Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 272 What does it mean that the Eiffel Tower has begun its attack?

The 2nd Saxon Guard Infantry Division, as one of the elite units of the First Army, has always been at the forefront of overcoming difficulties.

Moreover, these men, who held the title of 'Guards,' were all from respectable families in Saxony.

At that moment, a company under the Fourth Guards Infantry Regiment was striding proudly through the streets of the 7th arrondissement of Paris.

Their mission was to scout the area around the Eiffel Tower for the main force that would arrive later, and, once it was confirmed to be safe, to plant the Empire's Black Eagle flag on the world-famous steel behemoth.

The major leading the team was young, in his early thirties, the prime of his life.

It was precisely because of his identity as the 'Old Dresden Black Eagle Banner' that he entered the ranks of field officers at such an inexperienced age.

The major was riding a tall military horse, his back straight, his gaze sweeping over the Ottoman-style buildings with their doors and windows closed on both sides of the street, his heart filled with the pride of a conqueror.

"Cheer up, everyone! We will be the first unit to reach Ares Square! This is the honor of our entire division!"

The major shouted at his soldiers:

"Today, we will let all of Europe know that our Saxon flag will fly high in Paris!"

"Greater Saxony!"

“Hoo-ha!”

The soldiers let out a burst of excited cheers.

Most of them were visiting Paris for the first time.

The honor of personally conquering the capital city of an enemy country is something they can boast about for a lifetime.

In addition to conducting reconnaissance by aircraft, the First Army had already obtained some intelligence before the attack on Paris.

Spies and 'crisis travelers' lurking in Paris also left the city during the mass evacuation following the Battle of Amiens.

Then they turned halfway and headed toward the direction from which the Saxon army was launching its attack, as they had learned.

These ruthless individuals successfully located the main force of the First Army Group after traversing the combat zone.

The most important piece of intelligence they brought was that the Gauls' "Eye of the Loire" mage group had also evacuated along with the Gaulish government.

This also means that they also abandoned their mage tower.

For the Saxons, this was like a gift from nature.

Even abandoned mage towers, if they were built by Britannians or Gauls, are of great research value.

Furthermore, since the Eiffel Tower is one of Paris's landmark buildings, the General Staff's initial order was to 'occupy' and 'control' it, rather than destroy it.

Theoretically speaking, as the battalion commander, a major should be in the third echelon, following along with the battalion headquarters.

However, in the eyes of the major leading the team, this mission was less of a reconnaissance mission and more of an armed parade, a ceremony to declare victory.

Therefore, he hoped to reach their destination as quickly as possible.

Soon, the troops crossed the last street, and the expansive Ares Square came into view.

The massive Eiffel Tower stands quietly at the end of the square, casting a long shadow in the morning sunlight.

"That's spectacular!"

Many soldiers exclaimed in amazement.

Even as enemies, they had to admit that the Gauls were indeed unique in their architectural and artistic achievements.

At a height of 324 meters, it was a unique achievement at that time.

"Halt! Spread out in platoon formation!" The major raised his hand and gave the order.

Although intelligence indicated that the enemy had withdrawn, a qualified officer still had the most basic vigilance.

He didn't want to make any mistakes at this crucial moment due to carelessness.

The soldiers quickly dispersed and formed a temporary defensive line using the trees and benches along the edge of the square.

Several MG14 light machine guns were also set up, their dark muzzles pointed towards the giant tower.

"Line up, follow me! Let's go up and take a look!"

After confirming that there was no threat from the outside, the major dismounted and, with a platoon of soldiers, cautiously walked toward the base of the Eiffel Tower.

Everything seemed so peaceful.

The square was deserted, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind.

However, just as they were less than 100 meters from the tower, the major suddenly felt something was wrong.

The air around us seemed to have become somewhat oppressive.

He even felt as if his hair was being drawn up slightly by static electricity.

"what happened?"

He subconsciously raised his head and looked at the top of the giant tower.

Upon seeing this, his mind immediately went blank.

At the top of the tower, hundreds of meters high, tiny blue sparks of electricity began to flicker.

"Sizzle. Sizzle"

A faint hum of electricity rose in the silent square, growing more frequent and louder.

"Something's wrong! Something's up! Everyone back!"

The major's alarm bells rang in his mind. He turned around abruptly, wanting to give his soldiers the order to retreat.

However, he hadn't finished speaking.

A thick, dazzling bolt of lightning suddenly erupted from the top of the tower, accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, and struck down in an instant!

The lightning bolt didn't hit them directly; instead, it struck the path in front of them.

"boom--!!!!"

A deafening roar shook the entire Ares Square violently.

Lightning exploded on the hard stone pavement, and the violent current, like a giant blue dragon, swept wildly along the path they had come from!

"Crackling——"

The glass windows of the buildings on both sides of the road were shattered in an instant, and the sturdy exterior bricks were also knocked off piece by piece by the violent energy.

The Saxon soldiers in the company caught in the electric current path didn't even have time to scream before they were instantly turned into charred humanoid figures in the dazzling blue light.

