She changed Europe

Page 69

“Elizabeth Amelie Eugenie, you monster!” McMahon roared hysterically, charging at Elizabeth with all her might.

"Goodbye." The cold words escaped her lips, and Elizabeth fired another magic cannon, charging it up. McMahon, carrying particles of light from the shattered magic shield, plummeted towards the ground.

In the firelight, Gisela watched the battle in the sky with her own eyes; the two sides clashing were her mother and McMahon. It should have been a closely contested contest. Others might not know, but Gisela from the future knew that if she hadn't intervened in this war, McMahon would have led the French army to victory at the Battle of Magentha, and after that battle, he would have been promoted by Napoleon III to Marshal of France and Duke of Magentha.

After the fall of the Second French Empire, he successfully replaced Thiers as the second president of the Third French Republic, thanks to his political prestige, and his power and reputation reached their peak.

Perhaps it was precisely his outstanding performance as a trendsetter in history that made Gisela exceptionally vigilant during the march and the raid, fearing that this discerning general might discover some clues.

But what about Miss McMahon in this world? Looking at "Duke Magenta" falling towards the ground, Gisela could only sigh and say that her mother was indeed quite capable.

"Chloris! Do me a favor." Gisela turned around and looked at the gray-haired girl behind her.

"What can I do for my lovely little fox?" Chloris looked at Gisela with a beaming smile, completely devoid of her usual domineering demeanor. Instead, she exuded a tenderness and care that made Gisela feel strangely like a newlywed husband to his wife…

"Stay here and oversee the troops, urge the soldiers to launch an attack, and pursue the remaining enemy. I'll be right back." Without waiting for Chloris to nod, Gisela turned and hurried towards the forest where McMahon had fallen. There were some things she still needed to confirm with this French woman.

As Aponia watched Gisela walk away, her smile slowly faded, replaced by a cold expression. She gently gripped her weapon and then disappeared into the night. At that moment, apart from Chloris, who was helplessly rubbing her head, and Hannah, who was sitting elegantly on a rock watching the battlefield, no one even noticed the maid's departure.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

McMahon's magical armor, trailing a long streak of light, brought her to a close embrace with the ground, the massive impact uprooting the tree trunk she touched. The pain radiating from her bones nearly sent this seasoned soldier into shock.

"Damn it! Why didn't you kill me?" McMahon looked at the sky with some annoyance. The forest, which was originally blocked from the sky by its dense foliage, had a small space created by her intrusion, and from there, one could see Queen Elizabeth still flying in the sky.

“First, I need to get off this crippled magic armor.” McMahon took a deep breath and first released the magic stone that his armor was touching.

Just then, several soldiers hurriedly broke away from the battlefield to help their commander.

"Could you check my back for injuries? My right hand is fractured. Quickly find me a tree trunk to immobilize it. You go over there and keep watch for me." Although Elizabeth wouldn't kill him, it didn't mean the other Austrian soldiers wouldn't.

"Do you know who attacked our rear?" Although McMahon had seen signs of their own defeat from the sky, her eyesight wasn't good enough to see the troops behind her clearly even in the air, let alone at night. It was a basic quality of a commander to properly refer to and integrate the intelligence from her subordinates.

"It's her, sir! She's not dead! She's led her army back from hell!" The speaker was a disheveled French soldier. His tattered clothes made one wonder what he had encountered before.

"Her?" Mai Liuyiqi jyi24 Siba Kemahong frowned slightly, looking at the subordinate in front of him with some doubt.

"Giselle Louise Marie! The Austrian princess with beast ears who fought five against one at the Battle of Ticino." Unlike the conservative view of the imperial newspapers regarding Giselle's disappearance, the newspapers of Sardinia and France publicized this "glorious" victory, while remaining silent about their own casualties. Most French and Sardinian soldiers believed that the princess had died in battle.

"Are you sure?" Although his right hand was broken, McMahon still grabbed the collar of the Italian soldier in front of him with his left hand in surprise.

