Defensive Battle of the Royal Capital (2)
On the second day of the assault on the capital, the Imperial army began their attack around noon. Their night raid from the previous evening had left them too exhausted for a morning offensive.
The citizens of Arland standing before them responded with the same mocking laughter and jeers as the day before, casually eating their meals. Once they finished, they returned to their construction work without a care.
The Imperial soldiers hurled insults at the people of Arland—calling them cowards and demanding they fight honorably—but the civilians only laughed in response. Though annoying, they could do little else.
Finally, Lawrence, the man overseeing the construction site, lost his temper.
“Shut up, you bastards! We’re already behind schedule as it is!”
The recent rain had set the project back, and Lawrence’s frustration boiled over as he shouted. The hammer he hurled in his rage claimed the first casualty of the Imperial army’s assault on the capital. It struck one of the frontline soldiers square in the head.
Though wearing a helmet, it dented in with a sickening crunch, and the soldier collapsed—dead on the spot.
“There it is! The foreman’s killer hammer! Even an orc wouldn’t survive that!”
Lawrence’s apprentices burst into laughter.
“You lot better get back to work too!”
Lawrence threw another hammer at one of his apprentices, but the seasoned worker casually caught it and returned to his duties, muttering, “Scary as always…”
Meanwhile, the Imperial soldiers burned with fury at the loss of one of their own to an unarmed civilian.
But before they could even roar in outrage, sirens wailed throughout the capital.
“What the hell is that sound…?”
The Imperial soldiers froze in place, confused, as the citizens calmly withdrew several kilometers away from the front lines.
“What’s going on?”
“What’s that sound?”
The Imperial army didn’t have time to ponder. A deafening boom echoed from the distant horizon, followed by the ominous whistling of something approaching.
Sensing danger, the magicians of the Imperial Mage Corps instinctively tried to raise a barrier—but in the next instant, the very ground where they stood erupted in a catastrophic explosion.
The blast was so powerful that horses threw their riders or were blown away entirely. Those fortunate enough to survive suffered burst eardrums or were injured by the flying debris.
In a single strike, the Imperial Mage Corps was wiped out. But the chaos didn’t end there.
While commanders desperately tried to rally their troops, more danger descended upon them.
“Arland airships approaching! Judging by their design, they’re armed warships—two of them!”
“They’re supposed to be stationed at the border! And two of them?!”
The Supreme Commander’s shout was filled with disbelief. He had heard reports of the strength of these vessels—each said to rival an entire Imperial fleet. In their current state, they had no means to counter them.
The ships were airborne—arrows couldn’t reach them. And the earlier explosion had decimated the Mage Corps. Only a handful of scattered magicians remained, assigned to various support roles.
The two armed airships rotated their four 127mm cannons and opened fire.
Ordinarily, each cannon could fire over 40 shells per minute, but they restrained themselves slightly, limiting the rate to around 35 shells per minute. With four cannons per ship and two ships, that amounted to 280 shells raining down on the Imperial army every minute.
The Imperial army’s chaos spiraled out of control. The relentless, unknown bombardment continued, their Mage Corps obliterated in the first blast.
Then, another massive explosion rocked the army. Though this one hit further to the side, the shockwave alone inflicted devastating casualties.
Roughly 12 kilometers from the Imperial army, a 20-inch cannon stood ready.
Several of Alicetia’s clones hovered in the sky using flight magic, peering through massive telescopes to observe the distant battlefield.
“Adjust to the right!”
One clone pointed to the right. The clones on the ground, observing her, nodded.
“Roger! Adjusting to the right!”
The enormous gun shifted slightly.
“Reload complete!”
The absurdly heavy shells were hoisted into the cannon by multiple clones using Flight magic. The cannon, originally intended only for display, lacked proper targeting systems unless the armed airships were present. Loading was also done manually—a rather sloppy setup.
However, with Alicetia’s clones working seriously, they could fire two shells per minute.
The thunderous roar of the cannon echoed across the landscape. The airborne clones rose higher to avoid the shockwave—not that it could harm them, but they didn’t want the massive telescope damaged.
After a short while, the distant sound of impact rumbled through the air.
“Direct hit.”
“Next target, that way!”
The 20-inch cannon was unleashing its full destructive power.
Meanwhile, the Imperial army had no time to investigate the origin of the bombardment. Shells rained down relentlessly—a threat beyond comprehension.
“Send orders to all units! Retreat! Pull back immediately!”
“We can’t! The confusion has shattered the chain of command!”
The front-line headquarters was drowning in despair. Messengers sent to the front were blown apart by artillery. Contradictory orders spread like wildfire.
Frontline commanders were falling in droves. The army was consumed by utter chaos.
“Pull headquarters back! That’ll signal the frontline to retreat as well!”
“Understood!”
The forward command took only what they could carry and began retreating. Seeing this, the frontline troops also started to fall back.
(We’ll have to abandon the camp too… I should’ve stayed back defending the imperial capital.)
