Chapter 237 - 222: Nighttime Ship Guns Fireworks

Chapter 237: Chapter 222: Nighttime Ship Guns Fireworks

The pirates’ celebratory sounds drowned out the soldiers’ response, and all the pirates were still immersed in the joy of celebration.

Bang!

A sudden gunshot stopped all the natives in their tracks, as if time had stopped for a few seconds.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The soldiers of the Guards were not going to give the pirates time to react. Seeing that some of them were in a state of shock, they immediately opened fire.

Fortunately, the soldiers’ regular training was very effective, and with the pirates suddenly taken aback, they inadvertently became true stationary targets.

“Protect all citizens!” The platoon leader commanded, leading all the soldiers to gradually approach the bound Australasians.

“Is it our military? Thank God, thank His Majesty!” Hearing the familiar voice and seeing the familiar military, the captured Australasians were overjoyed and began to fervently thank God and Arthur.

On the other hand, the pirates were not doing so well.

The training of the Guards’ soldiers wasn’t for nothing, as each of them had to fire dozens of bullets every day.

While they couldn’t guarantee that each of them was a sharpshooter, at least most of them could hit their targets.

Although there may be deviations, real firearms were not toys. Any hit could lead to severe injuries, let alone incapacitation; even their lives might not be safe.

“We are the soldiers of the First Guards Infantry Division, ordered by His Majesty to rescue you. You are safe now!” The platoon leader ordered the soldiers to untie the bound people while smiling and talking to them.

“Thank His Majesty, long live His Majesty!”

Every rescued Australasian rejoiced.

“Is everyone here? Any missing person?” The platoon leader inquired.

Minister Kent also disembarked, following the soldiers to land on the island.

After more than ten minutes, the Guards soldiers met with Minister Kent, and the news they brought relieved him.

Since all the Australasian citizens had been successfully rescued, Minister Kent had no further concerns and ordered everyone to board the warships to use the ship guns to bomb all the islands indiscriminately until most of the shells were expended.

The bombardment lasted half an hour, with each island receiving at least forty shells from the Australasian fleet.

The largest island suffered the worst, becoming the primary target of the fleet. After enduring over a hundred shells, the appearance of the large island was completely altered.

Due to it being night, the actual situation on the island could not be clearly seen. However, if it were daytime, Minister Kent would be able to see that the once lush island had turned into a yellow-black wasteland, with the island shrouded in clouds of smoke from gunpowder.

The soldiers were ordered to carry at least three hand grenades, a weapon for attacking fortified positions manufactured by the Australasia Royal Military Factory. The grenades were filled with gunpowder, steel balls, and scrap iron, having a blast range of only 1-2 meters but an injury range of more than ten meters.

In fact, hand grenades had already been in existence for hundreds of years but became somewhat less useful due to the development of firearms.

As the lethal range of firearms increased and the popularity of machine guns grew, this manually thrown weapon was not widely adopted by military forces around the world.

It was during the two world wars that hand grenades reappeared in the equipment orders of various countries. To deal with the large number of enemy trenches and concentrated charges, the hand grenade, with its wide range of lethal effects, became highly valued by countries all over the world.

Naturally, Arthur would not wait until hand grenades were widely regarded by the world to start manufacturing them.

At present, the hand grenade production in Australasia has initially taken shape, and the Royal Military Factory has two types of hand grenades: the stick grenade and the egg-shaped grenade.

Due to the small population of Australasia, even each trained soldier was extremely precious.

The soldiers were unfamiliar with the terrain and environment of the islands, which could potentially lead to ambushes by pirates.

In this situation, hand grenades became an excellent weapon for siege, capable of causing significant damage to the enemy in areas where large artillery could not cover.

Although it might consume more military funding, it was better than causing unnecessary casualties.

Under Minister Kent’s leadership, the soldiers re-armed themselves and set out to land on the island once again.