Chapter 452: The Unification
The rebelling nobles had nothing to offer against the First Army. One round of fire was enough in every confrontation — the enemy lines broke before the smoke cleared, men scattering with whatever pride they still carried, which wasn’t much. The First Army didn’t even need to change cartridges. More often than not, there was no fight at all, only the pursuit, the capture, the quiet surrender.
Iron Axe cleared one territory per day. The Elk, Wolf, and Wild Rose family lands fell in sequence, clean and fast. Then the column reached the Maple Leaf territory, and it slowed.
“Damn it.” Brian stared at the castle looming above the snow and spat. “This is no different from Stronghold. They’ve got a moat.”
“Anyone hurt in the last probe?” Iron Axe asked.
“Two. One arm, one back — neither serious.” Brian’s frown was the kind that had been sitting on his face all morning. “But we’re shooting uphill from open ground. Even crossbow bolts can answer us when we’re the ones exposed.”
Iron Axe couldn’t argue with that assessment. Nobody had expected the Earl of the Maple Leaf to have a castle like this: a tower wedged against the cliffs of the Impassable Mountain Range, streams from the mountains diverted into a five-meter moat that ran constantly, kept open by the current even when ice crusted its edges. The gate was the only entrance, which meant crossing the bridge, which meant walking into the densest concentration of bolts and fire the defenders could produce. Two probing attacks had brought down three or four of the enemy and gained nothing.
“If we’d brought cannons,” Brian muttered, “three balls at that gate and they’d be asking to surrender.”
“The roads are too long and the snow too deep.” Iron Axe glanced at the sky — the grey of it, flat and unhelpful — and made his decision. “Set up camp. We’ll resume at first light.”
The bonfires were lit by nightfall.
“What do we do tomorrow?” Brian tossed a log into the pit and watched the sparks rise. “Rush the bridge? Take casualties until someone gets to that steel door?”
Iron Axe didn’t answer. He stared at the fire for a long time. If he were still in the Iron Sand City — still the man he had been — he would have ordered the charge without hesitation, tallied the dead in his head, and moved on. That calculation had been simple once. It was no longer simple. These soldiers — he had watched them drill, watched them improve, watched them become something more than bodies between him and an objective. His Highness had invested in every one of them. They were not just weapons.
He sighed. “We use the witches.”
Brian looked up sharply. “The witches?”
Iron Axe had not wanted to. The prince had told him more than once that a proper army should be able to complete its mission on its own terms, and some part of him still believed that was right. But a good general, the prince had also said, accounts for his soldiers’ lives. These two things could coexist. They had to.
“Send a messenger to the prince. Tell him we’re in trouble and need Miss Maggie.”
Maggie and Lightning arrived the next morning, landing at the edge of camp with the ease of people who had done harder things.
“Coo coo?”
Iron Axe coughed. He explained the problem — the tower, the moat, the steel door that no charge could reach, the upper floors where the defenders were concentrated and rifles were nearly useless.
“We can handle this,” Lightning said, patting her chest.
They had trained with the First Army in the small town, and throwing explosives was not new to them. Iron Axe nodded and gave the order: one last attack, the witches leading the way, the soldiers ready to follow the moment the door was breached.
Brian watched him check his rifle, slot cartridges into his belt. “You’re going in yourself?”
“Rather than say ‘charge for me’, say ‘charge with me.’” Iron Axe glanced at the tower. “His Highness always says this.”
When the signal came, Maggie was already in the air.
She had become something enormous — vast and dark against the grey sky, her claws clutching a bag of the new explosives — and the sight of her silenced the plain around the castle for one full breath. Then the First Army erupted. Then the defenders on top of the tower descended into chaos, crossbow bolts rising uselessly into the air, every one of them chasing a target that moved faster than their aim.
Maggie gathered herself, rose hard on her wings, and released the bag.
It fell true.
Iron Axe felt the world go still — a brief, strange instant before sound returned — and then the fireball rose from the top of the tower. The earth shook underfoot. Columns of black smoke punched upward through the falling snow, and the heat wave struck him full in the face, staggering him back, ears ringing, eyes watering against the light.
The power of God.
He had seen gunpowder tests before, had stood beside the prince during the first trial at the small town’s walls. This was not that. This was something larger and more absolute, something that rewrote the scale of what was possible. As for the defenders who had been standing on that roof — he didn’t need to imagine their fate. He knew it, the way you know the shape of a thing after you’ve seen it once.
Iron Axe prayed briefly to the Three Gods. Then he raised his rifle over his head.
“For His Highness the prince — First Army, charge!”
“For His Highness!” The soldiers answered as one and swarmed forward.
This time, no one came out to stop them.
Iron Axe rode back into Longsong Stronghold on the sixth night.
The entire Western Region was finally under Roland’s control.
Chapter 452: The Unification
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
The rebelling nobles were powerless against the First Army, and it only took a round of firing in every confrontation to decide the victor. The First Army didn’t even need to change cartridges before their enemies dispersed and ran away with their tails between their legs. Moreover, the enemies usually didn’t even put up a fight, and the First Army only had to pursue and capture them.
Iron Axe cleared through one territory per day and quickly conquered the regions governed by the Elk, Wolf, and Wild Rose families. However, when the troops reached the Maple Leaf territory, they began slowing down.
They encountered some unexpected issues.
“Damn it. This is no different from Stronghold.” Brian stared at the Earl’s looming castle and spat angrily. “It’s protected by a moat!”
