I Became a Witch and Started an Industrial Revolution Chapter 96

The chief of the Mage Corps had participated in the war of Memlotorh and had witnessed firsthand the power of artillery shells.

Therefore, he did not choose to spread his formation to cover a wide area but instead narrowed the range to strengthen the shield’s durability.

Facts proved that his decision was correct.

The Seris Federation’s field artillery units launched a rapid volley toward the direction of the Kingdom of Alesia, firing without even adjusting their aim, simply to maximize damage.

Most shells, however, struck the barrier and failed to produce much effect.

But as the spotters in the distance observed through their binoculars and corrected the firing coordinates, the second and subsequent rounds of shells rained down accurately, blasting the Kingdom of Alesia’s army into chaos.

The legion commander did not rush to advance.

He simply ordered continuous bombardment upon Alesia’s coordinates.

On this vast muddy plain, there truly was nowhere to hide.

Meanwhile, the tracked armored vehicles and Cat-type All-terrain Vehicles mounted with recoilless cannons rapidly assembled with infantry aboard, waiting in position.

When the enemy finally could not withstand the bombardment and began to scatter, the vanguard unit, serving as the spearhead, swiftly charged toward the Kingdom of Alesia’s army.

In the open field, the difference in combat strength between the two sides became fully evident.

The newly equipped smokeless powder rifles of the Seris troops had nearly half again the range of the old-style muskets.

Moreover, the five-round magazines allowed an ordinary Seris soldier to unleash firepower equivalent to four of the enemy’s musketeers.

The most embarrassing part for Alesia’s army was that their heavy infantry, meant to resist bullets, carried tower shields so large they could barely run.

Often, when they finally turned to block the front of their comrades—

—the Seris Cat-type All-terrain Vehicles would immediately shift to another weak point and unleash heavy firepower.

At the same time, the rain of shells from the sky never stopped.

Every so often, a few shells would fall right into the enemy’s formation, scattering their regrouped ranks once again.

The frontal battle lasted less than forty minutes before the Kingdom of Alesia’s would-be ambushing force raised white flags and surrendered...

After the battle, statistics showed that this force had a total of thirty thousand men before mobilization — five thousand regular troops, and the rest logistics and reserve personnel for material transport.

More than one thousand were killed by shelling or trampled to death, two thousand were lightly or seriously injured, and over twenty-eight thousand were captured.

Upon interrogation of their legion commander, it was revealed that another corps of about forty thousand men had been dispatched toward Torines to support Ovinia’s local garrison.

A regiment of about three thousand men was left to escort the prisoners to Alos, while the remaining more than twenty thousand soldiers, along with several captured guides, began a forced march directly toward Alesia’s Sentatilca.

The Ovinia garrison in Torines numbered about twenty thousand, making for more than sixty thousand combined if they joined forces — thus, this support corps had to be intercepted at all costs.

Although the enemy had already been on the move for two days, their lack of mechanized transport meant there was still a fair chance to block their advance in time.

Compared to the Seris Federation forces bearing the brunt of the frontal war, Tina’s army operating behind enemy lines had already sparked a massive uprising across the entire kingdom.

Because the Seris Federation’s righteous offensive had already reached beneath Lalor and the Royal Capital, and with Tina’s army’s growing presence, everyone could sense that a dynastic change was inevitable.

Now, people had only two choices — join and become part of it, or resist the tide and be crushed beneath it.

The great nobles had begun frantically amassing wealth, preparing to make their final escape.

One border marquis even directly declared secession from the Kingdom of Ovinia and merged entirely into the Kingdom of Cabansia.

He was immediately rebuked by the current rebellion leader, Tina, and the two sides entered a state of war.

Meanwhile, the Alos Front Army, while suppressing the Royal Capital of Ovinia, also dispatched two divisions to assist the Torines Front Army in opening a route to unite with Tina’s army.

At this point, King Ovinia III was already stretched thin and had essentially lost control over most of the kingdom.

The two sides’ situations were completely different.

Tina’s forces could rely on supplies from villages, ambush Ovinia’s supply lines across various territories, and immediately shift positions after striking — avoiding direct confrontation altogether.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t win in a head-on battle, but rather that targeting supply troops offered far greater efficiency.

Besides, she had a more important task — to tirelessly spread the ideals of the Seris Federation’s political system so that the commoners would understand it.

Ovinia’s main forces, pinned on the frontlines, were utterly helpless against these dispersed guerrilla units.

As the royal army’s suppression weakened, the scale of rebellion expanded rapidly.

Even the Seris troops tasked with clearing the route to join forces faced almost no real resistance along the way.

In fact, wherever they passed, local forces surrendered upon sight.

The nobles who had received advance warning had already fled, and almost no one considered resisting anymore.

Most of the cityfolk even cheered and lined the streets when they saw the Seris flag flying above the army, offering their handmade gifts — flower garlands or small woven trinkets.

Valuable goods such as clothing, food, or metals were strictly forbidden for soldiers to accept, but harmless tokens like garlands were overlooked by the military police.

It was the best example of harmony between army and civilians.

Finally, the two forces united near Niparmo, marking the beginning of the end for the Kingdom of Ovinia.

Upon receiving word that the Kingdom of Alesia had entered the war, Mitia did not hesitate.

She immediately declared a state of war, citing Alesia’s illegal invasion of national territory and the resulting Seris casualties.

The long-prepared Seris troops, upon receiving the official order from the Ministry of National Defense, crossed the border and launched an offensive into Alesia’s territory.

However, Alesia had long been wary of this new neighbor and had stationed heavy troops in its fortified border cities.

The Seris offensive did not achieve much initial success.

At this stage, the Seris Federation’s strategic focus remained the war of unification; little effort was allocated to Alesia.

It was enough merely to prevent them from interfering.

In just a short span, King Ovinia III seemed to have aged overnight, as though someone had pressed fast-forward on his life.

When he read the letter presented by Bonwich stating that Pontiff Oligovich and the Saintess of the Goddess Church had mysteriously disappeared, he felt not even a trace of anger.

Or rather, he already understood why — why Oligovich had refused to leave Bonwich all this time.

Perhaps he had been preparing to flee all along.

Indeed, the tide had turned.

Oligovich could still leave — after all, he was a man of the Church.

If the subcontinent fell, he could simply return to the Holy Continent.

But Oligovich could flee; he could not.

As a king, he bore the dignity and honor of a monarch.

His family would never allow him to become a coward who abandoned his kingdom.

He could not open the gate of the Guardian.

Mitia had refused to communicate with him.

The nobles under his rule — only the faction of the Queen Consort still remained by his side.

Everything, it seemed, pointed unmistakably toward his final fate.