Episode 172 Krafte War – City of Fire (3)
Earth-shaking gunfire and the explosion of shells fired at the enemy reverberate through the battlefield.
Through a telescope, Damien de Mirbeau saw a huge explosive bomb fly into the enemy camp, causing an explosion so powerful that it caved in the ground.
Even human limbs were caught in the explosion and flying around.
“Wow, that’s hot. “A cannon that separates the flesh and bones of dozens of people at once.”
Is that the Blue Dragon Cannon of the Eastern Empire or something majestic?
To be honest, I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous sight of the useless dragon-shaped carving on the cannon, but seeing the power on a completely different level from Franziana Krafte’s howitzer made me feel a sense of awe that I had never felt before.
After all, you shouldn’t judge a person or a weapon by its appearance.
There is a need to have a more open mind in order to become a true ‘defense master’ Damien de Mirbonim.
Damien nodded, convinced, and opened his mouth again.
“Hey Dabi. Isn’t the cannons of the Eastern Empire amazing? I thought Franzia was also skilled in artillery, but I definitely can’t keep up with them when it comes to howitzers. Wow, to think that we could get hit by something like that. It sends a chill down my spine.”
Damien expected that the arrogant major would make a comment about his usual ‘inappropriate words and actions as a commander.’
But there was only silence next door.
“…Dabi?”
“Hot yeah yeah! “Your Excellency Commander!”
Only then did Giselle react belatedly, embarrassed, and Damien scanned her face with an expression of astonishment.
“Well, where is my usual thoroughness going?”
He was usually a role model for the staff, but even though the battle was just beginning, where was his mind-
“What!”
“Your Excellency Count Mirbeau!”
“ok?”
Damien reflexively raised his head and saw a cannonball flying towards him with a roar.
“omg!”
Damien suddenly got up from his seat and tried to avoid it, but then flinched when he saw Giselle standing blankly next to him.
This woman is a commoner who can’t even use magic. Should we take her with her and avoid her?
Am I going to be harsh on the Count of Aquitaine just because he died from a stray bullet?
In a short period of time, a thousand thoughts passed through Damien’s mind.
A magical barrier was erected in the sky, and the shells that bounced off the wall fell on the roof and exploded.
“Woo wow!”
Debris and fragments flew and screams erupted, but fortunately a direct hit was avoided.
“Are you okay, Commander Mirvo, His Excellency Major Darby?”
Damien sighed in relief at the voice he heard, patted his chest, and answered.
“Uh, uh, thank you. Lieutenant Aquitaine.”
The handsome blonde boy smiled brightly at Damien’s expression of gratitude.
“Fortunately, the!”
It’s so needlessly bright. How can the younger brother of that terrifying black witch be so polar opposites?
I had heard that they were half-brothers, but now again, they are complete opposites.
“Hey Davi, could you at least say thank you-”
Damien turned his head, thinking that Giselle would be blank this time, and his face turned quizzical when he saw Giselle’s eyes fixed on Louis D’Aquiten.
I was blank just a moment ago. What is with that passionate gaze?
“…Thank you, Lieutenant Aquitaine.”
“I’m glad I could be of help, Major Darby.”
Louis Daquiten is embarrassed again.
Damien de Mirbeau, who was watching this, narrowed his eyes.
…Is this really it?
Is it… love that blossoms when our eyes meet on the battlefield or something?
These damned little things are on a battlefield where life and death are going on right now. What are you talking about?
Damien de Mirbeau swallowed the words that almost escaped his lips.
Oh well, you have to figure it out for yourself whether it’s right for you or not.
These two are looked after by the Black Witch of Aquitaine, so there’s no need to mess with them, right? Whether they see eye to eye with each other or not is none of my business.
okay. If young men and women go through hardships together, they might end up making eye contact.
Let’s stop caring – I’m destined to live a long life because I have self-control and don’t show off!
Damien de Mirbeau nodded once again, praising his excellent instinct to protect, and then turned his attention back to the battlefield.
No, but.
…No matter how much they are half-brothers, is it okay for a commoner-turned-officer and a master from Aquitaine to see eye to eye?
I’m very curious to see what the Black Witch of Aquitaine’s face will look like when she sees that.
Damien de Mirbeau chuckled, imagining something dangerous and fun in the midst of a misunderstanding that was sprouting up on his own, then turned his attention back to the battlefield and was astonished.
* * *
Bahua Central City Revolutionary Army Command Center.
Staff members and messengers run around eagerly, and the flags on the operational map move according to the news they deliver.
I looked at the movement of the flag and opened my mouth.
“They are conducting simultaneous offensives.”
