CH 256

Everyone who watched the battle was speechless. Glaudens is an important stronghold and a large city. The castle walls for defense are splendid, and many naval forces are stationed there. It was thought to be one of the impregnable walled cities that could not be easily taken down by land or river.

How is it now? After opening fire, in just a few tens of minutes of battle, their army suffered no damage and achieved a complete victory. Certainly, they intended to understand the power of the Caan Cannon. But they still had no idea how powerful it could be. The true capabilities of this terrifying new weapon are not just its ability to destroy hard targets with a few shots of iron bullets.

For those who are exposed to the attack, it brings tremendous fear beyond the strength of the cannonball. The brick buildings, the castle walls constructed to protect them, the splendid harbors, warehouses, warships, everything is completely powerless against the cannon. They’re only pitiful prey that waits to be totally overwhelmed.

A soldier should be prepared to die in battle. Any soldier knows that. If you are someone who can risk your life for the sake of your homeland and territory, you can think your opponent can, as well. However, he can endure it because he believes that his death will lead to the victory of his country, territory, and army.

They can’t stand being killed without any purpose, just meaninglessly, worthlessly, and mercilessly. It awakens the fundamental fear of death in those who are supposed to be warriors, what they were suppressing to fight.

Even soldiers are like that. Moreover, if you take the mere citizens, their readiness to die is even weaker than that of a soldier. In a world like this, death is close at hand. Even so, unless you’re a peddler or a traveler, you can’t go that far, and there’s not much danger of being attacked by monsters. In big towns, you can be targeted by large urban criminal organizations, but the fear of being attacked by roadside bandits is low.

Can such people be sane after being shown such things? The answer has just been shown. They cannot.

Residents trembled with fear at the sight of that one-sided violence. And this time, they were confronted that the violence might be directed against them, too. The rest is easy. The inhabitants knew which one was stronger and scarier. So what can they do to save themselves? Just follow the orders faithfully.

And that’s not the only scary thing about Baron Caan. However, instead of suppressing the residents out of fear, he called them citizens of the Kingdom of Ploiss, welcomed them in, and immediately dispatched soldiers to restore and conduct rescue operations on the buildings that had been destroyed by the shelling.

The inhabitants enthusiastically welcome Baron Caan and applaud her. Everyone came to think that they were citizens of the Kingdom of Ploiss and that they were unfairly lorded over by the Kingdom of Polsky.

Certainly, there were many pioneers sent from the Kingdom of Ploiss to this land. Plossians still make up the majority of the population. But it wasn’t just unfairly ruled by the Kingdom of Polsky. For the residents of Glaudens, until now, whoever was in charge of their government didn’t matter.

The Kingdom of Ploiss was the first to colonize and settle. That’s why there are so many Plossians. After that, the Kingdom of Polsky invaded and took it. That’s why they belong to the Kingdom of Polsky. That’s all there is. Even after being stolen by Polsky, they continued to trade with Ploiss.

For the residents, it doesn’t matter who the ruler is. It would have been nice if they were able to live in a certain degree of peace and their lives were stable and they could work in agriculture or trade.

But… the events of today have awakened the residents of Glaudens. They realized that they were Plossians and had been forcibly occupied by Polsky. It created a kind of solidarity and exhilaration, and Baron Caan, who had been an object of fear until just now, was now accepted as a liberator.

What charisma she displayed. Such overwhelming leadership. The sway and finesse for completely controlling people’s minds.

Normally, even if a place was once part of a kingdom’s territory, if it were to be reclaimed through war, the townspeople involved in the violence would hold a grudge to some extent. It takes a long time, a huge amount of effort, and a budget to completely soothe their anger. Despite this, the land that had been ruled by the Kingdom of Polsky for so long was completely taken over in so short a time.

The one to be truly feared is Baron Floto von Caan. A weapon that no ordinary person could ever imitate. A solid and realistic military strategy plan. Perfect use of the superweapon in her plans. And the devil’s control of people’s hearts.

This battle shook everyone who first heard of Floto von Caan. It’s good to be an ally of hers. But what if such a monster turned into an enemy…? It means your complete death at her hands.

Then you have two options. From now on, approach her as an ally and never betray her. Or… or take her down before this young monster becomes an uncontrollable, invincible adult dragon…

For the first time, the Carruthers vassals who lined up with Baron Caan were troubled by unanswered questions. 1

Allied forces moved quickly after capturing Glaudens. First, they hastily move to secure Glaudens’ streets and land a combat force while helping rebuild the sections of the city destroyed in the attack. After reuniting with the land forces deployed outside the castle walls, they immediately started marching.

The troops were divided into 2 groups, 1 heading north along the highway and attacking the Polsky towns and forts that they had ignored until now, and the other heading east toward Ostelode.

Of course, Glaudens had a garrison, and a large number of supplies were unloaded and turned in to a large-scale depot. Ships of the Caanza Alliance will continue to come and go via Danzij, transporting supplies and soldiers.

News of the troops that should have been heading south from the coast has not yet arrived. Perhaps a town somewhere has attacked them and is holding them back. But that doesn’t matter. The key to this strategy now is to ensure that the forces led by Baron Caan keep suddenly showing up in the back line and taking down rear-most strategic targets just as quickly.

They ignore impassable fortresses in irrelevant locations. If the defenders strike out and leave the safety of their walls, they can deal with them, but if not, they can just attract the enemy’s attention and compel them to hold where they are.

“Well then, I’ll be counting on you,” Baron Caan said.

“Sire… you as well, Baron Caan… good luck,” an officer said.

Most of the people going north are in the Carruthers Army. The Caan Army is heading to capture important bases that are at the limit of the invasion plans. Hence, eliminating the remaining northward enemy forces they ignored before will be entrusted to the Carruthers Army, and the Caanza Alliance Volunteer Army and remaining Carruthers Army forces march south.

