Mage? Spell Engineer!

The end of December.

The soldiers had not celebrated the day that was supposed to be the "Psalm Day" for two years. According to the propaganda, this is progress in not being fooled by the church. There is nothing easy about a fake holiday, but in a foreign country where it is difficult to live, people who hold onto their guns feel a little nostalgic in their hearts.

What I miss is not necessarily the holidays, but the peace and tranquility, and the days of surviving the severe cold with my family in my own home.

It is said that there is a tradition in the empire to pray for a good harvest at similar seasons, but now the two sides are mortal enemies. Members of the National Guard who were deep in enemy territory poked their heads out of trenches and tents. The outside was just a scorched plain plowed by artillery fire. There was no harvest or joy to be found.

They were trembling and confused. Aren't they joining the National Guard? Why did the defense go to other people's land?

Fortunately, the Guard has been doing ideological work from top to bottom, and most people can understand and understand that fighting here is to strive for a safe future for their country. "Beat someone until it hurts, so that he can understand that we are not to be trifled with!" Everyone can understand this.

Therefore, in the banned festival, the only comfort was some food from their hometown. The soldiers shared their own treasures or things sent from their hometown.

In the past, they always complained that the canned food was unpalatable, until the factory became Istani, which made everyone wake up and shamefully said that they owed their own factory an apology. Occasionally, however, there would be mysterious cans with erased labels that tasted good and were ten or even nine times similar to the trophies captured from the Empire.

Even these cans have become scarce, and the speed of winter uniforms and cotton-padded clothes sent from home cannot keep up with the coldness of winter and the speed of their journey north.

By the fire, I don’t know who took the lead. A slightly sad tone floated in the camp, but I couldn’t enter the command post.

"There is the last big city left from the imperial capital, Oward. It is crossed by the Oder River of the same name from east to west, dividing the city on the north and south banks. And what is prepared for us along the river is the defense line closest to the imperial capital." Pascal spread out. Map: "It is said that the guard is the famous Turtle General in the empire. We seem to have fought against him."

Paul was unwilling to follow his senior brother into meaningless memories: "It's not important. The key is our own situation."

He pushed aside all the bits and pieces that were holding the map, and his vision suddenly opened up. He asked all the commanders to no longer be limited to their location and nearby battlefields, but to the entire eastern part of the empire.

"Now we go deep into the enemy territory and escape the protection of the Black Forest. Our right side will be exposed to the defenders in the western part of the empire. It is known that the imperial troops in Valois have gradually returned to defense and are heading towards our headquarters. On the other side, due to our After leaving the coastline, the empire's navy was assembled, and supplies from the sea began to lag.

"In other words, our pressure will increase sharply, both in terms of military and logistics. I am considering whether to attack."

Other generals immediately said: "We are about to see 'His Majesty the Emperor', how can we give up halfway now? And since the supplies can't keep up, isn't this city the best supply place?" Many generals were thinking about entering. The scenery of the imperial capital was so no one wanted to listen to Paul's cold water. Fortunately, everyone was still willing to listen.

Paul explained: "I am even considering not giving up the attack on O'Ward, but stopping the entire offensive." He complained impatiently: "What are those politicians, those guys who are chattering in the National Assembly doing now? They should have long ago Send envoys to sit down and negotiate with the Empire.

"Think carefully, everyone, is our goal really the imperial capital? A capital of another country? Do you want to expand territory there?"

"Of course not, we are."

Paul took over: "We are here to defend the motherland. We chose to target the imperial capital because of several factors. First, attacking from the Lowland Principality can break through the weakest link in the empire's strongest defense line; secondly, we have Our action is to take the initiative to contain the main force of the imperial army, because our capital city and the empire are also the closest and weakest on the eastern front, so directly targeting the imperial capital is a suitable choice.

"What now? The crisis in the motherland has been resolved, and the empire's troops have basically returned to the homeland. In your eyes, our mission has been completed.

"Is it really necessary to change the systems of all countries and join the big family of 'sister republics'? I think that even if the whole world becomes a republic one day, as long as there are still countries and ethnic groups, there will still be contradictions, conflicts, and bloodshed , that is, war. In that case, I can’t understand the meaning of letting the soldiers die in a foreign country.”

There was something he had not said out loud in his heart: The emperor may not necessarily be eliminated. The public needs outstanding people to lead them. Is it bad to be called "Your Majesty" and good to be called "First Citizen"?

Pascal couldn't help but interject: "If you say this in Valouana, you will be invited to the National Square tomorrow."

"Is it the square where famous people are executed? Will the guillotine there have special historical value in the future?"

The headquarters did not agree with Paul's views, and the generals did not directly refute or give special approval. Instead, they cleverly asked the National Salvation Committee for instructions.

The message from the telegraph wires pulled all the way was very clear, brief, and powerful: Generals are requested to fight until the empire is destroyed.

Paul sighed: "Every leader of the National Salvation Committee should be allowed to serve as a soldier for at least ten days. No, it only takes three days. This telegram will be a different story."

Paul did not have the power or prestige to speak out, so the order of the National Salvation Committee was the highest order, and the winter offensive to break through the last line of defense of the empire began.

In order to solve the problem of supply shortage and create a stable rear and a powerful supply center for the future empire's offensive, almost everyone agreed to take Oward.

Since the Kingdom of Marin has not had any enemies enter the country for more than a hundred years, many large cities in the core area of ​​the empire are similar to Valois. The old and narrow walls have long been only valuable as cultural landscapes, and this value has not been discovered in the current era. Other new urban areas and industrial areas are exposed on both sides of the river, making the Valois people salivate.

Between the chimneys and on the south bank of the Ode River, all the giant mechanical attackers sounded the charge horn, and countless shells whizzed over their heads, back and forth.

The defenders of the inland cities did not prepare chain bombs, and the only way to resist the attackers was to rely on ordinary artillery and airship fleets.

"The Empire's forbidden magic field has been deployed. Eleven machines have slowed down, but they have maintained their mobility and limited firepower!" Now all the attackers who have not been killed on the battlefield have been equipped with the new generation of black coffin systems, which can barely continue to move in the long-term field.

Paul was quite satisfied with the progress of the battle. The south bank of the city could be taken today, and the resistance in the streets and alleys was not as strong as expected.

Suddenly he smelled a burning smell. Paul frowned and sniffed carefully, and then he saw gray "snow" starting to fall from the sky.

"What.?"

Almost in an instant, the victory fruit obtained by the National Guard - the south bank of Oward turned into a sea of ​​fire, and the ashes seemed to fall before the flames, and the places they touched would be ignited in an instant. Just breathing air would burn the nose and throat fiercely.