Reborn as a Baron Lord 2: A Steampunk LITRPG Light Novel (The Steampunk World of Gearnix)

by Han Yang

  The guards grinned evilly as they took aim at the Commander’s distant figure. The legendary mercenary might be feared throughout the lands, but his reputation didn’t make him invincible.

  After seeing the one who had threatened my life ducking and diving under the barrage of bullets, I couldn’t help but laugh as I slowly clenched Darcy Sr.’s trigger and waited for their front line to reach the second marker.

  “Now.”

  BOOOOM!

  My first shot of the battle blasted out as I released the collected Hydrox from my loyal blunderbuss. The huge ball of energy roared and slammed into a stumbling warrior at the front of the group-

  And it just kept going.

  One single shot wiped out several enemies, and I still had more than enough Hydrox to spare for several more.

  The long rifle users kept up their assault as the second line of blunderbuss equipped guards joined the fray. Even with the large number of weapons we had at our disposal, it had been difficult to equip every defender with a long-ranged weapon.

  So, I decided to forgo that in favor of a layered strategy.

  The long rifles focused on targets further away, sowing chaos in the rear lines to keep them from forming an orderly defense, while the blunderbuss shots were aimed at the weakened and tired front lines.

  More traps activated as the army surged forward, slowing their progress again, but not enough. I activated the rear line of hidden explosives, ripping a huge hole in the back line of the army as they were forced into a condensed pack by the delays of the vanguard.

  Still more bodies piled out of the forest to fill in the gaps.

  Whatever benefits they had been offered seemed to have dulled all their instincts. Cash, gems, and Hydrox could only get a person so far, and dying for such a simple reward seemed farcical to me.

  But I couldn’t let my mind wander too much. Now that the army had pushed close enough, they began to return fire against the guards who had previously been freely sniping them from the comfort of the walls and watch towers.

  Bullets hammered into the walls and parapets, sending chunks of metal and stone blasting into the sky. I saw a few defenders go down in the first barrage as they raised their heads a little too high trying to return fire on the invaders.

  Joanna rushed back and forth behind me, carting replacement Hydrox cubes to the guards. Every second counted as they did their best to continue firing down at the enemy lines.

  “It’s good I downgraded the docks.” I huffed as I watched cube after pricey cube melt away into their weapons. “Pay it forward, I guess. Literally.”

  But the enemy front line had pushed close to the foot of the wall. Though our valiant defense had cut down a significant number of them, there were still more than enough to overwhelm our walls should they get the chance to begin their ascent.

  “Switch!” I called out with the loudspeaker and took aim at a clump of warriors who were carrying a long ladder below the tower. My shot blasted their climbing apparatus apart, along with several of the soldiers who had carted it all the way across the field.

  A moment later, and a new line of defenders popped up, each one equipped with-

  Two pistols.

  My plan tossed accuracy and skill aside for the final stage. It didn’t matter how high the aim was when you could literally aim in any direction and be almost guaranteed to hit an enemy. Doubling up the firepower for each defender made the most sense.

  Pistol fire drowned out all other noises through sheer numerical superiority. The enemies fell like wheat before the scythe as our onslaught cut them down in quick succession.

  But still, it wasn’t enough.

  “Get those ladders up! I see you slacking, I’ll kill you myself!”

  “Commander,” I growled as I shifted my sights toward the area where the shout had originated.

  But no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t catch a single glimpse of their leader.

  Our rate of fire slowed as the Hydrox reserves dwindled. There wasn’t anything else I could have downgraded without risking the safety of the city, so the limited stores we had were bound to run out eventually.

  Still, the pounding we had given the enemy forces had been worth the drain.

  “Where is he!?” I glanced up into the grey clouds hanging far above our heads. “He should be here any- There!”

  Joanna dashed to my side to see what I was pointing at. Even though she had prior knowledge of our plan, her mouth opened in shock.

  Duke had finally made his appearance.

  Chapter 18

  The Moonlit Goddess’ sleek form broke through the cloud cover, far above the invading force below. At first, they didn’t even notice it, as perhaps they assumed it was one of their own blimps dropping in to provide support.

  I watched as the vessel drifted lower, revealing its sleek form to the world as it sank through the clouds. My own forces had been made aware of the existence of the Moonlit Goddess, but I saw that some of them even froze up for a moment as they looked up to see its sudden arrival.

  But then the cargo bay doors cracked open, allowing one of the venturebots aboard to drop a large vase onto the mass of people directly below it. I took careful aim with Darcy and, when the tumbling container reached the perfect point, I released the trigger.

  SMASH!

  A huge blast of gooey liquid erupted as the jar shattered in the air several feet above the gathering’s heads as my shot blew it to pieces. The now drenched forces tried to move away from the impact.

  But they were too slow.

  One of the guards beside me tossed a lit lantern from the window with a perfect underarm throw. The flame sputtered and flared as its housing tumbled through the air until it slammed down onto the floor-

  WHHOOOMMPPHHH!

  The liquid ignited, spreading fire and panic through the enemy forces. The more they tried to escape the blaze, the easier it was for the flames to spread.

