Chapter 16 The siege of Cordoba part 4

Rain came down onto the fields of Cordoba where the loud cheering of many Ratmen could be heard all around. Seeing the fires in front of the walls extinguished, new ladders started to be raised. Though now the number of still intact ladders was much fewer than it had been before since most of them had already been burned to ashes by the now extinguished fire.

At the base of the wall section Jesus stood on three rat ogres having seen the scary fire be extinguished suddenly got brave again and started to climb the siege tower. Just like the one before, the three of them climbed. As they climbed the tower shook and swayed violently. Some rats and Granadan men inside the tower lost their balance and fell down the tower. Falling to the ground the men and rats got skewered and cut by the ones standing below by accident. Uncaring of this a rat ogre with a metal helmet and chest piece managed to climb all the way to the top of the tower.

The soldiers on the wall shook in fright seeing this. But as the big rat stepped on the middle section of the tower, it cracked and gave way. With great force, the entire tower crumbled to the ground. As the tower fell on itself it created a man-rat burger of crushed bodies as it did so. Lots of ketchup or blood came through the burgers cracks. The ogres fell to the ground creating a splat as they crushed their bredrin beneath their massive bodies weight.

On the wall, the men cheered in victory. Until three more ladders were raised and the battle commenced yet again. Jesus as the new commander of the small section of the wall, watched this from the top of the gatehouse with a satisfied expression. His men were holding out well unlike many others.

From the top, he could see the other wall sections. Many had done much worse than they had. Bodies of many defenders littered the walls. Some brave rat ogres had climbed other sections of the walls and caused havoc. Unlike Their section of the wall which only had 230 men to start, most other sections were assigned with over 400 men. While his section had held thanks to the skill and power of him and the Jesuits. Others had to rely on their numbers to bring the Rat-Ogred down which came at a great cost in lives.

Turning his attention to his left Jesus could see Duke Faro trying to peek over the walls at the rats battering the gate while he was dodging stones that were constantly flying his way. Walking over to the Duke Jesus could sense a few blindly thrown rocks coming his way. With ease, he dodged them all and came to the Dukes side and spoke. " My Duke the section of the wall held by the forces from Segres is holding strong but we are also almost completely out of men. I would like to request that some additional men be assigned to reinforce them. "

The Duke just waved him off and said in annoyance. " Thats impossible and besides your men are strong they can hold their own just fine. Right now I fear the gate is in much greater danger than anything else, Captain. Just look at that thing. " 

The Duke gestured for Jesus to look down In front of the gate at something. Peeking over the gatehouse Jesus could see a massive metallic battering ram with a rat face. Three fully armored rat ogres were pushing it, while smaller rats helped.

 He had heard the rats chanting before but didnt understand what the rats were chanting about now he understood what they were chanting. 

" Cracker! Cracker! Cracker! Cracker! " The rats chanted as the massive battering ram was pushed towards the wall. Arrows and musket balls were fired at the ogres pushing it but when one fell another would simply take its place. And thanks to the Rat-Ogres heavy armor they were able to push forward uncaring and almost unfaced. Cannonballs hitting the battering ram had little effect on it. The Aragonian cannons were not strong enough, Jesus wondered if even the Empires cannons could have been able to damage that thing.

Looking to his right he saw the Jesuit supported by peasants easily cut the rats on ladders down. They pushed the ladders down with their psychic waves. As the ladders fell they cracked and broke. Desperately the rats were putting broken pieces of wood against the wall and trying to climb back up. Seeing this pathetic display by the rats he was relieved. Maybe his side would be fine, without reinforcement. At the moment his section of the wall was nothing but a death trap for the rats that was proving to be nearly impossible to penetrate.

At the gate, the rat battering ram got into place. As it did so the 3 ogres pulled it back and let it loose. With a heavy bang, it hit the gate shaking it violently.

The gate was just a normal medieval city gate made of wood and metal, it wouldnt last long aganst such violent overwhelming force. Thinking on this matter he was soon interrupted from his thoughts by the Duke as he said. " Captain Jesus, take your men with you and go reinforce the gate now. I will worry about the walls. And remember you cannot let the gates be overrun. If you do the city and all the people living in it will be massacred. Hold the gate for as long as possible. You are free to do as you see fit just make sure they do not get past your line. "

Hearing the Duke himself calling him captain brought great pride to Jesus. Only people of noble birth or Knights were usually allowed such honors. He was supposed to only be a temporary captain because of the exceptionally bad circumstances. But now it seemed to him that this might have been the start of something bigger. Maybe he could finally be able to raise his family's rank to that of nobility. If he did so then Marino would surely be relieved. Holding the gate truly was a great honor usually meant only for the greatest of men. With respect, he di a salute and answered the Duke. '" Yes, My Duke. It will be done. "

With that said Jesus and his 20 Jesuits started to make their way down the defensive tower stairs down to the gate. Walking down the stairs Jesus noticed that some Jesuits were wounded. Some held their bleeding and bandaged hands while a few were limping a little. None of them complained and luckily all seemed to be able to still fight.

