Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 363: Already prepared
On the day of returning to Grizzlie Castle, Pierce reported to Harvey with the intelligence obtained from the interrogation.

"Sure enough, Duke Ralph didn't respond to Grand Duke Saint Valen's call." Harvey snorted coldly. "The secretive army that Mr. Illusion Eye discovered near Frostflower County will reveal their identity."

"Frostflower County is only a day's journey from Grizzly Castle. Why don't they attack us when we head south to Sancha Town?" Pierce was a little puzzled.

Harvey shook his head and said, "Grizzly Castle is still a fortified city after all. Even if they have a high-level wizard capable of flying, it would still be difficult for them to capture a border city with a population of nearly 10,000 with only 2,000 soldiers."

Pierce nodded in understanding. "No wonder they've been keeping their troops inactive, recruiting mercenaries and abducting many locals as baggage carriers."

Capturing the people... recruiting mercenaries...

Harvey's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly understood the enemy's purpose.

"Grand Duke Ralph knows my intention to expand the population. He wants to mobilize a large number of civilians from neighboring fiefdoms and directly attack Grizzly Castle..." Harvey slapped his forehead heavily and suddenly realized.

After all, in the eyes of such great nobles, lowly civilians are the cheapest consumables. It is better to let his elite knights directly participate in the battle, drive the people to the outside of Grizzly Castle, lure them to open the city gates to accept them, and then directly launch an attack with the chaotic crowd.

As long as the mercenaries are allowed to rush into the city among the refugees, Grizzly Castle will immediately fall into civil unrest that is difficult to control.

"What if we don't open the city gates and let them stay outside?" Pierce felt that the solution to the problem was simple.

Harvey laughed and said, "This is Duke Ralph's conspiracy. If I stay indoors and let those refugees freeze to death outside the city, then my promise to recruit people in the south to migrate north will immediately become a shameless lie..."

Once his reputation and credibility as a feudal lord collapse in the hearts of ordinary people in the country, even if a civil war breaks out, Harvey will probably find it difficult to absorb a large number of migrating people in a short period of time. People who are desperate would rather choose to cross the border and flee to other countries.

"I can dispatch some more soldiers from the Frontier Territory, so that we can prevent them from luring the people to attack Grizzly Castle..." Pierce frowned and thought for a while, and decided to send more troops in advance to guard against possible troubles.

Harvey stood up and patted Pierce on the shoulder.

"Our enemies have planned the same thing..."

After all, these people are living labor. Although they are cannon fodder and consumables in the eyes of Duke Ralph, they are valuable new population in the eyes of Harvey.

In order to control the situation and safely accommodate the refugees who were driven here, it is naturally necessary to transfer troops from the base camp. As long as the refugees who were driven here continue to attack Grizzly Fort, it will force Harvey to continue to send reinforcements here to the maximum extent.

That means that the troops in the wasteland base in the rear will gradually be depleted... and then it will be the turn of the elite troops hidden in the dark, mixed with spellcasters and bloodline knights, to take action.

"They're trying to lure the enemy away from their mountain retreat and directly attack our wasteland territory!" Pierce finally came to his senses, his teeth itching with hatred. "The nobles' plan is truly sinister. In their eyes, the lives of ordinary people are worth less than ants."

Harvey nodded. "The fighting on Sancha River will soon spread back to Fengyuan City. Duke Ralph will also learn of our possession of iron ships and gunboats. Within a week at most, the special forces in Frostflower County will also know our combat methods and be able to prepare for them in advance."

Pierce clenched his fists and said hurriedly, "Sir, let me lead two battalions of troops and rush directly to Frost Flower County to wipe them out!" "If they let unarmed civilians stand in their way, can you really harden your heart and order them to open fire?"

Pierce's face froze. After only a few seconds of hesitation, he said decisively, "If it's a necessary sacrifice and a price, I'm willing to bear it..."

"Alright, alright! Even if you're ruthless enough, it doesn't mean I'm willing to consume these fresh populations..." Harvey waved his hand to signal his army commander to relax, and then slowly stated his response strategy.

Harvey naturally wanted to take in all the people who were abducted by Grand Duke Ralph from the surrounding counties and towns without leaving a single one alive. There was no reason for him to send people to the south to collect people and even buy people from slave traders, but then refuse those who came to him voluntarily.

As for the opponent's strategy of "luring the tiger away from the mountain", Harvey was simply afraid and worried - even in this world where supernatural powers existed, the overwhelming advantage of "hot weapons" over cold weapons would not be reversed or changed due to the number of troops, strategies or tactics.

Two thousand elite knights wanted to cross the Divine Ridge Mountains to attack their lair... Harvey couldn't help but sneer. The city defense cannons and the continuous magic guns would teach them a lesson... and make them behave like human beings again.

The only problem that needs to be worried about is how many combat mages are deployed in the enemy's army and whether there are high-level spellcasters... Although it is unlikely that a hereditary grand duke can attract the loyalty of a spellcaster of this level as a mortal noble, Harvey also needs to guard against possible accidents. Who knows whether the Ralph family with a long history will happen to cultivate a noble spellcaster who stands in opposition to the Federation?

Just as the two were discussing, Asdalen, who had just rushed to Grizzli Castle from the wilderness, knocked on the door and entered.

"Sir, why not send Mr. Duncan directly... and his two students, three high-level mages. They are enough to deal with any possible ambush by the enemy."

Before Asdalun could finish his suggestion, the Eye of Illusion came in from the study door with a smile on his face and bowed to Harvey.

"Your Excellency...Pardon me for interrupting your combat meeting without your permission."

The Eye of Illusion rubbed his hands and volunteered to fight, saying, "As long as we don't get besieged by a large group of Bloodline Knights, it won't be a problem for just the Astrologer and I to deal with the enemy spellcaster team..."

Asdalen interrupted, "What if the other party is equipped with an alchemical magic-breaking crossbow specifically designed to target high-level spellcasters?"

"In the illusion state, I can withstand two or three direct attacks from the magic-breaking crossbow...Melissa also has a good defensive magic weapon." The Eye of Illusion is not a research-based spellcaster who only talks about magic on paper, but has extremely rich combat experience.

"What if the opponent's high-level spellcasters try their best to hold you back and let the Bloodline Knights besiege you?" Harvey also joined the ranks of verbally "torturing" Mr. Eye of Illusion.

"Well...if the situation is unfavorable, we naturally won't fight to the end..." The Eye of Illusion scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.

Pierce added a final, ruthless blow, "What if there's more than one high-level mage hidden in the opposing team?"

The Eye of Illusion was now a little exhausted and threw up his hands, saying, "What else can we do? Everyone is destined to die!"

Everyone burst into laughter immediately.

(End of this chapter)