Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 60: The mage's mindset underwent a 'slight' change.
"Quickly! Keep firing! Don't let them charge!"

The Saxon officer on the position was shouting at the top of his lungs, knowing full well that if the enemy's armored knights and infantry got close, it would all be over.

The gunners of the three gun crews frantically sped up the loading speed, stuffing the shells back into the breech.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The three cannons fired again in unison.

However, this time, they failed to achieve the same results as the first salvo.

The three armored knights were like an insurmountable wall, their shields and the blue magical shields activated by their own bodies forming a double layer of protection.

The high-explosive shells exploded on the shield, creating violent energy ripples and dazzling sparks, but they could not penetrate the solid defense.

Despite the artillery fire, the armored knights increased their speed instead of decreasing, their heavy metallic footsteps echoing like war drums across the blood-soaked streets.

And just as you never know what worse things might happen next, at this critical moment when artillery firepower was urgently needed to suppress the infantry, an even worse accident occurred.

That precious 105mm howitzer, perhaps due to continuous high-intensity firing, or perhaps due to some problem with the shells themselves.

After the third shot was fired, a muffled bang suddenly came from the barrel, and then the entire cannon exploded!
"Boom——!"

The horrific barrel explosion instantly engulfed the entire gun crew.

The gunners didn't even have time to scream before they were blown to the ground in the explosion.

The scorching metal fragments and the shockwave from the explosion also affected the two 77mm field guns next to it.

The carriage of one field gun was overturned, and although another 77mm field gun appeared to be mostly undamaged, its crew was completely destroyed.
The town hall, the Saxon defenders' most important long-range suppressive firepower, was completely destroyed in just a few seconds.

"It's over." The Saxon soldiers who saw this scene all had expressions of despair on their faces.

Without the suppression of artillery fire, the three 'St. George III' tanks accelerated their advance, as nothing could stop them anymore.

The white-armored knight's massive metal feet slammed onto the stone pavement with a loud clanging sound.

The Brittany infantry following closely behind also roared like a tidal wave, and the situation on the entire battlefield seemed to be on the verge of complete collapse.

But don't forget, Ludwig and his men had already laid an ambush.

Just as the three 'St. George III' tanks rushed past the alleyway where the Teutonic Knights' armored knights were lying in ambush, Ludwig controlled the armored knights' arms and made a downward pressing motion.

In the current environment, this action has only one meaning.

"Now! Take action!"

Immediately afterwards, two Siegfried 1 tanks, armed with shaped charge armor-piercing rounds for close combat and which had been lurking in the shadows of the alley, burst out of the alley like two tigers poised to pounce!
They held their shaped charge armor-piercing rounds horizontally like knights' lances, aiming them at the side armor of the two 'St. George 3' tanks on either side!

"not good!!!"

The Garde Knights' armored knight pilots on both sides already knew that the enemy possessed a weapon capable of instantly killing armored knights.

So when enemy armored knights wielding such weapons suddenly appeared beside them, they were genuinely panicked.

It's like an M4 'Xie Mantou' on the Pacific battlefield suddenly finding Japanese soldiers charging with dung-pulling tools next to him.

"Watch out for enemies on the flank!"

"Damn it!"

They controlled the armored knights to turn around and tried to raise their shields to block, but how could the Teutonic Knights, who had been waiting for this moment for so long, waste this precious opportunity?
A dazzling burst of light suddenly erupted at the alley entrance!

This time, Lady Luck did not smile upon the Knights of the Garter.

Both shaped charge projectiles were successfully detonated!

Two jets of scorching metal, traveling at more than five times the speed of sound, pierced through the seemingly impenetrable armor of the 'St. George III' without any resistance, like two indestructible divine spears!

The high-temperature, high-pressure metal jet shattered the sophisticated magical equipment inside the machine the moment it pierced through the armor, and also turned the pilot in the cockpit into a charred mess of unrecognizable shape.

