Release that Witch

The light from the explosion flashed like a firefly in the night.

Van’er raised his telescope and looked toward the oasis.

The burning torches became the best way to find their targets. The torches became more intensive the closer they were to Iron Sand City. Thousands of flashing flames clearly illuminated the camp of Sand Nation, which was the main target of the artillery battalion.

After a while, the sound of a large explosion came from the depths of the oasis.

”The landing locations seem a bit unorganized,” muttered Cat’s Claw who was also observing.

”That’s the best we could do. You know, it’s difficult to set the cannon on the sand so we can only use the first shots as tests.” Jop replied while loading the shell into the barrel for the next firing.

”Anyway, try to shoot further. If the shell falls on the head of His Excellency Iron Axe, we’ll be done for.”

”Rest assured. The tavern is far from the camp. If we hit it by mistake, the shooting manuals written by the sages should be rewritten.” Rodney tightened the firing rope and shouted, ”Ready!”

”Fire!” Van’er nodded.

The two Longsong Cannons fired again with deafening roars. Flames that escaped from the muzzle briefly lit up the ground in front of them and raised enough dust to hit them on their faces, causing the crowd to shut their eyes.

The small oasis was not really a town. It was merely a fortress formed by the clans outside Iron Sand City. None of the houses were made of brick and stone, and most of them were just tents of leather and cloth except some small buildings and watch towers.

Therefore, the damage from the Longsong Cannons was surprisingly good.

Van’er noticed that no matter where the shell landed, the area would be dark for a second but soon light up again. The explosion knocked over tents and torches, and then the oil of torches mixed with other flammable building material, forming more dazzling flames.

This was the first time the artillery battalion of First Army had to use the method of measuring distances and arranging artillery positions according to the firing table. The result could not be described as ideal, but fortunately, the vulnerable and flammable targets made up for this flaw. After several rounds of shooting, the camp of the Sand Nation had been lit into a large fire, while several bright flames were spreading with the help of the roaring evening wind. It was going to ignite the entire oasis. Though he was not experiencing the power of artillery first hand, Van’er could imagine exactly what sort of predicament the so-called watchdogs were now in.

Overwhelming and unavoidable, this was the Lord of War praised by His Majesty.

Praise the cannon!

Praise the large-caliber cannon!

He proudly glanced at the Gun Battalion, lying in ambush, and the machine gun squads on both sides and once again felt fortunate that he had made the right choice.

The future of warfare would be dominated by cannons. As for flintlocks... they would only be suitable for supporting the cannons or clearing the battlefield, but nothing more.

…

It was after quite a while before Thuram recovered from the earth-shattering explosions. Until now, his ears had been buzzing, as if he had been slapped in his face.

Was that the thunder that Iron Axe had mentioned?

After deep thunder and sharp howls, a watch tower not far from the tavern was suddenly engulfed by a fireball and the whole tower split into pieces within seconds. At the same time, the roar of the explosion caused his ears to lose hearing for a moment.

Through the smashed holes in the wall, he saw many tents were ignited by the splashing bonfire and then became even larger bonfires. People screamed and ran out of the fire, rolling, and struggling on the ground in an attempt to quench the flames. Unfortunately, few of them were lucky enough to do that.

Some of the sand people near the watch tower fell down unconscious. They were not fatally injured, but they could never stand up again.

Damn, this was not thunder, but heavenly fire falling into the mortal world!

Only the Heavenly Father could have such a terrible power.

Thuram thought such a violent attack would not last long, but he soon found himself to be wrong.

He heard the sound of thunder every couple of minutes which was then followed by fireballs and explosions. He also noticed that the fireballs were scattered at the very beginning, but soon concentrated on the center of the oasis. That was where the watchdogs lived. Different from the vassal clans, the watchdogs occupied the most fertile land in the oasis.

However, at the moment, it had become a hell.

A fire raged as if the sky was burning.

He looked at Iron Axe differently now.

”By the name of Three Gods... you do not have such strength!” Thuram asked with a husky and trembling voice, ”Who did you submit to? Those northerners?”

”A merciful king,” Iron Axe replied, ”he’ll bring order and safety to the Ironsand people of the Mojin Clan.”

”This is imposs...” He subconsciously wanted to say ”impossible”, but when he saw the sea of ​​fire spreading throughout the oasis, the last syllable got caught in his throat and could not be uttered.

”Unfortunately, not all people are willing to accept such a system. The oasis feeds the Sand Nation, but at the same time imprisons their thoughts. Killing and framing came from fighting for survival. How ironic that the oasis, that should support life, is soaked with blood. As for the watchdogs, the large clans keep them in power and make our clansmen suffer in sand and drought. I have to say, that’s a stupid and short-sighted thing to do.”

”If these words were spoken by the northerners, I would not be surprised, but by you, Iron Axe...” Thuram shook his head painfully. ”As a mixed-blood grown up in the desert, how can you be so naive? Did you forget that the oasis is limited and can’t support the growing population if we don’t fight for the territories? Unless Mojins are able to overpower Graycastle, we can’t leave the desert. Cooperation and submission will end up in death as the northerners will never really trust us. The fall of the Black Bone and Sandstone Clans is the proof of that!”

In order to receive rich territory, these two clans ,which should have the opportunity to live in Iron Sand City, chose to offer their service to Garcia, Queen of Clearwater. What did they get? It was understood that everyone was fed a strange pill and eventually turned into rotten flesh and the Queen’s promise became meaningless.

”Can we never gain real trust?” Iron Axe said with a slight sigh, ”I used to think so, but the evidence that I have seen tell me that some people are born to break routine.”

Suddenly, Thuram heard a burst of galloping outside the tavern, which became more and more frequent. He knew that the counterattack team of the watchdogs was assembling.

They might lose the courage to fight, but their skills and horsemanship were not lost. As long as any enemies emerged near the oasis, they would go for them like bloodthirsty sandworms. When he was about to remind Iron Axe, he was grabbed by his collar and drawn to the window.

Not far away, he saw more burning torches moving toward the desert outside the oasis.

Apparently, these watchdogs picked up the attackers’ scent.

However, both Iron Axe and the dark-haired Divine Lady were at ease. It seemed that they did not care about this cavalry team.

”What did I say before? Not everyone is happy to accept the new order... The watchdogs thought they can stop the thunder,” the mixed-blood whispered in his ear as if he was pronouncing his fate, ”But whether you accept it or not, the new order will come.”