jdhmnovel Chapter 39 Who Destroyed the World?
Chapter 39 Who Destroyed the World?
Alicia walked into this vast city, a city built by demons, vampires, and orcs for generations, a city called "the Gate of Hell" by the Southern Human Church. In reality, no matter how you looked at it, the capital was just an ordinary city.
Of course, the distant rumble of artillery, the chaotic yet silent atmosphere on the streets, and the occasional passing troops all reflected the reality of this city.
That was war. The capital was once again engulfed in flames, this time from the sea.
Alicia skillfully scaled a wall, revealing a courtyard overgrown with weeds. She bent down, touched an iron ring, and pulled open a hidden door.
It was pitch black below, but the vampire's unique night vision allowed her to see the scene below clearly. She jumped down, and the stench that hit her made her feel nauseous.
The evacuation from the capital was too hasty, and the usurper's offensive was too swift. In the end, there were countless defectors. Two waves of people rushed towards Alicia at the same time. The collapse and defection under the city walls meant that most of the defenders had become opportunists, turning their swords against their allegiance.
Alicia didn't have time to take everything with her, including her friends and advisors who were supporting her.
She walked through the dark sewers, which in the city’s early days drained most of its water, but now, due to years of neglect, they had become a true underground tunnel—a tunnel that few people remembered ever existed.
Alicia skillfully traversed the dark, dried-up waterway and opened a hidden door—the room was still dark, and she groped her way to open a secret compartment.
Magic was infused and transmitted through fiber optic routes forged from magic crystals until a lamp above her head lit up—the magic lamp instantly illuminated the girl in the corner, behind her hands was an even smaller girl, both of them holding crossbow bolts—Alicia looked at the crossbow bolt, it was a magician's rapid-fire crossbow bolt.
"No... wait, it's you, Alicia?"
"Anna, I'm sorry..."
The girl looked at Alicia, froze for a second, then her eyes reddened and tears welled up as she walked over—heaven knows how they spent that time.
"Alicia... Waaah... After you left, that damned bastard has been hunting us down! Even if we hide, her henchmen can still find our hiding place in the capital. They were here in the sewers a few days ago!"
Anna cried out, and Alicia hugged her, patted her back gently, and asked, "How are the others?"
"They...they were either captured or killed...that bastard Ekevich!"
"That damn bastard! I... tsk!"
Alicia longed to take her revenge right now, but it wasn't the right time. No matter what, Ekevich had a million-strong army under his command, and he and his harem were incredibly powerful.
"Let's go! Let's get out of here... Who is she?"
“I found her, Vera—she’s human.”
Vera peeked out and looked at Alicia, who was carrying a dirty dark green satchel with some strange writing on it and a portrait of an old man she didn't recognize drawn in odd lines.
"Hello... hello..."
"Come on! Let's hurry, before that bastard's army has a chance to be recalled!"
The shelling continued, and now the naval infantry had completely taken over the port area. Gunboats sailed into the port, and a squad of soldiers was unloading cargo from the port.
"Report! Sir! We have seized a large quantity of crates of cotton, flour, and a small amount of oriental porcelain at the port."
"Hurry, we need to get out of here before they can react—"
Alicia returned to the port with the two women. The tricolor flag fluttered in the wind, but she didn't see that little Vera's eyes were fixed on the ships—the soldiers and the steamships belching black smoke.
"That, that's... what the teacher once said!"
"What's wrong, Vera?"
Anne looked at the little girl, who pointed to the boats and excitedly picked up a paper and pen.
“My mentor once talked to me about machines. When he was in church, he drew a lot of design drawings! He told me that machines are the future!”
What's your master's name?
As Alicia listened to Vera's description, she could only think of one person.
Alice de la Leah, the creator of industry, the explorer of modern science, and the creator of the Amerinsi national spirit.
“Fidel! He was once a hero of the Church, but…”
"No wonder, huh, looks like we've struck gold! Captain!"
"To!"
"Get them on the ship, and get them the best cabin seats!"
"Yes!"
Alicia bent down and nodded to them, while Anne, with Vera in tow, followed the soldiers onto the ship.
"How much is left? You have ten more minutes!"
"That's enough, sir!"
Smoke filled the dockside area. Fortunately, the artillery officer warned against using grenades to bombard the cargo storage area and instead suggested using solid shot. Otherwise, the mountains of goods would have turned into a fiery inferno.
Alicia looked down at her feet. There were floating logs and corpses everywhere. The sails were moving like water underwater, and the seawater was stained blood red.
It was time to leave. The naval infantry withdrew from the dock, the fleet weighed anchor, and the engineers placed explosives on the key structures of the dock, setting a timer for detonation.
When the "Black Ships" attacked, Ekevich didn't lead his army to the capital until the afternoon. A few days earlier, the Church's new heroes had launched a harassment campaign with the Crusaders, and he had to lead his troops as the "Demon King" to the scene. But for some reason, the demon army suffered a defeat this time and was routed by the Holy Army's large square formation.
"By Yangde! As the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy and the First Lord of the Navy, how could you not have sunk a single enemy ship? The entire naval fleet was wiped out? The port area was destroyed?"
By Yangde knelt on the ground, trembling. You see, the enemy didn’t even need to fight in close combat. They could kill them all with long-range bombardment. Their small number of marines were the same. The city guards and garrison knights were bombarded by two 12-pound cannons and couldn’t even lift their heads!
But what could he say? He could do nothing and say nothing. He had long heard of the new emperor's volatile temper. Although the usurpation had indeed brought him many benefits, he was still more worried about losing his head.
"Sir! The enemy has long-range weapons! Our catapults and ballistae can't reach their ships. We just fired one round, and their projectiles destroyed our ballistae!"
"They still have those short spears! They can spit out tiny metal fragments at us!"
"Wait! You mean—a gun?"
"Your Majesty, I do not know what that is."
Ekevich's expression turned serious. After all, he was a transmigrator, how could he not know the power of guns? It's just that he never thought about developing these things. What he longed for was a medieval fantasy world where strength reigned supreme!
But now, his enemy has actually shattered this wonderful magical world and taught him a lesson with a musket? How can he possibly stay calm?
"Damn it... damn it... who destroyed my alternate world!?"