I will be crowned king

"Then, what is that?!"

"Sound... listen to the movement on the other side, it seems like something is coming towards us!"

"This, this movement sounds good... like a steam train!"

"Why are you so crazy? This is a new world. Where can you get a track that the train can run on?"

"Stop talking, I worked as a railway worker in Beigang, and this sound really sounds like the sound coming from the steam core!"

The soldiers in the trench were quarreling endlessly, staring blankly at the thunderous rumbling sound coming from the darkness. It was not until the officer's angry scolding that they finally interrupted their quarrel, nervously standing in the trench. They formed a line formation, extended the muzzle of the gun from the bunker, and prepared to block the invading enemy.

The ground beneath his feet was shaking slightly, and the air was filled with the choking smell of smoke, which reminded the line soldier of his time as a railway worker. At that time, he also smelled a similar smell, lying on the railway sleepers and relying on the vibrations. Determine how long it will take for the steam train to pass you.

Getting closer, getting closer... It's coming, it's coming soon, it's already so close...

"What are you talking about!"

The officer drew his sword and hit the soldier on the shoulder with the back of the sword: "Hold your weapon steady, don't be distracted, do you hear me clearly?!"

"Listen clearly!" The soldier suddenly woke up and turned around: "Five hundred meters, company commander."

"Um?"

"The voice on the other side...is less than 500 meters away from us...and now it's only about 400 meters away."

Four hundred... The grenadier company commander's face was extremely ugly. The enemy was already approaching four hundred meters away, and there was still no useful information from the position, which proved that the sentry stations and scouts left behind in the front row had been completely wiped out.

And there was never any unnecessary noise...

The grenadier company commander looked pale and stared at the darkness in front of him: "Everyone - prepare to shoot, whoever, report the coordinates!"

"yes!"

The soldier who was trembling and loading his gun shouted loudly: "Three hundred and fifty meters!"

"Follow my orders, everyone - aim!"

The ground beneath their feet was shaking slightly, and the soldiers hiding in the trenches were also trembling. They raised the black muzzles of their guns and pointed them at the enemies who could only be vaguely discerned.

And when they actually saw their enemies, they were completely stunned by the sight that they could not imagine.

The giant thing with a metallic luster, spitting out billowing steam, slowly emerged from the darkness and slowly approached the defense position.

It... they were neatly arranged in three rows, five in each row, in a staggered way, moving forward at a constant speed; there were no pulling pack horses, and no civilians responsible for pushing; what the stunned grenadiers saw There is only steam that blocks out the sky and the sun, plus huge metal boxes.

Well, it looks like the iron tank is equipped with levers and gear transmission, and the wheels are pushed through the steam core... The principle is probably the same as that of a steam train.

Unlike the colonial and imperial people, most soldiers and immigrants from Clovis had some impression of things like steam trains, and subconsciously associated the "iron box" in front of them with that thing.

But without tracks, how could this thing run on land?

Just as the soldiers were stunned, the "water tanks" on the opposite side suddenly stopped advancing. The car on the left side of the front row, like a proud line soldier drummer, erected the Ring of Order flag directly above, and fiercely The ground swung forward.

It...is this going to be a salvo?

Although the company commander with a confused face could not figure out the situation, he still instinctively issued a concealed order, asking the soldiers to hide in the trenches obediently, and at the same time sent the clever railway worker to quickly request reinforcements from the artillery position.

Then...this became the last order he regretted the most.

……………………………………………………

"Land Cruiser?"

In the artillery position, the young knight who had just arrived was personally urging the soldiers to prepare for defense while trying to understand the intelligence he had just received: "You mean the Holy See has created a steam train that does not require rails, and can be used inside Transporting soldiers and installing artillery?"

"There is a slight difference, but you can completely understand it." Fabian followed Louis expressionlessly, keeping a half-step distance from him step by step: "But the scary thing about it is not just this. ."

"The birth of this weapon marks that the Holy See has completely completed the miniaturization of the steam core, and it must be equipped with various weapons that they have just successfully developed and are still in the experimental stage - to be honest, I think you should immediately Organize the New World Legion to break out without any further delay!"

