The black sun hangs high

Chapter 167 A Devastating Progress

As the Jaeger Corps launched its attack on Black Forest Town along the riverbank, the Legalist Committee forces coming to support from Black Forest Fortress also endured the roar and fury of the Kalvan heavy machine guns. The situation for these spellcaster teams was even worse than that of the riverbank defenses, as they were being fired upon while on the move. Under these circumstances, the mages had no time to build suitable cover for themselves, let alone organize an effective counterattack.

In a short time, they couldn't even figure out how many attackers there were, or how many guns were continuously pouring deadly bullets at them...

While these law enforcers were busy dodging the overwhelming hail of bullets, the coastal defenses of Black Forest Town were already in an even more difficult situation.

The assault launched by the Iris Guards did indeed help the Black Forest Infantry Regiment, who were acting as defenders, to create an opening, but it also cost them dearly. These former royal guards were also powerless when faced with concentrated fire from several Kalvan heavy machine guns.

Although their small ritual instruments and multiple protective rituals could eliminate most of the damage caused by bullets, the continuous interference and impact from the Kalvan heavy machine gun made it difficult for them to move. Moreover, due to the precautions and preparations made by the mercenary group, almost all the heavy machine gun squads did not use conventional bullet belts, but instead used special ammunition with greater power and higher magic crystal content.

They were expensive to produce and could not be mass-produced like ordinary bullets, so each heavy machine gun squad was equipped with a very limited number.

However, it would be extremely worthwhile to exchange these bullets for the elite troops that the Delan people are so proud of.

In this bloody assault launched by the Iris Guard, the Jaeger Regiment also suffered some losses, especially the assault team that had tried to seize the bridge, which was almost completely wiped out. However, the Delan people paid a heavy price for this as well.

Each death of a Iris Royal Guard symbolized the waste of a large amount of fine equipment and expensive alchemical potions. Within just ten minutes, these elites loyal to the Delan royal family could only retreat back down the bridge in a wrecked state. During this process, two more Iris Royal Guards died in extremely tragic ways—the culprit was the young Voltel army mage. The magic or weapons he used were so bizarre that once they hit, they could destroy the human body along with the ritual implements.

Hugh did not exhaust his Hound Fang ammunition in one go. After killing three Iris Guards using the same method, he resumed his original duties, providing cover for the Kalvan heavy machine guns that were pushed out of the woods and poured fire on the positions on the opposite bank.

Once the battle enters this phase, it begins to become brutal and tedious.

With the Karvan heavy machine guns fully in place, the Jäger regiment had established comprehensive fire suppression against the enemy's defenses. Immediately afterwards, new assault teams began to climb the bridge and advance towards the other side.

Casualties occur every moment, and the situation on the battlefield is constantly changing.

In the repeated casting and shooting, all of Hugh's previous combat-related experience was fully validated. Memories that once belonged to other individual lives became vivid and clear. For a few moments, Hugh even felt that he couldn't tell where he was.

He could only be certain of one thing: as time went on, the number of people he had personally killed was steadily increasing.

A dozen or so? Dozens? Or perhaps close to a hundred?
He had no way of knowing for sure anymore.

Because the explosions caused by the high-powered crystal ammunition always blast the enemies hit into indistinguishable pieces, and the destructive magic he occasionally casts can easily turn enemies into gruesome mutilated corpses, these results are not easy to calculate.

The medics and alchemists responsible for battlefield evacuation have begun their work. Under the protection of magical rituals, they are constantly searching for the wounded and bringing them back to the relatively safe rear, where the wounded will receive care and treatment.

After firing another high-powered crystal bullet, the revolver in Hugh's hand reached its limit once again. Hugh glanced at the barrel, which was constantly emitting magical mist, and casually tossed it aside. The Mage's Hand quickly formed, picking up a revolver that had fallen not far away and belonged to a fallen soldier. He leaned against a makeshift shelter on the riverbank, quickly checked the condition of the weapon, and after confirming that it was in good working order, he reloaded the bullet and selected a "lucky one" on the opposite bank to pull the trigger.

At that moment, two red magical signals floated into the air from the upper and lower reaches of the river.

That was a signal that the bridge had been successfully breached.

Meanwhile, the assault team that had crossed the bridge next to them had successfully reached the other side. Among them was Klaus, a Valley-level mage from the Hunter Corps. This experienced military mage, who was highly skilled in necromancy, was like a messenger of death. As the magic runes were constructed, a magical bunker located near the bridge was instantly shrouded in a deadly magical mist. Inside the bunker, the Delan soldiers who were using cover to resist and fire were suffocated by the dense mist. Their life force was drained away, and their bodies became fragile and withered.

For the Fifth Jaeger Regiment, this was destined to be a huge victory.

This victory refers not only to the raid on Black Forest town itself, but also to the validation of some new tactics.

How to seize the initiative on the battlefield when magical resources are relatively scarce and the number of mages is at a disadvantage has always been a key problem that the military of the Kingdom of Wotel has been studying in recent years. The emergence of new weapons has opened up a gap for them.

This grants each soldier enhanced combat capabilities, enabling them to threaten enemy spellcasters from a safer distance and exchange cheap bullets for the enemy's manpower...

Such ideas were put to the brutal test on the battlefield during this raid.

As more assault teams crossed the bridge and successfully reached the other side, the Karvan heavy machine guns that had advanced to the riverbank gradually came to a halt.

Someone handed him a cigarette from the side. Hugh turned his head to look and saw that it was the operator of a Kalvan heavy machine gun next to him. His face was wet and slightly red, which was the result of being stimulated by the water vapor emitted from the "magic water cooling system" after operating the heavy machine gun for a long time.

