Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 266 The prize pool is still accumulating!

On the front lines in Krei, the embers of artillery fire have not yet completely dissipated.

Morin was directing his soldiers to regroup, count the casualties, and treat the wounded.

Although he won the battle, he was not at ease.

As a result of this battle, the training assault battalion suffered 45 dead, 61 seriously wounded and 284 lightly wounded.

This casualty figure is actually far lower than his worst-case pre-war estimate.

When he devised that insane plan, he was even prepared for the possibility that more than half of the battalion would be killed or wounded, and the number of dead would be in the hundreds.

After all, they were the vanguard, bearing the brunt of the fiercest counterattacks at the narrowest point of attack.

From a military perspective, achieving a decisive victory at such a cost is undoubtedly a glorious triumph.

but.
Molin looked at the young bodies that were being carried out of the mud by their comrades and covered with their coats in the distance.

Looking at the wounded lying on makeshift stretchers, groaning in pain, he could only shift his attention away from them.

Just then, a liaison officer from the First Army Group headquarters, escorted by several soldiers, trudged through the cratered and corpse-strewn battlefield and hurried over.

"Captain Friedrich Morin! We meet again!"

Molin looked up and saw the military rank on the man's shoulder and the somewhat familiar face. His heart skipped a beat.

It's that shrewd guy again.

If it's just a routine combat order, the command post can simply send over two messengers.

But now, they've actually sent a colonel-level officer in charge of liaison directly to this front line where fierce fighting has just ended and the danger hasn't completely subsided.

This can only mean one thing—the order the other party wants to convey is definitely not that simple.

"Oh, what happened?" Morin stood up and straightened his military uniform.

"Captain Morin, General Mackenson has new orders for you!"

The liaison officer saluted him and then pulled a sealed order from his briefcase.

Morin received the order, broke the seal, and quickly scanned the contents.

When he saw the contents of the order, even though he was mentally prepared, his eye still twitched involuntarily.

The command is very simple:
The 1st Training Assault Battalion of the Imperial Guard was ordered to immediately move towards the right flank of the Crey Line railway, join the 'Odin' armored train that had arrived there, and serve as its vanguard and escort force to launch a rapid assault along the railway line towards the outskirts of Paris, clearing obstacles for the main force of the army group's general offensive.

"."

Morin held the thin piece of paper with the order in his hand, and for a moment he didn't know what to say. Even the armored train didn't excite him.

"Okay, okay, so you're playing it this way? The prize pool is still accumulating, right?"

While General Mackensen was relatively protective of his men in other respects, he showed absolutely no mercy when it came to combat.

This is practically treating him and his training commando battalion like livestock!

Having just crawled out of a bloody battle, without even having a hot meal, they were immediately thrown into another, even more dangerous and crazy assault mission.

"Captain, is there a problem?" The liaison officer asked cautiously, noticing Morin's somewhat unpleasant expression.

"Problems? Of course, there are some 'minor problems'."

Although Morin was cursing inwardly, he knew he had no right to refuse orders.

Taking a deep breath and suppressing his emotions, he said in a low voice:

"Sir, my troops have just finished a high-intensity battle. The personnel are exhausted, and the ammunition consumption is also huge. We need time to rest and resupply!"

"I'm sorry, Captain."

The liaison officer showed a hint of apology—even though the order had little to do with him.

"The situation is urgent, and there was indeed no time for your unit to rest. However, General Mackensen also mentioned before I set off that the 'Odin' armored train was carrying a large amount of supplies, including ammunition, medicines, and newly manufactured automatic weapons. Your unit can replenish its supplies directly on the train."

“In addition,” the liaison officer added, “Grandmaster Leonia of the Teutonic Knights will also be leading her armored knight unit to accompany you.”

What could Morin say after hearing this?

With the logistical issues resolved, and the heavy armored units cooperating in the operation, the command headquarters has taken everything into consideration.

All that's left is to execute the commands.

"I understand."

Morin folded the order and handed it to Kleist beside him, then suddenly straightened his chest and saluted the liaison officer.

"Imperial Guard First Training Assault Battalion, receive orders!"

"Very good, thank you for your hard work, Captain Morin." The liaison officer breathed a sigh of relief and returned the salute.

Without further ado, Morin turned to Manstein and Kleist and loudly commanded:

"Did you all hear that? Pass on my order! The entire battalion must immediately cease rest and assemble! Target: the railway line three kilometers to the east!"

