Chapter 78: Is Luna on Fire?
February 2, 306 Yamato Calendar.
On this day, Luna, the imperial capital of the Luna Empire, will literally be going burst into flames.
Suddenly, four massive explosions occurred in the urban area of Luna.
The citizens were terrified.
What on earth is this, could it possibly be an enemy attack?
They don’t know what happened.
At this time, the Albatross Liberation Army has not even entered Luna yet. The Imperial Capital Luna should still be safe…
It can’t be helped that they are confused.
This attack was carried out at a distance of 300 km from Carsica Island.
The main source of the bombardment is the Retaliation Weapon No.3, the V-3 Cannon―― it’s a huge multi-chamber cannon placed on a slope made of piled-up earth… it was commonly known as the centipede cannon.
The enemy capital, Luna, is the target of a strange long-distance bombing weapon developed by the Yamato Empire, led by a certain Canadian chief designer.
The caliber of the main gun was 35.6 cm, surpassing a similar gun developed by the Nazis by 15 cm.
A massive cannon, developed by connecting two cannons designed for battleships to create a long-distance cannon with a range of about 300 km from the base on the island of Carsica to the imperial capital of Luna, this cannon finally demonstrated its power.
By the way, due to the bizarre appearance of this weapon, the local residents of Carsica Island misunderstood it as some kind of unknown magical tool…
……Anyway.
With four of these cannons ready, the Yamato Empire began firing in order to crush Luna.
They tried to reduce everything in that city to ashes.
The Führer, who has high expectations, was present to witness the firing of the V-3 cannon… Unfortunately, it seems that all the cannons were broken after the third shot.
It seems that for the Yamato Empire, which is at the level of World War I, the multi-chamber cannon, which is very complex, was still too difficult for them.
Even the Führer is feeling disappointed.
……That being said, three shots from four cannons. A total of 12 14-inch shells fired was probably enough to intimidate the Luna’s people.
Several houses were blown up on Luna’s side, resulting in dozens of casualties.
However, when they realize that the enemy army has means of attack that they can’t possibly counter, no matter how hard they try, they are consumed with fear.
And the V-3 is not the only retaliatory weapon.
About an hour after the bombardment, Retaliation Weapon No. 1, the Type 5 land-based attack aircraft Shinzan, came from the west and attacked Luna in a formation of about 300 aircraft.
In a fantasy world where monsters are rampant.
Luna is also a fortified city protected by sturdy castle walls.
However, to a bomber, such things are of no use at all. Flying at an altitude of 1000 meters, they fly over the city.
“Silver, silver monsters…”
“It’s the end of the world! Luna is finished!”
Terrified by the long-range bombardment of the centipede cannon, a formation of silver bombers approaches from above the citizens of Luna, covering the entire sky.
Citizens looking up at the sky felt a certain sense of awe along with fear.
Aluminum metallic paint reflects the sunlight and sparkles. Each one is larger than the flying monsters they know, yet they fly at low altitudes as if to show off their bodies.
“…How beautiful.”
Someone muttered that.
The Type 5 land-based attack aircraft, Shinzan is an awkward biplane that is not aerodynamically refined. However, there was a mysterious beauty there that was so intense that you couldn’t help feeling that way.
But, however.
The bomber is never a beautiful, harmless being.
It is a terrifying weapon that has the power to burn the city to the ground.
“…Hey, look they dropped something.”
“It looks like a black grain. No way, a bomb?”
They could have either eight 60kg bombs and four 120kg bombs, or two 250kg bombs.
While the citizens of Luna looked up, each aircraft dropped bombs weighing about 500kg each, with around 300 aircraft dropping a total of about 150 tons of bombs, mercilessly burning down the city of Luna.
The strategy was extremely clever.
First, they used the powerful 250 kg bomb and the 120 kg bomb to demolish the buildings. Then they drop the small 60 kg bombs on the defenseless citizens and clear them out.
On top of that, they showered them to machine gun fire from above.