Hugh nodded to him, took the cigarette, and casually used his magic to conjure a small flame to light the cigarettes for both of them.

As the smoke dissipated, Hugh's somewhat disordered thoughts and agitated nerves finally calmed down a little. He looked up and saw several different magical signals rising in the sky, two of which were a dim blue, meaning that two bridges had been forcibly destroyed by the Delans. The battle was still ongoing.

Although the Black Forest Infantry Regiment's coastal defenses have collapsed, the defenses set up on the edge and inside the town have begun to be activated during this period. What awaits the Fifth Hunter Regiment next is a more bloody and direct close-quarters battle and slaughter.

……

In order to ensure the smooth opening of multiple new fronts, the day after the Fifth Jaeger Regiment launched a surprise attack on Black Forest Town, the Water Army launched its first large-scale offensive since the outbreak of the war on the main battlefield of Seren City.

In this large-scale offensive, many new legions formed by the Kingdom of Wotel were deployed to the battlefield, including several mixed cavalry regiments of the Imperial Guard named after the "Augustin" royal family, and several mage archer regiments named after the "Highland Council".

Both evolved from tactics of the old era.

The principle of the "Mage Archer Corps" is simple: to use the large number of mage apprentices, who are at a disadvantage in spellcasting, in conjunction with the new rifles to make up for the lack of firepower and range. They may not be as good as other regular Wotel soldiers in terms of charging and advancing the front line, but their presence can make up for the disadvantages of the Karvan heavy machine gun in terms of mobility and range exposed under the current conditions.

As for the Royal Guard Mixed Cavalry Regiment of the Kingdom of Walter, it was reorganized from the former Royal Light Cavalry and Heavy Cavalry Regiment.

In past wars, whether on plateaus or plains, cavalry regiments often chose to have their cavalrymen carry both melee weapons for close combat and crystal guns for long-range shooting. Due to the reloading problem of crystal guns, these cavalrymen would often launch a frontal assault after firing a round at the enemy. With their strong armor and the magical artifacts that moved with the cavalry regiment, they would directly tear through the enemy's lines and kill those soldiers with weak armor.

Now, the Votel military has assigned some new tasks to the newly formed cavalry regiments.

While preserving the cavalry regiments' mobility and frontal charge capabilities, the Votel military adjusted the configuration of the cavalry's armor and tack, and also equipped these cavalrymen with new revolver rifles. In addition, a lightweight alchemical bomb that could be fired directly from the revolver rifle was also put into trial use.

However, it was not only Walter's army that underwent significant changes due to the war.

As a behemoth that closely cooperates with Merlinler and the Legal Council and possesses abundant magical resources, the Kingdom of Delan has also made new attempts and responses to this new era of war. When the cavalry of the Votel people began to gallop across the plains, they were surprised to find that many magical balloons were floating behind the Delan Kingdom's defense line.

They are not the same as ordinary artillery observation balloons.

It is larger in size and equipped with an enclosed pod.

Faced with the advance of the Water Army, these special magical balloons actually appeared directly above the battlefield, and then they revealed their terrifying side.

Each pod was equipped with a lightweight crystal cannon, which was prototyped by the Kingdom of Delan in a short period of time. They were lighter and easier to transport. Although the crystal shells they used could not compare with those of traditional crystal cannons, their air superiority made it easier and more accurate to bombard key ground forces.

Thus, after the highland nations innovated by combining steam technology with magic, the war scholars on the plains also took a very important step.

"We should take over the skies first!"

This was a statement made by the commander of the Delan Kingdom, who was in charge of the "balloon tactics," after witnessing the benefits of this new weapon. The statement was quickly recorded by the war correspondents and published in the newspapers of the Delan Kingdom.

Meanwhile, some scholars in the Kingdom of Delan believed that the blockade against steam technology should be ended immediately—only by embracing this new technology and promoting its integration with magic could breakthroughs be achieved in different fields. Of course, this view was not so easily accepted within the Kingdom of Delan and the Legal Council, but for the military and alchemy workshops of the Kingdom of Delan, the new revolver rifles captured on the battlefield had already provided them with some important new ideas.

After enduring the aerial attacks, the generals, marshals, and scholars of the Highland Kingdom also turned their attention to this new field. The large steam airships flying between the cities of the Kingdom of Wotel immediately became the focus of attention. A considerable number of scholars and alchemists believed that these large transport vehicles, after proper modifications, could become epoch-making war machines.

War has unsurprisingly triggered a double explosion in human technology and vision.

When these briefings were successfully delivered to the Fifth Regiment via magical cipher and seen by Hugh, it was already the fourth day after the Black Forest raid.

Over the past few days, the Black Forest Town and Black Forest Fort area have been largely under the control of the Fifth Juggernaut Regiment. The Delan Infantry Regiment, which was originally stationed there, was forced to withdraw from the town area. Most of them retreated to villages some distance from Black Forest Town, using these as strongholds to engage in continuous combat with the Juggernaut Regiment. In some areas on the outskirts of the town, a few Delan soldiers still chose to hold their ground, causing considerable trouble for the Juggernaut Regiment's operations.

Having successfully achieved its previous operational objectives, the Fifth Jaeger Regiment immediately began an even busier work schedule.

Personnel rest and medical care, the establishment of new fortifications and temporary hospitals, the clearing of hidden dangers within the town, and the deployment of a considerable number of personnel to establish outposts in the surrounding areas, while also protecting the roads connecting to the rear—these are all important channels prepared for subsequent reinforcements and strategic supply transport.

On the fifth day after the Black Forest Town fell into the control of the Hunter Corps, the sky was torn apart by a deafening roar as a large-scale magical bombardment from the Delan Kingdom's artillery regiment began.

(End of this chapter)