Gunmage
Chapter 58: Insurgency

Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Insurgency

"Mr. Prince?"

Lovainne shook his head, exhaling.

"Good job. I’m glad to see you’re all alive."

Under his command, the soldiers dispersed, resuming their tasks. Lovainne stepped closer to the group, his voice low but firm.

"So, how’d it go?"

It was Xhi who responded.

"We didn’t even have to do anything. Your rain of hellfire sent them all to the spirit world."

Lovainne froze for a moment before controlling his expression, his mind racing through countless possibilities. Had it really been that effective? He turned to Lugh.

"Are they all dead?"

"No,"

Lugh replied.

"Oh?"

"There were some I didn’t see there. We can’t confirm it, but I believe they’re still somewhere in the city."

Emrys wasn’t dead yet.

"How are things up here?"

Renshaw asked.

"Any civilians left?"

"No"

Lovainne answered.

"They’ve been evacuated. We’ve secured the entire northeastern sector."

Lugh sighed in relief—until he heard the rest.

"We need to set up fortifications immediately,"

Lovainne continued.

"Now that the shock has worn off, what comes next will be a fully prepared Heieg force, armored units included. We have to make sure not to get run over."

Lugh frowned.

"Wait, we’re just going to defend? How are we supposed to win?"

"We don’t"

Lovainne said simply.

Silence. Then, a chorus of confused voices.

"Huh?"

"There’s no way our army can wipe out theirs"

He continued.

"Sure, we’ve dealt them a terrible blow, but it’s not enough to seize victory."

"T-then what are we supposed to do?"

Lyra demanded.

"We dig in, hold the lines, and defend with everything we’ve got."

Lovainne’s tone was final.

"News of our successful assault would have reached the ears of general Garrick and the 7th Armored Division by now.

They’re probably rushing towards Drakensmar as we speak, all we have to do is hold on long enough till they arrive"

A simultaneous "Ah" resounded as everyone immediately understood.

"Alright,"

Lugh nodded.

"We’ll keep searching for the enemy mages."

...

Just as Lovainne had predicted, once the sun was fully hung in the sky, the fierce counterattack from Heieg began.

The barricade of ships blocking the northern river remained strong, until an artillery shell slammed into one of them.

The explosion rocked the vessel, sending shockwaves through its very bones.

Soldiers swore as they scrambled to their stations, rushing to man the ship’s cannons.

Their remaining weaponry might have been limited to small-caliber guns, but even the smallest shipborne cannon dwarfed those used by ground forces.

They had barely begun loading when a sharp voice cut through the chaos.

"Hold fire!"

Another explosion. The deck trembled beneath them.

"What?! Why?"

A soldier turned, incredulous.

"Look over there"

The officer pointed grimly.

"They’re attacking from residential areas. If we return, civilians will be caught in the crossfire."

Eyes widened in horror as realization dawned.

The soldiers of Ophris had taken great care to evacuate civilians from the northeastern sector, knowing it would become a battlefield.

Heieg had no such concerns. Instead of launching a direct counterattack, they had positioned their artillery deep within the heart of the city, amidst the local population.

It was a brutal strategy.

The men of Ophris could do nothing but take the hits, unable to return fire without risking innocent lives.

The battle had shifted. Now, the territory they had fought so hard to seize had become a kill box. Artillery shells rained down relentlessly.

Those lucky enough found cover, the unlucky ones were torn apart, their bodies shredded by shockwaves and debris.

Lovainne’s mind raced. If this continued, talk less of lasting until reinforcements arrived, they would be dead before the next sunrise.

He paced within a dimly lit building, eyes locked on the telegraph machine.

"Come on"

He muttered.

"Give me something."

The machine whirred to life. A slip of paper emerged, the ink still drying. Lovainne snatched it up and scanned the message.

Section 2, 9, 12 of the northwestern quadrant all clear.

We’ll begin on your signal.

A slow smile spread across his face.

Lugh was oddly curious.

"What was that?"

Lovainne’s voice was almost giddy as he replied.

"Heieg isn’t the only one with spies."

Without hesitation, orders were relayed. All remaining forces were mobilized. Mortar crews prepared their launchers.

The ships received coordinates and timing for the impending strike.

Under constant bombardment, the soldiers of Ophris moved quickly, setting up their mortars, each capable of firing four shells at a time.

The ship crews adjusted their cannons, angling them for long-range bombardment.

Then, the first shot rang out.

A single mortar round arced through the air, striking a building on the western bank. That was the signal. Within moments, hundreds more followed, their shrieking descent heralding destruction.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Explosions ripped through the enemy’s artillery positions. Fires erupted across the cityscape, debris cascading down in plumes of dust and smoke.

Then, the ship cannons fired. Massive shells zipping through the air before slamming into the surroundings with deafening force.

An entire sector of Drakensmar was reduced to rubble in mere minutes.

"Don’t they care about their own civilians?"

A Heieg officer’s voice trembled with shock.

Then, as the dust settled, another horror became apparent.

"Wait..."

A commander’s voice faltered.

"Where exactly are the civilians?"

The answer came crashing down upon them.

Glass shattered. Streets erupted in chaos. From alleyways and hidden corridors, from the very heart of the occupied zone, gunfire erupted.

The civilians of Drakensmar had not fled. They had been waiting.

Armed with rifles, pistols, and whatever weapons they could scavenge, they struck with precision.

Heieg’s organized formations crumbled as resistance fighters ambushed them from every direction.

Soldiers were dragged into side streets, their throats slit before they could even scream.

Barricades were overturned, vehicles set ablaze.

It was an uprising.

An artillery commander stumbled backward, face pale.

"What the hell is going on?"

His answer came in the form of a bullet piercing his skull.

In a single, decisive moment, the tides had turned.

The siege of Drakensmar was no longer a battle between armies. It was an insurgency, a war of survival waged by the people themselves.