The reconquest of the eastern regions of the kingdom of Alfonse had begun, the course of action was to capture small villages and towns in the hopes of cutting off material and human supplies from the major cities.
Most of these towns and villages had no fortifications so taking control of them was fairly easy. Even breaching the castles and mannors didn't take much time as the cannons blasted open the gates while the marks men and the machine gunners provided cover fire which allowed the soldiers to breach the castles.
Aside from securing a town or village, only a select few were allowed to breach a castle mostly one hundred men. This was to prevent overcrowding and risk of friendly fire, it was also to provide the men with training and prevent an extensive loss of infrastructure.
Ceaser had now captured all the towns that were under the influence of the Bataglia family and now he has set his sights on their seat of power where Count Bataglia resides.
But there was now a glaring issue at hand, after capturing this city , Ceaser realized that he may not have enough men to continue the campaign and it had only been a month.
He had stationed a total of one thousand soldiers in the recaptured territory to maintain order and act as security for the construction workers and the administrative officers. They were also responsible for capturing the remaining dregs of the Blackthorn empire that still resides in the region.
Ceasers only consolation was that he had the police and homeland security who were soon to step in as soon as they arrive.
Count Bataglia had received word that Ceaser and his army were approaching his city at a very alarming rate .
Count Bataglia after loosing the bulk of his forces only had about five thousand men and had even started to forcibly conscripting children and teens who could at least hold a weapon properly.
His plan was to use these conscripts as cannon fodder while the remainder of his men would hole up in the castle and hold up themselves.
He was also confident that the cannons he had snuggled out of Fantasia would be make the battle a level playing field with the consolation that both armies now possessed the same war technology, but he couldn't be more wrong as the technological advancement of Ceasers weapons would put anything they had to shame.
When Ceaser arrived outside the city , him and the army camped out two miles outside the city for a week doing nothing except for patrolling the vicinity. For a week no one could leave or enter the city .
If Ceaser had the time , he could have just opted to starve them but the population in the city were supposed to be incorporated into his empire so starving them was out of the question .
After a week had passed, Ceaser gave the order for the artillery to fire on the area around the wall, almost four hundred cannons rained down shells on the wall and the gates turning them into shrapnel and debris.
Then Ceaser sent forth a messenger who rode quickly to the non-existent gates and announced in a loud voice.
" The supreme leader of the empire of Terra, Emperor Augustus Caesar does not wish for harm to be brought upon you. Lay down your weapons and you will be treated with the highest respect reserved for citezens of the empire, resist and die. Kneel before Ceaser the enlightened and discard your backwardness."
As expected, because most of these people weren't professional soldiers and were not even citezens of the Blackthorn empire ,they surrendered without much thought.
The soldiers of Terra without wasting much time immediately occupied the city and disarmed the occupants of anything that could be used as weapons then they planted their banners. Patrol teams were also dispatched to maintain order till the new batch of police officers were sent over.
The rest of the army were now outside count Bataglias castle and there it was outside the castle gate , twenty 10 pound cannons gleaming in the sunlight. Ceaser could see who he believed to be the count standing on the wall in his armour and looking down on the the Terran army. He looked majestic standing on the wall with his velvet cape flowing in the wind, but the reality was that he was panicking, he was having what could be the first case of PTSD which he got after he had previously attacked Patagonia and lost.
After the army has finished setting up artillery their artillery which had a much more higher range than the now obsolete ten pound cannon. And just like before, the artillery officers were ordered to fire at the gate and this time at the vicinity of the cannons.
Soon enough the boom of the cannons could be heard and like clockwork, the castle gates was blasted into smithereens then the enemy cannons and also the poor souls that were selected to man the cannons.
Next the heavy 12.5 mm or the .50 Cal machine guns started firing at the top and the wall to provide suppressive fire.
This time Ceaser himself led one hundred men into the castle, throughout the period of reconquest Ceaser had never once fired his weapon , but he chose to do so today.
At the place where the gate used to be, the surviving guards banded together in an attempt to take a last stand but were immediately turned into swiss cheese by the men welding the mg 42 general purpose machine guns.
Bloodcurdling screams rang out of the area and could be heard by the residents of the city. The thing with gunfire was that it wasn't always immediately fatal but it was sure to put it's victim in a whole lot of pain before their death.
It took about three minutes to mow down the entire guards. The soldiers then navigated through the town limbs of their enemies and made their way into the castle courtyard. It turned out that the count had barricaded himself inside the castle .
" Breach the doors, bring to me all the occupants of this castle. The count, you must bring to me alive , the rest could be brought alive but if any resists , you must eliminate them."