Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 390 The Smoke of War Rises
This year will be a year that will completely change the history of the mainland.

On June 28, Crown Prince Fernando of the Sasha Alliance and his wife were assassinated in Sera. The assassin was from the Principality of Seth.

On July 25, the Sasha Alliance issued an ultimatum to the Principality of Seth, outlining ten demands that the Principality of Seth agree to all of them within 72 hours.

On the evening of July 27, the negotiations between the two sides finally broke down.

At 8:7 AM on July 28, the Sasha Alliance declared war on the Principality of Seth.

On the same day, the Western Empire of Europe, in support of the Duchy of Seth, declared war on the Sasha Alliance and its ally, the Kingdom of Krant, and began a general mobilization for war.

On the same day, the Kingdom of Krant, an ally of the Sasha Alliance, issued an ultimatum to the Western Empire of Europe, demanding that it withdraw its war mobilization within 12 hours, or the Kingdom of Krant would declare war on the Western Empire of Europe.

On July 29, the Kingdom of Krant declared war on the Western Empire of Europe and began war mobilization.

On July 30, the Kingdom of Krant declared war on Francis.

On the same day, the Kingdom of Krant declared war on the Duchy of Tiris.

On the same day, in the imperial capital—the Fog City.

When he learned that the Imperial Foreign Minister Grey was coming, Krant's special envoy to the Empire, von Richter, was quite surprised. He watched as the Foreign Minister walked steadily and calmly into his office, his eyes showing no joy or sorrow, no anger, and no fluctuation, as if it were just an ordinary meeting.

"Her Majesty the Queen has been informed of your country's declaration of war."

Foreign Minister Grey was the quintessential Imperial man: reserved, calm, and indifferent, even when bombs fell from above.

“Your country should know that the Empire has signed an alliance treaty with the Duchy of Tiris. This is a blatant violation of the Empire’s supreme authority. By order of Her Majesty the Queen, I have come here to deliver a declaration of war to your country.”

With that, Gray handed over the declaration of war and then nodded slightly to von Richt.

"Well then, have a good time, goodbye."

Watching Gray leave, von Richter felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body. He sat down in his chair, looked at the declaration of war in his hand, remained silent for a moment, and then looked at his subordinates beside him.

"Telegraph Delin: The Empire declares war."

On the same day, the Empire declared war on the Kingdom of Krant.

However, the most anxious person at this moment was undoubtedly General Leman of the Duchy of Tiris. The Duchy of Tiris was just a small country. Although they had considered the possibility that the Kingdom of Krant might attack them, after signing the treaty with the Empire, the whole country breathed a sigh of relief, believing that with the Empire backing them up, the Kingdom of Krant would not be foolish enough to launch an attack.

Therefore, when the Kingdom of Krant declared war on the Duchy of Tiris, there was an uproar.

Some argued against resistance, since the Kingdom of Krant was merely passing through. However, others insisted on resistance no matter what, arguing that the Kingdom of Krant's actions clearly violated the sovereignty of the Duchy of Tiris. Moreover, the Duchy of Tiris had signed an agreement with the Empire, and if they did not resist, wouldn't Tiris face the Empire's wrath?
Besides, who can guarantee that Krant was just passing by?

What if we let a wolf into our house?
Krant is not to be trifled with, but does that mean the Empire is easy to bully?
Ultimately, King Abel I of the Duchy of Tiris decided to resist, so General Leman was given a critical mission to quickly assemble troops and deploy them at the Sun Fortress, awaiting the arrival of the Kingdom of Krant's army.

To be honest, General Leman was unsure whether they could withstand the army of the Kingdom of Krant. On one hand, the Liège Fortress had cost the Duchy of Tiris a great deal of effort to build. Fortresses of this era weren't like the massive reinforced concrete castles depicted in many games; instead, a large portion of the Tiris Duchy's Liège Fortress was buried underground, with only a small bunker on top containing a few cannons, the rest housed in underground fortifications.

From this perspective, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as there is enough ammunition and artillery, it is not impossible to withstand the attack of the Kingdom of Krant.

On the other hand, the Tiris Duchy's soldiers were of very poor quality. After deciding to launch a counterattack, the Tiris Duchy began to assemble its soldiers, but in the end they only managed to gather 35,000 men, most of whom were guards or militia.

On the contrary, according to news from the front lines, the first batch of troops from the Kingdom of Krant entered the Duchy of Tiris numbered as many as 120,000, almost three or four times the size of Tiris.

Moreover, compared to countries like the Empire, Krant, and Francis, which are always prepared for war, the soldiers of the Duchy of Tiris have received almost no training and are essentially just cramming for training at the last minute.

As for how far we can hug... well, that depends on God's blessing!

"report!"

Just as General Lehmann was staring at the map, contemplating his next move, a messenger suddenly rushed in.

"The Krant army has crossed the Mosuo River!"

"what?"

Upon hearing the report, General Leman was shocked. After the king made the decision, he immediately sent men to blow up the bridges over the Mosuo River in order to delay the advance of the Kingdom of Krant as much as possible. But now, the Kingdom of Krant's army had actually crossed the Mosuo River.

What about the 18th Regiment?

"The 18th Regiment was too late; by the time they arrived, the Kingdom of Krant's army had already captured the bridge!"

"Damn it!"

General Lehmann angrily threw the pencil in his hand onto the table. He knew Krant was fast, but he didn't expect him to be this fast!

"Have all fortresses prepare for defense!"

