Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 158 Speedrun Through Liege Fortress (Bonus Chapter 510 for the Silver Alliance)

The Magic Hub, located near the main building, is a sturdy structure partially buried underground.

This is the source of energy for all the magical equipment in the entire Liege Fortress complex.

Even the magic crystal cannons in the various fortresses need to be recharged by the magic power center to recharge the magic crystals that have been replaced.

Therefore, once it is destroyed, the large anti-aircraft magic device that could threaten the armored airship, as well as the magic crystal cannons in the various fortresses, will be reduced to a pile of scrap metal.

With his commando team running low on ammunition, Morin, under the cover of darkness and buildings, and guided by the system map, stealthily made his way to the vicinity of the magic center.

"Two machine gun teams, set up crossfire over there, one to suppress the sentry at the entrance, and the other to guard the other directions!"

"The rest of you, split into two groups and go around to the side!"

Morin quickly issued the combat orders.

An MG14 roared once again, its precise short bursts instantly silencing the entire squad of sentries at the entrance to the Magic Center.

Morin, leading two assault teams, crouched low and rushed quickly toward the gate of the magic center.

"Grenade!"

Several ball grenades were thrown into the area between the sentries outside the gate. After a violent explosion, the sentries were blown to the ground, and the few who were still breathing were quickly shot.

The assault team members who rushed to the front quickly lined up in a column on one side of the magic center, ready to swarm in and quickly end the battle.

But at that moment, a red soldier marker suddenly appeared on Morin's system map inside the magic core!
Moreover, it's a mage unit.
"Watch out! There's a mage inside!" Morin shouted a warning.

But it was still a step too late.

A fireball with a long trail of flame shot out from the door and struck the two assault team members at the front with pinpoint accuracy.

"boom!"

The violent explosion instantly blasted the two young soldiers into several charred pieces.

Several assault team members nearby had also suffered burns to their arms and torsos from the fireball and were lying on the ground, patting the flames off their bodies.

This is the first time the commando team has suffered casualties since the parachute drop.

This was also the first time the entire training assault battalion had suffered casualties.
"Watch out! Back up first!"

Morin's eyes were bloodshot as he roared.

He looked at the two still-burning corpses, and an uncontrollable rage welled up from the bottom of his heart.

While it is said that an excellent commander should love his soldiers like his own children and use them ruthlessly...
But seeing the assault battalion soldiers he had trained being blown to pieces by fireballs still stirred up Morin's emotions.

"Don't be impulsive! Throw grenades in! Blow him out!"

The remaining assault team members were also enraged by the tragic deaths of their comrades.

Upon hearing Morin's words, they pulled the pins on their grenades and threw them into the doorway in a frenzy, as if they were free.

In an instant, explosions echoed throughout the magic core, and flames soared into the sky.

Amid the explosion, Morin quickly replaced the magazine in his submachine gun.

He glanced at Manstein and his soldiers, who were equally enraged, took a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down.

There can be no more casualties.
This was not only because he was heartbroken over the deaths of his soldiers, but also because he only had 20 men under his command, and losing even one would mean losing an important firing point.

No one knows what battles lie ahead, so he must preserve his forces as much as possible.

So once the sound of the grenade explosions subsided, Morin no longer hesitated.

A semi-transparent, circular magical shield instantly appeared in front of him.

This is a [Shield] spell amplified by 'Spell Power'.

"Come on, let's charge in!"

With his shield up, Morin was the first to rush into the smoke-filled magic core.

As soon as he entered, he saw a figure in a black robe standing behind a pile of destroyed instruments.

Upon seeing Morin enter, the figure, who had been dazed and disoriented by the barrage of grenades, visibly panicked for a moment, and then began to cast spells using words and gestures.

But Morin didn't give him any chance to cast a spell, and instead raised his hand and swept a burst of energy across the area!

"Da da da da da!"

Bullets rained down on the invisible shield in front of the mage, sparking rings of blue sparks.

The opponent also activated [Mage Armor].

But before the Flanders mage could react, Manstein and the other assault team members, who were right behind Morin, rushed in.

At that moment, more than a dozen automatic weapons were simultaneously aimed at him.

"Fire!"

A terrifying storm of bullets instantly enveloped the mage.

At such close range, facing such a dense hail of bullets, even the [Mage Armor] seemed incredibly vulnerable. The mage's vision was almost entirely obscured by the blue sparks from the collision of the [Mage Armor] and the bullets, but he still managed to complete the spellcasting, raising his hand to unleash three [Scorching Rays].

