The Mechanical Era

The sun rested on the top of the sky as Carson stood on top of the deck of the wooden sailship, along with the rest of his comrades, resting his hands on the wooden safeguards on the side, admiring the beauty of the scenery, while others were trying their best to hold in their vomit.

It had been a whole day since Carson and the rest of the Musketeers had to board a ship to quickly get to the western side of the border, where they hope to catch the invading army. They were to land in the small city of Henson, where the men will refill their bellies and get some well-deserved rest.

From there onwards, the soldiers were expected to march for days on end if they have to, to catch the invading northern army. Thanks to the help of her spies, Queen Rose managed to figure out that the northern kingdoms were going to launch an attack through the west. It was much easier to do so for them, and they could make their way down quickly.

In response, she decided to deploy all 42,000 of her new soldiers, along with knight cavalry as support, to fight and reclaim back the stolen land, especially several key cities located near the northwest border such as Ebole, Sydney, and Browntown.

Once they manage to take these cities again, Phase Two of their plan can initiate. From there, they will launch their invasion to the north. The strategy there would be to use quickly march across the land, moving day and night, to encircle, trap and capture the enemy kings. With the help of their guns, powerful knights, and the queen herself, they could surely accomplish such a goal.

Once that is completed, the invasion from the east will begin. This is prompting her allies, who are mostly stationed on the east side of the continent, will launch their attack. Although they won't have guns, they should be able to preoccupy them till Rose marches her army and encircles them. While all this is happening, a revolt will occur, which would add more fuel to the fire.

With the new leaders in charge, she can negotiate with them to her terms, which would be good enough to keep them in line, while harsh enough so that they won't be able to revolt against her. An economic alliance would be crafted, enabling the incentive to stay loyal.

The huge vessel was about 130 feet (40 meters) long and was said to be able to hold 500 managing to hold 551 tons (500 metric tons). Each ship held about 800 musketeer soldiers, along with 50 knights and their horses. Aside from that, the ship contained all the equipment such as weapons, ammunition, tents, food, and water needed for the arduous journey. In the front and behind, not too far away from them, are more sailboats containing the same amount of people.

In terms of sleeping stations, the knights got comfortable beds in their separate quarters, the musketeers were forced to all sleep together in large rooms, with too few beds. Most slept on the floor, with even some sleeping on the deck.

These few ships carried the whole brigade Carson belonged to. Their commander was the famous and experienced Leroy Herway. An old retired knight who got brought back to self a commanding role.

With a great bald head, a thick mustache, and a pair of hazel-brown eyes, he was ready to lead. Chosen by her royal highness Rose Valline herself. Despite his old age, he managed to prove to himself that he was capable of learning and adapting very quickly, impressing everyone, even the queen.

The man wore his signature gray uniform, which many wore when not supposed to enter combat. Although, since he is taking a more commanding role, he was prompted by the army to wear it, to give a sense of authority, and a morale boost among the troops.

Herrold was right next to Carson, who was admiring the view with him. The two pointed at the things they see, including some very intimidating demons. Thankfully, they didn't appear to know how to win.

"Man... this place is beautiful," Carson commented.

"I know. I envy those who get to see this every day. Though it might not be the best place to live," Herrold commented.

"Hey, you think we could one day own a plot of land like this?"

"What, like... this land?"

"Yea?"

"Nonsense. It will probably never happen in our lifetime."

"I know, I know. It's just... a man can dream, can he?"

Just then, a masculine voice shouted at the soldiers on the deck. This grabbed the attention of everyone, who immediately turned their heads to see what it was all about.

"Men! Prepare yourself! We are approaching our destination! Soon, you will all be marching across the land, day and night, to stop the terror from making its way down to our land anymore!" the commander yelled from the top.

"Huh. That quick? Thought it would have taken a few more days."

"Well, whatever man. At least we can get something to eat again. I am feeling a little hungry."

With that said, Carson saw the ports of what appeared to be a small city and pointed them to Herrold. This is where they would hopefully resupply anything they would need. The wind mages sitting on top of the deck finally started easing up a bit, allowing the boat the slow down. The crewmen then dropped down the anchor to slow the boat even further.

From the port itself, small wooden rowboats came to help the captain dock the ship properly, without breaking the expensive vessel. Once the ship was docked, and the bridges connected, the commander selected a few men to form a line and made their way down professionally from the boat, while the others would help bring the cargo down with them.

Carson, who was paired up with a knight, helped lift the boxes of swords and bring them down to the caravans, which were attached to horses belonging to the city. Once everything was packed, the men headed their way down to the restaurants, where they were given food to eat by the locals, as it was an order from the city monarch.

The food tasted great, relative to the cooking at home. They had a diverse diet, including bread, carrots, beans, cheese, and fish, along with a glass of milk. With their stomachs all filled up, the sweaty soldiers were ready to march across the land once again.

The commander got them all onto positions. The soldiers all form 15 columns and 30 rows, forming 450 soldiers in each block of soldiers. In total, there were about 2,700 musketeers present, along with 1,800 pikemen, all stationed in the other row of a block. In total, there were around 10 blocks of these soldiers.

In the front and rear, were the knights on top of their horses. Each side featured 85 knights, 170 knights in total. They were to guard the front and rear, in case something happened. In between the soldier blocks, were the caravans holding their food, tent, water, ammunition, and other supplies.

At the very front, was the commander himself. Riding on top of his majestic white stallion. With a great longsword in his hand, he used his voice to order his troops. With a few instructions, the men start marching forward.

As the day progressed, the man marched on for hours, before taking a proper break. Like the ones in Danial's army, they felt a burning sensation of pain through their legs. It was their first time for walking so long.

They kept on walking till the night when a few knights got in between the soldier blocks to provide a source of light. Once it finally reached two hours before midnight, is when they stopped again. At this point, they have managed to march 24 miles (38.6 km). However, instead of getting to take a break, the musketeers had to work hard in setting up tents and a temporary defensive line, to make sure that the enemy won't ambush them during the dark.

They were separated into different teams and given the necessary equipment to do so. Carson and Herrold brought in plenty of wood from the trees, while the others helped set up the tents, wooden walls, and towers. By the time they were done, it was already midnight, and their surroundings had slowly gotten darker to pitch black.

A few knights, who had taken their time to rest, were put on guard duty to make sure to be on the lookout for any enemy scot and such, while the musketeers get to sleep soundly. Carson, who got a thin stack of hay to sleep, felt relieved. After days of sleeping on the floor, and hours of marching, his brain rewarded him with a sensational hit of dopamine, he had never felt before.