"Do you know! Although I was defeated this time, I am still your general until I am dismissed. As your superior, I can send you to a military court on the grounds of disrupting morale and then feed you bullets!" Having not participated in the operation that night, she couldn't believe that a magic user could fight against five magic users by herself and escape unscathed. Of course, she also believed that Gisela was dead.

“Sir! If you think I’m lying, then go ahead and do it.” McMahon looked at his subordinate’s serious expression and couldn’t detect any sign of lying.

PS1: Worked two days this week 0v01

Chapter 256 Irises Withering in the Alps: Capter117 Datura Poison (Seeking Votes)

"I heard someone is thinking about me?" A soft, cute girl's voice reached everyone's ears. At this moment, the soldiers present picked up their weapons and looked around warily.

"Who's there! Come out." McMahon raised his arm and helped his subordinate to his feet with some difficulty, while also putting his glasses back on.

"Greetings, beautiful Miss McMahon." Gisela slowly emerged from behind the tree, twirling the magic dagger in her hand, and smiled at the group of French and Italian soldiers present.

“Giselle Louise Marie! You’re really not dead…” Having just been defeated by this girl’s mother, and now encountering this annoying princess, it was clear that if she was here for revenge, she had no chance of winning. Thinking of this, she frowned warily.

"Thanks to you, I'm doing very well now. Oh, by the way! I think I just heard you say that I'm dead?" Gisela smiled, but in fact, she exuded a dangerous aura at all times.

She hadn't forgotten about Su Beiming's matter. It wasn't Gisela's style to be bitter and resentful all the time. Although she didn't mention it, it didn't mean she wasn't angry. She was a person who valued loyalty and righteousness.

"And there's the grudge against the village. In your attempt to kill me, you implicated countless innocent people, causing them to lose their lives. I don't expect you to have a change of heart or to live a life of ease and comfort. I only want you to pay for your crimes in blood." Gisela had never hated the French so much before; she had even once somewhat liked France, this self-proclaimed romantic country.

"Although I don't understand what you mean, if you want to fight, then fight! I can die under the enemy's blade, but I never thought of living a wretched life." The composure McMahon displayed in the face of death was worthy of her reputation as a famous French general.

Gisela raised her weapon, the enchanted dagger glowing white in her hand, blue flames now dancing around her. With a single step, she had reason to believe that the dagger could easily slice open the woman's chest, pierce her lungs, and then blood would flow into them, allowing her to kill her enemy like the Count of Monte Cristo.

A strange fragrance wafted into Gisela's nostrils. The eerie scent made her instinctively frown and hold her breath. But a strange sensation quickly followed, causing her to raise her dagger in a defensive stance. Of course, Gisela wasn't alone; McMahon and her men were in even worse shape. Ordinary soldiers had fainted instantly, clearly indicating that such occurrences were indiscriminate.

"What is this??" Gisela looked tired, her fox ears and tail drooping, just like their owner, who seemed listless.

"Little cutie, of course you're poisoned!" A woman with short black hair and extremely revealing clothes slowly emerged from the shadows, wearing a mask that looked like a gas mask.

“Who are you?” Gisela’s tongue was numb, so her words were a little unclear.

"Me?" The woman only got halfway through her sentence before licking her lips, walking up to Gisela, and gently lifting her cheek with her right hand.

“My name is Sarah Adolf Thiers. My little darling, you should know what Adolf means in your ancient Germanic legends.” Adolf means noble wolf. Sarah said this because she always saw herself as a wolf, a wolf that would devour everything for power.

"You! Uh!" Gisela was naturally surprised that the name of Butcher Thiers could even appear in the history textbooks of the Celestial Empire. But what surprised her even more was yet to come.

The black-haired woman, whom they were meeting for the first time, pressed her lips against Gisela's without saying a word, biting down hard on Gisela's pink lips with her snow-white teeth.

