OBS Chapter 700 Midland Military Reform
Chapter 700 Midland Military Reform
Some time later, a man rode into the city at breakneck speed. His clothes were brightly colored, and he wore a thick fur coat over them. The horse's hooves thundered as it pounded the stone pavement. The man shouted at the top of his lungs, over and over again:
"His Majesty the King will be here soon. Everyone, remember to bow! Everyone must bow!"
The shouts reached the ears of everyone on the street. Gus stood at the edge of the crowd, his brow slightly furrowed.
The people around began to stir. Some craned their necks to look towards the city gate, while others pulled and tugged at each other to adjust their positions, afraid of missing the opportunity to pay their respects.
Gus didn't move, but simply crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze still fixed on the direction of the city gate, pondering what the king's ceremonial procession would look like.
He had seen many nobles travel, each with an increasingly grand procession, but the word "king" still evoked a different feeling in him. It wasn't awe, but simply curiosity—curiosity about the kind of entourage that person sitting at the pinnacle of power would bring.
After some time, a clear sound of drums and horns suddenly rang out from outside the city gate.
The drumbeats were steady and powerful, striking the heart with each beat, while the horn's high-pitched and resounding blasts soared into the sky.
The hustle and bustle of the street instantly quieted down, and everyone's eyes turned to the city gate.
The first to appear were two cavalry units, riding tall horses at a slow pace. After passing through the city gate, they quickly separated and lined up on both sides of the road.
The cavalrymen pulled on the reins, and the horses reared up with a loud neigh before landing steadily.
Immediately afterwards, the cavalrymen took off the small trumpets from their backs and put them to their lips to blow them.
The sharp horn sounded again, intertwining with the previous drum and bugle calls to create a unique rhythm, announcing the official arrival of the procession.
Gus's gaze followed the movement, and he saw behind the cavalrymen a smartly dressed military band and honor guard.
The band members, each holding a different instrument, marched in perfect unison, their every step perfectly timed to the beat of the drums.
The honor guard soldiers stood tall and proud, holding gleaming rifles whose tips flashed blindingly in the sunlight. They marched slowly along the center of the road, paving the entire street into a passageway leading to the inner fortress.
Gus's gaze swept over the people, but he felt nothing. He wasn't interested in them; he was just silently counting the number of people in the honor guard to pass the time.
With another, even louder horn call, a group of knights on white horses came into view.
The white horse was magnificent, and the knights moved in perfect unison, their longswords hanging at their sides, the blades reflecting the sunlight.
Surrounded by knights, a magnificent golden carriage slowly passed through the city gate.
The carriage was made of the finest wood, its surface inlaid with countless tiny gems that shimmered in the sunlight. The wheels rolled over the stone road with a dull thud.
The moment the carriage appeared, Gus felt the air around him freeze.
The people on both sides moved almost simultaneously, kneeling on one knee, heads bowed, hands on their knees, their movements so synchronized as if they had rehearsed countless times beforehand.
Before Guts could react, his arm was suddenly yanked by Jiedu beside him, and Guts staggered down, eventually stopping in a squatting position.
He glared at Jiedu with some dissatisfaction, secretly thinking to himself that Jiedu was too quick and hadn't even given him a warning.
But he knew that now was not the time to worry about such things, so he could only remain crouched, his gaze passing over the crowd and landing on the slowly passing carriage.
The carriage was moving very slowly, so slowly that Gus could see every delicate detail on the carriage.
He stared at the carriage window, pondering to himself. The carriage curtains were tightly closed, completely obscuring everything inside, so that no one could see a thing.
Only after the carriage had completely passed and disappeared at the end of the street did the people on both sides gradually stand up.
They rubbed their knees, their faces still showing respect, and whispered about what had just happened.
Gus also stood up, stretched his slightly numb legs, and turned to look at Jiedu beside him with a hint of doubt on his face:
Who was in that carriage just now?
Jiedu stared wide-eyed, his face filled with astonishment, as if he had heard something unbelievable.
"That's the king, didn't you know?"
Gus rolled his eyes, his tone tinged with helplessness:
“He was in the car, how would I know?”
Jiedu opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but seeing Gus's matter-of-fact look, he swallowed his words and just shook his head.
Gus ignored Jedo's reaction and turned his gaze back toward the city gate.
As they were saying this, the king's entourage had already passed by completely, followed closely by a large number of soldiers.
These soldiers were completely different from the Midland army that Guts had seen before. The Midland army in the past mostly used cold weapons, with spears, longswords and shields as standard equipment. But this army was equipped with matchlock muskets by all its soldiers. In other words, this was the first time he had seen Midland soldiers use firearms.
The infantrymen carried long matchlock guns, their barrels gleaming coldly in the sunlight. Their steps were steady, each one exuding an air of well-trained discipline.
The cavalrymen carried shorter matchlock muskets on their backs, rode their horses with their backs straight, heads held high, and faces filled with pride.
Behind the infantry and cavalry were several packhorses pulling cannons. The cannons had thick barrels and dark bodies, exuding a daunting and oppressive aura.
In the era of cold weapons, individual bravery might still be able to secure a place on the battlefield, but when faced with firearms that can kill enemies from a distance, individual strength seems insignificant.
Gus thought to himself that this army's fighting power was probably more than twice as strong as the previous Midland army.
Jiedu watched the cannons and matchlock guns slowly pass by, a thoughtful expression on his face. He spoke slowly, his tone carrying a hint of analysis:
"It seems that the cooperation between the Kingdom of Midland and Hilderan has directly changed the military system of the Midland army, and they are now using gunpowder weapons."
Gus nodded, indicating his agreement with Jetto's statement.
He wasn't interested in things like political and military alliances, but he knew that changes in weaponry often meant changes in the mode of warfare.
The battlefields of the future will likely never be the same as they are now.
Rickett, however, reacted quite differently from the other two. He watched the cannons passing by with excitement in his eyes, leaning forward slightly as if he wanted to rush up and touch them.
He stared at one of the cannons for a long time, then suddenly shouted excitedly:
"This is an organ cannon. I've seen it in the Heldran Military Gazette."
Rickett's voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for Gus and Jedo beside him to hear.
Gus turned to look at Rickett, then at the cannon Rickett called the "organ cannon," and felt nothing.
To him, cannons were just weapons, no different in essence from longswords and spears, except that they had a larger killing range.
But Rickett clearly didn't think so. His eyes were fixed on the cannons, and he kept muttering terms that Gus couldn't understand, such as the caliber of the cannons and their range.
The procession moved slowly forward, with more and more soldiers and artillery entering through the city gates and heading towards the inner fortress along the street. Crowds continued to gather on both sides of the street, their voices rising and falling in discussion.
Guts stood there, looking at the well-equipped army, and a premonition suddenly arose in his heart that the end of the war between Midland and Yoda, which had lasted for hundreds of years, was probably inevitable.
With the support of Heldran and these advanced gunpowder weapons, this kingdom may soon face the most ferocious counterattack in history against the Yoda Empire.
After what seemed like an eternity, the long queue finally moved on completely.
The officers and soldiers maintaining order on both sides of the street also gradually put away their weapons and turned to leave.
The crowd began to disperse slowly, still discussing with great interest the king's procession and the well-equipped army as they walked away.
Gus watched the crowd thin out and was about to turn and leave when he saw Griffith walking toward the other side of the street.
Griffith walked steadily, his face calm, as he walked with a group of officers in military uniforms toward the inner fortress of Rona.