Chapter 817: Chapter 41: End of the First Phase of the War

The dazzling brilliance was like another small sun in the night.

In the sky, the Royal Mages who were besieging the Demon Dragon were stunned for a moment.

"Holy Light! It’s the Holy Light!"

Someone suddenly exclaimed with joy, "With this level of Holy Light, could it be that the Iron Duke has invited the Grand Master William of the Saint George’s Knight Order to assist in the battle?"

This statement quickly became a widespread consensus, except for a few high-ranking officers who knew the secret reports from Military Intelligence Six. Almost no one could imagine that the person using the Holy Light would stand on the same side as the "Demons" of Texas.

"God save the Empress, God save Great Britain!"

The faces of many navy officers and soldiers showed the relief of a narrow escape; the morale, which had hit rock bottom after witnessing the terrifying scene, finally recovered somewhat.

"O Holy Light, please shine upon me and exterminate those evil demons, bringing light back to the world."

They all drew a cross in front of them, and if their faith could be described numerically, previously it would have been one at most, but now it could at least reach ten.

"Those Texans are indeed terrifying, to actually attract the Iron Duke and such high-level Church warriors to join forces against them."

Several knowledgeable Royal Mages looked serious, which was actually not good news. The Empire had already spent too much on Texas, and even with a White Crystal Vein, it’s uncertain how long it would take to recoup the costs.

"Look at that Demon Dragon!"

In the sky, the Demon Dragon seemed also attracted to the terrifying Holy Light and flew straight into New Naples City without looking back.

The remaining British Army in the port collectively breathed a sigh of relief. That recent Dragon Flame had turned half the port into a Purgatory, the air was filled with the smell of burning flesh, and the buildings were popping and exploding as they burned.

The breastworks built by the vanguard, fortifications, artillery positions, and port turrets and towers were completely ineffective against such terrifying Demon Fire from the sky.

Under such high temperatures, even a steel warship would be melted into molten iron.

...

"Is that tin monster dead too?"

Though both were famous, Viviana knew clearly that Jeanne’s strength greatly surpassed her own, whether at her peak or now, age mattered—Jeanne was from the Hundred Years’ War period.

She felt that even war machines made in Britain couldn’t possibly withstand a Holy Spear from a Knight of Radiance, let alone with assistance from Lavinia and Prajna.

The Werewolves all retreated far away; although Jeanne restrained the Holy Light from harming them, exposure to such level of Holy Flame could cost them half their lives.

"Not dead."

On the tall building of the City Hall, Cherina’s expression became somewhat grave, though she had expected that the Holy Spear couldn’t finish off the tin monster, the rapidly increasing energy fluctuations at the center of the explosion were nonetheless unbelievable.

Even a dark magnate like the Wolf Lord would lose half his life under that shot.

At the center of the explosion, the giant steam mecha, bathed in a dark red rusty hue, slowly straightened its chest. In front of it was a giant shield big enough to fully cover its ten-meter tall body.

The shield’s source was those King’s Shields.

No matter how strong the Iron Duke’s defense, he couldn’t take Jeanne’s lethal strike unscathed, just like how a young and strong person might break their neck if they fell on the ground unguarded.

The surrounding King’s Blades and King’s Shields fared far worse. Many mecha’s boilers had ceased functioning, emitting black smoke, some of their massive bodies still alight with golden Holy Flame.

If it weren’t for these King’s Shields sacrificing themselves for his protection, even he would have been heavily wounded.

The Iron Duke took a deep look at the opposing Knight of Radiance, growing more transparent, while the rage in his heart burned even hotter.

...

Aboard the Sea Monarchy.

"What should we do next?"

Lieutenant Colonel Robert’s tone was filled with resentment: "Admiral, those fools at Military Intelligence Six who only know how to ask for money, they deceived us. The intelligence about Texans abandoning coastal towns turned out to be completely false; we’ve walked right into a trap tailor-made by the Texans for us."

Admiral George sighed deeply: "Retreat, the soldiers have lost their fighting spirit. To restore their will to fight in the short term, we’d need people from the Monastery to hold a grand mass."

"But those French are still watching, if we just retreat, isn’t it too...?"

Admiral George sneered: "Embarrassing? Look at the wreckage in the port, see how our soldiers are praying to God instead of taking up their weapons against the enemy, the Empire’s dignity is already in shambles." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Lieutenant Colonel Robert lowered his voice: "But what should we tell Her Highness Louise, at the time you promised to make Texas a jewel in the crown when she was crowned Grand Duchess of New England."

"What more explanation? Texans had more cards hidden than anyone anticipated, that’s the negligence of Military Intelligence Six, and even if we wanted to continue the fight, the soldiers have no will for it."

Admiral George tossed a monocular to Lieutenant Colonel Robert.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert took it and looked, his face turning much paler; the situation was worse than he imagined, the entire port had become rubble.

Their first landing legion, eight thousand elite troops, along with those heavily invested armored infantry and land cruisers, were nearly wiped out.

In the telescope, a flag suddenly appeared, it was the blue and white striped flag of the colonial government.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert was somewhat in disbelief: "Those old-style uniforms are the colonial state militia!"

Everyone knew the level of the colonial militia; they were brought in mainly because they were locals, and amid such intense battle, no one would’ve thought they’d survive.

Suddenly, Lieutenant Colonel Robert spoke: "They are traitors. If not for the theft at the Shenfubote armory, we wouldn’t have abandoned our original plan to advance from land, and if we had marched from land, we wouldn’t have suffered such heavy losses."

Admiral George’s expression shifted slightly. He had already taken responsibility once for this defeat,

Thus, the state militia, just arriving at the shore, saw a group of angry navy marines pointing their weapons at them.

"Drop your guns, you traitors!"

Traitors?

Arthur instantly realized what these damn mainlanders intended: "Damn, they want to make us scapegoats!"

But realizing didn’t mean he had any chance to resist. A pack of fierce British soldiers easily subdued this colonial armed force, already terrified by the Texans’ Werewolves.

"My father is Councillor Arthur!"

He shouted loudly, but was immediately met with a rifle butt. The British soldier who struck him cursed profanely, not caring a bit about his proud background.

At that moment, Arthur suddenly realized that although he was only a second-generation immigrant in the colonies, a deep chasm had formed between them and the mainland, and no matter how prominent colonial officials and nobles were locally, they couldn’t stand against the mainlanders.

He stopped resisting, covering his head and letting the mainlanders beat him.

The fury in his heart quickly spread across his chest like the Dragon Flame of the recently flying Demon Dragon across the sky.

"Freedom, North America must win its own freedom!"

The Thirteen Colonies had many factions, but they could generally be divided into the "Industrial Faction," the Northern Factory Owner Faction in original history, inherently rebellious due to restrictions from mainland industries, confined to downstream sectors.

However, in this world, the "Industrial Faction" is quite weak, mostly under mainland control, with low independence tendencies.

The other is the "Planter Faction," the Southern Plantation Owner Faction in original history, needing cheap industrial goods from the mainland, with a mutually dependent relationship, also having low independence tendencies.

But the fundamental reason for the low independence inclination of both factions is that the British Empire still reigns supremely, and hanging Washington cannot resolve the ingrained conflicts between mainland and colonies.