Chapter 981: Unexpected Start
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Morning Light climbed to the top of the slope and his heart raced as he watched the busy but well-organized battlefield in front of him.
This was not the first time he has been on the battlefield. At the age of 15, he was already an excellent knight squire, following the Lord during the charges. When he became an adult, he even won the reputation of the first knight of the Western Region.
He was no stranger to war.
However, the atmosphere here was completely different.
Before the battle, nobles would motivate, promise rewards, eat and drink in order to improve the army's morale. That is why the freemen and mercenary camps would often immerse themselves with wild cheers, similar to an open market with the only difference being the absence of wine. At such occasions, knights would always laugh at their men for being so oblivious of a few breadcrumbs, not knowing they would have to sacrifice themselves for it.
At that time, Ferlin Eltek also believed that only nobles knew the art of war. Without a noble leading them, freemen would lack cohesion, just like scattered sand.
Only when Duke Ryan was defeated at Border Town by a bunch of miners did he realize that the reality was different from what he imagined.
However, since he was satisfied with achieving his revenge, he did not think about it further and instead devoted his energy to his wife Irene.
Two years later, thanks to his father, Morning Light joined the Adviser Department only to find out that the war has completely changed.
The First Army's discipline during the last month's march has already astonished him and yet, the professionalism they displayed right now would make most of the nobility feel ashamed.
Without any agitation, everyone was familiar with their tasks: at the bottom of the slope, several trenches had been excavated, while the excavated soil was put into sacks and piled up to form rows of simple walls in front of the machine gun area. In the middle of the trenches, there were wired iron nets and chevaux de frise which were assembled on spot. Achieving a frontal breakthrough would be almost as hard as breaching through a city wall.
Many cushion areas had also been set up behind the defensive line so that even if the machine guns were breached, they would not lose the battle. The Taquila witches could both protect the Artillery Battalion and provide support for the front line at any time as back up troops.
The slope that was the furthest behind was the core of the First Army's attack— 6 Longsong Cannons, pointing straight at the demon's outpost. The cannon soldiers were reviewing the shooting parameters, making the final preparations for the upcoming assault.
All of this did not need to be arranged by a commander but instead, in just one day, the First Army turned this area into an adequate battlefield.
Ferlin had seen the power of the new firearms during the cannon demonstration, but still, they were only machines—the operators of the weapons had to be humans.
Moreover, it was exactly those freemen soldiers who really surprised him.
A platoon with such strict discipline and clear division of labor was hard to be assembled even by the knightages of the great nobles.
Even though he had previously seen the change in the people of Neverwinter, that was still nothing compared to his shock right now.
"Do you understand now?" Suddenly, Morning Light heard a familiar voice behind him. "The answer to that question before."
Ferlin turned around and nodded at Sir Eltek. "Yes. father."
When His Majesty announced that he wanted to unify Graycastle within a month and attack Hermes and the Kingdom of Dawn simultaneously, the Adviser Department did not have any objections but Instead devised a number of seemingly incomprehensible plans.
The reason behind that was these weapons and soldiers. Thanks to them, no one in the mainland was his enemy, or rather... the strength of the enemies could no longer be compared with his.
"Unfortunately, His Majesty forbade nobles to join the army," Ferlin said regretfully, "compared to sitting in an office, I would rather experience fighting alongside those people—"
"Individual braveness is no longer so important. The Adviser Department suits you more," his father smiled. "Besides, it's a battle with unknown enemies such as demons so what if something happened? I am still waiting for a grandson. Irene's friend recently gave birth, I think. You should try harder too."
"Father!" Ferlin could not help but hold his forehead.
"Fine, fine, I won't talk about it," said Eltek while stroking his beard. "The sun is about to set, let's go back to the camp. The Artillery Battalion will start firing soon—can't stand that noise."
"Yes," Morning Light looked at the camp one last time and then went down the hill with his father.
He also had another battlefield to attend to and finish his duties.
...
At five in the evening, the cannons started firing.
According to the previously adjusted shooting angles, the 6 cannons started firing one by one, breaking the silence of the Fertile Plains.
400 hundred years later, humans have once again stepped into these plains, launching an assault at the demons.
The first two rounds were to test and fix any discrepancies that might occur and after they received Sylvie's feedback, the cannon sounds became synchronized.
The improved 152milimeter Longsong Cannon was a bit closer to its historical predecessor. In order to increase the shooting range, the ammunition chamber was doubled and the shells had to be filled part by part. So, the shooting time was also increased by half. However, driven by the higher pressure, these cannons could cause a fatal threat to fixed targets even ten kilometers away.
Because of the increase in length, the weight was also affected thus bringing more trouble for the logistics. The final solution was to dismantle the cannons into four pieces and carry them with the Taquila worm carrier.
Nobody could hear the sounds or see the flames that occurred when a shell landed. This was an entirely new form of war. If not for the several cannon battles that they had already fought, the soldiers would never believe that they could destroy the enemy's strongholds and cities just by a few repetitive moves, even without the need to face the enemy.
There were mainly two reasons for choosing to launch an attack at sunset. Firstly, the effect of the Eye of Magic did not rely on sunlight and could also be used at night to guide the artillery team's shooting. Secondly, the Devilbeasts could not move at night. The demons had no choice but to bear their attacks all night.
The Longsong Cannon would shoot every two minutes but other than the sounds made beyond the skyline, it seemed as if there were no changes at the battlefield in the middle of the night. On the other hand, in Sylvie's eyes, the landscape ten kilometers away had completely changed—
Due to the explosive waves, the landscape was turned over and dozens of Blackstone Pagodas were mostly destroyed. In particular, when the shells went through the mist storage tower, the explosion that followed made the black stones look like an eruptive volcano.
Yet, she still has not discovered the whereabouts of the demons.
Until the early morning of the next day, when everyone assumed that the enemy had abandoned their outpost, the situation suddenly changed.
A large group of demons appeared in the north of the First Army's camp, eight kilometers away from the Northbound Slope!
At the same time, Sylvie also saw dozens of Devilbeasts moving—the enemy, that had gone missing for several days, was now coming towards them.