Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 269 A Shot to Death
The deafening roar of the 'Gungnir' was completely different from the heavy, resonant boom of traditional artillery.

It was more like a sharp explosion, suddenly appearing in everyone's ears, making people feel tightness in their chests and dizziness.

Even though Morin, Leonia, Lucas, and several accompanying data-recording magic technicians stood at a safe distance with their mouths agape, they still felt a tightness in their chests and dizziness from the shock.

Morin even saw that the air in front of the cannon muzzle was visibly distorted due to the violent release of energy.

A 'cannonball' trailing a long blue tail shot into the sky at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, piercing the sky and disappearing into the clouds.

According to Colonel Lucas, this was a 'lob shot' with a high trajectory at close range, which would be more accurate and suitable for marking out the fortress.

Morin originally wanted to ask if 10 kilometers was considered a 'short distance,' then how far was a 'long distance'?
However, with the opening of Gungnir, this problem was temporarily put aside.

Everyone just stared at the sky in the direction of Paris, waiting for something.

About 20 seconds later, a dazzling ball of light suddenly exploded on the distant horizon, without a sound.

Almost half a minute later, the muffled, thunderous explosion finally arrived, accompanied by a rolling shockwave that once again shook the earth.

Then everyone saw a huge black column of smoke slowly rising on the Paris skyline.

"Fuck."

Morin finally found his voice and couldn't help but swear.

His mind went blank.

Is this really the kind of effect a 305mm cannon could produce?

This power is almost comparable to the low-yield tactical nuclear weapons he remembered!

Has the Saxon Empire's advanced technology developed to this extent?

After the shelling ended, Morin and Colonel Lucas rushed into the command train, where the latter shouted into the observation balloon in the sky through the communicator:

"Observe the balloon! Report its landing point and damage effects!"

Soon, the observation balloon sent back a message.

"Report, Colonel! The shell has missed its target! It landed approximately thirty meters in front of Target One Fortress!"

The observer's voice was distorted with excitement and shock.

"But. But"

"But what? Tell me quickly!" Lucas pressed.

"But the explosion seems to have been even more powerful than the one at the test site! I saw that the outer layer of rammed earth of Fortress One was blown away by the shockwave! It has revealed the grayish-white reinforced concrete structure underneath!"

"The diameter of the crater is estimated to be around 30 meters!"

"hiss"

Upon hearing this data, a collective gasp filled the command vehicle.

Not to mention Morin, even Lucas himself was stunned.

Although he had seen the 'Gungnir' test-fired at the test range, it was after all a target shot, and it was said that it wasn't fully loaded with explosives.

Now, this is a real bombardment hitting the actual fortress defenses!
A 30-meter error is quite accurate for a 10-kilometer range.

Moreover, even this 30-meter error, just the aftershocks of the explosion, directly stripped away the outer rammed earth structure of the reinforced concrete permanent fortification.
What kind of monster did the Royal Academy of Magical Technology create?

Morin also heard the report on the radio. He turned to look at Lucas, his eyes full of questions.

"Isn't this power a bit too outrageous?"

"I don't know either!" Colonel Lucas was also bewildered. He scratched his head. "We deployed 'Odin' in an emergency, and much of the data is still incomplete. It only says that it's effective against permanent fortifications."

Morin was no longer just shocked, but rather a little uneasy.

He opened the system interface, and sure enough, the [Information] tab had been updated with supplementary information about the 'Gungnir' Brilliant Crystal Shell.

[Glacial Reactive Bomb: A special type of munition launched through the 'Gungnir' acceleration field, with a warhead filled with a high concentration of highly reactive glacial compounds.]

Upon impact with the target or triggering of the fuse, the internal crystalline compound undergoes a violent energy reaction, producing an ultra-high temperature and ultra-high pressure energy explosion, far exceeding the power of an equivalent mass of chemical explosives.

"Ultra-high temperature and ultra-high pressure, thankfully there was no indication of a chain reaction."

For a moment, Maureen didn't know what to say.

