The tank's preparations were too obvious. The commander of the Duchy of Tis immediately ordered the soldiers to disperse and take cover.
The soldiers moved with practiced expertise. In mere moments, the line that had just been gathered together quickly scattered into the trenches.
Before the tanks on this side could even fire, the soldiers had already dropped to the ground.
Even if shells landed now, they would achieve almost nothing.
It was clear that these Duchy of Tis soldiers had long grown accustomed to dealing with Steam Tanks. Though they had no weapons capable of destroying them head-on, they could still hold their own.
"If I were the Holy See's commander, I'd have the tanks maintain their firing posture and then send the soldiers charging in," Gwen said from beside her.
Though Nora did not respond, she silently nodded. That was indeed the best choice.
Once the Holy See's soldiers launched an attack, the Duchy of Tis would be stuck. If they ran, the tanks would fire. If they stayed where they were, they would be waiting to die. And if they counterattacked, their scattered formation would put them at a huge disadvantage against the Holy See.
Yet the Holy See's soldiers merely stood beside the tanks and waited. After a while, the tanks fired.
Boom! Boom!
Dust erupted across Tis's positions, but the soldiers had long since hidden in makeshift fortifications everywhere. Aside from one unlucky fellow who was directly hit by a shell that happened to land in his trench, everyone else simply shook off the dirt and stood back up.
"The Holy See's side isn't much," Gwen remarked.
Not much?
Nora watched the soldiers, who only began advancing after the tanks started moving.
There was indeed quite a gap in quality between the two armies, but...