Chapter 189: The War Between the South and North 4

Lorraine’s renowned polders – reclaimed farmlands emblematic of the region’s ingenious hydraulic engineering feats.

Achieved by damming rivers and cultivating the resulting drained basins.

Breaching such dams would inevitably inundate the surrounding areas.

Leveraging intelligence from Santana, Moritz and Prince-Elector Friedrich had devised a strategy to deliver a crippling blow to their adversaries beyond the initial ambush.

Its execution proved devastatingly effective.

“Water…!!!”

“Uggghhhh!!!!”

“Sav…save…gllluuurrghh!!!”

The overwhelming deluge unleashed by the breached dam swiftly overwhelmed Spinola’s troops.

“Wha…what is this?!”

“General! We must flee! Remaining means certain death!”

“This…this cannot be…how…how did this happen…?”

“General!!!”

Even the typically unflappable Spinola reeled from this unforeseen calamity.

As a 10th-rank mage, he could have easily survived the torrent by erecting barriers or taking flight.

Yet no matter his personal prospects, his army faced catastrophic losses – a plight beyond Spinola’s powers to avert.

Despairing at this reality, an emotion he had seldom experienced gripped him: sheer panic.

Paralyzed, the veteran commander found himself unable to issue orders addressing this crisis.

Consequently, the surging waters rapidly engulfed Spinola’s position before he could respond.

Then:

-SPLASH!-

Reeling from the ambush, Spinola’s forces now sustained another devastating blow – a remorseless onslaught not of human arms, but the unbridled forces of nature itself.

As a result, his once formidable host lost all cohesion, rapidly disintegrating into scattered fragments.

Although over 10,000 soldiers remained, most were exhausted and disoriented, their formations utterly collapsed.

Moritz and Friedrich seized this critical opportunity ruthlessly.

“All forces, advance! Crush the Emperor’s dogs!”

“Vengeance for the Palatinate! For the Heretical Alliance!”

At their command, Lorraine’s troops and Palatinate remnants surged toward the battered, depleted enemy – a mere 10,000, yet more than sufficient given their debilitated state.

“The…enemy!”

“What do we do? We can’t fight…like this…”

“Run! This war is over! We cannot prevail in such a state!”

From rank-and-file soldiers to mid-ranking officers, all combat resolve had evaporated.

With even Spinola unconscious after the flood’s impact, the Imperial forces lacked any capacity to coordinate an effective response against the oncoming onslaught.

The very Lorraine militia they had dismissively anticipated trampling now appeared as grim reapers from hell itself in their enfeebled condition.

Unlike the ill-trained Palatinate forces, Lorraine’s smaller yet elite troops specialized in the ‘linear formation’ – optimized for projecting concentrated firepower at range via muskets and cannons rather than melee charges.

They methodically annihilated the disorganized Imperial remnants in real time.

“Arggghh!!!”

“Ugh—acckk!”

“Retreat! Retreat! Flee, all of you! We cannot engage them like…gaaackk!”

Bullets, artillery shells, and offensive spells rained upon them from all directions.

The very army that had arrogantly proclaimed Lorraine’s imminent conquest now shattered under that inexorable onslaught.

Over half the survivors already fled in abject rout, while a stubborn few futilely attempted to regroup and counter-attack.

The remainder simply discarded their arms, surrendering to the enemy forces.

“We…surrender! Please, spare our lives…!”

“We yield! We have wives and children awaiting our return…we do not wish to die here! Mercy, we beg you!”

The Imperial soldiers’ desperate pleas prompted Prince-Elector Friedrich to counsel clemency toward Moritz.

“Though sworn to the Emperor, most are merely conscripted Palatinate troops. I suggest sparing those who surrender.”

“Very well. Without your vital assistance, such a decisive victory would have eluded us.”

Friedrich had indeed provided crucial adversary intelligence, facilitating Moritz’s strategic planning – yet ultimately enabled by channeling intel and counsel from the true mastermind: Santana, the Heretical Alliance’s preeminent leader and strategist.

However, as the Alliance’s public figurehead whose authority Santana respected, Friedrich’s involvement had proven indispensable.

Thus, Moritz acquiesced on the prisoner matter while acknowledging the erstwhile ‘puppet ruler’s’ nominal standing.

‘While initially dismissing him as a mere wastrel, this Prince-Elector has proven himself useful in such ways. I hadn’t anticipated his aid would prove so invaluable.’

Reaffirming his decision to embrace this seemingly worthless princeling, Moritz continued directing his forces’ advance.

Their adversaries lay shattered, his own casualties negligible.

An opportunity he had no intention of squandering.

“Dammit! I never imagined such a humiliating defeat!”

“General, hold on!”

“For now, we must flee! The enemy could descend upon us at any moment!”

Aiding the wounded, elderly Spinola as they fled through the woods, the anguished general could scarcely voice his utter disgrace.

“That I should suffer such indignity…I, Spinola, a 10th-rank mage, unable to exert even an iota of my power! Unacceptable!”

“General!”

“Inconceivable! I cannot return like this! Better to perish by the enemy’s blades than face His Majesty in such a pathetic state! Not…like…this!!! Kugh—acckk!”

“Gen…General!”

“General!”

Overcome by unbearable fury, Spinola began vomiting blood.

While claims of ill health had been exaggerated, he did indeed suffer from an underlying condition.

Moreover, as a mage adhering to personal convictions, he had forgone immortality – leaving his body vulnerable to the ravages of age.

This unendurable humiliation and rage proved too much, dealing his weakened form a fatal blow.

“Gen…eral!”

“General! Remain with us! General!”

As his soldiers wept over their fallen commander, Spinola mustered his fading strength to address his liege one final time:

“Your…Majesty…forgive…your servant’s…fai…lure…”

With those last words, General Spinola expired.

Thus, the Battle of Lorraine concluded with a resounding victory for the Moritz-Friedrich alliance over Spinola’s Imperial forces.

The 20,000-strong army lay decimated, their commander slain – an utter rout for the Imperium.

Seizing this opportunity, Lorraine even reclaimed Imperial territories.

News of this unexpected triumph and catastrophic defeat sent shockwaves rippling across the continent.

Among those stunned was the very Emperor who had boasted of their inevitable victory in this campaign.