industrial lord

Chapter 750 Enemy Troop Movements
A large and imposing cavalry force left the allied camp, their hooves thundering and kicking up clouds of dust as they galloped southward.

On the ramparts of the Redwaterwheel Village fortress, Count Shu Yun Stiga frowned, his hawk-like gaze piercing through the dust, carefully discerning the scale and density of the swirling dust, rapidly estimating the true number and composition of the enemy cavalry in his mind.

Count Pistor stood beside him with a worried expression, watching the departing dragon in the smoke, his voice filled with obvious unease: "Judging from this direction... I wonder if they're heading straight for Stork Harbor, or if they have other plans?"

Rank pondered for a moment, then whispered another possibility: "Could it be that they're after Earl Vissen's caravan?"

The two men then moved closer, lowered their voices, and exchanged views rapidly. The more they discussed, the more they felt that the elite cavalry's objective was probably far more than this.

Their objective is likely to completely eliminate and destroy all reinforcements lurking around the Allied camp and posing a threat.

The discussion came to a temporary halt, and the two of them turned their gazes to Maria, who was standing quietly to the side.

Currently, Maria undoubtedly possesses the strongest military force and the largest fist in this fortress, and she is also the most knowledgeable about the specific deployment of the Weisen Army outside, making her opinion extremely crucial.

Maria felt the gazes of the crowd, blinked her clear, watery eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, but she was somewhat troubled. This kind of complex military judgment was really not her forte.

She pondered deeply; if the enemy wanted to find Earl Wesson's main force, they would never choose this direction, which was far from their main force's position.

The South… she suddenly remembered that there seemed to be only one worthwhile goal in the South.

So she said softly, somewhat uncertainly, "Could they be heading for Hanma City?"

Upon hearing this, Earl Shu Yun Stiga slammed his hand on the wall and exclaimed, "That makes sense!"

“Those are all cavalry, extremely mobile. Even if they can’t break through the strong walls of Hanma City in a short time, they are fully capable of plundering the surrounding rich farms to replenish their much-needed food and supplies.”

He paused, then said in a more serious tone, "Their fundamental purpose is probably to draw away the outer hussars and the main force of the Weisen army, or at least some of their troops, so as to reduce the pressure on the enemy's rear."

"That's absolutely unacceptable!" Count Rudolf panicked upon hearing this and cried out, "If they're all lured away, what will happen to our fortress? Who will rescue us?"

His voice trembled with nervousness, and then a more alarming question suddenly occurred to him. He hurriedly asked, "Hanma City! How many troops are currently stationed in Hanma City?"

Count Shu Yun Stiga paused for a moment before slowly uttering two words: "Not many."

Count Rudolf's forehead instantly broke out in a fine layer of cold sweat. He was so anxious he almost jumped up and roared, "Hamma City is our last hope! We can't lose it!"

"Quickly! Quickly, order the Weisen Army to send half... no, thirty percent of their forces back to Hanma City for defense!"

The other nobles around Rudolf were also affected by his nervousness. They were all unsure of what to do and their eyes were once again focused on Maria, secretly hoping that she would say something like, "The Duchy of Wesen has already arranged another fresh force in Hamma City."

Maria carefully recalled the details of the troop deployment that Franz Jr. had revealed to her before his departure, and shook her head helplessly, giving a disheartening answer: "I'm afraid it won't work. We don't have any extra troops to send to reinforce Hamma."

She did not mention that the reinforcements drawn from the border guards of the Principality of Wessen were ready to provide support between Redwaterwheel Village and Hamma City, and that the reinforcements from the Elbe Convention Organization had already been deployed at the shipyard outside Hamma City. These two armies were the last reserves, and Rudolf could not be allowed to give orders haphazardly.

Count Rudolf's face turned deathly pale in an instant, his legs went weak, and his body swayed involuntarily. Had he not reached out and grabbed the edge of the wall in time, he would have collapsed to the ground.

Hanma City was their only escape route and lifeline, for this army that had penetrated deep into enemy territory!
If Hanma City falls, who knows how these tens of thousands of people will manage to escape back to the heart of the Rhine Alliance?
A shadow of despair instantly fell upon Rudolf.

Count Shu Yun Stiga bit his lip, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the lingering smoke and dust in the south and Maria, clearly thinking of a solution at lightning speed.

After a moment, he turned to Maria and said in a deep voice, "Count Eltal, the situation is urgent, and we cannot make a decision based on mere speculation."

"Could you possibly send someone to capture a few enemy prisoners?"

"Once we can find out their exact destination, everything will be clear."

Maria watched the smoke and dust gradually dissipate in the wind, her eyes becoming firm and sharp.

She met Shu Yun Stiga's gaze and nodded solemnly, having already made her decision.

Night falls.

The biting wind, carrying fine snowflakes, relentlessly seeped into every crevice of the clothes, such as collars and cuffs, emitting a wailing sound like the sobs of ghosts.

The winter night forest was completely dominated by an impenetrable darkness and howling, raging snow. Only a few scattered, dim lights shone from the direction of the Allied cavalry camp, flickering uncertainly in the wind and snow.

The devil lurking in the shadows is vigilantly watching the camp from all sides.

Bobo and a small group of Black Cats are lurking in the shadows. Their mission tonight is to capture at least one prisoner and find out their destination.

They stood like cold bronze sculptures in the woods, clinging to the thick tree trunks covered in thick frost.

Each breath was extremely slow, so that the little bit of white breath exhaled would be instantly blown away by the biting cold wind.

Everyone was dressed in a very frightening way, with a disc about 36 cm in diameter on top of their helmets and a huge box in front of their eyes.

It is said that this night vision device once scared a passing child to tears during testing, and even frightened a couple having an affair in the wild to the point that the man was unable to get an erection.

Bobo and the others were also frightened; according to the price, each of them was carrying three tractors on their heads.

Even with its vast resources, Weisen only equipped a small number of its troops with night vision devices for combat testing.

Bobo's sharp gaze, penetrating the black and white vision of the night vision goggles, was firmly locked onto the dark area ahead—the outer perimeter of the camp. Under the towering ancient oak tree, two Winged Rider sentries, wrapped in thick fur cloaks, were hunching their shoulders, pacing back and forth on the path almost covered in snow. Their heavy footsteps were barely audible in the wind.

(End of this chapter)