Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 92: Execution by Lineup (Part )

"This is the tax that the Lord has already prepared. Please count it in front of us, and we will just hand it over directly."

The leading young militiaman bowed politely to Stevie and the tax collector, left the small box full of gold pounds on the ground and prepared to turn around and return to the camp.

The tax collector was so shocked by the sudden scene that he couldn't help but cough, and looked at Stevie with a slightly panicked look.

"Your Excellency the Baron, what...what should we do?" The messenger approached Stevie's horse and asked in a low and hurried voice.

I originally thought that the other party would not accept this unreasonable taxation order at all, and was planning to use this as the main excuse to attack. However, before I even entered the pioneering territory to meet the lord, the other party had already prepared the tax and was waiting at the border.

Stewie's face flushed slightly, he thought for a moment with gritted teeth, and immediately shouted loudly to the leading militiaman who returned to the camp.

"Stop!" He turned around and looked around at the knight team behind him, nodding slightly to signal to others.

The knights immediately drew their sharp swords from their waists with a clang.

The young militiaman who had returned to the camp's roadblock turned around and looked in surprise at the knights sitting on horseback with their swords drawn. "My lords, the taxes have been paid in full. What are you going to do now?"

Stewie no longer cared about any unnecessary noble dignity at this moment, and shouted loudly: "I want to see Lord Harvey, let me go immediately, otherwise..."

The young militiaman's expression immediately turned cold, and he replied indifferently, "This is a pioneer territory outside the country. The Earl only has the right to levy taxes, not jurisdiction. Isn't your Excellency aware of the laws of the Duchy?"

Stewie sneered, his face completely exposed. "Hmph, Your Excellency the Count has received a secret report that the necromancer Harvey is secretly conducting bloody magical experiments in the Frontier Territory, killing innocent civilians. We are here under orders to wipe you out!"

He swung his sword-holding hand forward suddenly, and all the knights immediately dismounted and advanced towards the camp gate with swords in hand.

The narrow mountain path was not conducive to the knights' charge, so they could only choose to dismount and fight on foot. However, facing these dozens of lowly militiamen who were not even equipped with armor or sharp blades, it would probably only take half an hour at most to eliminate them all.

The militiamen who had negotiated with them earlier changed their expressions and immediately ran into the camp, crouching down and hiding behind the roadblocks made of sandbags.

"They are truly a bunch of rabble-rousers. They don't even have the guts to resist. They just cower behind sandbags and wait to die."

One of Stevi's valet knights burst into laughter, rushed to the front of the team, and leaped up with his sword in hand, about to cross the first obstacle and attack the militia hiding behind it.

A militiaman in black suddenly stood up behind a sandbag about four or five steps away from him, holding the strange fire stick behind him and pointing it at him.

Baron Stevi and others who fell behind saw that the stick seemed to suddenly flash a white light. As the white light disappeared, their knight who was rushing in the front suddenly shook his body and fell straight onto the sandbag, never to move again.

……

"Smart Guy" Tommy hid behind a sandbag bunker, raised his gun and aimed at the tall, fully armed knights who were only a few dozen steps away from him. He exhaled slowly and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Another knight who was rushing in the front suddenly had a thumb-sized hole in the middle of his chest armor. In an instant, blood gushed out. The knight rushed forward a few steps by inertia before falling to the ground with a bang and losing his breath.

Tommy turned to the other soldiers and ordered, "Wait until they get closer before shooting. This way we'll have a higher chance of hitting them and waste fewer bullets, saving Captain Vaughn from another painful experience."

Although he said this, Tommy's palms were actually full of sweat. This was different from when he faced those hideous evil orcs at the valley outpost. This time they were facing their own human kind. This was the first time he killed someone with his own hands.

No! He gritted his teeth and spat fiercely on the ground, feeling a little angry and embarrassed at his sudden softness.

When had the nobles ever considered lowly refugees their own kind? They had fled thousands of miles, arduously crossing the Divine Ridge Mountains to the southern border, seeking refuge and shelter from the local nobles. But what awaited them was the merciless expulsion and slaughter of the patrol troops stationed at the border.

The nobles were afraid that they would bring plague and disease to their territories, and did not want to waste a grain of food to help them.

Tommy thought to himself with self-mockery that they came here to plunder Lord Harvey's territory, to rob all the people of the territory of their wealth and food accumulated through their hard work, and to return them to the miserable situation of being precarious and displaced.

His two-story house, the delicious fried chicken from the convenience market, brand new military uniforms for both winter and summer, a generous monthly salary of 120 gold yuan, and... and Diane, the young woman next door who always looked at him with admiration...

All these beautiful people and things that belonged to him would vanish into thin air...

This is something that no pioneer soldier can accept!
Tommy secretly wiped the sweat from his palms on the corner of his clothes. At this moment, the only thing in his mind was the order given by Lord Harvey himself.

Any enemy who dares to actively invade our territory must be retaliated and eliminated without hesitation!

"All soldiers, free fire!"

Another tall knight stood out from the crowd and rushed towards the nearest territory soldiers. Tommy raised his gun and aimed decisively. Before he pulled the trigger, a puff of blood mist suddenly burst out from the knight's neck, and then he fell to the ground and began to twitch.

It was the soldier in the watchtower who fired before him.

……

Surrounded by the knights in the center of the crowd and forced to charge on foot, Stevie had no idea what was happening.

Why did those stupid and lowly militiamen just lift up that strange fire stick lightly, and the elite knights under his command, who were fully armed and dressed in heavy armor, instantly fall to the ground like fragile reeds and cannot move.

His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately shouted a warning to his knights, "Be careful! That damn stick is loaded with a crossbow! Be careful to avoid it!"

A knight in the front subconsciously rolled over and dodged as soon as he heard Stevie's warning.

But the invisible crossbow still grazed his waist, tearing through the armor and taking away a large piece of flesh protected within. Blood gushed out from the gap in the armor. The knight subconsciously reached out to cover the wound, but found that the tear was even wider than his palm...

Another invisible crossbow arrow shot towards the charging knights, hitting a knight standing in front of Stewie, shattering his armored shoulder. Blood mixed with minced flesh sprayed all over Baron Stewie's head and face.

Fear instantly gripped Stewie's heart like a sharp claw. The invisible crossbow bolts were like the scythe casually swung by the god of death, quickly reaping the lives of his elite knights.

This invisible and intangible means of terror had obviously frightened all the knights, including Stewie. Some of them began to try to retreat, even though they were only a few dozen steps away from attacking the outpost.

Behind the sandbag roadblock less than one meter high at the gate of this outpost camp, every black-clad militiaman holding a fire poker looked as terrifying as a monster in the eyes of everyone.

Stewie had already lost all his will to fight at this moment. He shouted loudly to call on the knights, who surrounded him and began to slowly retreat.

Suddenly, there was a chaotic noise coming from behind, which made his heart sink.

The mercenaries and militiamen who were left sparsely behind the knights' team just happened to catch up at this time, blocking dozens of knights and their tall war horses who were planning to retreat on the narrow mountain road.

They were forced to become living targets in the eyes of the black-clad militiamen at the mountain outpost in front of them!

(End of this chapter)