amaotonovel Chapter 38 Launch the Attack
Chapter 38 Launch the Attack
Alice stood on the earthen slope. In the veil of dawn, everything seemed so dark that, were it not for the vampire's night vision, she would never have been able to see the figures in the distant town.
Great Mill Town was not a fortified city, nor was it Grant's stronghold. It was surrounded by wooden walls and archery towers. After all, who would have thought that a great town within the territory of the famous war lord and mercenary leader Duke Grant would be attacked by an army that came down from the Trembling Mountains?
Behind Alice followed the soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, all carrying loaded muskets, while the division's scouts were all carrying daggers and revolvers.
"Shh! Let's go! Demolition expert, follow me!"
Under the cover of the mist, Alice took the lead and ran forward with two revolvers. It was early morning, the time when the defenders were most exhausted. Who would have thought that the front line had only been fighting for a day, and the rear would be attacked?
The group moved forward silently. Alice's eyes were fixed on the arrow tower, a wooden tower guarding the city gate. The entire town was surrounded by wooden walls. Alice moved swiftly, her petite frame holding two revolvers that were unusually large for her.
The demolition expert behind Alice held a 5-kilogram explosive charge and a detonator. Many years later, in his memoir of the National Liberation War, he described his thoughts at that moment: I held the explosive charge in my arms like a baby. I looked at the ground beneath my feet and at Princess Alice before me. She held two revolvers, her head bowed, like a seasoned gunman, ready to pull the trigger at any moment. The city in the distance was shrouded in white gauze, and I couldn't see it clearly, but I was sure that no one could have predicted our actions.
The group arrived at the city gate without incident. Two soldiers crouched behind Alice, raising their Minié rifles and aiming at the arrow tower. Alice nodded, and the demolition expert tiptoed forward, placing the explosive charge on the city gate, securing it with a bracket, and inserting the detonator. The detonator of the explosive charge could be customized to detonate for a set time, and the one that was lit now was set for twenty seconds.
Some described those twenty seconds as “as long as a lifetime.” Alice turned her head away, and as if the sky were falling, the explosive charge blew open the door, and the two arrow towers were also affected.
"attack!"
Alice leaped from a safe distance, raised two revolvers, and the massive explosion turned the guards at the gate who were preparing to open it into corpses, while the guards inside the city were jolted awake.
"What...what's wrong?"
"explode?"
"what happened?"
boom!
"lay down your weapon!"
Commandos armed with revolvers and infantrymen armed with double-barreled shotguns and Minié rifles stormed into the town. The First Division outside also began its charge into the town. They captured the city gate in two minutes. Alice waved her revolver, signaling a standard-bearer to join her in the charge.
"Follow me!"
In this era, flags were a very important symbol and a rallying point for soldiers. The red flag quickly fluttered around Alice, and with a wave of her pistol, a platoon of soldiers followed her in a charge.
"Messenger! Tell them that one regiment is responsible for taking the city gates, every single one of these town's gates, and raising the flags. Another regiment is responsible for eliminating their garrison, and another regiment is to search for the warehouses!"
"Yes!"
A mighty army of grey-clad soldiers, waving tricolor flags and carrying rifles, stormed into Great Mill Town. Naturally, the surface of Great Mill Town was covered with endless mills, serving as an important source of grain and horses for the Grant Territory.
Now, Grant will no longer receive these supplies, and the soldiers of the third platoon of the second regiment of the first infantry division strode toward the barn.
"Who are you? This is Lord Grant's territory!"
"By order of Her Highness Alice Delalaye! The First Infantry Division of the Amelansi Vanguard Army shall take over Great Mill City! This is a military order! Disobedience will be punished by military law!"
The battalion commander shoved aside the guards at the barn, and two soldiers raised their rifles and aimed at him. The regimental commander allowed the regimental headquarters to enter the barn, and then grabbed a scroll recording the barn's supplies from the side.
"According to records, the Great Mill's barn contained 478 tons of bagged flour, 279 tons of hay, and 300 adult horses near the barn."
"Messenger! Take this intelligence to His Highness!"
The sun rose, and Alice stood in the town center, where the tricolor flag had already been raised. She took control of the town center, a large brick and wood building, and pointed her gun at the local mayor.
"Do not act rashly! Amelansi Vanguard!"
"Yes...yes, sir..."
Two soldiers brought over a table and spread out a map. Alice placed a Minié bullet on the point representing Mill Town. The officers quickly assembled and considered the current situation.
"Currently, Grant's barn has been captured by us, and we have intercepted most of the supplies. The situation is as follows: our troops are weak in attacking fortified positions, so my suggestion is to hold our ground. If our allies do not encounter any difficulties, we need to hold out for three days."
The biggest challenge during the three days was ammunition. Each soldier carried two sets of ammunition, which was two hundred bullets. When the enemy was deep in enemy territory, every bullet had to be calculated precisely.
"Sir, the Second Regiment has collected quite a few horses at the barn, most of them are new and fully equipped, so..."
"I know what you're thinking, a war to break diplomatic relations?"
“That’s right, we’ll send some cavalry out to disrupt Duke Grant’s supply lines.”
Alice placed the pistol on the table and nodded. Her role here was to disrupt Grant's logistical arrangements, leaving the troops at the front without food. This food included soybeans, hay, flour, and so on, most of which came from the fields near Great Mill, Grant's largest agricultural region.
"Alright, issue the order: all soldiers keep twenty rounds of ammunition, and put the rest into the warehouse for unified allocation."
"Yes!"
She needed to conserve her ammunition, since she didn't know how many men Grant would bring to wipe out her force once he found out. This was a critical moment, and she had to unleash her maximum firepower.
The troops operated smoothly, and the officers who received orders went about their duties. Alice nodded; they had done a good job. She opened her notebook and began to record the situation of the troops.
Undoubtedly, Alice wants to establish a new order in this world, an order she envisions, but she knows that the times have their limitations, and she cannot yet make everyone a follower of her ideal.
As for the army, she can only do her best to train them so that the army can move in the direction she desires. In the foreseeable future, they may become her help... If she can't, then they may also become her obstacles.
After all, in some sports, the greatest power comes from the people wielding sickles and hammers.