Soon, the mages' magic would break down the enemy's earthen walls like paper shields. All that was left to do was to kick out the ragtag soldiers like ants driven out of their nests and, if possible, capture the enemy lord. With that, the Volden Province was as good as conquered.
"All mages, prepare to chant!"
"Yes! ......Fire spirits, dwell in my hands and form a lance—"
The chanting started in unison as the commander ordered. Bauer guessed that it was fire magic from the chant. The fire magic bullets fired simultaneously pierce through the fragile walls where the Arquell army were foolishly holed up. Considering that they have been suffering so much because of the enemy’s scorched earth strategy, attacking them with fire felt like an appropriate way to exact revenge.
The soldiers, too, were eagerly awaiting the burning of the abominable Arquellians. They listened with rapt attention to the chanting of the incantations, while readying themselves with spears in their hands and swords on their hips for the moment when the enemy would leap forward. St. Gallen was so starved of food that they had to start a war, and when they attacked, their food was burned. The resentment against those who had done such an unspeakable act built up in their chests.
Eventually, with the entire army watching, the chanting of the mage squad finished.
"Flame Lance!"
"—Flame Lance......!"
"—Flame lance!"
"FFFFFLAAMEEE LANCEEEE!!!!"
Some were whispering for greater control, while others were screaming to let out their bitterness and resentment.
Countless fire spears formed up to hit the Arquell army hiding behind the earthen walls.
Impact, impact, impact, impact, impact.
A thick cloud of white smoke surrounded the area, hindering visibility, and the heat waves from the blowback caressed the faces and hair of the soldiers on the front lines.
"Ha-ha-ha! Witness our strength, Arquell bastards!"
"Suck it! Eat shit in the afterlife!"
"Kuh-ha-ha-ha!"
The soldiers shouted with joy at the devastation created by their simultaneous magic attack. Even Bauer, the commander, was now predicting the possibility that the enemy frontlines would collapse right now and survivors should be retreating.
"General!"
"Aye. Get the men ready to charge. As soon as this smoke clears..."
—Cut straight into the enemy lines.
His instructions were interrupted by the countless popping sounds that could be heard through the white smoke.
—Bang! ......
—Pan! ......
—Pan! ......
—Bang, bang, bang. ......!
"......This sound is—"
What on earth? The unfamiliar burst of sound did not leave time for the soldiers to be shocked.
"Argh! Ouch…!"
"Ouch! Ow, ouch ......!"
"Wha, hmmm ...... what the hell flew in here?"
"Johan? Hey, Johan! What are you lying on the ground, Johan?"
Immediately, there were several screams from the frontlines, and the people around the screams appeared to be running frantically.
Bauer immediately ordered the messenger soldiers on standby.
"Get the commanders to bring the soldiers under control. And then report on the damages!"
"Y-yes!"
"......Damn you, Arquellians. What are you up to this time?"
Bauer turned back to look at the enemy lines, without bothering to see his officers scampering off.
Eventually, the wind blew and dispersed the smoke, exposing the Arquell army to the light of day once again.
Bauer's eyes widened.
"............What the heck is that?"
There were enemy soldiers holding strange weapons.
Iron tubes. The enemies were pointing what can only be described as long metal objects at them. Every once in a while, something explodes from the hold of the tip of the tubes, spewing fire, and moments later, the sound of explosion erupts across the basin.
Perhaps it was a projectile weapon. Are they using it to kill or wound their soldiers?
No, rather than that...
"Why are the earth walls still standing!"
The enemy soldiers were peeking out of their walls and attacking them with mysterious weapons. Even though the area they were at had been bombarded by their offensive magic, the supposedly shoddy walls were still upright.
※ ※ ※
The camp of Count Oubeniel was set up on the west side of the basin.
Inside the tent, there were voices coming from the countless communication devices.
"This is B-12, we have damage to α-03 wall. Over."
"There's damage to the α-05 wall. Over."
"β-16 and α-07 defences are successful and received zero damage. Over."
