The Gaileo army had pushed through to the Carrihan capital city without any resistance at all. However, the campaign had not progressed without any issues.
The Carrihans had evacuated every town on the way to the capital and had not left any trace of food or water along the way. Therefore, the Imperial army had no way to replenish their supplies along the way. This put Gaileo and his army in a very precarious position.
"We obviously brought a large amount of water along with our supplies, but we were counting on replenishing our supply along the way as we conquered town after town. Without any extra supplies, the time we have to spend on this siege is now extremely limited." Ma Ten explained.
"What should we do? Should we go back and gather more supplies?" Elara asked.
"No, that's what that splinter force is for. If we send troops back across the border to resupply then they'll be harassed by the enemy." Shion responded.
"Not only that but, we have to think about the campaign as a whole. At this point we can't afford to do anything but push forward. Going back and forth would be a waste of energy and resources." Gaileo added. "We're here so we might as well start setting our siege lines up."
"You heard the General, get a move on men!" Captain Aimaru ordered.
Meanwhile, inside the city the Carrihan king discussed battle strategies with his Prime Minister who had been the one to propose their current plan.
"Are you quite sure about this plan? I don't feel comfortable letting the enemy lay siege to the city without contesting them in any way." The King said.
"Don't worry father, I've run multiple simulations of this campaign and I've deduced that this is the strategy that gives us the best chance at victory. In fact, I doubt that the Imperials have even the slightest chance of success." The Prime Minister replied. The Prime Minister of Carriha was named Samira Corren. She was the only child of the king and the crown princess. She was renowned as the most brilliant woman in the kingdom and the strategy for the battle against the Empire was left entirely in her hands.
"If you say so, still it's disheartening to see an Imperial army encamped outside our walls."
"You have absolutely nothing to worry about. After all, no matter how powerful the army no one has ever been able to breach these walls in history."
The Gaileo army spent the next day setting up their siege camp and building their siege equipment. With their water supplies dwindling and unable to be replenished, they needed to capture the city as quickly as possible.
"The odds may seem like they're against us for now, but I know that once our forces actually clash we should be able to defeat them handily." Gaileo said.
"I agree, that's why we need to breach the walls as quickly as possible." Shion added.
"I have to say, I'd expected more from one of the Four Great Walls of the continent." Benji said. "This seems like it's just a regular sandstone wall."
"That's true. It does seem that it's especially tall or thick compared to most city walls. I do wonder what makes these walls so formidable." Ma Ten said as he observed the cities' walls.
"It makes me think that there must be some sort of trick to them." Shion said.
"It doesn't matter what tricks they have up their sleeve. I'll smash it all." Gaileo said as he raised his fist in the air. "This is the same technique that I used to crush the last Great Wall that we went up against."
"Fist of the Howling Wind!!!!!"
Gaileo threw his fist into the air and a ferocious burst of wind ripped through the towering walls.
"See, it wasn't such a big deal after all." Gaileo said.
As soon as he said that, the massive hole he had made in the wall was slowly regenerating as the sands walls formed back together.
"What? What just happened?" Gaileo shouted in disbelief.
"It appears that the wall just repaired itself." Ma Ten observed.
"That's ridiculous, have the trebuchets begin launching volleys at the walls!" Gaileo barked his orders at his soldiers.
The trebuchets barrage blasted the walls and did damage, but the damage was minimal and again the walls repaired themselves in an instant.
Gaileo's troops would try to breach the walls several times over the next few days, but every attempt ended in failure. The siege towers were destroyed by blades of sand that shot out of the walls. The battering rams were buried in sand as soon as they reached the gate.
"This is ridiculous!" Gaileo said as he flipped over the table in his command tent. "Nothing works! How are we supposed to get past these walls?"
"It's as I thought, these walls are more formidable than they appear." Ma Ten said. "Not to mention our water supply continues to shrink the longer this siege drags on."
"It's not a very beautiful battle so far." Shion mused.
As Gaileo furiously scrambled to find a way to turn the battle around, Samira looked at the besieging army from behind the city walls.
"Everything is going exactly according to my plans. You will all be crushed here, crush beneath these walls of shifting sands." She thought as she looked out at them.