  I glanced up to see the Moonlit Goddess moving to the next drop zone, and the defenders posted at that sector of the wall prepared for their chance to repeat our tactic.

  Dropping the jars from the walls might have worked once, but our targets were armed as well. Any further attempts would likely fail as sharpshooters in the crowd shot the vases before they could fall.

  But none of their attacks could reach the Moonlit Goddess as it drifted serenely far above our heads.

  A few tried, but their shots either dissipated before they reached the vessel or lost their momentum and came slamming back down into the mass of confused soldiers seconds later.

  Screams rang out from all along the line as the defenders took the chance to rain down yet more bullets onto the forces below us. Some tried to leap into the moat to put out the flames, but those unlucky souls were quickly met with a brutal end as the monsters waited in the depths to seize upon the prey which had leaped willingly into their home turf.

  Using fire hadn’t been an easy choice. Duke had suggested it, but it had taken Joanna’s persuasion before I gave in to the idea. Other city defenses had used far worse against the armies who tried to take their cities, and there was always the chance our current foes still had a trick up their sleeves if we didn’t stop their advance.

  They still didn’t retreat.

  Traps, a constant barrage of bullets and explosions, and finally the terror of flaming weapons. Our tactics, though efficient and effective, had failed to break the enemy's fighting spirit.

  Several ladders clamped down on our walls as the warriors below combined their fire against the defenders in specific sections. Even though we held many tactical advantages, numerical superiority was not one of them.

  And the moment our defenders were unable to keep up their barrage of sustained fire, the invaders would break through our lines like a knife through butter.

  The Moonlit Goddess’ drops eventually ceased after the whole front line had been bombarded. Though it wasn’t too hard to prepare the firebombs, the storage abo
ard our little ship wasn’t all that extensive.

  Still, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something was off. Sure, the forces laid out against us clearly wanted to make their way onto our walls, but why were they so intent on keeping our focus-

  “Above!” One of the guards in my watch tower gestured into the sky with a grim expression. I followed his motions and, after activating the zoom feature on my augmented eye, I finally spotted what she was warning us about.

  “Blimps. I knew it.” A cold hand clenched around my heart as I saw not one, but three of the large vessels appear in the distance. “They really are putting everything on the line for this, aren’t they?”

  “Bradley.” Joanna leaned in close as she glanced at the oncoming swarm of airborne carriers. “Should we- Retreat?”

  “To where? From what?” I shook my head sharply at the notion. “The trains are shut down, and the only air transport we have is the Moonlit Goddess. There’s no way we could fit everyone on her-”

  “Perhaps the Baroness is right, sir.” One of the guards stepped forward. She looked up at the approaching blimps as her hand tightened around the long rifle in her hand as the other guards murmured in agreement. “We can’t stop them, but we could hold them back. If you escape, then eventually you could return to take revenge for-”

  “Fuck. That.”

  All noises within the watchtower ceased as I raised a fist into the air. They watched on as I threw a rude gesture toward the blimps, and I could tell my vicious, cocky grin had caught them off guard. I gently squeezed Joanna’s shoulder before pulling out a large box from the bench beside me.

  “We take our revenge now.”

  I tugged at the string around my neck and pulled out the key Duke had handed to me before the battle began. There were several locks on the chest, but they clattered to the floor one after the other before I finally flipped the lid, revealing-

  A large, red button.

  “What is that, Baron Lord?” The same guard who had suggested I escape alone leaned forward as curiosity overcame her. Though the others were still doing what they could to take out as many of the enemy forces as they could, I noticed that a fair few of them were throwing glances in our direction as they tried to figure out what my plan was.

  “It’s probably easier to show you than to explain.” I lifted my hand and, after gauging how far away the blimps were from our walls, let it fall slowly toward the tempting button. “Let’s see how they like this!”

  A heavy clunk rang out as I pressed down upon the glowing red activator. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, but then I felt it. We all felt it.

  The ground beneath our feet shuddered.

  I pushed myself up and looked back into the city. Though the sounds of battle and carnage still rang out from the foot of the walls, I forced myself to focus upon the new staring attraction for the war.

  The warehouses which Duke had prepared.

  Five large, square buildings. Easily large enough to fit several homes or stores, but with no visible use to the city. They didn’t even offer any storage capacity, and I had spent a good many hours fielding worried questions and curious requests about their use.

  But now, all would see the fruits of our labor.

  Each building shook as their roofs split apart, then their walls, finally revealing their contents to every person in the city.

  Siege guns.

  Normally it would take more than a bustling city’s yearly earnings to create just one, but Duke and his venturebot workers had managed to scrounge together enough spare materials to create five of the behemoth weapons.

  Their polished barrels glinted in the few rays of the sun poking through the grey, rolling clouds far above as they slowly but surely twisted to face their designated targets.

  The blimps in the distance.

  “Cover your ears!” I called out through the loudspeaker as the final siege gun’s sight shifted into place. “This is going to be-”

  BABOOM! BABOOOOOOOM! BABOOM! BOOOOOM!

