Chapter 64. Berenburg (2)

War is similar to human conflict.

Just as in personal disputes, the tide of war often turns dramatically.

Ten thousand troops can be annihilated by a sudden surprise attack in a state of relaxed tension.

Conversely, in a hair-trigger situation, the battle can drag on in a strangely sluggish manner.

It had been like that before.

It was during the time when I was training the mercenary band in Wolfskrig.

The atmosphere in the city was grim at the time.

The clouds of war were gathering, as if a large-scale pitched battle was about to break out at any moment.

Rumors of war had already circulated among the merchants.

But strangely, that tension began to subside under a lukewarm atmosphere in less than a week.

This was because new news had arrived.

The news that the army the Marquis had gathered was not leaving his domain in the western part of the Empire.

The Imperial army, waiting at the fortresses along the expected route of advance, could only gaze at the vast plains endlessly.

Around that time, I had this conversation with old man Brol during a break from training.

‘I don’t get it. They haven’t issued a subjugation order, but isn’t it a fact that a rebellion has occurred?’

‘That’s right.’

‘Then can’t His Majesty the Emperor just go and lop off his head? Even if the Marquis' army is large, isn’t the Emperor’s side stronger?’

‘Isn’t it because he hasn’t crossed the line?’

It was Bart’s answer, who was writing a training log next to me.

‘Huh? What do you mean by that, Bart?’

‘From what I’ve heard, Marquis Ricardo has currently filed a protest with the Imperial family through formal procedures. I think it was a protest about taxes.’

‘Taxes? No, putting that aside. Does he protest with an army?’

‘He said he gathered the army under the pretext of training. Since there are many pirates on the west coast…’

‘What kind of half-baked story is that?’

Old man Brol scratched his temple.

A sight that would have earned him a scolding from Karen for dropping dandruff if she had been there.

Bart began to explain at a level that Brol, who couldn't be said to be quick-witted in this area, could understand.

‘The Emperor of the Empire is an elected position, right? Of course, the Karlos family has been elected for several generations. The Marquis, as a prince-elector, has the right to protest. So he has a justification.’

‘Dammit. Why is it so complicated? Can’t they just beat him up?’

‘To do that, the Imperial law would have to be amended… From here, I don’t know much either.’

Bart scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

In my opinion, it wasn’t that he didn’t know, but rather that he gave up because he felt he couldn’t get through to him.

Anyway, the situation at the time was as Bart said.

Until then, the Marquis had not officially started a rebellion.

Without a justification, it was difficult for even the Imperial family to do anything to the Marquis, a prince-elector.

He could strike first with the help of some Pro-Imperial Faction members, but that was also a problem.

He would lose the hearts of the nobles who were on the fence.

In the end, it was a battle of justifications.

‘Man, it’s so complicated. Isn’t it? If I were the emperor, I’d just grab all the disobedient ones and go Whack!’

A tyrant might do that.

No, most humans might do that.

The disposition to destroy what one cannot possess is one of the evil natures of humans that can be found even in infants.

But the Emperor did not do that.

He declared the subjugation only after a clear justification emerged.

It must have been to prevent the loss of the Empire’s strength.

He was a psychopath, but the object of his affection was not himself.

What the Emperor loved was the Empire and humanity.

He was a severely distorted psychopath who would even use himself as a tool for the sake of the Empire.

It was the same now.

In the end, a civil war broke out.

A long war wears down national power.

The Emperor intended to end this war quickly.

On the first day of the siege of Berenburg, the capital of the Marquisate.

That must be why one of the secret weapons was immediately revealed.

“Hellfire rockets, prepare to fire!”

Chiiiiii-

The fuse burns.

“Fire!”

Kwaaaaaa-!

The rocket spewed fire and left the launch pad.

Shiiiiiik!

White smoke drew an elegant parabola towards the city.

One. Two. Three….

Six.

The maximum number of rockets that could be mounted on one launch pad.

“Wow……”

“Dammit…”

Old man Brol and Bart, who were standing next to me watching the scene, exclaimed at the same time.

Their meanings were probably a little different.

