Page 275 of DATE
Some were caught in the act of retreating, stepping on another mine, and both their horses and themselves were sent flying into the air, their heads shattered into pieces. Others tried to run forward, but stepped on the detonators, and their screams never had a chance to escape before they were consumed by the explosion, vanishing into the dust.
The explosions were like fireworks on New Year's Eve, one after another. The scorching heat waves could burn the skin.
As the vanguard suffered heavy losses, the remaining ships arrived one by one, but they were clearly hesitant. They didn’t understand why such fierce fighting was taking place by the sea, nor why there were so many terrifying explosions. Even if the sea winds were strong, they could still hear the sounds clearly from a distance—it was like something out of a nightmare.
Hedy stood atop a tall hill, with Luris and Leonardo by her side.
"Sixty-five," the man said, holding a sheet of paper and marking an "X" on a red dot on the ground.
Hedy looked down at the panicked soldiers fleeing below, rubbing her brow. "What if they all get scared and run back? Then we won’t need to fight at all."
"Not necessarily." Luris said arrogantly, watching the retreating French soldiers. "They’re full of ambition, thinking they can march all the way to Rome."
"Speaking of which," she turned to Hedy, her tone laced with suspicion. "Do you think this declaration of war was the idea of Duke Bourbon and his wife, or was it the little king’s doing?"
Hedy shrugged and then, from a distance, came another dull explosion.
"Sixty-four." Leonardo shook his pen and made another mark.
"I don’t even know what the little king looks like," she said with genuine nostalgia for the days of television and magazines, her tone softening. "I just hope he’s an only son, spoiled by his father."
Leonardo’s mines had been designed and even tested before he met Hedy.
In an era with such a lack of knowledge and information, people lived their lives as if they were worms—busy and numb—but Leonardo seemed to be curious about everything.
When Hedy first found the design of a flying machine in his blueprints, the description of the mine wasn’t far from it. He had a novel understanding of both the flying machine and the internal workings of the mine.
Though Hedy had no idea what the correct way to make a mine was, his trial-and-error approach had produced some impressive results.
The difference was, if he hadn’t met Hedy, his creative ideas might have never earned the approval or promotion of the lords.
After the formula for black powder was perfected to its golden ratio, many of the weapons were upgraded and strengthened.
At least for now, just the mines buried in advance on the beach were enough to keep the French army occupied for two to three days.
Some had already tried to ride horses into the sea.
For three whole days, the thunderous sounds of explosions rang across the coastline, as if the spring of May were being struck by the fury of a summer storm.
The French ships were lined up in a long formation near the bay, with some even turning around and retreating.
They were completely stunned—
The locations of the mines had been designed by a group of mathematicians, ensuring that the chain reactions wouldn’t cause all the mines to explode simultaneously, nor would they allow the enemy to pass through by sheer luck.
At least four thousand men were either dead or injured, and more soldiers chose to stay near the coast, watching these bizarre, devilish-like occurrences.
— Not a single enemy soldier, not a single defending force, yet so many were killed!
How was this even possible?
They tried to find a correct path to advance or detour farther to approach Luka City. But both sides were blocked by cliffs, and the terrain was like an open pocket.
The priest accompanying the army took out his crucifix in an attempt to ward off the invisible demons, but he mumbled in disbelief before running back to the ships.
The lord stood on the cliff, draped in a velvet cloak, and calmly spoke: “We can begin.”
The next moment, a bright green flare shot into the sky, its sharp, whistling sound cutting through the air like a signal.
