The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1186: The Sorrow of Budapest
On a cold night, the cold is no longer felt because of the wine and food in the stomach, the fear is forgotten because of the passionate dance, and the warmth is felt because of the embrace of someone.

The next day, early morning.

The embers of the bonfire still retained heat, and the recruits were still immersed in yesterday's sweet dreams. After all, it was difficult for them to eat meat, let alone drink alcohol, and yet they were so unrestrained and free.

When the officer's shout sounded, the recruits hurriedly got up and put on their clothes. No matter how reluctant they were or how unwilling they were to wake up, they had to get up, after all, the officer's whip was merciless.

"Listen! Destination Budapest! Forward!"

The team advanced slowly along the road. The Austrian army really turned a blind eye to them. Only an old priest stood by the roadside with a white flag and spoke in Hungarian.

"Children, go back! Go back! If you still have a conscience, let these children go back!"

But no one cared about the dirty old priest in front of them.

"Don't worry about him, he's just a lunatic."

"Pooh! Austrian running dogs!"

"We're about to enter the city!"

The recruits sang and danced, and the crows in the sky danced to the singing.

"The drums of war disturbed the spirits,

The footsteps shattered the peace,
Young people stride towards an unknown destiny,

Only the departed souls sigh softly in the wind."

Ancient Vandal folk song.

Everything went more smoothly than they had imagined. The recruits quickly passed through the Austrian army's defense zone. The door of Budapest was open to them. There seemed to be a light flashing through the crack of the door. Everything was full of hope.

Only when the new recruits stepped into this holy city of the Huns did they discover that the magnificent buildings had long been razed to the ground, and even the original structures of the streets could not be seen.

People were struggling to survive in the ruins, with ragged clothes and distorted expressions everywhere, and countless pairs of greedy eyes were staring at the supplies in their cars, or at themselves.

It was the first time Thor had seen such a look, and he was frightened and looked at the conscription officer. However, the conscription officer and the veteran were holding weapons and looking at them coldly.

"Sir, this?"

Suddenly a stone hit Thor in the face, and he felt dizzy. People on the roadside rushed madly towards the carriage carrying supplies.

"Hand over the food!"

"You bastards! I'm starving to death!"

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! It's all garbage!"

"Why should I stay here!"

"Ahaha! There's a woman!"

When Thor woke up, his boots and pants were gone. He got up with difficulty and found himself with his companions.

Toldo hoped it was a dream, but his companions' bruised and bloodied faces and their obviously reduced numbers told him that everything was real.

"Why? Why is this?"

No one answered. "Aren't we here to defend Budapest? Aren't we here to reinforce them? Shouldn't they welcome us?"

Still no answer, only the cold wind blowing.

He questioned for a long time without any result, and the angry Thor found the recruiting officer who brought them here.

"Why!"

"Why? You see, this is hell, and we are the prisoners of hell."

"I don't know!"

"Wait."

"What are you waiting for?"

Suddenly, there was a sharp sound of breaking through the air, and countless brilliant fireworks rose in the sky. The light was dazzling, but also extremely deadly.

Heavy siege rockets continued to explode over the city, and countless fire rain mixed with fragments fell from the sky. There were constant wailing and screaming, and smoke, dust, and gunpowder filled the air.

Thor subconsciously hid behind a broken wall. Facing the roar of rockets and cannons, he felt deeply his own insignificance and powerlessness.

Thor desperately fled to the recruit barracks. When he returned to the base, the barracks was in a mess, with broken limbs and countless broken tiles and wood chips mixed together, as well as the stench of burnt corpses.

Thor felt his stomach churning and he vomited out all the bitter bile, but there was no food left. He felt extremely hungry and cold.
In the following days, Thor quickly understood the rules of survival in this city. Some people wanted to escape, but the military law team blocked all the passes unless someone led the guards away.

Only when the man who was caught by the guards saw his companions being shot to pieces by the Austrian army on the road outside the city did he understand what it meant to have no gates to hell.

The new recruits soon became veterans, and the veterans' eyes gradually became cloudy and greedy, and their behavior gradually became unrestrained.

As new troops arrived, Thor grew stronger and had followers around him. The daily bombardment made the people in the city nervous and everyone hoped that everything would end soon.

But everything ended too suddenly.
Bombardment, bombardment, bombardment.
Everyone seemed to be accustomed to the Austrians' days of sieging without attacking. Over time, no one repaired the collapsed city walls, no one noticed the loopholes in the defense, and no one would run to the top of the city to seek death.

The artillery has long run out of shells. Even if the artillery can be used, the ranges of the two sides are incomparable. Rather than being unilaterally ravaged by the other side, it is better to hide in the ruins and live a day-to-day life.

Everyone is eyeing the food and weapons in their own hands. Without food, people will starve to death, and without weapons, they will become prey to others.

The bombardment was the peak of the struggle. Just as the Magyars in the city were on guard against each other, the Austrian army launched a general offensive.

To be honest, the Austrian soldiers had been holding their breath for a long time. They had long wanted to tear the Magyars in the city into pieces to avenge Archduke Stephen's family, as well as the entire empire, their fallen comrades and innocent civilians.

Of course, maybe there weren't so many ifs, they just wanted to end the war and go home as soon as possible. But in any case, when the horn of the general attack sounded, there was no way back.

The terrifying bombardment and rocket coverage did not stop, but reached an unprecedented density. The powerful firepower covered almost all possible firing points.

Countless steel behemoths took off into the sky and headed straight for Budapest. The earth was also rumbling as countless steam tanks spewed out black smoke as they moved forward.

Countless white dots on the endless battlefield are constantly expanding. They are the Austrian soldiers who are countless and filling the mountains and seas.

When Qiutkale climbed up the city wall and saw this scene, he was completely stunned. He pressed his forehead with one hand, held his stomach with the other, and laughed wildly.

The laughter was so loud that even the scar on his face began to twitch. This was the first time he laughed since the siege began, and it was also the most enjoyable laugh he had ever had.

"Haha! Haha! It's all true! It's all true! Haha! Flying in the sky! Running on the ground! How can we fight them? Kossuth! Fuck your ancestors!"