  A wave of noise blasted away all other thoughts as the enormous steam powered cannons let loose a blazing barrage. Their shots arced through the sky, faster and further than any conventional weapon could even hope to go or reach.

  The captains of the blimps didn’t even have a chance to avoid the incoming balls of condensed Hydrox. There was only one result for such a collision.

  Death.

  The first blimp erupted as a cannon shot slammed into its main bridge. Its balloon ignited, sending a plume of blue edged smoke into the air as the smoldering wreck which had once been its cabin tumbled from the sky.

  I watched on, still unable to get over the sheer power of our defensive weaponry, as the destroyed blimp crashed down into the forest behind the army.

  Then the second one took a hit.

  Though the next shot had flown wide, it still managed to land a glancing blow, and that was enough to end the blimp’s flight. The entire right side of the vessel shattered as it tried and failed to stop the massive energies from breaking through.

  Again, the blimp lost its power of flight instantly. Its fall held a little more grace as it twirled through the air before coming to rest not so far away from the lead vessel's burning remains.

  The last was the unluckiest of the bunch.

  Though it had been the furthest away and thus had the most time to attempt evasive maneuvers, the captain’s efforts were in vain. The remaining three shots slammed into the blimp one after the other, first cracking it open, the next breaking it apart, before the final hit blew the remaining chunks of debris far and wide.

  “Wha- They were that strong?” Joanna rolled her jaw as she tried to stop the ringing in her ears. Silence had settled over the scene as everyone on both sides of the line paused for a moment to figure out what the hell they had just witnessed. “You didn’t say they could do THAT!”

  “Well, it was fifty-fifty.” I shrugged as I brushed some dust from my knees.

  “Fifty percent chance of what, exactly?” Joanna caught my arm as I pushed myself to my feet. It was clear from her intense expression that she wasn’t going to let me go without an answer.

  “Well, dealing significant damage to the blimps or, you know, exploding.”

  Joanna, along with the other guards in the watchtower, shivered at my casual comment. They had known the risks for the battle, as had every citizen who decided to remain behind.

  If Norn lost, the chances of the enemy accepting its formerly loyal subjects as their own residents were slim to none. At best, they would be deported to other cities once the train networks were reactivated, and at worst…

  Well, let’s just say I didn’t feel like the risk we had taken was anything less than required.

  With their reinforcements lying in ruins, the forces at the foot of Norn’s walls faltered again. Clearly their plan had been to hold us in place while the blimps completed their drops. After our defensive line was surrounded, it wouldn’t take long at all for us to break.

  A logical plan, if a little uncaring toward those taking part in it.

  Well, not just a little, but the point remained.

  The main point was that they had just seen a super weapon blow three blimps from the sky, and there was no way they would be able to put up a fight against such superior firepower. If a single Hydrox cannon shell landed in the middle of their army, the number of lives it would reap were beyond measure.

  And I knew exactly what the remaining soldiers would be thinking.

  ‘How long until they turn that thing on us?’

  I patted Joanna’s shoulder and picked up the loudspeaker yet again. With the silence stretching out before me, it was the perfect time to let them hear my message.

  Hopefully, I could end the war with words rather than more bloodshed.

  Chapter 19

  “Greetings! This is the Baron Lord of Norn!” I paused for a moment to let the echoes of my augmented yell to die down before I continued. “If you contin
ue in your vain efforts to assault my city, I will be forced to turn the weapons used to take down your reinforcements on you.”

  Joanna glanced at me, then back at the huge siege cannons behind us. Though they were immensely powerful pieces of equipment, we both knew how difficult it would be to use them against the ground forces milling around at the foot of our walls.

  To be fair, the ‘easiest’ route would be to first blast a hole in the wall itself, and that wasn’t a path I would be willing to take in the slightest.

  The other option would be to fire their shells directly upwards and allow gravity to slam them back down into Portin and Darden’s combined army, but the power loss would be immense compared to a direct shot.

  And even if I could ignore that, the sheer cost of firing one of those behemoths would stagger anyone who heard it. Each shot used up Hydrox containers with a ridiculous number of sides. The barrage we had used to wipe out their blimp fleet drained a good portion of Norn’s funds before the real war even began in earnest.

  Still, our enemies didn’t know any of those facts. Sure, they might be able to guess a few of the potential downsides of our trump card, but it would be hard for them to ignore the threat based on rough estimates and hopeful guesstimates.

  “We are willing to discuss terms of your surrender.” I glanced at Joanna, who nodded in agreement as a murmur rose from the defenders upon Norn’s walls. “This is your last chance. If your leaders do not step out within thirty seconds, I will have no choice other than to wipe your forces from the face of Gearnix.”

  I cut off the loudspeaker and leaned back against the watchtowers inner wall. Though I wanted to put across the cool, unflappable leader persona to anyone who could see me, internally my stomach was tying itself in knots as my heart leaped up and down in my chest.

  No matter how much damage we had done to the invading forces, it was obvious how the war would end to anyone with any real tactical knowledge.

  Norn would fall. A good portion of Portin and Darden’s forces would need to be sacrificed, but the ending was written in blood and tears.