He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 520

(520) The Egyptian Prince Came with Balloons

Balloons are visible in the sky.

-Peeep! Peeep! Peeep!

A squadron of cavalrymen charged forward, eyes fixed on the balloons, as whistles shrilled.

France had, in fact, been at the forefront of balloon technology since the days of the pre-Revolutionary royal family.

This was largely because, just before the revolution in 1785, Pierre Blanchard even crossed the English Channel [Dover Strait] by balloon.

Furthermore, balloons were utilized as reconnaissance units during wartime after the French Revolution.

The commander of the cavalrymen, Eugene, had even secured victories in Egypt using balloons.

However, Eugene had never imagined witnessing so many balloons dominating a battlefield.

Stunned by the surreal scene, Eugene crested the hill where the balloons were being launched.

The welcoming face of the man he had been waiting for came into view.

“Hosch!”

A man wearing a turban raised his hand while astride an Arabian horse.

-Swoosh, Chuck!

At that signal, the soldiers who had been on alert lowered their guns in unison.

There were relatively few French soldiers present.

The majority of the army consisted of Egyptians, though they wore European-style uniforms.

The man in the turban at the front seemed the most out of place.

Eugene hurried towards him, exclaiming, “How did you get here?”

The man, Hosch, playfully punched Eugene’s arm.

-Thwack!

Eugene, momentarily stunned by the friendly blow, blinked and protested, “Ouch! What was that for!”

“It’s been five years, you rascal!”

“Huh? Ah, right, that’s…”

The Duke of Cairo, Hosch, the Egyptian prince who once famously punched the King of Spain, chuckled.

“It’s been over ten years already, Eugene! Hahaha!”

Long ago, Eugene had left Hosch as the Governor-General of Egypt, promising a return within five years.

At the time, it seemed the French political situation would stabilize within that timeframe, allowing Hosch to return and enjoy a peaceful retirement.

However, the heirs to the Spanish throne died unexpectedly, and Eugene was banished from France.

After that, he lived a chaotic life, and time simply slipped away.

It was, of course, an excuse.

Eugene simply hadn’t given it enough thought.

With a deeply apologetic expression, Eugene bowed his head.

“I’m truly sorry, Hosch.”

“In the meantime, I’ve become a father of three. Désirée sends her regards.”

“Is that so? Well, I have a son as well.”

Junot, standing behind Eugene, chuckled. “That young fellow is already a father! Time really does fly, doesn’t it, Hosch?”

The soldiers of the Spanish Royal Guard and the officers of the Egyptian army joined in the laughter.

They had all known Eugene since the Italian campaign.

They remembered him as ‘The Princess’s Knight’, a boy who fearlessly roamed the battlefield.

Some had endured the hardships of the New World alongside him, while others remained in Egypt, longing for their homeland.

But all remembered that every achievement had been accompanied by Eugene’s victories.

Even the image of the young soldier they had spent their youth with remained vivid.

Eugene, feeling like a child again after so long, couldn’t help but look displeased.

He frowned, then his eyes widened.

“By the way, how did you manage to prepare so many balloons? There seem to be at least fifty of them!”

“Have you forgotten that you conquered Egypt with balloons? We’ve been conducting extensive research in Egypt ever since. It’s still not perfect, but it’s enough to surprise the enemy at least once.”

“The weather isn’t very favorable, is it safe?”

Hosch smiled knowingly.

“I’ll let you in on a secret. Most of the balloons are unmanned.”

In other words, they were decoy balloons.

However, since they weren’t filled with hydrogen or helium, they would eventually descend.

Eugene was taken aback.

“No, then…”

“However, the close-range balloon unit being launched here has soldiers on board. Carrying bombs.”

“That’s the source of these explosions. But that’s only a minor threat.”

Hosch nodded confidently.

“Then, I’ll show you the real thing, Eugene. The true weapons that our 50,000 Egyptian legions have brought.”

Eugene followed Hosch’s gaze and his eyes widened in disbelief.

It wasn’t surprising that Marceau was there.

Marceau, the Grand Duke of Constantinople [Istanbul], wearing a turban just like Hosch, proudly gestured behind him.

“That’s what came to Russia. You saw Bernadotte using it back then, didn’t you, Eugene?”

“Marceau, I never authorized you to bring this.”

“Why the long face? The conditions here are far better for maneuvering than in cold Russia!”

Marceau climbed onto the contraption with enthusiasm and shouted, “Now, the tank unit commander Marceau is reporting for duty! Let’s go!”

Then the armored steam locomotives, commonly known as primitive tanks, began to move.

-Rumble!

There were a hundred in total.

It was clear they had endured considerable hardship transporting them by cart.

Watching the tanks rumble away, Hosch asked, “So, it’s time to run, what are you going to do?”

You could rest here.

Eugene had already done enough.

But that wasn’t the style of Eugene Freischütz, the gambler.

Suddenly, Eugene remounted his horse.

“Give me gunpowder and ammunition. There’s one last opponent I need to shoot.”

That was Wellington.

***

The British army was still fixated on the countless balloons.

“What on earth are those things? Commander-in-Chief?”

Beresford, another deputy commander who had just arrived, stared in disbelief.

The forces Beresford had brought also numbered 50,000 men.

