1885, I came to save Greece

Chapter 235 An Impossible Army

The first rays of dawn, like molten gold, shimmered on the vast lake west of Ioannina.

The minaret in the east of the city resounded with the melodious call to prayer on time, announcing the start of a new day.

On the streets of the city, the first wisps of smoke, carrying the aroma of wheat, rose from the chimneys of bakeries. Early risers, leading donkeys laden with fresh vegetables, headed towards the bazaar. Everything was exactly the same as the previous 365 days—peaceful and serene.

Inside the most magnificent mansion in the city center.

The Ottoman garrison commander, Abdul Bey, was reclining on a soft Persian carpet, enjoying his morning. A beautiful maidservant brought him a cup of freshly brewed Turkish coffee, its rich cardamom aroma filling the room.

He took a sip of coffee and contentedly squinted his eyes.

"Had," he said lazily to his adjutant standing to the side, "what did Edhem Pasha's letter say?"

The adjutant bowed and respectfully replied, "Your Excellency Bey, Pasha said in his letter that the Greeks on the Thessaly front are like frightened rabbits, and our main force will soon crush them. The recapture of Thessaly and Attica is just around the corner (Edheim Pasha also knew that the great powers would not allow the Ottomans to completely defeat Greece; once they reached the Isthmus of Corinth, the great powers would definitely intervene). He ordered us to be on alert for any Greek troops that might appear on the coastline, and to hold Ioannina at all costs if attacked, ensuring the absolute security of our supply lines."

"Safe? Ha!" Abdul Bey chuckled, his obese body trembling on the carpet. "Safer here than in the harem of Constantinople. Those Greeks can't even get out of the Thessaly plains, do they think they can fly over the Pindus Mountains?"

He waved his hand and said to his adjutant, "It seems this war will soon be over. We soldiers stationed in the rear will probably not even have a chance to draw our swords before we go to Athens to celebrate our victory."

The adjutant also joined in with a smile, and his flattering words echoed in the room.

Just then.

On the western city wall.

An Ottoman sentry, leaning against the wall, yawned. A night of guard duty had made him drowsy. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and habitually looked towards the mountains to the west.

The morning mist, like milk, swirls around the mountainside.

The sentry's gaze swept across the hillside.

He paused.

He blinked and rubbed his eyes hard again.

He thought he was hallucinating because he was sleepy.

On the misty hillside, below the cliff that the garrison considered so steep that even mountain goats couldn't climb, countless figures appeared indistinctly.

The figures moved silently in neat rows. The morning light shone on them, reflecting a cold, metallic glint.

That was an army!

An army that fell from the sky!

The sentry's mouth opened silently, and the color drained from his face instantly.

A chill crept up my back.

"Enemy... Enemy attack!!"

He mustered all his strength, grabbed the brass horn beside him, and began to blow it.

The sound, distorted by extreme fear, became shrill and piercing, like the mournful cry of a rooster being strangled.

Almost at the same instant the bugle sounded.

Another, even more terrifying sound shattered the tranquil morning sky of Ioannina.

That was the piercing whistle of a shell cutting through the air.

"boom!!"

"BOOM—!!"

The mountain artillery, personally trained by Metaxas, fired the first salvo at the "Eagle's Nest" position.

There was no test firing, no calibration.

The first volley of shells hit their targets with almost magical precision.

A single shell ripped the roof off the main Ottoman army barracks in the north of the city. The massive explosion erupted inside the barracks, tearing the sleeping soldiers, along with their beds and rifles, to shreds in the flames and blast wave.

Another shell struck Abdul Bey’s residence.

The commander, who was still sipping his coffee, heard a sharp shriek that grew closer and closer, and before he could react, he had no time to do anything.

A massive explosion engulfed everything.

The magnificent Persian carpet was shattered to pieces. The aroma of coffee, mixed with blood and dust, was scattered throughout the ruins.

This belated thunderclap resounded in the heart of Joanina.

The roar of artillery fire became the signal for the general offensive.

The soldiers of the "Mountain Hunter Division" charged forward like tigers descending from the mountain ridge.

They did not attempt to storm the tall, sturdy main city gate, which was heavily fortified.

Guided by the shepherd of Vlach, thousands of soldiers, carrying specially made grappling hooks and rope ladders, rushed towards a relatively low section of the western city wall that had fallen into disrepair over the years.

The grappling hook whistled as it was flung onto the city wall, where it clung tightly to the battlements.

The soldiers moved with practiced ease, scaling the rope ladders as if walking on flat ground, and quickly leaped over the city wall that the Ottomans considered ineffective.

The first Greek soldier to scale the city wall swiftly and cleanly killed a still-dazed sentry with his bayonet.

He didn't cheer; he immediately lay down, raised his rifle, and provided cover for his comrades behind him.

The Ottoman garrison inside the city was plunged into utter chaos.

All their defensive deployments, all their artillery positions, and all their troop deployments were aimed at preventing any potential enemy from appearing in the southern plains.

The mountainous areas to the west were a blank in their defense plans.

Now, this blank space has become the deadliest dagger.

The command system was completely paralyzed in the first round of shelling. Bey's residence was destroyed, and the commander's fate was unknown. The main barracks caught fire; officers couldn't find their soldiers, and soldiers couldn't find their weapons.

The entire city was like a hornet's nest that had been stirred up. Countless soldiers, like headless flies, ran around aimlessly in the barracks and streets.

Greek soldiers, like a cold tide, poured into the city through the gap that had been torn open.