Free Web NovelChapter 405: Chapter 402: The War Begins
They received their uniforms, underwent training, and then set out.
During their training at the main camp, Paulina came to visit Pascal once, making his fellow apprentice incredibly envious. Fortunately, time was extremely tight. They set out on the fifth day after Pascal and Paul joined, giving Paul no further opportunity for envy.
By rights, their personally-owned horses should have been handed over for unified allocation, but Colonel Druao didn’t make Pascal and Paul give up their mounts.
At first, the two did ride their horses, but a series of incidents soon followed. For instance, on more than one occasion, soldiers would salute and call them "sir" when approaching. Paired with the strange looks from their other comrades, the two apprentice brothers consciously switched to walking. Their horses became draft animals for pulling the cannons and shells, and only then did they finally blend in with their fellow soldiers.
Their comrades didn’t know their professions before they enlisted. The labels they got were "two rich kids," one of whom had a very beautiful girlfriend. Oh, right, there was another important tag: "suspected relatives or friends of an officer."
Company after company of men and horses set out north from the main camp. They crossed fields that, while not yet ready for spring planting, were no longer in the depths of winter. The earth had grown moist and was covered in tender green grass. However, this had its downsides. The rain had turned the roads muddy, and the wagons carved deep ruts.
After marching for two days, they reached a camp before a mountain pass. Pascal learned that they would be engaging the enemy in just one more day. Only then did he truly feel how terrifyingly close the Empire’s vanguard was to Valuva.
On the night before the battle, Druao "hosted a banquet" for Pascal and Paul. He brought out the cooked beef allocated to officers, as well as a novelty: "Canned food from the Binhai region. The Empire Army was the first to get it, and now we have it too."
He pried it open with a small knife. Pascal saw that the brand on the can was actually "Hercules" and was momentarily dazed. ’Isn’t that the trading company that produces Purple Potions? I wonder where Rorschach is now.’
Pascal was suddenly worried. If Rorschach had joined the Empire Army, would they run into each other? It wasn’t that he was worried about choosing between their bond as apprentice brothers and his duty to his country; he was worried he couldn’t beat his junior.
Inside the can was a red broth. When heated, it bubbled up, revealing tubers, bits of meat, and a sweet aroma. Druao dished it out for them. "This is the best food you can get out here. With the sliced cooked beef and some bread, it’s no worse than a restaurant in Valuva."
’No, it’s much worse.’ Paul and Pascal began to wonder what kind of restaurants Mr. Druao, with his low pre-war salary, had been frequenting.
The colonel had only one reason for treating the two of them: "According to plan, tomorrow we stop the Empireists from advancing another step. The pass ahead of us is Valois’s first line of defense. Beyond that, it’s all open plains. Understood?"
"Predictably, the Empire’s main force won’t be an easy fight. I need you two to play a key role at the critical moment—protect my artillerymen, and protect the cannons."
Pascal accepted the colonel’s request. "We will."
After eating and drinking a little wine, the three of them talked until lights out. Now, the tent was pitch-black. As Pascal lay in his sleeping bag, he heard the sound of pages turning.
’Is Paul using [Dark Vision] to read?’
"When firing at a low angle, the greater the initial velocity, the smaller the required firing angle..." The soft recitation was hidden amidst the snores of their comrades.
Pascal couldn’t sleep either and started communicating using [Communication Skill]. "Hey, what are you reading?"
"*Artillery Manual*." Paul had passed the assessment and become a gunner, while Pascal... seemed to be under a curse of "never being able to pass the first assessment" and had become Paul’s loader.
Paul continued, lost in his own reminiscence. "I originally wanted to be a cavalry grenadier, which is why I got a horse to join the Guard. After all, I’m from Jasikone. I’m good at shooting from horseback and fighting with a blade! It’s just that my height was a bit of an issue..."
The grenadiers of Valois became a permanent unit under "Sun King" Charles XIV. In an era when firearms weren’t advanced enough, tall grenadiers could use their long arms to hurl lit muzzle-loader cannonballs onto enemy positions.
Now that artillery has developed further, big, brawny men are no longer needed to throw them by hand, but "grenadier" has become a synonym for elite troops, and "cavalry grenadiers," who are in fact cuirassiers, have also appeared.
’Heh, this kid’s definitely not tall enough. As for his skills...’ Pascal admitted that Paul was better than him, but the entire Kano group had witnessed how badly Rorschach had beaten him.
Paul, unaware of Pascal’s thoughts, continued, "By some twist of fate, I ended up in the artillery, but I’ve found it’s not bad. We’re looked after by a battalion commander you know, and besides, firing cannons is pretty interesting."
The science of *actually* firing cannons had Paul somewhat mesmerized. "These ordinary people don’t know Magic, but they use mathematics, forging, and a little bit of Alchemy to create weapons no less powerful than Magic. And people who used to be bakers, accountants, lawyers... they can learn to use them too."
"I want to do even better and use them to give those Empireists a real thrashing."
Pascal didn’t hear what Paul said via [Communication Skill]. He had already drifted off to sleep, muttering in his dreams, "Sweetheart, from now on, I’m the only one allowed in the kitchen. Your soup is salty enough to kill a cow..."
...
The day of the battle dawned with good weather. The sky was azure blue, just with a few too many clouds.
"Empire Army positions spotted to the northwest!"
"An Empire Army column in Abuler Village! Estimated three thousand men!"
...
Scouts from both armies carried the news back to their respective command posts. The generals on both sides understood that the moment of confrontation had arrived.
At first, the Empire Army commanders were in a relatively relaxed and cheerful mood. The campaign so far had been exceedingly smooth, with everything proceeding according to the blitz strategy planned by their high command. However, as intelligence on the Valois defenders was gradually compiled, their hearts sank.
The enemy actually had thirteen corps, totaling over sixty thousand men... Thanks to the Rebel Armies from various regions joining the battle, the Valois side, for the first time in a long while, had the advantage in numbers!
"It doesn’t matter. The Valois army is just a disorderly mob. They’ll flee without a fight after a single volley from our troops." The commanders comforted themselves with such thoughts. Facing a more numerous enemy, this was the Empire Army’s mobilization cry: "No matter how many of those sans-culottes there are, dead or alive, they cannot stop the advance of the continent’s strongest army!"
The Empire Army, with the Marlin Kingdom as its backbone, was indeed the undisputed strongest army on the continent. Their greatest enemy, the Church, had already been defeated. The battles that followed had shown that the army of Valois was no longer the brilliant daylight of the "Sun King’s" era, but rather a fading twilight.
But Richard was worried. His legion had originally been resting and reorganizing in Kongdi, but as a Mage, he had been drafted into the main force. He and the other Military Mages were formed into a special operations regiment. Rumor had it that the Valois side also had Mages joining their army, which was why their own military had organized this special force to participate in the decisive battle.
Richard was against this arrangement. He was certain the Empire would once again deploy the weapon that nullified all Magic on the battlefield. But that weapon was indiscriminate, affecting friend and foe alike. Grouping the Mages together was a foolish move.
Unfortunately, by the time he rushed from Kongdi to the new battlefield, the battle deployments were already complete. A mere major like him could not change the decision now.
Both sides came into view of each other. With a thunderous barrage from the Empire Army’s artillery, the war began!