"boom!"

"boom!"

With two muffled explosions, the two 'St. George III' tanks, like giants whose bones had been removed, collapsed helplessly to their knees.

This sudden scene stunned everyone.

Merlin and Captain Hauser, who were leading the team through the building on the right, happened to witness this breathtaking scene up close through the window.

The steel giant collapsed before our eyes, the explosion and shockwave nearly shattering the windows.
Witnessing the armored knights fighting each other at such close range caused even the well-traveled Morin to experience a surge of adrenaline.

A real man, besides pulling the bolt, also has to operate the mecha's jaws!

However, he was the first to realize that this was an excellent opportunity to attack.

"Now's the time! Everyone, follow me!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately led a group of soldiers through the pre-knocked-open wall and moved to the flank of the infantry group behind the armored knights.

"Fire at will! Grenades! Molotov cocktails! Throw whatever you can!"

A hail of bullets and explosives rained down on the unsuspecting Britannian infantry from the side, instantly throwing them into disarray.

The Saxon ambush force in the building across the street responded immediately after seeing Morin and his men launch their attack, and the sound of gunfire echoed through the street.

The combined fire from the high ground left the Britannian soldiers on the street momentarily at a loss as to where to hide.

Under the command of officers who had regained their senses, the Britannian soldiers who had not been hit and fell to the ground bravely began to attempt to attack the buildings on both sides.

However, with most of the buildings' ground floors blocked, they could only launch a direct assault on the buildings defended by Saxon soldiers, which turned the entrances of these buildings into true death zones.

Britannian soldiers kept falling as they charged forward, and grenades and Molotov cocktails kept exploding at the doorway. Bullets flew back and forth at the doorway, taking away lives filled with fear.

The Saxon soldiers knew that if they let the Brittany storm the building, they would most likely die inside.

The Britannian soldiers knew that if they couldn't break into the buildings, they would likely die in the streets, as the Saxon front lines were firing continuously with both light and heavy weapons. Both sides had no way out; they could only risk their lives to secure their ultimate victory.

At the rear of the Brittany's attacking column, a highland mage, surrounded by soldiers, unconsciously took another step back as he looked at the scene before him.

Not long after following his high-ranking mentor into the city to support the fighting forces, the old mage regretted it.
He never imagined that battle could be so terrifying.

Although he initially used various spells to help the Brittany soldiers quickly break through several lines of defense and make great progress deep into the city.

But he later realized that this was the beginning of a nightmare.

As the battle lines deepened, the enemy was no longer just appearing in front of our troops, but from all directions and even in the already cleared rear.

What was once considered an abundance of spell slots proved to be incredibly precious in skirmishes that occurred every ten minutes or even every few minutes.

This highland mage wished he had ten more spell slots, no, a hundred more!
As he used up all the spells he had prepared for the day, including two level 3 fireballs, during the clearing process, the highland mage felt helpless on the battlefield for the first time.

This sense of helplessness and fear intensified after they reunited with friendly forces advancing along another street and witnessed another comrade, who had also run out of spells and lost his mage armor, being torn in two by enemy heavy machine gun fire.
It turned into fear.

From that moment on, the highland mage no longer charged ahead as he had at the beginning, but instead retreated behind the soldiers.

He discovered that besides a few magic tricks left, he only had one [Mage Armor] left to save his life.

This made him even more regretful that he had used up his [Flight] spell in his haste to get there, just like his mentor Eldridge.
On the battlefield in the center of the street, with the two 'St. George 3' tanks being instantly destroyed, the battle between the armored knights suddenly turned into a three-on-one advantage.

The victory of the Teutonic Knights seemed imminent.

"Attack together! Take down the last one!"

Ludwig issued the commands directly through the speaker, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.

He maneuvered his vehicle, along with his adjutant William and another 'Siegfried 1', charging towards the only remaining 'St. George 3' from three directions.