“Yes, Marquis. “It appears to be a move to prevent the main attack from being identified.”
“hmm.”
I was lost in thought for a moment.
Even though the city was thoroughly fortified, the prediction that the Great King would launch an offensive was correct.
Judging by the way they are doing it, it seems like they have immediately seen the gap in the defense line that was left on purpose to attract the enemy…
The problem is, of course, where is the main attack?
We stockpiled supplies in advance and closed most of the roads leading into the city. There are four roads to enter the city: east, west, north, south.
The Great King is launching attacks on all four locations.
“Where do you think the main character is?”
Alexandre Werther looked at the strategy map with a frown and opened his mouth.
“We can’t judge yet based on the movement. However, considering that it is an all-out attack, the intention is probably to conduct a search war first and focus the offensive in the direction of the wavering.”
“…That’s normal.”
However, the opponent is not that great.
Rather than concentrating troops on the defensive line in advance, they were allowed to retreat with a small number of men and fight a delayed battle, and sufficient reserve forces were prepared.
Nevertheless, the body of our most powerful fae, Eris, is one.
And the Great King would know that well.
The moment I thought that, urgent news arrived.
“messenger! Your Excellency the Marquis! This is a message from Louis Desget, Commander of the Northern Army! “It is said that the enemy is concentrating their offensive on the North and West Gates!”
“Hmm, are two places the main attack at the same time? The Great King is also strong-”
This is within the expected range.
The enemy’s artillery power has suffered significant losses, and we, who also have artillery from the Eastern Empire, have the upper hand in an artillery battle, so the enemy –
“Messenger! Your Excellency the Marquis! This is a message from Damien de Mirbeau, Commander of the Southern Army! “It is said that the enemy is concentrating their offensive on the South Gate and East Gate!”
“…what?”
What do you mean, we are concentrating the offensive on all fronts when we have more troops?
* * *
“Ugh!”
“Henry! “Damn you monsters!”
The accurate shooting of the shootchens gradually snipes down the revolutionary troops who were preparing to fire at the defense line.
“Don’t be swayed! Stand firm! For Franzia!”
Even the bold and solemn encouragement of General Nicolas could not maintain the morale of the revolutionary army in a battlefield filled with smoke and gunshots.
“launch!”
At the command, the first line of the Krafte army opens fire –
“Aim for the second line!”
Soon, as soon as the first row twisted their bodies, the second row came forward and quickly aimed their guns –
“Fire!”
Just fire it.
Regardless of whether they fired a retreat in the first battle, the Krafte army moved forward in exactly the reverse order and fired a volley of fire with an incredible accuracy rate, making sacrifices one after another despite the obstacles.
At intervals, howitzer shells fell with loud noises and cut into pieces the Krafte army’s line, but that was canceled out because they advanced quickly.
“Your Excellency Commander! “The distance is so close that the artillery is worried about our friendly fire!”
“There is nothing we can do. Tell them to switch to rear reserve and artillery strikes!”
“All right!”
Louis Dezet bit his lip as he watched the Krafte army rush in frantically, pushing their allies.
No matter how you look at it, the enemies attacking the north gate and west gate he was in charge of are elite standing troops, the core strength of Krafte’s army.
It was not unexpected that the enemy would launch main attacks on two bases at the same time.
However, usually when attacking this type of defense line, a light offensive is carried out along with reconnaissance of power, and an all-out attack is not launched in this way.
That was perplexing Louis Desget.
“messenger!”
“Oh, what does your Excellency the Marquis de Lafayette say? “This is the main attack, what about reinforcements?”
“I’m sorry, Commander Dejet! An onslaught is also unfolding on the Confederate defense strongholds! “It looks like it was a jeopardy attack with the entire attack as the main attack!”
“what?”
Are you putting pressure on the revolutionary army while carrying out these offensives at the same time?
Is that possible?
Deje, who had a question, soon came up with an answer himself.
possible. If it’s Krafte-kun.
Since their standing army would still be quite large, it would be possible, if temporarily, to overcome the difference in numbers and solidity of the defense line with a qualitative gap.
However, to them, the elite standing army is a force that should be preserved as much as possible. Are you making huge sacrifices by investing it like this from the beginning?
“First, they say they will dispatch the first reserve unit. The Confederate army is also fierce, so rather than sticking to the front line, I ask you to retreat appropriately and take advantage of it!”
“…Okay, I understand.”
Louis Desgett could not calm the confusion in his mind while answering.
How is this kind of war possible?
War is usually a game of kings.
War usually ends with the side that fights to get what they want and suffers a lot of losses giving up what the other side wants.