“Was anyone hurt in the past round of attacks?” asked Iron Axe coldly.
“Two unlucky men were wounded, one in the arm and the other in the back while retreating, but it doesn’t seem serious,” said Brian, frowning. “The soldiers were at a great disadvantage because they were shooting upwards from the ground, so even if the enemies only had bows and bolts, they could still contend with us.”
Iron Axe knew that Brian was right. No one had expected the Earl of the Maple Leaf Family to have a castle built like a tower which was supported by mountains and cliffs. The streams from the Impassable Mountain Range were led into a five-meter-wide ditch that formed a small moat surrounding the castle. Since the water was constantly flowing, although there were blocks of floating ice and snow, the moat was not frozen solid. The gate was
the only entrance into the tower, so in order to reach it, they had to cross the bridge, where the enemy’s force was most concentrated.
There were no concealments around the Earl’s castle, only plains of snow, so standing on the higher ground made up for the enemies’ disadvantage of using crossbow bolts. After two rounds of probing attacks, the First Army only shot down three or four people and suffered many casualties themselves.
“I wish we’d brought cannons with us,” said Brian bitterly. “If we shot a few cannonballs at their gate, they would surrender in no time.”
“It’s too bad that the troops can’t bring them here because it’s too far from Stronghold, and the snow’s too deep.” Iron Axe glanced at the sky. “Let’s call it a day and arrange for the troops to set up camp.”
The territory of the Maple Leaf Family was northwest of Longsong Stronghold, next to Impassable Mountain Range, and it lay on the border of the Western Region. Simply walking here took almost a day, and the uncleared snow on the paths made it impossible to transport a 12-pound field artillery.
According to reports, the Maple Leaf Family barely contributed to the rebellion, and even the Earl himself didn’t participate. This meant that their resources and power were all intact and stored in this guarded tower, making it very difficult to deal with without siege weapons.
At night, bonfires were lit in the camp’s tents.
“What should we do tomorrow?” Brian asked, tossing wood into the fire pit. “Order the soldiers to rush against the rain of arrows? As long as we can blast through that damn steel door, they’re done for.”
“But the First Army would also lose dozens of soldiers.” Iron Axe shook his head and didn’t answer. If he were still in the Iron Sand City, he would gladly sacrifice hundreds of soldiers to complete his mission without feeling regretful. However, after he came to the Western Region, he felt somewhat protective of the soldiers whom he watched improve and whom His Highness Roland put so much effort into.
After a long pause, he sighed. “Let’s use the witches.”
Brian was shocked. “The witches?”
Iron Axe didn’t want to do this either. He remembered the prince had once told him that a decent army should be able to complete its mission independently at all times. However, this was not important at the moment. In order to reach their goal of uniting the Western Region in a week and to minimize casualties, he was willing to give up his pride.
Also, His Highness also said that a good general accounted for his soldiers’ lives.
“Send a messenger and tell the prince that we’re in trouble and need Miss Maggie’s help.” He ordered.
The next morning, Maggie and Lightning came to the camp. “What happened?”
“Coo coo?”
Iron Axe coughed and explained his dilemma. “The enemies are mainly concentrated at the top of the tower, so rifles can do little damage to them. There’s also a steel door blocking the entrance, so the First Army can’t get close enough to place explosives. We can only rely on you to open the gates.”
“We’ve got this,” the little girl said, patting her chest.
Throwing explosives was a familiar task to them, and they were even trained with the First Army in the small town. Iron Axe nodded and immediately arranged the soldiers to begin the last attack—even if the explosives didn’t have the desired effect, they would at least scare the enemies and give themselves enough time to break through the steel door.
“Are you fighting as well?” Brian watched surprisedly as Iron Axe strapped a rifle to his back and stuffed a few cartridges of bullets into his belt.
“Rather than say ‘charge for me’, say ‘charge with me’.” Iron Axe smiled. “His Highness always said this.”
…
When the two men led their soldiers into the charging position, Maggie’s figure appeared in the sky.
She transformed into a giant beast and charged towards the tower, her claws grabbing a bag of the new explosives. Everyone witnessed this stunning scene and the First Army erupted in cheers, while the side on top of the tower descended into chaos. The mercenaries and guards of the Maple Family all turned their crossbow bolts around and began shooting at the beast with no avail.
Meanwhile, Maggie finished collecting her strength, flapped her wings forcefully, rose rapidly into the air, and released the bag. The bag of explosives shot towards the top of the tower like a cannonball…
Iron Axe felt his surroundings go quiet, and then he saw a glaring ball of fire rise from the top of the tower. Suddenly, the earth began to shake! The entire world seemed to be trembling, and huge columns of smoke shot up through the snow. A heat wave struck him in the face, forcing him to stumble back a few steps with his ears ringing.
This is… the power of God!
Iron Axe couldn’t help but recall the first time when he witnessed His Highness’ gunpowder test, but the explosion this time was much more powerful. Even standing almost a hundred meters away, he could feel the scalding heat of the fire ball. As for the enemies close to God’s Punishment at the top of the tower, their fates were all easily imaginable.
He quietly prayed to the Three Gods, raised his rifle high, and shouted, “For His Highness the prince, First Army, charge!”
“For His Highness!” The soldiers echoed his words and swarmed to the Earl’s castle.
This time… no one dared to stop them.
When Iron Axe returned to Longsong Stronghold, it was already the sixth night.
The entire Western Region was finally under Roland’s control.