Chapter 14: The Winter Battle 2

We left the knight's castle and crossed the border.

An empty plain stretched before us, with occasional snowfall, and the surroundings were a complete snow landscape. We marched slowly, carrying a large amount of supplies.

"Hey, are we really going to fight in a place like this? It's madness." "It's cold even with winter clothing." "It's better if there's no battle. Just think of it as winter training."

This could cause casualties even as winter training. I also think this is an unreasonable operation. What was Lord Schwartz thinking when he decided on this action? There must be some meaning to it; otherwise, this would be unbearable.

"Tell the troops to change clothes during breaks if they sweat. We'll make fires then, so try to dry wet clothes as much as possible." "Be careful not to get your feet wet. If your oilpaper is damaged, speak up. We have plenty of replacements, so don't hesitate. We also have plenty of chili powder." "Don't remove your leather face masks. You could lose your nose if you're not careful." "Keep rubbing your hands to maintain circulation."

I don't want to lose a single soldier. I want to minimize frostbite as much as possible. We're doing everything we can. But this cold is unexpected. If we're not extremely careful, we might not just have cases of frostbite but deaths.

Eventually, we finally reached the enemy's Dover Castle. We pitched tents surrounding the castle. Around the tents, we placed unglazed plates with peat on top, and once ignited, we added firewood to make bonfires. The enemy seemingly hadn't expected to be attacked, and we could observe the commotion inside. We could also see messengers running from the castle to their homeland.

Lord Schwartz deliberately let the messengers pass—he must have some plan. A war council was held in Schwartz's tent. The strategy was already decided, so it was more of a confirmation. "As I said before, starting tomorrow, we'll surround the castle. After that, we'll attack the castle gate with the machine. Understood?" "Yes, sir." "Then take your positions."

Schwartz was very interested in Hans's machine and told us to try it out anyway. He said that even if it failed, there would be no damage to our side, so give it a try.

Well, I'll try it, but please don't expect it to be really useful. It's neither a siege tower, nor a battering ram, nor a catapult, nor a ballista—it's an unprecedented, outrageous machine. Hans claims it's absolutely reliable and the castle gate will fall with one strike, but coming from someone who burned down a mansion, I'm very skeptical. I can't help but worry.

The next morning, we took our positions. It was snowing heavily that day. Under cover of the snow, we slowly moved the machine, covered with white cloth, to the front of the castle gate. Arrows were shot from the castle, but in this blizzard, they couldn't aim properly, and the wind carried them away, making them completely unthreatening.

We reached the gate. We pressed the tip of the machine against the castle gate. After fixing the springs at the back of the machine in a compressed state to the ground, and pressing the tip of the machine against the castle gate, we removed the cloth and retreated.

Before departure: "Hans, what on earth is this?" I questioned Hans in front of the bizarre machine. "It's a drill car. We'll destroy the castle gate with this." "Could you explain how it works?"

"With pleasure. The main body is a log about the size of a battering ram. At its tip is a conical iron mass. This cone has spiral grooves carved into it, making it a drill. This log with the drill is fitted on two bearings on a cart. The bearing parts are made of iron, and the corresponding parts of the drill log are also covered with iron. Oil is applied there as a lubricant. And in the center of the log is a massive stone flywheel. The power to rotate the drill comes from four half-bows mounted on the cart. Strong cords are attached to the tips of these bows and connected to the log. As the bows are bent, the drill rotates, winding up the cords. Once bent to the limit, the drill is fixed with a wedge. When that wedge is removed, the bows extend, pulling the cords and rotating the drill, which destroys the castle gate." "Have you tested it?" "No, this is the first try," he replied with very clear, sparkling eyes.

This is no good. Hans may be smart, but I feel like there's something fundamentally missing in his mind. There's no helping it. Even if it fails, there shouldn't be any damage to us. Let's try it. I feel like I'm being infected by Hans. I need to be careful.

We pushed the drill car, covered with white cloth, to the front of the castle gate. We positioned the drill car in front of the enemy castle gate and retreated, leaving soldiers to remove the wedge.

"Pull out the wedge!" Soldiers disguised with white cloth hid far away from the machine and pulled a rope to remove the wedge.

The drill started rotating slowly at first, but gradually increased its speed, until finally it was spinning at a tremendous pace. The drill pierced the castle gate and quickly penetrated deep through it. A hole opened in the gate, and the bolt behind it was easily destroyed.

"We did it!" Cheers rose from everywhere.

However, the outrigger that had been extended to the side broke under the drill's enormous torque. As a result, the cart lost its support, overturned, and crashed to the ground, breaking into pieces. The drill came loose from its bearings and, using the part stuck in the castle gate as a pivot, began thrashing up, down, left, and right. Unable to withstand this force, the left door of the castle gate flew off.

With this, the drill gained even more freedom. After bouncing heavily on the ground, it soared high into the air. Then it crashed down inside the castle, destroying the wooden turret above the gate.

Screams rose from inside the castle. "Whoa! What is this?" "Run! Run!" "Help me!" "Aaaaah!" "What is this? A demonic weapon?" "It hurts! It hurts!" "I'm going to die!" We stood there dumbfounded, unable to do anything.

Screams continued to come from inside the castle, along with dull sounds like something rolling—thump thump, crash crash. "I can pretty much imagine what's happening inside." "I don't want to think about it, but something terribly tragic is occurring." "It started well, but the strength was insufficient. We must improve it next time." Hans nodded repeatedly as he spoke.

"There won't be a next time. Luckily, that thing went toward the enemy this time, but it could have come our way. Think about how much trouble that would have caused. Reflect on this a bit." I punched Hans. "Ouch!" "Shut up."

Just then, there was a loud bang, and the remaining right door of the castle gate was blown off. The drill, now reduced to just a flywheel, had destroyed the castle gate and was rolling toward us. "Oh no!" "It's coming this way!" "Be careful!" Everyone turned pale and braced themselves.

However, it seemed to have exhausted its power. After rolling a few meters, it stopped moving, toppled over, and came to a halt. The stone had dark red stains all over it. Everyone present knew what those stains were.

Sighs escaped from all around.