Exploring Technology in a Wizard World-Chapter 1282 - 1280: Position in War

A minister in a dark gray military uniform quickly walked into the palace.

Ignoring Oscar, he went straight to the Emperor, reporting with a serious expression: "Your Majesty, the latest military report from the front lines, the Sika Kingdom people have broken through from the northern section of our border defense at Bloodstone Mountain and have rampantly invaded our territory."

"Bloodstone Mountain?" The Emperor raised an eyebrow and asked, "Isn’t the terrain there very formidable? A large-scale attack is basically impossible, and there is a lot of heavy military equipment. Wizards wouldn’t dare to take risks, and it’s defended by elite troops, so how was it suddenly breached?"

"According to the military report and the accounts of fleeing soldiers, the enemy suddenly appeared from behind and launched the attack. I suspect the Sika Kingdom people dug tunnels and used them for a surprise attack and subsequent troop transport."

"Dug tunnels?" The Emperor narrowed his eyes, "At Bloodstone Mountain, digging a tunnel is no simple feat and cannot be accomplished in a short time.

If they really invaded through tunnels, it means they’ve been preparing for a long time, with plans in place from long ago. It seems they are not satisfied with the current state of our two nations at the border."

Pausing, the Emperor looked at the minister in the military uniform and asked, "Where have the Sika Kingdom’s vanguard reached now?"

The minister in uniform pulled out a miniature map from his sleeve, opened it, and showed it to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, the most prominent cavalry of Sika Kingdom has already captured Qatar City and are looting and pillaging. They’ve released the death row inmates inside the city as guides, expanding north, east, and west, attempting to create more chaos. We’ve already dispatched troops to stop them, but it’s estimated that tens of thousands will perish before they arrive."

"Qatar City? Tens of thousands?" The Emperor pondered for a few seconds, then asked, "I recall there’s a large Alliance granary there, right? Not long ago, I sent Earl Norton to inspect it. Is there any news?"

The minister in uniform hesitated before answering, "The Sika people looted the granary, taking everything they could, and what they couldn’t take, they burned. As for Earl Norton... they hung his head on the city gate..."

Hearing this, Oscar’s face slightly changed, showing a hint of shock. As far as he knew, battles between nations, though brutal, rarely resulted in the execution of nobles, especially in such a violent manner.

On one hand, capturing a noble could bring a large ransom; on the other hand, nobles represent the face of the nation. Executing them forfeit any chance of reconciliation, unless the two nations are prepared to fight to the bitter end. After all, if you can execute my noble today, I can execute yours tomorrow.

Oscar slightly turned his head to observe the Emperor’s expression, only to find the Emperor was rather unperturbed, as if he had already accepted it.

The Emperor spoke, muttering, "They beheaded Earl Norton, indeed showing no mercy. It seems their intention isn’t a minor skirmish but rather a full-blown war. They know they can’t withstand our counterattack, so they chose to burn the grain they couldn’t take from Qatar City’s granary to weaken us by any means. This is war! This is war!"

"Your Majesty, then should we..." Oscar asked softly.

"What we must do is simple. The Sika people desire war; we shall grant it to them. We’ve prepared for a long time, and even if they hadn’t taken action, we eventually would. I just didn’t expect it to be this soon." The Emperor’s voice was authoritative as he firmly declared, "The Soma Alliance has founded its nation through warfare, and we’ve never feared battle. The people of Soma Alliance shall fight until the last drop of blood! If they want war, then war it shall be!"

"Yes," Oscar and the minister in uniform bowed in response.

"By the way," at the end, the Emperor turned to Oscar, "it’s also time for your young friend to make an appearance in this war... we can’t do without him... he holds an important place in our plans..."

"Understood," Oscar nodded, swiftly exiting the palace.

...

Midnight.

In Shaya, in the luxurious courtyard where Richard temporarily resided, in the second-floor study.

Under normal circumstances, most people would have been fast asleep by this time, but not Richard. He was still in the study researching some materials.

It had been four days since he met the Alliance Emperor, and during this period, he had been studying the information received from Bi Bi’s reports and the data obtained from Oscar, achieving some fruitful results.

The first achievement was the progress in deciphering Balta text. Secondly, from a scroll in the Royal Library, he discovered a very unique way of casting Wind Magic.

If this casting method can be fully deciphered, it would significantly speed up his research on the Wind Energy Extraordinary Factor.

Considering that since the research on the Blood Power Extraordinary Factor reached a stalemate, besides advances with the Energy Furnace, this was a rare significant progress.

He now had a vague idea that if everything went smoothly with the Wind Energy Extraordinary Factor research, combined with the Energy Furnace and his research on the Blood Power Extraordinary Factor, he might be able to create something quite interesting.

Of course, it was just a preliminary idea; how far it could develop remained to be seen.

"Rustle..." Sitting at the desk, Richard flipped the pages of a book, reading its contents while contemplating his forthcoming actions.

He might need to design some experiments, maybe...

As he mused, a rustling sound from a wooden box on his desk interrupted his thoughts.

With a slight frown, Richard opened the box to see Bi Bi looking up, with wood shavings at the corners of her mouth from gnawing the box.

"What are you doing?" Richard asked, slightly angry, admonishing, "Didn’t I tell you not to cause trouble? That’s why I removed the cloth from your mouth. If you don’t behave, I’ll put it back."

"No, no, no," Bi Bi quickly said, "I’m just a bit bored. I want to ask you if the information I provided has been verified? If verified, does that prove I’ve truly betrayed the Truth Society? Can I then go out and play?"

"Why rush? There haven’t been any confirmed reports yet, which at least means the information probably doesn’t have major issues. But for the specific situation, we still have to wait."

"How long do we have to wait?"

"I don’t know."

"I’m so bored."

"What do you want to do?"

"Could you give me something to eat?" Bi Bi asked with a pitiful look, "Right now, besides eating, I can’t do anything else. After all, I’m just a head."