And so, the second siege of the Basal fortress begins

In the end, even Banjay's genius and trickery had its limit. And despite his best attempts over the last three weeks, by the time a fresh, imperial region arrived at the foot of the Basal fortress… 

The situation was pretty much the same as during the last stage of the siege of their predecessors. 

"To see an entire damned legion all at once," Banjay muttered to himself, staring down at the living and breathing mass of people from the very highest point of the ancient fortress. "It truly is a sight to behold."

Far down below, an enormous mass of humans swarmed the narrow pass leading up to the fortress's main gate. Thanks to his supreme eyesight, Banjay could see all sorts of siege engines littered all over the imperial army, proving that just like he learned how to deal with them in the process of the ongoing conflict, the empire also learned from its past mistakes. 

'That cuts off three months of preparation they would need to actually start the siege.'