Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 221 Heaven and earth live together
On the bridge of the L24 armored airship, various alarms sounded one after another, and red warning lights flashed continuously.

The airship was shaking violently, tilting at an increasingly steep angle, and its altitude was continuously decreasing.

Looking out through the porthole of the bridge, thick smoke billowed out from the huge airbag ruptures, obscuring half the sky.

Captain Hoffman gripped the edge of the captain's seat tightly, trying to steady himself, his face ashen as he listened to the constant stream of bad news from his crew.

"Captain, the port side airbag is severely damaged beyond repair! The magic core is overloaded, resulting in insufficient power output! We are rapidly falling!" The pilot's voice was tinged with despair.

Captain Hoffman closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He knew that all was lost; the L24 armored airship, his old companion who had served him for fourteen years, had reached the end of its life.

Fourteen years.
The number echoed in his mind, and he remembered the excitement he felt when he first boarded the L24 armored airship.

At that time, he had just transferred from the navy and was serving as the deputy captain of this airship, full of boundless aspirations for the future.

He remembers the hardships and sweat he endured during his training as an armored airship captain, and the immense glory he felt when he was finally promoted to captain.

This airship had long been a part of his life.

It carried him time and time again towards the direction the emperor's sword pointed, witnessing his countless victories and glories.

For Hoffman, the L24 was more than just an armored airship; it was his second home, a continuation of his glory and life.

"Captain!"

The helmsman's voice pulled him back to reality from his memories.

"We're almost over north of Amiens, approaching the Somme River. If we don't take action soon, we might crash into the river!"

Captain Hoffman opened his eyes, glanced at the panicked crew on the bridge, and his eyes showed no more hesitation.
"Everyone, heed my command!" he shouted, "Abandon the airship! Bounce out immediately!"

The crew members were taken aback at first, and then a commotion broke out.

"Captain, what about you?" a young crew member asked, puzzled.

Captain Hoffman did not answer. He simply gave them a deep look, then walked to the combined communication equipment behind the captain's seat and issued an order for all crew members to immediately parachute to safety.

After repeating it three times, he went to the helmsman and took the helm from him.

"Gentlemen, this is my final order as the captain of the L24 armored airship! Execute it immediately!"

While trying to stabilize the armored airship, Hoffman urged the people on the bridge to leave again.

The crew knew that Captain Hoffman had no intention of leaving the armored airship—this veteran captain, transferred from the Navy, carried the stubbornness typical of naval officers.

Soon, the personnel from various departments on the armored airship began to evacuate, and after putting on their parachutes, they eventually gathered at the bomb release port that had already been opened.

One by one they jumped out, opened their parachutes, and formed white flowers in the air.

Whether these crew members survive or not depends on their luck.

If you're lucky, you might float back to your own position. If you're not so lucky, you might land in the middle of the battle zone and then lie down and wait for someone else to rescue you.

But if you're unlucky enough to drift into Brittany's territory, then you're on your own.
After everyone jumped out of the airship, only Captain Hoffman remained on the bridge.

He gently stroked the rudder with both hands, as if he were caressing his closest companion.

He knew he couldn't just let the L24 airship crash in the deserted fields.

Hoffman hoped that he and the armored airship could make the most of their remaining time, paving a path to victory for the Empire, the Emperor, and their allies who were fighting on the ground.

He slammed the engine clock to 'Forward Three', and the propeller units on the outside of the armored airship began to spin rapidly, giving the war behemoth that was about to crash a final acceleration.

Hoffman stared intently at Amiens through the porthole below the bridge, then continuously adjusted the course with the rudder, steer the airship toward an area that was clearly the South City's magic crystal cannon position.

After doing all this, he rushed to another seat, turned on the megaphone, and shouted with all his might the last and loudest shout of his life.

"Long live the Saxon Empire!"

The sound, amplified by the airship's loudspeakers, echoed throughout the Amiens battlefield, clearly reaching the ears of every Saxon and Brittany soldier.

Airship L24, carrying Captain Hoffman's final roar, crossed the Somme with a resolute air and ultimately crashed straight into the southern city of Amiens.

"Boom!!!"

A deafening roar instantly swallowed up all other sounds.

A huge flame shot into the sky, and thick smoke billowed, engulfing half of Amiens.

The L24 armored airship, a war behemoth that once soared through the skies, ultimately met its tragic end in the southern city of Amiens.

The massive explosion destroyed a large number of buildings in the southern part of the city, as well as many magic crystal cannons and a large number of Britannian soldiers in the crash zone.

Everyone was stunned. Apart from the L29 armored airship that continued to rain down bullets, the battlefield fell into a brief silence.

Meanwhile, on the Saxon positions on the northern front, the whistle for the charge sounded. The sharp whistle shattered the momentary tranquility, its piercing sound echoing throughout the entire northern front.

