Chapter 858

“My eyes!”

“Water, water!”

“…”

Painful screams from mercenary soldiers and Japanese soldiers continuously rang out from the city wall covered in lime powder.

“This is lime powder!” Philip’s warning came too late. Now, a large number of soldiers, tormented by this lime powder, had lost their combat effectiveness.

Just then, a melodious bugle call suddenly sounded on the battlefield, followed by loud shouts of “kill” that echoed throughout the battlefield.

After using lime bombs to harass the soldiers on the city wall, Qu Dong seized the opportunity to have Li Cheng-jae launch a charge, while eight thousand Great Yu Empire soldiers advanced towards Busan City in a skirmish line.

They walked and fired, providing cover for Li Cheng-jae’s soldiers assaulting the city.

The arrival of the Great Yu Empire soldiers seemed to boost the Goryeo soldiers’ morale. They carried ladders and frantically charged towards the Japanese.

In Goryeo’s official propaganda, the Great Yu Empire came to help Goryeo drive away Japan. Therefore, the Goryeo common people’s attitude towards the Great Yu Empire soldiers gradually shifted from initial hostility to friendliness.

Li Cheng-jae’s face was excited. Now, only Busan City remained in Goryeo. Once Busan City was captured, according to the agreement, southern Goryeo would be his.

So, after the siege began, he became exceptionally fanatical, continuously urging his generals to desperately attack the city.

The Japanese soldiers and mercenaries on the Busan City wall had already been stunned. They had not yet recovered from the chaos caused by the lime bombs.

Dense masses of Goryeo soldiers, carrying ladders, had already reached the foot of the city wall, and most critically, Great Yu Empire soldiers were scattered across the long battlefield, continuously firing at the city wall. Their soldiers constantly suffered casualties.

“Philip, this city cannot be held. Too many of our brothers have died. We cannot continue like this. Let’s retreat,” Robert bitterly advised.

His arm had been struck by a bullet, and blood was now continuously gushing out. The other soldiers were in no better condition.

The intensity of this war was no less than any battle in Europe. Relying on their two thousand mercenaries alone could not change the tide of battle.

Other core mercenaries also looked expectantly at Philip. Mercenaries exchanged their lives for money, but they did not want to die in this accursed place.

Philip no longer insisted. At least they had completed another mission. Now, they had a full understanding of the Great Yu Empire’s military strength.

Upon returning to Manila, their intelligence would be enough to earn them a considerable sum of money.

While the two were discussing, the Japanese flag-leader defending Busan City walked up to them and demanded, “Why are you not returning fire? Return fire immediately! Otherwise, I will kill you!”

Philip looked up. They were all men who lived by licking blood from the blade. How could they fear the intimidation of this Japanese flag-leader?

Staying here meant certain death. Fleeing still offered a chance of survival. Now, the Great Yu Empire’s siege tied down most of Japan’s forces, making it a good opportunity to escape through the city’s waterways.

“Go to hell!” Philip cursed in Portuguese. Then he punched the Japanese flag-leader, knocking him unconscious.

“Brothers, retreat!” Philip shouted loudly.

Upon receiving the order, the over nine hundred surviving mercenaries quickly ran down the city wall.

At this time, Goryeo soldiers’ ladders had already reached the city wall, and large numbers of Goryeo soldiers were climbing the city wall via the ladders.

At the same time, Great Yu Empire soldiers also entered the hundred-meter range of the city wall. At this distance, they accurately shot down the Japanese soldiers defending the city.

For a time, the entire city wall fell into chaos. The Japanese soldiers simply had no time to worry about what was happening there.

Philip led his men into the city. They immediately headed east. There was a hidden river in this city, and from this river, one could directly reach the sea.

They had entered Busan City from there in the first place.

After killing the Japanese soldiers guarding the hidden river, over nine hundred mercenaries boarded small boats and fled from the hidden river towards the sea. At this point, the city wall had fallen.

After the baptism of gunfire and artillery, Japan’s morale had plummeted to rock bottom, and they had already learned that this was their last city.

Looking at Busan City, which was barely surviving amidst the artillery fire, Philip said fiercely, “Great Yu Empire, we will meet again! Then, I will surely make you experience the humiliation I suffered today!”

Robert numbly watched the battlefield. This was their first time deserting. He knew how great a blow this was to Philip.

And their reputation would also be ruined in the colonies and in Europe.

“Only regular armies can contend with the Great Yu Empire army. This time, when we return, we must warn others to build fortresses in advance. And there’s this!” As he spoke, Robert picked something up.

“Is this a Great Yu Empire cannonball?” Philip asked, surprised.

Robert nodded, “It’s strange. This cannonball didn’t explode. But look, this cannonball seems somewhat different from our explosive shells.”

“Clever Robert! I finally understand why you wanted us to retreat! I think every European country would be very happy to spend a lot of money to buy it. This is the Great Yu Empire’s treasure!” Philip said excitedly.

Robert smiled happily, “Japan’s fate is none of our business. This is our purpose for coming here.”

With that, the two carefully wrapped the cannonball. It seemed to be their only hope.

Meanwhile, outside Busan City, Ye Qingyun and Qu Dong began to move towards Busan City. The struggle for the city wall was already clear. The Japanese army was now unable to hold out and was continuously retreating.

Goryeo soldiers and Great Yu Empire soldiers had already charged into the city to begin the final hunt.

“Army Commander Ye, that group of mercenaries has fled!” At this point, a scout came galloping from the coast.

Ye Qingyun frowned deeply upon hearing this. He grumbled, “This Yue Yun truly fails to appear when he should.”

Qu Dong worriedly said, “The new shells still have duds. What if these mercenaries leave with some dud shells?”

“Does that mean we can’t defeat the enemy even with equal weapons? The Great Yu Empire’s army doesn’t rely solely on weapons. What’s more precious is its spirit of daring to confront the enemy,” Ye Qingyun said with a serious expression.

“You needn’t worry about this. The loss of these Conqueror Muskets and shells began in the Battle of Jinzhou. According to the people in the military machinery department, these items cannot be produced simply by getting their hands on them. Even if they could be produced, they would consume ten to a hundred times the resources. And by the time they painstakingly produce them, we will have already replaced our equipment with new ones. At that time, if they want them, it won won’t hurt to sell them.”

Qu Dong nodded, “That puts my mind at ease.”

“Now, go confiscate Japan’s firearms. Qingzhou Province has been pressing for it. It’s said that new rifles are in production, waiting to be updated by selling old firearms for money.” Ye Qingyun laughed.

Qu Dong’s eyes immediately lit up. This news had already spread throughout the army. In recent years, the Great Yu Empire army’s weapon upgrades had been somewhat frequent, almost once every two years.

Such large-scale re-equipping, even he understood, was a heavy burden on the national treasury.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair

Check another translation project:
Title: Trench, Guns, and Magic. The webnovel blend magic, firearm, war and mecha with the bacground of WW1