Settlement casualties from artillery: 7 dead, 19 wounded.
But the walls still stood. Damaged, but defensible.
"Bombardment is stopping," Kelvin reported. "Last volley hit ninety seconds ago. No new launches."
"All defenders to walls immediately!" Lyra commanded. "They'll be advancing under cover of the bombardment's dust and smoke. We need archers in position now!"
Settlement defenders surged from cover positions back to the walls, moving with practiced speed born of months of drilling under Satou's demanding training standards.
Sixty seconds after the last artillery impact, archers were back in firing positions, arrows nocked, eyes scanning the dust and smoke obscuring the approaches to Second Line.
And through that smoke, massive shapes emerged.
The siege towers were advancing.
Hour Twenty-Six (Day Three, Hour Two): The Siege Towers Attack
