Lord: My Shop Connects to Modern Times

"Hansen! What are you doing!"

Hughes's voice came from afar, and a small group of soldiers followed behind him.

"Don't fucking stand there! We have four thousand men! They've come with so few of them, we can still take them down!"

Hansen snapped out of his daze from Hughes's roar.

That's right! The battle at Dark Raven Pass left him traumatized, and now he's so intimidated by the enemy's weapons that he's forgotten one fact.

That means the other side doesn't have enough people!

Even if the weapons are strange and have great destructive power, the fact that the enemy's forces number less than a thousand is undeniable.

And now we're not in a geographically advantageous position, so this battle might very well be fought.

Hansen gritted his teeth, stood up, and staggered away.

Gather them up! As long as we gather the soldiers in the city, we'll have a fighting chance!

……

Gale, carrying his flintlock pistol, followed the group as they rushed toward the breach in the city wall.

The deafening shouts filled my ears, the ground beneath my feet was softened by the artillery fire, and ahead lay a breach in the city wall billowing with thick smoke.

His heart was pounding, but not with fear—it was with excitement.

Yes, I'm excited.

Logically speaking, as a "traitor" attacking his former allies, he should feel guilty.

But he didn't, which he himself found incredible.

Just over ten days ago, he was one of the city's garrison soldiers, Count Karl's chief knight. He had lived in this city for over twenty years, knowing every street and every corner intimately.

Now, he's carrying one of those things called a flintlock pistol, and he's following a group of old soldiers from Grayrock Town to attack the city.

Gale felt that it was probably the words of the lord named Lynn that had shocked him.

A day earlier, Lynn came to their temporary army and explained why they needed to familiarize themselves with the weapons within a week—the enemy had decided to launch a counterattack on Frostfire.

Unlike the other prisoners who were intimidated by Lynn's force, Gale initially resisted.

It wasn't just the shame of becoming a rebel, but also because Frostfire was where he grew up, and the thought of him fighting his own hometown was a thorn in his side.

But Lynn's next words quickly changed his mind.

Instead of saying anything about death for disobedience, the other side asked the group of prisoners, "Have you all had a good time exploring the territory these past few days?"

His tone was casual, as if he were chatting.

Gale didn't know about the other prisoners; he and Vic had both wandered around Grayrock Town after training these past few days.

Over the course of several days, they explored almost the entire town of Gray Rock.

"What do you think of my territory?"

This is Lynn's second question.

At that moment, Gale almost instantly recalled what he had seen in Grayrock Town, a place with so many things that other territories lacked—unique food, powerful weapons, and strict discipline…

But what moved Gail the most were the ordinary people in Greyrock.

Almost everyone there has a smile on their face at all times, whether they are miners, merchants, farmers... from the city hall administrators to the farmers in the fields, they are all genuinely happy.

This struck Gail as incredible.

"After we take Frostfire, you can stay in Grayrock Town or Ironstone Keep and become residents of my territory. Those who do not wish to stay may leave on their own."

Lynn's next words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake.

At that moment, Gail's heart fluttered.

When he learned that he could stay and live in this place, he was honestly tempted.

The residents here live very happily; this cannot be faked.

Gale had never seen an ordinary person happier than this in any noble territory. Perhaps even the royal capital could achieve this, but Gale felt that the people in the royal capital might not necessarily be as happy as the people here.

He didn't know if the other prisoners would stay, but he wanted to stay as an ordinary person.

He thought of Emily, who might still be suffering in Frostfire, and his thoughts deepened.

We absolutely must take it down, and then, together with Emily, here...

"Gail!" A voice rang out beside him, interrupting his thoughts. It was Vic. "What are you daydreaming about! There's a war going on!"

Vic's voice pulled him back to reality.

Gale was startled. He gripped his flintlock pistol tightly and followed the group into the breach in the city wall.

The thick smoke all around made it hard to open one's eyes, and underfoot were broken bricks and stones and corpses lying haphazardly.

Several soldiers in Grayrock Town uniforms were crouching in the corner, aiming their guns at the inside—bang bang bang, screams came from the depths of the alley.

"New recruits stick with veterans!" someone shouted. "Form groups of three, don't get separated!"

Before Gale could react, a hand pulled him aside.

It's Hank.

"Follow me," Hank said, then picked up his gun and walked forward.

