Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 568 Siege (Twenty)

As the "rebel" signal lights flashed under the King's Castle, on Margit Island, the next round of counterattack by Lodwijk's troops was ready.

"...no matter how fierce the storm, no matter how raging the sea, until we enter the heavenly rest..."

The provincial soldiers selected for the commando team gathered in front of the small shrine, knelt on one knee, followed the chanting of the officiating priest, and prayed in a low voice.

The officiating minister was none other than Lieutenant Colonel William Lodewijk.

After the prayer, the soldiers stood up.

"I always believe that the Lord has his own plans for the fate of mortals like us," William Lodewijk looked around at his subordinates and encouraged them, "just like he brought you and me to the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, to the Castle of Kings, and to this island.

"And this time, he revealed our fate through the mouth of an unbeliever. This unbeliever was Jason Cornelius, a man I never trusted, but some of his words were right.

"If we fail here, the rebels will sweep across South Palatus. By then, the confrontation between the north and the south will be unstoppable, and the war will no longer be limited to Palatus. Everyone in the Piedmont, Vineta, and the narrow area between the two mountains will be dragged into the war."

Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk paused for a moment. "So, soldiers, we are not just guarding this small island. We are standing in front of a bigger, more unfortunate, more terrible disaster. That's why he brought us here."

The lieutenant colonel's tense face relaxed a bit, revealing a rare tenderness. "You have known me for many years, and I have known you for many years. After dawn, many of us may not be able to meet again. But don't be afraid. I will give you to him. One day, we will meet again in paradise."

After that, the lieutenant colonel stood at attention with his boots together and saluted his subordinates, "It is my honor to work with you all."

The soldiers selected for the commando team stood at attention in unison, saluted, put on their helmets, and set off for the attack position.

Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Montecuccoli, who was anxiously waiting in the distance, finally had the opportunity to speak to Lodwijk.

Because the head of the family was a non-believer, the religious atmosphere in the Army Officer Academy was very weak. Influenced by this, the director of the artillery department was also lazy about sacraments such as worship and prayer. He could not even remember when was the last time he walked into a church outside the school.

However, the weak religious atmosphere within the Army Academy does not mean that the religious atmosphere in the military is weak.

In fact, because the Protestant believers in the Piedmont had experienced cruel oppression and had a strong fighting spirit, the federal army, which now mainly recruits soldiers from Protestants, is the most fanatical among the republics.

Therefore, even though Raymond Montecuccoli was in a critical situation, he did not dare to interrupt the ceremony of the friendly troops.

Finally, when Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk finished his sermon, Montecuccoli stepped forward and said straight to the point, "I don't agree with the counterattack!"

Lodewijk gave the artillery lieutenant colonel a cold look and asked, "So what do you want?"

"Hold the inner circle," Montecuccoli replied immediately, "and wait for support."

The terrain of Margit Island is high in the middle and low around it. The high point in the middle looks like a convex platform, and the Domonkos Monastery is located in the center of the convex platform.

After Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk's troops landed on the island, they immediately set about expanding the Domoncos Monastery - because the monastery could not accommodate two battalions, and built a circle of breastworks on the edge of the platform as the monastery's outer defenses.

So although Margit Island is small, it has a structure of "monasteries, breastworks, and trenches" interlocking. The "inner ring" mentioned by Montecuccoli refers to the second layer of defense located on the terrace with the breastwork as the boundary.

After the vanguard of the "rebels" landed on Margit Island, they did not directly attack the inner ring, but immediately moved southward to clear the outer trenches. Therefore, the plateau in the middle of Margit Island and the more central Domonkos Monastery are still in the hands of the Southern Front.

"Lieutenant Colonel, have you seen the rebel boats?" Lieutenant Colonel Lodewijk asked with rare patience.

"What do you want to ask?" Montecuccoli asked impatiently.

"How many rebels do you think are on the island right now?"

This question stumped Montecuccoli. He silently counted the rebel boats he saw. Although he was unsure, he still pretended to be confident and answered, "One battalion."

"One battalion?" Lodewijk said grimly. "If those canoes and sampans were replaced with real boats, the rebels might be able to transport a battalion to the island at once. But relying on those scraps on the river, the rebels' vanguard can only have two centuries at most - this is also the reason why they did not take advantage of the situation to attack the inner ring. Including the troops that came to the island later, the rebels on the island can only have three centuries at most. So even if I lose Lieutenant Thomas's century, I still have the advantage in manpower."

Lodewijk glanced at the artillery lieutenant colonel and said, "In fact, if it weren't for someone, my troop advantage would be even greater. However, once the pontoon bridge is completed, it will be hard to say."

Montecuccoli was angry and ashamed when he heard this.

The debate that had previously taken place on the outskirts of the New City about the main attack direction of the "rebels" now had an answer - Jason Cornelius was right, and Raymond Montecuccoli was wrong.

Although the "rebels" built a lot of buildings outside the new city and showed an attitude of being determined to break through the trenches, their primary target was still Margit Island - the heavy artillery mounted on the river bank on the opposite bank was ironclad evidence of this.

However, judging is one thing and responding is another.

The bad thing for the Southern Front was that the rebels had timed their new attack on Margit Island too well.

The highlight of tonight was supposed to be at King's Castle, but the "rebels" obviously did not intend to follow the script of the Federation people.

In order to ensure that the arrangements in King's Castle were foolproof, the Southern Front Command temporarily kept the troops that were originally intended to reinforce Margit Island in the city.

Just when the entire Southern Front Army focused its attention on the new city, the rebels once again attacked Margit Island.

It was obvious that Wake Lodewijk was scolding Montecuccoli to his face.

The director of the artillery department wanted to duel with the damn regular army lieutenant colonel on the spot, but now was obviously not the right time to resolve internal conflicts.

So Montecuccoli suppressed his anger and tried his best to let reason take over his brain. "If the rebels didn't have cannons, it would be no problem to retake the beach as soon as possible. But the rebels have now set up cannons on the other side of the river, and the situation is completely different!"

"Then we'll all be counting on your artillery," Lodwijk responded icily, "Lieutenant Colonel."

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