An Ally's Obligations

The expected loud noise did not occur.

Basel and Baron Walter both looked at the Pistol, and then realized—it hadn't fired.

Although modern Flintlock Gun are quite sophisticated, the sparks fly wildly when the flint strikes the ignition plate, and there's a chance that none of them will actually enter the powder chamber. This means that the firing rate of Flintlock Gun has never exceeded 90%.

But Basel was one of the unlucky 10%.

Walter paused for a moment, then grabbed the prostitute beside him, turned and fled into the house, shouting at the same time:

"Help! Someone's trying to kill me!"

Basel angrily flung aside the flintlock trigger and pulled the trigger again. But when he raised his gun again, he saw a terrified Fini blocking the bastard's way.

Not wanting to accidentally hurt the woman, he stepped forward and shoved her aside, only to see Walter overturn the table and hide behind it.

At the entrance to the corridor, Walter's bodyguards heard the cries for help and rushed over in a panic.

As soon as he rounded the door, he saw a man pointing a gun at a fallen wooden table, with his master's shoes sticking out from the edge of the table.

The bodyguard moved with practiced ease, drawing a dagger from his waist and throwing it at Basel.

At the same time, the Music Teacher finally walked to the wooden table, pointed the gun downwards, and pulled the trigger forcefully.

However, with a soft "thud," his body was slightly tilted by something, and at the same time, the Pistol spat flames, and a Bullet grazed Walter's thigh and hit the Wine Cabinet behind him.

Splinters flew everywhere, Walter let out a scream.

A look of joy flashed across Basel's face, but then he felt a sharp pain in his back, followed by a feeling that all the strength had been drained from his body, and he collapsed to the side with his head tilted to the side.

His vision began to blur, and he vaguely saw that the bastard was covered in blood and screaming incessantly.

"Vienna's flower, the Devil has been slain by me..." His body convulsed, but he uttered a few words, "I love you, I hope you can be free..."

The bodyguard darted in, glanced at the dagger on the assassin's left back, reached out and felt for the man's carotid artery to confirm he was dead, before approaching Baron Walter was leaning against the corner.

Where are you injured?

"No, I don't know, it hurts so much! I've been shot! Ah, ah--"

The bodyguard helped him up, examined him carefully, and confirmed that there were only flying wood fragments stuck in his waist and legs, and a piece of wood piercing his palm, but no fatal injuries. He then breathed a sigh of relief.

Schönbrunn Palace.

Upon hearing his brother Leopold II's words in his ear, Joseph II, lying on his sickbed, suddenly opened his eyes wide and struggled to sit up.

The doctor beside him immediately stepped forward to support him, and then they heard His Majesty the Emperor, who hadn't spoken for nearly a week, say with difficulty:

"Good! Good! Lignitz, dinner, I..."

Leopold II quickly replied:

"Your Majesty, are you going to hold a banquet to celebrate the recapture of Liegnitz?"

Joseph II nodded weakly, while trying to raise his hand:

"A commendation... Lacy..."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have already sent Marshal Lacy's commendation order to the front lines," Leopold II. "Currently, the Allied Forces, numbering nearly 70,000, are launching a fierce attack on the Breslau Fortress."

"Good, good!" Joseph II's pale face was full of smiles. "I want Silesia..."

As he spoke, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength and leaned against the doctor, falling asleep.

The latter hurriedly checked the emperor's pulse and nodded to Leopold II, saying:

"His Majesty is simply too weak. Perhaps I should perform Bloodletting Treatment on him."

"Then I'll leave it all to you."

In a suite on the second floor of the Schönbrunn Palace, Crown Princess Ludovica of Austria looked with heartache at her younger brother, whose body was wrapped in bandages, especially his left hand, where only two fingers remained, the rest having been amputated by the doctor.

Suddenly, cheers erupted outside the window. Baron Walter turned his head to look:

"Cousin, what are they doing?"

"It should be a celebration of the Great Victory of Liegnitz," Ludovica said. "It is said that Marshal Lacy won a great victory there, annihilating nearly 2,000 enemy troops, and is now at the gates of Breslau."

Walter clutched his wounded waist, exclaiming in disbelief, "How is this possible? Didn't we say last week that the situation in Silesia was dire, that even the Prussia had breached the defensive lines... How come this is happening again?"

"Marshal Lacy's report stated that French Army suddenly appeared on the flank of the Prussian Army's attack line, dividing the enemy..."

Walter was taken aback and quickly asked, "Aren't the French Army surrounded in Oberon?"

Ludovica sneered, "Who knows? They just suddenly broke through."

Walter grabbed her arm. "So, the Crown Prince of France wasn't captured?"

"No," Ludovica pursed his lips, "His Majesty even sent a letter to express his gratitude."

Walter's eyes suddenly widened. "So it was him..."

Who is it? What are you talking about?

"The assassin mentioned him. I assumed he was either captured or dead, so I didn't pay much attention."

Walter's expression was somewhat frightened. "Now it seems, that assassin was sent by him! Yes, it must have been that woman who wanted revenge on me, so she asked him to kill me..."

Ludovica looked at him nervously. "Then who is it?"

"The Crown Prince of France!"

The City of Liegnitz.

Joseph was watching with satisfaction as the Austrian Army came to relieve him when Berthier strode over, saluted him, and said:

"Your Highness, Marshal Lacy sent a batch of supplies for the troops, as well as some women... and he also requested that we proceed to Breslau as soon as possible."

He lowered his voice again:

"From what I've heard, his attack there doesn't seem to be going very well."

Joseph nodded:

"Please reply to Marshal Lacy, thanking him for the supplies. As for going to Breslau..."

He recalled the time; it was already February. Although he couldn't remember the exact date of Joseph II's death, it should be very close.

"You told them that our army, after a long and fierce battle, needed to rest for half a month, and then immediately went to reinforce them."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Just as Berthier was about to turn and leave, Joseph called him back:

"By the way, please give General Kellermann a secret order to prepare the supplies and be ready to return to France at any time."

Currently, more than half of Kellermann's 30,000 French Army are fighting alongside Marshal Lacy in the attack on Breslau.

"Ah?" Berthier, somewhat surprised. "Could you tell me the reason?"

Joseph smiled slightly, "We can't get too involved in Silesia. It's time to leave."

Berthier exclaimed in alarm, "Your Highness, this would seriously damage the Franco-Austrian Alliance!"

Please don't worry, I will handle the diplomatic matters.

United Kingdom.

London.

Parliament Hall, St. James's Palace.

Whig Party leader James Fox slammed his hands on the table and shouted:

"France has effectively entered the war! They have over 50,000 troops in Silesia. Now is the time to fulfill our military obligations to our Prussia ally!"