Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: The Fall of La Leon Fortress
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When the first gunshot echoed across the battlefield.
Just like the soldiers of La Leon, a brief silence fell over the Red Dragon Legion.
The legion's artillerymen had placed the cannons in pits, erected earthen walls behind them to muffle the sound as much as possible, lit the fuses, retreated to a safe distance, and even properly donned earplugs.
Yet the roar of twenty-five cannons firing in unison shook the earth and bore down on the soldiers.
"... "
Even so, because they were relatively accustomed to explosive noises from their training, the artillerymen quickly regained their composure.
Zeke, an artilleryman in the Red Dragon Legion, grabbed a bucket of water and charged into the hazy smoke.
-Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
With his ears plugged, the sound of his footsteps slamming against the ground reverberated through his entire body each time he moved.
Still somewhat dazed from the aftermath of the shot, he carried out his assigned task.
He approached the faintly visible cannon and poured water onto its barrel.
"... "
As the cold water splashed over the hot metal, steam billowed out, obscuring Zeke's vision.
His comrades, who had approached unnoticed, did the same. Once no more steam rose from the barrel, they pulled out oiled rags and ramrods to clean the cannon's interior.
Though swirling dust and gunsmoke clouded their sight, the soldiers moved by feel alone.
The Red Dragon Legion's artillerymen, trained for months for just this moment, carried out their roles without hesitation even in the deafening silence.
-Crunch! Scrape!
Zeke took a shovel from someone and realigned the cannon and pit, which had shifted from the recoil.
"...da!"
"...!"
He had been focused solely on shoveling right in front of him when he lifted his head at the faint voice he caught.
The thick fog that had completely blocked his view had partially cleared, allowing him to lay eyes on La Leon Fortress.
-Tap.
"...Wow."
La Leon was distant, but not so far that he couldn't make out the devastation wrought by dozens of iron balls.
Witnessing the carnage from a single volley, Zeke let out an involuntary gasp of awe.
Gaping holes had been torn in the battlements where soldiers had stood shoulder-to-shoulder, and several impact craters scarred the fortress walls.
-Tap.
"Ah..."
Zeke stood there in a daze until his squad leader gestured for him to get back to work.
Having witnessed the results of their hard labor firsthand, the shovel in his hands felt remarkably light.
After that, he and his comrades fetched powder, shot, and fuses to reload the cannon.
Upon receiving the firing order, he lit the fuse with anticipation swelling even greater than before.
Confirming it catch, he retreated to the rear and waited for the cannon to fire.
-KABOOM!
Once more, a massive explosion rent the silence.
"... "
His heart pounding as if it might burst, he glanced at his comrades before suddenly turning to behold Victor, the man who had orchestrated it all.
Unlike the visibly thrilled soldiers, Victor stood atop a makeshift platform gazing at La Leon Fortress, his expression rigidly set as though deep in thought.
At that moment.
"Eh...?"
Victor bowed his head toward Zeke.
"...!"
Locking eyes with him, Victor offered a small smile.
It felt like praise and encouragement, spurring Zeke to grab his bucket and charge forward with renewed vigor.
Just like that—once, twice, three times.
As they mindlessly repeated the cycle of reloading and firing,
-Cease fire!
The order to halt came down, as if they'd done enough.
The soldiers preparing the cannons, Zeke included, looked up.
"Whoa..."
A completely crumbled section of wall came into view, along with a white flag fluttering atop it.
---
Upon hearing reports that the imperial forces were on the move and strange noises were echoing, Count Jordi Iglesias had personally climbed the watchtower to keep watch over the enemy.
"Unknown forces have appeared coming from the direction of La Leon!"
"...What?"
Startled by the sentry's report, he hurried to the watchtower overlooking La Leon.
True to the report, thousands of armed soldiers were charging toward Adense Fortress from that direction, but
"...Hm?"
Narrowing his eyes and observing them for a moment, Jordi
"...Allies. Open the gates."
From their flags and armament, he could tell they were the troops who had defended La Leon.
He ordered the gates opened and descended from the watchtower to ask why they had come to Adense.
Moments later, soldiers in near-ragged condition poured into Adense.
"Halt! Who is your commanding officer!"
"...!"
Jordi halted the soldiers and demanded their leader.
