Chapter 60: The Mage’s State of Mind Experiences ‘A Slight’ Change…

“Quick! Keep firing! Don’t let them charge through!”

The Saxon officer on the position screamed hoarsely. He knew clearly that if the enemy’s Armored Knights and infantry charged into close range, everything would be over.

The gunners of the three artillery crews frantically sped up the reloading process, ramming the shells back into the breech.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The three cannons fired another salvo simultaneously.

However, this time, they failed to achieve the results of the first volley.

The three Armored Knights were like an insurmountable wall. The shields in their hands and the blue magic shields activated by the machines themselves formed a double layer of protection.

The high-explosive shells detonated on the shields, creating intense energy ripples and dazzling sparks, but they consistently failed to penetrate the sturdy defense.

The Armored Knights bore down through the artillery fire, their speed increasing instead of decreasing. The heavy metallic footsteps echoed through the blood-soaked street like war drums.

And just as you never know what worse thing might happen next, at this critical moment when artillery fire was desperately needed to suppress the infantry, a more unfortunate accident occurred.

The precious 105mm howitzer, perhaps due to continuous high-intensity firing, or perhaps due to a flaw in the shell itself.

After completing the third shot, the breech suddenly let out a dull bang, and then, the entire barrel violently burst open!

“Rumble—!”

The horrific barrel burst accident instantly engulfed the entire gun crew.

Several gunners were blown to the ground in the explosion before they could even scream.

The scorching metal fragments and the shockwave from the explosion also affected the two 77mm field guns next to it.

The carriage of one field gun was directly flipped over. Although the other 77mm field gun appeared mostly intact, its crew was largely knocked down…

The most crucial long-range suppression fire of the Saxon defenders in the City Hall area was completely destroyed in a matter of seconds.

“It’s over…” The Saxon soldiers who witnessed this scene looked utterly despairing.

Without the suppression of the artillery, the speed of the three ‘St. George Type 3’ units immediately increased, as nothing could now stop their advance.

The huge metallic feet of the white Armored Knights pounded the flagstones, making loud “clank, clank” noises.

The Britannian infantry closely following behind let out deafening cheers. The tide of the entire battle seemed about to completely collapse at this moment.

But don’t forget, Ludwig and his men were already in ambush.

Just as the three ‘St. George Type 3’ units charged past the alley where the Teutonic Knight Order Armored Knights were concealed, Ludwig controlled his Armored Knight’s arm to make a downward motion.

In this context, this action could only mean one thing.

“Now! Move!”

Immediately after, two ‘Siegfried Type 1’ units, each holding a ‘Shaped Charge Anti-Armor Warhead for Melee Combat,’ which had been lurking in the shadows of the alley, burst out from the alleyway like two poised tigers, one from the left and one from the right!

They leveled the shaped charge anti-armor warheads in their hands like a knight’s lance, aiming at the side armor of the two ‘St. George Type 3’ units on either flank!

“Oh no!!!”

The drivers of the Guard Knight Order Armored Knights on both sides already knew the enemy possessed a weapon capable of instantly killing an Armored Knight.

So when an enemy Armored Knight holding such a weapon suddenly appeared next to them, they genuinely panicked.

This was like an M4 ‘Sherman’ on the Pacific battlefield suddenly finding a ‘Gook’ charging at it with a Baka bomb.

“Watch out for the enemy on the flank!”

“Damn it!”

They controlled their Armored Knights to turn and tried to raise their shields to block, but how could the Teutonic Knights, who had been waiting for this moment, waste such a precious opportunity?

A dazzling flash of fire violently erupted at the alley mouth!

This time, the Goddess of Fortune did not favor the Guard Knight Order.

Both shaped charge anti-armor warheads successfully detonated!

Two scorching metal jets, traveling at over five times the speed of sound, pierced the ‘St. George Type 3’s armor—which was impregnable to other units—like two unstoppable divine spears!

The high-temperature, high-pressure metal jet, in the instant it penetrated the armor, shredded the sophisticated arcane equipment inside the machine, and incidentally turned the pilot in the cockpit into an unrecognizable puddle of charcoal.

