Chapter 104: Twelfth Episode: Chapter 4 (1/2)
Chapter 104: Twelfth Episode: Chapter 4
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
”Church Calendar Year 797 twelfth day of the second month. Yesterday I did not sleep well. I was dazed and tired all day long. The people of Sukhoi was preparing the funeral for the pair of unlucky siblings. Hilarious! Vijdeline actually cried until she fainted when she saw the bodies of those young siblings. At that moment, I had a strong urge to throw up. I wanted to puke everything that was not digested in my stomach towards the face of Lady Vij. The truth had proven that she is nonetheless a bitch.”
Church Calendar year 797 thirteenth day of the second month. I thought long and hard about it. I still couldn't understand the true intention of Vijdeline. Paul already had a conclusion. The blood stains on that napkin belong to a human. Even though I am still a little in doubt, but according to Torry, his sister really didn't have any close friend of the opposite sex and the so-called lovers. Vijdeline spent most of her time in the lab at the Designing Bureau.”
”Then.... Can I take it this way? This Lady House Mistress only used her virginity as a card to play in order to carry out a daring trade! She depends on the productivity and the technological workers in which Sukhoi represents; she hopes that I will become the General of the Narcissus Knights in the future. At the same time, she wants to have a place among the highest administrative level in the Andrew family or even in the whole Empire.”
”I must admit! This is the perfect chance to step up the influence of the family! The Sukhoi is not lacking financially. They neither lack in human talent and technology. What they lack are the military forces that are able to defend against the two giants around it and the foreign forces. But the fallen and the contented attitude within the Sukhoi is probably the main reason Vijdeline is looking for allies quickly. Without a strong aid from outside adding to the increase in consumption within the family, the Sukhoi's good days will surely come to an end if this situation persists. Of course.... Vijdeline understood this completely!”
”Then! Combining with Andrew was undoubtedly the best choice for the Sukhoi family! And Vijdeline's smartest point is that her words made me cast no doubt on her. Coming together with her will surely bring benefit for my family! It is because of this point that she exaggerated the truths without limit. This is to create the illusion that the age of firearms is about to dawn and cause the intention of wanting to succeed quickly in me! This is to say that the ‘love' between them in that evening on the eleventh is undoubtedly her final move. Maybe.... Sleeping with him is already silently approved by the decision maker of the highest level in the Sukhoi family. Or else, a Lady will in no way have..... the courage of sleeping with a man that she has just known for a week.”
”Church Calendar Year 797 fourteenth day of the second month. My Red Tiger and the infantry division of Colonel Krapitch Drake have finally completed our final preparations. Maybe it will be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. We will able to continue our journey with the Individual Infantry Brigade of Steinberger family! To be honest, changing the planned journey was not my original intention, but after knowing the Sukhoi family, I've already lost interest in the other two giants! Maybe.... The Jebron family with high military strength will be different, but I truly can't anything worth anticipating for. Thus, I decided to change my plan and follow the First Individual Brigade of Loantz Infantry to visit the northwest border of the Empire. I want to have a look at the Steinberger family which has produced so many heroes for many generations. This! This is truly what I am looking forward to.”
Under the magnificent Pinehill Peak, there was a small and quiet mountain pass. This small mountain pass was merely a narrow opening that was wide enough for only six horses to walk through at the same time. An interesting thing was that there was a wide area of flat land in the mountain pass. However, this flat land was not as peaceful as the quiet mountain alley. There were many huge holes with varying depths on the ground. The color of snow had long disappeared. Even the frozen soil was full of holes.
”Is this hell?” Oscar left his warm carriage unwillingly. When he just came off his carriage, he was shocked by the scenery he was seeing. ”Look at these withered trees full of serrated marks. What kind of fierce beast had maimed them to this extent?”
Oscar said as he looked in question at the smiling Duke Sukhoi. ”Sir, I believe that regardless of the season, no grass will grow at this place! Also, I notice that the Guards unit of the mountain pass is at least the size of a Corps. What is this place?”
”Your Highness! You are correct!” Duke Roleighanc nodded. ”This is the cannon ground. But please do not misunderstand about this. This is the place to test the cannon, not to produce cannons.”
