After Irene simply adjusted the muskets' stands and the length of the match cords, Sophia boarded the carriage heading for the western border.
She didn't actually want a 'personal conquest'.
But the Kingdom of Mason only had three hundred troops in total. If she sent them all out to suppress the bandits, the unguarded Palace would be even more dangerous than the outside world.
Although it was called a "campaign," as Sophia sat in the carriage lined with three layers of soft cushions, her mind was full of thoughts that this cobblestone road would really shatter a person's tailbone. Once she returned from suppressing the bandits, she must have Irene research shock-absorbing springs.
The maid Willow and Irene also sat in this carriage; the two were very quiet.
Outside the carriage, three hundred soldiers wearing simple cloth armor and clutching "fire pokers" tightly in their arms were marching forward in solemn formation.
These common soldiers, who originally only sought to earn a meal, had changed their gaze toward the carriage ahead from fear to near-fanatical worship after witnessing the "divine thunder" at the Drill Ground that night.
As they passed through roadside villages, the commoners who had been hiding under eaves with numb expressions revealed looks of terror.
"It's the army of the Tyrant..."
"She actually came out on patrol herself? Is it because we couldn't pay the autumn tax that she's coming to slaughter the village?"
The commoners knelt trembling by the roadside, not even daring to look up at the gorgeously decorated yet coldly radiating carriage.
However, when they realized that this army had actually bypassed the village and headed straight for the Black Pine Forest where the rogue bandits were entrenched, everyone was stunned.
"That direction, is it the bandit's main camp?"
"Is that Queen going to suppress the bandits?"
"Suppress bandits? It would be good enough if that Tyrant didn't defect to the enemy!"
Doubts spread in the hearts of the commoners, but deep within the Black Pine Forest, the bandit camp was a scene of feasting and revelry.
"Big Brother, why are we loitering around this bird-forsaken Kingdom of Mason?"
A minion with a mouth like a monkey's tore into a greasy chicken leg while asking in confusion.
"Wouldn't it be better to rob those fat sheep on the southern trade route? This place is so dry you couldn't squeeze oil out of the ground."
The bandit known as Big Brother, 'One-Eyed Godot', put down the low-quality ale in his hand, a trace of gloom flashing through his eyes.
"Shut up. Do you think I want to be here blowing in the cold wind? 'That Lord' gave us a sum of gold coins we couldn't spend in a lifetime, and operating in this vicinity was his only request."
Godot touched the heavy gold coins in his bosom and sneered:
"That so-called Queen is just a little girl who hasn't been weaned yet. Her eldest brother and second brother are dead, and this country is rotten to the core. As long as we keep making trouble here, sooner or later we can get ourselves titled as lords."
Before his voice could fade, a dull thud, thud sound suddenly came from outside the camp.
"Report—! Big Brother! The army of the Kingdom of Mason is attacking!"
Godot stood up abruptly, lifting the giant axe beside him, and laughed with disdain.
"Army? Those three hundred small soldiers who can't even afford leather armor? Let's go! Follow me out!"
When more than a thousand bandits rushed out of the camp in a chaotic swarm and lined up in the clearing, they saw a scene they would never forget.
The three hundred soldiers did not launch a suicidal charge as they usually did; instead, they formed three neat horizontal rows.
In the center of the formation, the curtain of the carriage was lifted. Sophia sat expressionless at the edge of the carriage, her pale golden pupils unblinking.
Sophia looked expressionlessly at the arrogant bandits, her exquisite little face showing not a shred of fear.
But in the eyes of the bandits, this Queen was simply sitting securely on her fishing platform, as if the thousand fierce bandits before her were nothing more than a flock of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
"Playing tricks! Pah! One thousand against three hundred, the advantage is mine! Rush over and chop them to pieces!"
Godot brandished his giant axe, roaring with a face full of excited laughter.
Watching the bandits surging forward like a tide, Sophia raised her hand slightly.
This was the signal she had agreed upon with the soldiers.
"First row, ready—fire!"
Valery shouted at the top of his lungs.
"BOOM—!!!"
One hundred muskets simultaneously spewed tongues of orange-red fire, and massive gunpowder smoke instantly enveloped the battle line.
Although the black powder was of poor quality, the thick smoke it produced was even more intimidating. Even without systematic shooting training, most soldiers who had experience with archery were relatively accurate, especially since the distance between the two sides was only fifty-odd meters, so the effect was quite good.
The dozens of bandits charging at the very front, including several wandering knights who prided themselves on their martial prowess, didn't even have time to let out a scream before bowl-sized bloody holes were torn into their bodies, and they flew backward like rotten sacks.
The battlefield fell into a moment of deathly silence.
"That is... what magic?"
Godot looked in horror at his shoulder, which had been half-blown away; the immense pain made him almost unable to grip his axe.
However, the drawbacks of the Mason Type I musket quickly revealed themselves.
The soldiers in the first row began to scramble to clean the barrels and load ammunition, the entire set of movements being hair-raisingly slow.
"Their fire is out! seize this moment, kill them all!"
A minion screamed, leading men to charge again.
Sophia sat on the carriage, watching those hideous faces getting closer and closer, her heartbeat accelerating slightly.
Irene covered her eyes tightly with both hands, yet stole glances at the situation outside through the gaps in her fingers. Beside her, Victor and the maid Willow were already prepared to die heroically to save the Queen.
This inventor, Miss Irene, said this thing took three minutes to load, but this group of people could rush over in less than thirty seconds.
Turning to look, Her Majesty the Queen still maintained that indifferent appearance, as if everything was within her grasp. In the eyes of the soldiers and the bandits, the Queen, only sixteen years old, did not even blink when seeing such a bloody scene for the first time; this courage was simply superhuman.
"Second row, ready—fire!"
Another round of booming.
Immediately followed by the third row.
After three volleys, the courage of the bandits had completely crumbled. Even if the muskets had poor accuracy, even if the loading time was long, and even if they could only fire one or two rounds per minute, that power of 'divine punishment' which flesh and blood could not withstand directly destroyed their psychological defenses.
"Devil! The Tyrant made a deal with the devil!"
The bandits began to collapse and flee.
Sophia watched those retreating figures, and her originally tense shoulders finally relaxed.
Phew, finally succeeded.
Although the drawbacks were significant—inaccuracy at slightly longer distances—the effect was excellent in front of these people who had never seen thermal weapons. Whether in terms of power or auditory and visual impact, the lethality was sufficient.
On a ridge in the distance, a young girl wearing a tattered cloak was quietly witnessing all of this.
Her name was Delilah, and she was one who had been reborn.
Delilah's sharp peach-blossom eyes constricted slightly, reflecting the battlefield below where the smoke had not yet dissipated.
Even having returned via rebirth, her heart, which had long become as hard as stone through countless bloody battles, could not help but beat violently at this moment.
While other countries were completely unaware, had this remote and barren small nation, the Kingdom of Mason, already developed to such a level?
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