Chapter 94: Chapter 93: The Roar of the Magic Crystal Cannon
"Sos, do you think you can hit those Beastmen?" Robson asked, watching him with curious eyes.
He was also curious about the caliber of these so-called "new soldiers" from the System.
To Robson, hitting the target would be effortless. Thanks to his prior studies, he had long become an expert in the field of Magic Crystal Cannons.
Though he had never seen the model of Magic Crystal Cannon Sos was holding, a preliminary examination was all Robson needed to get the gist of its workings.
Such devices were all more or less the same, with only minor differences.
Sos looked out at a barren plain, the land turned to gray ash by a recent wildfire.
"Sir, I can’t see any enemy forces," Sos said, shaking his head.
Looking at Sos, Robson had a sudden realization. He hadn’t expected this to be an obstacle to using artillery.
In this world, fields like optics and electronics were undeveloped wastelands. The nobles were accustomed to solving problems with either almighty Magic or personal martial prowess.
And if all else failed, they had their gods as a final resort.
As this was the first time field artillery was being used in actual combat, the Artillery Academy was still completely vacant.
Without such support systems, it was incredibly difficult for ordinary people to accomplish anything on the battlefield with a Magic Crystal Cannon.
Against foes with Extraordinary mounts, the cannon crew often couldn’t even finish loading the Magic Crystal before an Extraordinary Knight’s blade sent them to meet the Lord of Dawn.
This was probably why artillery tactics hadn’t caught on: there was no support equipment.
"Elevate the muzzle thirty degrees. Point it due north. Understand?" Robson gave a general set of coordinates.
Although he had come to another world, he was fortunate that, thanks to the development of Magic, this world’s mathematics wasn’t as backward as he had imagined.
At least some scholars were, in fact, studying concepts like pi.
"Th-this... Sir, can we really hit the enemy like this?" Sos asked, ducking his head. He didn’t want to contradict his commander, but he was afraid of being blamed for wasting Magic Crystals if they missed.
Many commanders were fond of doing that: handing off their "brilliant ideas" to their subordinates. If the subordinate succeeded, they wouldn’t necessarily get credit, but if they failed, they would surely suffer.
That was exactly how Sos felt right now. They hadn’t been at the fortress long, so they hadn’t heard of Robson’s record of slaughtering enemies with his cannons.
In his experience, the nobles of Frank and the lords of Tilia were polar opposites. One side was full of Knights focused on martial prowess, while the other was dedicated to becoming Mages, even if many of them lacked the talent.
But they did have one thing in common: their understanding of the Magic Crystal Cannon was as shallow as the sandbars back home.
"Sir Robson is our fortress’s most famous gunner. Just relax and follow his orders," said Ais, Robson’s adjutant, from behind him.
Robson, naturally seeing what Sos was thinking, nodded in tacit agreement with Ais.
"Alright then."
Upon hearing this, Sos began to operate his Magic Crystal Cannon, and the other two Magic Crystal Cannon Platforms started to do the same.
Looking at the highly elevated muzzle, Sos was inexplicably reminded of the soaring petrels from his hometown.
’Can a Magic Crystal Cannon really be fired like this?’ A new thought entered Sos’s mind.
....
"My Lord Viscount, the Sir has ordered a retreat!" Emil shouted, catching up to Viscount Leo, who was in the throes of the charge.
Viscount Leo listened carefully to the sound carrying on the wind, then issued an order to the Cavalry behind him.
"Cease the attack! Cease the attack! Turn right! Retreat!"
After Viscount Leo gave the order, Emil and the now-present Claude followed suit.
Once the orders were relayed, the three men returned to their respective positions.
The entire cavalry formation began to slowly wheel to the right, finally surging in Robson’s direction.
The entire maneuver was executed without a hint of hesitation, as Robson’s Knights kept pace perfectly with the noble lord’s.
"Why did the Sir suddenly order a retreat?" Claude asked, riding up beside Viscount Leo once the rear of the formation was stable.
Claude had been commanding Robson’s Cavalry Team from the rear, only drawing his blade to slay Beastmen once the melee had begun.
He was just starting to enjoy himself when the three horn blasts shattered his experience. He’d been in the middle of a charge, and then it just... stopped.
Viscount Leo frowned. He wasn’t sure either, but he trusted Robson.
Claude felt the same way, but he was also one of Robson’s men, and the soldiers were Robson’s troops.
"The Sir must have his reasons. Perhaps the enemy’s Bear Race Infantry is advancing..." Viscount Leo conjectured.
He had just spotted Bear Race Soldiers on the battlefield. The wall of iron and flesh formed by those brutes had always been a nightmare for human Cavalry.
Given their sheer size, an ordinary cavalryman might stab his weapon into one and find he couldn’t pull it back out.
"So what... I could have definitely broken through..."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Claude was still feeling a little unfulfilled, but he very quickly understood why.
Before he could finish his sentence, several massive explosions roared from behind them.
The blue light of the Magic Crystal Cannons lit up Claude’s entire field of vision.
’Magic Crystal Cannons!’ Claude remembered. Those carriages trailing at the very rear... he had wondered what was inside them.
’They were actually Magic Crystal Cannons! How could you even use Magic Crystal Cannons in a place like this?!’
Claude couldn’t wrap his head around it.
.....
If Claude couldn’t wrap his head around it, Sol was even more baffled.
Just a moment ago, he had seen the human Cavalry closing in for the kill. His heart had pounded as he gripped his warhammer, preparing to make a stand.
But then the enemy had wheeled around in perfect unison, more slippery than the Sophie Fish in the Ames River.
Sol really couldn’t understand it. He had clearly seen that the humans at the forefront were Heavy Cavalry clad in iron armor.
No matter how thick the fat of the Bear Race was, it couldn’t stand up to the onslaught of human blades.
For a moment, Sol even considered that perhaps the reputation of the Northern Bear Race alone had been enough to scare the humans away.
As far-fetched as the idea sounded, it seemed surprisingly plausible at that moment.
That was, until the boom of the Magic Crystal Cannon just now jolted Sol from his fantasy.
Staring at the two massive craters that had appeared before him, Sol’s face was a mask of terror.
’Magic Crystal Cannons? Magic Crystal Cannons!’
’How could there be Magic Crystal Cannons here?!’
At that moment, Sol’s brain completely shut down; he had no idea how to react.
The Northern Bear Race were slow-moving; Magic Crystal Cannons were their natural predator!
’Their supposed advantage in armor was a complete joke in the face of a Magic Crystal Cannon. Taking a blast from one head-on?’
’Even among the Extraordinary, only a Golden Tier could withstand such a thing. A Silver Tier would have no choice but to dodge.’
"What was that?"
It wasn’t just Sol; the roar of the Magic Crystal Cannons had a massive impact on the entire formation of the Northern Bear Race.
They were all terrified by the power of that massive explosion. It was obvious that whatever it was, it was aimed at them.
Though these members of the Bear Race all boasted of their thick hides, none were arrogant enough to believe they could survive artillery fire of this magnitude.