The Supreme Commander wanted to cry. He had never fought a war where his common sense was so utterly useless. His age only worsened his exhaustion. If possible, he’d have much preferred staying in the Imperial Capital to handle defense duties.
But if he broke down and cried now, the already devastated Imperial army would completely collapse.
First, he needed to pull the troops back and reorganize. Then, he would contact the Imperial army’s main force to confirm whether they would resume the assault or regroup with the main army to attack Arland’s main forces together.
However, the Emperor stationed with the main army issued an imperial edict.
“There will be no retreat under any circumstances. Your duty is to trample Arland underfoot!”
The Emperor was with the main army. He couldn’t see the situation firsthand. He simply assumed his unmotivated commanders were panicking after suffering minor losses.
The Supreme Commander repeatedly pleaded with the main army, insisting the assault was impossible and that the capital assault force had already suffered severe damage.
But the Emperor refused to listen. Finally, an officer stationed with the main army realized, after so many frantic reports, that the troops sent toward the capital had suffered unexpected, devastating attacks. The officer gently urged the Emperor to regroup and assess the situation.
However…
“Silence! Look with your own eyes—the so-called ‘main force’ of Arland is holed up behind crumbling fortifications. You told me there were hardly any soldiers left in the capital. Were you lying to your Emperor? Did you dare deceive me?”
“This campaign is to demonstrate the Empire’s might to the world. I will not tolerate a disgraceful retreat. Tell the troops sent to the capital they are to fight to the last man. And if this mysterious magical weapon truly exists, they are to capture it and present it to me!”
In a fit of rage, the Emperor executed the officer who had tried to advise him, branding him a defeatist.
This was catastrophic. The officer who had spoken up was known for his competence and enjoyed considerable respect among the troops. The current Emperor had seized the throne by murdering his relatives. He possessed neither political nor military talent—his only strength was manipulating court politics.
However, he had generally maintained a decent relationship with the military out of fear that alienating them would cost him the throne. In fact, many within the military considered it a blessing that he hadn’t completely destroyed the army with paranoia and purges.
The military simply wanted promotions and accomplishments—they had no desire to manipulate the Emperor. History had proven that military interference in imperial politics only led to disaster. Thus, they obeyed the Emperor, despite his flaws.
But executing a respected officer severely damaged the Emperor’s standing within the army.
Meanwhile, the Imperial soldiers tasked with invading the capital wanted to cry. No matter how much they pleaded, all they received were reckless orders to capture the capital with their current, depleted forces.
“With the Emperor himself there, this is hopeless… He treats warfare like politics.”
“If something unexpected is happening at the capital, the logical course is to adjust the plan. Either send reinforcements or regroup. But if we defy him, our heads will roll…”
“What are your orders, Supreme Commander?”
The Supreme Commander fell silent. But he had to decide. Retreating meant ruin for all his officers. Their futures, their families, everything.
“… We’ll call for reinforcements from the fortress. I have a good relationship with the commander there. I helped him rise through the ranks. He might be willing to support us.”
Reinforcements from the main army wouldn’t come. Their only option was to borrow reserve forces from the fortress. It would probably cost the Supreme Commander his head and bring shame to his family.
But as a soldier and a commander, he couldn’t simply abandon his duty. He ordered the communications officer to establish contact with the fortress.
“… There’s no response.”
“Equipment malfunction?”
The Supreme Commander muttered bitterly. But no matter how many times they tried, there was no reply from the fortress.
“What the hell are they doing over there?!”
A frustrated staff officer slammed his fist on the table. They were running out of time—they needed to launch another offensive immediately.
“It’s not our equipment, sir. Our communications are functioning properly. It seems the fortress’s equipment is down.”
“Could they be under attack?”
“If that were the case, the main army would’ve heard something by now. Besides, the Arland army’s main force has been weakened. They wouldn’t have the strength for that. Even in the worst-case scenario, the fortress has its own walls and defenses.”
The staff officer reasoned that, at the very least, the fortress should be able to send a distress signal. The Supreme Commander reluctantly agreed.
But that meant no reinforcements would come—a disastrous outcome.
The Emperor had already issued an edict: stop whining and capture Arland’s capital. Once the capital fell, the Arland main force would lose hope.
Left with no choice, the Imperial army launched another assault.
But they couldn’t breach the barrier. They were subjected to one-sided attacks. The terrain around the capital offered little cover—there was nowhere to hide.
Then, a 20-inch shell slammed directly into their command headquarters. Even though it had been positioned over 30 kilometers from the frontlines as a precaution, it was obliterated.
Ironically, it was sheer coincidence. The clones operating the long-range artillery celebrated with laughter and high-fives at the lucky hit.
With their headquarters gone, the demoralized Imperial army, already battered and bloodied, completely lost the will to fight. Soldiers scrambled to flee in all directions.
But most of those who fled never set foot on Imperial soil again.
What do you think about this chapter?