Even after hearing his shout, some stared vacantly at his mouth, while a few who understood whispered his orders to their comrades.
The soldiers murmured in confusion, and after a lengthy exchange, a man in armor stepped forward from their ranks.
He was caked in dust as if he'd run for hours, his clothes soaked with sweat, yet his lips were parched and cracked.
"Baron David Perea, who was in charge of defending La Leon Fortress's east gate!"
"Whew. You can speak more softly."
"Ah, sorry."
David bellowed his introduction, and Jordi grimaced in response.
"...You look desperate from your appearance, but before I let you rest, there's something I must ask. So, why show up like this without even sending a messenger?"
"... "
At the word "why," David fell into thought for a moment, his face paling as tremors began to rack his body.
"...?"
"La Leon Fortress, the fortress..."
"What about the fortress? Did it fall?"
"...It collapsed."
He stammered it out, unable to control his shaking,
"Collapsed? What do you..."
"It completely came crumbling down!"
screaming it out in anguish.
"This now..."
"S-Suddenly the world shook, and the wall collapsed!"
"...?"
"The soldiers on the wall, even Viscount Mayo commanding from above!"
David kept yelling at the bewildered Jordi before suddenly clawing at his hair frantically.
"All dead, all, all of them!"
"... "
"Right now, they're buried under the rubble, calling out for us... Hah, but it couldn't be helped! At least we survived to... to exact revenge... Yes! We must avenge them!"
"Calm down first."
"U, ugh...!"
His behavior bordered on mania, so Jordi merely restrained him mildly.
"Rest a bit, and we'll talk details later."
"...Y-Yes, sor, sorry, I'm sorry."
"It's understandable. Hm."
He arranged lodging for David and the soldiers to wrap things up for now.
"You feeling better now?"
"Yes. I apologize for my earlier rudeness."
"It's fine. More importantly, I'd like a detailed account of what happened at La Leon."
"Yes, then..."
Hours later, Jordi and the kingdom's officers summoned David and the other recovered survivors to hear their stories.
They were mostly rearguard troops who had made it out alive, and their testimonies were a jumbled mess from the chaos.
"...It really all came down?"
"Yes. It looks irreparable."
"... "
At the very least, they learned that a massive black siege weapon had utterly demolished La Leon Fortress.
Having received word of Theodore's letter, Jordi surmised that the weapon was a "siege cannon."
"If you know anything about that siege weapon, tell me everything without holding back."
His scouts sent toward La Leon hadn't returned for unknown reasons, so he pressed the survivors for every scrap of intel.
"That... preparation. Ah! It took a long time to prepare!"
"That's right! They dug into the ground, and...!"
"Please speak softer."
The ones with even a bit more information tended to shout louder—a minor annoyance Jordi ignored.
"...I see. So it takes a long time to prepare each shot, and there's a long interval between firings?"
"...?"
"Sigh..."
In the end, he pieced together a rough outline of what the siege cannon was.
And if his assessment was correct,
"This won't do."
Hunkering down in the fortress would only invite defeat.
"...What do you mean?"
"I don't know its exact power, but building walls to withstand it right now is impossible. If the enemy has a way to demolish walls, then the walls become nothing but a prison trapping us."
"... "
"Besides, only ten thousand of them have moved. The imperial army still has twenty thousand more remaining, and there are no reports of them heading our way. They're likely bound for Serona, which means waiting for reinforcements will be difficult."
Since they'd deployed this new siege cannon, Jordi guessed the attackers were the Red Dragon Legion.
With the enemy all armed with guns, fighting them in open battle carried unknown risks.
"We'll lead our forces out and strike before they can prepare their cannons. Once those cannons are ready, we have no chance."
It was better than sitting idly by to die or abandoning the fortress to flee.
"From what you've relayed, they're all armed with guns. You know what guns are, right?"
"...We've seen them."
Ten thousand at Adense Fortress plus three thousand survivors from La Leon.
Adense was positioned more for supporting La Leon and Serona than pure defense, with fully four thousand cavalry among its ten thousand troops.
"Assume all ten thousand have guns, and let's devise countermeasures. You said they dragged the siege cannons on carts."
"Yes."
"Even the empire's riflemen struggled against imperial cavalry. Hm..."
Jordi forcibly stoked his hope of victory and began discussing response plans with his officers.