Down at the gate, he met the gate defense's commander. searching his memory Jesus remembered that the mans name was Lord Bispo if he recalled it right. The man was the lord of the small territory north of Segres. He commanded a well-equipped force of 500 men of which 100 were crossbowmen 100 Halberdiers and the rest were 300 well-armored spearmen with shields. The spearmen had big Kite shields covering the mens fronts completely. On the shield, there was a symbol of an olive tree. They also had short swords on their waists. All the 500 men wore conquistador-type armor. They had their upper bodies covered well with armor but they had neglected leg their armor, leaving their legs vulnerable to attack although it did lighten the load they carried.

After admiring the force of 500 men for a moment, Jesus went to greet Lord Bispo. Lord Bispo was a short, fat man dressed in conquistador armor and was sitting atop a strong-looking horse. As he approached him, Bispo seemed to be observing him also while straightening his mustache. Then the man spoke. " Ahaa, I see I see. They sent you to assist me. My merchant friend. Well met I say. " 

Hearing him say merchant friend Jesus remembered that Marino had mentioned Lord Bispo beforehand. The lord was no ordinary noble for he was also a merchant. He was a man that Marino had apparently sold many of his products to.

Jesus nodded and said. " Indeed, well met Lord Bispo. I hope that my sons Colombo-style clothes and other products have been to your family's liking. "

Hearing this Bispo smiled as he thought of his wife in that indecently small underwear. For a moment Bispo seemed to have been lost in thought until he answered Jesus saying. " Yes, my wife and daughters are big fans of your clothing brand and hygienic products. Your Company has truly been a blessing to our nation. I truly and sincerely thank you for that. " 

As if realizing himself going way off topic with the conversation Bispo corrected himself with a small fake cough and then quickly changed the topic. " But anyway, what do you think of this battle? What would you suggest we do? "

Looking at the gate and his surroundings Jesus could see a four-way intersection in front of the gate. From left to right were streets going along next to the wall. Straight ahead was the gate and then behind was the street to the center of town. The 500 men were in a box formation in front of the gate ready to meet the enemy with archers standing in the back. Seeing this Jesus suggested saying. " I think we should put all the ranged units on the rooftops overlooking the gate. And we should form a U shape around the gate, with Shields in front and Halberdiers at the back. Additionally, we should get the citizens to form barricades, to slow the enemy down and help in the defense. I think my men should be kept in reserve as they are wounded and tired. " 

Lord Bispo just kept on nodding as Jesus rambled on about different strategies and the reasoning behind them.

Hearing all this Bispo just nodded and smiled as he said. " Great Idea. Well, then I guess I will go rally the citizens and form your barricades for you. I leave the rest to you. " Then he and his two bodyguards on horses rode off into the pouring rain leaving a stunned Jesus behind. 

Jesus watched as they started going door to door getting people's attention and yelling at them to come and help defend the city.

Jesus stood there in shock. " Did he just take over command? " He wondered to himself.

 As he turned around he saw all the men looking at him with mixed expressions, some were curiously wondering what was going on while some looked concerned. Seeing this Jesus straightened his back and spoke in a commanding tone of voice. " What are you looking at? Everybody to their posts. Crossbowmen on the roof, spears in front and Halberdiers in back. Jesuits in reserve, rest up and wait for my command. "

Getting into position they all now stood there in the rain watching the gate shake fiercely. Little by little the gate started to crack and some pieces of wood fell off. That's when Bispo returned with 7 wagons full of random furniture and barrels. Looking at this Jesus smiled and came up with a plan.

Jesus decided to form a U-shaped wall with the wagons around the gate. In front of the wagons were random furniture and barrels, making sure that rats couldn't get under the wagons. On top of the wagons, spearmen stood, watched over by the crossbows from the rooftops while others stood behind the wagons in reserve.

As Jesus made his preparations, Bispo rode through the pouring rain and started to use the townspeople to construct barricades all over town streets.

Then with a loud, " bang. " The rat-faced battering ram pushed its rat face through the gate. Seeing this from the top of the middle wagon, Jesus yelled. " You are men of Iberia! Whatever comes through that gate! You will stand your ground! "

Then with a loud. " Boom. " The gate went flying open. Through the smoke three armored rat ogres emerged, followed by Ratmen from behind. With a single command, Jesus sent a hundred crossbow bloth flying. " Fire at will! Bring those Ogres down! " The rat ogre in the middle was hit in the eyes, head and body. Over 50 bolts pierced it and it's badly crafted iron armor. Making it look like a Porcupine. With a dying groan, it fell face-first to the ground, creating a hard thud as it did so.

Quickly recovering the two ogres charged. One went to the left one went straight towards Jesus. The Rat-Ogre charged straight at Jesus, with its hammer held up high. As the attack came crashing down towards the wagon, Jesus yelled. " Move! "

Quickly dodging out of the way of the Rat-Ogres hammer as it came crashing down onto the wagon. Jesus felt the wagon shake violently as wooden splinters were sent flying around. Now that its hammer was embedded in the wagon the spearmen stabbed the creature. 

