in the name of the queen

Chapter 322 Franks, take off!
The blue moon is in the sky, and the red moon is beside it.

The cold blue light and the equally cold red light intertwined on the ground, like the strange light in the corner of a dead fish's eyes.

On the west side of Franks Fortress, in an unknown dense forest, two young men were observing the twinkling lights in the fortress through telescopes.

After a moment, the young man with only a few hairy whiskers at the corners of his lips put down the telescope and said softly:
"As expected of the elite troops of the Kingdom of Pruden, they did not relax even after achieving such a great victory as 'capturing the Franks Fortress and opening the Hansa Gate'. I thought they would party all night long."

The young man, who looked to be in his twenties, patted the boy on the shoulder and said teasingly with a smile:
"They are indeed alert, but they never dreamed that the real killer was underground. Tom, you have made a contribution again this time."

There was no smile on the face of the young man called Tom, but instead endless regret.

"What a shame! If I had been given another three days, I would have definitely been able to dig out more. Damn, the situation this time is almost the same as the last time the relics were shipped out. I can guarantee that the relics below are a big fish, no, a giant deep-sea shark!"

Jerry was a little unconvinced.

More than 5,000 tons of gunpowder and high explosives are not enough. Does this guy want to send the entire fortress into the sky?

Tom unbuttoned his collar, breathed a sigh of relief, and as if he remembered something, he turned suddenly to Jerry with a slightly changed expression.

"Have all the residents in the city been evacuated?"

These days he was busy setting up explosive devices and explosives underground, and the task of evacuating residents could only be entrusted to his best friend Jerry.

"Don't worry. Even if you don't believe me, you should believe General Dai Long and the Saint."

"I reported it immediately and they have made proper arrangements."

Jerry didn't look at Tom, but raised the telescope again to observe the city.

Tom always felt a little uneasy, but he didn't think much about it.

General Dai Long is the Governor's confidant and has always been steady in his work. Even if he does nothing, Miss Saint will not let him go.

Miss Saint is beautiful and has a holy and dignified temperament. She is the spokesperson of the Goddess of Light on earth. She is simply the embodiment of goodness and beauty.

"Since Miss Saint knows, I will definitely feel relieved."

Tom said with a smile.

Jerry's heart trembled, he put down the telescope and squinted at Tom.

For a moment he suspected that Tom was being sarcastic, but after a closer look he saw that the boy seemed to be serious.

Well, only a few people knew that Saint Christine sold her pawn on the battlefield in exchange for overall victory, but her deeds of not abandoning or giving up the defenders in Helensburg and launching a major counterattack are deeply engraved in the hearts of every survivor of the Battle of Helensburg.

Jerry sighed inwardly and decided to keep the cruel truth to himself.

To be fair, he didn't think there was anything wrong with Christine's command in the Wende Civil War.

Compassion does not command troops.

A military commander can be kind-hearted and should care about his subordinates at ordinary times, but he must be a calculating chess player on the battlefield.

Miss Christine was undoubtedly a smart and calm chess player, which was why Roland appointed her as the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces.

He completely understood and respected Miss Christine very much.

But respect aside, he didn't want to have anything to do with such a cold-blooded guy.

Even if her beauty is like that of a goddess who has fallen to earth, it won’t work.

He originally thought that Tom was just grateful and admired Christine, but now it seemed that there were some bad signs.

He couldn't help but ask, "Tom, we are best friends, right?"

"What friends? We are half brothers!" Tom corrected loudly with his eyes wide open.

"Haha, I was wrong. We are indeed brothers who can trust each other with our lives. Since we are good brothers, we should be honest with each other, right?"

Tom looked at Jerry alertly, his eyes sparkling under the night sky, and he was extremely clear-headed.

"Of course, even if my brother wants to trick me, I will never hide anything."

Although he spoke firmly, he was actually reminding Jerry, "I treat you as my brother, so don't try to trick me."

