Chapter 1077 947: Blood-Stained Crown and Evil God’s Move

Time flies, and it is already early spring of Sea Origin Calendar year 220, the world war has been ongoing for three full months.

The Sirius army fighting solitarily at the start of the war, under the Sak Empire's sudden and frantic assault, has helplessly retreated from the first line of defense—the Winterthur Mountain Range.

After merging with the Tulip support troops that finally arrived, they re-established a second line of defense on the "Uerk River," behind which lies the Empire's flat plains.

Ssssss...

The precious rainwater during the previous farming seasons now only causes annoyance, silently soaking through the soldiers' clothing in the trenches, also taking away their scarce remaining warmth.

Moreover, even though the temperature under the light rain remains cool, the air is still filled with the lingering stench... of human remains.

And the subtle sobs of some soldiers.

Boom! Boom! Boom!...

Shells explode continuously around both sides' soldiers, leaving behind craters big enough for a person to lie in.

"Charge! Capture the bridgehead!"

"Kill!"

The Democratic Alliance Army's primary mission on the nearly 200-kilometer-long battlefront is to capture the bridges.

Upon the command of the frontline officer, numerous soldiers on the east bank of the river leaped out of the trenches with rifles, charging towards the bridgehead controlled by the Monarch Alliance Army.

In the hail of bullets, human lives were insignificant as grass.

The 200-kilometer-long battlefront operates like a harvester, relentlessly and efficiently claiming soldiers' lives every minute and every second.

Bang! Bang!...

"Go prone! Take out the fire point!"

"Beware of snipers!"

The standard equipment for the Democratic Alliance Army is the G18, an infantry weapon designed in Sea Origin Calendar year 218.

Weight: 3.9kg, Length: 110cm, Operation Mode: Rotating Bolt Action; Ammunition Supply: 5-round internal magazine; Ammunition: 7.92mm; Muzzle Velocity: 755m/s; Effective Range: 1000m.

In combat within 1000 meters, although the firing rate is notably less than the 77-type, its accuracy and stability are excellent. There is no insurmountable gap compared to the 77-type, the biggest difference lies in ammunition capacity.

However, with the reinforcements of numerous "Gunmen" on the Monarch's Shield side, in basic group charges and sniper battles, the Sak and Lowlands Alliance Army still inevitably fell behind.

Even with simultaneous charges from the frenzied roaring "Giant Divine Soldier: Melting Furnace Type III," the outcome remained the same.

"Since we've reached the plains, bring our M217 rapid-fire cannons up!"

"Yes sir!"

The Sak Empire suffered almost no losses in the "War of Overlord" thirty years ago, gobbling up Sirius's colonies in the Southern Continent.

Combined with their original industrial foundation, after decades of strengthening, their national strength and competitiveness in all aspects now indeed surpass those of Sirius, notably in military manufacturing.

The one issuing the artillery support command is Andre, a Sak Empire's Western Front Commander-in-Chief, under fifty years old, a Tier 3 Great Knight, and the most exceptional member of the Imperial Family's collateral branch.

At this moment, his pair of hawk-like sharp grey eyes, staring at the brutal frontline, are filled with coldness and callousness!

Since the collateral branch does not possess inheritance rights, there's naturally no succession order, however, this General is undeniably a popular candidate for the Emperor's position.

In fact, after carrying out that affair, under the "ally's" propaganda offensive, his support has also been increasing.

Major capitalists promise that after winning the war, they can implement a "Monarchical constitutional system" in the Sak Empire, essentially meaning Andre alongside capitalists would divide the royal authority.

Actually, the "Monarchy Reformation Plan" proposed by Aiven and Liweina aims to transition from a complete feudal monarchy to a "dual-monarchical constitutional system."

The hereditary Monarch acts as the nation's head, wielding real power, appoints cabinet members, the government is fully accountable to the Monarch, while the parliament, although exercising legislative powers, the Monarch holds veto rights.

Under this governmental form, though the country adopts a constitution, establishes a parliament.

Yet, the Monarch still retains the authority from the era of feudal autocracy, solely holding national power, being the center of power and the highest actual ruler, as well as the nation's military commander.

At present, the capitalists' promise to Andre is a "parliamentary constitutional system."

Similarly retaining the Monarch to establish a parliament, however, the parliament is not only the nation's highest legislative body but also the highest national authority.

The government leader elected by the parliament organizes the government, being the true center of national power, with the Monarch merely as a symbolic head of state.