Jesus enhanced his body with the Force and jumped on top of the Rat-Ogres head. Regaining his balance Jesus grabbed his sword into his two hands and pierced the Ogres head straight through the eye killing it instantly. After killing the ogre Jesus engaged the Ratmen from the top of the no-dead rat-ogre, as the rats tried to climb the wagon.

The other ogre managed to crush one man before the Crossbowmen ended its life. Now with the Ogres gone what followed was an endless swarm of rats charging straight at the U-shaped formation of wagons. Thanks to their child-sized short bodies the rats were having a hard time climbing the wagons while getting stabbed by Spears and swords.

A crossbow mam shot his bolt from the rooftop yelling. " This is the easiest shooting I have ever done in my life! There is no way to miss! Hahaha! " 

A man next to him commented. " Yeah, definitely. They just keep swarming like, well like a swarm of rats! Hahaha! I just hope I dont run out of Bolts too fast. "

**

Rain poured down as the battle raged on. As time went on many puddles of blood and water had started to form all around. The men's hands were getting tired as they hacked and slashed the rats.

Whenever Rat-ogres emerged, Jesus yelled from the top of the dead ogre. " Shoot the ogres! Shoot them! " 

Thanks to their height they would be easily picked off from the large crowd of rats.

Some unlucky defenders were killed when armored glaive-wielding rats attacked. With long glaives they stabbed at the defenders, piercing their unarmoured necks or cutting their fingers. Though most attacks were blocked by shields or armor.

And just like the ogres, many Granadan men were slain one by one as they charged through the gate. Little by little as bodies piled up the square in front of the gate started to resemble a mass grave sight.

As men died on the wagons new ones climbed on the wagons and took their place. After 5 minutes of fighting, the Jesuits were sent to assist, replacing the wounded and dead.

After 10 minutes the body pile started to reach the wagons height. As man and rat were sliced, some released their bladders, causing an awful smell of piss, shit and guts to fill the air. Thankfully the rain washed some of it away. Other vise the smell might have been too much for any to bear and the position would had to be abandoned.

The bodies also created many compact circles, making it hard for the piss, shit, blood and water to escape. Now there were many 30 Centimeters deep, red, yellow and sometimes brown pools, covering the killing zone.

The attackers were now being greatly slowed down by the pool of water. Some unfortunate ones were pushed to the ground and drowned as their comrades ran over them. Many rats and Granadan men were now dying of drowning in piss, shit and blood.

Seeing the hopeless situation the rats sent in the blind Mole riders. Being blind the Moles heavily reliaed on their sent. Their noses were a major factor for them as they tried to find their prey. As the moles entered the killing zone they were blinded by the shit smell, causing them to attack the few Granadan men blindly. Some well-armored men resisted and cut the moles down. Others were ripped into pieces and devoured. Some moles did find the enemy and engaged them in fierce combat. Some moles broke the wagons and men with their long claws. Mole riders wielding their long spears stabbed men to death. But even so, they were quickly dealt with. Climbing over the pile of bodies the moles were shot by bolts and stabbed to death, adding their bodies to the pile.

Thousands of attackers fell, charging into the killing field, like an endless swarm of locusts. Uncaring of the dead and fallen. All-over defenders fell prey to the endless tide. Bodies broken, bleeding and battered the defenders were pushed back. Cracks formed in the defense lines, sending endless tides spewing forth. In desperation the defenders fought, praying and hoping for the tide to turn.

From the city below the walls, through the rain. A thunderous battle cry was heard. 'For Cordoba! For our families! Charge!' Thousands of men and women of all ages charged. Far in the back safe from all harm. From the top of his horse, Bispo encouraged the peasants forward.

Makeshift weapons in hand they charged to the gate and walls. Plugging the cracks with their bodies. With great sacrifice, the tide was halted.

*

Far over the field of rats, on a hill, the Duke of Granada watched this and asked the black rat. " Is it time now? "

The Rat laughed and answered. " Kikikiki, Yess! Now is the time. The flesh is soft, meat tender and so it begins. Great feast awaits. " 

It turned to look at a Rat standing at the entrance of a tunnel and said. " Do it now! " 

Hearing the order, rat-like giant moles started digging. Behind the moles stood rats wielding whips driving them forward." Yes yes yes. Dig the tunnel. Faster. Faster. " said one rat as it whipped a mole on the ass. 

Looking at the moles digging up, another rat asked in wonder. " Isn't it bad bad, to be be, be digging straight up, up up? " 

The other just scoffed and said. 'No no, do not not, question the master. Yes yes.'

After saying this, they saw big a stone drop In front of them, with a loud bumming noise. Looking up they saw dozens of stones fall crushing them and the moles, into meat paste.

Outside the tunnel, the gatehouse shook violently, until it and the surrounding walls crumbled into the ground. Crushing rats and men into unrecognizable chunks of meat.

It looked like the gatehouse and surrounding walls were sucked to the ground. Hundreds were crushed instantly, inside the defensive towers and walls. A massive dust cloud arose from the rubble, blinding all.