Jerry bit his lip and asked in a low voice, "Tom, tell your brother the truth, do you like Miss Saint?"

"Yes, she is the inviolable goddess in my heart." Tom answered immediately.

Jerry punched him angrily, "That's not the kind of love I'm talking about. What I mean is, have you ever thought about marrying a saint as your wife, even if it's just a fantasy?"

"what?!"

Tom nearly fell over.

He finally managed to stand firm, touched his own head, and then touched Jerry's head to make sure he had heard it correctly.

After a moment's silence, he covered his mouth and tried hard to hold back his laughter, but he still laughed out loud.

"Jerry, Miss Christine's status is higher than that of an average cardinal, right?"

"Yeah." Jerry nodded.

Although she would have to become an official saint to surpass several cardinals who held core power, Governor Roland would not treat her unfairly even if she failed.

Whether it was the loan to become an official saint or the placement after being eliminated, she was indeed better than most cardinals.

"Brother, I am considered the best among my peers, right?"

"What are you talking about? My good brother is the best." Jerry puffed out his chest proudly.

Tom spread his hands and sighed softly, "Even if we follow the most outrageous scenario, and my two brothers are gods descending from heaven, and we lead these 3,000 cavalrymen to counterattack and capture Franks, and destroy 100,000 enemy troops, I will at most be an earl, right?"

"Yes." There are rules for the promotion of titles, and being directly conferred the title of Earl is the limit. Governor Roland is only an Earl without the title of Caesar. No matter how confident they are, they cannot be so arrogant as to surpass Roland.

"Even so, my status is still far from hers, not to mention that she is the favorite of the Goddess of Light."

"so."

Tom clapped his hands lightly, speaking calmly and smiling sincerely, "Don't worry, Jerry. I'm not an incompetent fool. I know that Miss Saint and I are from two different worlds."

"She is the goddess's favorite. Even if she has fallen from favor, she is still the Governor's woman. I have nothing but respect and admiration for her."

"what?"

This time it was Jerry's turn to be surprised.

He didn't expect Tom to be so calm, and he didn't expect him to be able to calmly accept the scandal between Christine and the Governor.

For some reason, Tom's calmness frightened him.

But Tom kept avoiding the question. He didn't say whether he liked the saint.

Jerry was about to ask again, but was shocked by Tom's eyes. Under the extreme calmness, there was an even calmer sadness.

Jerry opened his mouth, said nothing, and just patted his good brother on the shoulder.

This is the romance of teenagers.

There is no reason to like someone, even if you know you are not worthy of him/her and that it is a fruitless crush.

Jerry's heart moved and he narrowed his eyes.

He doesn't care about the saint, but he can't just watch his good brother get hurt!
An idea struck him, and he smiled and said, "Miss Saint and the Governor are not in that kind of relationship."

"How do you know? The Sun reported it. Their gossip is very accurate."

Tom was trying to hide something, but the trembling in his voice betrayed him.

"It's simple. She's still a virgin. Don't ask why. My father is a romantic aristocrat who knows some special observation skills."

"Miss Saint will not like anyone. Her body and soul are dedicated to the goddess."

"Really?" Tom's eyes suddenly lit up like stars in the night sky.

"It's true. The fanaticism of these charlatans is beyond your imagination."

"Don't call her a charlatan!"

Tom was laughing like a happy cat. If he wasn't afraid of being discovered, he would have almost done a few backflips.

Haha, he is not heartbroken.

No, of course he was heartbroken, but so was the world!

No, he was the only one in the world who had never been heartbroken. Because he knew that the Saint was a devout believer, but some fools didn't know that.

Looking at Tom's excited eyes, Jerry curled his lips and said nothing.

It's obvious that Tom, the little virgin, is in his first love.

Women's faith is not that devout. If Christine really fails in the selection of saints, she might get married right away.

Of course he wouldn't be so unromantic as to say such nonsense.

