Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

[Magit Island]

[Defenders' Position]

Colonel Raymond Montecuccoli was counting the firing sounds of the rebel artillery.

The island's four six-pound cannons were all in position, as the artillerymen pushed and lifted with all their might to relocate the cannons originally stationed at the northern temporary battery to the new position chosen by the Colonel.

But Montecuccoli held fire, delaying even the command to load.

Because the appearance of the rebel artillery had completely changed the rules of the game.

Montecuccoli's selected new position was northeast of the rebel landing point, slanting towards the battlefield and slightly elevated, offering a clear view.

From his vantage point, the Floating Bridge, the destroyed water barricade, the rebel landing point, and the position of the Lodewick Faction were all in full view.

Beside him, his subordinates were racing against time, working tirelessly to construct an emplacement for the cannons.

In the distance, flares soared up from behind the Ludwick Faction's lines, dispersing the darkness with their blood-red glow, leaving the rebels on the shoals nowhere to hide.

The Ludwick Faction's musketeers, positioned overlooking the area, were picking off the exposed rebel soldiers one by one, like target practice.

Cannon fire immediately erupted from the opposite bank, fiercely pounding the defenders' breastworks.

Rebels within the trenches released smoke to cover their landing comrades.

However, due to wind direction, the smoke billowing from the trenches was pushed towards the defenders, giving the Ludwick Faction an opportunity to charge the beachhead.

In previous battles, by forcing close quarters and using "liquid fire," Colonel Ludwick successfully divided the rebels holding the trenches.

As the smoke thickened between the trenches and breastworks, not only obstructing the defenders' musketeers' vision but also hindering the rebels' artillery sighting, Ludwick's soldiers crossed the breastworks in loose formations, launching a counterattack on the landing site and the positions controlled by the rebels at the southern end of Magit Island.

If Montecuccoli could detach himself, he would surely applaud Colonel Ludwick's decisive maneuvers.

Regrettably, as he was in the midst of it, Montecuccoli's thoughts were consumed by his cannons... and the rebels' cannons.

An array of sand timers lay beside him, and for each boom from across the river, he'd flip one timer over.

To the untrained ear, gunfire and cannon fire were just noise, the difference merely being the gunfire was quieter, and the cannon fire louder.

As for discerning specific models from the firing sounds, that was considered improbable.

But for Montecuccoli, an artillery expert, different models of cannons were akin to variations of the same musical instrument with distinct ranges.

A musician wouldn't confuse a tuba with a trumpet or a trombone, and Montecuccoli wouldn't mistake the artillery of the Various Republics' armies.

The initial booms were rough and majestic, with a deep, powerful resonance that lingered, causing even listeners' chests to reverberate involuntarily.

Undoubtedly, only heavy artillery with a large charge could produce such a sound.

As before, the heavy cannon roared seven times in quick succession, indicating that the "rebels" had deployed at least seven pieces of heavy artillery on the opposite bank.

Combining his accumulated knowledge, Montecuccoli deduced that the seven exposed rebel heavy cannons were likely a specific type of siege cannon cast during the Sovereignty War.

As there was no record of the Kingdom of Galloping Horses mass-producing cannons in the past, nor the current capability to do so.

The Paratu Army's artillery was either the "legacy" distributed after the division of the Allied Army thirty years ago or obtained through purchases from the United Province and Vineta post-independence.

Historically undervaluing artillery construction, the Paratu solely imported limited light cannons for display following the Sovereignty War's victory, maintaining merely a theoretical artillery presence, with no records of purchasing heavy cannons.

The unified and coordinated firing sounds from the seven heavy cannons on the opposite side, akin to the beating of a single drum, suggested that although old, they weren't true "antiques."

True antique cannons, individually cast and without consistent specifications, wouldn't have such uniform "tones."

The answer was thus unveiled: the heavy artillery meeting these conditions could only be the batch of thirty-two pound bronze cannons cast by Victory Arsenal in 528, Victory Arsenal's first attempt at mass-producing heavy artillery.

Due to lacking manufacturing expertise, these artillery pieces had many design flaws, making them excessively cumbersome and extraordinarily challenging to transport.

Within the United Province, cannons from the same batch were either in storage, placed ceremonially outside important gates, or stationed in coastal batteries watching over harbors.

Montecuccoli could readily imagine how much effort the rebels spent and how many animals perished to "invite" these ancient giants to the frontlines.

Yet, due to identifying their true identity, Montecuccoli was less concerned about them.

As these ancient guns, despite their tremendous power, were extremely troublesome to use.

Their purpose was never mobile field warfare but to demolish the castles and high walls of olden days.

Perpetuating the stone-throwing cannon's design philosophy, they pursued extreme destructive power, aiming to irreparably damage fortifications in a single shot, sacrificing speed, accuracy, and transportability in the process.

Thus, the current banks of the River Shijian were unsuited for their deployment.

The concept of "single-shot kills" had already been discredited as flawed by artillery research departments.

Moreover, produced in 528, the crafting technique at Victory Arsenal was still immature, requiring constant vigilance against chamber explosions during use.

Therefore, Montecuccoli didn't fear these "ancient giants."

What truly alarmed him was the several light cannons on the rebel position, firing in succession after the heavy guns.

Though not as ear-splitting as the heavy cannon's roar, the sound of those light cannons was clear, sharp, and crisp.

Raymond Montecuccoli felt a sense of danger, even surprise, anger, and spine-chilling dread, not because the sound was unfamiliar, but because it was too familiar.

He had heard that distinctive "crisp" firing sound countless times on the shooting range.

He was so familiar with it that he could readily identify the model from which it came — the six-pound field cannon produced by Victory Arsenal in 553.

With an unremarkable appearance, it achieved a balance in weight, trajectory, and manufacturability, enough to be deemed the epitome of Victory Arsenal's thirty years of cannon-crafting expertise.

It was the very cannon he was using now.

Furthermore, it was a cannon he had personally designed.

Montecuccoli was certain that this model of artillery had no export records.