Translator: Cinder Translations
...
In June, after two months of intensive preparation, Paul Grayman officially issued the order to his army to reclaim Port Frand.
By now, the Alden Guards had two fully equipped battalions totaling over 1,100 soldiers. Thanks to the relentless efforts of Herman and others, in addition to traditional weapons like swords and spears, they were also armed with 20 arquebuses and 2 four-pound cannons.
Outside Port Frand, The Young Earl raised a single-barrel telescope to observe the pirates' defensive fortifications from afar. He had commissioned this telescope from an optician from another region, quickly equipping it within the army. Officers praised this instrument for its ability to observe enemy movements from a distance. Of course, the optician was enticed to stay with a handsome salary.
At this moment, Port Frand's walls had been reinforced by the pirates. These walls, though called such, were nothing more than low earthworks compared to grand cities like Crystal Glare. However, they were adorned with numerous defensive weapons. From a distance, one could see large cauldrons boiling something atop the walls—either scalding hot oil or foul-smelling excrement. The pirates had already noticed the gathering of the army outside the city and preemptively set these on fire.
Not far from the walls, a trench dug deeper than a person's height was lined with a dense array of iron caltrops and spikes, among other treacherous devices, separating the trench from the city walls.
Schroder set down the telescope and suggested, "Let's directly attack the main gate. We have cannons; a few shots can blast open that wooden gate. Then, use the arquebuses and cannons for cover to fill in the trench in front of the gate and charge in."
Paul nodded in agreement with the plan.
In the afternoon, two cannons aimed from afar at Port Frand's main gate, and the battle commenced.
"Load... Aim..." With each command from the gunner, the artillerymen operated the cannons methodically. They had been training continuously for nearly two months for this actual combat, every movement seeming almost instinctive.
"Fire!" The gunner roared, and the artilleryman responsible for firing ignited the gunpowder in the breech.
"Boom!"
Accompanied by a tremendous roar, solid iron balls weighing four pounds each surged out of the cannon at a speed of 416 meters per second, almost instantly crashing into the walls of Port Frand.
The pirates on the wall only saw a puff of white smoke from those strange things in the distance, followed by two loud bangs that suddenly made the walls tremble. Though they didn't hit the main gate, the force still shook the pirates profoundly, eliciting cries of terror from the wall.
"Arquebuses, a simpler yet more powerful structure!" The pirate leader, Shark, quickly deduced. He promptly ordered his men not to gather together to avoid being wiped out by the cannonballs.
"Reset... Adjust the angle!"
The artillerymen slightly adjusted their angles and quickly fired the second round.
Although the second round did not directly hit the main gate either, it shattered a section of the wall. The cannonball pierced through the wall, directly blasting a hapless pirate off the wall, instantly killing him. The debris from the wall also caused serious injuries to his companions not far on either side.
Painful cries echoed on the walls, and Shark immediately ordered his men to take those two down to avoid demoralizing the rest.
However, morale had almost plummeted by now. After witnessing the power of the "arquebuses," all the pirates trembled with fear, heads down.
...
Amidst the deafening sound of destruction, the fifth round finally hit the main gate. The wooden gate shattered to pieces, and the pirates ambushing on either side of the gate were terrified, shaken to their cores by the thunderous cannon fire now akin to divine thunder in the pirates' hearts.
"Advance, musketeers!"
The musketeers of the Alden army, protected by shield bearers, slowly advanced towards the city wall.
"Archers, prepare! The enemy is attacking the city. Let the brothers at the gate be vigilant," the commander of the Shark mercenaries ordered.
Seeing the musketeers advancing, he knew the enemy was about to attack.
Pirates armed with bows and arrows began to expose themselves halfway over the wall, searching for targets near the moat.
But what they thought were "siege troops" stopped about 100 meters from the city wall. At this distance, their crude arrows couldn't inflict effective damage, especially with the protection of shields.
A crackling sound, like frying beans, echoed as 20 arquebuses fired in unison. Immediately, four pirates were hit, clutching their wounds and screaming loudly against the wall.
"Get down! Get down!" "It's the rumored black magic!" There was a commotion on the city wall.
It was a kind of rumored dark weapon that could shoot from such a distance. The Shark commander was alarmed; he thought the enemy would fill the moat next and attack the city.
Indeed, taking advantage of the pirates crouching to avoid the musket fire, soldiers carrying bags of soil quickly ran to the front of the gate near the moat and began throwing it in.
"We must stop them now!" The Shark commander shouted, "Archers, attack!"
However, no one listened to him; all the archers remained huddled behind the parapet.
The Shark grew furious, "Are you all deaf?"
One of his men, with a mournful face, said, "Boss, surrender! We can't win."
The Shark sneered, "Hmph! Finally, someone speaks up."
Then, with eyes bloodshot, he shouted to his men, "Grayman's father died in our hands. Do you think there's any good outcome after surrender? Do you know the consequences for us when we harm nobles?" His voice became manic.
Images of horrifying scenes flashed through the pirates' minds.
In this harsh era, harming nobles meant consequences decided solely by them. While some nobles forgiving criminals became legends, severe punishment was more common. Maiming or even death through torture was terrifyingly normal. A lord once punished an assassin by inserting a pointed stake into the victim's rear and letting gravity slowly do its work, causing the victim to scream in endless agony until death.
Facing such potential horrors, even these bloodstained pirates involuntarily shuddered.
"Let's fight these noble brats to the end!"
Under the pressure of fear, the pirates were roused, yelling to resist Paul Grayman.
But being beaten down against the city wall wasn't a solution. With the moat about to be filled, the Shark ordered his men to descend the wall and engage in hand-to-hand combat.
As the pirates noisily moved down the wall, the Shark called over a confidant and quietly gave a few instructions.
...
Accompanied by the chilling roar of cannons, a cannonball pierced the city gate, immediately opening a passage of carnage, scattering the pirates gathered at the city gate to the sides, ignoring the moaning comrades lying on the ground, in panic and disarray.
At the right moment, the Alden army launched their assault. Four infantry companies stepped over sandbags, crossed the moat, and swiftly deployed inside the city. They engaged in melee with the pirates stationed on both sides of the city gate, and for a while, the streets near the gate were filled with the sounds of battle.
The musketeers followed closely behind, entering the city. They fired freely from a safe distance behind the infantry, almost picking off targets at will. Amidst rising smoke and the clatter of gunfire, pirates' lives were harvested by bullet after bullet.
"Surrender, and be Spared!"
A cavalryman rode into the city, conveying the Earl's latest orders to the divided and surrounded pirates.
"We surrender!"
At the prospect of avoiding death, previously defiant pirates immediately threw down their weapons and knelt, surrendering. One took the lead, and others followed suit, fearing retribution but gambling on survival.
In just a few minutes, all the pirates in the gate area surrendered.
(End of this chapter)