Magic Industrial Age.

Chapter 446-444: The Battle of Ypres (Bonus Chapter 9)

Late November of the New Divine Calendar 314.

Southwest of the Bonaparte Empire, in the small town of Ypres.

When the Battle of the Marne ended, the war between the Allied forces and the Empire entered a stalemate.

On one side, artillery shells were firing, ploughing up everything in sight like a plow.

On the other side were various area-of-effect spells and even more extraordinary powerhouses, whose elemental powers of earth, fire, wind, and water destroyed the position again and again.

As a result, both sides turned to digging trenches.

Although trenches cannot withstand all damage, the hidden soldiers can defend their positions in the ensuing melee.

Then, both sides suddenly realized that whoever wanted to break through the other's position head-on would have to pay an extremely heavy price.

This is a huge loss that no one wants to bear, and they also fear that it could escalate into a terrifying battlefield like the Marne River.

So both sides began to try to flank each other.

And so, they built trenches and waged mobile warfare all the way, eventually heading straight for the Silver Sea.

This is what is known as Operation 'Run to the Coast'.

Of course, in the penultimate month of this new divine calendar year 314, the Empire finally discovered yet another weakness of the Allied Forces.

That is the expeditionary force from the Kingdom of Sardinia!

To be precise, the reinforcements from the Kingdom of Sardinia can be divided into two parts.

Firstly, the navy played an extremely important role in the previous wars.

Whether it was transporting troops and supplies or waging war at sea, they made outstanding contributions and showed no sign of fear in battle.

The navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia is proud; although it struggles against ironclad warships, it has never backed down.

The army, which was claimed to be 100,000 but actually numbered only 30,000, truly humiliated the Queen of Sardinia.

They were on the run almost the entire time, so fast that even the top military officials in the country couldn't figure out their location.

General French, who was in charge, had his distrust of the Bonaparte Empire written all over his face and was unwilling to risk his life for them.

Even when questioned by the Queen, he offered a defense.
He believed that the situation on the battlefield was constantly changing and arrangements should be made according to the actual situation.

Until the Battle of the Marne, this so-called expeditionary force did not demonstrate much combat capability.

Therefore, the Empire believed that this was the best breakthrough point.

And so the town of Ypres came into their view.

Ypres, a town on the southwestern coast of the empire, is an ancient and historic port town.

This place started as a village, with only about ten households making a living by fishing.
Later, with the increase in maritime trade, the area gradually developed and its population grew, eventually becoming a small port town.

There was no way around it; the Bonaparte Empire had a long coastline and plenty of places suitable for ports, so this place wasn't particularly special.

The only thing worth mentioning is the cathedral called 'Kross'.

The Cross Cathedral has a recorded history of over 500 years and has even been associated with numerous instances of divine blessings.

Therefore, the residents here are all devout believers in the Lord of Light.

Of course, this place became extremely special after the war began.

The reason is that the Kingdom of Sardinia chose this place as its dedicated port, and a large number of supplies and soldiers were landed here and then transported to the front line.

As a result, a huge amount of supplies have been stockpiled here.

Food, clothing, armor, alcohol, medicine, as well as magic cannons, firearms, and ample ammunition.

As for those guarding this place, they are of course the elite of the Sardinian expeditionary force, the renowned Knights of the Round Table.

However, that night, a fog suddenly rose from the sea.

A light mist spread, enveloping the coastline and obscuring the view from the observation tower.

In the mist, concealed by the crashing waves, imperial soldiers, protected by underwater breathing magic, rapidly approached.

They sometimes moved quickly forward, sometimes stopped, and sometimes waited for news, until they reached the shore, where they waited quietly.

Until, under the moonlight, a shadow seemed to flash across the watchtower.

The guards seemed to have sensed something and tried to shout a warning, but their slit throats only allowed gurgling blood to seep out.

Then, the lights seemed to flicker, and the Imperial soldiers moved again.

They went up to the riverbank, climbed the steps, entered the town, and prepared their weapons...

And so, a moment later, the quiet town was thrown into complete chaos.

Gunshots, shouts of killing, explosions, mixed with the dying screams, roars and cries, turned the peaceful town into complete chaos.

Even more flames and billowing black smoke rose up, setting countless buildings ablaze.

The most tragic one has to be the Cross Cathedral.

This 500-year-old building did not seem to have good fire prevention facilities, and during the firefight, a grenade was thrown into it.

Then, a large hole was torn in the stone wall, and flames shot out and ignited the tablecloth and curtains.

Soon, the place was completely engulfed in flames. The priests, who were awakened, tried their best to put out the fire, but the situation was too chaotic and the fire was too big to be extinguished.

The bishop of the church, bathed in milky-white holy light, roared in anger.

But no one paid him any attention! If it was a powerful being deliberately sabotaging things, then the Lord of Light and his followers would show them what divine might is like.