"This is B-22……"
Fuzzy noises like a chorus of cicadas erupted from the devices. Meanwhile, one maid listened intently and wrote down all the information she heard onto a writing pad.
Of course, this maid was Uni. There was only a single maid capable of listening to the flood of voices, sorting the contents, and extracting only the necessary information. At least among members under Tullius.
Eventually, she finished summarising all the information and submitted her report to her master.
"Master, the defensive situation is largely satisfactory. I'm sure that any walls that have suffered damage will be quickly restored by the slaves."
"Hmmm....... Are there any other issues apart from our defensive structures?"
"It appears that the soldiers have lost their patience and have begun firing."
"Oh dear. I thought bringing the military officers as commanders was sufficient. Guess it wasn’t enough to keep the soldiers in check."
"To be honest, I think there is a problem with the skill level of the military officers. They have experience in defeating bandits, but according to the battle reports, they rely heavily on the personal strength of Due, our top military officer. I would like to propose that we conduct more thorough training."
"Well, I guess we'll figure that out after we win this battle."
"Yes, Master."
While looking at the conversation between the master and servant, Elisha was curiously playing with the armour and spare weapons.
"Sir Tullius. Is this the weapon you had the soldiers carry?"
"Yeah. It's a musket gun ...... I made it a little while ago for alchemy practice and had it mass produced because I thought it would be useful."
The new weapon, which was put into actual combat for the first time today, was explained to her without much hesitation. While feeling somewhat suspicious of the situation, she readied herself in a stance with the musket.
"Hmm. So if I pull this trigger, a ball of lead will come out of the hole?"
"Wah! Commander, please don't point it at me!"
Alfred, who was standing at the end of the tube, jumped back to the side in a panic.
To this, Tullius smiled gently.
"It's okay. The gun cannot be fired without lighting the fuse. See, when the trigger is pulled, the fuse touches this flash pan, right? This is how the gunpowder ignites and explodes inside the tube, and the pressure created forces the bullet to fly out."
"Ohh? Interesting."
After the explanation, Elisha inspected the new toy for a while, inspecting the various parts of the musket and peering inside through the muzzle fearlessly, though the gun had yet to be ignited so there was no danger.
After a while, she appeared to be satisfied and threw the gun outwards.
"......It feels like slashing with the sword is more effective."
Alfred widened his eyes in surprise even as he caught the gun that had been thrown to him.
"C-Commander! Don’t say that!"
Regardless of what the situation was, she had straightforwardly rejected the new weapon presented by the other party even though they were temporarily allied. Wouldn’t it put the other party in a bad mood?
However, Tullius laughed in amusement.
"Ahaha! It's okay. Because every time expert swordsmen see the musket, they always say the same thing. Isn't that right, Due?"
"Hmm? Ah...... Did something like that happen?"
The military officer, standing in the corner of the camp without a care in the world, said with a distant look in his eyes. Due Schwarzer was a former B ranked adventurer when he was active. Such gunpowder toys were a joke for skilled frontliners like him.
"Well, a musket is basically a anti-soldier weapon. It has a longer range than a spear, is easier to use than a bow, and harder for friendly soldiers to perform first aid after they've been shot....... This is why the most elite Imperial Guards and high ranked adventurers are not the intended users of this weapon."
"I see. That explains why even newly drafted soldiers are able to use it."
"......But if the soldiers aren't well trained, they won't be able to fire another shot properly unless the commander directs them after every volley. Thanks to that, it seems that they couldn't hold back and fired before the enemies rushed forward."
Tullius shrugged.
"There are already 6 reported incidents of gun breaking during reloading. And another two reports of adding too much gunpowder causing an explosion. It’s likely more incidents of weapon failure will be reported."
Uni added nonchalantly.
However, Elisha's interest had already shifted to something else.
"For that matter, what kind of trick are those earthen walls supposed to be? They weren’t affected by St. Gallen's magic attack? I can't believe they’re just made of earth. How are they still able to stand?"
