Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 1169

1169. The Calamity Came from the Sea (5)

“The Empire’s devils are coming!”

As Marquis Yigong had predicted, the rumors spread faster than the punitive fleet.

The residents of the Bay of Biscay coastal region, having heard the rumors of what had happened to La Rochelle, were gripped by fear, and the cities and towns fell into a state of panic.

“Q-Quick, pack your things!”

“The Empire’s devils might come even today! We have to run away right now!”

Even the residents of small fishing villages without proper harbors lost their minds and packed up their belongings to flee towards Nantes. As the number of refugees fleeing increased, the public order in the Nantes area gradually deteriorated.

Due to the refugees fleeing from the coastal areas, the living conditions in Nantes and its surrounding areas became chaotic, and prices began to skyrocket.

That wasn’t the end of it.

Bandits began to run rampant on the roads leading from the coastal areas to Nantes.

The increase in ‘professional’ bandits who had come after hearing the rumors was a big problem, but an even bigger problem was that more than a few farmers from the nearby rural areas had turned into bandits.

In response, the French government and the nobles governing the nearby territories tried to maintain order by sending out soldiers, but it was not an easy task. As such a scene of chaos unfolded from the south of France, the punitive fleet and the Portuguese fleet appeared near the port of Brest.

* * *

Brest was one of the oldest and most important ports.

In particular, due to the altered history caused by Hyang’s intervention, Brest had been transformed into a large port at an even earlier point. The makeshift wooden docks had somehow been replaced with large, sturdy structures made using massive amounts of stone.

In addition, France invested a fortune to build coastal batteries on both sides of the strait leading into Brest. By building coastal batteries with earthen mounds added to the outside of the stone walls to increase defensive power, France confidently declared:

“Brest is impregnable!”

And, with Brest right in front of them, Marquis Yigong, who had called the captains and commanders to the flagship, smiled wryly and opened his mouth.

“Shall we see if it’s really impregnable?”

“That sounds like fun.”

“Then let’s start the operation from tomorrow morning. The vanguard will be the Flyer unit.”

* * *

The next morning, around daybreak.

From the Flyer carrier Cheonghaejin, the Albatrosses took flight.

The Albatross squadron, circling over the fleet to form a formation, immediately began to fly towards the coastal batteries of Brest. And, at the head of that squadron, was once again an Albatross with Jang Dae-wook aboard.

“Oh? You’re not getting seasick today?”

“I gave up, and my body got used to it… And now, I enjoy flying.”

The soldiers and commanders of the Portuguese Navy, who were following behind the punitive fleet, looked back and forth between the sky and the sea with incredulous expressions.

“That’s the airplane the French guys were talking about, right?”

“That’s right. But it’s taking off from a ship?”

“That ship was for that purpose?”

While the soldiers and commanders were unable to hide their amazement and were absorbed in watching, some of the more thoughtful commanders became serious.

“I thought Flyers were only useful for reconnaissance, but was I wrong?”

When the announcement about the Flyers was made, the high-ranking military officials of each country had unanimously assessed them as follows:

-A weapon valuable only for reconnaissance.

It was a very negative assessment, and the Imperial Army was no exception.

Because of this, Hyun had almost forcibly incorporated the Flyer unit into the punitive fleet, and the commanders of the Flyer unit were desperately trying to prove their worth.

* * *

The Albatrosses that arrived at Brest soon split into groups and struck the coastal batteries located on the left and right sides of the strait leading to the harbor.

The coastal batteries, which had thick walls built using stone and, to top it off, had soil covering them to increase their defensive power, were helpless against attacks from the sky.

The coastal battery, directly hit by a bomb dropped from an Albatross, collapsed with a massive explosion.

This was because the large amount of shells and gunpowder that had been piled up around the cannons to deal with the approaching punitive fleet had caused a chain explosion.

It was something that should not have been done according to regulations, and the French soldiers paid the price for violating those regulations.

The Albatross was something that Hyang had complained about, saying, ‘It flies too slow and too low.’ However, thanks to that, they were able to achieve excellent accuracy. Thanks to that accuracy and the French soldiers’ disregard for regulations, 80% of the coastal batteries on the left and right sides of the strait were cleared out in a single bombing.

Kang Jae-wook, who was in charge of the ‘Guidance’ mission as well as the mission to confirm the results of the bombing, sent a light signal to Salsoo’s bridge on the way back.

-80% cleared.

Following this, a light signal was sent from Cheonghaejin to Salsoo.

“They are requesting permission for a second bombing.”

“Hmm….”

After pondering for a moment, Marquis Yigong soon nodded.

“Permission granted.”

About half a *sh辰jin* [approximately one hour] later, the Albatrosses took flight again from Cheonghaejin.

* * *

Once the coastal batteries defending the entrance to Brest were cleared through two rounds of bombing, the punitive fleet, led by destroyers, entered the entrance.

While the destroyers that passed through the strait guarded the surroundings, Salsoo and the fire support ships followed, and the Challenger-class battleships and Haeung-class battleships guarded against any possible counterattacks by the French Navy from outside the entrance.

Salsoo and the fire support ships, which had taken their positions in the sea off the port of Brest, began to pour a rain of fire on the port of Brest as soon as they were ready.

* * *

The punitive fleet destroyed Brest with a tenacity that was truly fitting.

All the facilities of the Brest port and naval base were destroyed first, followed by the shipyard being turned into ruins.

The punitive fleet, which had turned the entire port and shipyard, except for the pier docks, into ruins, turned its guns towards the civilian residential area behind the port.

The punitive fleet’s bombardment continued for three days.

The bombardment that lasted for three days was not only carried out by Salsoo and the fire support ships.

