They quickly crushed the border guards of the Kingdom of Britannia and began a rapid advance.
Upon hearing the news that the Imperial forces had invaded, the parliament of the Kingdom of Britannia hastily decided to gather regular troops and establish a defensive line.
However, the imperial forces had already arrived while they were just beginning construction on the defensive line, and they were easily pushed back.
By the beginning of December, towards the end of the academy’s second semester, the Kingdom of Britannia had been pushed back to Paris. By the time they were pushed back to Paris, the Northern Military District had also established a tank brigade, deploying a total of 60 tanks.
The Northern Military District forces, which were tasked with capturing Paris, entered the city using tanks that had already been proven effective in the Southern and Western Military Districts.
Magic cannons and Piper series bullets flew from all directions in the Kingdom of Britannia.
However, the Oswald Cannons’ fire support and the tanks’ relentless assault eventually led to the fall of Paris after only five days of urban warfare, and the regular army of Britannia was routed and scattered. The members of the parliament of Britannia who were unable to escape Paris in time were all captured and sent to the Empire.
Within 20 days of Britannia’s declaration of war, the regular army of the Kingdom of Britannia had collapsed, and the parliament had been destroyed. In effect, the only forces left on the continent were a small number of local forces for maintaining public order.
With the Kingdom of Britannia so easily crushed, Francia and Holland, which had been wavering on whether to participate in the war, also declared war.
Thus, the Great War that would determine the fate of the western part of the Titan continent had begun.
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“Long time no see, Chief Oleg.”
“You seem to be doing well, Cadet Oswald.”
“But what brings you here?”
“I have a proposition for you.”
“A proposition. . .?”
“Would you consider becoming a Paladin of the Order of the Holy Knights again?”
“Hmm. . .I’m afraid that after getting out of ten years of compulsory service, I’m not very interested in serving again.”
“There are no obligations. Think of it as a contract-based Paladin, like a mercenary.”
“But will the Heresy Inquisition Bureau allow that?”
“The Heresy Inquisition Bureau’s power has been greatly weakened recently.”
This was unexpected news.
“And you had something to do with that.”
“Me?”
“You are the one chosen by ‘Moonlight,’ one of the three holy swords of Chronos. It’s only natural that the Heresy Inquisition Bureau, which urged for your excommunication, would be shaken. Moreover, the influence of the Minerva Church has grown as your family has grown.”
Upon hearing this, Oswald understood the general situation. The Heresy Inquisition Bureau, which had played a prominent role in excommunicating the wielder of the holy sword, was now being accused of heresy.
The Chronos Church had always been a powerful force within the religious community. However, recently, the Winchester Nation had grown into a powerful nation and had accumulated vast wealth by producing weapons for the Empire’s wars. In addition, it had become the leader of the eastern faction by forming marital ties with the margraves bordering the Kingdom of Holland.
Politically, it was no longer a force to be trifled with. Moreover, as the leader of the eastern faction, the lords belonging to the east tried to curry favor with the Winchester Principality, which in turn helped to expand the influence of the Minerva Church.
“I have a condition.”
“A condition? Let’s hear it.”
“Give me the right to refuse assignments. I don’t exactly have a lot of free time. . .”
“But you must agree to help us at least once a year.”
“If it’s just that much. . .”
And so, the contract was made, and Oswald’s excommunication was lifted, and he was reinstated as a Paladin. Of course, since it was now a contract-based position, the Empire did not raise any major objections.
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When the winter break began. . . Oswald remained in the capital instead of returning to his hometown. He had heard that the Principality of Winchester’s provincial army was also marching north with 100,000 troops along with the County of Aisen and the County of Georgia.
As a result, his territory was in chaos, so there was no need for him to return and get involved. He received a message telling him to stay in the capital. In addition, the Principality of Kiev was mobilizing an army of 200,000 and advancing east.
“It must be frustrating for the Kingdom of Holland to be pushed back by mere vassals.”
Moreover, the Empire’s margraves, led by the Winchester Principality, were armed with new weapons created by the Winchester family. With the addition of the ‘Oswald Cannon’ and ‘Tiger tanks,’ they were overwhelmingly crushing the Kingdom of Holland.
Of course, the Kingdom of Holland’s hussar knights were not to be ignored.
The Kingdom of Holland, which had survived alone in the Empire’s northern borderlands, had no choice but to develop an asymmetric force in order to survive. With nothing but a barren land with a large population, they had no choice but to make the most of their population.
“But the Winged Hussars are still powerful.”
It would be a shame to let the Winged Hussars go to waste. The entire regiment was made up of experts, and the wings attached to their backs actually functioned as wings, so they were knights on the ground and could be used as an air force when they activated their wings.
Furthermore, all of the hussars were followers of the Thor Church and could wield holy power, so the Thor Church had appointed them as Valkyries and Einherjar.
In short, it meant that they were a force that could be very effective on the front lines against Chaos.
‘𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.’