Kwaaaaang-!
When a massive explosion erupted from the bow of the battleship, everyone on the bridge tensed up.
Acrid smoke obscured their vision, and vibrations shook the ship. No matter how much the era had changed, the Mages' status remained the same, and their power was immense.
The captain asked urgently.
"Report damage to the bow deck!"
"Two injured, minor fire on the deck! No damage to the forward armor plate!"
"No abnormalities in the Engine Room!"
"No abnormalities in Turret No. 1!"
However, an attack of that magnitude could do little damage to a ship made of 20,000 tons of steel.
As the smoke cleared, the battleship's deck came into view. Apart from a few sparks crackling across the deck, there was nothing unusual.
The crackling embers were quickly extinguished by a wave washing over the deck.
The Mages' first attack had failed to inflict any damage on Dreadnought's hull.
And now it was Dreadnought's turn to attack.
"Turret No. 1, fire!"
Kwagwagwang-!
Two orange beams shot straight ahead, smashing one Magic Tower before continuing into the sky.
"Hard a-port!"
At the same time, the ship's massive hull turned to the left.
At a distance of 700 m, the ship and the fortress walls were now parallel. All the weapons that had been facing right were now aimed at the fortress.
Eight naval guns. Ten 76mm secondary guns positioned on the starboard side.
And numerous 20mm Autocannons as well.
Their combined firepower, capable of erasing the fortress itself, was now focused on the five remaining spires.
"Turret No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5, each choose a target and destroy it! Turret No. 1, finish reloading quickly!"
Once again, the Fire Control Team sprang into action.
Kwagwang-!
A bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck the battleship's rear deck. A house-sized wave surged upward, and a massive explosion erupted along the ship's side.
Nevertheless, the battleship's bridge remained calm.
The monstrous weight of 20,000 tons pressed down against the surging waves as the ship sailed onward.
The lightning bolt could not pierce the deck armor, while the thick side armor, capable of withstanding even 305mm shells, easily absorbed the fireball's explosion.
Then all the battleship's firepower erupted at once.
--------!
A tremendous roar, almost impossible to describe in words, burst forth.
The 305mm shells fired straight ahead smashed the Magic Tower, while the 76mm secondary turrets destroyed the tightly closed harbor gates.
As the smoke cleared, a shattered shield came into view.
Beyond the shield, which had been battered by the battleship's main guns at point-blank range, a tower could be seen collapsing.
"One Magic Tower completely destroyed! Two severely damaged!"
At that point, the other side launched a desperate counterattack.
Magic circles of various colors rose into the sky. The Mages, risking their lives to unleash every last bit of their power, filled the sea with dazzling displays of magic.
The close-range exchange of fire continued for about three minutes.
Dark clouds covered the sky, the sea roared fiercely, and thunder echoed without pause.
When the noise finally subsided, every spire of Aquiten Fortress had been blown away.
On the now-calm sea, only a single battleship trailing gun smoke floated serenely.
***
When the Main Force, including the 2nd Order, arrived at Aquiten Fortress, all of the fortress's defensive measures had already been neutralized.
All six Magic Towers built around the fortress had collapsed.
Resistance?
There was no such thing.
There was no way soldiers who had watched all the defensive Magic Towers collapse before their eyes would still have the will to fight.
"The Main Force of your Western Army has already been annihilated by our army! Will you die waiting for support that will never come, or will you surrender and accept the way things are?"
As I spoke, I brought forward Eric Smith, who had been taken as prisoner.
His willingness to do whatever it took to preserve his own life proved useful in situations like this.
After all, even as a prisoner, he demanded his own army's surrender with an expression more passionate than anyone else's.
"I am Eric Smith, Supreme Commander of the Western Army! Our 40,000-strong army was annihilated without inflicting a single casualty on the Southern Army!"
When the Supreme Commander of the Western Army himself made that declaration, the troops defending Aquiten Fortress began to waver.
In that situation, Eric Smith faithfully read the script we had given him.
"I do not want the soldiers of our West to lose their lives for nothing! Therefore, as Supreme Commander of the Western Army, I command you! Everyone, lower your weapons, open the gates, and surrender!"
It was amusing to hear such words from a man who treated commoners' lives like insects, but the effect was excellent.
Perhaps it was precisely because he was that kind of person. When someone who treated commoners' lives like insects said something like that, it suggested there really was something to it.
About 15 minutes after those words were spoken, the thick gates of Aquiten Fortress began to open slowly.
From the broken harbor gates to the fortress gates, the soldiers of Aquiten Fortress opened every gate and laid down their weapons.
Then a small commotion broke out inside the fortress.
Some nobles wanted to keep fighting, even after witnessing the destruction of the Magic Towers.
