A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 516 Practice is the sole criterion for testing theory

"The First Heavy Infantry Regiment, with its massive machine gun at its core, spreads out horizontally and moves eastward."

"Third and Fifth Guards Regiments, move to the vicinity of Village No. 2 in the north. If fighting breaks out in the east, cross the river to provide support."

"The cavalry regiment first ascended Hill 3, and then all the artillery regiments went to Hills 3 and 7 respectively to aim at the enemy positions in the northeast direction and wait in place."

"Once the remaining troops have reached their designated battle positions, they must remain concealed and are strictly prohibited from reigniting open flames. All megamachinery shall begin assembly and testing."

Thirteen hours had passed since they detected the Imperial Army's position and completed their deployment. During that time, Paul hadn't closed his eyes once. Energy potion was still dripping from the corner of his mouth, and under the [Light] spell, the whites of his eyes were bloodshot.

Pascal didn't get a full night's rest either. In the latter half of the night, in order to carry out Paul's deployment, the ramp on the high ground needed to be temporarily widened to allow the artillery and ammunition trucks to pass. Pascal participated in the effort. In order to avoid making excessive noise and light, the spellcasters could only use the [Earth Shaping] spell to gradually repair the road to make it wider and stronger.

……

After finally getting all the cannons onto the high ground, Pascal returned to the command tent, yawning, and was startled by Paul, who had fallen into a frenzy: "You didn't sleep all night?"

"Sleep? If we dare to sleep now, many, many people will soon never have to get up again, including me." He exhaled a breath of foul air, the smell of blood lingering in his throat. Paul's chest pounded, the powerful pumping of blood invigorating him. "I suspect the enemy's actions will be brought forward."

"what?"

"Now we've dealt with those annoying airships, keeping them temporarily unable to figure out our situation. The Imperial garrison is facing just as much pressure as we are, and the commander is getting impatient. According to the reconnaissance reports, the northern defense line remains unchanged, while the Imperial forces in the east are frequently shifting positions, as he seeks to launch a preemptive strike."

"In that case, I'm ready to meet his expectations!" Although he didn't know who the commander on the other side was, it didn't matter to Paul. What mattered most was being able to understand the other party's intentions.

"Although the enemy cannot see the full picture of our army, the reconnaissance ahead has given them a general idea of ​​our location. The Imperial Army is probably planning to attack the flank of our main force while we charge toward the northern positions."

The Imperial Army's northern defensive line lay between the main city of Sassan and the National Guard. In the past, this deployment would have been correct for the National Guard. However, once the war began, the Imperial Army quickly discovered that the Valois artillery shells were aimed at all positions, conducting short, indiscriminate bombardments, making it difficult for them to determine the National Guard's primary targets.

"They will be confused, their deployment will be a step behind ours, and then the weaknesses in their defenses will be exposed."

The Imperial soldiers on the position found themselves waiting for no further orders, while the vanguard of the National Guard was closing in, and billowing smoke suddenly erupted at the few points where the artillery and gun lines were sparsest.

The smoke wasn't poisonous; it simply obscured visibility and marked targets. The unusually thick smoke rose more than ten meters high, and under its cover, towering steel giants rose up, charging headlong into the weak points of the defensive line.

Sassan did not have a long-term anti-magic device; instead, the airship pulled the impact device down to a lower altitude as it began preparations.

The mouse whisperer immediately spurred the flock of birds toward the airships that had descended to a lower altitude, targeting their engines. Two of the airships successfully lost power on one side and began to spin uncontrollably, clearly rendered useless. Unfortunately, one of the devices was successfully activated.

Suddenly, a beam of light fell on the battlefield, and all the giant machines visibly scrambled for a moment. However, Paul had set their mission as charging and breaking through. These giants, bursting with steam, did not fall and continued to laboriously advance into the enemy's position, driven purely by fire and air.

"Now even the Empire's accompanying mages can't cast spells to concentrate the artillery fire," Paul said. Before he could finish speaking, three mechs fell down.

"What's going on?" Pascal was very nervous when he saw the sudden situation.

Paul put down his binoculars and slapped his thigh: "Chain bullets!"

Faced with the massive machine guns, the Imperial Army did not attempt to counter them with equivalent technology. Instead, some brilliant mind, perhaps through reverse archaeology, unearthed chain shot, a weapon commonly used in naval warfare in the past.

The cannon fired two shells in succession, linked by a thick iron chain, which swirled and swept across the legs of the behemoth. The chain shells had low precision requirements; once they wrapped around the joints of the behemoth, they could easily cause large-scale deformation of the skin, as well as damage and jamming of the transmission mechanism.

"Who said that giant machines had to be humanoid? Take them to a military court!" Paul was furious, but he quickly calmed down and gritted his teeth to give the order: "Cavalry, charge according to the plan! Reserves, engage in battle."

"The two Imperial Guard regiments will proceed as per my initial orders: forcibly cross the river and intercept the enemy to the east, while artillery will support the Imperial Guard regiments in launching a preemptive attack on the Imperial forces to the east. The barrage will gradually advance in accordance with the speed and direction of the Imperial Guard regiments' movement, striving to inflict maximum damage on the enemy!"

Whether or not the giant machines were still operational, they were already deeply embedded in the Imperial Army's defenses. Taking advantage of this opportunity and space, the National Guard infantry poured in, cutting off the originally intact Imperial Army's northern defenses. They erected iron plates, allowing cavalry to roar through several gaps. They split into two groups: one group frantically harassed and destroyed the Imperial Army's northern defenses from behind, while the other group rode around, bypassing the northern defenses and appearing behind the Imperial Army's eastern group.

At this moment, the Imperial Army corps to the east was under artillery fire, with the elite guards of the National Guard in front and cavalry that had appeared out of nowhere behind them.

Meanwhile, the gaps in the defense line are widening, gradually leading to a situation where sections of the defense are being swallowed up.

"It's over, it's over." The Imperial Army commander was ashen-faced. He had originally hoped to wait in comfort, building trenches on the north and east sides to await the enemy's attack. He never expected the National Guard to break through the northern defenses so quickly, nor did he expect...

The mage accompanying the commander listened intently, and after a while relayed: "His Majesty's order is: report the current battle situation immediately. If the six corps in the east are making good progress, all soldiers deployed on the northern defense line should be ordered to launch a preemptive strike and annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop."

Unexpectedly, these military mages, having nothing better to do, had developed such advanced communication technology that His Majesty could remotely command the battlefield. And what about the General Staff? Why wasn't the military's brain connected to the front lines before His Majesty? The commander was utterly perplexed, yet he had no choice but to obey the orders of the theoretically supreme commander of the army.

Some commanders are mistaken. In fact, it is not convenient for His Majesty the Emperor to transmit orders at all, because his palace has anti-magic devices. Every order is handwritten and then sent to the accompanying mage outside the palace. The mage then uses the [Electronic Wave Communication] spell to transmit the order to the relay mage, and then the signal is amplified by the signal tower and transmitted to Sassan's battlefield.

The delay was approximately 17 minutes.

The delay didn't matter anymore; the commander had already witnessed the crushing defeat. He smirked, a half-smile playing on his lips: "Report it to his grandmother!"

The accompanying monk asked expressionlessly, "Does this also need to be conveyed?"

For some unknown reason, the Imperial Army commander was overcome with malice, his entire being consumed by a nameless rage. Taking advantage of the spellcaster's complete lack of awareness, he delivered a vicious punch to his face: "Fuck you!"

(End of this chapter)