These Saxon mages spend all their time holed up in the Magic Technology Research Institute and the Mage Tower, researching these things.
"They're really going all out to avoid going to the battlefield themselves."

Meanwhile, the atmosphere was quite different inside Fortress No. 1, northeast of Paris.

The violent tremors shook the entire fortress several times, and dust fell from the ceiling.

"What happened? Were we hit?"

A Gallic officer got up from the ground and asked, still shaken.

"Report to the commander! The shell landed in front of us! It didn't hit us directly!"

A soldier from the observation post stumbled in, his face pale.

"Missed?"

The fortress commander paused for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief.

"How could it have shaken like that?"

The observation post soldier was on the verge of tears. "Sir! Please come and see! The soil around us is all gone! And the concrete walls are full of cracks!"

"what?!"

The fortress commander rushed to the observation post, and when he saw what was outside, he was completely dumbfounded.

Below, visible through this observation port, the rammed earth defensive layer has disappeared, revealing the mottled reinforced concrete wall beneath.

The sturdy wall was now covered with a fine, spiderweb-like crack, as if it were about to shatter completely at any moment.

The firing ramp in front was completely sheared off.

Thirty meters in front of the fortress, at the end of the firing slope, a huge, still-smoking crater appeared, as if a monster had gnawed a large chunk of the earth away.

The commander's lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Did it hit or miss?

If they're already like this even if they missed, what would happen if they did hit? Would everyone in this entire fortress be instantly vaporized?
"Enemy attack! It's a Saxon superweapon! Quick! Report to General Gallieni immediately!" The commander finally reacted and roared at the top of his lungs.

However, his report was destined not to be delivered immediately.

"'Gungnir,' recharge! Adjust parameters! Prepare for the second round of shelling!"

Colonel Lucas had recovered from his initial shock and his face was filled with fanaticism.

After a brief moment of shock and excitement, the magic engineers inside the 'Gungnir' carriage quickly threw themselves into the intense preparations for launch.

"Forced barrel cooling initiated. Magister prepares to check the acceleration runes!"

"Magic circuits are preparing to recharge!"

"Orientation correction."

The chassis of the carriage containing the giant cannon 'Gungnir' has a rotating mechanism.

When fully deployed, it provides a 90° field of fire, allowing for adjustments to the firing direction. However, the adjustment speed of this rotating mechanism is not fast.

But this wasn't a problem for the giant cannon, since the firing interval of the 'Gungnir' wasn't short to begin with.

"Ammunition fully reloaded!"

About ten minutes later, the menacing cannon emitted a low hum once again.

"emission!"

Another streak of blue light tore through the air, followed by another earth-shattering roar.

This time, everyone held their breath and stared intently at the distant sky.

Morin's heart began to pound uncontrollably. He even had the illusion that he was not witnessing a bombardment, but rather observing a judgment by Odin, the king of the gods.

On the distant horizon, light shines once more.

But this time, the light illuminated precisely on the outline of the fortress that had been faintly visible just moments before.

A huge fireball suddenly burst forth from the horizon, turning everything around into a dazzling orange-red.

Immediately afterwards, an even more terrifying explosion rang out, and the earth trembled violently, as if mourning the destruction of the fortress.

After the smoke and dust from the explosion dissipated slightly, the observer saw that the reinforced concrete fortification, which had been temporarily named 'Fortress No. 1,' had completely disappeared from the fortress complex.

Instead, a huge, horrific scar was left in the fortress complex.

"Hit!" the observer on the observation balloon reported, his voice trembling. "Fortress One. Confirmed destroyed."

The entire position fell into a deathly silence.

All the Saxon soldiers stared dumbfounded at the rising column of smoke in the distance, their minds blank.

Is this the empire's ultimate weapon?
"Hahaha! Hahahaha!"

Colonel Lucas suddenly burst into a fit of laughter, slapping Morin's shoulder hard like a child who had just received a favorite toy.

