Munitions Empire

"Sir! If this man lives, we'll all die here!" The aide-de-camp dropped his own sidearm and, staring at his superior officer, began to explain.

Behind him, several officers and the nearby soldiers were also standing there in a daze, waiting for their immediate superior to say something.

"Alas..." The head artillery commander also knew that during such turbulent times, if they truly wanted to play the role of loyal subjects and valiant generals willing to die for their country, that would be fine, but what they feared was being both covetous of life and afraid of death while not wanting to be held accountable afterward.

He had given the order to fire the cannons earlier, intending that when it came time for retribution after the fact, those on the artillery platform above and below could have an explanation.

After all, we did fire the cannons. It's not that we didn't fight; it's just that we didn't dare to fight—there's a difference there.

But now, it seemed that things had taken a different turn—they had killed the King's confidant, and once such an act was defined, it would be considered rebellion and revolt, with no good end in sight.

After heaving a sigh, the commander already had a countermeasure in mind and spoke, "We never saw this man! Understand?"

After all, with the current chaos outside on the streets, it wouldn't be strange for a military officer sent with a message to meet with some accident, alive without a trace, dead without a body.

"As long as we stick to this story! We can save our lives!" He looked at those soldiers who were still somewhat hesitant, contemplating whether to silence them permanently when the critical moment came.

However, those people soon nodded—they too did not want to face that terrifying fleet in cannon fire, having already suffered a disastrous defeat previously.

The enemy's cannons were not only precise, but their power was also "terrifyingly immense"; one shell of shrapnel could blow an entire section of the artillery wall to pieces.

"Understood!" A few officers, obviously quicker on the uptake, hastily nodded in agreement.

"Understood!" Those soldiers were a bit slower to react, but all nodded in assent, nonetheless.

The artillery commander, preoccupied with figuring out how to dispose of the body without being discovered, hadn't continued to issue orders, when he heard his aide-de-camp say, "Sir, what if the King sends someone else later? What do we do then?"

His words startled everyone, and the faint joy of not having to continue firing was swept away in an instant.

Indeed, if the King sent one person, and they claimed to have not seen him, it was inconsequential; accidents happen.

But if the King sent a second person, or if that second person came with attendants, then how would they explain themselves?

For a moment, everyone was at a loss, anxiously anticipating the arrival of the next royal messenger.

"Do you have any good ideas?" The artillery commander looked at his aide-de-camp and asked. After all, it was his aide-de-camp who had killed the man, so if there was a difficult problem, he should be the one to think of a solution, shouldn't he?

After pondering for a few seconds, the aide-de-camp then turned to his superior officer and fiercely suggested, "Why not... blow up the artillery platform!"

This was like draining the pond to get the fish—once the artillery was completely gone, they wouldn't be forced to fire anymore!

However, thinking about his service of more than a decade there, the artillery commander couldn't help but inhale sharply with reluctance.

But he quickly came around—the option did seem like a way to cover everything up.

As long as they blew up the artillery themselves, they wouldn't have to hide the fact that they encountered the King's messenger—they could just blow up the body along with the black gunpowder, and it would truly be a case closed without evidence, ending it once and for all.

That way, they would be seen as loyally executing His Majesty's order, perfectly matching his earlier intention when ordering the platform to fire—it would preserve their reputation and prevent any risk.

Hence, he nodded, surprisingly agreeing with the aide-de-camp's suggestion in principle, "Alright! We'll do as you said!"

Far in the distance, the sea was still filled with booming cannon fire, and more and more pillars of fire and smoke rose from the city. Civilians, packed together as they ran for their lives on the streets, were now completely devoid of order.

Quickly, they dumped the body of the king's trusted envoy into the storage chamber for black gunpowder. With the artillery platform littered with bodies from the recent fierce battle, no one found it odd to see a few men carrying a corpse passing by.

Then, they loaded about half of the cannons with gunpowder and haphazardly set them off, destroying the cannons.

With each blast, everyone thought that the artillery was firing again. Some Taren Kingdom soldiers and officers holding out on the city walls even let out bursts of cheers.

They thought their reinforcements had arrived, that the platform was still able to return fire amidst the flames and black smoke, lifting their martial spirits.

Unfortunately, before their cheers had completely subsided, an earth-shattering explosion came from the direction of the artillery platform.

