Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 52: The Last Ripples of the 52nd Cavalry Regiment
"boom!"

"Boom——!"

Dull, loud explosions began to echo throughout Seville.

The earth trembled, the houses shook, as if the end of the world had come.

The last surviving magic crystal cannon position, under General Sanhurho's reckless orders, began indiscriminate bombardment of the area in the north of the city where the enemy had appeared.

Since precision strikes were not required, the mage apprentices did not even participate in guiding the firing. The gunners simply set a direction and angle based on the map and coordinates, and then launched the shells one by one.

This time, they no longer used the fragmentation magic crystal bullets that were mainly used to kill people, but rather powerful magic crystal bullets with much greater destructive force.

The explosive power and shockwave of this type of shell far exceed those of conventional shells.

Most of the buildings in Seville were ordinary brick and tile structures. Under the bombardment of powerful magic crystal bombs, they collapsed one after another like paper, turning into ruins.

If most civilians had not already evacuated, this would have certainly caused enormous casualties.

Thick smoke and dust billowed into the sky, obscuring the heavens.

General Sanhurho, watching the battle from the rear, finally revealed a sinister look of pleasure as he gazed at the thick smoke rising from the city.

"Bomb! Bomb it hard!" he muttered to himself. "Let's see where you cowards can hide now!"

He believed that under such devastating artillery fire, any solid defense would be destroyed, and any tenacious will would be crushed.

Based on his previous experience in siege battles, using artillery fire to breach city defenses was a common practice.

However, what he didn't know was that the seemingly massive artillery bombardment actually caused very few casualties to the city's defenders.

In Morin's initial 'urban warfare recommendations,' a crucial principle was clearly mentioned:

"Before enemy infantry get close, the main force should stay deep in the city or in a solid basement to avoid possible enemy artillery preparations."

Only a few bold and meticulous soldiers would be sent to high vantage points, such as church bell towers, to serve as observation posts.

At this moment, atop the tallest church bell tower in Seville, two Saxon soldiers are intently observing the movements outside the city through binoculars.

Violent explosions continued to occur in the surrounding urban area, even causing the clock tower to sway.

"See that? The enemy's artillery position!" one of the soldiers whispered.

“I saw it! It’s at 11 o’clock, behind that grove of trees!” another soldier replied. “Damn, it’s well hidden!”

Their task was to observe the enemy's artillery fire, and once the enemy artillery ceased fire and the infantry began to advance, they were to immediately notify the troops to move into position.

Just as the two were anxiously and nervously observing amidst the sound of cannon fire, the shelling outside the city suddenly stopped.

"What happened? It stopped?"

"Look! The enemy is coming!"

Through their binoculars, they could clearly see that the dark mass of royal soldiers surged out of the city's outer positions like a tide, launching a second attack on Seville.

"Quickly! Notify the other units!"

"it is good!"

One soldier immediately slid down the clock tower stairs, simultaneously biting the whistle around his neck into his mouth.

"call out--"

A sharp whistle soon rang out, followed by whistles that radiated from the church to other areas like a relay race.

In the once quiet city of Seville, the garrison, having heard the whistle, quickly passed through secret passages opened up inside the buildings and entered the second, still relatively intact, defensive position.

The soldiers of the Kingdom Army walked fearfully through the ruins ravaged by artillery fire, but when they found that they were no longer under attack, they breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"It seems these Saxons and rebels have all been killed by the cannons!"

An officer said this with feigned ease, then raised his sword diagonally forward, ordering the troops to advance deeper into the city.

Meanwhile, on a high ground outside the city of Seville.

Colonel Braun, commander of the 52nd Cavalry Regiment, was observing Seville in the distance through binoculars.

When he saw the enemy troops swarming around the city like ants, his eyes sharpened instantly.

The enemy launched another attack, and this time they even used magic crystal cannons. If their cavalry couldn't find a way to destroy the remaining magic crystal cannon positions, the pressure on the defenders would become even greater.

"Colonel! Found them!"

An excited shout came from beside him, and the cavalry colonel lowered his binoculars, a smile spreading across his face.

"Very good, the enemy's artillery positions have been exposed by the recent shelling." Colonel Braun shouted.

"To!"

"Report the coordinates to the cavalry artillery battalion and have them proceed to the designated positions based on those coordinates! The positions must be deployed within fifteen minutes!"

"Order the First and Second Cavalry Battalions to prepare for a charge! Once the artillery battalion has finished bombarding, immediately follow me in the charge!"

"Yes! Colonel!"

The messenger spurred his horse forward, and the order was quickly relayed.

The cavalry artillery battalion, which belonged to the cavalry regiment, was equipped with 12 77mm field guns.

Although this type of artillery has a small caliber, it is highly mobile. Each cannon is pulled by six strong draft horses, allowing it to move quickly across rugged terrain.

The gunners were all experienced veterans. After arriving at their positions, they skillfully untied the draft horses and the fore-and-aft carriage, switched the cannon from towing to combat mode, adjusted the muzzle angle, and loaded the shells. The whole process was smooth and seamless.

In less than fifteen minutes, twelve 77mm field guns had raised their muzzles and were aimed at the magic crystal cannon position that had just been ravaging the area.

As the No. 1 gun position quickly completed two rounds of firing calibration, the other 11 field gun crews also efficiently adjusted their firing parameters.

"Fire!"

At the command of the cavalry artillery battalion commander, a continuous barrage of cannon fire echoed across the plains.

Twelve field guns fired simultaneously, shells whistling as they pierced the sky, most landing in the magic crystal cannon positions.

Explosions came and went.

The weakness of the magic crystal cannon, its extremely poor mobility, was exposed at this moment.

Even though they had already been subjected to homing fire, when the Saxons' salvo of shells landed, the cumbersome magic crystal cannons had not yet been stored away and could not be moved in time.

The gunners were blown to bits, crying and screaming.

The entire position was instantly engulfed in flames and chaos.

"charge!"

Colonel Braun was the first to raise his lance and point it forward.

"For the Emperor and the Empire!"

"Ugh——!"

The resounding bugle call rang out.

The first rank of the two cavalry battalions, which were already prepared, lowered their lances and charged towards the position covered by artillery fire like a flood bursting its banks.

The forest of gleaming lances swiftly and decisively ended the enemy artillery unit that had caused them so much trouble.

The defenders of the magic crystal cannon position, after being bombarded, were unable to mount any effective resistance against the cavalry charging in a wall formation.

However, just as the cavalry were clearing out the stubborn enemy forces on this position, a sudden change occurred.

Three figures radiating powerful magical energy suddenly flew over from the distant sky at an extremely fast speed.

Leading the group was none other than the high-ranking mage, Eldridge.

When he saw the magic crystal cannon position, which had been almost completely destroyed, his face turned terribly grim.

Colonel Braun, on horseback in the charge, also saw the three figures flying rapidly towards him.

An ominous premonition came to mind.

"It's a monk! Be careful!" he shouted a warning.

But it's too late.

Eldridge simply raised his hand slightly and uttered a few syllables.

The next second, the hundreds of cavalrymen at the forefront, along with their horses, suddenly floated uncontrollably into the air, as if they had been grabbed by an invisible hand.

They screamed in terror and struggled, but to no avail.

Colonel Braun's last conscious thought was seeing himself and his comrades being slammed to the ground by that invisible hand.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere, and bones shattered.

The whole world was plunged into darkness.

(End of this chapter)