General Lehman had originally hoped to use the terrain to hold back the Krant army as much as possible, but now it seems that this is no longer feasible. Now, all he can do is rely on the fortress complex and hold out for as long as possible. The next step is to see when the Empire will arrive.

Although that's what they said, General Leman was actually quite desperate. Mobilizing a nation for war is no simple matter, and throughout this whole affair, compared to other countries, the Empire clearly showed little interest. Perhaps the Iron Queen believed that war was simply impossible. If that were the case, then in the short term, the Empire might not be able to spare many troops to assist in the defense of Tiris…

"Sir! Sir!"

Just then, another communications soldier hurriedly looked up.

"We just received news that the Empire has declared war on the Kingdom of Krant!" "Phew..."

Upon hearing this news, General Leman felt a sense of relief. Now that the Empire had declared war, it meant they wouldn't stand idly by while the Duchy of Tiris remained silent. He could only hope the Empire could quickly assemble its troops to assist in the defense. But even with the most optimistic outlook, it would probably take several days… Could he really hold the Sunfire Fortress?

For General Lehman, this was a difficult question to answer.

Time passed by minute by minute.

The soldier gripped the machine gun tightly, peering through the firing port. His body had grown cold. The initial fervor he felt upon arriving at the front line had faded, replaced by unease and fear. He both hoped the army of the Kingdom of Krant would appear on the opposite slope and hoped they would never appear.

After all, war was something completely foreign to him.

"Alright, young man, don't be so nervous."

Seeing the new recruit's nervous and uneasy appearance, the veteran next to him curled his lip.

"If you're this tense now, you might forget how to fire a gun when the fighting really starts. Relax, we're in a fortress, unless you're extremely unlucky, you won't be killed in one shot."

"Really, really?"

Hearing the veteran's words, the new recruit shifted his position to relax and asked uneasily.

"of course."

As the veteran spoke, he tapped on the wall beside him.

"This is a wall strong enough to withstand siege artillery; it won't be easily breached. Even if those Krant people come to their deaths, we can drive them back!"

"Ah, um..."

The recruit nodded, and then at that moment, he suddenly turned his ear to the side.

"that……………"

"what happened again?"

"I think I heard some strange noises."

"sound?"

The veteran listened intently and, sure enough, heard a rustling sound nearby. He frowned, paced back and forth along the wall, carefully searching for the source of the sound. Then, the veteran approached a wall and pressed his ear against it…

"Whoosh—!"

Just then, the wall in front of the veteran suddenly cracked open, and a monster fully armored rushed out. The leading veteran couldn't dodge in time and was torn to shreds by the monster's claw. In an instant, blood and flesh flew everywhere. The recruit stared in disbelief at the scene before him. Before he could react, a barrage of gunfire erupted, instantly riddling his body with bullets.

The battle has begun.

And all of this could not escape the eyes of the heavens above.

"I must say, the Kingdom of Krant's move is indeed quite clever."

Li Wei marked another map and sent it back to the rear, sighing with admiration. Fortresses of this era were almost all built against mountains, and the burrowing moles manufactured by the Kingdom of Krant were incredibly fast at digging tunnels. Li Wei watched from the sky as they surged forward below, their speed even faster than a tunnel boring machine.

Well, in fact, the Kingdom of Krant isn't a good person either. Although it only declared war on the Duchy of Tiris this morning, Levi actually saw them digging a hole down there late last night.

Just like me, I don't follow the rules, but as long as I'm not caught, it doesn't count as cheating.

Indeed, all's fair in war.

Those who play tactics are all dirty.

"Sir, news has come from the Cyclops."

Just as Li Wei was feeling sentimental, Lieutenant Horn quickly came over and handed the intelligence to Li Wei.

"Yes, everything is going smoothly. The Empire has declared war on the Kingdom of Krant, so we don't need to waste any more time here."

After reading the intelligence report, Li Wei nodded and then looked ahead to issue orders.

"Raise the altitude to 10,000 meters, bearing 075, and let's go check out the Krant army's camp."

Li Wei and General Howe had already discussed how to aid the Duchy of Tiris. The enemy had rats that knew how to burrow, so Li Wei didn't recommend engaging in tunnel warfare. With their fortress in such a sorry state, they couldn't get in no matter what. They decided to strike at the heart of the enemy. Li Wei first located the headquarters of the Krant vanguard, then the Cyclops opened fire to destroy the enemy's anti-aircraft equipment, followed by a massive airship bombardment. Once the camp was destroyed, the frontline troops would have no choice but to surrender.
Isn't this better than foolishly wandering around the tunnels with the other side?
You have a million tactics, I'll just raid your base, what can you do to me?
All tactics have changed, but this change isn't affecting my own team, so there's nothing to be sad about, right?
Soon, the Eye of the Sky arrived above the Krant Kingdom's military camp. Looking down from above, one could see groups of infantrymen marching forward in square formations, with Krant Kingdom's mechs and various steam-powered machines behind them. Clearly, Krant's tactic was to first invade the enemy's fortress through tunnels, and then have the mechs provide support.

"Let me see, air defense camp, air defense camp... Oh, found it."

With the help of [Soul Vision], Li Wei easily located the enemy's anti-air camp and main base. He quickly determined the target's location and then circled it on the map again.

"Pass it on to the rear; now it's up to them."

As Li Wei spoke, he stretched comfortably.

Indeed, I was right to make that decision back then; the noble Air Force officers were the best option.

(End of this chapter)