The Invasion's Sunset

Ixander's troops are now in a skirmish, and are facing a bayonet charge from the left of the enemy's troops. Despite being pounded by artillery and are still holding on, the Albanese left were still able to hold onto their fields and execute a competitive charge.

But Ixander does not leave their response in a stalemate: He called for Sumjer's Cavalry to decisively blow the enemy's left away.

After being called, Sumjer raised his saber in response to answering the call for his charge.

"Men, FORWARD! CHAAAARGE!" ordered Sumjer to his units.

And so, they did charge to aid the stalemate of the battle.

On the enemy's side, General Yuler looked through his spyglass and was shocked at the left being crushed by enemy forces in their concentrated attack.

"We thought they will only defend from their flanks, this is a surprise! Traban! Bring your men to the left and defend the…" Yuler was about to order something but he looked through his spyglass to see if he's seeing the opportunity correctly: Carabian troops on the right abandoned their defensive position, and the way to sweeping the entire remaining flanks are open for a cavalry charge.

"Traban…call in the hussars and take their right defensive positions. They have abandoned their places in the order of attack. From there, sweep right through the enemy lines…" ordered Yuler.

Farkan is still in the tower, noticing the success of the Carabian-Livinian troops on the right, he laughed so much.

"Ha-ha-haaaa! Look at them run!" reacted Farkan. Farkan however noticed a gallop from the horizon and saw the Albanese Cavalry relieving their positions, preparing for a charge to what seemed to be an open position from the left.

At the same manner, in just the right timing, the Albanese navy has entirely maneuvered around the harbor of Khatanabat, and are being ready for a barrage to the city.

Ixander also noticed the advancing enemy cavalry going through the positions they abandoned. Ixander knew however that there is a flaw on their charge: they did not allow the powder smoke and the flying ground dirt to dissipate before they charge, and so upon arriving, the cavalry will not be able to execute their plans. Ixander took benefit of this. He let his troops turn and face against the charging cavalry from their behind, as the cavalry has yet to notice Ixander's position.

Upon arriving the area, the cavalry went straight through the bridge, as they have not yet known that they can walk through the river in ease as there have been logs and rocks below to ease the crossing.

Ixander opened volley against the cavalry. "FIRE!" ordered Ixander to his troops. The volley only delivered minimal casualties on the cavalry.

Farkan from the tower also noticed this, as well as the cavalry's ignorance at the river crossing. Farkan then ordered every artillery piece to barrage the positions of the right, which is the enemy's left.

The artillerymen were confused as they know that Ixander's men are in there, and they may be a victim of friendly fire. Nevertheless, they trusted their commander and fired their pieces at the enemy's left.

Farkan looked through his spyglass and there was devastation among the cavalry lines as artillery pounded them. Farkan let out a good laugh again.

Yuler meanwhile saw everything through the spyglass and did not hope to relieve his positions on the left. He instead ordered to defend his center with his troops, which forms the elite.

Ixander's men then cried victorious. "GLORY TO THE FRIENDSHIP!" screamed one of the soldiers. They all cheered as if the battle has been won. Ixander then raised his saber but he knows that the battle is far from over. His troops then returned to their defensive positions, but the cavalry advanced through the coasts of Carab to relieve Khatanabat with supplies.

The first day of the siege of Khatanabat ended with the victory for the Kingdom of Carab. It was unexpected in part of Alban, especially General Yuler. The city of Khatanabat however has another contender: the navy.

The navy however, did not fire any rounds that night. So Ixander planned something cunning. He went to the gas lamp workshops, asked for their barrels of oil, and ordered some to sneak just below the stern of the ships, and pour the oil around them. The next thing they did was to line the oil they poured through the harbor so that they can light the oil from a safe position.

Ixander then knocked at the chambers of her majesty. Her majesty looked through the hole to see who is there, and she then let Ixander enter her chambers.

"What do you inquire, valorous man?" asked the queen.

"Ixander is fine, and I reckon the view from your balcony of what is about to happen is the most excellent" said Ixander.

Ixander reached his hand out to the queen, and asked "May I?"

"Of course, I-Ixander…" the queen responded, with her face turning bright red from blushing. She was then lead by Ixander to the balcony, then Ixander looked at his pocket watch and said "The time…is…now."

Ixander then looked at the horizon, alongside the queen. They both saw splashes of explosion arose to the sky. "Fireworks for you, my dear queen…" Ixander said as he kissed her hand.

"Wonderful!" reacted the queen.

Zooming in however, for the Albanese Navy, it wasn't wonderful. "Hurry your belongings!" ordered a captain on one of the ships.

"We cannot escape sir! The entire ship is surrounded by gas fire!" said one of the crewmen.

"Then we'll be included in the explosion! The ship is filled with powd…" the captain was not able to finish what he said.

