Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 152 The Madman's Plan (Bonus Chapter 210 for the Silver Alliance)

Human thought is capable of leaps and bounds.

Just like Maureen is now.

When the thought of “a loaf of bread worth 500,000 marks” flashed through his mind, he inevitably thought of the mustachioed man who gave a passionate speech in the beer hall.

Then, he inevitably thought of World War II in another world.

Then he thought about how the German army during World War II dealt with more fortified Belgian fortresses like Eben-Emmel.

Airborne!

The moment the word flashed through her mind like an electric shock, Maureen felt as if she had suddenly had an epiphany.

The thought process that had previously blocked me from seeing the predicament suddenly became clear!
Exactly! If I can't get through on the ground, why can't I just fall from the sky?

“General!” Morin grabbed Ludendorff’s arm.

His sudden action startled Ludendorff and the staff around him.

“Captain Morin, you…” Ludendorff looked at him with some surprise.

"General, can you call for armored airships to provide support?" Morin asked eagerly, his eyes gleaming.

Ludendorff paused for a moment, then nodded.

"As the deputy chief of staff of the army group, and now personally leading the team to support the front line, I do have the authority to directly call upon the air support forces assigned to this army group."

He looked at Morin with some confusion, "But judging from the daytime attack, once the armored airship gets close, it will be subjected to a fierce attack from the enemy's anti-aircraft magic devices. Even if we call them over, it probably won't do much good and will only increase unnecessary losses."

“No, General!” Morin shook his head, his voice urgent with emotion. “I don’t want them to provide fire support!”

"I hope that the armored airship can carry me and some of my commandos to the airspace above the fortress!"

Ludendorff frowned, and his staff looked equally puzzled.

Fly over the fortress? And then get riddled with holes by the enemy's anti-aircraft magic?
"And then?" Ludendorff voiced the question on everyone's mind.

Morin took a deep breath and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Then, we'll parachute down directly from above the fortress to complete the infiltration!"

"Airdrop?"

Ludendorff pondered the new word over and over, his expression shifting from confusion to surprise, and then to thoughtfulness.

The staff officers behind him stared wide-eyed, as if they were listening to a fairy tale.

Jumping off the sky? Is this person crazy?
“Yes, parachuting!” Morin nodded emphatically.

"How are you going to do that?" Ludendorff pressed, his voice already tinged with barely suppressed excitement, clearly having figured something out.

"Airships should be equipped with parachutes for emergency escape."

Morin explained, "Even if it's not there, it doesn't matter. I am a spellcaster and can use [Feather Fall] to safely descend from the sky with my soldiers."

At this point, Morin also realized the biggest challenge of the plan.

"However, the anti-aircraft magic devices in the fortress are indeed very powerful, and armored airships cannot withstand their attacks."

“Unless,” Morin looked at Ludendorff, “we can have two armored airships operating in coordination.”

"One ship will be responsible for a feint attack, drawing the fortress's anti-aircraft fire from the front."

"The other ship will carry our commando team and take advantage of the opportunity to approach from the side and rear at high speed to complete the airdrop!"

Morin's plan was like a bombshell, exploding in the minds of Ludendorff and all his staff.

Everyone was stunned by the audacity and madness of the plan.

But after the initial shock, an unprecedented light shone in Ludendorff's eyes.

He stared intently at Morin, as if trying to see right through the young man.

Ludendorff realized that this seemingly crazy plan was indeed the only way to break the deadlock and the fastest way to achieve it!

Once Morin and his commando team successfully land inside the fortress complex, even if it's just causing chaos inside one of the fortresses and destroying key command nodes or weapon systems.

Then the main force that is suppressed on the front can seize the opportunity and launch a general offensive in one fell swoop!

The risks are enormous, but the rewards are equally enormous!

This is entirely in line with his consistent military philosophy—to achieve a decisive victory at a certain cost!

"it is good!"

Ludendorff grabbed Morin's hand, his smile becoming impossible to hide.

