A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 377, First Transnational Telegram

Even if the guild doesn't develop the communication system, Luo Xia will still build it. Now is the perfect time to use this opportunity to make money and find a sucker or a good family to pay for the construction costs.

One thing at a time: providing technology and contract manufacturing is a transaction, but Rorschach will definitely invest money to get involved in establishing the new trading company. Ideally, they would establish several dedicated lines on top of public lines.

Although the company hasn't officially started operating yet, the guild has already eagerly begun laying trial lines. The line starts from Kempson, a steel city near the border, and runs diagonally southward.

Yes, they want to extend the trial production line overseas, specifically to the Holy Kingdom.

The connectivity of all nodes in the communication network can be monitored by the headquarters in the capital. If the Bain branch wants to contact the Holy Kingdom privately, it has to use portable communication scrolls with low connection rates, high energy consumption, and instability. The branch, and the arcane tower behind it, are eager to change this situation.

On a dark and windy night, a series of faint popping sounds emanated from a dirt road on the border of the Holy Kingdom.

Patrols organized by nearby towns walked along the road carrying torches. This was not a battlefield; they were not guarding against the Imperial Army, but rather against roaming bandits and robbers.

"Stop! What's that sound?" The squad leader, a former hunter, was very sensitive to noise and on high alert. "It sounds like it's coming from underground?"

"Could it be some kind of animal digging a hole?"

However, before they could react, the torches went out one after another, and everyone suddenly lost consciousness.

Three mages from the Arcane Tower appeared out of nowhere, their faces somewhat grim: "How could we run into this?" This was a team laying underground cables. The Bain and Valuwa branches had agreed to lay a cross-border cable, and the team's destination happened to be the location of the patrol team.

One of the mages, confirming the patrol consisted of ordinary people, instructed, "Mark the destination and have Valuwa handle the connection. As for these people..."

The patrol disappeared, still unconscious and painless as they left.

In the latter half of the night, several more mages appeared. They were from Valuwa and saw a large X drawn in carbon powder in the middle of the road through [Dark Vision].

"This is it."

The sorcerer released a ceramic tube from his storage bag, while another pulled out a large coil of wire. They began casting a spell, causing the ground to crack open and revealing the wires buried by their predecessors. The ceramic tube sank in, and the wires seemed to come alive, writhing and crawling like a giant snake as they burrowed into the tube.

"Byrne's standards are the same as ours!"

"Nonsense, the technical data of the Bain branch is produced by the capital."

Finally, a dark red light illuminated at the interface, indicating that the two wires had been soldered together. After confirming that the entire line was working, current surged through it, flowing from south to north to Kempson.

The newly appointed telegraph operator was still inexperienced, and her decoding time was a little slow. After the translated plaintext was written down, the chairman, who had been observing, took it and read the telegram content to the others present.

The world's first telegram was tinged with absurdity, while the first cross-border telegram brought news of war: "The vanguard of the Imperial Army has reached Condi, about 140 kilometers from the capital."

Richard was one of the commanders of the Imperial Army's vanguard.

Following the annihilation of Andorella, he was rightfully rewarded and promoted; his appointment as major was issued during the advance.

By this time, he had broken away from the main force led by Major General Karl and was leading his own infantry regiment, escorting supplies and following behind. Further back, a group of exiles who had been fortunate enough to survive were riding in luxurious carriages, hoping to join the Imperial army in "purging the rioters" and rebuilding the old order.

The war was going too smoothly, almost to the point of being boring. In the first ten days of the month, the Karl tribe made contact with the First Legion of the Holy Kingdom. The Imperial Army had the advantage in strength and successfully defeated the enemy. The remnants of the First Legion fled to the coastal area, which meant that the left gate of the Valois capital was opened to the Empire.

The First Army Corps also wanted to reorganize and join forces with the Third Army Corps to attack the Imperial Army's salient, but encountered the Imperial Army's follow-up forces in the Calais Strait in the coastal region. The commander of the First Army Corps did not expect the Imperial Army to penetrate the Low Countries so quickly and was forced to fight.

The right gate of the capital, the remnants of the Third and Second Legions were scattered along the eastern front of the kingdom, holed up in various fortresses and strongholds. Apart from the Bain Legion, which had little desire to attack, the other imperial troops began to regroup and concentrate their forces to break through key points.

This "right gate" is leaking air everywhere, and a huge hole is about to be smashed open, making any talk of coordinating with the First Legion and launching a counterattack impossible.

In just half a month, Richard's legion, as the vanguard, had entered the region adjacent to Valuwana, and victory seemed to be in sight, with the continent's most prosperous capital within reach.

The only thing slowing down the Imperial Army's advance is the supply speed; fortunately, it's winter, so there are no muddy, treacherous roads.

Karl's forces didn't even participate in any significant battles afterward. In open field engagements, the enemy troops couldn't withstand a single artillery barrage and would retreat, showing no spirit of defending the kingdom. It wasn't until they reached cities and fortresses that they engaged in any meaningful offensive or defensive battles.

Because of this smooth progress, the soldiers became somewhat relaxed. They walked lazily, and the luxurious carriages following behind the procession even added a touch of amusement to the group. Some soldiers even harassed the women in the carriages, while the exiled nobles sent out their pitiful servants to defend themselves.

Richard reprimanded and law-abiding several hooligans, and had to spend time disciplining the troops. His taciturn nature was a virtue when he was Karl's second-in-command, but when he was in charge, he had to transform his silence into ruthlessness and authority to maintain discipline and combat effectiveness.

Whenever the main force conquered a city or territory, Richard's infantry regiment was responsible for gathering their own wounded, receiving supplies from the city for replenishment, releasing exiled nobles to restore order in the city, and maintaining stability in the rear.

This easy job was clearly Karl's way of taking care of Richard, but the major was very dissatisfied.

"We'll be entering the city soon, right? It's not the capital, but the regional capital is quite nice." Richard's adjutant rode alongside Richard, imagining the long-awaited delicious food and soft beds they would enjoy once they entered the city.

I don't know which bastard invented this weird bean sausage to replace the rations of jam and spices. It was a good thing for the soldiers, because the substitute food was only available to officers. But for the officers, drinking bean soup for three days in a row was the limit. They ate this stuff cooked into a porridge for half a month, and the gas coming out of it, both the top and the bottom, smelled of beans.

Richard was not as optimistic as his adjutant: "The capital of the Condi region also has a well-prepared fortress. The general will assess the defenses before deciding whether to attack. Whether to set up camp and wait for reinforcements or to attack the city directly depends on his orders."

To allow for the slow movement of the baggage train and infantry, they rode at a leisurely pace. During a brief rest, a small wagon emerged from the rear of the exiles and headed towards the commander. Because the ranks were relaxed, the other soldiers simply ate and drank, watching the wagon pass by the edge of the makeshift camp.

"What are you doing!" the adjutant shouted, drawing his sword. The guards also raised their guns and aimed them at the newcomers.

An old servant was driving the car. A young woman of about sixteen with a full face stepped out of the carriage. Although she was a little dizzy from the bumpy ride, she still took out a flower basket and tried to hand it to Richard, as her father had instructed.

(End of this chapter)