Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 935

935. The Imperial March (2) – Assaulting Armored Trains, Running on the Ground. (23)

The Swiss and Florentine forces were thrown into confusion.

“Why are the prime movers here?”

Many of the prime movers that had been hauling cannons from Florence, through Milan, to Pavia were now massed at the front lines.

“Why on earth?”

“Come to think of it… aren’t those the freight wagons?”

“What are those good-for-nothing things doing here?”

The Swiss and Florentine troops, examining the prime movers that had suddenly appeared, spewing smoke and steam, tilted their heads in confusion.

They had seen two main types of prime movers: those with only a freight compartment for fuel like coal or firewood, and those with an additional large freight compartment—big enough to carry at least 2,300 people.

During their movements, the Imperial Army used the prime movers with the large freight compartments to carry various supplies.

“But something’s strange, isn’t it?”

The Florentine and Swiss troops, looking at the prime movers, began to feel a sense of unease.

The freight compartments of the prime movers had large iron pillars erected along the center line, and thick steel bars connected these pillars.

Large iron plates, hinged, were fixed to the sides of the freight compartments.

And inside the freight compartments, large iron structures were already in place, leaving little room for supplies.

The same went for the cannons. Other, smaller prime movers and warhorses were hauling larger cannons, while these bulky ones were only pulling the smallest cannons.

This led the Florentine and Swiss troops to ridicule them as ‘good-for-nothing.’

“Why are they dragging around those good-for-nothing things?”

Of course, some had questions. They seemed utterly useless. The huge vehicles pulled only the smallest cannons, and soldiers and artisans swarmed around them to maintain them every time the daily march stopped.

The soldiers were the most peculiar. The soldiers operating these prime movers and those marching alongside them all wore black uniforms, unlike other Imperial soldiers.

The weapons they carried were also unusual. One-third of the soldiers carried Class A light carts, and another third carried long rifles. The problem was the last third.

They carried guns as small as the toy wooden guns that Florentine children played with.

Thus, these prime movers, which seemed like a ‘waste of the Imperial Army’s money,’ were all gathered at the front lines.

“But why are they all facing backward?”

That wasn’t the only thing the Florentine and Swiss troops couldn’t understand.

When they had seen them moving, the prime mover’s cockpit was clearly at the front, followed by the engine room, and finally the ‘useless’ freight compartment.

However, the prime movers now in front were the opposite.

The freight compartment was at the front, followed by the engine room, and finally the cockpit.

The strangeness continued.

At the front and rear of the prime movers were steel structures similar to the bow of a ship, or rather, steel structures curved like the front of a sled.

And the iron plates hanging on the sides of the freight compartment were connected to the steel bars in the center to form a roof.

Among those examining the sled blades, a few with keen eyes soon lit up.

“Huh? Isn’t this… the same as those things in the freight compartment?”

“Hmm… what is it?”

As everyone tilted their heads in confusion, the Imperial Army officers in those peculiar black uniforms put whistles to their mouths.

Peeeeeep!

“Uncover them!”

At the officers’ command, soldiers also wearing the same black uniforms swarmed around the prime movers. As the coverings over the front of the prime movers’ freight compartments were removed, the eyes of the Florentine and Swiss troops nearby widened.

Short, stubby barrels protruded from the front of the prime movers’ freight compartments. Other turrets had gunports protruding from the front and sides of the freight compartments.

Peeeeeep!

“Board!”

After the whistles sounded loudly once more, the officers shouted, ‘Board!’ At the officers’ command, the black-uniformed soldiers who echoed the order climbed the stairs protruding from the left and right of the cockpit and entered the freight compartments.

Boooo! Peeep!

With a loud whistle, the prime movers carrying the soldiers began to move.

Watching the signals sent by soldiers waving flags with large signal flags, the prime movers moved in formation.

The prime movers headed for the bare ground in the middle of the trench lines.

“So that’s why they didn’t dig trenches there….”

“Was that the path for those prime movers to advance?”

Seeing the prime movers carrying soldiers in steel-clad freight compartments and the passages created by cutting through the middle of the trench lines, the Florentine and Swiss troops finally understood everything.

-Break through the trench lines with soldiers in prime movers surrounded by iron plates!

“Are they newly reborn knights for a new era?”

As the flying monks rose into the sky, the gazes of the French generals and soldiers were all focused on them.

Just then, a whistle sounded loudly from the Imperial Army trenches, and the generals’ and soldiers’ gazes shifted from the sky to the ground.

Seeing the columns of smoke from the prime movers moving here and there, the soldiers and generals felt a sense of foreboding.

“I can’t figure out what they’re up to. That’s why I’m uneasy.”

“I agree.”

“Should we start the shelling first?”

“It’s a promise on the honor of a knight….”

“Promises are made to be bro….”

Fwoooom〜.

As the French generals were discussing a preemptive strike, a cannon fired from the rear of the Imperial Allied Forces far away.

“Just one shot? From so far away….”

Kwang!