"Captain Morin, do you see that?! That's 'Odin'! That's 'Gungnir'!"

Morin nodded, still in a state of shock, while his thoughts began to spread rapidly.

Is this the limit of power for a scintillation reaction bomb?

If we continue to increase the explosive charge, to what extent can we achieve this?

Meanwhile, on another highway outside Paris, a Gallic army that was retreating at full speed also witnessed the two earth-shattering explosions.

"General! Look!" A staff officer pointed to the northeast sky, his voice filled with terror.

Gallieri, dressed in a general's uniform, suddenly reined in his horse and raised his binoculars in the direction his staff officer had pointed.

When he saw the enormous mushroom cloud and the silhouette of the Saxon armored airship in the distant sky, his heart sank to the bottom.

“The Saxons have already reached the outskirts of Paris,” he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse.

Soon, he and some advisors found a high place with a view of the outskirts of Paris.

Then we saw the outer fortress complex with a crater smashed into it.

Although he didn't know what had caused such horrific destruction, he recognized the armored airships in the sky.

It’s over.

It's all over.

General Gallieri lowered his binoculars, his face drained of color.

He painstakingly gathered resources and troops to build a defensive line, stationed 'sentinels' in Paris, and attempted a strategy of trading space for time.
They appeared so vulnerable to the overwhelming firepower of the Saxons.

"General, we can't go back to Paris!"

The chief of staff rushed to his side and said urgently:
"If the Saxons' attack continues, the fortresses outside Paris won't be able to hold them off at all! Going back now would be like walking into a trap!"

"Yes, General!"

Another staff officer also advised:

"Haven't the Prime Minister and government departments already evacuated to Bordeaux? We should head south immediately and join them! As long as the government exists, there is still hope for the Republic!"

"Retreat? Where can we retreat to?"

Gallieri gave a bitter laugh and shook his head.

"I am the commander of the Paris defense! My duty is to defend Paris! Now the enemy is at the gates, and you want me to abandon the city and its people and run away like a coward?"

His voice was filled with grief, indignation, and despair.

"But General! Everyone who could leave the capital has already left; it's a ghost town!"

The chief of staff was sweating profusely, fearing that his general still intended to hold out to the death.

"Your staying here won't change anything! It will only be a pointless sacrifice! You are a veteran of the Republic, and as long as you are here, we have the ability to reorganize the resistance!"

"Enough!" Gallieri abruptly waved his hand, interrupting him.

He glanced back in the direction of Paris, the city where he had lived his entire life, the capital that symbolized Gallic glory and civilization.

He could almost hear the cries of the people in the city and see the Saxon black eagle flag flying over the Eiffel Tower.

A tremendous sense of powerlessness and shame instantly overwhelmed him.

He thought of the disastrous defeat in the Sagau War, the humiliating treaty that ceded territory and imposed reparations, and the years that the Gallic Republic had spent languishing under the shadow of defeat.

Is history about to repeat itself?
"General, please consider the bigger picture!"

"General! We cannot live without you!"

His staff officers practically knelt down, crying, and hugged his legs, preventing him from taking another step closer to Paris.

As Gallieri looked at his men who had followed him for years, at their faces contorted with fear and anxiety, the last vestige of his resolve began to waver.

Yes, what could he possibly do if he stayed?

With the remaining remnants of their army, how could they possibly fight a hopeless street battle in the streets of Paris?

What's the point of this other than increasing unnecessary casualties and turning this beautiful city into scorched earth?
Perhaps they are right.

As long as I am alive, and as long as the Republic's military structure remains, there will always be a day when I can make a comeback.

After a long while, Gallieri closed his eyes, and two streams of turbid tears slid down from the corners of his wrinkled eyes.

"Adjust the route."

He used all his strength to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth.

"All troops turn. Target: Bordeaux."

After saying that, he seemed to have all his energy drained away, and he slumped to the ground in despair.

Not all advisors are aware that Paris is their grave.

Faced with the threat of death, the instinct to survive prevailed over everything else.

(End of this chapter)