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

Accompanied by two muffled explosions, the two ‘St. George Type 3’ units collapsed helplessly to the ground, like giants whose bones had been pulled out.

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone.

Morin and Captain Hauser, leading their squad through the building on the right, witnessed this shocking scene up close through the window.

The steel giants collapsed right before their eyes, the fire and shockwave of the explosion nearly shattering the window glass…

Witnessing an Armored Knight duel at such close range made even Morin, who had seen much in his previous life, feel a massive surge of adrenaline.

A true man, besides pulling the bolt, must also pilot a mecha!

However, he was the first to react, realizing that this was the perfect opportunity to attack.

“Now! Everyone follow me!”

Without hesitation, he immediately led a portion of his soldiers through a pre-breached wall section, moving to the flank of the infantry group behind the collapsed Armored Knights.

“Fire at will! Grenades! Molotov cocktails! Throw everything you’ve got!”

Dense bullets and explosives, like hail, smashed into the unprepared Britannian infantry group from the flank, instantly throwing their formation into disarray.

The Saxon ambush troops in the building across the street also responded immediately upon seeing Morin’s group attack, and the popping gunfire resounded through the street.

The high-ground, cross-fire attack left the Britannian soldiers on the street unsure where to hide.

Under the command of the officers who regained their composure, the Britannian soldiers who hadn’t been hit courageously began trying to assault the buildings on both sides.

However, with the ground floors of most buildings blocked, they were forced to storm the buildings defended by Saxon soldiers, turning the doorways of these structures into veritable death zones.

Charging Britannian soldiers constantly fell, and grenades and Molotov cocktails continuously exploded at the doorways. Reciprocal bullets flew through the entrances, taking away the lives of fearful men.

The Saxon soldiers knew that if the Britannians successfully stormed the buildings, they would likely die inside.

The Britannian soldiers also knew that if they failed to storm the buildings, they would likely die on the street, as the light and heavy weapons on the main Saxon defense line were also constantly firing toward this area.

Neither side had a retreat route; they could only use their lives to continuously up the ante for their eventual victory.

Farther back in the Britannian attack formation, a High-Level Mage, heavily surrounded by soldiers, subconsciously took another step backward as he watched the scene unfolding before him.

Not long after following his High-Level Tutor into the city to support the troops’ operation, this Mage Lord regretted it…

He had never imagined that battle could be so terrifying.

While he initially used various spells to help the Britannian soldiers quickly breach several intercepting points and make great progress deep into the city.

He later realized this was the beginning of a nightmare.

As the frontline advanced, the enemy was no longer only appearing in front of their formation, but from all directions, even from the rear areas they thought were cleared.

His spell slots, which he once considered ample, seemed so precious in the close-quarters engagements that occurred every ten, or even every few, minutes.

This High-Level Mage desperately wished for ten more—no, a hundred more—spell slots!

And when his prepared spells for the day, including even two 3rd-Circle Fireball spells, were gradually used up during the room-clearing process, this High-Level Mage felt a sense of helplessness on the battlefield for the first time.

This helplessness and fear intensified when he linked up with friendly forces attacking along another street and witnessed a comrade, who had also used up his spells and lost the protection of his Mage’s Armor, being cut in half by an enemy heavy machine gun…

It turned into sheer terror.

From that moment on, this High-Level Mage no longer charged at the front as he had initially, but retreated behind the soldiers.

Because he realized that apart from a few remaining cantrips, he only had one [Mage’s Armor] left for self-preservation.

This also made him deeply regret why he had used [Fly], like Tutor Eldridge, when entering the city just to save time…

Meanwhile, on the battleground in the center of the street, with two ‘St. George Type 3’ units instantly taken out, the Armored Knight battle suddenly turned into an advantageous three-on-one situation.

The victory of the Teutonic Knight Order seemed within reach.

“All together! Take out the last one!”

Ludwig shouted his command through the external speaker, his voice filled with barely contained excitement.

He controlled his machine, charging toward the last surviving ‘St. George Type 3’ from three directions, along with his adjutant William and the other ‘Siegfried Type 1.’

