235 – Before the Fall of the Elaine Empire (6)
As the cannons began to fire, the Elaine soldiers in the castle, who had already experienced the power of the cannons through past battles, shut up. He began to tremble in front of the extreme fear of death to come.
On the other hand, the citizen soldiers, who had not seen the power of the cannon, approached them and asked why they were so afraid.
“No, what’s so scary about attacking from a distance of several hundred meters?”
The scene where the situation was turned upside down, where the citizen soldiers reassure the soldiers, seemed very awkward…
The soldiers of Elaine quietly crouched down with expressions that said, “You’ll find out now.”
A few seconds later, a cannonball fired from the cannon fell into the castle, and the ground shook with a roar that would rip the eardrums apart, destroying buildings and digging up the dirt floor, sending countless debris flying along with black smoke.
At the same time…
“My home! My house was blown up by that damn cannon! I mean, I rolled 20 years to live on that!”
“Alice!! Alice!! Drop this! I have to go There is a wife and children in that house that just collapsed!”
“Uh… Why is my hand… Why… The Schwartz guy next to me is missing his head? Aww!”
As the screams of soldiers and citizens echoed throughout the castle, even the citizen soldiers standing on the walls began to clap their tongues at the sight of the horrific scene.
“… What the hell is that? How could you do such a terrible thing with an iron ball…”
“I dodged, but the guy next to me got his head crushed and he died…”
“Damn it, soldier… How much of that kind of thing will pour out in the future?”
At the time the soldiers and citizens stationed in Elysium were in such chaos.
Ciel thought while looking at the smoke rising from Elysium.
However, what he was thinking was not sympathy or regret for the people who died in the previous shelling, but rather how to create fear in the castle more efficiently and quickly.
If you look at him with such worries through the eyes of modern people, he might look like a murder-mad psychopath.
The era in which Creutel lives is one in which there is no concept of human rights.
Even in modern times when the concept of human rights exists, in war, killing less allies and killing as many enemies as possible is the virtue of a great commander.
His worries can be said to be the thoughts of a person who has achieved strategic victories in many wars.
Kreutel continued to ponder and then asked the artilleryman next to him if he had a good idea.
“Do you think cannons can reach the imperial palace of the emperor inside the triple wall?”
The gunner doubted his ears when he heard that.
Because the king next to him was someone who knew how powerful the cannon was and how far it ranged, even if he couldn’t shoot the cannon himself.
So, to put it bluntly, even the commanders of artillery regiments, who are the highest among artillerymen, say in front of Your Highness when it comes to the operation of artillery, ‘Yes, yes. There are rumors that there is nothing else to say other than that.
Because I thought that such a person would not ask such an absurd question to myself, who was only a corporal.
But, given the circumstances, he thought that what he had heard was correct, so he replied, hoping there would be no faults.
“Even if you put in twice the amount of gunpowder, it won’t reach the imperial palace hidden within the triple wall. I think all the other officers will answer the same way, Your Highness.”
Hearing those words, Ciel must have been convinced that his strategy would work, but he said with a smile.
“Is that so? This is going to be so much fun. Also, you’re very good to be called a soldier… Do you have any plans to become a noncommissioned officer?”
When the soldier heard that question, he doubted his ears again.
Because if you become a noncommissioned officer after being recommended by the king, your promotion from sergeant to sergeant is unconditionally guaranteed unless you commit a crime…
Because it is not a job to rise to the rank of second lieutenant once you establish one small major.
And for him, who, after being discharged from the military, was all about cultivating a small field, this was an opportunity to change his life.
“Of course. Thank you, Your Highness!”
Ciel must have been satisfied with making such a good story, he smiled and gave orders to the soldiers.
“I don’t care how much gunpowder is left, fire at least 30 rounds per gun a day. Cannons are useless the moment your allies try to cross the wall anyway. Also, as a measure to lower their morale, everything except retreat and drinking is allowed, so the commander can cast it at his discretion.”
The artillerymen repeated the order, and it took about 30 minutes for the order to spread throughout the army.
And not long after, the artillerymen of the Kingdom of Creutel loaded their cannons once again and fired them into the walls.
In Elysium Castle, the sound of soldiers dying and wails echoed again.
“You bastard bastard, rather attack me!! Why are you just shooting cannons and making a fuss!”
“Did your mother and father teach you to fight like that?”
“Dirty and insignificant human bastards who were born from f*cking with each other!!!”
“…My arm is missing!!! Dogs!”
At the same time, the morale of the soldiers and citizens inside Elysium Castle fell to the ground, and now they are stuck underground…
As soon as the other Counts of the Kingdom of Creutel saw the signal of artillery fire, they gave a completely different order than before.
“Soldiers belonging to the Baltic Legion, sit on the ground and rest comfortably. There will be no attack today anyway.”
“To the Frost Corps. Since the soldiers are hungry, supply them with porridge made with biscuits and seaweed and pickled herring. In addition, soldiers who have been on vigil or guard duty are allowed to sleep on duty.”
“I will take out half of my reserve and reorganize the camp so that soldiers from other corps can come back and rest comfortably, and the other half will wait here.”
I was told to prepare for an attack, but in fact I was ordered to continue resting.
Suddenly, some of the senior soldiers who were on vigil or on guard duty last night even went to sleep while sitting down snoring…
Because the commanders knew that the king’s intention was to ‘pressure through artillery’, and because each commander was given discretion…
No, among quite capable commanders…
“If you feel sleepy, take turns sitting down and taking a nap. It is okay for 4 squads in one platoon to take turns sleeping for 1 hour each. Anyway, no attack today.”
“There may be a night raid, so go to bed now. If you can’t sleep at night, come see me.”
When Ciel heard this news, instead of getting angry, he admired their intentions and said.
“When I told the commander to rest at his discretion, he told me that there might be a night raid and he told me to sleep in shifts. Great By the way, if you deliver this news to the soldiers inside the walls of Elysium, they will go crazy.”
And then he made up his mind to issue one more order to pour oil on it so that it could burn very brightly.
“For each battalion, supply 2 oak barrels filled with beer to quench your thirst. At the same time, as long as you don’t leave your seat, you can go to the bathroom freely. Tell the soldiers that you can play as much as you want.”
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On the other hand, the emperor and nobles within the walls of Elysium…
“Your Majesty, since it’s not too late, shouldn’t we leave some of the soldiers behind and evacuate them to a safe space within the walls?”
“When soldiers see their homes, family, friends and neighbors dying, their morale begins to sink!”
“Why don’t you just surrender? If artillery fire alone is enough, we already have the strength to fight…”
“Shut up, Count DeLong! Asking the emperor of the Elain Empire to surrender!”
We couldn’t properly agree on the basics of leaving a minimum number of soldiers to stand guard and sending soldiers and citizens to a safe place.
If Ciel saw it, it would have been a sight to laugh at, but from the point of view of the emperor and the nobles, who are the protagonists of the play…
The situation facing them now was literally a tragedy itself.
Of course, it was an opportunity for the family to be revived for the nobles who communicated with Kreutel.
Seeing the nobles fighting like that, the emperor thought that he couldn’t come to any conclusion today, so he squeezed his head and said as if declaring.
“Noisy! No surrender! Instead, the soldiers move to a safe place and protect it, except for a few who stand guard! And Jim isn’t feeling well today, so I’m going to go get some rest!”
After saying that, Adolf left his meeting room and headed for his own office.
Looking at an emperor like this, even though he’s crazy, it might seem like he’s doing his job properly…
Some close associates knew.
That the emperor’s favorite woman, Eva Green, is waiting in the emperor’s office.