“I really want to put a collar on you and make you my pet. I give you a script every time, but you always manage to escape! And then you surprise me again and again, making me both love and hate you.” After a moment, Sarah released her lips and tasted Gisela’s cheek with her tongue. Her hand slid down Gisela’s budding chest, and she wanted to do something even more outrageous.

Gisela was conscious, but she couldn't control her body. In her silver-haired state, the repression of her emotions prevented her from feeling too embarrassed, but she really didn't like being touched by this kind of woman.

"Tsk! What a pity, I'll save my enjoyment for next time." Sara released Gisela and flashed to a position a little further away from Gisela. A flash of light appeared where she had just been standing, and a huge light array blocked Thiers's way.

Then Sister Aponia, who had been taking good care of Gisela during this time, stood in front of her.

“No wonder Jesus is not up to the task; it turns out your church isn’t as united as they claim.” Sarah raised an eyebrow, looking at Aponia in the distance with a smug expression.

“Your Highness, this is the antidote.” Aponia ignored Thiers’ words and instead smiled gently as she handed Gisela a small bottle containing liquid. She gently unscrewed the stopper and poured the liquid into Gisela’s mouth.

Moments later, accompanied by Gisela's violent coughing, she regained feeling first in her hands, then in her legs, and finally in her entire body.

"Datura poison, said to have originated in ancient India, was actually first cultivated by the Iroquois (a branch of the Native Americans) of North America. They used it as a narcotic gas for hunting, storing it in cowhide to keep their prey fresh. This plant was eventually introduced to Europe in the early 16th century, initially as a horticultural ornamental crop in aristocratic gardens. When it blooms, it emits a strange fragrance that has a numbing effect on people, so gardeners usually need to wear masks when planting it."

"Because of its unique paralyzing properties, it was exploited by malicious individuals to harm women, and ultimately faced a complete ban by the Church in the mid-17th century. Along with the 'Spanish fly,' it was listed as a blasphemous plant and confiscated and destroyed," Aponia explained to Gisela with a serious expression. (Those unfamiliar with the Spanish fly can look it up themselves.)

"Why does it taste so weird!" Gisela gagged as she spat out the liquid that remained in her mouth.

"Because it contains slug fluids and a frog's heart." Aponia's tone was calm, but her words sent a chill down Gisela's spine. After all, no normal person would easily accept such a culinary-like recipe.

PS1: Gisela's first encounter with the bitch/bad woman 0v0

Chapter 257 Irises Withering in the Alps: Capter 118 Thiers' Ambition (Seeking Votes)

“Of course, Your Highness, I was just kidding.” Aponia covered her mouth and laughed.

“The recipe is all herbs. Our church would never use strange recipes that belong to heretical and evil witchcraft.” Aponia stroked Gisela’s cheek with her hand wearing a black silk glove, then looked at the black-haired woman in the distance.

Princess Gisela is very important to her, so she cannot afford any mistakes.

"Lord Thiers, greetings. My name is Aponia, the First Battle Sister of the Thirteenth Division of His Holiness the Pope, and I pledge my allegiance to Cardinal Otto." Aponia made no attempt to conceal her identity as she told the black-haired woman in the distance, then turned to look at Thiers, her purple eyes filled with murderous intent.

“Thirteen Courts? It’s surprising that the little Roman girl had such a trick up her sleeve under these circumstances.” Thiers stretched his elbows and pulled two daggers from his sleeves.

“Then you should know that I have a cooperative relationship with the Jesuits.” As soon as he finished speaking, Thiel leaped onto the tree trunk like a nimble cat, spun around in the air, and then slashed at Gisela with his dagger.

Aponia gently raised her hand, and a scythe appeared in her grasp. With light steps, she spun around and blocked Thiers's slash, releasing a tremendous amount of energy that uprooted all the surrounding weeds.