One would be curiosity and amazement at the principle of a projectile defying gravity.

The other was just simple admiration.

“How precisely must it have been designed to control the gliding trajectory so accurately?”

“I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. What kind of magic is that?”

Just as I thought.

With the cheers of the sappers from the launch pad as a background, I followed the rocket’s path with my eyes.

The Empire’s Hellfire rocket was a state-of-the-art weapon secretly developed within the Imperial army.

It was also a technology I had long coveted.

“For a material of that size to withstand the pressure… Considering a range 50 percent superior to a mortar and the explosive charge in the warhead, the propellant would be about 1/4 of the total mass…”

“Commander, I think this bastard Bart is possessed by something.”

By the way, Bart.

Where on earth was the limit to this guy’s genius?

Seeing those dreamy eyes as he entered his own calculations, it seemed like he could implement it himself if I just threw him a few teaching materials.

Of course, he would need the help of a skilled gunpowder craftsman.

William, the priest who helped in Gunterburk, might not be a bad choice.

By the way, I wondered how things were in Gunterburk.

I heard that after the Count died in the beastmen invasion, he got caught up in a bloody political struggle.

I should have old man Brol look into it after the siege was over.

“O-o-oh…!”

People’s exclamations broke my train of thought.

The long tail of the rocket had already reached close to the city wall.

The Hellfire rocket had two advantages.

The first was its range.

The rocket had a propellant.

It meant that it flew much farther than conventional gunpowder weapons that simply fired a lump of iron.

We were now at twice the range of a mortar.

“Oh!”

“It went over!”

Boom! Craaaash…!

The rocket that fell inside the city beyond the wall emitted a faint roar.

I could see a commotion on top of the wall.

They were probably waiting leisurely, thinking they were outside the bombardment range.

Thud. Ruuumble…!

They also hastily fired their mortars, but it was not enough.

Hundreds of shells that glided through the blue sky-

Thwack! Thud!

They didn't even get close to the Imperial army and were buried in the wrong ground.

“Special Sappers. Prepare to fire all Hellfire rockets.”

As the first strike was successful, the remaining launch pads also began to prepare.

The second advantage of the Hellfire rocket was its lethality.

There were 6 rockets on one launch pad.

A single adult-sized rocket contained 20 kg of gunpowder and sharp metal fragments.

At the moment of explosion, it could be assumed that all living creatures within a hundred-meter radius would be torn to shreds.

14 launch pads.

Over 80 projectiles.

If they all hit, this war could end right there.

“Fire!”

Kwaaaaaak-!!

For a moment, I too had hoped.

That perhaps this civil war would end more tamely than I thought.

But such expectations were always wrong.

It was a similar sound, but it was absurd to overcome the difficulties of ‘Inferno difficulty’ with something like a ‘Hellfire rocket’.

[[Warrior’s Insight] is being deployed.]

[You have acquired skills.]

[Burning Wind (Level 5)]

[Explosion (Level 6)]

Cra-cra-crash! Boom!

A storm of flames and an explosion caused by will alone adorned the sky.

Dozens of rockets were intercepted in the sky.

“…School of Fire.”

The Marquis had hired a Magic Tower.

***

There were four great Magic Towers in the Empire.

The White Magic Tower. The Black Magic Tower. The Blue Magic Tower. The Red Magic Tower.

As the saying goes, a group with power is inseparable from politics.

Just as the Imperial Church was relatively close to the Pro-Imperial Faction, the Magic Towers also had their own political stances.

For example, the Black Magic Tower was on the Emperor’s side.

The [Consecrated Cannon] technology I had seen in Wolfskrig was also the result of a collaboration between the Black Magic Tower’s School of Metal and the Imperial Church.

Generally, the White and Blue Magic Towers remained neutral.

The Red Magic Tower was different each time.

It seemed that in this playthrough, they had sided with the Marquis.

‘As the Empire's gunpowder technology is developing dazzlingly, the position of the School of Fire must have become relatively precarious.’

“……”

‘When the sun rises, the moon sets. When the moon rises, the sun sets again. It is the way of nature.’

I felt this every time, but Kkumteuli was more knowledgeable than I imagined.

