Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 467 Guardians of Frost and Earth
The North is sparsely populated and has seen little warfare in recent years. Most towns have no fortifications, and a single cavalry unit can roam freely.

But this only applies to most towns; in many important areas, fortresses were still built.

Sladedinburgh was such a fortress, the northernmost fortress in the Earldom of Bazel, serving only one purpose: to prevent the White Raven Duchy from moving south and invading the Empire.

Although in retrospect, it seems like a joke – you're lucky the empire didn't invade, why would you need to guard against being invaded?
But decades ago, the balance of power between the two sides was not what it is now.

The White Crows weren't always so easily subjugated, and the territory of the Silent Sanctuary wasn't given to them by others, but rather earned by the priests through the blows of their flails.

The Canary Mountains are a natural wall, but they cannot completely stop invading forces, whether it was the Empire a few years ago or the White Ravens decades ago.

At that time, Sladedinburgh was the front line against the enemy's advance.

Therefore, these castles were built very sturdily, and have never been captured since their creation.

Even the strongest fortress needs to be defended.

The resistance has a high reputation in Grizzly Town, and Gwen has always strictly controlled his men, preventing them from harassing the residents and even helping them with small tasks.

This also meant that the resistance forces often had more intelligence than the Winter Wolves.

Although most of the information is scattered and useless, careful analysis can reveal many useful things.

For example, this time, Isaac discovered something interesting amidst the countless pieces of information: Sladedinburgh's defenses were quite weak.

The fortress had not been used for many years, and the flames of war had never reached it, so its defenses were very lax.

It is said that the suspension bridge has not been raised for a long time, and the chains that pull it have rusted.

This was undoubtedly good news for the resistance forces.

“The castle isn’t far from us; we can get there in a morning, or even faster if we march quickly,” Isaac said after studying the map for a while.

How many guards are there inside?

"There are about 150 people, but most of them are militiamen. There are less than 50 soldiers who are actually full-time, and these people are very weak in combat."

"Because there has been no war for a long time?"

"That's part of the reason, and another part is that they are responsible for the city's security—some of these people are even civilians."

Since Sladedinburgh has little military value, there is no need to spend a lot of effort maintaining the army there.

Soldiers who were not engaged in productive labor were quite expensive, especially in an era with low productivity.

The White Ravens of the North have almost no professional soldiers; instead, they rely on a system of universal conscription. It's not that the Silent Church doesn't want to organize an army, but rather that the harsh, cold lands further north in the Canary Mountains simply cannot afford to support so many soldiers.

Most of the White Crows had received some basic military training, which is why their refugees spontaneously formed a resistance army and held out until Nora returned from Castel.

Therefore, once the lords in various places no longer need to fight, they will immediately start to dislike those money-burning armies. Even a small squad of guards in Sladedinburgh has to take on the additional responsibility of maintaining order in order to avoid being dismissed.

"But it's a fortress after all. We don't have the capability to siege it. Once it closes its gates, we'll be in trouble."

Gwen was somewhat worried.

If they leave Grizzly Town for Sladedinburgh but fail to capture it and have to return, that would take a whole day, and they might even be blocked outside the town by the Winter Wolves.
The resistance almost never clashed head-on with the Winter Wolves on the plains; the only time they managed to escape was thanks to Nora's desperate resistance.

Many people died that time; even Lady Nora almost didn't make it back. Yes, almost.

The lesson was too painful; Gwen had no intention of fighting on the plains, and once she left the town, she might have no way out.

“Don’t worry, I will take action,” Isaac said in a deep voice. “If they close the city gates, I will help you open them.”

Have you recovered?

Gwen was still a little worried. For some reason, Isaac had been somewhat listless since she rescued him, and Gwen guessed that he might have been injured.

"No problem, don't worry. As a superhuman, I'm actually very strong. Apart from Lina, whom I encountered last time, there aren't many people who can threaten me, and..."

He pointed to the area inside the walls of Sladedinburgh on the map: "I still have some backup plans. Even if I cough, even if I really fail, the Tongmenghui members hidden in the crowd will find a way to open the city gates."

Thinking of Lina's strange and powerful abilities that day, Isaac's expression still darkened.

If he were to encounter Lina again, would he be able to escape or even fight her?

Fighting her was probably impossible; she was a monster. Isaac didn't think any superhuman could fight Lina head-on—maybe a completely irrational Skinflayer could, but by then they would have already fallen into monsters.

As for escaping, Isaac was still somewhat confident.

If he is well prepared, he is hard to catch. With his clones to delay him, the Nymph's ability to escape is very strong.

However, he has zero tolerance for error. Once Lina blocks him, he won't die even if he wants to; he can be pulled back even across the Sea of ​​Ignorance.

Therefore, although Isaac was confident in his dual abilities and considered himself to be among the strongest of the extraordinary, he remained much more cautious.

He had to be responsible to the resistance fighters.

If Isaac encounters Lena again, he will lure her away immediately. Then his men will open the city gates, and the resistance will have little trouble taking Sladedinburgh.

He trained all these young men himself, and he was confident in them.

The two talked until very late. The next morning, before dawn, the resistance fighters received orders to march towards Sladedinburgh with only two days' worth of supplies.

the other side.

Sladedinburgh remained peaceful today, except for a group of new visitors.

Count Bazel actually came to this small castle in person, accompanied by dozens of guards and even a maid—a girl with crimson hair, which was quite rare in the North.

The soldiers attracted a large crowd of civilians as they passed through the city gate, who pointed and exclaimed in amazement.

"Look, what is that?"

"Shield?"

"That's ridiculous! My door panels aren't even that thick!"

"Those people can lift that?? How heavy must it be? Ten pounds?"

"Ten pounds? Are you kidding me? That's Lord Bazel's Frost Earth Guard. Their tower shields, 'Ice,' weigh a full thirty pounds and can withstand a volley of musket fire. Lord Bazel relied on this army to conquer the North."

(End of this chapter)