But both in the last battle and in this battle.
They use all the cards in their hands and fight to the limit, causing countless casualties.
The Marquis, who carefully planned a defense line even to the point of giving up the entire city, and their Great King, who swept away all the remaining cards in his hand from the start to take the win.
Their war was difficult to understand for Louis de Gerger, a soldier from the Royal Guard in an era when romance still remained.
If this kind of war continues, won’t all human countries be annihilated one day?
Louis Desget swallowed his saliva after thinking about something ominous.
But even so, this is his battlefield.
He has responsibilities, and the Marquis de Lafayette is a worthy superior to follow.
In that case, he just carries out his assigned duties.
Deje soon composed himself and gave a firm command.
“Retreat to the first defense line and then to the second defense line! “Do not incur excessive losses and narrow the defense line!”
* * *
Charles II mounted his horse and looked at the city, where smoke was rising from the fire and smoke, and his army, which was constantly rushing towards it.
The revolutionary army, which seemed to be able to hold out for a little while, quickly vacated the first line of defense and began to retreat.
“Oh oh-!”
“As expected, Your Majesty! “It is the victory of resolute decision!”
The generals cheered, but the king shook his head.
“This is just the beginning.”
If it is a defense line that is so easily given away, on the contrary, it means that it is a defense line that was built with the assumption that they would also give it up in the first place.
Of course, something like that would be prepared.
The great king raised his telescope and
gunfire erupted in succession in the city.
Despite the rain of howitzer shells, scrap metal and debris rain down on the soldiers who steadfastly advanced, occupied the defense line, and raised the Krafte flag.
The great king looked through the telescope at his soldiers, who were hit by a barrage of bullets and cut to pieces as soon as they crossed the obstacle, and closed his eyes tightly.
“under.”
In the context of urban warfare, the utility of direct fire artillery is extremely limited.
Are they using it for mass murder by restricting access roads and annihilating soldiers entering tight areas?
Even though the faces of the generals turned earthy, the gunfire continued to ring out.
The great king immediately pulled the horse’s reins and started running toward the battlefield.
“Your Majesty the Great King!”
“It’s dangerous!”
There were voices dissuading him from behind, but the Great King did not stop and headed towards his battlefield.
He ran for a long time and saw with his own eyes the devastation depicted on the battlefield for the glory of his or the next generation.
Krafte’s proud elite soldiers advanced steadfastly despite a hail of howitzer shells, and those who broke through their defense lines were reduced to blood and pieces of meat.
“Uuuuuweek-”
Amidst the sounds of young officers who had ambitiously set out to join the living legend and retching at the bloody horrors, the Great King looked with cold eyes at the soldiers who were trying to turn around and use the cannons that had been abandoned by the enemy.
Naturally, the cannon is full of nails.
It was obvious that once used, it would be attacked by infantry before reloading, so the gun barrel was fixed so that it could not be turned at all, and was used for firing disposable pellets at close range.
Did they use that precious cannon as a consumable for that purpose?
Without thinking about future events, I only wanted to root out all of Krafte’s forces in this battle at this very moment.
In the eyes of the great king, a loud bang erupted at the feet of a Krafte soldier who was trying to advance despite the tragedy, and the soldier fell down screaming while holding his ankle.
“Landmines….”
“This is just massacre! “Isn’t this a defense line whose sole purpose is to slaughter soldiers without honor?”
Hearing General Gerhardt’s voice filled with astonishment, the Great King looked at the soldiers who had survived but were unable to move forward with a helpless gaze, and then walked towards them and said,
“No, this is our battlefield. “This is the glory we sought.”
“Huh, Your Majesty?”
The Great King walked slowly among the soldiers who were surprised to see the Great King come to the front line and picked up the blood-stained standard of the Krafte army that had fallen to the ground.
And held it high.
“Proud soldiers of Jim!”
“Your Majesty!”
The great king raised his voice and shouted as he saw the soldiers responding to his call even in the midst of terrible misery in that hell island.
“You will all die someday, including me! Are you afraid of that? Will the fear of death make the blood of these countless comrades in vain?”
I know that this is pushing them into hell.
“Your great king is with you! Your glory is before your eyes! Move forward! For Krafte!”
“Long live your majesty! Advance!”
As Krafte’s soldiers began to advance, the Great King slowly began to follow behind them, holding the standard.
A blood-stained flag on a blood-stained advance path.
A battlefield filled with the scent of premiere and the smell of blood.
A city full of fire filled with soldiers who advance in pursuit of his glory even in the face of death and fear.
iced coffee.
The great king smiled brightly on the battlefield.
“This is Jim’s life.”
