The Flame of War

{Manche, Normandy}

A couple of days ago, Victor decided to head back to Manche to begin the second process of creating a modern army: firearms. Specifically he wanted to make rifles that began to appear when gunpowder became the go to for armies throughout 17th to 19th century Europe. These muskets were easier to make with the skills his workforce currently possesses. But another problem arises.

Europe used pig iron, which due to its high carbon levels, was brittle. If used in these new weapons, the possibility of the weapon giving out when fired was high. If he wanted to make larger cannons and modern guns, he needed modern steel and iron, but decided to use cast iron instead, even though it was still brittle, it was better than pig iron. However, iron usually rusts, so he needs metal to mix and create an alloy that could withstand rusting. In comes zinc. Using zinc he could reduce the amount of rusting in the cannon barrel.

However, at this moment, zinc mines did not exist in the world, which complicated matters. He had to search up where he could mine zinc. However, he doubted he could even reach them with the current technology France had, so he just decided to with with regular cast iron to make rifles and cannons.

He set up a few blast furnaces close to a coal deposit he discovered in Manche. Using this, he would be able to supply coal to create the cast iron. In the town of Cherbourg, he found capable craftsmen and gave them blueprints to create both 24-pound cannons and Charleville muskets. He did not know whether they could make them, but he hopes.

The current army of Marche was 5000 soldiers, with 600 being cavalry. Maybe he could invade the rest of Normandy, but he wanted to be sure he had long range firepower to minimize casualties. His army was very disciplined and listened to every order, and their physical fitness improved from how it was in the past.

~~~

{Dauphine, France}

On the other end of France, another of his father's general, Jean Montpelier, was assigned to serve the newly appointed 'noble' of Dauphine. His mission was to create a large army there as well with the same discipline as the one in Normandy.

Jean managed to recruit over 2000 recruits and began their brutal training. At the beginning they complained, but over time they accepted their fate and became disciplined enough.

Victor's plan was racing at full speed so that in 3 years he would be able to centralize and expand outwards into Iberia and Germany.

By the time Jean's troops finished training, the amount of rifles in Normandy grew to 2000 and cannons were at 24. With this, Victor had enough weaponry to invade.

~~~

{Caen, Normandy}

"Ahhh...." A short, round nobleman sighed as he drank his glass of beer. Why did he sigh? Well, he felt the new king inadequate to fulfill the needs of the aristocracy. Though, he was not stupid enough to openly revolt. If he failed, his family would be destroyed

Looking out the window of his castle, he watched the dark sky with dots of white with little light coming in from the massive white circle in the sky. He felt tired of just wasting his life away. His wife grew indifferent towards him, and his son was distant. He felt that he lived for naught.

"How I wish l could change my life" he muttered under his breath.

Just as he was about to head to bed, frantic knocks came from his door.

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

"Come in," He felt annoyed by the disturbance.

"My l-lord, it's bad, some-one is inv-ading our land" The servant was out of breath trying to relay his message.

At first the noble looked at him blankly, before panic crept down his face. As soon as he realized the situation, he demanded the servant to alert all the soldiers as a fight was amiss.

Compared to the 5000 troops of Manche, Calvados could only muster 3000 due to their tight finances. However, their soldiers, were not to be underestimated, they were veterans from previous wars and were hardened to the sight of death. Victor's soldiers were recruits that trained for 3 months, so although they were highly disciplined, they haven't tasted a real battle.

After reaching Caen, Victor's troops set camp. The one who led these soldiers was Alart. Victor decided to stay back as he was young. Soldiers patrolled the perimeter of the camp and everyone inside was trained to prepare for night raids thus, they would not panic during one.

In his tent, Alart was waiting for his scout to return. Victor had given him an object he called a 'telescope'. Essentially, it allowed him to see very far. He had his scout use it to estimate the number of soldiers.

A voice called out from the other side of the tent, "May I come in?"

"Enter" Alart eyed the tent door. The fire of the torches reflected in his eyes to make it seem as if they were on fire.

The scout entered and saluted before stating his report, "Sir, The enemy number around 3000. They seem to have left the city to fight us on the field."

Alart's brows furrowed. He was confused as to why the enemy chose to exit their defensive fortification. Did they have a secret weapon that made them confident? He brushed it aside as he doubted it, but decided to stay vigilant in tomorrow's battle.

"What about their cavalry? how many do they number?"

"They only have 400 cavalry, though they have have heavy armor compared to our light cavalry." The scout responded with indifference as he was brutally trained by the man in front.

"Okay, your free to go." Alart turned to grab a drink.

"Your highness, I hope your preparations worked" He sighed and decided to get rest.

~~~

The next morning, the soldiers gathered. They aligned in a formation made by the king. In the back, pikemen would wait for enemies to approach before replacing the musketeers at the front. The musketeers were lined in three lines. The first would kneel while the second stood. The third was there to replace the first two for reloading. When the first row fired, they moved back, then the second row, and then the third. Using this method, they could fire three volleys at the enemy.

Across the field, the enemy was also ready. They watched the lightly armored soldiers 300 meters away. Their morale was high seeing that their enemy was lightly armored. They began their march towards the enemy.

Alart had his men dig trenches the night before and covered them with leaves and grass. In them, wooden spikes waited for the first batch of unlucky souls to fall in.

The battlefield was quiet, except for the sound of the Calvados troops advancing in a orderly fashion.

For Alart, it was as if time came to a standstill. He focused on his heartbeat and breathing. He waited for the enemy to reach a close enough range for the cannons to fire. Everyone was tense, these recruits were about to taste their first blood.

*CAW*

*CAW*

A Carrion Crow, passed by breaking the silence of the battlefield.

Then, Alart raised his hands, ready to give the signal, and the next second, the world shook

*BOOM*

The first cannons fired, and the first battle of the Phantom Terror began. From it, A military would be borne, capable of massacring all that stood before it.