BOOM!

The ship exploded and the Carabian coasts are filled with ten ships being brought to inferno.

"We're going to die!" said one of the ship's captain.

And so, the remaining ships which were not iron cladded sailed across the ocean going to the continent of Leo. Now, only the twenty steamships remained, together with fifteen of their transports.

Admiral Ganosh was surprised at what he witnessed. He was woken up in the middle of the night by the explosions. So he acted upon the explosions and promptly positioned his steamships at the harbor behind the flames so as not to be victims of the same fate the other frigates met.

Ixander then looked with his spyglass from the balcony of the queen's chamber, and sees that the ironclad steamships of the Albanese navy has positioned themselves about two kilometers from the harbor. Ixander then jumped from the balcony of the queen's chamber to the nearest tree and slid himself down and ran to the lamp lighters.

Ixander then ordered that the lit fires around the harbor be covered so as not to be spotted by whatever attempted bombardment by the Albanese navy.

"Damn it!" said Admiral Ganosh, seeing that the positions are not lit. However, the gas fires near the harbor which has lit several ships with no cladding is still there, and it cannot be killed. So what Admiral Ganosh did was to order fire.

"Men, give them hell. Fire just above the ring of the fire" ordered Ganosh. "Very well, sir" responded one of the sailors.

Ixander looked through his spyglass to see sparks from the ships, indicating that they have started bombarding the harbor fronts due to the impending flames at the front of the harbor.

"Let's answer them…" Ixander said while going to the barracks. He then pulled the rope near the barracks tower to toll its bells to wake the soldiers there who were trained for a specific purpose.

"Sir, I thought we will be doing it in the morning?" asked one of the soldiers who is still yawning. "I don't know as well, but the tolls indicate we should follow orders" said one of the captains.

"Get onto the gondolas, and inflate the silks!" Ixander ordered. He also rode one of the five gondolas, and made sure to load the gondolas with at least ten grenades to be dropped below to bombard the ships and create a maelstrom of death.

And so, the gondolas rose to the dark night sky. At the very moment they rose at the horizon, the sun greets them. From above, Ixander saw the devastated harbor front, but he is going to make sure that their properties will be avenged.

The timing was just right. The gondolas were steered by bicycle-like mechanism that turns the propellers.

Admiral Ganosh saw the balloons on the sky. "Balloons? They…look different than the Grenavians have."

"An Airship? I thought Grenavians only have them?" said one of the sailors.

While they were awed at what they saw, they realized something else. They remembered how the Grenavians used their air power to bombard their frigates when they were approaching the Veztal Port, the capital of Grenavia.

Admiral Ganosh then realized the danger and he prepared to steer his ships immediately out of the way, but they were too slow.

"Steer the ships away! They will bombard!"

Then during the panic, as they were too slow, one of the gondolas dropped three bombs near the rear, which stores all the powder of the ship. They were instructed beforehand to strike the rear of the ships as they contain the most powder, and they can be devastating to strike.

With this instruction, the entire crew was almost wiped out. However, some remnants swan to the coast far from the walls of Carab, and onto the camps of General Yuler. He just woke up when a soldier arrived at his tent.

"Sir, a sailor arrived from the fleet" reported the soldier.

General Yuler then went out and saw a bloodied, soaked sailor. "W-what happened?!" asked Yuler.

"T-The Carabians…b-balloons…barrels of fire…" then the sailor fainted but not before he pointed at the horizon where there is a clear image of five balloons dropping powerful grenades at the steamships.

The glass that General Yuler is holding is suddenly dropped. Then another sailor caught up and saluted at General Yuler and said "Sir…I…I am sorry to report…Admiral Ganosh's ship was blown up…he is a casualty…" reported the sailor.

General Yuler swallowed and looked at the soldiers. He then said "We will continue to fight. Up until the last round of our cannons! WE WILL FIGHT!" said Yuler.

And so, they continued to fight, albeit always in a maintained stalemate. This went on for almost an entire month. Albanese soldiers were deserting from their positions and suddenly, Yuler retreated his army to the nearest Carabian town they captured. The next morning, on the 4th of Dzhizimia, in the year eighteen-sixty-three, the Albanese failed to capture Khatanabat with devastating number of men lost. The Carabian-Livinian troops lost seven thousand men, while the Albanese troops lost twenty thousand, excluding those that deserted.

Ixander can only watch as piles and piles of body are thrown to mounds, and went to the graves. In one of the piles, he recognized one of the men that had a strange story. It was Bambaro. He was one of those who died during the fighting.

"He maybe a cuckold, but he is still a man lost" said Ixander.

"SIR!��� screamed from a distance.

"Her Majesty would like to see you…" informed a messenger to Ixander.