"Also, send messengers to inform the convoys and artillery battalion behind us to catch up immediately!"

On the right flank of the Creil Line, the two-way railway line leading to Paris survived the artillery fire, stretching into the distance like a black scar. The reason the Gauls didn't have time to destroy the railway was simple: they themselves needed it for their own evacuation.

With the Gallic garrison on the Crey line having completely collapsed, the training assault battalion's operation proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

Morin and his men easily took control of this crucial section of the railway with virtually no organized resistance.

Standing beneath a destroyed railway signal tower, Morin held up his binoculars, observing the situation ahead of the railway line.

He could even see the thick smoke still lingering from the steam locomotives in the distance.

“Several guard units were dispatched, traveling by truck, to advance along the railway.”

Maureen lowered his binoculars and said to Manstein beside him:

"Focus on inspecting the railway's roadbed and tracks to see if the Gauls planted explosives or sabotaged the railway during their retreat."

"Yes, Battalion Commander." Manstein immediately went to make the arrangements.

Before long, several trucks roared to life, carrying fully armed soldiers, and carefully drove forward along the railway.

Just then, a heavy engine roar came from the side and rear.

Morin looked back and saw twenty 'Siegfried Type 1' armored knights, painted with the insignia of the Teutonic Knights, approaching them with heavy steps.

The armored knight at the head of the vehicle, with its distinctive red crown, was none other than the personal mount of Leonia von Foltis, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights.

Twenty enormous steel giants stopped not far from Morin. Leonia opened her front armor and then jumped down from the cockpit, which was several meters high, and landed steadily on the ground.

Today she wore the Teutonic Knights' combat uniform, which accentuated her tall and agile figure.

Her long golden hair was tied high in a ponytail, and although her face bore traces of gunpowder, her blue eyes remained sharp and bright, like cold gemstones.

"Captain Morin." She walked up to Morin, her voice carrying a hint of approval, "You and your troops did a great job today. It seems what you said in command a couple of days ago wasn't just empty talk."

"You flatter me, Commander."

Morin saluted her. Although Leonia's rank was general, people usually called her "Grand Commander," a title she preferred.

“If it weren’t for you and your knights holding off the Gauls’ armored knights head-on, we wouldn’t have been able to make it this smoothly.”

"That is our duty as the Teutonic Knights."

Leonia's answer was concise. She glanced at the training assault battalion soldiers who were assembling, and then at the railway line in the distance.

"It seems our next mission will be with that 'big guy'."

The "big guy" she was referring to was, of course, the "Odin" armored train that was about to arrive.

"Do you know about that armored train?" Morin asked with some curiosity.

"Of course~ and it's not like a regular armored train."

Just as the two were talking, a long and loud whistle sounded from the distant horizon.

"Woo——"

Immediately afterwards, the ground began to tremble slightly.

Everyone instinctively looked in the direction from which the sound came.

At the end of the railway line, a huge and menacing steel structure appeared.

Its size is so enormous that when it appears, everything around it seems to become tiny.

The vehicle is covered in thick armor, with menacing turrets and firing ports, resembling a steel behemoth that has stepped out of an industrial age myth.

Unlike the old-fashioned steam-powered armored trains that billowed with thick smoke that Morin remembered, this behemoth did not emit towering black smoke when it moved, which meant that it must have used a more advanced power source.

When the heavy armored train finally came to a slow stop on the tracks where the training assault battalion was located, the overwhelming sense of oppression made all the soldiers present hold their breath.

"My God," several soldiers from the training assault battalion muttered to themselves, "This thing... is it really an armored train?"

"Something's not right. Why does it look different from what I've seen before?"

"The cannon barrels above seem to be thicker?"

"By the way, where did the chimney go?"

Morin was equally stunned by the sight before him.

Although he had never seen an armored train in person, let alone the 'Odin', he knew that the armored train must not be too small.

But when such a steel behemoth stops right in front of you, the feeling of being awestruck by its industrial aesthetics is something that imagination cannot replicate.

Moreover, the 'Odin' is at least visually different from the old-fashioned armored trains that Morin remembered.

Or rather, this is no longer a train, but a war fortress that can move on rails.

"squeak--"

With a screeching sound of brakes, the 'Odin' came to a complete stop.

Meanwhile, the armored door of the command car in the middle of the train was opened, and an officer dressed in the uniform of a Saxon army colonel jumped off the train.

(End of this chapter)