"Captain Morin, you certainly haven't disappointed me!"

He immediately gave the following order to his colonel staff officer:
"Immediately have the forward command set up a radio station and contact the army group command in my name, requesting them to coordinate with the First Army Group to temporarily dispatch the L29 armored airship assigned to them to support us!"

“General, this…” The colonel's staff officer looked troubled. “General Mackensen is advancing northwards with the First Army, and their air support mission is also very demanding. I'm afraid they won't agree easily.”

“He will,” Ludendorff interrupted him confidently.

He turned to look at Morin and chuckled like a kind old man.

"If General Mackenson knew that it was Captain Morin's training assault battalion that urgently needed air support, I believe he would not refuse."

And so, late at night on August 4, a crazy plan that could change the course of the entire Western Front was finalized by two equally crazy soldiers in a grove of trees in front of the Liege fortress.

As Morin had predicted, the offensive of the 'Mertz River Battle Group' gradually slowed down.

Apart from maintaining the siege of the Liege fortress complex and sporadic artillery harassment, no other large-scale offensives were launched.

This led the Flanders garrison in the fortress to mistakenly believe that the Saxons had been defeated and their morale soared.

Meanwhile, Morin led his troops back to a relatively safe area in the rear, and after midnight, he began to 'reload' his spell slots.

Although I haven't obtained any new 'experience books' during this period, I haven't gained much experience points through meditation either.

But little by little, he managed to reach level 4 before the war even began.

This upgrade not only increased the number of spell slots in the second ring from two to three, but more importantly, it also granted him a new ability—[Metroid Feat].

This feat allows Morin to add powerful metamagic effects to lower-level spells by occupying a higher-level spell slot when preparing spells.

After considering the possible scenarios in the upcoming battle, Morin ultimately chose the [Spell Power] super magic feat, which can increase the variable effect of spells by 50%.

He quickly completed his spell selection.

He filled all four of his first-level spell slots with the [Featherfall] spell.

This spell can target five targets, including yourself, each time it is cast, causing them to fall slowly at a speed of 3 meters per second, so there is no need to worry about injury from the fall.

He filled his three precious second-level spell slots with two [Mage Armor] spells and one [Shield]. Furthermore, he chose the [Spell Power] combo for all three second-level spells.

Originally, a single [Mage Armor] could withstand approximately 20 direct hits from full-power rifle bullets.

After receiving the boost from the [Spell Power] effect, this value directly reached 30 casts.

After doing all this, Morin finally breathed a sigh of relief, lay down on his cot, and closed his eyes.

He knew that what was about to be a real gamble.

He had already staked everything.

"To prevent 2000 million Imperial Marks from turning into 40 loaves of bread, I'll risk it all!"

The 'Mötz River Battle Group' remained unusually quiet throughout the entire day of August 5th.

Apart from a few small-scale, probing shelling attempts by the artillery units, there were no other actions taken.

This unusual calm further convinced General Gerald Lehmann, the commander of the garrison at Liège Fortress, of his judgment—that the Saxon offensive had been successfully thwarted.

His confidence swelled to its peak after receiving the latest news from the rear.

According to news from Brussels, the main force of the Holy Britannian Empire's expeditionary force will land at Dunkirk in the coming days!
"Gentlemen, every day we hold out here brings our allies one step closer to us!"

At the operational meeting at the fortress command, General Lyman spoke confidently to his subordinates.

"Victory will surely belong to us, Flanders!"

The garrison inside the fortress, inspired by him, were in high spirits and immersed in an optimistic atmosphere.

Unbeknownst to them, in the seemingly calm night sky above them, a deadly attack, capable of shattering their understanding of the world, was quietly brewing.

On the afternoon of August 5, just as Ludendorff had predicted, the L29 'Zeppelin' armored airship, originally tasked with supporting the First Army, indeed arrived in the Second Army's operational airspace.

