Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 727 Dilemma
Count Julian soon met the high-ranking wizard who had taken the initiative to request a meeting in the reception room of the city lord's mansion.

Although he had no idea what the obviously fabricated term "colonel" meant in Saint Valen's military system, he knew that as a high-ranking wizard, his position was roughly equivalent to that of a high priest in a local diocese. Therefore, he didn't dare to underestimate the other party and took the initiative to personally greet him.

“Colonel Holden.” The Earl greeted the visitors with a reserved yet warm smile and impeccable aristocratic manners. “I am Earl Julian, the lord of Twin Cities. I am delighted by your unexpected visit. This area is always plagued by bad weather and accidents often happen.”

There weren't many people who came to pay their respects to the Earl. Apart from the Son of Flame himself, there were only four mid-level spellcasters accompanying him, all of whom were dressed in dark black uniforms. The insignia embroidered on their cuffs and chests were so elaborate that the people from Twin Cities had no way of knowing their identities or ranks.

Seeing that the count had adopted a humble posture and a respectful attitude, the Son of Flame naturally had no reason to lash out for no reason.

"I have already informed you that I am Colonel Horden, Commander of the Independent Airship Regiment of the United Kingdom of Saint Valentine and the North... The main purpose of this meeting is to inquire on behalf of Baron Peyton of Wolf Fang Ridge when Your Excellency plans to begin relocating the city's residents to the Wolf Fang Ridge Pass for refuge?"

When to move?

Earl Julian was somewhat stunned. Baron Peyton had only sent a letter inquiring about his intention to join them, so how did the other party suddenly come to his door to coerce him? There was no basic negotiation or consultation, and no promises of benefits were made. Did they assume that he would not dare to refuse?

He certainly wouldn't dare to turn on them on the spot... Seeing this, the old steward quickly chimed in: "Uh, Colonel, as you can see... the weather around Twin Cities is always unpredictable. Even if we need to evacuate the people, we need to wait until the sandstorm subsides. Moreover, the number of residents in the city only accounts for less than 30% of the population of the Earl's fiefdom. The majority are scattered in the nearby mountain mining areas, which also requires some effort to contact and integrate. So it does take some time."

The count, regaining his senses, quickly said, "Indeed, the population of Twin Cities is too scattered. Please give us some time, Colonel. As a lord of this region, I cannot abandon any innocent citizen and flee alone."

This righteous excuse temporarily intimidated the Son of Flame. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "In that case, I didn't consider the actual situation... But don't blame me for not reminding you in advance, there are already signs of the Demon Lizardmen in the Chensang River Valley, which is more than two hundred miles to the north. If you keep dragging your feet and wasting time, you will only put yourselves in more danger."

“I understand…I understand…” The count nodded repeatedly, glancing at the old steward who was frequently giving him meaningful glances. Suddenly, an idea struck him. “Those alien monsters are already close at hand. I’m worried that even if we evacuate immediately…we might not be able to escape their pursuit. Colonel Horden, could you, for the sake of the thousands of innocent people in the city, plead with His Majesty Emperor Saint Valen to send troops to intercept them and buy us some time to evacuate?”

The Son of Flame chuckled, “Why would such a trivial matter need to be reported to His Majesty? Our air patrol was originally responsible for scouting the surrounding enemy positions. We just happened to encounter a sandstorm and stopped at Twin Cities. As for the enemies near the Sang River Valley… we will do our best to intercept them for you. Once the storm has subsided, the airship squadron will set sail immediately.”

The count was overjoyed and repeatedly thanked the fire mage, sparing no praise or compliment. This made the mage rather impatient, and after a few more perfunctory pleasantries, he led his men to take their leave.

……

"Unexpectedly, this accidental turn of events has led to these guys fighting against the northern barbarians... Even if they can't defeat those barbarians, they can buy us enough time to retreat to the mountains. It's a win-win situation!"

The head steward leaned closer and whispered, "The leader is a powerful high-level wizard. What if they really manage to take care of those alien races?"

The count clicked his tongue and scoffed, "That's fine. By the time they return, we'll have already hidden in the mountain mines. We won't leave them a single person or a single supply in Twin Cities!" "What if they chase us into the mountains?"

"At the largest gold mine, we went to great lengths to acquire dozens of alchemical anti-magic crossbows to defend against the ferocious magical beasts that often roam the mountains. If they dare to chase us into the mountains... I wouldn't mind letting them taste these alchemical weapons that are specifically designed to counter wizards!"

To be honest, Count Julian did not really want to become an enemy of Saint-Valen.

As the lord of the Twin Cities, located in a remote mountainous area on the border, he had never had any dealings with the people of Saint Valen before. At the earliest, he had only heard of a wizard from the Northern Frontier Territory who suddenly rose to power and became the ruler of the Kingdom of Saint Valen, and arrogantly called himself an emperor... However, this wizard emperor then directly swept through the Holy City of Goris of the Papacy and ruthlessly razed it to the ground.

Rumor has it that even three Papal Inquisition legions could not withstand his massive invasion, and were utterly defeated in the blink of an eye. The neighboring vassal state of Arid was also instantly destroyed, and the other central states were all terrified and trembling with fear, lest the invincible magical army of Saint Valen besiege their cities without warning.

Even more astonishingly, in his letter, Baron Peyton claimed that the Saint Valen people had already clashed with those terrifying northern tribes several times more than a year ago in the depths of the wasteland north of the Divine Ridge Mountains, and had won all of them.

Regardless of whether what the other party said was true or false, the count felt that he should not take the risk of completely antagonizing them.

He was naturally reluctant to submit and offer up everything... The gold mine that his family had passed down for generations was as precious as his own flesh and blood. If it were handed over to the Saint Valen people, it would be even more unacceptable than killing him.

"If I can't afford to offend them... can't I at least avoid them?" The count always held this attitude as he planned everything.

Twin Cities is not a strategically important or dangerous pass. Compared to other populous and wealthy territories in central Eisengard, this remote town is not worth much attention from the Saint Valen people. As long as they don't engage in a provocative conflict, once the other side secretly moves to the mountains to hide, leaving an empty town for them... it should be completely forgotten in no time.

……

The next morning, just as the violent sandstorm that had raged all night subsided, guards rushed over to report the situation.

The Saint Valen airship squadron stationed in the city set sail without delay and quickly headed towards the Chensang River Valley.

The count strode to the window, picked up the binoculars, and peered at the departing traces of the floating magical creations.

His feelings were truly conflicted... He hoped they could really intercept and eliminate the southward-bound alien races and resolve the imminent crisis in Twin Cities, but he also secretly hoped they would fail in this mission and be defeated, so they wouldn't have time to force him to surrender and relocate.

(End of this chapter)