This war is very cruel and no one can guarantee to survive to the end. Why should we shatter our good brother's fantasy of the perfect girl?

There are two Saint Christines in this world.

One of them is the perfect saintly girl that the good brother fantasizes about.

The other is a ruthless war machine.

Seeing Tom getting carried away, he couldn't help but pat his good brother on the head and reminded him:
"Don't be crazy, business is more important."

He was not angry because he saw Tom going crazy. In this tense battlefield, going crazy moderately was also a way to relieve stress.

But they are really on a mission.

Demolition mission.

The bombing operation codenamed "Little Boy".

Although I don't know why the name of this operation is so strange, it is the Governor's name and he will not have any objection.

More than 5,000 tons of black powder and high explosives are enough to make these Prudens feel enthusiastic.

Christine also gave them a hidden mission.

If Pruden's army was in complete chaos, he would lead 3,000 cavalrymen to launch a surprise attack and expand the results of the battle.

If Pruden's army had only suffered heavy losses and order was not in chaos, then they should withdraw quickly.

Jerry didn't think the Pruden Army would give them a chance.

The general in charge of this campaign was General Hoffman.

This is a famous general known for his steadiness.

Judging from the order in which Pruden's troops occupied the fortress, this famous general was worthy of his reputation.

It's too difficult to take advantage of him.

Unless there are 100,000 tons of explosives to send the entire city into the sky.

But how is this possible.

Jerry smiled self-deprecatingly.

It would be difficult for the Sussex Empire to gather so much explosives even with all its strength. The precious explosives must be used to make various weapons and it is impossible to waste them like this.

Two-thirds of Pruden's army entered the city, and the remaining one-third was outside the city. The attack on half of the fortress could only cause tens of thousands of casualties at most, and would not cause any damage to the foundation.

This is just a warning.

Just as Jerry was daydreaming, Tom took out a pocket watch, wiped it carefully, opened the case reluctantly, and looked at the time.

This was a gift given by the Queen after the last Battle of Helensburg, and he planned to keep it as a family heirloom.

The pointer slowly turned and soon it was four o'clock in the morning.

Dawn is the lowest point in a person’s alertness and physical functions. This is a natural law that no one can avoid.

At four o'clock in the morning, Franks was as silent as the abyss. Only a few military strongholds such as the watchtowers were still lit. Even the highly disciplined Pruden army needed a rest.

It's time to act.

A cold light flashed in Tom's eyes, and he whispered softly: "Little boy, start!"

He pressed the button and issued an order, activating a chain of explosive devices dozens of meters below the Franks Fortress through special facilities.

The earth trembled slightly.

Jerry thought about the topic he and Tom had originally discussed and sighed inwardly.

This feast was bound to result in the loss of countless lives, including the Franks residents who had not yet evacuated.

Perhaps General Dai Long did not do his job well and did not seize the time.

Perhaps the residents of the city did not want to leave their homes and even wanted to accept the new rulers.

Or maybe Miss Saint thought it would be more realistic to leave some residents behind so that they would not be exposed in advance.

In short, there were still 30,000 residents left in the city and had not evacuated.

They are enemies now!
Jerry thought fiercely, dispelling the distracting thoughts in his mind.

This is a brutal war between two major camps. If you don't obey the order to evacuate the city and stay to welcome the enemy, then what else can you be if not an enemy?!

He shouldn't doubt General Dai Long's ability, and he shouldn't doubt the kindness of Miss Saint!

"boom!"

Just as Jerry was desperately brainwashing himself, the [little boy] exploded.

The earth was torn apart by the violent tremors, and flames shot up into the sky, sounding like the earth's wailing.

The huge explosion was deafening, and the hot shock wave swept over fiercely, and the dense forest where Tom and Jerry were hiding was also affected.

Dead branches and broken leaves flew everywhere in the violent shock wave, and a thick branch hit Jerry on the head, waking him up from his dementia.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

This is not an explosion, it's clearly the gate of hell being opened.