Aponia raised an eyebrow, gripped the scythe handle, and shoved the double blades to the side. Then, she raised her long, stocking-clad leg beneath her nun's habit and delivered a powerful kick to Thiers' shoulder. Thiers lightly touched the ground, tossed his weapon aside, and gracefully leaned back, spinning in the air to dodge Aponia's kick and create distance. Aponia, of course, easily dodged Thiers's sneak attack as well.

"Why do you people in your church not have faith in God properly, but instead learn these useless combat techniques?" Thiers' tone seemed to be blaming the nun in front of him, but he was actually mocking his opponent.

"The Lord needs not only devout believers, but also brave warriors and steadfast defenders. It is you, sir, who, despite your high position and great power, so delights in 'charging into battle.'" Of course, Aponia's "charging into battle" was not a literal act, but rather a covert fondness for underhanded tactics.

“Is that so, Miss Aponia? Then please be careful behind you, for as you said, I love charging into battle.” Thiers said politely to the gray-haired nun before him, waving his right hand.

"You think I'd fall for your tricks..." Aponia hadn't finished speaking when she felt a sharp pain as her skin was cut by something sharp. A dagger, thrown out of nowhere, had pierced her back, and the white area of ​​her nun's habit was gradually being stained red with blood.

“Aponia!” Gisela called out the nun’s name in surprise. Looking at the scene before her, it took her a moment to react. Just now, she still believed that the two were evenly matched, and she hadn’t even realized that the weapon had suddenly turned. This was part of Thiers’s plan.

“Sorry, I’ve never been one to enjoy fair and square fights.” Thiel sneered as he raised his right hand. In the moonlight, Gisela could clearly see a thin thread connecting Thiel’s hand to the dagger on Aponia’s back.

Aponia coughed up blood, her beautiful face pale. She forcefully planted her scythe into the ground, leaning against it to support herself so she wouldn't fall.

"Miss, please don't struggle, or I won't be able to resist using force." Sarah held her forehead and pulled hard on her right hand, causing the dagger inserted into Aponia's body to move a little closer to her.

The intense pain made Aponia's consciousness blur. After taking a deep breath, she finally collapsed to the ground. Gisela quickly drew her dagger, forcefully severed the connecting threads, and pulled Aponia into her arms.

"Sorry, I went a little too far. Maybe I should use two knives next time." Thiers's smile was sinister, his tone full of mockery and amusement.

"Shut up, woman!" Gisela gently placed Aponia on the ground, then leaped forward and charged at the extremely repulsive black-haired woman. She clenched her fists, and blue flames enveloped them completely.

With a loud thud, Gisela punched Thiers in the stomach, and the somewhat manic black-haired woman flew out like a cannonball, crashing through several tree trunks before finally coming to a stop on a boulder.

Gisela watched as Thiers was knocked away, then returned to Aponia's side, pulled the dagger from her back, and used a piece of her own skirt to bandage her wound. Logically, she shouldn't have pulled the dagger out, as that would have accelerated the bleeding, but because the woman's dagger had a blood groove, leaving it in would have resulted in even more severe blood loss.

"Hehehehehe, hahahaha!" Sarah, who had fallen from the boulder to the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and laughed maniacally.

"That's exactly the feeling, a punch filled with murderous intent, pure and ruthless." Sarah clutched her abdomen, spitting out another mouthful of blood. Her stomach was churning.

"As expected! I knew I hadn't misjudged you! Gisela Louise Marie, it was because of your existence that I obtained the Jesuit list and a shortcut to power!"

"Tomorrow, the defeat of the Allied forces will be known throughout Europe! In the future, Napoleon III will be mired in the quagmire of the Italian Wars, just like that woman named Napoleon in Spain and Russia. Defeat will weaken the French people's trust in the Bonaparte family like a plague, eventually turning into hatred for him. A new revolution will be brewing, and I will toll the final death knell for his rule!" Thiers swayed as he stood up and slowly walked towards Gisela, raising his hand as he did so.

