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Ryntum and Blande exchange shots. Smoke and dust billowed across the battlefield.
The initial lightning advance Sarika had orchestrated was grinding to a crawl.
Although they had an initial advantage, Blande’s side quickly stabilised and launched a counterattack. Even so, the developnt of war is still leaning toward Ryntum.
After all, Ryntum had a superior weapon with better performance.
Despite that, Sarika was not happy.
"These bastards! Where the hell did they get the cannons?" she angrily asked.
"Black market most likely. After every battle, we salvage what we can, but there are always leftovers. Pieces. Spent barrels. Misfired rounds. Scavengers scoop it up and sell it to the highest bidder. Broken or not, even fragnts of Ryntum steel fetch a good price," her adjutant replied.
Sarika cursed under her breath. "Damn rats!"
The truth stung. Ryntum rarely, if ever, thoroughly cleans up the battlefield. They do the bare minimum.
But now it was catching up to them, which made Sarika very annoyed. Now she can’t afford to lose this war even more. Or else, her reputation would be tarnished.
Even inferior weapons, when patched together by desperate hands, could slow down an army’s montum.
"So of the cruder cannons... they’re local. Homade. I’d bet they’re trying to copy our design." Another officer gives his thoughts.
Sarika looks at the poorly dressed Blande’s soldiers and orders the artillery to aim at them.
They’re just a bunch of poor conscripts wielding rusted spears, farming tools and broken pikes that can be easily killed.
"Forget the enemy’s cannons. Bombard those rabble soldiers instead."
Once Ryntum gets rid of these people, those weapons can no longer be operated normally.
Almost instantly, the artillery crews of Ryntum recalibrated their sights, redirecting the thunder of their cannons toward the clustered formations of Blande’s conscripted peasants.
The hillside shook as a fresh barrage of shells tore into the enemy ranks. Fla and steel rained down on makeshift fortifications.
The conscript lines shattered under the pressure. Many had no armour. Most had never seen a real battle. And now they faced state-of-the-art firearms and precision bombardnt.
As the smoke cleared between volleys, the next wave of Ryntum’s infantry advanced.
What followed was a storm of bullets.
Fully equipped with the most advanced firearms available, Ryntum’s soldiers unleashed a fusillade.
The soldiers of Blande, with their spears, pitchforks, sickles, and dull sabres, had no chance.
Behind the front lines, Blande’s commanding officer watched in horror as his troops were cut down like wheat beneath a scythe.
Only then did he realise his foolishness for dreaming of victory against Ryntum. Instead of making a na for himself, he might end up losing his life.
He couldn’t afford to waste what little strength they had left. Any more losses here, and there would be no army left to defend the interior.
He turned to his aide, "Sound the retreat. We’re pulling back imdiately. We’ll regroup and find another way."
"But, General, retreating might cost us an entire region. Worse, we might lose half of our nation!"
"I don’t care! There’s no hope of staying here. My life is more important!"
As soon as Blande’s lines wavered, Ryntum’s forward units surged.
Ryntum’s vanguard pushed hard through the centre, steamrolling the remnants of Blande’s defence.
Blande’s n scattered in every direction, so dropping to their knees in surrender, others fleeing into the forest, hoping to escape the carnage.
Sarika pays no attention to this. In her view, these people hold little value. Seizing the territory provides more value to her achievent.
The Ryntum army, fresh off its swift and crushing victory, resud its march northward.
Lindau, their next target, fell with barely a struggle. Local defence forces had mostly abandoned the city. Its leaders are fleeing at the first sight of Ryntum’s banner cresting the hills.
Leuphan, on the other hand, pose a significant challenge. It was the base of one of seven major families in Blande, the Leuphan family.
They control the education sector of Blande. Well... It’s a bit understatent to say that. To be more precise, they control all types of dia in this country.
If Blande had a voice, it spoke with the tongue of Leuphan.
On Ryntum’s side, Leuphan’s resistance t with surprise.
"Are you sure they didn’t want to back down?" Sarika asked, arms crossed.
She was genuinely puzzled. Based on her understanding of the great family, these people value their lives above all else.
To think Leuphan would dare to fight them. Do they think they had a chance of winning?
"Apparently so. They refuse to receive our envoy."
"Sigh... So be it. If they want to fight, then we fight them." Sarika won’t overthink. She wants to take the city first.
Outside, in the distance, the city was surrounded by newly erected barricades and militia banners.
She showed no fear, no hesitation. She quickly sent out her orders. Don’t expect her to be rciful.
Artillery crews began scrambling into position. Targets were assigned. Shells were loaded.
At her command, Ryntum began its bombardnt. Dozens of high-explosive shells scread across the battlefield, slamming into Leuphan’s defences.
Leuphan’s side reciprocates. To Sarika’s mild surprise, the defenders had better artillery, not hastily assembled junk like the last city.
She was half surprised, half expecting it. This was Leuphan, after all—the intellectual hub of Blande, ho to scholars.
Many citizens here were educated people.
If they can’t replicate these weapons, they’d be a disgrace to their na.
Still, war is not a theory. It is not ink on paper, nor debate in an academic hall.
When Sarika’s infantry pressed the attack, those truths surfaced violently.
Leuphan’s defenders were clearly educated, but poorly trained. They broke apart under pressure.
They had equipnt, yes. Uniforms, yes. But their ranks were filled with hastily recruited volunteers who had never seen real combat.
In just ten minutes of close-range engagent, the resistance collapsed. They beco disordered mobs.
"Sigh... Why bother fighting if this is the limit of your performance?"
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