The soldiers, meanwhile, resisted the idea of dying simply because the nobles ordered them to fight.
The confrontation ended when the Lord of the Fortress was dragged before the main gate and forced to kneel.
[ I, Louis Armand, am in Aquiten. Not a single enemy will pass through this place. ]
For someone who had sent such a valiant vow to the center, it was a rather shabby ending.
***
Regardless of the era, ordinary citizens are the greatest victims of war.
From before the common era to the 21st Century, in every war that has ever taken place on Earth, civilians have been robbed, trampled, and killed.
In war, things like the Geneva Convention or UN Statements often meant little.
Discussions held by high-ranking officials in safe places rarely reached the lowest levels of the front lines.
The madness of war concealed too much.
On battlefields where laws and rules had collapsed, civilian casualties were not even properly counted.
It was no different in this world than it was on Earth.
The people, who had already had almost everything taken from them and burned under the pretext of the Scorched Earth Tactic, watched the Southern Army entering the castle with eyes full of fear.
The West was accustomed to war.
And its people knew all too well what had been done to cities captured by the Western Barbarians.
Even their fellow Westerners, the very soldiers supposed to protect the West, had plundered civilians.
No matter how close the South and West were, the Southern Army was still an occupying force.
But that was not the only thing making the Western people anxious.
It was the sight of the Imperial Guard entering Aquiten Fortress behind the Grand Duke of the South.
The soldiers in heavy armor and ash-gray uniforms, along with those wearing ash-gray coats, somehow did not look human.
Killing machines wearing human masks.
That was the thought that came to mind as the Imperial Guard marched silently behind the Grand Duke, moving their limbs at perfectly coordinated angles.
Thus, the people hurried to protect what they had left.
The rich hid their wealth, merchants concealed their goods, and farmers scrambled to hide their cows and families.
"Hide your wealth quickly! If we can't repay the loan, our trading company will go bankrupt!"
"We don't know what the Southern Army will do. So you must not come out of here, kids. Understand?"
"Run! If you stay here, you don't know what they'll do to you!"
Some Westerners even fled the city.
Amid the chaos, remnants of the Western army who were fleeing also plundered the people.
And through all of this, the Southern Army entered Aquiten.
"Soldiers who commit crimes such as plunder, rape, murder, and so on will be severely punished under military law!"
"The citizens of the West are family and friends who share the same roots as us Southerners! Our army has come here to protect our family and friends from corrupt nobles!"
Naturally, few people believed those words at first.
"We will not plunder. We are different from the others."
It was the same empty promise everyone, from the Western Army to the Barbarians, had made.
However, once the Southern Army actually entered the city center of Aquiten, its soldiers behaved in a remarkably orderly manner.
The Imperial Guard marching behind Kyle Leopold, Grand Duke of the South, were not as rigid as people had expected.
"Waaah, please help me...! My mom and dad are trapped under the rubble!"
When a little child ran to the Imperial Guard camp pleading for help, everyone expected a terrible outcome.
It was understandable. There seemed to be no humanity in people wearing ash-gray coats, carrying eerie weapons, and sporting bright red eyes.
Everyone looked away, anticipating the fate of the child who had approached a killing machine of his own accord—
"Where is the location?"
The soldiers followed the child, cleared away the rubble, and rescued the family.
Everyone was astonished.
"Thank you for saving us...!"
"There is no need to thank me. Protecting citizens is the duty of our Imperial Guard."
When kindness comes from a place where none was expected, people tend to form a favorable impression.
For the people of the West, who had long been conditioned to associate armies with plunderers, the kindness shown by the Southern soldiers felt strangely familiar.
Besides, when people who look strong are on your side, it is only natural to feel relieved.
Even that night, the Southern Army focused on stabilizing the situation inside the fortress. The soldiers set up their own camps in empty spaces and slept there.
For the Western people, it was a bewildering situation.
The fortress had fallen, yet there was no plundering, arson, or murder.
The soldiers even helped them?
Then weren't these soldiers better than the noble bastards who had plundered them and fled under the pretext of the Scorched Earth Tactic?
Thus, that night became a truly strange one.
It was quiet and orderly, so calm that it was hard to believe this was a defeated and occupied fortress.
The experience of that single night became the greatest opportunity to change the Westerners' perceptions.
The next morning, after hearing that the situation inside Aquiten Fortress had stabilized, Kyle Leopold looked toward Forbin with a satisfied smile.
"Now it is time to go meet that bastard Charles."
Kyle Leopold's calm voice soon became an order that spread throughout the entire army.
The battleship anchored at the port of Aquiten aimed its naval guns toward the capital, while 5,000 elite soldiers began marching in unison.
The capital of the West.
Toward Forbin.