relax.

“It's cold… Maybe I’ll have some tea to warm me up!!! Want some, guys?” he invited the others. Raphael went with him, but the others didn’t. Afara was there in the shelter Gallo made, preparing tea. The shelter was on the top of a tower on the right side of the wall.

It had been almost 10 hours since they started the preparation. The townspeople unable to fight were evacuated from the town. Gallo made another version of the snowboard, a larger one, which would at least help them cross the slope until there was no more snow. He had already sent a message to the forest folk to allow them shelter for a while.

The night was pitch black, but the half moon illuminated their surroundings. Unlike the snowy early morning, the weather was clear now. Gallo enjoyed his tea as he was looking into the moon.

“RIIIIING!!!!!” A rapid ringing of the bell interrupted Gallo, who was having tea, quickly ran back to his box and extended his spyglass.

“Ooh… the steam, just like how Andy described, yeah?!” he exclaimed as he started scanning around. To his amazement, a shadow was moving quickly on the snowboard, it was Andy along with his partnered scout, heading to the gate.

“Oh!!! Andy is here!!!” Gallo screamed into the funnel-like device to magnify his voice. The warriors started screaming to pass on the message, and in a few seconds, they felt the gate open.

<--->

“They're here! Please prepare! They suddenly sped up!” Andy exclaimed, evidently having rushed back as fast as he could, though he instantly sensed a change in the town.

“Don't worry, man! We're already ready!” reassured the warrior who greeted him. Andy sighed in great relief.

“The Mayor said that your job is not yet over, but rest for a while,” the warrior continued, acknowledging the need to keep busy to combat sadness.

Andy's partner for the mission tapped his back, pointing out several empty houses in the town. They settled in one close to the residential area, where they found scouts, warriors, and adventurers taking it easy.

“What's the face, Andy? Us relaxing here is part of the plan. Don't worry and rest,” a scout greeted Andy, handing him a blanket and a bag of food.

He should have tried to meet his girlfriend, but he didn't want to. Instead, he immediately went to a room but couldn't calm down. He started preparing his bed, then opened the bag of food and saw a familiar bottle. He was sure they hadn't finished it.

There was a small cup on the table already, and he poured one into it. “Just to sleep,” he muttered.

<--->

Gallo went down the tower where his shelter was, the wall was finished preparing for the impending siege. With some time to spare, he began discussing the strategy in a nonchalant manner. He used his funnel to discuss, it has already been said but he just had to do it one site.

The Spikes would always attempt to scale the wall, a challenge the veterans had experienced many times. The wall defenders would try to fend off the scaling enemies with long spears. But now the verandas and windows were now covered with fortifications, making it impossible for the Spikes to enter. Through Gallo’s assurance the only a few of the Spikes would reach the wall.

And if any Spikes successfully reached the top of the wall, they would be dealt with by the warriors above. This task was made easier because the defenders could gang up on any lone Spikes.

In addition and improvement based on the records of attacks; about 20 years ago, a mutated large Spike had attempted to damage the wall. Fortunately, it had never breached it, but the walls had been severely damaged, requiring years of hard work to repair. Gallo therefore devised a new strategy.

With the hero present, Gallo proposed sending an elite squad to deal with any wall crushers spotted before they could breach the wall. Additionally, a group of adventurers would buy time for the hero.

“This would also be done for a walker,” Gallo said as he explained the strategy once again.

“I won’t guarantee that there will be no enemies that can scale the wall, but the cannons will thin them out. The archers' main focus now is to support the elite team outside. Hold your ground and follow your duties. We can do this!”

“YEAH!” the allied force cheered. Well, after some demonstrations from Gallo over the past month, he may have seemed a little crazy, but the pure destruction caused by the cannons and how he mathematically controlled it assured them.

Simon had encountered a wall crusher in battles with the colony; they usually acted as guards for the queen. It had a shorter tail in exchange for its monstrous size. It had the same weakness of a blind spot under its belly, but its neck was a thick load of muscle.

Of course, Simon cut through it, but it was impossible to bring the mass of the spike into the wall. The problem also lay in its head, encased in a very solid, skull-like helmet. Cutting through it was not possible, and that's coming from Simon.

He would pierce their heart, though. It was very effective since he was using his blade covered with water. However, for the warriors and adventurers, it would be hard, although some of the veterans could do it too; it would take practice.

‘We could crush it,’ Simon suggested during one of the meetings, but he was not sure how much force they would need to use for this to be done, so it was just a suggestion. That's why, along with his spear, the hero was also carrying a large hammer.

<--->

“It's here... it's them... damn it, sound the alarm!” One of the warriors manning the wall snapped to attention at the eerie sounds emanating from the darkness. He was a veteran and he hated those sounds.

The bell rang out, its urgent clang reverberating through the night. In moments, the wall was transformed into a fortress, prepared for the imminent onslaught.

As the ground trembled beneath their feet, signaling the approaching danger, Simon, eyes sharp in the darkness, tapped Gallo urgently on the shoulder.

“They're in range, I see,” Gallo declared, his voice tense with anticipation. With a solemn nod from Simon, the young warrior stepped onto a small platform and unleashed a thunderous command:

“FIRE!”

A rotating 3 groups of cannons, with one group firing while another readied to fire, and the third reloading—a vicious cycle for the engineers manning the cannons. The explosions could be heard by the people who were still evacuating in the morning.

The warriors were furious with Gallo for suggesting that the townspeople needed to be evacuated, but he convinced them by saying, “It's true... letting them stay behind your backs would make you fight harder... but knowing your loved ones are safe no matter what would give you more peace of mind... and would make you fight harder all the same.”

It was entirely true—an impromptu speech from Gallo with a touch of wordplay.

The horde started thinning out, but horrifyingly, the spikes continued to trample through the bodies of their own species.

“What that kid said is true... with those, it's much easier to handle the walls!” remarked one of the warriors as they watched the spikes being reduced to smithereens.

<--->

The defense of the wall is what follows.

At the top of the wall, where cannons and warriors are stationed, there is a division between the back row of cannons and the frontal warriors. The wall stones are decorated with long piercing spears and swinging axes.

There are also two towers on the left and right sides at the top of the wall, where Gallo and a mix of humans and forest folk archers stayed; it’s a 4-story high building. Guiding lights are also installed on both sides of the tower. These lights can penetrate through the blowing storm. Gallo made a small tent on the left tower where he designed his calculations and also served as the commanding center.

The next floor houses another set of cannons, with the veranda left open but fortified with magic when a siege occurs. This barrier allows the cannons to be fired safely while preventing anything from entering. They call this one-way barrier 'Barria'. The barrier is mounted in the center and is perpetually supplied by a deposit of pyre ores below the next floor.

Finally, below, on the level of the gate, there are also warriors and adventurers on standby in case there’s a breach.

The next three smaller walls are manned with eight archers on the left and right of the gate, along with a group of warriors specially assigned to defend it.

Gallo designed this defense with a few tweaks to the original plan of the Mayor. The original plan was for a constant stand, but Gallo’s plan utilized the fact that the cannons would thin down the enemies, thus allowing for minimal personnel in the operation of the wall’s defense.

Gallo then created a shift that allowed everyone to have a rest.