However, these three beams of light, which would have been fatal to ordinary soldiers, were all steadily blocked by the powerful [Shield] spell in front of Morin, only causing a ripple.

His own [Mage Armor] shattered completely after only a few seconds under the onslaught of attacks.

In the moments before he was riddled with bullets, the Frankenstein mage had the last and most incomprehensible thought of his life.

—So this guy leading the group with the gun is also a mage?
As the mage, whose body contained a high concentration of bullets, fell unwillingly, the resistance within the magic core also came to an end.

Mo Lin breathed a sigh of relief. The exchange that had just taken a few seconds, though brief, was extremely dangerous.

Moreover, if he hadn't stopped the assault team in time and used [Shield] to take a direct hit from their scorching ray, who knows how many casualties there would be now.

In particular, the opponent's final [Burning Ray] directly reduced the [Shield] spell's defense threshold by half.

If Morin hadn't prepared a [Shield] spell amplified by 'Spell Power', the mage might have actually succeeded.
"Take a headcount for casualties and check the surrounding area!"

Morin gave the order.

The commandos immediately spread out, cautiously checking every corner of the magic center.

Soon, Manstein came to report.

"Sir, apart from the squad at the gate, inside the magic center there is only one mage with eight magic technicians."

"However, that mage was riddled with holes by us. The eight magic technicians were also killed in the grenade storm just now."

Morin nodded and glanced around at the huge space, which resembled a basement.

Everywhere you look, there are complex magical circuits and metal pipes shimmering with runes, creating an architectural aesthetic reminiscent of magical civilizations found in fantasy novels.

However, the intense firefight just now clearly caused serious damage to these sophisticated devices.

Dangerous sparks flew from many of the magical circuits.

Meanwhile, the five enormous magic crystals, each the size of an armored knight, half-buried underground in the center of the hall, along with the complex magic arrays inscribed around them, seemed to have triggered some kind of emergency mechanism due to the power outage and external impact.

"Om-"

A low, humming sound came from underground.

Immediately afterwards, the entire magic center began to shake violently, as if a powerful earthquake had occurred.

The ground beneath my feet was shaking, and dust was falling from above.

Vast and chaotic streams of magical energy emanated from the enormous magic crystal, causing everyone present to feel a chill run down their spines.

"Holy crap, is this thing going to explode?"

The thought flashed through Maureen's mind.

His heart was in his throat, and for a moment he even wondered if he had triggered the 'jinx' passive effect again.

Fortunately, he didn't say it out loud this time.

The violent 'earthquake' lasted for more than ten seconds before gradually subsiding.

As the final tremor subsided, the enormous magic crystal completely lost its luster, becoming dull and lifeless, as if it had completed some kind of 'energy release' process.

The entire magic hub also completely ceased operation at this moment.

Meanwhile, in the various fortresses of the Liege fortress complex.

The garrison commanders who had just received the 'retreat order' from headquarters were still in a state of shock and uncertainty.

They couldn't understand how the Saxons, who had been routed by them during the day and couldn't even reach the edge of the fortress, could suddenly appear out of nowhere and attack the fortress command post.

This is completely illogical.

Could it be a Saxon conspiracy? Did they send a fake telegram under the guise of command?
Many cautious officers had such doubts.

They all tried to contact the fortress command via landline to confirm.

Without exception, all communications went unanswered.

They tried to contact friendly forces in other fortresses, but because Morin had also cut the switch in the communications room, they were unable to contact other fortresses.

Just as the garrison troops of each fortress were caught in doubt and hesitation, and were planning to use the 'communication stone' which could only be used in emergencies to contact other fortresses.

The sudden, violent tremor, and the subsequent interruption of the magic supply, became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

"The magic supply has been interrupted!"

"The magic circuit has reported an error. The connection between the magic center and the circuit has gone offline!"

Panic-stricken shouts echoed from within each fortress.

The current emergency is more convincing than any order.

To these Flanders defenders, the fact that even the magic hub, the energy source for the entire fortress complex, had been destroyed by the enemy meant that the situation at command was probably even worse than what was described in the telegram.

The magic center has stopped supplying power, so what else is there to say?
Withdraw. Withdraw.
If we don't run now, we'll all perish here once the main Saxon force surrounds us!
(End of this chapter)