I will be crowned king

"Artillery in position—!"

Following the herald's shout, one hundred and twenty artillerymen were divided into four groups, dragging ammunition trucks, entering the artillery position despite the violent storm, and began their work calmly.

Ludwig Franz stood next to a twelve-pound cannon, holding a pocket watch that was still ticking in his right hand, and pressing his left hand on the cold cannon soaked in rain.

As a general with an artillery background, only these war machines full of potential can give him endless confidence and prevent him from regretting his original decision.

In order to transport these fourteen artillery pieces from various artillery foundries in the Kingdom of Clovis to the siege positions, twelve heavy-duty towing carriages were mobilized, not including fifty ammunition carriages and thirty baggage carriages, as well as the deployment of Capacity of steam trains commandeered for transportation.

Even the four cannons and three mortars in front of them require the manpower of 240 heavy horses and nearly 300 soldiers-this can already form two elite cavalry companies!

And if he puts the resources spent on artillery on infantry, he can at least form another levy army of equal strength.

But it's all worth it!

Those Clovis fools who would rather trade ten heavy artillery pieces for 3,000 soldiers and only know how to line up and shoot them will never understand that even a salvo of a full regiment can cause far less casualties and damage to the morale of the enemy. A round of bombardment from an artillery battery.

As for the empire that still uses artillery to cover cavalry charges, Ludwig is even more disdainful; these antiques who are still living in the last era have the best artillery in the world but don't know how to use it.

When the first artillery with a range of 800 meters and a rate of fire of two rounds per minute was born, they became the new favorites on the battlefield.

No matter how powerful the horse, no matter how strong the armor, no matter how good the rider is... they will be put to shame in front of twelve-pound cannons and shrapnel shells.

"Loading ammo, first round of calibration—!"

The ammunition hand immediately ran to the front of the artillery. After one person cleaned the barrel, he skillfully stuffed the propellant and shells into the barrel. Following him, one person was responsible for calibration, one sealed the fire door, two measured the firing range, and one held the gun. breech block.

With almost instinctive tacit cooperation, a group of artillerymen completed all preparations for firing the nearly one-ton cannon in less than half a minute.

But Ludwig still felt a little dissatisfied - when he was the gunner, he could make an artillery ready to fire within fifteen seconds at the fastest.

And he also firmly believes that one day there will be artillery with faster loading speed, longer range, or even completely beyond the horizon;

The manpower required will also be reduced from a dozen to a few people, and the operation process will be simplified to be as convenient as pulling the trigger.

One day...she will shatter the pride of those ignorant and stubborn people, and truly become the master of war!

"All preparations——"

Ludwig, with a stern look on his face, raised his saber above his head and stared straight ahead, as if he could see through the rain and see the gate of Thunder Castle in the night.

In the torrential rain, time was still passing by. The soaked shooters were holding on to the breech block tightly. The entire artillery position was quietly waiting for Ludwig, waiting for the gun in his hand. Pocket watch comes to that moment.

"Tick!"

With a crisp and sweet sound, the pointer on the pocket watch finally reached one-fifteen.

Ludwig, whose pupils shrank suddenly, slashed his sword forward, his stern face growling slightly:

"Fire!"

"boom----!!!!"

In the billowing white smoke, the shaking of the earth almost exploded at the same time as the lightning on the dome.

The dazzling pale white light, the sharp whistling across the top of the head...it seemed that the whole world was shaken by it.

Under the dark and heavy rain at midnight, the soldiers of the first regiment maintained four columns amidst the deafening noise, marching cautiously towards the fortress, marching with head high.

"Don't panic, this is our army's artillery!" Carl Bain looked around and said loudly:

"Keep calm, look straight ahead - First Infantry Regiment, keep moving forward!"

Amid the shouting, Lisa, who was frightened by the sound of artillery and turned pale, trembled all over. Standing in the front row, she tried her best to hold up her thin chest and forced herself to resist the desire to reach for the can in her arms.

"I said, is this really okay?" Karl, who was also trying to stay calm, ran to Anson's side in small steps, his body trembling a little:

"It's a rainy night like this, why am I so panicked!"

"Don't worry, it's okay."

Anson, who finally waited for the bombardment, shrugged and deliberately did not lower his voice and said:

"The artillery positions are marked in advance, and the target is Thunder Castle, which can be seen without blindness - if this can still cause the artillery shells to fall on our heads, our brigadier general, who is an artilleryman, can really get out!"

"Even if we take a step back, we are standing at the forefront of the forward position. If the artillery wants to hit this position, how much the artillerymen under his command want to kill us to lower the muzzle of the gun so low... What do you think?"

"Well...that's what happened."

Seeing that he was gradually relieved from his anxiety, Ansen, who was as unsure as he was, couldn't help but lament in his heart, feeling that something in his heart was disappearing faster...

"boom----!!!!"

Another roar came from the artillery position behind him.

With the billowing smoke rising from the fort position, the artillery that had undergone the first round of calibrated firing entered a continuous firing state; the panting ammunition handlers kept running back and forth between the artillery and ammunition trucks, uninterrupted. The cannonball was inserted into the hot, smoking barrel.

Amidst the loud noises one after another on the fort position, the solid bullets pulling out sharp screams in the air tore through the rain curtain and landed accurately on the wall of Thunder Castle; the solid stones shattered instantly, A flash of smoke exploded in the heavy rain.

But such a bombardment is not enough to cause substantial damage to Thunder Castle - even though it is only a military station within the territory, her protective walls are designed in strict accordance with standards; the outer layer of soil can greatly weaken the power of solid bullets, and Its slightly sloping structure also makes it stronger than a vertical city wall and will not collapse easily.

The first regiment, which had finally stabilized its team, re-formed its entire team. Amidst the bursts of artillery fire from its own position and the pouring rain shrouded in dark clouds, it began to advance towards Thunder Castle with neat steps.

The remaining infantry regiments huddled in the forward positions also began to walk out of the trenches one after another, maintaining three rows that were most suitable for focusing fire, and followed closely with the beating of light and sweet drums.

At this moment, Thunder Castle, which noticed the movement outside, finally began to fight back.

"boom----!!!!"

Following the flash of fire on the city wall, shrill screams came from the rain.

The solid bullet that landed on the ground in a graceful parabola happily smashed water splashes one after another on the muddy ground in the heavy rain; and when it "passed" through the ranks of the battle infantry, it would incidentally blast away the blockers. The soldiers on the road had their legs and feet broken.

In the horrified sight of the conscripted soldiers, there were almost as many artillery shells falling from the sky as raindrops. They spread out in the air like pieces of barrages and struck towards the siege position.

Soon, the bursts of roaring completely suppressed the firepower of the siege position. The artillery rain was so dense that the conscription army could not imagine it, and the entire siege position was washed away in an instant!

If the levied troops were still stationed in the position, more than a third of them would have been killed by now... But now, almost all of their troops were on the forward position.

The imperial defenders, who launched a temporary artillery counterattack, failed to notice this. The artillery fire scattered throughout the siege position caused almost no casualties to the levied troops.

"boom----!!!!"

There was a sudden loud noise, and the imperial defenders on the city wall only had time to feel their feet shaking before they heard a hoarse scream coming from below:

"The city gate! The city gate was blown down——!"

Anson, who was standing at the front of the queue, shrank his pupils and suddenly slashed his rifle forward.

"First Infantry Regiment—bayonets fixed!"

"charge--!"