The pilot of the Knights of Garde was completely dumbfounded.

He watched helplessly as his two companions were instantly destroyed by that strange weapon in just a few seconds, without even a chance to fight back.

The shock of this distorted worldview left his mind blank.

He couldn't understand why those Saxon 'fire sticks' that looked like trash had such terrifying power.

Haven't our Garter Knights maintained an advantage on the battlefield for over a hundred years?

Why did things suddenly change?
In the brief moment he was stunned, three black and white painted metal cans had already surrounded him.

With no time to think about anything else, his survival instinct and honor as a knight led him to let out a final roar in the cockpit.

"For the glory of the Knights of the Garter!"

He braced his shield, brandished his armed sword, and attempted a final, desperate struggle.

However, his resistance seemed so pale and powerless under the siege of three Siegfried 1s.

Ludwig's mace, William's, and another knight's battle axe attacked simultaneously from three directions.

The heavy weapon slammed into his shield and armor with a whooshing sound.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The deafening clang of metal colliding was incessant, and sparks flew everywhere.

Although the armor of that 'St. George III' was sturdy, it couldn't withstand such repeated heavy blows.

Soon, its surface was covered with terrifying dents and cracks, one of its arms was severed by William's battle axe, and its movements became increasingly sluggish.
Meanwhile, in a building on one side of the street, Morin and Captain Hauser's soldiers were already engaged in close combat with the enemy.

Although the heavily armored soldiers of the Northumberland Fusiliers had been almost entirely wiped out during their advance into the city, a final wave still managed to launch an attack on the building and successfully storm into the room.

Although they were immediately overpowered by a large number of Saxon soldiers who rushed down from the second floor, who fought them to the death, and who kept poking the gaps in their helmets and armor with their bayonets by these terrified soldiers.

However, the firepower vacuum they created allowed more Britannian soldiers to rush into the room.

They quickly riddled the Saxon soldiers on the first floor with gunfire, and then attempted to attack the second floor via the narrow staircase.

"Incendiary bombs! Incendiary bombs! We can't worry about anything else now!"

Morin hid behind the stairwell, pulling a new clip from his ammunition pouch at his waist while giving loud instructions.

Upon hearing his instructions, the Saxon soldiers inside the building did not hesitate at all, immediately lighting two Molotov cocktails and throwing them at the entrance.

The area where the Britannian soldiers were most concentrated instantly burst into flames, burning the soldiers who were crammed together in the cramped space until they screamed and rolled on the ground in agony.

Their actions quickly ignited flammable materials such as curtains and tablecloths in the room. In addition, most of the furniture in these buildings was made of wood, and soon the entire first floor was engulfed in flames.

"Alright, give me a Molotov cocktail, everyone else retreat to the building next door!"

Soon, a soldier handed Morin a Molotov cocktail, while the others fired a few shots down into the stairwell before retreating to the next room through a hole they had knocked out, led by Captain Hauser.

Meanwhile, Morin pulled out a box of matches from his pocket, lit the cloth strip in front of the Molotov cocktail, and smashed it directly into the stairwell.

"boom!"

The explosion of flames quickly repelled the Britannian soldiers who were about to rush upstairs, and Morin took the opportunity to retreat to the next room.

He took the opportunity to glance at the countdown on the system interface again. There was less than half an hour left before the armored airship arrived, although he didn't know what kind of firepower this airship had.

But since the system has given us a countdown, it probably won't be too bad, right?
"Just hold on for another half hour. How can we lose when the airship is right in our face?"

But at that moment, soldiers from both sides felt a chilling magical fluctuation coming from the sky.

Morin, who was huddled below the window, subconsciously looked up, his pupils suddenly contracting.

A figure dressed in a magnificent mage's robe was seen hovering silently in mid-air, its cold gaze looking down at everything below as if it were looking at a group of ants.

It's that high-ranking mage, Aldrich!
(End of this chapter)