The white snow that fell made Norman seem extremely peaceful and serene. More than half of the Britannians in Caen felt that their war with the Empire would soon be over.

Early morning.

The soldiers on duty on the city wall, holding the spears in their hands, drooped their eyes godlessly, and yawned incessantly. The body shrunk into the cotton clothes as much as possible, and the mind thought, "This kind of ghost weather, why do you want to do this kind of thing." ”

At this moment, all the soldiers in service in Britannia were thinking, "Why hasn't the changing of the guard come yet?" and I might as well go to the nearest tavern for a drink and treat myself to a hard night's work. ”

They don't think the Empire will fight against them anymore, at least that's what the hell is.

Of course, there are some exceptions.

"The enemy has moved. ”

After receiving the sentry's report, George Catroux nodded calmly.

"It's time to come back. Order everyone to get ready. ”

Soon the area that George was responsible for defending, the personnel quickly got busy. All the cannons were pushed onto the firing docks, and the logisticians began to talk about the whole box of shells, which belonged to a few meters behind the guns.

In the middle of the city, in a clearing not far from the city walls, more than a dozen tanks from the last battle were quietly waiting, and more than a dozen junior mages were enchanting those special cannonballs under the guidance of Colonel Burriman.

"Colonel Burriman!"

"Ah, it's the General!"

Burriman has been unable to feel his legs since he survived the last battle, and has been able to maintain normal mobility only in a wheelchair. To this end, George specially selected two female soldiers from his subordinates to serve as Burriman's adjutant and nanny.

"What odds do you think we have to hold this city? ”

Faced with the general's questioning, Burriman shook his head, "It's very low, maybe not even fifteen percent." ”

"So low?"

"Yes!"

In the battle of Katang, the Empire maximizes its advantages. It has completely formed an indelible shadow in the minds of the Britannians. As soon as the Empire used the Penetration Pod again to send those mechs into the city before the battle, the defenses of the soldiers stationed in Caen would immediately collapse.

To do this, they can only maximize their advantages. It is those long-range large-caliber artillery that can reduce the number of mechs with maximum damage at a long distance, so that it is possible to hold the city.

However, the city of Caen is too big. Even if the entire city is mobilized with male labor, the strength of some defensive points will be much weaker due to the uneven combat power.

Furthermore, there is a lack of actual combat experience. There are very few soldiers who have fought against the Imperial Mecha Force in the true sense and survived. A large part of the population has given up on the idea of resisting the struggle, instead pinning their hopes on the balance of the alliance to their side.

"I think, here, here, and this...... , once the garrisons in these places engage in battle, their movements will become sluggish......" Burriman continued, pointing to several points in the city defense map, "and here, on the surface, there is the most artillery deployment here. But in fact, a large part of the artillery here is a wooden breech of our own making. ”

Wooden artillery is actually hollowed out of some trees with good wood toughness, and then reinforced with iron bars on the outside. It can also play the function of normal artillery for a short time.

"If the Empire chooses to attack these areas, we can only hope that the first few shellings will crush them or scare them off. Those artillery pieces are even more stupid and can't withstand continuous shelling. ”

Burriman told George about his concerns.

"Major! The Seventeenth Legion has begun to move simultaneously to the west and south of Caen's city. ”

As I had guessed, as soon as the Northern Army appeared in the sight of the other side, the Britannia immediately shrank back and closed the gates. But it was only on alert, and the densely packed artillery that was deployed did not fire a single shell.

"Captain Kakawi, have someone send a copy of the information we've put together to the Brixmen. ”

Since it's a friendly force, I'll do my duty.

"Yes! I'll send somebody. ”

"The order goes down, and everyone goes into standby. ”

This time the Riptide Battalion was still the main attack of E Company. It's just that the penetration capsule was not used, first, there was no suitable place to deploy the launch site, and second, until now, the military deployment in Caen City has been figured out by the Empire.

The first round of the offensive was only tentative.

To the east, on a hill a kilometer away from Caen, two spearmen dedicated to reconnaissance were wearing white windcloth equivalent to their own bodies, monitoring movements in Caen. And the rest of its riptide battalion, along with the wartime battalion headquarters command post, were in the woods not far behind the hills.

Everyone is kept to a minimum standby. In this way, although the temperature in the cockpit will be unbearable for ordinary people, it will also ensure that the snowflakes around the mecha will not melt.

The Seventeenth Army of the Northern Empire, accompanied by dozens of "barbarians" on its side, began to gradually approach the city of Caen. Finally, they crossed the last cordon of the Britannians.

At this moment, the cannon of Caen City suddenly rang out.

Hundreds of cannons opened fire at the same time, and the shells rushed at the enemy who offended them like raging waves.

"Major, there's a war over there. ”

In the makeshift command post, Captain Beirut and I were alone with a cup of hot coffee. Sitting in front of the smokeless stove with a blanket, he kept shaking his legs.

"Keep watching!"

"Yes!"

Judging from the sound of the shelling, the fighting on the side of the Seventeenth Army was quite fierce. In order for their mech troops to look like the main mechs, I even had Caesar's F Company split up to cover their attacks. However, the battle had been going on for half an hour, and the defenders to the east had no intention of supporting at all.

Moreover, the last time the "steam tanks" that could penetrate the shield of "fierce poison" with one blow did not appear. That's what worries me the most.

"Are you worried about the "steam tanks"?"

"Captain Beirut, don't you think it's strange?"

Beirut poured some of the coffee boiling from the iron lunch box from the stove into his cup. And motioned with his eyes to me if I wanted to come again.

I waved my hand and signaled that I didn't need to.

Until now, I'm not used to the bitterness of coffee, and the reason why I hold a cup of coffee in my hand now is just to keep my hands warm in the cold.

I hate the feeling of freezing my body and hands more than the bitterness of coffee.

Perhaps there were no "tanks" in Caen at all. ”

Perhaps, that's not what a staff officer should say, right?

"Yes, definitely. I feel like those iron guys are hiding in a corner of Caen right now. ”

No, I'll go to the front and see for myself. With that, I stood up and walked out.

"Where are you going? Major Elrios, but you were forbidden to go into battle. ”

It's a hassle!

I'm just going to the front to take a look, and it's not a war.