"How about we gain power together? Your Vienna, my Paris—join hands to break the shackles Britain has placed on the continent and utterly crush that evil empire in the East that's licking its wounds. Yes! And Prussia, which's eyeing you covetously, and Silesia—I can get them all for you once I rule France." Thiers's offer was far too tempting to refuse. Unfortunately, Gisela wasn't interested at the moment.

PS1: Ra!

Chapter 258 Irises Withering in the Alps: Capter 119 Austria's Counterattack (0v0!)

"Shut up!" Gisela's purple eyes were full of disdain. If it weren't for the fact that Aponia needed her protection, she would have already roasted this woman into a pair of charcoal.

"What you can give me, I will naturally find a way to get; and what you can't give me, I will get sooner or later."

"Hahaha! I can't wait to see how much you'll grow in the future, but time is limited, so this meeting ends here. As for more interesting things, let's save them for next time." With that, Thiers licked his lips and winked at Gisela with a smile.

“But I’m taking her with me,” Sarah said, looking at McMahon at her feet.

McMahon, who witnessed everything, looked at what had just happened with some confusion. Only now did she realize that Thiers' Order Party had been making so many underhanded moves behind Napoleon III's back for so long.

While she wasn't exactly loyal to Napoleon III, she wasn't at the point of participating in the overthrow of the emperor's rule either. Even though her close friend Elizabeth de Lacroix (the one next to Thiers mentioned earlier) was a member of the Order Party, she wasn't. So she really didn't understand why Thiers had come to save her.

"You think you can just take it away like that?" Gisela raised the dagger in her left hand and put her right arm around the already injured Aponia.

"Goodnight, Your Highness. Let us meet in our dreams tonight, Princess Gisela! No! Next time I should call you Empress Gisela." Thiers took out a small black sphere from the groove in his chest, held it in the air, and then gently crushed it. A bright light pierced the darkness, illuminating the forest that was only adorned with moonlight.

Gisela instinctively threw the dagger, and when the light disappeared, it was already deeply embedded in a tree trunk. Nothing remained beneath the blade except for a few strands of black hair. As for the soldiers who tried to help McMahon, they were all left behind...

Faced with magic, their ultimate fate is self-evident.

At dawn on September 8, 1870, when the remaining four infantry divisions of the French Second Column arrived at Magen Tower, they were not greeted by the Guards Cavalry Division led by General McMahon, who had already dealt a heavy blow to the Austrians, and tens of thousands of elite Italian allies, but by the main force of the Austrian army, which had already crossed the river and was deployed on the west bank.

Of course, in the French commander's binoculars, what was flying on the high ground on the riverbank was not the tricolor flag that France was so proud of, but a majestic military flag with a double-headed eagle.

In just one night, everything happened so suddenly that French soldiers, from the lowest ranks to the highest-ranking generals, couldn't help but ask the same question: Where are our people?

Tens of thousands of French troops from four divisions stood frozen in front of the Austrian positions, because none of their commanders knew what to do!

Yes! Since General McMahon has lost contact, they can still contact His Majesty the Emperor. Just as one of the staff officers recovered from his surprise and thought of making this suggestion to his commander, the Austrians around them launched an attack.

Unlike the imperial command structure under Marshal Güle, the return of a princess brought youth and vitality to the aging imperial council, while also providing intelligence on the movements of the French army.

A few hours earlier, a plan to ambush the French army had been presented to Joseph. The plan was supported by his wife and daughter, who were backed by some minor nobles and civilian officers in the army, while the opposition was led by Marshal Gulai, an old-school military noble.

The final result was definitely in Gisela's favor. Others might not know, but Gisela certainly did: the way her father was when they met again, and the warm, damp feeling on her shoulders when that man held her in his trembling arms.

This familial affection was so genuine that even she, who had always been disdainful of the old emperor and often merely went through the motions, was moved to tears by the atmosphere. Given this relaxed state of mind, it wasn't surprising that Joseph agreed to Gisela's idea, especially since even the queen he relied on approved of it.