However, it is normal for things to be affected occasionally during wartime!
The ordinary soldiers certainly didn't do it intentionally, and even the Church of the Sun couldn't investigate.

Therefore, no matter how much the bishop roared, it was to no avail; he could not take the initiative to intervene in the fight.

Of course, apart from this incompetent and furious bishop, the town is not lacking in strong people.

The aura of a third-tier extraordinary powerhouse shone brightly above the town, while turbulent elemental forces converged into spells.

Even higher in the void, the aura of a fourth-tier powerhouse radiated throughout the entire area.

However, as an elite assault squad, the Empire's side was not lacking in strong individuals, each unleashing their fighting spirit and engaging in a life-or-death struggle.

Moreover, and most importantly, they dared to fight to their hearts' content, while the strongmen of the Sardinian Kingdom did not.

Because those gun barrels protruding from those dark corners could, without them even noticing, take their lives with a single shot.

The battle didn't last long, only about an hour, before the town of Ypres changed hands.

As night fell, more imperial soldiers gathered here, using the town as their base and setting up a tight defensive line.

Facts have proved that their choice was correct.

Because when the news spread, the Sardinian expeditionary force went mad.

This is their most important supply line and transit point, bar none. Cutting off this line would be tantamount to cutting off the expeditionary force's supplies.

Therefore, the first to arrive were the warships on the Silver Sea.

More than a dozen three-track warships roared in, their magic cannons firing from a distance, raining down shells amidst the booming sounds.

This is the disadvantage of seaside towns; they are almost completely undefended within the range of magic cannons.

Of course, there were also coastal defense cannons in the town of Ypres, which were deployed by the expeditionary force, and the Imperial soldiers also began to fight back.

However, the disparity in numbers was too great, and the effect was poor; the emplacements were destroyed in no time.

The time they bought them allowed the Imperial ironclad warships to arrive.

Despite the magical energy defense field, the Emden charged straight in, and even with its cannons firing at full power, it forced the Sardinian warship to retreat.

However, while the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia may be lacking in strength and its combat power is mediocre, its navy is truly powerful and it has a great many warships.

A mournful bugle call sounded, and countless warships surrounded the area from all directions.

Judging from the looks of it, they almost didn't intend to give the Emden a chance to leave.

On the Empire's side, there was indeed no way they could squeeze out a second ironclad warship.

However, the empire also had ways to make amends.

A buzzing sound arose, and at the edge of the sky, a streak of red lightning rapidly approached the battlefield; the Red Baron had arrived.

He brought with him an entire squadron of magical flying vehicles.

Then everyone saw the magic-powered aircraft whizzing past, its six-barreled Gatling guns tearing two gashes across the ship.

Along the way, naval soldiers fell like wheat being harvested.

Of course, the Sardinian navy was also trying to retaliate, raising their cannons and firing specially made shot.

It means that the shell explodes in mid-air, sending countless fragments flying, with the intention of causing area damage.

These are specially made shells by the Allied forces. After all, it's war, and everyone will try their best to kill the enemy.

This is something they created themselves; the empire doesn't have it!
You asked why not?
Because the Empire doesn't need them; they have specialized anti-aircraft guns that are fast and accurate, so they don't need these shells that rely purely on luck.

It must be said that the addition of the Imperial Air Force has put the Sardinian Navy on the defensive.

They lack effective means of ground-to-air strikes, and even if extraordinary experts were to intervene, it would be a drop in the ocean.

On land, however, the Sardinian expeditionary force finally arrived.

The leading Knights of the Round Table charged like madmen. Although their formation was relatively loose, each of them was surrounded by fighting spirit.

Those who served as the vanguard were all extraordinary knights.

Not to mention, in order to ensure their successful charge, the expeditionary force's mage corps began to unleash a wide barrage of firepower.

Wind Blade Tornado, Seismic Wave, Fire Rain, Sky Breath, Mass Electric Shock Spell...

Various area-of-effect spells were thrown out as if they were free, suppressing the artillery legion so much that they couldn't raise their heads, and even the shells they fired were blown off course.

It was these magical spells and the charge of the extraordinary knights that allowed the subsequent expeditionary force to storm into the town and begin a brutal street battle.

However, to everyone's surprise, it seemed that they were really in a hurry, and this time, the expeditionary force sent up an entire army of magic-powered legions.

A group of soldiers, some carrying Maxim magic machine guns and others using shotguns, kept the Imperial soldiers pinned down, preventing them from raising their heads.

If heavy machine guns are known for their rate of fire and power, then this rifle is a poorly made product.

The weapon itself was crude, with a short range of only thirty to fifty meters, not to mention its poor accuracy.

But you can't stop him from having too many bullets!

With one shot fired, the area within thirty or forty meters ahead was filled with countless tiny lead bullets.

Although the imperial soldiers were brave, when they were hit head-on by these "spitfire" soldiers, they were also splattered with blood and died tragically.

In a short time, the empire suffered a series of defeats!

(End of this chapter)