”No wonder!” Oscar was surprised. ”So these holes on the ground were caused by the fortress cannon?”
”That's right!” Roleighanc smiled in pride. ”How is it, Your Highness? Isn't it magnificent? Think about it. If this is the battlefield, the enemy concentrated at those holes will turn into ashes.”
Oscar rubbed his hands excitedly. ”Yes! Yes! I definitely believe in it! Is it that General Endorph of Steinberger family wanted to test the quality of the cannons? What are we waiting for then?”
”Hehe! Your Highness, do not rush! Do not rush! It's easy to get into trouble when you do things rashly. That is a weapon of gunpowder. People will die if anything bad happens. I have seen it a lot of times! So.... We must be careful when it comes to cannon testing! If not, I guarantee what would happen here!”
Oscar nodded understandably. Torry once said that the igniting gunpowder for guns and cannons were still unstable. It seemed that Duke Roleighanc did not exaggerate the facts.
Finally! The cannon unit arrived! But the thing that confused Oscar was that this cannon unit seemed to appear right out of the ground. No one noticed how they got into the testing ground.
”Could it be that.... These hills around the mountain pass are also empty within? Just like the mouth of the volcano at the Pinehill Peak behind the Grizzly Fortress?” Oscar could not help but guess this way. ”Maybe.... This is the place the Sukhoi family hide their secret weapons! If not.... How do the soldiers pull the cannons into the testing ground, considering their weight? Unless.... The cannons are already there in the first place!”
Oscar raised a lightweight single-hole telescope. This must be a rare item! Still, remember the Teddy Lolo Club? The owner of the Club wanted to let his guests observe the auctioned items more carefully, so he prepared an expensive telescope worth thousands of gold for rooms further away from the stage. Oscar loved this little thing. At that time, he did not even think of the appropriateness; he simply took the little telescope out of the club without telling anyone. Even so, the owner of the club did not dare to say a word.
”Look at that! They.... They tore the thing that covered the cannons open... Is that canvas?” Oscar asked Duke Sukhoi who was beside him observing the usage of a telescope.
”Not really! That is a special-made cloth that is water-resistant. We call it cannons' cloth.”
”Cannons' cloth?” Oscar pursed his lips. ”Such a nice name! I like it. I shall make one another day!”
The Prince's word made the military officers around him laugh. Everyone was excited for no reason. After all, no matter if they were the generals of the Narcissus Knights or the family warriors of the Steinberger family, they had never truly seen a weapon initiated by gunpowder.
Oscar gave the telescope to his military consultant who kept pacing around at the same place. The so-called King of Infantry, General Gondol Abassia took it with a heavy heart. Even though he had been keeping a low profile these few days, this General was more passionate than anyone else about gunpowder weapons! As an excellent commander of the infantry unit, no one could understand more about the destructive attack on the infantry unit by the fire weapon like Gondol Abassia.
”Your Highness, they are filling the ammunition into the cannons!” General Abassia clearly stated what he saw. ”The ammunition is filled in from the mouth of the cannon. Then.... A soldier.... Is he cleaning the barrel? I don't know what the black stick the soldier is holding is for!”
Duke Roleighanc turned to the Prince who wore a questioning expression. ”Your Highness, the stick with black brushes can definitely clean the barrel well. But its most important use is to compress the ammunition so that the ammunition stays at the correct position at the ignition parts! This is extremely important. If the ammunition is not at the correct ignition position, then only the God of Light will know where it will fly towards. I once saw an ammunition fall from the mouth of the cannon out onto the ground after ignition. The people were so terrified then! I was right at the place not more than four or five meters away from the cannon! Luckily, it didn't explode, or else..... I would probably get an early retirement!”
Oscar laughed. He urged his military consultant to continue reporting the situation.
General Gondol Abassia shut one eye tightly. It was obvious that he was doing his best to observe through the single-hole telescope.
”Hmm.... They are currently filling in the gunpowder at the leading position located at the back of the cannon. There should be a hole. This hole will lead to the ignition parts. Am I right, Sir Duke?”
