Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 454 Surrender
"Lord City Lord, all the enemies have been eliminated, and the subsequent cleanup of the battlefield is underway." Pierce knelt on one knee, touched his chest and reported to Harvey.

Harvey nodded, expressing his satisfaction with today's battle - from the first shot fired at dawn to the moment when there was no enemy left on the battlefield who could stand up and resist, the Northern Army of more than 3,000 people completed the combat objective in less than three hours and completely wiped out the Church Inquisition Army that came to reinforce the royal capital.

Judging from the flags displayed by the other side, it seems that it is the Knights of the Glorious Spear who are stationed in Isengard all year round by the Holy See. Except for some combat priests who stayed behind, the main force of this Judgment Legion with a brilliant record in the past has been completely destroyed outside the Golden City.

With the same number of more than 3,000 Bloodline Knights, such an outstanding record would probably be difficult to achieve even for the Federation's Mage Corps that have been fighting head-on with the Demons for many years. In front of the Northern Army, which is equipped with magic technology and thermal weapons, they are as vulnerable as chickens and dogs.

According to preliminary statistics from Pierce's logistics department, they only paid the price of less than a hundred casualties this time. A small number of soldiers were accidentally injured due to the enemy's fearless charge, but with the rescue efforts of the Northern Army's well-equipped field medical department, most of them saved their lives and only needed to return to Spark City with the fleet to recuperate.

Officers who had completed their combat missions came forward to report. Harvey looked around and found that everyone had a faint expression of excitement and excitement on their faces, and high spirits filled the entire army... Compared with the past experiences of fighting with ordinary noble armies, the head-on confrontation with the Bloodline Knights under the church allowed these people to learn the lessons of underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly in the past, and also increased their confidence in being able to "arm wrestle" with the extraordinary people on the battlefield. It was indeed a fruitful experience.

He coughed lightly and was about to offer some encouragement when Captain Tommy of the Royal Guards hurried up from the city wall. He approached Harvey and whispered, "Sir, the Grand Duke of Saint Valen's Chief Knight and the Count of the Palace are at the foot of the city, requesting an audience with you."

"Oh?" Harvey curled his lips and said with interest, "The battle is over, they should be here soon."

If they continue to hide in the inner city royal court like ostriches, Harvey will probably give them a bad review of their political awareness.

"Let them go back first." Harvey pondered for a moment and waved his hand. "After all, this is the capital. Let them wait for me in the royal court. I will go there in person later..."

The news of the Northern Army's quick victory should be received by these dignitaries in the royal court first. After a while, the news will spread throughout the entire Jinhui City. Even in a few days, the news that the Holy See Knights were defeated outside Jinhui City and the royal capital had completely changed hands will spread throughout the principality. The prestige and reputation of Harvey, the lord of the North, will reach its peak in the southern countries.

This is a good opportunity for Spark City to recruit talent and absorb labor...

The southern offensive, which had been intensively prepared for several months since the beginning of spring, should now come to a successful conclusion. The Principality of Saint Valen south of Spark City had actually been completely brought under Harvey's control. He could finally continue to manage his vast northern territory in peace and focus on dealing with the impending alien enemy.

……

Nearing noon, the Northern Army, which had completed the battlefield cleanup, lined up in formal attire and stood silently and solemnly under the city wall, waiting for the city lord to give orders.

Harvey took a deep breath and said loudly: "All troops, follow me into the city!"

"Yes, City Lord!" All the officers responded in unison, turning to their subordinates and ordering them, "The first battalion will clear the way ahead, and the rest of the battalions will clear the way along the way to protect the City Lord!" At the same time, the ironclad fleet in the distance also received the signal and raised their guns to fire into the sky. The soldiers who received the order shouted in unison: "Long live the City Lord! Long live Spark City! Long live the North!"

Harvey led a huge army and rode a new type of alchemical vehicle through the outer city. The streets were deserted and all the people hid in their homes and dared not show their heads easily, fearing the King of the North who had just defeated the army of the Holy See.

After entering the inner city, Harvey discovered that his "deterrence action" seemed to have gone a bit too far. Compared with the outer city's civilian areas, which already had narrow streets and messy buildings, the inner city seemed to have just suffered a ruthless baptism of war. All the "iconic buildings" worth mentioning had more or less endured several days of aerial bombardment. The worst-hit were the Glorious Cathedral he passed by and the Royal Court he was about to arrive at. The pile of ruins made him almost unrecognizable from the past.

The gate of the palace had been reduced to smithereens in the bombing. The soldiers of the first battalion who had arrived early showed no fear at all. They filed into the palace and began to make preparations in advance. The first thing to be blocked was the palace treasury. The wealth stored there had already been classified as the city lord's spoils of war.

Walking on the carriage through the burnt-out courtyard of the royal palace, Harvey discovered that the dome hall, which seemed to have been used for meetings between Grand Duke Saint Valen and the royal nobles, had also collapsed. A group of frightened nobles stood awkwardly beside the ruins that once symbolized the supreme power of the principality, trembling with fear as they waited for his arrival.

Seeing the legendary Northern Lord arriving late, the dignitaries immediately stopped whispering and saluted him with their hands on their chests. However, Harvey did not look at anyone. He asked his personal guards to bring a high-backed chair and sat down in front of the ruins of the hall.

The Earl of the Palace and the Chief Knight looked at each other with pale faces, then resigned themselves to their fate and knelt on one knee, bowing and apologizing to Harvey again. The other nobles seemed to understand something in an instant... and fell to the ground in panic.

"There's no need for that. Everyone, stand up." Harvey spoke lazily after everyone knelt down.

Although he himself was born in the capital, Harvey was completely unfamiliar with these dignitaries, with whom he had never had any contact before. He could only jokingly say, "Everyone, please forgive me for not knowing much about your identities and positions... I wonder if anyone could introduce you to me?"

The Earl of the Palace raised his head, coughed awkwardly, and said hesitantly, "Respected Lord... Your Excellency, let me introduce you..."

After that, he introduced all the nobles present to Harvey in detail according to their status and rank. To Harvey's surprise, among the high-ranking officials of the entire principality, except for the Prime Minister and the Minister of State who had fled early and were already close to the Holy See, the Earl of the Palace, the Chief Knight, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Steward of the Royal Palace were all present.

But on second thought, it seemed normal. These people were not only nobles serving the current Grand Duke Saint Valen, but most of them could trace their family origins back to the founding of the country. No matter which Grand Duke ascended the throne, they should have the privilege of supporting the royal court and sharing power. Staying in the royal capital to observe the situation... they simply intended to continue according to previous practices and pledge allegiance to the new ruler.

Unfortunately, they miscalculated with Xavi.

(End of this chapter)