I Created Scientific Magic-Chapter 276 - 263: Reinforcements Descending from the Sky
Chapter 276: Chapter 263: Reinforcements Descending from the Sky
Duke Rickman led his great army for a brief respite within the castle walls.
Enraged, Joyce grabbed a few vassals and harshly interrogated them before realizing that his wealth had been distributed to the poor within the castle by Ryder.
Moreover, some had even followed the other side, fleeing before their arrival.
Indignant, Joyce cursed loudly, and immediately gathered all the poor vassals still lingering in his domain, ordering them to return all the wealth they had received and to pay an additional twenty silver coins as punishment. Those who couldn’t pay would suffer a lashing!
In the beginning, Joyce personally administered the punishment, whipping several vassals until their flesh was a bloody pulp. He finally caught his breath, satisfied, and then left the guards to carry out the task.
Some of the poor who had not abandoned their fields and houses, or who had no faith in Ryder and had not heeded his command to evade temporarily, were filled with regret, and their resentment towards Joyce deepened.
...
As for the nobles and rich merchants who had hidden in tunnels and secret rooms and avoided everything, they were overjoyed. They denounced Ryder’s thievery vehemently and even spontaneously assembled a private army of five hundred men, placing Joyce in command to eliminate those damned miners and reclaim their stolen treasures!
For Joyce, this was clearly a welcome surprise, as he had even considered conscripting more peasants to form a makeshift army of serf soldiers to boost his presence – at least to prevent himself from being completely without manpower and solely dependent on the Duke’s guards.
Now, it was far more convenient, and it also spared his own soldiers from carrying hoes and pickaxes into battle, which would be unbefitting of a noble’s dignity.
At night, the scouts he had sent out earlier returned one after another with reports. Several kilometers from the castle, they had spotted the miners, a large and scattered group estimated to number in the tens of thousands.
“It seems they haven’t run far!” Rickman took a breath of relief. His biggest concern was that these people would scatter and vanish without a trace, making it impossible to fulfill Prince Harro’s commission. That would be a real trouble.
“Continue tracking them, but do not alarm them!” Rickman instructed, with no intention of pursuing them under cover of darkness. Instead, he planned to rest here for the night.
The previous encounters had made Rickman aware of the cunning and deceit of the opposition. Pursuing them in the dead of night might lead to more headaches.
He aimed to intercept them on the plains ahead, where all underhanded schemes and stratagems would have nowhere to hide.
At this thought, Rickman shook his head and chuckled derisively, “These foolish miners – had they held firm in this castle, it might have taken much more time to subdue them.”
“They must have heard of your fearsome reputation, which is why they fled in panic. Even with the castle walls to rely on, they couldn’t compensate for their inner weakness!” Joyce flattered.
Rickman laughed heartily, and the surrounding nobles joined in the chorus, gathering to discuss at length and fantasize about the generous rewards Prince Harold would bestow upon their victory.
“Speaking of which, where is the second Prince? When I was in the capital, why didn’t I hear about him doing anything?”
Listening to the boasting of the crowd, Rickman suddenly remembered this matter and felt an unease in his heart. This matter related to the establishment of the heir apparent – the Prince should be extremely anxious.
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“I’ve heard that Hattar, the Prince, had some disagreements with a few Earls regarding the deployment of the troops. Maybe that’s why he’s been delaying,” a Baron mused in response.
“To think that at such a critical juncture, there is internal strife—that second Prince indeed is unfit to ascend the throne…” Rickman said mockingly, his anxiety completely dissipated.
There had already been reports from spies that an Earl supporting Hattar, with a vanguard not large in number, was trailing far behind them. It seemed they were reluctant to accept their situation, which is why scouts were sent to monitor their movements at all times.
“Let them witness with their own eyes how we crush those rebellious miners!” Rickman declared decisively, then raised his wine glass. “For our victory, and for King Harold!”
The others present also lifted their glasses, shouting in unison for His Majesty Harold!
…
Early the next day, when dawn was yet faint, Duke Rickman summoned his army and pursued them. To avoid letting these people escape, he even sent a cavalry squadron ahead to herd them to a suitable location.
Rickman had great ambitions; he intended not only to defeat the rebelling miners but also to annihilate them all in one fell swoop!
Such a resounding victory would be the best gift for the new King!
However, things did not always go as planned. Under the cavalry’s pursuit, Ryder led his people to a valley where they set up a defense instead of continuing to flee as Rickman had expected. The cavalry did not continue the chase due to the unfavorable terrain.
“If we had known we would be trapped here, we might as well have defended the castle. We might have had a chance of success,” Ham complained, now trapped in the valley with no means of escape.
“That fortress is ultimately Earl Joyce’s, and no one knows if he had any tricks up his sleeve. Being under siege from both inside and out would be even more troublesome,” Ryder explained, then smiled and said, “Besides, our waiting has not been in vain, has it? The reinforcements have already arrived, haven’t they?”
“Reinforcements? Where?” Ham asked, confused.
“Right there in the sky!” Ryder affirmed with certainty.
Ham and the others looked up into the sky blankly, but there was nothing.
Ryder hadn’t seen anything either, but he believed the reinforcements had arrived because the Wizard himself had told him so.
The next moment, the miners felt the ground shake violently beneath them, and then light surged within the empty valley, revealing a fleet of airships before everyone’s eyes.
Ham and the others stared dumbfounded at the exquisitely crafted vessels they found impossible to describe in their simple language. Each was more than twenty meters tall, and recalling Ryder’s claim that the reinforcements came from above, someone immediately cried out.
“These must be the creations of the gods! The gods have come to save us!”
To these miners, who had been driven to despair and had never witnessed magic, the airships that appeared suddenly in the valley seemed nothing short of divine intervention!
Suddenly, shouts filled the valley as many of the miners fell to their knees, worshiping these massive creatures that towered over houses.
