Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 544 All-out effort! ?
"They actually fought their way over there!"

"The Canary Mountains... that's really far away."

Nora and Grisha sighed in unison.

Both of them were White Crows; no White Crow would know about the Canary Mountains.

The Canary Mountains were the border between the Holy Mir Empire and the White Raven Duchy. Now that the White Raven Duchy has been swallowed up by the White Catastrophe, the Canary Mountains are now the outermost frontier of civilization.

“That place is still far from us, and we’ll need to find some places to stay along the way. Don’t worry, this area is Grand Duke Alvarez’s territory, which I know very well. Several of his estates are under my father’s name, so we can go there when the time comes.”

"Huh? Didn't the resistance army capture this area? Wouldn't we be walking into a trap if we went there?"

Hunter smiled confidently: "How could that be? Grand Duke Alvarez surrendered much faster than the expeditionary force advanced. Moreover, the expeditionary force is not finished fighting and cannot afford to pay attention to this area. They have only stationed troops in a few major cities. We can just go around them."

"Is that so?" Grisha scratched his head.

"Of course, so don't worry."

"Watch out, there's a group of cavalry to the south!" Nora suddenly exclaimed. The two were startled, and Hunter hurriedly opened his backpack, preparing to take out his musket.

"Don't panic. They are far away and can't see us. I am a superhuman, which is why I can spot them. We can just move away from them."

Upon hearing this, Hunter and Grisha turned to look south, but as expected, they couldn't see anything, perhaps just a few small dots on the horizon.

The two of them finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are they cavalry? Can you see their emblems?" Hunter thought for a moment and then asked.

"No, it's too far. I can only make out the details with great difficulty. Will there be cavalry in the North?"

Nora had only recently arrived in the North and knew less about the place than Hunter.

"Well, the expeditionary force basically had no cavalry. Some scouts could ride horses, but their numbers were very small. If you're seeing a large number of cavalry..."

Hunter's brows furrowed, and he muttered:

"That's not right. Grand Duke Alvarez doesn't seem to have many cavalrymen. He prefers heavy musketeers. How many did you see?"

"There are at least fifty people."

"This"

Hunt was a little unsure. Grand Duke Alvarez did have some cavalry under his command, so it could be his troops. Bandits were also a possibility. The expeditionary force was currently mainly operating along the railway line and had not focused its efforts on suppressing bandits.

And there is another terrible possibility—

"Could it be Winter Wolf, one of Bazel's men?"

Hunter nodded with difficulty: "That's possible. The Winter Wolves are the most famous cavalry unit in the North, and they haven't been captured yet. It just so happens that the expeditionary force doesn't have many troops stationed in the Grand Duchy of Alvarez."

Nora was silent for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Could it be that Grand Duke Alvare and Bazel are secretly colluding and feigning surrender?"

"This"

Hunter swallowed hard; it actually seemed quite possible!
Count Bazel has not been found for so long, considering he disappeared with an entire army. It's practically impossible for him to have simply been hiding. Either they were all superhumans, or someone was secretly helping Bazel.

This place is not far from the expeditionary force's camp. Could it really be their conspiracy to launch a surprise attack on the expeditionary force?
"If he really is one of Bazel's men, what are his chances of winning if he launches a surprise attack on the expeditionary force?" Nora asked in a deep voice.

"Well, I haven't seen much of the expeditionary force in combat, but I have seen the permanent fortifications over there at the military camp. It's completely finished and piled high with all sorts of weapons—please forgive me for using the word 'pile,' but frankly, it's like a hedgehog."

Hunter sighed. "I'm basically the best siege weapon scholar in the North. If I were to study how to take down a fortress like this, I think the highest probability of success would be to drop my weapons, kneel down, and pray." "So, there's no risk involved?"

“There are still risks. If Bazel leads his entire army to the fortress and then surrenders like Grand Duke Alvarez, he could potentially take all our supplies as prisoners.”

Nora sighed, "It seems I was overthinking it. Let's just leave."

"Okay, let's continue heading north."

Hunter and Grisha spurred their horses and trotted away, heading north.

After a while, Nora suddenly spoke up: "Let's change direction, those cavalry seem to be following us."

"They've spotted us?"

"Impossible. Unless they are superhumans, they shouldn't be able to see us from this distance. We're just unlucky; they just happened to be heading in this direction as well."

“Okay, then let’s turn west.” Henry nodded.

The group changed direction, but soon Nora's voice came again: "Something's wrong. They've changed direction too. Could they really see us?"

"Then us"

"Change direction again, go full speed ahead, don't hold back!"

Hunter nodded solemnly.

The group turned slightly, Hunter cracked his whip, and Grisha whispered something in the horse's ear.

The horse was much faster, but Hunter's expression remained unchanged.

"Lady Nora, are they still chasing us? Forgive my bluntness, but we're not in good shape and might not be able to outrun them!"

Hunter and his men sneaked away under the cover of night. Afraid of being discovered, they didn't stop to rest after leaving the camp. The horses had been traveling all night and half a day, and they should have been looking for a town to rest.

The two horses were already quite exhausted, and they couldn't maintain this sprint for long if they couldn't shake off the riders behind them.
"They're sprinting too, they must have spotted us!" Nora's words made the two of them gasp.

"Prepare your weapons and talk to them. We're afraid we won't be able to shake them off."

Hunter and his companion's horses quickly slowed down, panting heavily and unable to run any further.

Meanwhile, the pursuers behind them continued to charge towards them.

As they drew closer, Nora's expression grew even more somber.

"This group also brought horse-drawn carriages; there are probably more than a few dozen of them, and they may also have heavy equipment."

Hunter and Grisha exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat flustered.

"We're still quite far from the expeditionary force camp. If we go to the nearest town..."

Hunter looked at Nora with some hesitation. He was just a scholar and didn't have much experience with such things.

To his surprise, Nora opened her eyes wide, looking somewhat lost in thought.

"That emblem is...is it...the Silent Sanctuary?"

(End of this chapter)