It’s a brilliant strategic bombing, vividly reminiscent of the Guernica raid once carried out by the Luftwaffe.
“Where is the defense garrison!? What is the defense garrison doing!?”
“It’s impossible, there’s no way they can shoot a target flying high in the sky!”
“Then, what about the adventurers? There must be some platinum-class top-level adventurers in Luna, right? If it’s them, they can even fight with dragons…”
The citizens entrust their hope to the strongest and most skilled adventurers.
They were sure if it was the strongest adventurers in the country that could unleash magic powerful enough to bring down a dragon then…
However, their hopes will not come true.
As soon as the adventurers saw a large number of bombers, they were convinced of Luna’s defeat and decided to abandon Luna, saying, “We want to keep getting along with Yamato for business.”
The elite who were barely able to fight fled.
All that remains is the defense garrison deployed to defend Luna. The only projectile weapons they have are muskets, bows and arrows, and a little bit of magic. There’s no way they could do a proper air-defense battle with something like this.
A one-sided battle from the sky with 300 bombers.
The marble houses of Luna, known for their beauty and considered the Pearl of the Albatross, were blown away, and the famous arena, the Colesseo, also went up in flames.
The Emperor’s Castle, the largest and most beautiful building in the center of the city, was dive-bombed by one Shinzan who delivered two 250 kg bombs.
By the way, Shinzan is not designed to perform dive bombing.
It was the work of the Demon Lord, who served as the pilot.
“Ahh, my Luna Empire!”
Emperor Julius, who miraculously survived despite being targeted by the demon lord, despaired as he looked upon his crumbling castle and burning city.
And then he understood.
Everything is already over.
In this series of attacks, more than 1,000 buildings were damaged and the death toll alone was 10,000. If the injured were included, it would be several times the number.
Despite being a large city, Luna’s population does not even reach 100,000 people.
it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the city’s functions nearly collapsed in just one day.
At the same time.
Taking advantage of the bombardment, the Albatross Liberation Army began their advance to overthrow the Luna Empire on the northern border…
There was no need for them to attack anymore.
“It’s all over now! Now is the time for the coup d’etat! Take the evil emperor down from his throne!”
Spurred by this bombing, the Luna defense garrison, which had been watching for an opportunity, decides to betray the emperor and carry out a coup d’etat.
Moreover, the citizens too…
“This is the wrath of God! It’s divine punishment! Hang Julius, who picked a fight with the Yamato Goddess!”
Bombardment from an extreme distance, far beyond the range of what they can see.
Furthermore, the bombing raids by bombers that seemingly covered the sky.
Considering this to be an attack by a being beyond human knowledge, they raised their voices in protest against the emperor who had summoned them, took up arms, and began to march toward the royal castle with their army.
“Damn it, I won’t just sit back and be killed! Hey, you guys at the castle walls, close the gates! I’m going to be killed!”
“Yes sir!”
“…Aah! That’s right, I still have the captured royal family. I’m going to take them hostage and barricade myself in!”
The citizens, led by the defense garrison, form a line along the wide main street of Luna.
The scene was clearly visible even from Julius’ castle.
There are hardly any who pledged loyalty to him, however… Some people who might get caught up in the fallout if Julius fell, such as his confidants, closed the gate firmly and prepared for a siege.
The battle is already in its final stages.
The muscle queen who is knowledgeable about coups said, “It feels strange for me to say this, but… As a coup veteran, you should surrender as soon as possible. Then immediately flee the country. Otherwise, there will only be death,” she advises Julius and the others.
It’s all over if someone saves the royal family and captures Emperor Julius.
The only thing stopping them is the high walls surrounding the castle.
In order to end this battle, they will need something to crush these sturdy walls.
“I never thought a day would come when a tank like this would be useful… Panzer vor, destroy that castle gate with acht-acht.”
Three Chi-Ha tanks, accompanied by a battalion of infantry, began their assault on the city of Luna.
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