“Very well, then command of this ambush is entrusted to you.” Joseph finally made the matter-of-fact decision. Although the imperial generals were somewhat puzzled that the emperor was placing an army under the command of a 14-year-old girl, they all decided to obey his arrangement. After all, for Joseph at this moment, nothing made him happier than his beloved daughter returning home. Moreover, Princess Gisela possessed exceptional talent; she had single-handedly commanded the battles of Obira and Ticino.

Back to the present moment —

Today, Gisela, dressed in a white Austrian women's military uniform, stood alone on the high ground beneath the eagle flag, gazing at the countless French soldiers besieged by the Imperial army in the distance. The symphony of gunfire tolled the death knell for this French army. Lacking morale, organization, and a clear battle plan, the four French infantry divisions, without McMahon's leadership, were like puppets with broken strings, engaging in no active action other than instinctive counterattacks.

Gisela smoothed her golden hair, rubbed her shoulders, and stood on tiptoe to look at Chloris and Hana behind her. At this moment, Aponia and Rita were not by her side; both of them were recuperating in a makeshift field hospital due to their injuries.

"What's wrong? Why does the little fox look so forlorn? Are you missing me?" Chloris began her daily routine of verbally teasing Gisela.

When it comes to things she likes, Chloris habitually throws aside all pretense and so-called court etiquette. After all, Bismarck isn't here, Friedrich isn't here, and even her hated brother isn't here. All she needs to do is figure out how to eat the little fox.

Thinking of all this, Gisela pursed her lips, completely ignoring the long-haired Prussian beauty, and turned her gaze to Hannah, who was elegantly gazing into the distance. After all, in Gisela's eyes, compared to Chloris, the mature and composed Hannah sometimes seemed more like a princess. (Aren't you the same way?)

Gisela moved away from Chloris and slowly walked over to Hana and sat down next to her.

"What will you do next, Your Highness? I remember a great military strategist from the Far East once said: 'An army driven by desperation will surely win.' To completely defeat an army in dire straits requires a huge price." And for the Austrian Empire, which was short of troops, it was clear that if they were to force their way through this French army, the casualties would be considerable.

PS1: Weekend over, back to work tomorrow.

Chapter 259 Irises Withering in the Alps: Capter 120 Morale Collapse and the War on Public Opinion

"It seems Miss Hana is not only well-versed in military affairs, but also quite familiar with Eastern practices." Although Gisela had limited goodwill towards Jews, this did not prevent her from maintaining an appreciative attitude towards the eldest daughter of the Luo family.

“No! I don’t care about military matters; I only care about your victory and whether it can increase our wealth and investments. You should know that half of your father’s military expenses are provided by us friendly ‘patriotic businessmen.’” Just as Hana said, in order to express their goodwill towards Gisela and their support for her future, the Rothschild family immediately had Solomon Rothschild in Vienna subscribe to the national bonds issued by the Empire.

While this was a tremendous fortune, it served as a litmus test to see if Gisela was capable of doing what she claimed (defeating Napoleon III), since the next plan would shake not only the empire and France, but the entire world.

“Miss Hannah, I admire your straightforward personality. Compared to those who wear a smiling face and flatter me all day, your words always inspire me and keep me positive.” Shared interests are always the most stable form of cooperation. Gisela never thought of relying on her beauty or personal charm to attract countless people to her side.

"Are you talking about your suitor?" Hana tilted her head and glanced at Chloris in the distance before asking Gisela.

"My suitor?" Gisela tilted her head in confusion, not understanding why the young lady of the Luo family would ask her such a question.

"Your Highness..." Hana shook her head helplessly. If this princess wasn't pretending, then she must be an incurable fool when it came to love. Couldn't she see such an obvious intention? Whether it was that maid named Rita, this Prussian princess, or even others, their feelings for this princess must have long surpassed friendship or duty! As for the reason, a woman's intuition?