At the crack of dawn the next morning, Henry's massive siege camp stirred to life.
Boman and the other nobles were already impatient. They summoned their respective serfs, and the ragged, terrified men were driven to carry heavy Cloud Ladders. They formed a long line, like a swarm of ants driven by fate, slowly shuffling toward the walls of Akakarat City.
The first wave of the assault was composed mostly of scrawny serfs with vacant, bewildered eyes. The officers had selected them to be on the very front lines of the war.
It was a grim reality, but a reality nonetheless: these men were nothing more than an appetizer for the battlefield, cannon fodder meant to stir the emotions of both sides.
Per Henry's requirements, this cannon fodder needed no battering rams or other siege engines. Simply carrying the cheap, heavy, and tall hardwood ladders would suffice.
