Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 522 Internal and external cooperation
It took Guerrero a long time to come back to his senses from the earth-shaking explosion. His hands and feet were so weak that he needed the support of his personal guards to get on the horse, but his ears were still buzzing, as if a wasp was stuffed in them.

Was it the sandstorm that triggered the thunder in the sky?
Before he knew the truth, low thunder accompanied by sharp whistling sounds appeared above his head again. A stable next to the cavalry station was suddenly engulfed by a huge fireball. The entire wooden building exploded in an instant. A large number of frightened horses ran around in the camp in panic, trampling and killing many soldiers with disheveled clothes and armor.

Some people were on fire and fell to the ground, rolling and struggling. Some people had their legs broken by horses and screamed at the top of their lungs. Even more people were frightened by the endless waves of thunder and fire. They even threw their weapons on the ground and fled from the camp in panic.

There was also chaos outside the cavalry station. Raging fires were burning everywhere in the city, lighting up half the sky. The entire Highland City was like a hell that had suddenly been punished by God.

"By the grace of God! What on earth happened?"

A group of locals dressed as Chamber of Commerce clerks poured into the camp's open gate, followed by more men in black. They all held a thin silver iron rod in their hands and raised one end of the rod to point at Guerrero on horseback.

"Old Hughes? It's you! What did you do in the city?" The cavalry commander was stunned for a moment, then asked in a trembling voice after realizing it belatedly.

The leader, Old Hughes, sneered without replying. He turned and humbly bowed to a tall man in black, saying, "Commander Guerrero is the only military leader currently in Highland City. He is also the watchdog appointed by the Earl of Highland to manage the city and seal off the territory on his behalf."

The man in black nodded, but ignored Guerrero. He simply asked, "Doesn't Highland City even have a combat priest from the Church or a knight from the Inquisition? Are there only these weak mortal city guards?"

Old Hughes nodded and said frankly, "The Earl of Highland patrols the Holy City year-round and has brought back all the priests and inquisition knights originally stationed there. Only a few low-ranking priests and pastors remain in the cathedral, relying on low-level divine arts and mass rituals to continue controlling the city's citizens... It's precisely because of this that we established our organization's headquarters here, a safe and covert area free of Church influence."

Guerrero finally understood what was going on. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Pagans! Magical pagans! Who have you joined? Who are these black-clad outsiders? The battle wizards of Daeus?"

"It's the King in the North!" Old Hughes answered loudly, "It's Saint Varun's new king. He will completely eradicate the Church's influence in Isengard and bring a new order to our country!"

"The King of the North of Saint Valen? That's impossible..." Guerrero denied it subconsciously, but looking at the fire and chaos spreading everywhere in the city, it felt like a ball of burning charcoal was stuffed in his throat, and he couldn't say the second half of the sentence.

He could only tighten the reins in vain, trying his best to control the frightened warhorse under his crotch. There were still dozens of guards surrounding him. There were no spellcasters in robes in the enemy's team, and they were all dressed as ordinary soldiers who entered the city on foot. At this moment, if they charged out of the city, there seemed to be a chance of escape.

As long as he could take advantage of the momentum of the cavalry charge to escape the city, whether he rushed to the border Wolf Fang Ridge or headed east to the fiefdoms of other noble lords, he could pass on the urgent military intelligence of the attack and fall of Highland City to the church. The open rebellion of pagans in Isengard was no trivial matter and would surely cause a shock in the royal capital... Then the army would be reassembled and returned to Highland City to capture these pagans who colluded with foreign enemies and burn them all at the stake!
But before he could raise his sword and give the order to charge, the leading man in black narrowed his eyes, raised his hand and pressed it down hard, shouting -

"Fire!"

A sudden, intense crackling sound erupted. Guerrero only had time to see the silver light flash from the tip of the black-clad soldier's iron rod before his body jolted violently, as if struck by an invisible hammer on his chest. His armor shattered, blood splattered, and then, belatedly, he felt the onset of excruciating pain and endless darkness...

The cavalry commander fell from his horse, and like the guards around him who also fell off their horses, he never knew until his death what weapon had silently killed him. ...

As the sky brightened, Highland City gradually calmed down after a whole night of chaos. With the help of insiders, the Northern Army quickly took control of the three city gates, cleared out the few remaining soldiers in the city, and put out several blazing fires.

"Lord Wayne, as you instructed, the believers have gone door to door informing the people in the city to stay home for the time being and not to go out. Your soldiers have successfully taken control of the three city gates. The closest border crossing to Highland City, Langya Ridge, has also been captured by the northern border. No one knows that Highland City has completely changed hands."

Old Hughes finally put on his precious priestly robes and led Wayne and the others directly into the long-vacant Earl's Mansion. He smiled and rubbed his hands together, saying, "Please rest assured. We have spies all over the city, closely monitoring all movements in the city. We will ensure that no news will leak out in the short term."

Wayne nodded, recalling the information in the intelligence. He put on a smile and shook old Hughes' hand. "Your Excellency, our successful control of Highland City is entirely due to the information and assistance provided by you and your followers. I will report this to His Majesty immediately and will never let your merits and contributions go unnoticed!"

Old Hughes' eyes welled up as he sighed, "I know you received the revelation before us, and therefore received the powerful gift you longed for... But thankfully, our Lord didn't completely forget us after all, and he allowed us to successfully establish contact. With that precious ritual artifact, the believers won't be completely lost in their agonizing wait."

He raised his hand and shook Wayne's, saying firmly, "This is a test of our faith from our Lord. From now on, we will no longer be divided. We will serve the gods together devoutly and pledge allegiance to the King of the North, the gods' representative on earth!"

Wayne's mouth twitched slightly, but he forced himself to hold Old Hughes' hand and said firmly, "That's right! I will swear allegiance to the King of the North until death!"

Upon seeing this, the believers excitedly knelt on the ground, raised their hands above their heads, and kowtowed towards the north in a strange posture, shouting in unison: "Pledge allegiance to the King of the North! We swear to serve our Lord's representative on earth until death!"

Duff stood behind Wayne, his face distorted from trying to hold back his laughter, and poked Wayne in the back with the hilt of his sword inconspicuously.

Wayne shuddered and immediately asked Old Hughes seriously, "Master Priest, you mentioned that the Priory's ritual site in the city... has a solidified continental teleportation array, correct?"

Hughes smiled and said, "It was built by spellcasters who used to operate secretly in Highland City. After they were hunted down and expelled by the witch hunters... we secretly moved the teleportation array to the ritual underground palace. However, some of the key array instruments and activation runes are damaged, so they can't be used directly at the moment."

Wayne was delighted and said quickly, "It's okay. We know how to fix it. As long as the method is correct... the teleportation array can be directly transformed into a... a sacrificial array. That way, we can receive endless power from our Lord's agent, His Majesty Harvey!"

Old Hughes' eyes lit up, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Really? Your Majesty, the Agent, has mastered a vast amount of power bestowed by our Lord? Quick! Quick! I'll take you to the ritual underground palace right away, underneath the Stoneheart Merchant Guild's trading post!"

(End of this chapter)