Page 276 of DATE
The majority of the French soldiers noticed the change in the sky, but most of them were completely confused.
— Their country's alchemists clearly couldn't create such things.
What was that? A meteor flying from the ground up to the sky?
Why was there such a sharp sound?
The army was still using livestock to trigger the mines, but the ground began to tremble faintly.
Some sensitive soldiers lifted their heads, but couldn’t see anything coming toward them.
— It was as if a pack of wolves was growling as it approached its prey.
Countless guns and giant crossbows were closing in, and the mercenaries’ steps were steady and silent.
Soon, more and more defenders appeared in the distance, along with the dark muzzles of guns and cannons.
The French soldiers were stunned—
Didn't these people want Luka City? How dare they open the gates and come out?!
And how could there be so many guns and cannons— was Florence really going all in, betting everything on this bay?
"Fire!" Luris yelled, and then several cannons erupted in a blaze of light.
The cannonballs screamed through the air, tracing parabolic arcs, like a hundred hawks diving toward their prey.
The crowd began to scatter to the sides like the Red Sea parting before Moses, but explosions soon rang out over the ships.
Flames, like demons, devoured and spread, while countless blue, white, and red flags were reduced to ashes in the inferno.
"Fire!"
The first wave of soldiers began to retreat, while another wave seamlessly advanced in their place.
Giant crossbows and cannons appeared in front of them, along with more soldiers who, in their panic to escape, triggered more landmines.
This had originally been a difficult defense against overwhelming odds, but now the situation had been completely reversed.
The sound of horns could be heard from a distance, and several large ships had turned around and chosen to retreat.
The wind from the cliffs was cold and carried a touch of ice and snow.
Hedy took a deep breath, turned her head, and looked at Da Vinci.
"Twenty-two," he said, marking another "X" on his sheet. He looked up at her. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking about the Borgias," she frowned and said. "Did the Roman Catholic Church intentionally let him leak France's secrets to the power center in Florence? Is that a signal of some sort?"
"Very likely," Da Vinci nodded. "The Pope himself is under France's control, and part of his territories should actually belong to France."
In this context, for the Roman Catholic Church to leak such information to the Medici family, with whom they had been at odds for at least twenty years, was indeed a signal.
— They were not on good terms with France.
— And now was the perfect opportunity.
If Cesare Borgia's fiancée had been another noblewoman from Florence, and they successfully exchanged vows and rings, the entire southern part of Italy could unite, especially since Florence and Naples had a strong relationship.