The major was the last one to be devoured.

In the last moment before his consciousness faded, he only saw that destructive flash of lightning surging towards him like a tidal wave.

He finally realized that the intelligence was wrong.

How wrong.

Last night, when Captain Bastian and his remaining sixteen men arrived at the base of the Eiffel Tower with the middle-aged mage, it was already completely dark.

An apprentice of Master Eiffel was already waiting there.

The Mage Tower is an extremely important structure for mages.

After most mages in various countries eventually shed their status as 'wild mages' and became members of their respective mage guilds, the mage tower became a landmark building for those guilds.

The Mage Tower is not just a strange-looking building in the eyes of ordinary people.

It is a legendary entity filled with power, knowledge, and secrets.

The Mage Tower is not only the mage's fortress, but also their laboratory, library, source of power, and final resting place.

The appearance of the mage towers of different countries' mage guilds is different, which depends entirely on the style of the mage guild to which they belong.

The mage towers of the highlands of the Holy Britannian Empire have a very retro design, so they wouldn't feel out of place in any fantasy world.

The imperial mages of the Saxon Empire had their mage towers that were more like tall, slender buildings than towers, with the classic observatory at the top replaced by astronomical telescopes.

As for the Gallic mages, the mage towers they built along the Loire River during the Classical period were actually quite similar in style to those of the Brittany Highland mages.

However, after being moved to the capital, the Eiffel Tower, built under the supervision of Master Gustave Eiffel, became the most unique of all existing mage towers.

On the square directly below the Eiffel Tower is another permanent teleportation array in Paris, which is also the anchor point for the mages of the 'Eye of the Loire' mage order when using the [Teleportation Array] spell.

In theory, this type of permanent teleportation array can also be 'bound' to another permanent teleportation array to achieve ultra-long-distance teleportation.

However, due to the astronomical cost and insurmountable technical problems, neither the Britannian nor the Gaulish mages have yet been able to overcome this challenge.

In the few long-distance point-to-point teleportation experiments, the mages participating in the experiments were only teleported half of their bodies—and that was the 'best result'.

Most of the mages who participated in the experiment only had a portion of their body parts successfully teleported.

Therefore, overcoming this difficulty has come to a standstill.
The first floor of the Eiffel Tower is also the main area where the mages of the 'Eye of the Loire' mage group operate.

Although this floor appears quite large from the outside, it is actually much larger inside than it appears from the outside, just like the stereotype of all mage towers.
It features impossible staircases, repetitive corridors, and rooms that change constantly.

The second floor is the main control area of ​​the mage tower, which is only open to a few high-level mages.

The top floor houses the offices of the 'Eye of the Loire' committee and Eiffel's personal office.

It was precisely because of his contribution to the construction of the Eiffel Tower that Master Eiffel, as a sixth-circle Evoker, was able to become a member of the executive committee of the 'Eye of the Loire'. Under the guidance of this master's apprentice, the 'Sentinels' rode in a magical transport device hidden within the steel frame and arrived for the first time at the second-level main control area of ​​this colossal tower—normally, the 'Sentinels' could only move freely on the first level at most.

This place is completely different from what they imagined.

Instead of cold steel and exposed wiring, there is a spacious area filled with soft light.

Beneath my feet was a warm, non-glaring white floor, and on the walls flowed ribbons of light like a galaxy. A faint, calming energy permeated the air.

In the very center of the space, an elderly man with white hair and beard, dressed in a simple gray mage robe, stood quietly.

He was the creator of this giant tower, one of the greatest magical engineers in the Gallic Republic, a sixth-circle Evoker—Gustave Eiffel.

Beside him stood several of his apprentices, as well as twelve other monks who had also chosen to remain in Paris.

Since most of the mages in the mage corps followed the main army to the south after the outbreak of war, they were well aware that the defenses of Paris were extremely weak.

So when Amiens fell, the committee members who remained in Paris reached an agreement with the committee members who were fighting in the south, and decided to send the mage group to Bordeaux with the government.

The Gaulish government unconditionally supported this decision—or rather, even if the mages didn't want to leave, they would find a way to get them to evacuate with them.

However, Master Eiffel ultimately rejected everyone's advice and decided to stay in Paris, inside the Eiffel Tower.
"Master Eiffel".

Bastian stepped forward and gave the old man a standard military salute.

"Thank you for your hard work, kids."

Master Eiffel wore a gentle smile as his gaze swept over the seventeen wounded young warriors before him, his eyes filled with affection and regret.

"I've heard about the Krei Line; you are all heroes of the Republic."

“We have only done what we were supposed to do, Master,” Bastian said in a deep voice. “Now, please give your orders. What should we do?”

The smile on Master Eiffel's face slowly faded.

He was silent for a moment, then slowly began to speak:

"The government has abandoned us, and the high command of the mage order has also chosen to evacuate. However, this does not mean that Paris is left to be slaughtered."

After Master Eiffel patiently explained to everyone, the 'Sentinels' finally learned some secrets they were previously unaware of.

