Chapter 84
-Boom boom boom boom boom!
The Red Dragon Corps waited in several ranks for sequential firing, but to gain the upper hand, all of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ranks pulled their triggers simultaneously at first.
The battlefield quickly began to be enveloped in smoke.
During the dozen or so seconds it took for the Red Dragon Corps to prepare for the next volley,
"Argh!"
"Ugh... my leg... my leg..."
"Aaaaargh!"
Screams erupted from the kingdom's infantry that had received the volley from thousands.
Shields shattered into pieces and rolled on the ground, while soldiers groaned in pain, clutching their wounded areas.
The Lorenz bullets used by the Red Dragon Corps easily penetrated helmets or greaves that weren't covered by shields. Some of the unlucky front-line kingdom soldiers died on the spot, and those hit in areas not covered by shields, like arms or legs, fell, but,
"Kuh-huk... cough!"
"Aaaah..."
Soldiers who had taken the fire with their shields were in worse condition than those with pierced limbs.
The wooden shields couldn't fully block the shots, and bullets that still had power left reached the armor beyond the shields.
The thick plate armor worn by the kingdom's soldiers was barely penetrated, but the armor that received the bullets was dented to a fatal degree, crushing the soldiers' ribs and internal organs.
They had to endure terrible pain, to the extent that some envied the soldiers who had died instantly.
The kingdom's soldiers following the vanguard couldn't help but falter at this sight, and,
"Don't stop! Run! Keep running!"
"Gather the wounded, and raise your shields! Think you'll die the moment you lower your shield!"
"Don't scatter!"
"Uh... huh?"
Exposed to the sound of the volley without earplugs, the soldiers couldn't properly hear their officers' shouting voices.
"I'll take the lead! Follow me!"
Brave officers picked up shields and stepped forward to encourage the soldiers, and the soldiers tried to move forward bit by bit despite their fear, but.
"Uh, they're here, they're here!"
"We'll... all die too!"
"No, no, no, no..."
The defeated soldiers from La Leon waiting in the rear fell into complete panic upon hearing the gunfire, throwing away their weapons and crouching on the ground, covering their ears with both hands.
-Neigh!
"Wh-what!"
"Calm down, calm down!"
The cavalry maneuvering to the flanks was not unaffected.
The sound of thousands of guns firing simultaneously was not small even from a distance, and the kingdom's horses, not yet accustomed to such loud noises, startled and tried to throw off their riders or caused minor disturbances.
All this happened from just the Red Dragon Corps' first volley, but,
-Boom boom boom!
The merciless Red Dragon Corps began their full-scale sequential firing.
Bullets continued to rain down on the infantry at 5 to 10-second intervals, and the kingdom's army instantly fell into chaos.
"Ugh... ugh..."
"Aaaah..."
The soldiers who had bravely charged forward fell as bullet fodder, and the officers who had stood at the front were riddled with holes.
Even the soldiers who had tried to muster courage one last time were intimidated by this sight.
"Wh-where did they go. What... where is it!"
"Enemy! It's the enemy!"
"Huh? Wait... Aaaaargh!"
Moreover, as the sequential firing began, the thick smoke from the guns covered the battlefield, obstructing the kingdom army's vision.
The kingdom's army not only faced the terror of their allies simply disappearing but also ended up attacking their own troops due to difficulties in distinguishing friend from foe.
Even if 10 tried to charge, only one or two would remain as they ran through the smoke, and this kept repeating.
The kingdom's army, having already lost confidence, swung their weapons wildly at the vague outlines visible in front of them, having lost their minds.
-Boom boom!
Of course, the Red Dragon Corps, which could pinpoint the enemy's location through Viktor's mini-map and tactical map, continued to fire steadily at the enemy even in situations where they couldn't see clearly ahead.
They had even considered bayonet charges, but there was no reason for them to get closer to the kingdom's army that was already engaged in sword fighting.
-Tweeet! Tweeeeeet!
"Stop! Stop! Please, I said stop!"
The kingdom's officers, including Jordi, issued stop orders to the infantry to halt this horrific massacre, but their whistles and voices were drowned out by the gunfire covering the entire battlefield.
Even if it had been transmitted, the kingdom's infantry, with their hearing almost paralyzed, wouldn't have heard it.
On the other hand, the Red Dragon Corps, able to hear Viktor's instructions even with their ears tightly plugged with earplugs, advanced slowly and organizedly, bit by bit.
"...We must do it! Let's go!"
"We mustn't forget their sacrifice!"
The kingdom's cavalry, having finally completed their flanking maneuver after much difficulty, attacked what should have been the weak sides and rear of the Red Dragon Corps, imagining the carnage happening in the smoke.
The Red Dragon Corps, intending not to use siege cannons to demonstrate the power of guns, had completely hidden the carts carrying the cannons inside their soldiers.
The Red Dragon Corps infantry on the flanks and rear had already formed square formations and were waiting for the kingdom's cavalry, but the cavalry didn't notice what this formation meant and charged straight in, and,
-Ratatatatat!
"Aaaagh!"
"Ugh!"
That charge was easily repelled.
The horse armor and plate armor worn by the riders didn't block the bullets at all,
"This is insane!"
"Stop, stop... Argh!"
And
As during the maneuver, the kingdom's horses reacted violently to the loud sounds coming from the front and refused to charge.
Raising their front legs or causing disturbances was common, and some horses even left the battlefield at full speed, dragging their fallen riders in the chaos.
Most of them fell without even reaching the square formation.
"Enough! Stop the charge!"
The cavalry, having suffered severe damage, tried to leave the battlefield, but,
-Boom boom boom boom!
