How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony-Chapter 252: Made from Dust (1)

"..."

"..."

"..."

The battle momentarily froze. The vibration and explosion that erupted was impossible for anyone to ignore.

Everyone engaged in the battle could see the column of fire and smoke rising in the distance.

Both the Spanish forces and the Florida forces, who had been trying to kill each other moments ago, fell silent and stared.

They couldn’t shout, whether in cheer or scream. After all, one needs to understand what has happened before reacting.

They just stood there, bewildered, watching the chaos unfold.

"...Huh?"

Except for one person.

Alonso Garcia knew exactly what had caused that pillar of fire.

A collision.

The Spanish cannons and "his" monster had collided.

And everything had gone up in flames.

The Spanish formation immediately collapsed amidst the explosion that engulfed the powder magazine, the tank, and everything else. Naturally, those terrible cannons couldn’t have survived such an explosion either.

But that wasn’t what mattered.

"He" was in those flames.

If he were truly an angel, perhaps he wouldn’t die. But Alonso... Alonso couldn’t be sure of anything.

For a moment, his mind went blank.

"...The outcome is in our hands, they said."

What was all this for?

"Come on! Snap out of it!"

The commander beside Alonso shouted urgently. The soldiers who had been standing in a daze for several seconds began to return to their senses.

"Advance! Advance now!"

That command froze the soldiers again. Advance? Even though the enemy’s formation had collapsed, they were still outnumbered. How could they advance when they had been under attack just moments ago?

But the next words quickly silenced the soldiers’ doubts. freёweɓnovel_com

"There won’t be another chance! Hurry! Didn’t the angel strike down our enemies?"

The Spanish soldiers, still dazed, took longer to recover from the shock. The sudden terrible fire erupting from their main force must have confused them.

And when they finally regained their senses...

"F-Florida!"

They crumbled under the Florida forces’ attack.

About 1,000 soldiers opened the fortress gates and charged forward as one.

==

Being stabbed by a sword... the feeling isn’t exactly pleasant. That foreign sensation of cold metal forcing its way into a place it shouldn’t be.

Having limbs severed feels terrible too. Something that was just a part of me, an extension of myself, instantly becomes a meaningless chunk of meat lying before me.

When the body burns, it’s as if thousands of needles prick my body with pain, and muscles contract involuntarily as the body malfunctions.

In truth, many people have probably experienced similar sensations in daily life.

Paper cuts are common, mistakes happen while handling kitchen knives, and everyone has experienced being briefly burned by something hot.

But.

Experiencing all of that at once is probably not easy.

I felt my entire body burning.

Simultaneously, I felt my entire body being torn to pieces.

A few seconds stretched into an eternity. Everything was engulfed in red flames, and I couldn’t even see my own limbs properly. No, even before trying to see anything, my eyes were already destroyed.

I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even struggle freely. In pain beyond limits, my nerves malfunctioned and sent random commands everywhere, while my blood escaped to places it shouldn’t.

My body was completely ruined. At some point, I couldn’t even feel the pain anymore.

I lost all control over my body. As my consciousness separated from all bodily sensations, complete nothingness surrounded me.

Even thinking became increasingly difficult.

I could feel only the most basic form of consciousness precariously continuing like a thin thread.

Usually, one step beyond this state is what we call death. I am in the process of moving toward death.

Amid the flames, fragments, and thunderous noise, my body and mind are being torn apart and burned.

As if "I" had never existed in the first place.

But I don’t die.

I...

...

...

...

.

.

.

The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. (Genesis 1:2)

==

"G-Good heavens! What’s happening?"

"Pour some water!"

"It burns even more when we pour water!"

"Stop! Get rid of that water container now! Th-that’s oil!"

The flames that consumed the petroleum and gunpowder wouldn’t be easily extinguished.

The Spanish forces desperately brought water and sand from everywhere to pour on the massive explosion at the center of their formation, but the weather was dry.

The flames darted their nimble tongues, chasing after grass, clothing, and anything combustible, making the fire grow rather than diminish.

"The Sergeant Major has lost consciousness!"

"Evacuate the officers first! Hurry!"

What’s more, the command post was located at the center of the formation, the safest and most defensively positioned spot.

Naturally, even the Spanish forces had kept some distance between their command post and artillery for safety.

But when Kin Issei’s excavator and all the gathered gunpowder unexpectedly exploded, the impact reached the command post.

"Commander! C-Commander!"

"Kheuk... huhk..."

Juan del Águila, in his sixties, collapsed after inhaling toxic smoke, and many other officers were also knocked unconscious, killed, or injured.

The Spanish command center was paralyzed.

Meanwhile.

"Freedom!"

Ratatatang!

Finally, the enemy troops emerged from the fortress and stood before them. Those inexperienced slaves who had been hiding behind transparent shields and fortress walls, mocking the elite troops.

However, the Spanish soldiers weren’t pleased to be greeted by the enemy—they were terrified. They had to stop fighting the fire and form a formation to repel the enemy attack.

In the middle of that formation, as the fire demon still raged.

While the headless Spanish forces could barely move, huddled together to prevent disintegration, the Florida forces, supported by Virginia, were able to display their strengths fully.

"Load!"

Chukjuk.

"Fire!"

Ratatatang!

Traditional matchlock muskets required soldiers to maintain distance from each other to keep their match cords burning.

Moreover, having to light and maintain the fuse made it extremely difficult to time the shots after loading.

But flintlock muskets were different. Once loaded, they could be fired at any desired moment.

Which meant:

"Fire!"

Ratatatatang!

Volley fire became much easier.

Of course, the newly liberated slaves who had only recently been trained could hardly properly execute the linear infantry volley fire that Kin Issei had unknowingly introduced.

To suppress individual survival instincts and concentrate firepower in a short time solely according to collective will, while enemy blades and bullets approached?

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