The extent of power he can hold, depends entirely on the strength he possesses after the war.

Yet, even a symbolic Emperor position would be infinitely better than now.

Moreover, although this Army General is greedy, he is not stupid. He is not the only one among the non-heirs of the Imperial Family branch, even if he disagrees, others might agree.

As for the war before their eyes, which is fundamentally not for "revenge" but for "private gain"? Ha, every crown of the superior is forged from the blood of millions.

They...should feel honored!

Woo—!

As the M217 field gun begins to unleash its power, the whistling shells carry a piercing chorus as they crash into the positions of the Monarch Alliance Army, blossoming into flames of death.

The artillery fire is so dense, it's just like a torrential downpour.

Normally, the recoil when artillery is fired pushes the gun body backwards away from the gun position.

Not only does it require the Cannoneers to push it back into position, limiting the locations where artillery can be deployed, but it also ruins the previous aim, necessitating recalculation of ballistic parameters, which is both time-consuming and inefficient.

On this basis, the Sak Empire made improvements; they creatively installed a hydraulic recoil recuperator system on the artillery.

In this way, the recoil of the artillery was absorbed by the recoil system, significantly reducing the force transmitted to the gun mount, preventing the gun body from deviating from its position.

The standard artillery most commonly equipped by countries—the Armstrong breech-loading artillery—has an average firing rate of two rounds per minute.

However, the M217 rapid-firing artillery equipped with a recoil system, not needing to be pushed back into position, can fire fifteen shells per minute, and in the most ideal extreme state, it can even achieve a shocking firepower of thirty rounds.

"Order our shooting cannon armor to move up!"

Simultaneously as the Monarch Alliance Army launched their artillery counterattack, a group of Demon Scholars from the Duchy stepped onto the battlefield.

Even though countless "Elemental Turbulence Bombs" had exploded on the battlefield, sealing off the unrivaled cuts of Magical Transcendents and the secretive infiltrations of the Assassin Profession.

However, a type of giant beetle named "shooting cannon armor" was preemptively summoned by the Demon Scholars.

Squeak squeak...

Although the "shooting cannon armor" is a towering giant over 5 meters in length, due to its purely mundane nature, each Demon Scholar can easily control over a dozen.

Moreover, they breed extremely quickly, taking only a short three months to mature from hatchling to adult. As biological weapons, they are not inferior to hot weapons in the slightest.

They have a giant sac at the end of their abdomen, capable of ejecting a certain liquid at extremely high temperatures.

This liquid contains toxic quinones, which react violently with hydrogen peroxide in their internal chamber, and immediately vaporize and explode upon contact with air.

Bang! Bang! Bang!...

Under the command of the Demon Scholars, just like scorching incendiary bombs, they densely covered the opposing positions with greater firepower density.

"Ah—!"

In the piercing screams, countless soldiers of the Democratic Alliance Army instantly became burned and scorched, even the steady drizzle could not prevent the spread of the flames.

In this first major battle named the "Uerk River Campaign."

Both sides consecutively invested nearly three million troops: Ninety-three divisions and one and a half million men from the Monarch's Shield Alliance of Tulip and Hilus; seventy-five divisions and one million two hundred thousand men from the Sak Empire and Lowland Republic Alliance.

In merely seven days of fighting, the casualties on both sides reached 500,000!

The bodies left uncollected even blocked the river channel of the Uerk River, until the weather completely warmed up, the entire 200 km river still reeked of an indelible stench.

And since a swift victory over Hilus was no longer possible, the Sak Empire's initial strategy has therefore completely collapsed, with the Western Front of the Source Continent entering a phase of strategic stalemate.

Meanwhile, in the mundane world.

The unprecedented scale of global war throughout the Material World engulfed every continent in the flames of war, except for the Eternal White Land.

At sea.

On the northern front, Tulip's Navy pursued Atlant with superior forces.

The Black Sea Fleet from the Duchy and Federation, the Golden Sea Fleet, and the Broken Star Sea Fleet, totaling over a hundred warships, clashing in battles that shook the seas.

...

Still within that nameless world filled with vast bloody light, orders filled with immense sanguinary odor continually echoed:

"Inform all members, end the slumber; our 'Capital Tide' has done well. Under the drive of selfish desires, the War of Injustice is about to reach the threshold.

At this time, victory or defeat no longer matters at all; humanity...is merely an offering to the Spirit Realm Sun.

Prepare the Mythical Battleship: Nagilfa, forty-two Demon Gods, we are ready to seize the Gate!"