Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 734 The Price of Deception

A soldier in a black military uniform hurried into the barracks and bowed to report to Corps Commander Wayne.

"Major, Count Julian... still refuses to respond to our demands. The General Staff believes he may be planning to put up a last-ditch resistance."

Wayne frowned immediately. "When Colonel Horden passed through the Twin Cities, didn't he solemnly promise to surrender to us? These damned nobles, they didn't tell us a single truth!"

Wayne's Independent Battle Group was originally tasked with going to the Sang River Valley to help the front-line troops consolidate their gains, while also defending against the constant harassment from the Lizardmen and pushing the battle line back north.

The military orders were urgent and he could not afford to delay. Passing through Twin Cities was just a side trip, and he planned to check on the refugee evacuation situation in this remote town... Who would have thought that the entire city was already empty, with not a single person left.

Strangely, the border checkpoints did not receive any of these refugees, nor did they see any trace of Lord Julian, the city lord.

Wayne had no choice but to order the warband to set up camp on the spot and quickly dispatched multiple reconnaissance teams to explore the area around Twin Cities. It took them quite a bit of effort to discover that Count Julian had led the entire population of the city into hiding in the mountains.

The mountain fortress built deep in the mines now serves as a testament to Count Julian's unwillingness to surrender... Although the soldier sent by the Northern Army to deliver the message was not detained on the spot, the Count refused to meet with him and simply had his steward quickly send him away.

Standing beside Wayne, the staff officer Ivan couldn't help but speak up: "Did the messenger clearly convey our message? Whether the Earl himself and his confidants are willing to evacuate is entirely up to them... But we must take with us the thousands of people in the city, as well as the equally large number of miners and slaves in the mining area!"

The adjutant shook his head and said, "It is obvious that this Earl Julian has no intention of releasing them. His family made their fortune in mining, and there is even a gold mine in the mountainous region where his fief is located. Population and labor are of great importance to him, otherwise he would not have abandoned Twin Cities and driven the people to hide in the mountains with him."

Ivan pondered for a moment, considering the main task the chapter was currently undertaking, and was about to suggest that Wayne put this matter aside for now and focus on the situation at the front.

Wayne raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Dealing with this cowardly coward who goes back on his word won't actually take much effort... His Majesty once said that in the operations of Eisengard, anyone who obstructs us must be eliminated without mercy. There's no reason to let this guy disgust us right under our noses."

He then ordered his adjutant, "Notify the Second and Third Battalions that tonight we will enter the mountains and deal with those stubborn nobles. The rest of the main force will immediately break camp and continue our advance towards the Chensang River Valley!"

Wayne's tone was nonchalant, as if he were casually crushing a mosquito, but Ivan still couldn't help but ask, "Then... what should we do with the rescued civilians and miners?"

"Just notify the Langya Ridge pass immediately and have them send someone over to take over."

……

As evening approached, a sudden downpour swept through the entire mountainous area, and the drought that had lasted for months since the beginning of spring seemed to have been revitalized by this heavenly rain.

Only Count Julian, hiding in the mine fortress, was not very happy.

During the day, the Saint Valen people had just sent an envoy who threatened him again to hand over all his people and arrange for them to evacuate south to the border of Langya Ridge... That was already good enough, but then the envoy went a step further and demanded that the more than a thousand miners from the Earl's family's mines also evacuate south and enter Saint Valen territory like ordinary people to avoid the invasion of foreign races.

This was tantamount to cutting flesh off the Earl with a knife... Mining slaves represented the ore produced in the mines. Whether it was ordinary brass and hematite or gold, which directly symbolized wealth, it all required these slaves, who had toiled in the mines for generations, to extract it bit by bit by hand. Handing over the mining slaves was tantamount to destroying the future of the entire family and completely severing the foundation upon which the Earl stood.

He would never agree to that under any circumstances.

“These Saint Valens are even more despicable than those northern barbarians… Those monsters only raid towns, burn, kill, and slaughter before retreating; as long as you hide in the mountains, you can always escape… But these people not only want to take away the people under my rule, but also demand the private slaves that rightfully belong to the nobles. What a shameless bunch of robbers!”

The steward stood aside and said cautiously, "Saint Valen has always prohibited the sale and trade of people... I guess their emperor intends to gather these foreign slaves to supplement the army against foreign tribes."

The count snorted and was about to say something when a guard suddenly rushed in from outside the castle hall.

"My lord! Those Saint Valens...they're back again!"

……

As night fell and rain poured down, Count Julian, fully armored, struggled to climb to the top of the castle wall and peered down...

Nearly a thousand people were quietly gathering not far from the mountain fortress. Their dark military uniforms made them almost blend into the night. If it weren't for the many bright white magic stone lamps shining in their ranks, they probably wouldn't have been discovered by the guards above even if they reached the foot of the fortress.

When marching or fighting at night, anyone who carries a light and deliberately exposes themselves is very likely to provide guidance to the enemy, and archers or catapults will launch an attack on the source of the light... But these Saint Valen people are clearly aware of this, so the army is assembled at a distance, so that not only can the longbows and crossbows in the mountain fortress not reach it, but even the magic-breaking alchemical crossbows set up on the city wall cannot do anything to it.

"Have you found any trace of a wizard?" Count Julian asked nervously, rain streaming down his armor and into the corners of his eyes.

"Nothing was found... Your Excellency, these people outside all appear to be ordinary mortal soldiers, and there are no signs of magical sails in the sky. There shouldn't be any wizards mixed in among them."

The gates of the mountain fortress were guarded by low-ranking bloodline warriors kept by the Julian family. Their special talents were superior eyesight and accurate crossbow shooting.

The count breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, then chuckled, "Without battle wizards and those magical sails, do they intend to force our way into submission with this small force?"

Of course, the emperor of Saint Valencia could not be completely offended.

After a round of mockery, the count cautiously said, "Send someone out to negotiate with them one last time. My bottom line is to hand over 1,500 citizens of the Twin Cities, plus 1,000 Hercules coins... If they still don't agree, then we'll have no choice but to fight to the bitter end."

The guards had just stepped off the city wall when several thunderclaps suddenly exploded in the distance—

In a daze, several bright flames seemed to suddenly rise from the spot where the Saint Valen army was assembled outside the fortress.

(End of this chapter)