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For a moment, the ground beneath their feet shook violently as huge stone slabs, several meters long used in the construction of the battery, were hurled into the air, and countless dirt and sand surged up hundreds of meters high.

Then, rocks and soil began to fall from the sky, some even drifting to the ramparts where the soldiers defending the city were stationed.

Those soldiers of the Taren Kingdom, who had just a second ago been waving their arms in cheer, hadn't even managed to lower their arms before they were completely dumbfounded by the scene unfolding before them.

From their viewpoint, they saw the majority of the battery explode into the air and amidst the flying debris, a heavy cannon seemed as insignificant as a stick.

The magazine, storing the ammunition for dozens of cannons, had ignited ten tons of gunpowder in a spectacular fireworks display. The defenders of the battery, who hadn't run far, had grossly underestimated the power of the explosion they had ignited.

But to everyone's eyes, it was as if the battery was returning fire, and then the enemy warships fired back. The defenders heroically held on until, tragically, a shot hit the ammunition depot...

Bernard was stunned. He looked at the distance where the explosions and the fire had already rendered the shore batteries a terrible sight, and then turned to his deputy: "Which warship is still bombarding in the direction of the battery?"

"No idea, sir. A few minutes ago, the enemy battery returned fire again, with only a few cannons firing. We weren't really threatened, so we didn't order the warships to suppress..." The deputy also wore a dazed expression.

"So they blew themselves up?" Bernard said incredulously. Unbeknownst to him, he had actually stumbled upon the truth.

"Perhaps it was a mishandling... In the chaos, they ignited their own ammunition store," his deputy offered an explanation for the enemy.

Bernard nodded and did not waste any more time on this topic. Whether that battery was there or destroyed, it really didn't hinder his determination to attack King City of Taren forcefully.

The King of Taren watched the distant firing battery through a telescope from the highest building in his Royal Palace.

After seeing flashes of gunfire and hearing the familiar boom of cannons, His Majesty contentedly set down his telescope.

He turned to his Prime Minister, pointed towards the direction of the distant battery, and boasted with a smile to his minister, "Do you see that? Do you see that! Within my generals, there are still those who are loyal! There are those who can fight tough battles!"

In reality, everyone knew all too well that the one who could truly fight was the Navy General Valen, whose whereabouts and condition were unknown...

As for the general defending the battery, who knew why he could act so brave and loyal...

While several high officials were pondering to themselves, the battery that had been sporadically firing suddenly erupted in flames, and a segment of the wall was blasted into the air.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock, then they too began to shake and sway. Taren's Prime Minister lost his footing and fell to the ground; he even saw the water in the cup on the table in front of him trembling.

Then came the blast wave that hit them in the face. It had lessened in intensity by the time it reached the Royal Palace.

The sound of the explosion nearly pierced everyone's ears simultaneously, and that infuriating roar drowned out all other noises in an instant.

Even the oppressive thunder of the cannons from the sea, which had weighed heavily on everyone until now, seemed to fade away at that moment.

Ignoring his image, King Taren X, having just steadied himself, looked eagerly towards the direction of his battery.

Thereafter, he saw the towering smoke and the unrecognizable ruins of the destroyed battery. At that moment, he felt his heart bleeding.

Just a second ago, he was praising the general who manned the battery. Just a second ago, he was boasting that he finally had a reliable support.

Then, in the next second, it seemed that his capable minister was blown sky-high, and his hopes appeared to have been obliterated in that thunderous blast.

"What's going on...?" he muttered, staggering towards the window. The Prime Minister, who had just risen from the ground, quickly grabbed the sleeve of the seemingly frenzied King Taren X.

If not for his exceptional reaction, King Taren X would have become a king who died by jumping from a building in a fallen kingdom.

"Hurry! Go see! Go check the battery! See what has happened!" ordered Taren X hysterically, having been jolted back to reality by being held back.

The Prime Minister, who had not let go of the King's hand until now, was also slightly dazed, for he had subconsciously come to realize that the Taren Kingdom... might have cooled off just like that battery!

Before, he had not imagined that the enemy's Navy would be so powerful—he even thought that, even with the enemy's blockade, there would be enough time for them to manage.

But he never anticipated that the enemy's blockade would be so... unreasonable.

"Your Majesty! Send someone to sue for peace now! If we delay, it might be too late!" The Prime Minister, having regained his senses, immediately cried out with inexplicable sorrow.

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