When the Eiffel Tower was first built, it was actually considered to be used as a decisive weapon in the capital's battles.

Like other large magical artifacts, the Eiffel Tower can also become a super-large fixed magical artifact in an emergency, and it possesses extremely powerful magical abilities.

Just as Patricia had explained to Morin at the Saxon Royal Academy of Magical Technology:
The higher the level of the spell, the more complex and unstable its structure, and the exponentially increase the requirements for materials and processes.

Conversely, magical artifacts that are large and complex enough can also amplify low-level spells significantly.

Since the day it was built and opened to the public, the Eiffel Tower has been absorbing the free-floating magic in the surrounding air.

Over the past decade or so, the entire tower structure has not only been fully charged, but the surrounding environment has also been transformed into a high-density magic field.

Master Eiffel's idea at the time was to have the iron tower support other mages and armies in the defense of the capital at a critical moment.

However, he did not expect that today they would be fighting alone without any support from others.

“Then what do we need to do?” Bastian pressed.

Master Eiffel was silent for a moment, then his gaze became deep and heavy.

"This tower possesses world-destroying power, but it lacks a 'will' that can guide and control this power."

"It needs a 'brain'."

He looked at the seventeen 'sentinels' in front of him, and the mages and apprentices who had volunteered to stay, and spoke slowly and deliberately.

“It needs you; you must become part of the ‘Tower’.”

The command center fell silent instantly.

No one was a fool; they immediately understood the meaning behind Master Eiffel's words.

Becoming part of the 'Tower' doesn't sound like a simple operation.

"Master Eiffel, does this mean death?"

A young 'sentinel' mustered his courage and asked.

“No.” Master Eiffel shook his head. “It’s not death, but a kind of ‘fusion’.”

"Your will and spirit, and your magic, will merge with the magical core of this giant tower."

"You will no longer be independent individuals, but a unified and powerful collective will. You will use this tower to feel, to think, and to fight."

"You will become the shield and sword of Paris, fighting this final and most glorious battle for the city."

The old monk's voice carried an irresistible charm.

Bastian looked at his men. Although they were young, there was no fear in their eyes, only determination and composure.

They were already prepared to sacrifice their lives for their country.

Where they die and how they die are no longer important to them.

The important thing is that their deaths have value.

“We understand, Master.”

Bastian took a deep breath and gave Master Eiffel another solemn military salute.

"We are ready."

Master Eiffel closed his eyes, and two streams of turbid tears flowed down his aged face.

"Gaul will remember you."

Master Eiffel said nothing more. He turned around and led the group toward a door deep within the main control area.

Behind the door was an even larger circular space.

In the center of the space is a circular pool with a diameter of over twenty meters.

The pool was not filled with water, but with a mysterious liquid that emitted a soft white light.

An almost tangible magical power emanated from the pool, making the entire space feel like a domain.

"This is the magical core of the 'Tower,' and also its 'heart.'"

Master Eiffel pointed to the glowing pool and explained.

"Go in, children, clear your minds, don't resist, leave the rest to me."

Bastian was the first to step forward. Without hesitation, he took off his tattered combat suit, revealing his muscular upper body covered in scars.

Then, he walked down the steps one by one, immersing his body in the light.

It wasn't as scorching or icy as I had imagined, but rather an indescribable warmth and comfort, as if I had returned to my mother's embrace.

An irresistible drowsiness washed over him, and he slowly lay down in the pool, leaving only his head above the water. He then closed his eyes, and his consciousness gradually faded.

With the first, there is the second.

The remaining 'sentinels' and mages also entered the pool one by one.

They were like travelers about to embark on a long journey, their faces calm and composed, surrendering their bodies and souls to the colossal tower for which they were about to dedicate themselves.

Soon, the pool was filled with people.

They all had their eyes closed, as if they were asleep, with peaceful expressions on their faces.

Master Eiffel stood by the pool, looking at these young faces, and stretched out his hands, calloused from years of conducting precise magical experiments.

Immediately afterwards, the light strip on the wall emitted an unprecedentedly dazzling light.

The liquid in the pool began to boil, and shimmering orbs of light rose from the bottom of the pool and then merged into the bodies of those who were asleep.

"Om-"

A massive mental wave erupted from the pool, instantly sweeping across the entire Eiffel Tower.

As the creator and supreme authority of this tower, Master Eiffel could clearly sense that the spirits and wills of those who were asleep were rapidly merging with the magical circuitry of the entire tower through the energy core.

If the Eiffel Tower was previously just a machine with immense power but no one to operate it.

Now, this machine finally has its own 'soul'.

Master Eiffel could sense that this steel behemoth, which had been dormant for more than a decade, was slowly awakening.

It seemed to be letting out a deep, powerful roar to its creator.

The whole process lasted nearly an hour.

When the last runic orb merged into the sleeper's body, the boiling pool finally returned to calm.

Master Eiffel stopped chanting, leaning wearily on his staff, his forehead covered in sweat.

The ceremony is complete.

From that moment on, the Eiffel Tower was no longer an inanimate object.

It came back to life.

(End of this chapter)