𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟗𝟏: 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐚𝐫 (6)
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
“What the heck is that?”
Approaching Montpellier City were thirty large, heavy objects. . . Their appearance was reminiscent of a turtle, but as the Republic military had never seen anything like it before, they were unable to react properly.
“Fire the magic cannons!”
Magic cannons had a short range but were powerful enough to serve as excellent defensive weapons.
However, due to their high consumption of magic stones, they were not used very often. However, with the Empire’s relentless advance, they were eventually redeployed to the front lines.
Poof-baang! Poof-baang! Poof-baang!
A beam of blue magic energy shot out from the magic cannons and struck the oncoming tanks.
Boom! Boom!
The tanks were enveloped in a cloud of dust and dirt, but their thick armor and anti-magic and reinforcement enchantments prevented even a scratch.
The tanks’ turrets promptly rotated, and their main cannons took aim at the magic cannons.
Bang! Crash! Boom!
The tanks effortlessly disabled the magic cannon positions, and the machine guns mounted on their hulls opened fire.
Tatatatatatata! Tatatatatatata!
Thanks to the safe targeting system using telecommunication magic, the machine gunners were able to aim and fire at the enemy from within their thick armor.
Bang! Crash! Boom!
The tanks advanced into the city, firing their cannons. Moreover, the tanks’ interiors were enchanted with spatial expansion magic, allowing them to store vast amounts of shells and fuel, essentially turning them into mobile fortresses.
“Amazing. . .simply amazing!”
Marluan, the commander of the 3rd Field Army, exclaimed in admiration as he watched the tanks in action.
“Good, we can’t let this opportunity pass us by! Entire army, charge!”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”
Meanwhile, the Afangel Knights were alarmed by the appearance of the tanks. . . but they also considered the possibility of forming a new knight order using those very tanks.
“If we enchant those shells with aura, won’t they be able to pierce even the thickest walls or specialized shields?”
The infantry of the 3rd and 4th Field Armies entered Montpellier City, led by the Tiger tanks. They used Os rifles and Wald machine guns to counterattack the Republic soldiers, who were fighting back with Mas 36s.
If they encountered a magic cannon position, they would request artillery support or have nearby tanks deal with it. When requesting artillery support, they used a coordinate measuring device to determine the coordinates and relayed them using a magic communicator, enabling more precise shelling.
Eventually, the Republic military decided to withdraw after half of Montpellier City was captured.
“Retreat! Retreat to Toulouse!”
Toulouse, the last remaining northern territory and stronghold of the Republic. If this too were to fall, they would have no choice but to rely on the Pyrenees to hold back the Empire’s advance.
As a result, the Republic was preparing to destroy the four underground tunnels in the mountain range that provided passage through the Pyrenees, and they were fortifying the coastal cities of Perpignan and Donostia. In addition, they were preparing to raise and train an additional 2 million conscripts to send to the front lines.
The Imperial forces besieging Toulouse officially adopted the Tiger tanks and decided to hire the tank brigade brought by the Winchester as mercenaries.
Thanks to this, the Winchester Principality, which was once again making a huge fortune with the Tiger tanks, was able to increase its production line to produce more tanks, which in turn created more jobs and attracted people from outside.
As the Winchester Principality began to develop, other territories in the east also benefited. As land and housing prices in the Winchester Principality rose, people began to move to nearby territories and settle down.
Those who had the freedom to move between territories in the Empire were all middle-class people with permanent residency rights. The middle class lived well, so they consumed a lot, and their earnings were also considerable, so their taxes increased.
Permanent residency rights were very expensive, but once purchased, they were permanent and allowed people to live anywhere in the Empire. Of course, only about 10% of the entire Empire’s population had permanent residency rights, which prevented the population from concentrating in any one territory.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
Anyway, around the time the second-year students were finishing up their second semester. . . Toulouse eventually fell as well. Of the 600,000 Republic troops defending Toulouse, 200,000 were killed, 140,000 were taken prisoner, and about 100,000 were scattered and went missing.
The remaining 160,000 troops were split into two groups of 60,000 and 100,000 and retreated towards Perpignan and Donostia.
With the Empire’s capture of Toulouse, the northern territories of the Democratic Republic fell under Imperial control. As a result, the parliament of the Kingdom of Britannia, which had been engaging in endless table talk, finally. . . began to show signs of participating in the war when the speaker took up arms and advocated for it.
The speaker then gathered reporters and declared war on the Imperial Empire in mid-November. The stated reason was the need to suppress the Empire’s ambitions for the sake of peace on the continent.
“Fools.”
Duke Brynolf von Rohan Helsinki, commander of the Northern Military District, scoffed at the Kingdom of Britannia’s actions.
“If you were going to declare war, you should have done it sooner.”
Officially, the troops of the Northern Military District were known to be stationed in Bremen. . . But in reality, they had already secretly moved to the territories of the margraves. The Northern Military District was simply waiting for the people of Britannia to declare war.
“All units, advance into Britannia! Conquer all of Britannia’s continental territories within a month!”
The Kingdom of Britannia was militarily inferior to the Democratic Republic. The Kingdom of Britannia, weakened by the conflict between the royal family and the aristocracy and a long period of peace, was completely different from the Republic, which had accumulated wealth through the development of the market through liberal ideas and used that wealth to build a strong military.
This was also the reason why the Western Military District had initially struggled.
Anyway, as soon as the declaration of war was received, the troops of the Northern Military District crossed the border of Britannia and began their advance. The Northern Military District was already armed with Os rifles, Wald machine guns, and Oswald Cannons.