The next few days, catapults bombarded the positions non-stop, barely giving even those who were in the tunnels any rest to sleep. Most people only fell asleep after their bodies completely gave up. Even Lawrence was getting annoyed by the constant bombardment. They hurled anything from large boulders to rocks that seem to have been torn up from houses.

The previously orderly mess of trenches became riddled with holes, or blocked up by boulders. Lawrence, as best as he could, had these things thrown out of the way to ensure the smooth passage between each line of defense. However, after five full days of non-stop bombardment, the assault came again, at night, or so they thought.

The gongs, bells and drums played at night from the Gerheist camp, signaling war at night and as everyone rushed to the ready, no one came, depriving them constantly of a good night’s sleep. Lawrence was becoming increasingly worried. His men were well trained, well buffed but sleep deprivation was a serious problem. Increasing paranoia, sensitivity and increasingly poor judgement will soon happen.

Lawrence was also worried regarding the position of the besieged forces. No reinforcements seem to be coming and Lord Black had privately confided in Lawrence that everyone who was not in this keep would probably want this to be their last stand. He had no intention of dying in a ditch before he saw the city he built become a glorious accomplishment. Therefore, Lawrence himself, after supervising the removal of a boulder, sat atop a wagon full of hay, staring blankly into the sky.

He had to break the siege, while maintaining a defensive position he could retreat to without jeopardizing their position, should the offensive fail. However, he was confident about the quality of his men. Yet, should he commit all his men to the offensive, Lawrence could not trust the lords and generals’ men. Undoubtedly, examining their stats, they were far more inferior, with some obviously peasants hastily given a sword and shield.

As Lawrence was lying there, he watched as two weary looking Owl soldiers walked by, no doubt from the archer regiment. They sat some distance away but their grumblings were still clearly heard.

“Why don’t they swap us out for just the other lords’ soldiers? Just for one day? Why do I have to beg to be able to go into the keep just to get a nice nap?” one of the soldiers grumbled and the other soldier looked as if his friend had just hit a hornet’s nest.

“Shhh! The walls have ears! What do you want them to do anyway? Look at their equipment! Only Sir Carstein has given us anything remotely resembling an army.”

“Look, I respect Sir Carstein, but at the rate we are going, we’ll be sleeping when the enemy comes over the trench.”

I know that, Lawrence silently cursed as he continued to eavesdrop. The two soldiers decided to consume their lunch at the stables near the horses, where Lawrence understand is a popular place for rank and file to slack off at, since the high ups do not like the smell of horses and manure.

“Why don’t we attack them? At least force them back a few kilometers.”

“You fool, what are you going to do when they swarm us left, right and center? The reason why we haven’t even left the trench is because they outnumber us so badly that any of us that is capable of fighting will be cut down once we get out of our little hidey hole.”

“Why don’t we just start rolling towards them? Cover ourselves in mud and start rolling. Maybe they won’t see us at night, ha. Hold up those big wooden boards and start running towards them in a congo line.”

Among their laughter, Lawrence looked at the wagon he was in.

Wait.

Back in ancient China, they utilized something called war wagons, then later used to great effect in the Hussenite Wars, that can be used as offensive wagons and converted to defensive use almost immediately, allowing them to dig in almost on the spot. Lawrence quietly got out of the wagon, not wanting the two soldiers to see him. Thanks to them, he had an incredibly stupid idea.