The night sky seemed like a finely woven tapestry produced by the people of Qohor, yet tonight there were no sparkling star gems to adorn it.
The river ran endlessly, winding through dense shadows of trees, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind drawing attention.
Under the cover of darkness, a few torches appeared intermittently along the Quen River. Under the supervision of Dothraki wielding sharp blades, the captives dug silently, carrying soil along paths lined with caged and harnessed livestock. The dark, unending convoy extended all the way to the foot of Qohor City.
In front of Qohor, it was even quieter—dim, unlit, with distances too great to see clearly.
Groups of slightly stronger captives, sticks clenched between their teeth, ropes tied around their waists, moved silently. Those with better vision led, carrying heaps of soil to the base of the city walls.
"Warn the captives not to rush. Slow their pace. Do not alert the guards on the walls."
Möngke personally supervised with his steward, Övör, and Kasco—Kosoro, ready to respond immediately to any unexpected incident.
As it grew late, the sound of hooves could easily draw attention, so all three dismounted and proceeded on foot.
Kosoro turned to execute orders as instructed, while Övör glanced toward the dimly lit battlements and quietly said:
"Khal, compared to other undefended cities, Qohor is naturally advantageous. The Quen River blocks the front, and the only crossing is this bridge. To the side lies the Qohor Forest, obstructing countless approaches."
Möngke pointed with his whip at the wide, renovated bridge and said calmly:
"When we marched to the Darkflow River, we bypassed Qohor. I wondered how three thousand Unsullied could form lines along the walls and resist Dothraki cavalry. Now the terrain explains it. But precisely because of this comfort, they have neglected their defenses. There are no basic fortifications like moats or chevaux-de-frise in front of the walls."
Övör looked at the broad, elegant bridge and quietly chuckled, trying to smooth the wrinkles of his face:
"Qohor controls the east-west trade routes. The people here think only of commerce and gold. They would rather fill in the Quen River for trade than consider the defensive purposes originally intended by the Valyrians who built the city. So forget about the fortifications you mentioned."
Time passed slowly. Möngke, with his extraordinary vision, could faintly see the Unsullied on the walls. If the night had been brighter, they might have noticed the soil gradually rising at the base of the walls.
Through the fires on the battlements, he even saw a few drunk soldiers urinating and shouting insults at the city below.
Toward the east, the first light of dawn began to creep in. Looking at two sections of walls partially buried by soil, Möngke knew the assault on Qohor was secure.
Soon, some disturbance—either due to the rising soil or the approaching daylight—alerted the guards.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" The walls erupted with shouts.
Övör, exhausted and pale from days without rest since the Dothraki crossed the sea, spoke up weakly:
"Khal, shall we stop the soil-filling operation?"
Möngke ignored him. Looking at the panicked convoy of captives, he shouted without hesitation:
"Continue filling! Overseers advance! Any who retreat shall be executed!"
He then ran to his distant warhorse, mounted, and called out:
"Palisade team, advance one hundred and fifty steps!"
The palisade team consisted of dismounted Dothraki carrying massive wooden shields. They would advance to the walls and engage archers hiding behind battlements, providing cover for the captives to continue filling the earth.
As arrows rained down, some unarmored captives fell, blood staining the ground.
Terrified, captives dropped their soil and attempted to flee. The ropes binding them at the waist caused chaos. Sticks held in their mouths were spat out onto the ground.
Cries and screams followed.
Seeing the human tragedy, Möngke spurred his horse and shouted:
"Overseers, cut the ropes! Any who retreat or run shall be executed!"
Only as heads fell one by one could the soil-filling continue smoothly.
Seeing the soil transported from the riverbank piled into several mounds, Möngke shouted to the Dothraki behind him:
"Send orders quickly. Bring back the river-digging team to supplement the filling squad!"
The captives digging and transporting soil by the Quen River were mostly old, weak, or women. They posed little danger and did not need to evade patrols. Assisted by livestock, their efficiency was high.
The sooner the soil reached five meters at the walls, the fewer would die.
"No rush, no rush." Möngke gripped his whip tightly, suppressing his excitement and urgency.
Qohor likely had no siege engines such as ballistae—a discovery credited to Övör.
For nine days, the Dothraki had surveyed the ground outside the city. No unusual rocks or trees were found that could serve as range markers for siege engines.
Filling the walls with soil paved the way for an assault, tested the enemy archers' stamina, and gauged the power of possible siege engines.
As expected, arrows flew from the walls, but no giant bolts or stones appeared.
Advancing 150 steps with the palisade team, archers engaged them with arrows, yet still no siege weapons appeared. The wooden shields effectively blocked normal arrows.
Möngke wondered: were the defenders hiding something, or was the Qohor garrison simply untrained in fortifications, only responsible for patrol and city order?
Time passed, and the defenders disappointed him. The garrison acted as if newly awakened, completely disorganized. They didn't even use fire arrows. The mudwork was practically wasted.
A bold thought struck Möngke: perhaps the commander wasn't on the walls. Indeed, Serlo Kote, normally cautious, had drunk too much at the banquet.
When the alarm sounded, he had just climbed out of a woman's bed.
Möngke had an inherent bias toward the Unsullied. Their combat and discipline were flawless, but they were still just weapons, no different from curved swords, spears, or bows. Weapons had no thought; they only followed the hand that wielded them.
Free-trade cities liked to purchase Unsullied. Beyond absolute obedience and fearlessness in battle, they served as guards and patrols. Unsullied never robbed or harassed civilians.
Strong as they were, the Unsullied had little autonomy. In war, all their actions were determined entirely by their master.