The Red Dragon Corps' fire didn't stop, and,
"For Her Majesty Louise Zainburg!"
"For the glory of Dragonia!"
They couldn't escape from the imperial cavalry charging from the flank as if driving in a wedge.
The imperial heavy cavalry and dragoons thoroughly trampled the kingdom's cavalry on the verge of collapse, then moved to the flank of the kingdom's infantry wandering in the middle of the battlefield.
"Charge!"
"Behold the power of the Red Dragon Corps!"
The heavy cavalry had to maneuver to the enemy's rear to avoid their own side's ongoing fire before charging, but,
"Fire!"
-Boom boom!
The dragoons dismounted on the flank of the confused enemy infantry and immediately opened fire, intensifying the kingdom army's confusion.
The kingdom's army couldn't withstand the Red Dragon Corps' attack, which thoroughly fired while maintaining a certain distance.
"Die! Die!"
"Eek... Argh!"
-Boom boom boom boom!
The kingdom's army, now out of control, pointed swords at each other and rapidly diminished in number as they were shot by the Red Dragon Corps.
"P-please spare me!"
"Hiiik..."
"Surrender! Surrender! Please!"
Especially the rear, which had been attacked by the Red Dragon Corps' heavy cavalry, consisted of the completely demoralized defeated soldiers from La Leon, and they couldn't respond at all to the cavalry's attack.
They had already been defeated from the moment the first shots were fired.
The heavy cavalry broke through them and reached the tents where the kingdom's officers were, all too easily.
Jordi, who had been sitting blankly in front of the tent watching this scene,
"...We'll surrender, please stop."
Declared surrender with a voice hoarse from shouting retreat orders.
The baton he had been holding fell weakly and rolled on the ground.
The officers beside him, dumbfounded, nodded their heads, and thus the battle between the 10,000 of the Red Dragon Corps and the 13,000 of the Esperian kingdom's army in front of Adense ended in an overwhelming victory for the Red Dragon Corps.
"Total kingdom army deaths about 5,000, wounded about 5,000. 2,000 have surrendered, and a small number of cavalry fled to Serona."
"1st Infantry Regiment has 98 wounded. Two deaths."
"2nd Infantry Regiment has 82 wounded, one death. There were no additional casualties after the enemy archer fire at the beginning of the battle."
"Heavy cavalry has 7 deaths, 32 wounded. The dragoons received no counterattack, so there are no deaths or injuries."
Having heard the officers' reports, Viktor,
"...Good work. We'll take time to reorganize until tomorrow morning, and march towards Serona from the afternoon."
For the first time, he smiled faintly even while receiving the report.
---
Volker started to get slightly irritated from the moment he heard the news that the Red Dragon Corps had begun marching at dawn.
The 5th Corps also hurriedly prepared and headed towards Serona fortress on the opposite side, but…
It only reminded him of the reasons why they hadn't been able to break through for the past few months.
Volker's worries grew with each failed siege, and his tent was always filled with cigarette smoke.
After several failures.
Volker, who had stationed his troops at a distance where arrows and stones couldn't reach, occasionally attempting short sieges and looking for opportunities, only waited for news of the Red Dragon Corps' failure, and,
"...What? La Leon and Adense have fallen?"
-Thud!
He trembled, throwing away the report with shocking content.
"...They really could do it."
"Are guns and siege cannons that powerful...?"
Anxiety spread instantly.
The officers, overwhelmed by the Red Dragon Corps' achievements, murmured quietly.
"They say there were no casualties. At this rate, the Red Dragon Corps might march straight to Serona."
"...Shut up."
"...Pardon?"
"I said shut up!"
At Florian's worried words, Volker rose from his seat in anger.
As the Red Dragon Corps had achieved too much in just a few days, he was overwhelmed with anxiety, having not established any merits to show.
If they managed to capture Serona fortress as well, he wouldn't be able to avoid responsibility for hesitating despite the Red Dragon Corps starting their attack.
After estimating the Red Dragon Corps' marching speed in his head,
"We'll capture Serona fortress within today."
He concluded that they needed to capture Serona within a day.
"...It's difficult."
"We've tried deploying catapults and battering rams, but there were no notable results."
"If we had the siege cannons used by the Red Dragon Corps..."
"You cowards!"
He hated the idea of being punished by the emperor who had received Viktor's report and losing his power more than death.
And now, with Viktor's corps literally smashing through fortresses and advancing rapidly.
He could easily predict what would happen if the Red Dragon Corps arrived at Serona before he could properly achieve results.
Having already made up his mind, he only heard the officers' objections as excuses, so,
"We can't delay any longer! If you're that afraid, I'll lead the soldiers from the front myself!"
"...! That absolutely cannot happen!"
"If something were to happen to you, General...!"
"I won't accept any objections!"
Obsessed with the need to produce results before the Red Dragon Corps' achievements shone, he made an irrational decision.
As Volker had shown such impulsive behavior a few times before, the officers gave up trying to dissuade him after several attempts.
He led all the troops, and,
"Today, we will bring down that fortress! Charge!"
He began personally commanding the siege of Serona fortress from the front.
The plan was to attack the southern wall, which had become chaotic with the arrival of defeated soldiers.
In the short term, this was effective.
The soldiers were anxious about the general taking the lead, but they were inspired by his initiative and attacked the walls.
"...We must break through!"
Because this method had been successful until now.
Volker knew his recklessness but moved to use it as a weapon.
He commanded the soldiers incessantly, wearing flashy armor, with a cigarette in his mouth and swinging his sword.