When General Mackensen received Ludendorff's request for "support needed for the training battalion to carry out special missions," he agreed to the temporary transfer almost without hesitation.

The L29, which is in good condition, will also play an important role in drawing enemy fire during this operation.

The sun slowly sank behind the hillside, dyeing the clouds on the horizon a magnificent orange-red.

In a secluded open area behind, the L28 armored airship, having completed emergency repairs in the air, slowly descended, lowering its altitude to just 50 meters above the ground.

This is the lowest safe altitude that an armored airship can reach, excluding normal landings and unfortunate crashes.

The hatch on the belly of the airship opened, and several huge, basket-like manned cabins were slowly lowered.

Nineteen of the most elite soldiers, selected from the four companies of the training assault battalion, lined up and climbed into the gondola under the watchful eyes of Kleist and the company commanders.

The soldiers' faces showed a hint of tension, but even more so, an undisguised excitement and pride.

Being selected to participate in this unprecedented 'airborne' operation was the highest honor for each of them.

The 20 commandos, including Morin, had changed into uniforms of the United Kingdom of Flanders that they had captured.

He patted Manstein, who was also dressed in enemy uniform and looked somewhat uneasy, and gestured for him to relax.

"Sir, are you really going to lead the team yourself?"

Kleist and Klaus, the company commander of the 4th Company, were still making a last-ditch effort to persuade Morin to change his mind.

“You are the commander of the entire battalion, you cannot put yourself in such a dangerous situation!” Kleist’s tone was very firm.

Sergeant Major Klaus of the 1st Company chimed in, "Yes, sir! Leave the charging and fighting to us!"

Mo Lin looked at the two burly men in front of him, who looked concerned but were blocking his way like gatekeepers, and felt both amused and exasperated.

He cleared his throat, put on a stern face, and adopted the authority of a military commander.

"I am the battalion commander and the chief military officer of the battalion. This is wartime. Once the guns and cannons start firing, the entire battalion must obey my command! This is an order, not a matter for discussion!"

Seeing that the two wanted to say something more, Morin changed the subject.

"Besides, the 'personality' of the two of you is too obvious."

He looked the two men up and down, observing their imposing figures and angular faces.

“The two of you standing there practically have ‘I am a Saxon soldier’ written all over your faces. You are completely unsuitable for infiltration operations.”

Although the reason was somewhat far-fetched, Kleist and Klaus exchanged a glance and felt that it seemed to make some sense.

"And what about him?"

Kleist was still somewhat unconvinced. He pointed to Manstein, who was already on the gondola and was also wearing enemy uniform.

"Is Staff Officer Manstein really suited for infiltration? He doesn't even look like a Flemish!"

Upon hearing this, Morin's lips curled up slightly, and he delivered a decisive blow that the two could not refute.

"They speak fluent Dutch."

"You two roughnecks, do you even know how?"

Kleist and Klaus were instantly silenced.

The two opened their mouths, hesitated for a long time, and finally could only sigh helplessly and silently make way for each other.

The gondola slowly rose, and the figures on the ground grew smaller and smaller.

Kleist and Klaus, along with all the soldiers in the training battalion, looked up and watched silently as their officers and commandos disappeared into the huge shadow of the airship.

The gondola was retrieved into the airship's spacious cargo hold.

Maureen and Manstein stood together, both wearing officer uniforms; Maureen was a lieutenant, and Manstein was a second lieutenant.

Manstein's face was tense, and Morin could sense that the young operations staff officer beside him was sweating with nervousness.

"Don't be nervous, Manstein."

Maureen offered words of comfort:

"Come a few more times and you'll get used to it."

Upon hearing this, Manstein's lips twitched, forcing out a smile that looked more like a grimace.

How many more times?

Captain, are you really trying to comfort me?

After everyone boarded the airship, an officer from the airship came over and saluted Morin:
"Lieutenant Morin, the captain requests your presence on the bridge."

(End of this chapter)