"Oh, just because of a new type of weapon?"

As a knight, Louis frowned slightly in disbelief, and then suddenly stopped: "You mean that our existing tactics and equipment are not enough to resist it?"

"I don't know." Fabian shook his head:

"But the person who told me this information said that the Holy See has spent fifteen years on this 'new weapon', with the purpose of quickly defeating the existing elite legions of most countries in the Order World with a smaller force. "

"The reason is not difficult to understand. The Holy See, which has been deprived of the right to secular intervention, has not formed a decent army for many years; what they need is not a large-scale legion, but a weapon that can win with one blow."

"As for whether it is really not enough to resist... I'm afraid it's not my turn to answer this question."

Louis nodded slightly... Obviously, the Holy See was determined to bring this weapon to the New World in order to use the flesh and blood of millions of people of the New World Legion and the Free Confederacy to complete their final actual combat test.

"Boom————!!!"

While the two were still discussing, a thunderous roar came from the front of the position.

"There is..." The astonished young knight turned his head suddenly, his pupils shrinking suddenly.

"The first position on the northwest side, the Grenadier Regiment has a battalion stationed there in advance."

Fabian was expressionless: "The grenadiers are the best-equipped elite of the Storm Legion besides the guard company... There are three small-caliber howitzers, and all members are equipped with Borne rifles and Leopold rifles. Twin short-barreled shotguns and grenades were issued to the squad level.”

"They...should be the most suitable 'test' targets."

Louis' face darkened, and the look he glanced at Fabian not only showed shock and disbelief, but also a hint of disgust.

This man...did he already regard the soldiers in that battalion as dead people in his heart?

Inexplicable anger rose in the heart of the young knight, but he could do nothing now, or everything had to wait... The enemy appeared too quickly, regardless of organized defense, counterattack or breakout, artillery positions and defenders on various defense lines. It takes time for the army to adjust.

The ear-piercing roar and the flames of artillery complemented each other on the battlefield, and countless shouts of killing penetrated the night and echoed in the ears of the two men.

Fabian silently took out his pocket watch and stared at the dial with his bloodshot eyes; the rotating hands seemed to have some kind of magic at this moment, allowing him to hear the wailing of countless people and see bodies falling to the ground. Corpses in a pool of blood.

Five minutes, ten minutes... Just when the two silent people felt that their endurance was about to reach the limit, the railway worker, who had thrown off his helmet and armor and was so embarrassed that he couldn't even find his hat, finally ran to the artillery position:

"Report! The 4th Infantry Company of the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the Grenadier Regiment... has suffered more than half of its casualties, has lost its position, and the remaining troops cannot organize themselves. They are withdrawing towards the second line of defense... and are escaping!"

"Company Commander Sanders Vein was attacked by an unknown repeating rifle, and he and his soldiers were killed in the front trench...no bones left!"

"boom!"

With an expressionless face, Fabian crushed the pocket watch in his hand to pieces, and his right hand, which was filled with metal parts and glass shards, was bloody and bloody.

"Artillery!" Louis, who had been trying to restrain himself, finally couldn't hold it back and roared around the position: "Tell me, how long will it take you?!"

"Sir, we..."

"Five minutes, five minutes later, immediately fire a salvo at the first position; no matter how many artillery pieces or shells you have prepared, shoot them all out immediately, and don't leave any behind!"

"Ah...ah, obey, obey!"

The artillery officer who saw such an expression on the marshal for the first time immediately panicked and began to roar at his men as if in a dream.

Louis put his hands behind his back and looked back at Fabian: "Behind the Grenadier Regiment are the two line infantry regiments of Sail City...the equipment is not as good as yours, but it should be able to last for more than ten minutes."

"Before I came, I ordered the cuirassiers to assemble and stand by. Counting the miscellaneous troops, there should be three or four thousand men; even if they cannot destroy those strange weapons, at least they can..."

"No, no!"

Before he could finish speaking, the railway worker who had just escaped grabbed the hem of the young knight's clothes: "Hurry, let them all retreat!"

"retreat?"

