Chapter 00065: Artillery Barrage
# Artillery Barrage
Chapter 65
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 65: Artillery Barrage
The night rain fell in a hazy drizzle, gently melting into the crashing waves.
But the rain was not heavy, while the wind was fierce.
It made the burning torches and braziers roar, and mixed with the salty, wet sea breeze, it made it difficult to keep one's eyes open.
Viola was taking shelter from the rain under a cowshed near the harbor, closing her eyes to rest her mind while pondering if there was anything she had overlooked.
Just then, the shrill sound of a whistle came faintly from the distance.
Viola immediately opened her eyes.
"Go see what's happening."
Zola nodded.
Just as she was about to go and investigate, she had barely ducked out of the cowshed when she saw Wendy running up from the bottom of the hillside with her butler, Reina.
Wendy clutched the magic necklace in her hand and said urgently:
"The scout ships have spotted the enemy fleet."
Hearing this, Viola also ducked out of the cowshed:
"Has the number been confirmed?"
"The light is too poor to identify them accurately. The magic communication mentioned it's a large fleet."
"Your Highness!"
From the other direction, Shelly also came running down the gravel path from the top of the hill.
"Miss Audel said she saw large ships approaching through magic."
Her voice had barely faded when, one after another, shimmering flares rose from the sea in the distance, accompanied by the whistling of signal arrows.
More and more scout ships had discovered the enemy fleet.
"Signal the scout ships. Tell them to return immediately."
Shelly nodded, a little flustered, and hurried off to send the light signals.
Viola stood on a hillside, looking down at the soldiers forming defensive lines on the beachhead.
Taking a large megaphone made of rolled sheet iron from Zola, Viola took a deep breath:
"Attention, everyone! All hands, prepare for battle!"
The soldiers, who had been looking out to sea because of the signal arrows and flares, immediately jumped up and assembled swiftly.
Everyone returned to their posts.
Perhaps due to the wind and rain, the enemy fleet had arrived a little earlier than expected.
This wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Compared to the latter half of the night when men and horses would be exhausted and barely able to keep their eyes open, the soldiers' morale and condition were still at their peak in the first half of the night.
Viola didn't watch the soldiers busying themselves; she knew her Royal Guards would handle it.
Instead, she took out a monocular telescope and looked out at the pitch-black sea.
It was the middle of the night and still raining, with neither starlight nor moonlight.
A glance revealed only pure darkness, making it difficult to see the fleet's position.
Beside her, Wendy calmed her breathing and said:
"It seems things are different from what we expected. The Demon God didn't strike and crush them at sea."
"Yes. In the end, it's still up to us."
Viola wasn't disappointed, though.
After all, the Divine Oracle she received said the Demon God would provide help, but it didn't specify what kind of help.
Crushing them directly was just one possibility.
Perhaps the help the Demon God mentioned was something like a massive group buff for everyone.
As they were speaking, a magnificent flash of light appeared on the horizon, followed by a deafening clap of thunder that made Wendy shrink back.
And by the brilliant light of the lightning, Viola finally saw the tall warships floating on the sea through her telescope.
They cut through the water silently, like ghosts, densely packed in a single column.
Although they still seemed far away, with the wind at their backs, it wouldn't be long before the fleet entered the harbor's range.
And on the harbor side, with all the torches, braziers, signal arrows, and flares, the fleet must have known they had been discovered.
So when the lightning faded and the view returned to darkness, Viola saw lights appear one by one on the distant sea.
The fleet had lifted its light discipline.
This was tantamount to openly telling Viola, "I'm right here. You just wait, I'm coming for you."
To be honest, this move by the fleet was understandable, but also baffling.
According to common sense, the next move would be for the fleet to approach, then lower landing craft to send men ashore.
Viola had already set up fortifications on the most suitable beachhead for a landing.
To send small boats for a forced landing was basically asking for death.
But Viola saw the lights were indeed approaching the harbor, seemingly intending to land troops after all.
"They know we're prepared, yet they still dare to come. They must have something up their sleeve."
"The question is, what gives them such confidence? Could they have some magic that can destroy our beachhead fortifications in a single blow?"
Viola wasn't listening closely to the conversation between Wendy and Zola.
Her gaze was fixed on the lead warship of the fleet.
And just at that moment, a flash of light tore through the darkness.
At first, they thought it was lightning, but everyone soon realized that the flash wasn't like lightning, which vanishes in an instant.
Instead, it shone continuously, growing brighter and brighter.
In the darkness, a sphere-like bolt of lightning floated at the bow of the lead ship.
Fierce arcs of electricity furiously stretched out in all directions, causing the seawater to churn.
"Something's not right. That looks like some kind of magitech weapon!"
Viola's voice had barely faded when a loud humming sound was heard.
The speed was simply too fast.
The crowd only caught a glimpse of a blinding flash that tore across the sea's surface and swept over the hilly terrain to the left of their position.
In an instant, it left a searing, red, molten scar on the ground, extending all the way to a mountain peak near the coast.
Immediately after, a violent explosion erupted in the area swept by the flash.
Countless plants, trees, and shattered rocks were thrown into the sky.
The shockwave was like a club striking them head-on, making their skin tighten and pucker.
"What was that? Why do they have something like that on their ships?"
"A magitech weapon? But the power is just too immense!"
The biggest problem with ranged weapons isn't their power, but their accuracy.
It was dark, the wind was strong, the currents were swift, and they were firing from the heaving surface of the sea.
This shot went completely wide, not even touching the edge of their fortifications.
But even if it didn't hit anyone, it was terrifying!
The soldiers in the fortifications immediately fell into a panic.
The feeling was like that of natives seeing airplanes and cannons for the first time, realizing that the machetes and spears in their hands were completely useless.
After a moment of shock, the Royal Guards quickly came to their senses.
Fulfilling their roles as officers, they hurriedly calmed the soldiers and had them wait for new orders.
"Your Highness, we must have the soldiers disperse! Otherwise, we might be completely wiped out!"
Although its power was great, it seemed unable to fire continuously.
Taking advantage of this pause, Zola quickly made a suggestion to Viola.
"No. Have the soldiers retreat. We'll defend from behind the hillside."
"But doing so is tantamount to ceding the advantageous terrain to the enemy."
Holding the high ground is always the most advantageous position.
This is true whether in the wars of the cold weapon era or the modern wars of firearms.
"Her Highness is right. Even if we disperse the soldiers, they would just be targets on the beachhead. We don't know how many more times their magitech weapon can fire. Staying on the beachhead will only lead to more meaningless sacrifices."
No wonder they dared to charge the beachhead directly, even knowing there were defenses.
They had their own 'artillery barrage' and truly had nothing to fear.
(End of this chapter)