His whole body was shaking, and he was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time.

Where did Franks go? Such a big fortress?

He grabbed the telescope with an extremely grim look on his face.

Through the telescope, he clearly saw the castle in the center of the fortress fly into the sky and shatter into pieces with the explosion.

Jerry could even see General Pruden waving his arms in despair.

Although he didn't understand Pruden very well and couldn't read lips, he knew that these people would never know what happened until they died.

Even though it was an enemy, Jerry still felt a little uncomfortable.

This boy Tom is too cruel. Wasn’t it agreed that only part of the city could be bombed?
He turned his head to look at Tom and was about to make a joke, but found that Tom was far more surprised than he was.

"Tom?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! I didn't put so much explosives!"

Tom was pale, and was shaking his head, mumbling incoherently.

Jerry was also a little confused, but he quickly realized that something must have gone wrong with the explosion.

Tom said that there must be deeper ruins underground, and if we can dig for a few more days, we might get some unexpected discoveries.

There was an unexpected gain, but it was a little too unexpected.

He patted Tom's shoulder and was about to speak, but Tom's eyes had regained their firmness.

"I understand, this is divine punishment!"

"Ah?" Jerry was dumbfounded. What do you know, bastard! It's not the final day of return yet, how can there be divine punishment? Do you think divine punishment is as frequent as thunder and rain?

He was about to refute Tom, but suddenly he understood everything.

Tom just didn't want to face reality.

Although his good brother was naive, he was smart and could definitely guess that some residents were stranded in the city.

When placing the explosive devices, Tom deliberately avoided the western part of the city where the residents had last evacuated, and concentrated them in the city center and the east side in the hope of minimizing casualties.

However, accidents made these designs a joke.

No matter how many people are in the city, the chances of survival are slim.

Seeing Tom's increasingly depressed look, Jerry patted his shoulder fiercely and shouted:

"You're right, this is the mildest punishment from God!"

"Miss Saint represents the Goddess of Light, and some of these enemies are defiling the light, and some are betraying the light. They have angered the Goddess of Light, so the great goddess has brought down divine punishment."

"Think carefully, the explosion just now was divided into two parts. The first part was the 5,000 tons of explosives you placed, and the second part of the explosion directly destroyed the entire city."

Tom looked at Jerry blankly and nodded subconsciously, "Yes, yes."

Jerry raised his voice and shouted, "That's right, this means that the Great Goddess felt that our punishment was not enough, so she took action herself!"

"To be the enemy of the Saint is to be the enemy of the Goddess, so what we did was right, but it was not enough!"

Tom's eyes gradually became firm and his hands stopped shaking.

He gently pushed Jerry away and turned towards the ruined Franks Fortress, his voice as firm as a believer praying.

"Divine punishment is the will of the great goddess cast upon the human world. Blasphemers should not escape. Those who slip through the net will be dealt with by me."

Jerry scratched his head. Of course he knew what Tom was talking about.

Although the Franks Fortress was bombed into the sky, many troops stationed on the periphery were not killed on the spot.

Tom is going to send them to the underworld.

Since my good brothers have this idea, as the eldest brother I will naturally support them.

Anyway, the enemy has been scared and has lost unified command. Even if they have a large number of people, they are just a group of sheep.

Then let’s go for it!

Jerry put the whistle in his mouth and blew it hard.

The shrill whistle was still piercing in the already noisy hell night.

The long whistle sounded a call to battle to the three thousand cavalrymen.

Charge! Kill the enemy!
The cavalrymen led their horses and quickly rushed out of the dense forest, lined up in an orderly manner on the plain, raised their spears and attacked the Pruden camp on the west side of the Franks fortress.

In the night, the three thousand black-clad cavalrymen moved silently like three thousand ghosts.

If it were an ordinary day, they would have to be careful not to make any noise to attract the enemy's attention, but on this hellish night, this little noise was nothing.