Roleighanc nodded. ”That's right! You are absolutely right! At the back of the cannons, there is a hole that is specifically made to allow gunpowder to be filled in towards the ignition parts. After filling in the gunpowder according to the fixed amount, then we connect it with the line. This way, there's only more step left and that is light up and fire!”
”Report!” Torry, who had disappeared for the entire morning, finally appeared. He rode up on his horse and only pulled the rein when he was right in front of everyone.
”Father! My cannon testing members have already completed all preparation work. Please, I request for the order to fire!”
”Order to fire!”
”Yes, Sir!” That little jerk Torry made a face at the excited Prince at the side, before waving the red flag of order in his hands in the direction of the cannon unit!
”Doom!” A heavy sound broke the silence of the mountain pass. The hibernating birds in winter suddenly flew into the air. A thick smoke formed from the most leftward cannon of the cannon unit. The snow beside the cannon was also blown into the air by the high pressure of air from firing!
Torry's flag of order waved and turned lightly in the mountain wind.
”Doom!” ”Doom!” ”Doom Doom Doom....”
The cannon unit disappeared into the thick smoke and snow haze all around. The people who were observing the testing were still in the middle of the firing range of cannons. When the loud sound was still echoing in the mountain pass, there was a clear sound of piercing wind in the air.
”Swift.... Swift....”
Oscar snatched the telescope from his military consultant! He eagerly searched for the landing point of the ammunition.
At approximately 1000 meters in front of the people, the first ammunition had fallen to the ground! There were no magnificent flames as they'd imagined. Nor there was any ear-piercing wound. The ammunition broke into pieces at that single moment, and the iron nails in the ammunition and metal debris flew in different directions. Even though the light of the fire and dirt that were blown up from the ground had covered everything, but Oscar could still clearly see the trembling of the ground and the power released at that moment of explosion.
”Second one! Third one! Fourth one....” Oscar put down his telescope. He screamed at Duke Sukhoi loudly amongst the rumbling and blasting noise in the whole mountain pass!
”Congratulations on your success! Also, thank you so much! You allow me this opportunity to look at the real fire weapon!”
Roleighanc put his right hand in front of his chest and bowed politely in response to the Prince's compliment.
It was a successful first round of firing! Torry raised the flag of order once again, but this time the color of the flag had changed.
”Yellow flag! Prepare!” The leader of the cannon testing unit yelled in a loud voice. ”Third gunner. Clean the barrel!”
The members quickly began their preparation. Every soldier who was holding a black stick was mixing the ammunition that was in the mouth of the cannons intensely.
The leader's voice came again. This loud guy made the high officers standing a distance away hear what he said clearly!
”Second gunner. Fill the ammunition!”
Along with the yelling of the commander, the second gunner pushed the black cannonball of eighty-six millimeters diameter into the barrel. Even though their actions were exceptionally quick, but it could be seen from their eyes that these experienced gunners were still extremely careful when they dealt with ammunition!
”Third gunner. Final preparation!”
The third gunner once again ran in front of the cannon and used the iron brushes in their hands to compress the ammunition.
”First gunner. Fill in the gunpowder and place the line!”
Along with the orders of their captain, the first gunner completed the final preparation before firing.
Torry raised the red flag once again.
”Ignite! Fire!”
The blasting sound of the cannon could be heard between the earth and the sky. Each sound shook the hearts of the generals of Titan. They held on to their swords and knives tightly in their hands. It was as if their weapons which had accompanied them in their life-and-death situations would disappear in a blink of an eye.
Even though there was still a long journey ahead for the dawn of the age of fire weapons, at this moment, all warriors who were used to cold weapons asked themselves. ”Where will we go tomorrow? Will our next generation abandon the swords and knives that our ancestors depended their life on?”
”A minute and a half!” Oscar estimated roughly. ”It took a minute and a half from the first round of firing to the second round! Is this the fastest speed?”
This time Torry nodded. ”Approximately yes! My cannon testing unit has played around with these big things all day long. Their operation does not have any extra movement, for that I am sure.”
Oscar turned to Murat. ”What is the launching distance for the Red Tiger in a minute and a half?”