Gail quickly followed.

The street fighting was far more chaotic than he had imagined.

He could walk the streets of Frostfire City with his eyes closed, but now there was fighting in every alley.

Gunshots, shouts, and screams mingled together, and thick smoke and the smell of blood filled the air.

As we rounded a bend, several soldiers in tattered Frostfire City uniforms suddenly appeared ahead. They had clearly just been startled awake, some of them barely holding their weapons.

Hank raised his hand and fired a shot.

boom--!

The one at the front fell to the ground, a burst of blood erupting from his chest.

"Load!" Hank roared.

Gail frantically began loading. Tearing paper, pouring medicine, inserting lead pellets, tamping it down—he had practiced this routine countless times, but his hands still trembled a little when it came to actually using it.

Several veterans nearby had already prepared, and then a few more shots rang out, and all the Frostfire City soldiers fell.

Gale had barely finished loading his gun when the battle was already over.

"Don't just stand there! Let's go!" Hank patted him on the shoulder.

Gail continued walking forward, and as he passed the corpses, he couldn't help but glance at them.

There was a very young one, who looked to be under twenty. His eyes were still open, staring at the sky, his mouth slightly agape, as if he wanted to shout something before he died.

Gail looked away with a complicated expression.

These were once comrades-in-arms, but now they have become my enemies.

He felt a mix of emotions.

Gale has never truly fought a war. Frostfire City is powerful, and no one has dared to attack it before.

Karl's knights usually do patrol missions and occasionally go out of the city to clear out the monsters that roam around.

This was the first time Gale had experienced such a large-scale battle, especially one against former allies.

Not counting the time at Dark Raven Pass, we barely saw any enemies that time...

Looking at the enemy who died with his eyes wide open, and the ordinary people killed in the street because of the enemy's revenge, Gail dared not think any further.

He had only one thought on his mind right now—

Emily.

Where is she?

Is she alright?

……

The battle is progressing more smoothly than expected.

The soldiers of Frostfire City were completely disorganized, and having been caught off guard, many of them quickly lost the ability to resist.

Hansen and Hughes's plan to gather the soldiers ultimately failed.

The reason is simple: the soldiers of Frostfire City are not from any single territory. They come from various noble families and are simply forced to crowd here to await Duke Ivan's orders.

In addition, most of the Southern Allied Army, like Gale, had never seen such a large-scale war before. Almost all of them panicked when they heard the sound of cannons and ran around for their lives.

The morale of the enemies in Frostfire City was quickly shattered. Gale saw mostly enemy corpses along the way, with very few soldiers from Grayrock Town lying on the ground.

"They weren't exactly elite troops to begin with," Hank said as he loaded his weapon. "Plus, those soldiers have been trapped here for the past ten days or so, and they're probably under a lot of psychological pressure. Who knows how much they've let themselves go? Now that the fighting's started, their legs are practically trembling."

Gail didn't say anything.

He knew Hank was telling the truth.

Over the past ten days or so, he had imagined countless times what Frostfire City would become.

The nobles who had escaped fled, leaving behind over four thousand leaderless soldiers, without officers, discipline, or restraint.

What will happen?

He dared not think.

But now he sees it.

As he passed through an alley, he saw a broken door. An old man lay in the doorway, stabbed in the chest, his blood drained away. From inside came the suppressed, desperate cries of a woman.

Gale gripped the gun tightly.

He quickened his pace.

……

They advanced two more streets.

Gail suddenly realized that he recognized the road.

Walk thirty steps forward, turn left, and walk another fifty steps; that's his and Emily's house.

It was an inconspicuous little house on the outskirts of town, which he bought with five years' worth of military pay. They had moved out of the house Carl had assigned them after Emily's incident.

The house wasn't big, but it had a small yard where Emily planted some flowers. In the summer, those flowers bloomed beautifully.

"Hank," Gail called out, stopping the other person.

Hank turned to look at him.

"My house is up ahead," Gail said. "I...I have to go check it out."

Hank glanced at him, then looked at the alley ahead.

"Can I manage alone?"

Gail nodded.

"Go," Hank said. "Return to the square when you're done. Don't take too long. Remember, don't let the enemy get close!"

Hank, unaware of Gale's strength, cautiously offered his advice.

"clear."

Gail didn't explain. He nodded to the other person, then turned and ran into the alley.

……