Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 449 Encirclement and reinforcements
Harvey surrounded Jinhui City but did not attack it. He only held the city gates on the southwest sides near the Ralph River and controlled the outer city civilian area which occupied two-thirds of the entire royal capital. His purpose was indeed to surround the city and attack the reinforcements.

After nearly a week of military blockade and continuous bombing, most of the important buildings in the inner city, including the royal palace, suffered devastating damage - the royal palace, the cathedral, the Knights' Residence, the Prime Minister's Office... When the bombing fell on the heads of the royal capital's dignitaries, they finally could no longer sit still.

"Things have come to this. The church's reinforcements haven't arrived yet, and the lords of the border counties have refused to send troops to rescue the capital..." The pot-bellied earl paced back and forth in front of the Grand Duke's bed, saying in a deep voice, "If we continue to refuse to surrender, sooner or later they will bomb this prosperous city into ruins bit by bit!"

It is said that the Prime Minister and the State Secretary had secretly left the city last night, probably seeking refuge in the neighboring Duchy of Barclay. When the country was expelling and arresting spellcasters, they were the first to publicly stand up for the church. They were more afraid of being liquidated than the nobles who were used to being fence-sitters.

Chief Knight Dickinson pursed his lips, held the hilt of the sword at his waist with one hand, and stood silently in the cramped and dark basement. The environment here was a bit harsh... but at least it was safe and not easily affected by aerial bombing.

He had been staying by His Majesty's side these past few days, just to guard against those restless nobles in the royal capital who were trying to abduct the unconscious Grand Duke and present him as a prisoner to the lord of the northern border. These guys, who always wavered in their stance and always followed their own interests, had no shame in selling out their masters for personal gain.

Even if we surrender, we cannot let Your Majesty become a bargaining chip for them to seek credit.

The Earl patiently tried to persuade him a few more times, then, somewhat impatiently, addressed the unyielding Chief Knight, "His Majesty is gravely injured and unconscious, unable to govern, and he hasn't appointed a queen or a designated successor... Of the powerful ministers still remaining in the capital, I, the Earl of the Palace, hold the highest status. As His Majesty's Chief Knight, you are bound to obey my instructions!"

He paused, then whispered to Dickinson, "Other nobles might have entertained the thought of currying favor with the Northern Lord, but I wouldn't... Dickinson, don't forget... I'm also His Majesty's uncle. When he was determined to completely align himself with the Church, I was the only one who stood up to oppose him in the Council Hall."

The chief knight opened his mouth but could not utter anything... Indeed, if he asked the Earl of the Palace, whose family had produced several spellcasters, to surrender on His Majesty's behalf, he might be able to pray for the other party to generously rescue him.

His stiff fingers gripping the hilt loosened, and just as he was about to agree, the basement door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

"Your Excellency, Lord Dickinson, reinforcements from the Holy See are here!"

"What? Reinforcements from the Holy City? How many troops are there?"

"Is it the Legion of Inquisition from Goris? Where are they now?" The Earl and Dickinson asked anxiously at the same time.

The attendant in charge of the communication took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "It's Isengard's Glorious Spear Inquisition! They suddenly appeared directly behind the enemy in the southwest, flying the flags of Isengard and the Church... It couldn't be more conspicuous."

The attendant paused and continued, "We estimate there are approximately three thousand soldiers, all armored knights of the Inquisition. They have no priests or attendants accompanying them... They must have arrived by forced cavalry march."

It seems that the church attaches great importance to Saint Valen, the base for the spread of faith.

"What about the enemies in the north? How did they react?" the Earl continued, his eyes wide open. The attendant shook his head, his expression somewhat bewildered. "They actually abandoned the occupied city walls and took the initiative to march out of the city and set up battle array in the open air, seemingly intending to confront the Inquisition head-on."

Are the people of the North mad? Or has the wizard lord's mind been invaded by magic?
A group of mortal soldiers without even armor, facing off against the trial knights with bloodline talents on the plains?

Even if their ironclad ships were equipped with terrifying magic weapons and flying instruments that could fly into the sky and bomb the ground, they would probably be of no use against the fast and agile cavalry - once the knights rushed into the infantry positions, it would basically be a one-sided crushing massacre.

If the church can achieve a complete victory, it will not only be able to drive the Northern Lord out of the vicinity of the royal capital, but it may also be able to greatly weaken the opponent's strength. After all, more than ten armored warships, more than three thousand elite soldiers... I'm afraid the opponent has also come out in full force and staked everything on it.

He turned his head to look at the Earl with a complicated expression and said slowly, "It seems that we have to wait until this war is over before making a final decision..."

……

It was a rare opportunity for Harvey to personally lead a group of Northern officers to inspect the battlefield under the leadership of Pierce.

Long before entering the royal capital, they had already dug a large number of trenches and bunkers in the open space outside the city. The crisscrossing trenches almost covered the entire outer perimeter of the city wall.

The trenches are mainly used to avoid possible spellcasters among the enemy and spear attacks from the Knights of the Judgment Army with bloodline talents. According to the requirements of combat readiness, the trench lines are divided into several lines, each line is fifty meters apart, and there are vertical evacuation passages between the horizontal trenches, allowing soldiers to move freely. They can serve as perfect cover whether retreating or advancing.

Spiked wooden stakes were set up on the ground and a large amount of caltrops were scattered around - this was the suggestion of the young staff officers who had just joined the General Staff. Many of them were from hereditary noble families and knight families. Their grandfathers had won their titles and fortunes on horseback, so they had a family background and rich experience in dealing with their own people.

Although the Knights of the Church's Judgment Army are extraordinary beings with awakened bloodline talents, the horses they ride are still ordinary war horses. If they hit a barricade or step into a pit, the knights on their backs will still be thrown off.

In order to prevent the enemy from dispersing, a tactic of rapid attack and breakthrough was adopted. A half-buried bunker was set up at intervals along the entire horizontal trench to house the most powerful magic machine guns, which were coordinated with the ordinary soldiers in the trenches to form a cross-fire network that matched fast, slow, far and near firepower.

Behind the three trenches is an artillery position, with twenty magic-powered cannons lined up in a row, cooperating with the ship-borne magic cannons anchored on the river a mile away from the side of the battlefield, responsible for carrying out long-range strikes.

The only ones left on the city wall were the Northern Army's sniper battalion, led by Tommy, the top sharpshooter under the city lord Harvey. They were responsible for accurately shooting and suppressing those high-level Judgment Knights whose extraordinary strength was too strong, to prevent them from rushing into the positions regardless of casualties and causing damage to soldiers or officers in a way that they would die together.

After all, many trainee staff officers and political instructors will also go to the front line in person. If one of these senior intellectuals of the army is killed, it will be enough to make the military headquarters and the General Staff bleed.

(End of this chapter)