Murat sighed. ”Your Highness, I know what you are thinking. You must think that if the Knights overcame their limited sprinting speed, they totally have the ability to dodge these cannon fires. But did you notice the base that the cannons are put on? I think that that is the base that can adjust the firing range of the cannons. Usually, the knights will reach their maximum sprinting speed at a distance three to four hundred meters away from the enemy base camp, but the fortress cannon can cover a range of two kilometers in radius. Then.... How many shots can the opponent make from the time I begin to move out until reaching the maximum speed on the battlefield? And how many soldiers I will lose because of this?”
Oscar could not answer anything. He truly had no idea how to calculate the destructive force of the cannons.
”We... We can still charge forward!” The stubborn young man gritted his teeth as he said this.
The Prince's Military Consultant General Gondol Abassia turned towards them. ”Your Highness, if our enemy set up the cannons at the back of an Infantry formation and there is solid wood or traps in front of them blocking the knights, do you think we have a chance of outrunning the firing range of the cannon?”
Oscar swallowed in difficulty. He used all his brain cells and carefully searched every military knowledge that he had learned. But after a while, he gave up the debate painfully. There was no answer at all to General Abassia's question!
The prince turned his frustration in his heart towards the few unlucky Division Captains of the Red Tiger.
”Hey! You! Are you all mute? Can no one answer this question? If this is the battlefield, are you just going to die like this?”
Facing the furious Prince, the few generals of the Red Tiger Assault Division lowered their heads. They were experienced fighters on the battlefield. They had never once show fear in front of enemies that was ten times better than them! But the blasting of the cannons was still ringing in their ears. It was not that they were not willing to think of General Abassia's strategy. They did not want to face such a thing at all!
”Your Highness! Your Highness!” Roleighanc of the Sukhoi family finally spoke. ”Why such anger? You should feel lucky! The number of fortress cannons in this whole world is a little bit more than thirty. Our great Empire possesses half of this! You should be happy!”
Oscar turned to him in a sudden movement. ”But what about in the future? Ten years later? Hundred years later? If we still can't find the solution to the question, what should we do?”
Duke Roleighanc shook his head slightly. ”Your Highness, I must admit that you are over worrying! A hundred years later, if our country still has an increasing production of steel and gunpowder, then I believe that we will still be the strongest country in the Westland.”
Oscar turned his head away in disdain. ”I think.... At that time, the Engels have already controlled a huge area of sea and the Hoillanders have possessed firearm units for more than hundreds of thousands of people.”
”So what?” Torry jumped off his horse. ”Your Highness! Then so what? Do you know why Sukhoi Designing Bureau put in all their energy into the study of cannons? Because my sister once said that cannons are the final power in deciding the fate of the battles in future! I believe Sis Vij's judgment because she has never been wrong before! She...”
”Enough! Don't talk about her!” Oscar suddenly got furious without any reserve.
Torry and his father looked at each other. Upon seeing the expression of the Prince, what exactly happened between Vijdeline and him? Those who were sensitive all thought about this.
After a while, Oscar finally broke the awkward silence.
”I am sorry! I.... I admit that I am a little paranoid! The excitement when I saw the firing of the cannons had quickly disappeared! In exchange was the coldness that bit at the bone! I don't understand. I always have a foreboding feeling. I don't know what this is about as well!”
The young Prince seemed not to be finding excuses for his unknown anger. He sighed depressively.
”Alright, everyone! I have caused trouble for everyone. I apologize!”
Duke Roleighanc and every military officer present forgave him.
”Then.... Sir Lieutenant General Endorph Diaphise!” Duke Sukhoi turned towards the general of the Steinberger family that had not spoken a word while standing at the side. ”How is it? Are you satisfied with the testing result of the fortress cannon? If you don't have much opinion, we will carry out the exchange this afternoon.”
Lieutenant General Endorph nodded determinedly. ”I am extremely satisfied with the testing result. I believe if the head of the family is present, he will think the same as well! Then I shall follow the instructions of Sir Duke. We can definitely carry out the exchange this afternoon.”
Duke Roleighanc nodded his head. He enjoyed the company of this Lieutenant General. This guy was a standard occupational soldier. He had never spoken any useless words and all that he said was straight to the point!
”Then.... Your Highness? Do you have any opinion?” The Duke turned to little Oscar who was quiet again.