The Guard Knight Order pilot was now completely bewildered.

He had watched helplessly as his two comrades were instantly destroyed by that strange weapon in a matter of seconds, without even a chance to fight back.

This shock, which twisted his worldview, made his mind go blank.

He couldn’t understand why the Saxon’s ‘poker sticks,’ which looked like trash, could possess such terrifying power.

Hadn’t their Guard Knight Order Armored Knights maintained superiority on the battlefield for hundreds of years?

Why the sudden change?

In the moment he was stunned, three black-and-white painted tin cans had completely surrounded him.

With no time to think about other issues, the instinct for survival and the honor of a Knight prompted him to let out a final roar from the cockpit.

“For the glory of the Guard Knight Order!”

He braced his shield and swung the armed sword in his hand, attempting one last stand as a trapped beast.

However, his resistance appeared so futile under the focused attack of the three ‘Siegfried Type 1’ units.

Ludwig’s flail, and the battle-axes wielded by William and the other Knight, struck simultaneously from three directions.

The heavy weapons sliced through the air with a whistling sound, smashing violently onto his shield and armor.

“Clang! Dong! Clang!”

The loud clanging of metal on metal was incessant, with sparks flying everywhere.

The armor of the ‘St. George Type 3,’ although sturdy, could not withstand such a barrage of heavy blows.

Soon, its hull was covered with terrifying dents and cracks. One arm was brutally severed by William’s battle-axe, and its movements became increasingly sluggish…

Simultaneously, in the building on the side of the street, Morin and Captain Hauser’s soldiers were engaged in close-quarters combat with the enemy.

Although the heavy armor soldiers of the Northumberland Musket Regiment had been virtually wiped out during the push into the city, a final group launched an attack into the building and successfully rushed into the room.

Though they were immediately pinned down by a large number of Saxon soldiers charging down from the second floor, who fought with a life-for-a-life mentality, and were continuously stabbed with bayonets at the helmets and armor seams by the frightened soldiers.

However, the period of fire vacuum they created allowed more Britannian soldiers to rush into the room.

They quickly shot dead the Saxon soldiers on the first floor, then attempted to advance to the second floor via the narrow staircase.

“Incendiary bombs! Incendiary bombs! We can’t worry about that now!”

Morin hid behind the stairwell, grabbing a new stripper clip from his waist pouch while shouting instructions loudly.

Hearing his command, the Saxon soldiers inside the building did not hesitate, immediately lighting two Molotov cocktails and throwing them toward the doorway.

The area where the Britannian soldiers were most densely packed due to the narrow space instantly burst into fierce flames, causing the soldiers to wail and roll on the ground in agony.

Their actions quickly ignited the curtains, tablecloths, and other flammable materials in the room. Coupled with the fact that most furniture in these buildings was wooden, the entire first floor was quickly engulfed in fire.

“Alright, give me an incendiary bomb. Everyone else retreat to the building next door!”

A soldier quickly handed Morin a Molotov cocktail. At the same time, the others fired a few shots toward the staircase below before retreating to the adjacent building through a hole they had knocked in the wall, led by Captain Hauser.

Morin took a box of matches from his pocket, lit the rag wick of the Molotov cocktail, and smashed it directly onto the stairwell.

“Boom!”

The explosive flames quickly forced back the Britannian soldiers attempting to rush upstairs. Morin seized the opportunity to retreat to the building next door.

He quickly glanced at the system interface countdown again. The Armored Airship was due to arrive in less than half an hour. Although he didn’t know what kind of firepower this airship had.

Since the system gave a solemn countdown, it shouldn’t be too bad, right?

“Just hold on for another half hour… how can we lose with an airship on our face?”

But just then, soldiers on both sides felt a heart-stopping magical fluctuation coming from the air.

Morin, who happened to be crouching under a window, subconsciously looked up, his pupils contracting sharply.

He saw a figure dressed in magnificent mage robes suspended silently in mid-air, his cold gaze looking down on everything below, as if watching a colony of ants.

It was the High-Level Mage, Eldridge!

(End of this Chapter)