Chapter 14: The Assault
Trajan suppressed his excitement. Normally, such a straightforward battle scene should hardly stir his emotions. Yet the memory of ending the Battle of Prison Tower in such a manner filled him with an indescribable sense of oppression. But now that an opportunity had arisen so swiftly—to use this battle to avenge past humiliations and inflict harm on the enemy—Trajan felt an overwhelming excitement. If only he could face those guys head-on, he would be willing to pay the price in blood once again.
The three armies advancing steadily gradually picked up their pace. Hidden among them, Trajan leaped lightly with the fluctuations of the battle formations, using those moments to observe the changes in the enemy’s camp. Their ranks were equally disciplined. It surprised Trajan that those barbarians, under that guy Komer, could become so orderly and disciplined. They must have some skills to defeat the Poznan army so swiftly. In this battle, the Knights of Light would make him realize that sheer bravery alone couldn’t solve everything.
Trajan was also aware of the strength of the Knights of Homer, led by Leclerc. But Leclerc alone wasn’t enough to turn the tide. Even if the enemy had dark warriors at their side, their side had the Knights of Tianpeng as well as the hidden Knights of Rema. No matter what schemes Komer had, in the face of overwhelming strength, all his deceptions would be shattered.
Kent led a group of knights, hiding quietly among the ranks. He remained calm. Though the sound of drums and fluttering banners filled the air, and the knights around him were stirred by the fierce fighting spirit, for Kent, it was all just a prelude to the real battle. Only by keeping a calm mind could he deliver a fatal blow at the perfect moment.
Komer wouldn’t launch an attack so carelessly. Although the barbarian army was known for its ferocity, and their own secrecy efforts were excellent, Kent didn’t believe that cunning old fox would remain unaware and careless. Over the years, the Knights of Rema’s meticulous surveillance hadn’t uncovered anything valuable about him, showing just how alert and wise he was. With such a large-scale alliance on their side, involving so many aspects, how could he possibly be unaware of it?
Kent absolutely didn’t believe it. And once the enemy learned of their situation, what kind of countermeasures and preparations would they make? Thinking about this, Kent felt a chill in his heart—this battle might be one whose outcome neither side could predict.
Komer’s gloomy expression grew even more stern. With his arms crossed, he no longer had the mind to use the Thousand-Mile Mirror to search for anything. The decisive battle was imminent, and all strength would be revealed at that moment. Only by fighting without reservation to secure a complete victory could one side survive; the loser would inevitably become prey.
“Magic Cannon, prepare!” Seeing the neatly formed enemy forces approaching and the mages in their camp openly gathering their powers, clearly preparing for a magical battle, Komer fiercely slammed his black crystal staff onto the ground, sending a magical message to Fran, who was standing atop a moving wooden tower in the distance.
Two massive cannon barrels of the magic cannon were rapidly rotated by metal gears, and the dark barrels slowly rose, like hellish black holes ready to devour souls. The large scope mounted on the cannon was clearly an improvement over the Thousand-Mile Mirror, allowing users to clearly see the precise shooting area and coverage through its coordinates. This would be the first time such a cannon was used in a land battle.
Several operators nervously began calculating the firing parameters and trajectories of the cannon, while magic crystal powder was added to enhance its magical power. The bulky cannon base had long been placed on a four-wheeled mobile cart, surrounded by numerous magical barriers to prevent it from being damaged if discovered by the enemy. But Komer knew this was merely a formality—once detected, the enemy’s magical attacks would pour in like a deluge, and those barriers would be utterly useless against such powerful magic.
This was the magic cannon that Komer had painstakingly crafted for Haidelin’s naval fleet. It was unloaded just before being loaded onto a ship and then carefully transported by ship to the front lines in Plovdiv. This time, it would witness history.
However, the precision requirements for this cannon were extremely high, it was too bulky, and its firing intervals were too long. Komer had also considered using it in land battles but ultimately gave up on the idea. It would be better to invest that effort in training the army, which might yield far better results.
Fran watched the front with slight tension. The Thousand-Mile Mirror displayed everything within a few kilometers ahead. It would be he who gave the order for the first strike—the Magic Armored Cannon would deliver a surprise “gift” to those damned Gallians and Goths that they could never imagine. As Fran pressed down the green flag in his hand and replaced it with a red one, under the curious gazes of many around, the ten operators finally completed the complicated calibration process. They injected two types of completely different magic crystal powders through separate channels, which eventually merged inside the hourglass-shaped reaction chamber beneath the cannon barrel. The intense reaction caused the extremely sturdy chamber to tremble rapidly. Massive magical energy flowed into the cannon barrel through the conduits, and at the same time, the firing pin beside it struck forcefully. The magical power generated by the collision of these oppositely charged magic metals merged skillfully with the energy released by the magic crystal powders, and in an instant, it was discharged through the cannon barrel. There was no special sound, but almost everyone could sense that the space around the two Magic Armored Cannons seemed to pause for a moment, and the spatial image appeared to distort in some way. A light indescribable by words shot out from the cannon barrel’s mouth. In just a brief instant, it seemed as though the entire space had come to a halt.