The French generals, who had already learned the meaning of the first shot through the previous shelling, screamed in horror. But before the words could finish, a large pillar of dirt erupted in the French trench line.

Bang, bang, bang〜.

As about three more shots fell in succession, the French junior officers in the trench line shouted to the soldiers.

“A downpour is coming soon! Everyone, stay alert!”

Not long after the officers spoke, the Imperial Army artillery’s ‘sincere shelling’ began.

Thump! Kwathump! Thump! Kwathump!

The Imperial artillery’s sincere shelling was not just a ‘downpour,’ as the poetically sensitive French troops described it.

It was a torrential rain, no, a murderous downpour with a typhoon.

The Imperial Army artillery, worn down by the many wars and battles they had experienced over time, once again demonstrated their skills to the fullest.

Checking the observation results sent by the flying monks, the Imperial Army artillery systematically destroyed the walls on either side of the Pavia city gate and the trench lines guarding the front of the gate.

“Why are you leaving the gate alone?”

At the question from the Florentine officer who was watching the shelling from the side, the Imperial Army commander replied indifferently.

“It’s easier to open the gate and go in than to climb over the collapsed walls.”

“But there are a lot of enemies waiting right behind the gate, aren’t there?”

“Those crazy assault troops will like that even more. No need to go far. Those damn guys, what, ‘embark after three steps,’ do they think they’re the navy?”

“Huh?”

As the Florentine officer questioned the incomprehensible words, a subordinate officer reported.

“Message from the flying monks! The sailors are departing!”

“Really? Then from now on, just focus on destroying the walls!”

“Yes, sir!”

While the subordinate officers and artillerymen were diligently adjusting the azimuth of the cannons at the commander’s order, the Florentine officer was still tormented by the unresolved question.

“Embark? Navy? Sailors? No matter how I look at it, the Imperial Navy isn’t here….”

As the Florentine officer struggled to solve the question, the interpreter stepped in to provide an answer.

“They say that the structure added to the front and back to pass through the trenches resembles a ship. And if you ride it, you’re bound to get seasick.”

“Seasick?”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“That guy, he’s been assigned to the assault troops for a long time, and he’s still getting seasick?”

Some of the soldiers sitting on the makeshift chairs in the boarding compartment were suffering from motion sickness, and the other soldiers around them grumbled.

“Huu… It’s just… Ugh! How can I… Uweeek! How can I help it if my constitution… Uweeek! doesn’t agree with it?”

The soldiers suffering from motion sickness had their own reasons.

The assault vehicle carrying them was something that had nothing to do with ride comfort.

Hyang was well aware of this problem and used coil springs and leaf springs as much as possible. However, this caused the problem of excessive maintenance requirements.

There’s still a limit to technology, so there’s nothing I can do.

In the end, Hyang had to reluctantly reduce the number and usage of springs, resulting in the worst ride comfort for the soldiers.

“Will there even be soldiers who volunteer for this? Should we forcibly assign them….”

The army commanders who had ridden the prototype were worried, but surprisingly, there were quite a few soldiers who volunteered.

“It’s better than going with our bare bodies when bullets are raining down, right?”

“And we don’t have to run!”

These were soldiers who found the positive aspects even in the midst of it.

* * *

“Ugh….”

“Uaaaagh!”

“Save me! Someone, please!”

The French trenches and walls, which had been directly hit by the Imperial Army’s ‘sincere and enthusiastic’ shelling, became a scene of utter chaos.

Soldiers were groaning or screaming everywhere from the shrapnel of the shells and the injuries sustained from the collapse of the trenches. After a while, as the Imperial Army’s shelling began to subside, the officers and veterans who had come to their senses raised their voices and organized the situation.

“Stretchers! Bring stretchers!”

“Move the wounded!”

“Get that guy out of there!”

“There’s no time!”

The officers and veterans desperately tried to clear away the dead and wounded soldiers as quickly as possible and prepared for what was next.

“Check the status of the turrets and cannons!”

“There’s only one reason why the shelling has subsided! The enemy is coming!”

At the shouts of the officers and veterans, the soldiers who had come to their senses soon checked the status of the turrets and cannons.

“There’s a shortage of personnel in the turrets!”

“You! You! You! Go and help!”

“There’s also a shortage of personnel at the cannon emplacements!”

“Tell the rear!”

The French officers defending the trench lines continued to make choices to achieve the best possible outcome.

In the case of turrets, ordinary soldiers could assist, but this was not possible with cannons.

“Anyway, turrets are better than cannons in close combat! Secure as many turrets as possible!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Monsters! Monsters! Monsters are coming!”

The French officers, who were agonizing over maintaining the best possible force to defend the trenches, raised their heads at the screams coming from around them.

“What? Eek!”

“Gasp!”

The French officers who looked ahead were horrified.

Monsters were rushing in, spewing black columns of smoke.

No, reason was insisting that they were not monsters. But on the large iron plate covering the front, there was a hideous monster baring its teeth.