The Carruthers soldiers stare at the fire-breathing cylinders called “field guns,” which are put on special carts pulled by horses. These “field guns” are the cargo that was loaded on the ships which felled Glaudens, and are now being prepared for use overland.

It’s possible to move what used to be called “ship-mounted guns,” but they’re not supposed to be fired while moving. In comparison, the “field guns” were designed from the beginning to more or less have the advantage while moving, assuming they would be used in mobile engagements. The Carruthers vassals swallowed their saliva when they realized that these field guns were almost the same as the ship guns and how powerful they must be, as well.

House Caan is probably the only one in the world that operates these superweapons called Caan Cannons. They don’t know where and how they obtained such a superweapon, but there is no doubt that it is something far beyond their understanding.

And… the cows and horses that pull them… the livestock were brought from ranches in the Caan and Carruthers territories. They laughed at first. Some of the Carruthers vassals mocked House Caan, calling them cattle herders who claimed to be nobles. They laughed at the very idea of a nobleman devoting himself to running a livestock ranch…

But what of now? The cattle and horses were bred for this occasion. Livestock is used in large quantities to transport provisions and field guns. Even those who initially mocked Caan as a rural aristocrat covered in livestock feces can no longer laugh. Everything had been prepared for this moment, foreseeing the future.

Nothing is wasted in the process. Everything that seems useless and meaningless at first glance is a stepping stone for the future. How was she looking ahead….…? It’s horrifying. The development of a fire-breathing cylinder. Raising livestock to carry soldiers, ammunition, and supplies. Increased production of food by developing the territory so that it can withstand wartime stress. Economic development to secure war expenses by themselves.

At first glance, everything seemed to be separate, but it was all connected. Everything is just a prelude to creating this strongest fighting force and creating an army that can fight against the whole world for years or decades at a time.

The Carruthers vassals were trembling with fear as they saw off the Caan Knights, who marched forward at an unbelievable speed even though they were pulling the incredibly heavy field guns.

The Caan Knights separated from their supply train and continued to advance at the fastest speed possible to their next target, Ostelode. This time the attack will come from outside the castle walls, so they won’t issue an ultimatum. Suddenly open a hole in the castle wall and surprise the enemy. Above all, they didn’t bring enough soldiers to completely enclose the surroundings, so if they carelessly issued an ultimatum, there was a high risk that the messengers would escape. Hence, no warning this time.

“Hmm? What in the hell is that? Whose army is it?”

A soldier standing as a sentry on the walls of Ostelode tilted his head at the sight of the armed men approaching from outside. It’s not like they’re bandits. For one thing, the equipment is unified and appears splendid. They’re also pulling a black cylinder on a cart that he had no clue what it was.

Ostelode is inland, at the very rear of the battle lines. Even though the war had just started on the front lines, there was no way there would be an enemy in a place like this. Yes… everyone thought so.

Don! Don! Don!

They were hit by tremors they thought there was an earthquake along with a loud sound that resounded in their chests. Then, the ground thundered nearby, and the sentries were thrown into chaos. That was the last thing they would see.

“Wha-What’s going on!?”

“I don’t know!”

“It’s, enemy attack–! Enemy attack—–!”

“”-!?””

With little time left to do anything, Ostelode’s defenders were frightened by the sudden roar and vibration and were crushed by the Caan Knights bursting through the crumbling walls. The battle ended quickly, and Baron Caan gave a speech similar to that she had given at Glaudens, and quickly turned the residents of Ostelode into pro-Ploiss supporters.

The settlement was originally populated by Ploissians. Just by making them a little aware of their citizenship, the residents will easily become pro-Plossian. And they don’t discriminate because you’re from Polsky. Since it was declared that they would accept and spare Polsky citizens as long as they obeyed Ploiss’s laws, there was an overwhelming amount of Polsky citizens happily turning coats.

On rare occasions, there are those who oppose Ploiss, but they remain in the minority, and the residents themselves hung the anti-Plossians due to Baron Caan’s machinations. The governance was very easy and smooth. The general public who had not had much of a concept of nations and territories until now were forced to become aware of themselves as citizens of nations and territories, and now cooperated with their original government.

In return, their new Lord protects the lives and rights of the people. Unlike the aristocrats who only exploited them until now, people immediately became pro-Ploissian by simply making them aware that they were not just exploiters, but an interwoven organization with the same purposes and goal, benefits and obligations, no, rather, they had all fallen under Baron Caan’s sway.

After capturing Ostelode and confirming that the troops following them have arrived, the Caan Knights advance further east, leaving the rest to the garrison. In the same way, after destroying the walls of Alrenstein with field gun bombardment and neutralizing the enemy, they joined Maria’s troops coming from Instelburg in the northeast.

“Oh my~…” Maria said, “Flora dear has already taken the best part, hasn’t she~? Mother feels so frustrated.”

“Not yet,” Flora said. “From now on, I have to go north from various places to clear out the remaining enemies. And right now I’m Floto von Caan. Make no mistake about it.”

“For your parents, Flora, you’ll always be our dear Flora!” Maria said.

That’s not what she meant… but Flora just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. Because she understands that nothing she says will get through to her mother.

Flora and Maria confirmed the reinforcement of the trailing troops and supplies that arrived one after another and discussed the direction of the invasion from now on. It was a waste of time if both of them headed for the same place if they didn’t take the time to discuss plans. Having completely agreed on the direction of the invasion, the 2 forces split up again and attacked the remaining towns and fortresses one after another.

In this way, the 1st operation, the Southern Operation, was completed in less than 2 weeks.