It was natural, I suppose, since he was a being worshiped as the ‘Nameless Tentacle’ in the Theocracy.

Having destroyed countless parallel worlds, I had to see him as similar to me, who had gone through thousands of playthroughs.

Usually, his tone was so polite that just hearing his voice felt like seeing a mountain spirit residing on a nearby mountain.

‘However, the setting sun leaves an afterglow, and the setting moon leaves a few stars until the very end. A final plea, so to speak. Isn't the Red Magic Tower the same? Hmm, this is delicious. Nom nom.’

That would have been the case if he wasn't saying it while sucking on a sugar-coated hardtack.

For reference, I received the sugar as a gift from the Archduke.

A man who enjoyed tea ceremony but brewed tea that was no different from sugar water.

The two of them would get along great if put together.

“Eat it sparingly.”

‘Hmph.’

“?”

I think I just heard something strange.

Anyway, the battle between the Imperial army’s latest gunpowder weapons and magic ended with a victory by decision for magic.

Well, it couldn't be helped.

Unlike gunpowder, which had only recently come into the spotlight, magic had been one of the three great powers of the Empire for the past thousand years.

It wasn't that gunpowder was inferior.

Anyway, after the one-sided attack using rockets on the first day hit its limit.

The siege of Berenburg reverted to a more traditional method.

On the second day.

The Imperial army surrounded the entire city in a wide formation.

On the third day.

They attempted a bombardment accompanied by mortars and siege cannons.

However, being able to bombard from this side meant that we were also within the range of the enemy’s mortars.

Two of the three battalions, consisting of artillery and escort cavalry, were hit by a counterattack and retreated.

The only battalion that achieved results was the one in which the Ash Mercenary Band’s 4th Company and I participated.

Not only did we demolish a part of the city wall with a one-sided bombardment, but we also reflected the bombardment with ‘Kashutal’s Amulet’, annihilating the enemy artillery that was attacking us.

“You, where on earth did you get such an ability?”

Archduke Gabir’s blue eyes shone for the first time in a long while.

It was the trait [Eight Thousand Angels’ Insight], which saw through the truth.

Judging by his expression, he wasn't trying to test me.

It was more like a habit when asking important questions.

Of course, the answer was prepared.

“It is an ability I obtained through the grace of Luark. It was when I saved his church and people from a crisis.”

It was true that I had protected the cathedral in Gunterburk, and it was also true that I had ‘received’ the church’s property.

Again, all of this must have been Luark’s providence.

He was a god who even let me use divine power, right?

“I see. Could you participate in the artillery from now on? Of course, I will assign a special mission compensation.”

“Of course, it’s possible, but the range of my ability is not very wide, so I cannot protect all the mortars.”

“Don’t worry. We will attack in several groups like today. They’ve already been hit once, so they won’t dare to attempt a bombardment carelessly.”

The Archduke’s prediction was spectacularly wrong.

From the fourth day onwards, no significant counter-bombardment came towards the artillery I was participating in.

Marquis Ricardo’s side had begun to scan the artillery with reconnaissance magic.

[[Warrior’s Insight] is being deployed.]

[You have acquired a skill.]

[Tapiya’s Far-Seeing Eye (Level 3)]

It seemed that Tapiya, one of the named heroes of the Anti-Imperial Faction, was inside that city.

Their counter-bombardment was concentrated on the other artillery units, excluding the one I was in.

Naturally, the exchange ratio was not good, so the bombardment operation was temporarily halted.

It was around that time that old man Brol, who made new friends regardless of time and place, brought a piece of news.

“Commander, did you hear? They say a letter came from the Imperial Capital.”

“A letter?”

“That’s right. It wasn’t about rebellion or anything… just a regular report. Noteworthy items were that the price of grain has risen, the Northern Archduke’s reinforcements will arrive in a fortnight. And that there are many missing people. That’s about… huh, where are you going? Commander!”

At the last part, I shot up from my seat.

The number of missing people in the Imperial Capital was increasing.

I knew what this phenomenon was a precursor to.

Ratmen.

The disaster lurking underground had awakened.