The cavalrymen trotted and quickly approached the enemy camp.

They will launch a charge about 500 meters away.

This well-equipped Guards cavalry was completely different from traditional cavalry.

Traditional cavalry only need to wear heavy armor and charge repeatedly, and they are proficient in the use of various weapons.

Long-range javelin throwing, medium- and long-range rifle volleys, and close-range grenade throwing, few enemies can survive these three rounds of long-range firepower.

Before they launch a charge, there is often artillery fire coverage.

The enemy was unable to withstand the violent firepower and its front line collapsed.

What followed was a violent charge.

The ferocious Royal Guards Cavalry will trample equally on any enemy who dares to resist.

Tonight was the first actual combat in which the Household Cavalry launched a charge as a regiment.

The spectacle of hell tonight put many strange thoughts through Tom and Jerry's minds, but as they charged in the cavalry column, adrenaline replaced the brain and dominated the body.

Their blood was burning, they charged forward with howls, brandishing their sabers and slashing at the panicked enemy.

This is not a war, but a one-sided massacre.

The Pruden Kingdom Army stationed a number of troops outside the fortress, but most of them were sent off by the super-evolved [Little Boy], and only about 15,000 people did not die on the spot.

Before these more than 10,000 lucky people had time to wake up from the terrible fiery hell, they discovered that they were the truly unfortunate ones.

Most of those who were killed on the spot went to the underworld in their sleep, so at least they didn't suffer too much.

They also have to endure both mental and physical torture.

The Prudens are also religious people, and they believe in light.

When they launched an attack on the Wend Empire, the leaders of the Court of Light advised them not to attack their brothers of the same faith, but the kingdom's leaders refused to listen.

At that time, many soldiers felt that this was not a fair thing to do.

The solemn warning from the Court of Light did not dissuade the Pruden royal family, but it planted a seed in the hearts of the grassroots soldiers, making these soldiers feel that the king was rebelling against the light.

This seed is usually buried deep in the soil and will only burst out when the time is right.

Tonight is that time.

Because we took action against brother countries that also believed in light, we suffered God's punishment!
This is the first thought that flashes through most soldiers' minds.

If it wasn't a punishment from God, who had the ability to destroy a city in an instant?
This power is completely beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

There was no unified command, no will to fight, and some people even knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the sky dyed red by the flames, allowing their heads to be chopped off by sabers.

Tom, who was commanding the army to charge, keenly noticed that something was wrong.

He pulled the reins and ran quickly towards a small hillock.

Jerry was a little worried. The small mound was not a strategic location, but it could easily become a target for volley fire.

He quickly waved his hand to signal a cavalry squad to follow and protect him, while he continued to lead his men to charge.

The enemy is still in chaos, we can't miss this opportunity!

Jerry was born into an aristocratic family and received a good education. He had a little sympathy for ordinary people, but not much.

He would grieve for the thirty thousand inhabitants of the fortress who were buried with him, but that was all.

He would never show mercy to his enemies.

Letting these people recover would be a crime against their comrades. He kept issuing orders, preparing to take advantage of the chaos to severely damage or even annihilate the remnants of Pruden's army.

However, even as he was killing with great passion, Tom, who had climbed the hill, began to roar loudly.

"Soldiers of the Pruden Kingdom, you have shown enough bravery. Lay down your weapons. Your enemy is not us. This is a divine punishment from the Great Goddess."

“Go back and tell your compatriots not to wield weapons against the Saint, otherwise the next divine punishment will not be so simple.”

"Put down your weapons, I will ensure your safety!"

Jerry, who was about to tear the enemy to pieces, looked at Tom's saintly and determined eyes, sighed secretly, and abruptly stopped the saber that was about to chop down.

The young soldier who closed his eyes and waited for death under his knife was even younger than Tom.

Jerry relented.

Since the divine punishment did not kill them all, let's stop here.

Let these remnants of soldiers who have lost their will to fight go away!
(End of this chapter)