I Became a Witch and Started an Industrial Revolution

Chapter 13: Stirring Up War? Then Fight!

At such close range, with the initial velocity of the metal projectile reaching over a thousand meters per second, no one could even see the trajectory.

The next second, the magical shield on the sergeant major of Videl’s side shattered instantly, and his body collapsed to the ground as if struck by something.

When everyone looked closely, they saw a huge bloody hole in his forehead that had appeared at some unknown moment.

A mixture of scarlet and bluish-white matter slowly oozed out, while his hand still tightly gripped his staff, maintaining the casting posture he had before his death.

“!!!”

It was only at this moment that the remaining soldiers of Videl finally realized just how terrifying the weapons in Mitia’s subordinates’ hands truly were.

“Whoever dares offend the Commander again—dies!”

“Don’t move! All of you, kneel!”

Mitia watched coldly as the situation unfolded.

Once her subordinates had the scene fully under control, she took out a silk handkerchief, wiped the tea-stained hand, stood up, and tossed it in front of Videl.

“How did the bullet taste?”

At this time, Anna, who had been waiting next door, stepped forward.

She gently took Mitia’s hand and slowly helped her put on a pair of black lace gloves.

Videl lowered his head without a word, sweat slowly seeping from his forehead.

Those with the dark muzzles of guns pointed at them trembled uncontrollably.

The atmosphere on the scene dropped to freezing point.

“I thought too highly of you, Grandpa Videl. Perhaps time really does change a man. You are no longer the Videl my grandfather once knew.”

She signaled the soldiers to move forward and disarm and bind all of Videl’s men, then let out a cold laugh:

“I will let you walk out of the Astal Domain alive. I need you to go and tell them. Weren’t you all worried we would rebel? Then congratulations—you guessed right.”

Videl suddenly raised his head, a mix of shock and confusion on his face:

“Then wouldn’t your grandfather’s sacrifices for you all have been in vain? So much time has already passed, and now by doing this, you will throw the entire kingdom into turmoil again! The Astal Family will be doomed without redemption!”

Mitia shook her head: “No! At that time, my grandfather probably thought you would only let him die alone. He never expected that you would send the entire Astal Domain’s forces onto the road of no return!”

She turned back to glance at her furious subordinates, then looked down at Videl from above: “Look at the people behind me. They are all descendants of those soldiers.”

“This country is utterly rotten. Everything my grandfather and father once did, everything they fought for, everything the warriors who died on the battlefield gave their lives for—it has all gone to waste.”

“A country that cannot tolerate heroes is not a country we should fight for!”

After speaking, Mitia turned her head and instructed Anna, who was standing obediently by her side: “Go to the conductor’s room and relay my order. The garrison division in Uruk City is to set out immediately and wipe out all of Videl’s troops.”

Videl, hearing this, suddenly stood up, but was immediately forced back down by two burly knights who had always served as Mitia’s guards.

His face flushed blood-red as he roared loudly: “No! You cannot! You cannot do this! They are innocent! This will start a war!”

Mitia ignored his fury and said faintly: “Then fight! At first, I wanted to peacefully bring you into our ranks, but not anymore.

Against enemies, I will show no mercy.”

At this moment, Anna had not yet left.

Instead, she was directing others to drag all the captured Videl troops to the rear of the carriage.

Only after that did she go to carry out the remaining tasks.

Milady had said to wipe out all of Videl’s troops, and naturally, these here counted among them.

Very soon, Videl experienced what was, to him, the most cruel five minutes of his life.

One by one, Videl’s bound and gagged officers and soldiers were escorted to the carriage exit.

Kneeling on the ground and trembling, a gun was pressed to the back of their heads.

With a pull of the trigger, their skulls exploded instantly, and their bodies were casually kicked off the train.

At his ears came Mitia’s icy voice: “A blood debt must be repaid with blood. What you fear is exactly what we will do!”

The continuous clinking of hammers, and the booming reports of gunfire as alchemical powder burst forth with energy, together formed a strange rhythm that echoed endlessly in the carriage.

Videl’s eyes nearly tore apart as he watched all of this.

He was the first outsider to ever see such a weapon, and the first to witness the terrifying efficiency of its killing power.

The two overlapping sounds were deeply engraved into his mind, becoming the nightmare that would jolt him awake countless times in the middle of the night for the rest of his life.

“……”

“You… you witches are all devils! Every single one of you is just like Miranda—born without the slightest shred of mercy for life!”

This was what Videl left behind as he was tossed onto a carriage like a dead dog.

Mitia merely let out a cold laugh, not taking it to heart at all.

The word “devil,” to her, was simply neutral.

After all, either become the enemy’s devil, or be a saint and become your own people’s devil.

Which one would you choose to be?

From friendly contact to clashing with blades and guns, the turn of events was somewhat beyond her expectations.

But she did not care much—plans never kept up with change.

From the moment Videl was sent away, the Astal Family had officially raised the banner of rebellion, declaring independence from the Kingdom.

She was even spared the trouble of going to the Royal Capital to be enfeoffed.

Her title was stripped directly, turning her into a commoner.

Honestly, it did not feel bad at all.

As for the kingdom’s army to suppress rebellion—by standard procedure, from the issuing of the order, to the lords calling upon their vassals, to rallying and merging forces before launching an attack—

By the time this process was completed, Mitia estimated she would have nearly two months of preparation.

This meant her war preparations were still fairly ample, giving her time to adjust industrial production and mobilize the reserves.

Training time for musketeers was usually about a month.

If accelerated, it could be compressed into half a month, though with poorer discipline.

With the current population of the Astal Domain, nearly five hundred thousand, she could squeeze out about one hundred fifty thousand troops.

The bullet fired by a twelve-year-old was no less powerful than that fired by a twenty-year-old.

Of course, this was an extreme measure for the most difficult times.

In reality, the Kingdom of Ovinia could muster no more than about a hundred thousand troops.

As the defender, with solid walls and powerful cannons, Mitia estimated she could hold the line with roughly thirty thousand, without needing to strip the city garrison of Uruk.

Moreover, there was a special defensive weapon against cavalry and infantry that the Astal’s level of industry could already manufacture—

Barbed wire.

The wire-drawing process required little skill, and attaching barbs onto the iron wire was also very simple.

The main demand was simply for large amounts of iron.

After all, if the barbed wire was to become an unavoidable obstacle, it could not be set too sparsely.

Furthermore, the primary function of barbed wire was to slow enemy advances and reduce efficiency.

To inflict long-range casualties, it still had to be artillery.

But the Astal Domain did not produce magic crystals.

A modern army was strong in every respect, but its one flaw—if it could be called a flaw—was that it depended heavily on a nation’s industrial logistics.

If the rear could not keep up with supply, then the frontline weapons immediately became nothing more than firewood sticks.