"Quick, must be quick. If you don't hurry up, it will be too late!" The railway worker was so panicked that he couldn't even speak clearly: "It's not just the artillery... those big iron boxes... can't be destroyed at all... and..."

"And?!" Fabian suddenly stepped forward with a focused look.

The railway worker suddenly turned back and stared at the superficial balance. The deputy commander was already furious inside. Tears suddenly overflowed like a flood that broke the dam: "Spitting fire..."

"That iron box monster...can breathe fire!"

Looking at the sobbing soldiers, Fabian and Louis looked at each other silently, and at the same time saw panic in each other's pupils.

The situation was worse than they expected.

…………………………………………

"Gunner, there are two soldiers trying to ambush us below the trench on the left. Clear them out."

Grad Manfred, who was sitting in the center of the three periscopes inside the hot "Steel Monster", said calmly: "Aim more accurately. This is a temporary operation, and we only have half the base ammunition."

"Understand~Bai~Master Captain!"

The person who responded to him was a strong man with his upper body bare and his face covered with golden fluff. He was laughing and stuffing a metallic shell into the magazine:

"By the way, why don't you give such a good target to the assistant gunners? There should be enough bullets, right?"

"The angle is too far. The "cruiser" was never designed with the angle of depression in mind. To kill them, the secondary gunner must bring the gun to the hatch; that way there is a possibility of being shot coldly by the enemy, which is too dangerous." Grande shook his head:

"It seems to be perfect, but it doesn't seem to be exactly what it is... Oh, those crazy people in the monastery are so disappointing!"

"Really? Why do I think it's not bad..." the gunner muttered in a low voice, carefully locked the breech block, and then...

"boom--!!!!"

The golden-red fire swept across the trench, and screams came from the pile of corpses where no one could be seen, and the broken pieces of flesh scattered into the sky.

And this is just the beginning.

"There are enemies gathering right in front, with a visual estimate of about ten to twenty people." A half-crouched assistant gunner sitting on the ground directly in front, holding what looked like a steam gun, said coldly:

"Requesting the order to fire!"

"Slow down, don't be in such a hurry." Smiling Grad raised his head and looked through the periscope at the people on the other side who were gathering in a panic in the ditch, seemingly planning to charge with bayonets to a dozen figures.

Judging from their expressions, it seems that they know very well that they cannot stop themselves with the weapons in their hands, but they still come without hesitation. This is really...

"Wait a little longer until they rush forward and die."

"As you command!"

With an expression that seemed to be watching a good show, Grad stared at the picture in the periscope expectantly.

Sure enough... After realizing that the "iron box monster" in front of them had stopped moving, a dozen Yangfan City soldiers finally raised their bayonets and charged forward, sixty meters, forty meters, thirty meters...

The assistant gunner silently pulled the trigger, as if shaking a millstone, turning the small rocker arm on the gun slowly and slowly. Fireworks that seemed to be inextinguishable spewed out from the muzzle of the gun, and bullets continued uninterrupted. He glanced at those figures who were moving forward in an indomitable manner.

And then...watch them fall like wheat harvested by the scythe.

"Um?!"

After beating the entire row of enemies to pieces, the wide-eyed assistant gunner saw the figure still hiding behind them, holding a dozen bundled grenades and trying to crawl towards this side.

The soldier, who seemed to realize that he was exposed from the muzzle of the gun, stood up in shock and fear, raised the grenade high above his head, and tried his best to throw it directly onto the top of the "cruiser".

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…!!!!”

The unwilling roar echoed in the sea of ​​​​fire, and the assistant gunner was stunned; Grad Manfred, who was smiling at the good show, suddenly turned cold, stood up, pushed open the top hatch, and pulled out his revolver to take aim. The soldier decisively pulled the trigger.

"boom--!"

The lead bullet accurately hit the center of the grenade, and the soldiers who had not had time to throw it were directly blown into the sky.

"Regiment, leader, I..."

"Don't hesitate next time, let alone have any compassion; the people you killed were heretics and false believers. They are the mortal enemies of the Circle of Order. They are not human beings." Grad said coldly:

"Driver, keep moving forward - the target is the New Continental Legion Position Headquarters!"