292 Revolution Begins
A few hours earlier...
On a prairie at a distance of five kilometers from the walls of Count Connard's main city, three men in obnoxious military uniforms mounted on beautiful war horses were looking at the scenery before their eyes. From the shine in their eyes, they seemed to be satisfied with the outcome of the event.
From left to right, Prime Minister Robert Lancer was adorned with a royal blue outfit, cardinal red for Prince Paul Astley, and black for one of their trusted allies, Marquis Edward Krieg. Edward Krieg was the head of a renowned military family in the Kingdom of Astley. In his fifties, he stood over six feet and possessed a great physique characterized by black hair and sharp keen.
Through discipline and experience, his sheer strength and good leadership were worth being afraid of. Being on the same boat as the two, Edward had already had enough of the king's rule and did not hesitate to join the planned revolution of Paul and Robert. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Before the three noblemen, there was an open-field battle just a few kilometers from the walled city. The sounds of gunshots and clashing metals echoed in the field, in addition to the voices of agonizing combatants and the symphony of reciting the names of the techniques, spells, and skills. The battle was between two forces: the fifty thousand-strong rallied army of Duke Lancer and Marquis Krieg against the relatively small garrison of Count Connard, which consisted of less than ten thousand troops. "The city of that douchebag Connard is about to be captured," Edward uttered with his rough voice. "Knowing him as an extravagant spender, throwing parties as his habit, I am not surprised that the budget he funded for his military would be this awful." "Well, that is what to expect. Thanks to that, taking his city is as smooth as butter."
"At this rate, we will be able to march all the way to the capital within this day."
After a long time of preparation, in the middle of the transition of winter and spring, the revolution to bring change to the kingdom officially started today. Other than the battle in front of them, several wars were currently waged all over the kingdom. For the first time after centuries, a civil war took place in the Kingdom of Astley anew. Whereas the last civil war happened seven hundred years ago, when the masses had enough of the king's unjustified tyranny. Led by the second prince and his wise advisors, Robert and Edward, they thoroughly planned a revolution to overthrow the regime. But they planned a war that shredded less blood by avoiding battles inside cities and making the enemies yield. "Thanks to Sir Rick's new weapons, we are able to effectively get to the winning side." "Indeed, his name has reached my territory, and he is the talk of the town. His music and inventions are truly marvelous, especially that I am seeing the effectiveness of the karabiner on the actual battlefield." Currently, the rallied army of Robert and Edward was one-sidedly dominating the troops of Count Connard, whose city was only two territories away from Richtpole. They started with one hundred thousand troops from various units. Each army was composed of infantry regiments in the front, winged by cavalry units at both sides. The rear was comprised of the long-ranged units such as archers and gunners, the mage units, and the special units, where the 10:29
skills users belonged.
long-ranged units such as archers and gunners, the mage units, and the special units, where the skills users belonged.
They had seized control of a few cities along the way and stationed a portion of their troops to guard the seized cities. In some cases, the lords of some cities immediately conceded surrender just by seeing the intimidating battle prowess of the army. Due to the unavoidable casualties and troop distribution, their current numbers dwindled to half. However, reinforcements from nearby allies were subsequently marching their way to strengthen the rally. Not only their numbers but also the quality of the army terrified their enemies. With the help of Rick, a portion of the marksmen divisions of each army were equipped with more powerful weapons, such as the karabiner. "Fire!" Bang! Bang! Bang! Upon the swing of the gunner's captain's rapier, the gunners pulled the triggers of their new firearms and fired the bullets at the incoming light cavalry units of the opposing forces, who just performed a false gap to attack the archers. As former wielders of muskets, which aimed terribly, their accuracy drastically increased since the beginning of using the Kar98k, and the cavalrymen were shot dead with one bullet. They did not even use any shooting techniques; their eyes had been sharpened by the musket for years to begin with. "That weapon is really terrifying... Karabiner has been so good in training since it has better accuracy and a faster fire rate. Honestly, it really frightens me upon personally seeing it in action."
"Sir Rick is an incredible person, after all."
Witnessing the potency of the karabiner, Edward could not help but be grateful for Rick being on their side. He even felt a little sympathy for the mages who lost their lives before finishing the incantations of their magic attacks. In spite of that, Edward was impressed by the performance of the army overall. Due to his innate leadership skills, the battalion fought with coordination and organization, maximizing anyone's potential while minimizing the losses.
"Speaking of the devil, where is Rick, by the way?" Edward looked at the two and asked. "I haven't met him personally yet, so I am kind of enthusiastic about finally meeting him. I heard that his group made an announcement of their break and there wasn't a word regarding Rick yet. Is he really fine?" "Actually, there is a reason why he cannot show himself right now," Paul responded, not taking his eyes off the battlefield. "But he is currently outside the kingdom to deal with some diplomatic agreements."
"Oh, so he is the one who is tasked with doing that?" Edward immediately realized what Paul wanted to interpret. "If he successfully convinces them, we will be able to match the king's Twelve Paladins—
no, ten."
Just as they were chatting, a messenger on a horse was running toward them. As soon as the horse stopped in front of them, the messenger immediately opened up a scrolled parchment and formally delivered his report. "Your Highness! Count Connard is now unable to send more troops, and he officially conceded his defeat! He also stated he is willing to step down from his position as the count."
"You heard that, boys?!" Edward's mighty voice reverberated throughout the battlefield. "We collected another victory again! Withdraw your troops and avoid unnecessary killing! No time to waste! Prepared for the march toward the next city!" "Oorahhh!!!" After hearing the good news, a harmonious and victorious battle cry resonated on the prairie. Soon after, the horns of victory were blown to lighten up the spirits of the combatants. "Hiya! Lead the way, our future king!" "It's an honor!" Once in the position, the army led by Prince Paul marched their way toward the next city, the main city of another county. After meeting up with the reinforcements and then seizing the city, Paul
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