The Challenger-class battleships and Haeung-class battleships, which guarded the entrance to the port of Brest, also took turns participating in the bombardment.

To make matters worse, the Albatrosses belonging to Cheonghaejin destroyed the railway network and communication network connected to Brest. Having destroyed almost everything in Brest in this way, the punitive fleet’s battleships docked at the pier and mooring facilities that had been left until then and carried out resupply.

Once the resupply was completed, the punitive fleet blew up even the pier docks and mooring facilities, just like in La Rochelle, and left the port of Brest.

As they left the port, the punitive fleet split into two.

The transport ships, whose warehouses were empty, headed to Gibraltar under the escort of the Haeung-class battleships, and the main force of the punitive fleet leisurely began to move north.

* * *

The punishment against France was not only on the Atlantic side.

The Imperial Fleet stationed in Gibraltar was also rampaging fiercely in the Mediterranean.

The Imperial Fleet stationed in the Mediterranean, which had blown up Valencia, the exit to the Mediterranean Sea in Spain, set its sights on Toulon in France as its next target.

Toulon was France’s exit to the Mediterranean Sea.

Goods were being moved through this place to Suez and the Ottoman Empire.

If this place were blocked, France’s Mediterranean passage would be completely blocked. Therefore, the Imperial Fleet stationed in Gibraltar truly put all its efforts into destroying Toulon.

Thanks to persistently hammering it three times, Toulon became a ruin where not a single piece of stone was in its place.

* * *

While the Gibraltar Fleet was pounding Toulon, the punitive fleet that had advanced north was pounding Le Havre and Honfleur.

Following Brest, Le Havre and Honfleur were other gateways to the Atlantic.

Honfleur had a longer history, but Le Havre, which had a better location, was a rapidly growing port city.

As those two port cities were being pounded, Paris was truly put on emergency alert.

No, all of France became a mess.

At first, only the coastal areas became a mess, but as time passed, even the inland areas became a mess.

This was because of the Imperial Army’s ground operation in Spain.

* * *

The Imperial Army, which had defeated the Spanish Army through the battle that took place in El Pelayo, did not stop there. Claiming to be chasing after the retreating Spanish Army, the Imperial Army and the Swiss Army were devastating the southern region of Spain.

The Imperial Army’s ground operation was truly cunning.

The Imperial Army and the Swiss Army continued their pursuit, maintaining a distance of about a day or two from the retreating Spanish Army. As they chased after the Spanish Army and encountered a town or city, the Imperial Army immediately sent an envoy.

-I will give you two hours. Leave immediately.

After chasing out the residents in that way, the Imperial Army and the Swiss Army completely devastated the area.

They burned everything, including farmland, and destroyed buildings.

To prevent this, the Spanish Army stopped retreating and pounced on the Imperial Army and the Swiss Army. However, the battle that took place again ended in a ‘miserable’ defeat.

Because it was a battle that was waged in haste without proper preparation, the battle took place in the plains of Seville. The Spanish Army diligently dug trenches to defend, but the Imperial Army’s artillery power and assault vehicles easily crushed them.

The greatly defeated Spanish Army had no choice but to retreat again, and the Imperial Army and the Swiss Army leisurely followed behind, ravaging the southern part of Spain.

Following the orders of Marquis Alba, who was directing the retreat, the railway leading from Seville to the capital, Valladolid, was destroyed.

“We may be criticized for destroying the railway.”

“The Imperial bastards can use the railway to go straight to Valladolid. Then we will be criticized even more.”

Although the railway network was cut off according to the Marquis’s orders, Duke Iche, who had already anticipated this, had ordered railway materials from Italy.

For Italy, it was an unexpected windfall.

The Imperial Army and the Swiss Army, who had piled up the railway materials sent from Italy in Seville, were diligently destroying the southern region of Spain.

What this meant was simple.

-Going to Valladolid is possible at any time. But I’m not going to do that.

-You know why, right?

-Then you know what to do, right?

Regent Fernando II, who received the report in Valladolid, gnashed his teeth and burst into anger.

“These cruel bastards!”

This was the same in Paris.

Charles VIII of Paris also sighed and looked around.

“Is this the return of the Mongols? Is this how the East fights?”

Louis XII, who was next to Charles VIII, answered.

“It’s not as cruel as the Mongols, but it’s definitely more ruthless than the Mongols.”

-They don’t occupy.

-There is no innocent killing.

-But they destroy everything for sure.

-This is the punishment the Empire is handing down.

“Hoo~.”

Louis XII sighed and said to Charles VIII.

“We must surrender. We have clearly lost in this game.”

“Surrender? Are you telling me to kneel and beg for mercy?”

“The past of France is already gone, and now the future of France is being destroyed. We must stop as soon as possible.”

“Ah.”

Charles VIII, who was lost in sorrow and lamented for a long time, gave an order.

“Send an envoy. Propose to discuss a truce.”

“I understand.”

In response, an envoy hurriedly headed to Le Havre.

Marquis Yigong, who heard Charles VIII’s proposal through the envoy, snorted.

“Hmph! Talking about a truce!”

Marquis Yigong, who had scolded the envoy, asked the adjutant.

“Is the resupply finished?”

“It’s finished.”

“Then let’s go down again and pound them. You marked all the places that seemed worthless on the way up and just passed by, right?”

“Yes!”

“This time, we’ll go down and destroy those places!”

“Yes!”

Marquis Yigong, who heard the adjutant’s answer, conveyed his intentions through the interpreter.

“We will now go south and then come back up. You must know what we will do in the process, right? If so, do it properly and come again! Get this guy out of here!”

The envoy, who had been kicked out by Marquis Yigong, hurriedly headed to Paris.

“I have to tell them right away! This is not the time to worry about face! Diplomatic tug-of-war is meaningless now!”