Grand Admiral Nelson gave the command for the rocket ships to advance into range. When they were ready, they had permission to fire at will. All ten of the rocket ships began to load the rockets onto their frames. Each rocket was equipped with an explosive warhead, which was now the standard ammunition for them, along with an incendiary warhead. Poisonous and shrapnel warheads were still in the trial stage, but Victor ordered that 20 of each warhead be taken along with them.
Victor was eager to see his rocket ships in action; he still recounted the many trials of trying to perfect the powerful vessel. There were a handful of instances where the prototype ships had either exploded or caught fire during the tests. Some of the ships could not handle the weight of the heavy frames, which caused the decks to collapse.
Now was the time to see the new powerful warships in action. Victor watched as 10 rockets ascended into the heavens, their harrowing screeches still deafening. The rockets sliced their way through the sky, drawing closer to the port of Hunyuan.
Soldiers stationed on the walls watched in horror as these flying spears approached, descending from the heavens. Boom! Boom! Boom! All the rockets began to explode above the defenders' heads.
A few rockets had exploded prematurely, so they did not have any impact on the city and its defenders. The rest, however, began to rain a fiery hell upon the city. Men were engulfed in flames, and cannons were thrown about off the walls.
Victor and the invaders marvelled at the destruction unleashed by them. Cannons were rendered unusable, and their crews scurried away, trying to save themselves from the destructive force of the rockets.
Nearby wooden buildings started to catch fire due to them bearing the brunt of some of the rockets. Civilian firefighters worked tirelessly to put out the fires early on so they would not lead to further devastation.
"Excellent work, Grand Admiral. I am glad to see our engineers' hard work has paid off. Send forth our warships, bombard the city a little more before sending our soldiers," Victor said while appreciating his kingdom's latest technological achievement.
Grand Admiral Nelson nodded and relayed orders to a dozen third-rate ships. They were to unleash a few devastating volleys into the city. This would hopefully soften up the defending Gu soldiers and maybe even force them to surrender. If they would not surrender, Victor would let his soldiers slaughter the defenders in the streets, showing the strength of the Luxenberg Army.
As commanded by the Grand Admiral, a dozen third-rate ships advanced to begin their bombardment. They were met with little resistance as the rocket ships were pinning down the Gu artillery. Only a few cannons could fire upon them, albeit it was pointless.
Dozens of cannonballs began to run amok. Buildings were heavily damaged, soldiers were torn apart, and defensive positions were ruined. After a few volleys, the Luxenberg warships ceased their firing and allowed the troop transports to sail into the port. With all the Gu cannons out of action, the transports were able to sail right into the heart of the port unmolested.
In the first round of transports was General Lasalle's 14th Corps. This was a chance for Lasalle to distinguish himself and earn some early glory as a new corps commander. His 14th Corps was given the honour to be the vanguard, the first Luxenberg troops on Simbar soil. This was not an opportunity to waste.
Two lead transport ships managed to park on either side of a large wooden dock. Both ships dropped anchor and laid out wooden ramps for the soldiers to use to disembark the ship. The ramps were not steep, since the transport ships were not massive.
Infantrymen of the 14th Corps had to disembark while under fire from the defenders. Not only did they need to avoid the storm of musketballs, they needed to secure a toehold that was not on the dock. If they remained on the dock, it would be hard for all the soldiers to disembark and join the fight.
Luxenberg soldiers were shot off the ramp, and their corpses floated to the bottom of the harbour. It was initially difficult to evade the oncoming volleys of musketballs. The defenders may have been inexperienced, but they were determined to repel the invaders. Death before dishonour.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of Luxenberg soldiers were dying with little to show for it. General Lasalle knew that his men needed to be rallied. If he could do that, then maybe they could actually make some progress instead of dying for nothing.
"Follow me, men, let us rush these bastards and secure this city. For King and for Country!" General Lasalle shouted, trying to impassion his soldiers. His sentence and bravery sparked a wave of cheers from the soldiers. They followed their charging commander down the ramp and towards the fray. Even as their numbers dwindled, they continued their charge.
Lasalle sustained minor grazes from a few stray musketballs, but that did not deter him. A few dozen of his subordinates had managed to get off the dock and form a perimeter, returning fire to the Gu defenders. As their perimeter was established, more and more of their fellow infantrymen arrived to support them.
This caused the momentum of the battle to slowly swing in the Luxenberg Army's favour. The perimeter was well established, and more soldiers were bolstering it. Reinforcements from other transports had arrived via rowboats. They had docked slightly away from the perimeter and attacked the defenders on a different front.
Hunyuan's defenders were beginning to falter as more of their comrades were dying. Fatigue was starting to set in, and their effectiveness plummeted with each death of their comrades. Sensing that the battle was tipping in their favour, General Lasalle ordered his soldiers to fix bayonets. They would charge into the defenders and force them into a melee.
It was a daring and costly plan of attack, but that was the nature of the famous Hussar General. "Follow me, soldiers! Let's finish these bastards off," Lasalle exclaimed, charging headfirst into the Gu defenders' position.