"Go, go, go!"

"For the Empire! For the Emperor!"

Encouraged by the whistle, countless Saxon soldiers leaped out of their newly dug trenches and surged toward the Brittany's position like a tidal wave.

Armed with rifles, they silently charged forward, spreading out in sparse skirmish lines.

Because of the crash of the armored airship and its final broadcast, the eyes of all the Saxon soldiers burned with a desire for victory.

Morin was also outside the first parallel trench, leading his training assault battalion, which had completed its assembly, ready for battle.

Through his telescope, he witnessed the crash of the L24 airship and heard Captain Hoffman's final cry.

A complex and indescribable emotion welled up in his heart—not just regret for the sacrifice of his comrades, but also a strangely aroused desire for victory.

At this moment, the L29 armored airship hovered in the air, its four twin-mounted 203mm main gun turrets continuously spewing fire, raining shells down on the Brittany's positions.

The massive explosion shattered the sandbag breastwork into pieces, and the heavy machine gun emplacements were reduced to dust in the flames.

Under the overwhelming firepower of the airships, the Britannians were unable to mount any effective resistance.

Although the last assault trench dug by the Saxons was still about 500 meters away from the Brittany's position, the unexpected crash of the armored airship allowed the divisions attacking from the front to launch their assault ahead of schedule.

The L29 armored airship's firepower suppression was extremely effective. Even without any mages taking to the air to intercept it, it twisted its 'fat' body in the air and carried out a parallel bombing run along the Britannian trenches.

On the nearly two-kilometer front that it was focusing its attack on, the Saxon soldiers quickly broke through and charged into the Brittany's positions to begin a brutal hand-to-hand battle.

Meanwhile, Morin, who had been keeping a close eye on the system map, also noticed the two-kilometer-long front that the L29 armored airship was focusing on.

He noticed a red gap that had been smashed into the enemy's defensive line, like a piece of glass struck by a hammer. Although most of it was still connected, the crack was widening.

"We'll help the good, not the bad, and we'll exploit this weakness of yours!"

Morin made a decision instantly.

He immediately led the newly assembled training assault battalion, along the newly dug communication trenches, toward the gap that was still emitting thick smoke.

The soldiers' boots pounded heavily on the soft mud. Everyone had different thoughts in their minds at that moment; some were afraid, some were excited.
The L29 armored airship in the sky also seemed to have noticed the movements of the ground troops.

Upon seeing the Saxon soldiers flooding into the breach like a tide, the airship commander wisely began to adjust his target.

The massive hull slowly turned in the air, its four turrets rotating as well, casting the shadow of death upon the other positions still putting up a stubborn resistance.

After all, the two sides' troops in this position are already entangled. If they continue to bomb like this, it won't be fire support anymore; it will be sending their own people to their deaths.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The 203mm high-explosive shells began to be used one by one, and the Brittany machine gun positions that were still firing in vain at the charging crowd were blown away one after another in the flames.

Before the charge began, Morin had already gathered the four company commanders and made the mission arrangements.

"Listen up! Once you're in, follow me and keep pushing deeper into the enemy lines! Wolf and Jonas, take the Second and Third Companies and flank them! Make the breach even wider, and then help out the nearby friendly forces!"

"The battalion headquarters will follow the 4th Company. Steiner, your mission is the most important! Hold this pass firmly and do not let the Britannians close the breach, no matter how many waves of counterattacks they launch!"

"Yes, Battalion Commander!" The four company commanders responded loudly without the slightest hesitation.

"besides!"

Maureen gave a final word of advice:

"We don't have radios, so once we're inside, you'll have to rely on yourselves! Break through the defenses, consolidate your positions, and don't stop! Coordinate with your allies around you; we only have one objective—the Somme! Try to get to the riverbank, and if you can capture the bridge, great! If not, at least hold them off and prevent them from blowing up the bridge!"

This tactic perfectly embodies the essence of the 'mission-oriented command' principle most highly regarded by the Saxon Army.

Morin only needs to issue the final strategic objectives; how to achieve them is entirely up to the frontline commanders' on-the-spot performance.

This is both a sign of trust in their abilities and a test of the commander's capabilities.

As the training assault battalion penetrated the gap in the Brittany's defenses, the four companies immediately split up as if they had rehearsed countless times beforehand.

Wolf and Jonas led their respective companies and charged toward the Brittany defenders who were still putting up resistance on the flanks.

The intense automatic firepower instantly pinned down the Brittany defenders, preventing them from raising their heads.

What was originally a breakthrough at a single point quickly turned into an ever-expanding battlefront under their onslaught.

Meanwhile, Morin, along with Klaus and a company of soldiers, stepped over the still-burning planks and enemy corpses, and plunged headlong into the direction of Amiens city without looking back.

(End of this chapter)