However, it was likely too late to turn the tide.

Wellington smiled grimly and greeted Beresford.

“You’re late, Beresford.”

“If you were planning to engage in combat so quickly, you should have sent a messenger!”

“The situation became so urgent that there was no time. Did you bring the cannons?”

Beresford clicked his tongue as he watched the balloons dropping bombs from the sky.

“We’ve concentrated 157 cannons on this battlefield, where else would any remaining cannons be? I didn’t bring them. I have no idea what to do about that.”

Balloons of this era couldn’t fly very high.

So, the most effective way to deal with them was to shoot them down with artillery fire.

However, even without cannons, there were other ways to counter the primitive balloon units.

Wellington nodded.

“Then, we have no choice but to respond to those bombs with gunfire. Redcoats, prepare to fire!”

The elite British soldiers, who had been advancing, began firing at the sky in unison.

“Fire!”

Musket bullets rained upwards.

-Clunk, Bang! Clunk, Click, Bang! Clunk, Click, Bang!

Of course, the accuracy was poor.

However, even a single hit could cause a balloon to falter and crash.

Soon, a balloon that had been dropping bombs was seen desperately trying to ascend and retreat.

It seemed the initial shock of the balloons was finally wearing off.

Wellington nodded.

“Balloons may look impressive at first, but they are vulnerable. They will all fall soon.”

“But a new enemy has appeared.”

“We have also gathered the entire army, Clinton. Now it’s 120,000!”

Wellington turned to Chief of Staff Clinton and said firmly, “If we are defeated in this situation, it would only be possible if a monster appeared!”

At that moment, a deep rumble echoed across the battlefield.

-Rumble-!

This time, the sound was completely different from the explosions. Wellington turned to Clinton, his eyes wide.

“What… what is that sound?”

Clinton didn’t need to explain.

Far away, above the hill where the balloon units had risen, strange-looking steel contraptions were moving.

Spewing smoke.

Clinton, Graham, and Beresford exchanged bewildered glances.

“That looks like steam billowing from a factory.”

“Could that be a car? There are only a few of them running around in London.”

“They brought them on such a large scale? And with armor attached?”

Suddenly, a strange murmur arose among the Sepoy soldiers [Indian soldiers in the British army].

“It’s Indra’s curse!”

It was in Hindi, but the British soldiers who had served in India for a long time understood the meaning.

However, the contraption emitting the roar was merely a steam car.

It had nothing to do with Indra’s divine objects.

“Wait, that’s just a product of science! It’s not a curse from God!”

“Aaaah! After the Vimana [flying chariot of the gods], now it’s Indra’s chariot!”

“It’s not!”

Clinton, seeing the growing panic, urgently asked, “Commander-in-Chief, what should we do!”

Wellington gritted his teeth as he watched the Sepoy soldiers attempting to flee.

This was the problem with mercenaries.

However, to fight France, he had no choice but to mobilize such troops.

Who would have imagined putting a steam car on the battlefield?

How should the fleeing soldiers be dealt with?

“Shoot the deserters! Fire!”

The redcoats’ Brown Bess muskets were leveled at the Sepoy soldiers.

***

Amidst the gunfire, the noise of the cars, and the explosions of the balloons, the eagle cried out.

“It’s an opportunity!”

The eagle, the golden-patterned imperial emblem.

The symbol of Napoleon.

Of course, many royal families had adopted the eagle emblem, including the Habsburgs, Romanovs, and Prussians.

But Napoleon was the only one left in Europe.

Now, as the monarch who could uniquely claim the eagle as his own, Napoleon mounted his horse, but Masséna hurriedly stopped him.

“Your Majesty, please meet Marshal Hosch first and then make a decision!”

“Masséna, it will be too late! Besides, have you forgotten that those tanks don’t stop easily? The British still have numerical superiority!”

“But even if we retreat here, Your Majesty, you will not be defeated!”

However, Napoleon’s eyes flashed with determination.

“No, if that happens, the myth of victory surrounding the French Empire will collapse, Masséna!”

If the main force led by Berthier had arrived safely, Napoleon wouldn’t have made this decision.

He would have waited, reorganized the main force, and then devised a new strategy.

However, Hosch’s Egyptian legion, while capable of shifting the battlefield’s momentum, lacked the decisive power to deliver a knockout blow.

Therefore, it was necessary for Napoleon to intervene personally.

Suddenly, Napoleon turned to the soldiers of the Imperial Guard.

“I, born on an island, came all the way here. Starting as a mere soldier, I rose to become Emperor. Even if I am defeated and fall today, it will be a life without regrets. But!”

Corsica, a small island in the southern Mediterranean.

The boy who believed that the small island was his entire world had become the Emperor of Europe.

Betraying the revolution, or fulfilling it.

The Emperor, who was not French by birth, shouted to the French people.

“France, our Empire, must be eternal! Is it not!”

At that moment, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard raised their guns in unison.

“Vive Napoleon!”

Ten thousand of the Imperial Guard’s elite veterans rallied around Napoleon.

A chaotic battlefield.

The goal: to break through Waterloo.

“Let’s go, my soldiers! My sons! My comrades! For the glory of the Empire!”

And so, Napoleon’s final charge began.