The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Chapter 111 Black Iron City

Black Iron City is located behind the Pétain Line and is mainly responsible for communication and resource allocation between the Pétain Line and the northern region.

Because of the construction of the Pétain Line, Black Iron City, which was originally just a relatively convenient transportation hub, has now become an important military town.

If the Pétain Line is a cluster of fortresses, then Black Iron City is a standalone fortress.

"How boring. There are no rebels on the main road."

General Keith of Black Iron City stood atop the city wall, watching the merchants coming and going below.

That's right. Although it is an important military fortress, it only began to become a fortress this winter. Before that, Black Iron City was just a simple commercial city.

And now they are even receiving business guests.

"Is it really okay to keep the city gates open? Aren't we at war?"

A soldier stood nervously beside Keith, watching the merchants below the stage.

Strictly speaking, the state of war has never stopped; it's just that Lind and Doug have chosen to rest and recuperate this winter.

"Do you think the rebels can bypass Pétain's lines and attack us directly?"

Keith shrugged; no one knew the defenses of Pétain Fortress better than him.

"Besides, making money isn't shameful. If you don't make money, are you really going to wait for the governor to pay your soldiers?"

The soldiers were convinced by this very practical reason.

Doug's military pay was generally paid in half in the first year and half in arrears in the second year, but there was no guarantee of receiving it in the third year. This was for relatively important troops; the rest were basically left to find their own way.

The simplest way is for the army to plunder, but in the current state of the North, there's really nothing left to squeeze out; the people have absolutely nothing.

Looking at the distant mountains, a soldier suddenly asked, "General, what if the enemy comes down from the Giant God Mountains and crosses the defense line?"

"That's why I'm the general and you're just a soldier. Do you think I can't figure out something this simple? How many of them are coming down from the mountains? How much supplies can they bring? As long as we stay indoors, won't the rebels become an isolated force? What are we afraid of if it's just an isolated force?"

"I see, General, you are brilliant. So, shall we close the city gates now?"

The soldier nodded repeatedly, then asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"What? Why are you closing down? I still have business to do."

"But the rebels have already launched their attack!"

The soldier pointed in the direction of the distant mountains.

"Holy crap, close the door! Close the door now!"

Amidst the chaos, the gates of Black Iron City were tightly shut.

Although Keith likes to boast in front of others, he has never actually fought a single battle. He got to his position entirely because his family helped him fabricate his experiences and spent money.

After all, the garrison of Black Iron City is a lucrative position. Although it seems dangerous, it is actually protected by the Pétain Line in front and reinforcements behind. If the enemy really reaches Black Iron City, it means that the Pétain Line has collapsed, and Black Iron City is no longer of any significance and there is no need to defend it anymore.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Black Iron City was perfectly safe, but now an unexpected event has occurred.

However, Keith wasn't actually that panicked. After all, all he had to do was close the gate. Just as he had analyzed when he was bragging to the soldiers, the number of rebel troops coming down from the Giant God Mountains couldn't be that many, and they couldn't even carry much baggage.

Moreover, although Black Iron City was only converted into a fortress this winter, it is fully equipped, including a magical barrier that can defend against the enemy's strange catapults.

It can be said that as long as there is no traitor within the city, Black Iron City will be as impregnable as the Pétain Line.

With trepidation, Keith stroked the musket in his hand. It was a gift from Governor Doug and the main weapon rumored to be used by the rebels. It was indeed very powerful and useful, but it was of no help in sieges. It was only needed to defend against the enemy's strange catapult that could explode.

As the rebel army approached in the distance, Keith shouted, "Bring up the professionals who power the barrier! Don't let anyone near the city gate except our soldiers!"

It must be said that Keith's choice was very wise. After all, although Keith had never fought in a war, he was afraid of dying.

In this era, unless the opposing side has far more professionals than the defending side, it is extremely difficult to attack a city, especially since these rebel armies do not seem to number in large numbers.

When the North Wind Bear banner, fluttering in the cold wind, arrived at the city walls, Keith finally got a clear look at the enemy's formation.

Rather than a siege force, they resembled a small raiding party, and presumably for a rapid advance, they were all wearing cloth armor and carrying backpacks.

Keith wasn't mistaken; it was indeed cloth armor. Even the enemy leader didn't have a decent set of plate armor, just some iron plates on top of the cloth armor.

In an instant, Keith felt that the enemy army might really be as Governor Doug had said: severely corrupt, with soldiers eating tree bark every day, so naturally they could only wear the weakest type of armor: cloth armor.

Governor Doug described the methods of corruption so vividly that he even went so far as to recount them as if he had witnessed them firsthand or even personally carried them out, making it impossible not to believe him.

On the city wall, archers and soldiers with muskets immediately began firing frantically at the rebel army.

A group of rebel soldiers, shields in hand, were moving down the city wall. Keith seized the opportunity, drew his musket, and fired a shot through the gaps between the shield-bearing soldiers. Then Keith witnessed a scene that left everyone speechless.

The bullet bounced off.

"Damn, it's a fully enchanted cloth armor!"

Keith immediately cursed.

It wasn't some low-level enchantment, but a truly specialized one. Keith believed that this musket, specially designed by an alchemist and maintained daily, would at least cause pain to the opponent from the impact if it hit them at this distance, even against plate armor.

The problem now is that we have failed to penetrate the enemy's cloth armor.

Even Keith's musket couldn't break through the defenses, let alone anyone else.

At this moment, the spellcasters finally arrived at the city wall.

After chanting, several fireballs slammed into the enemy's shields. Seeing the enemy soldiers being blasted back by the fireballs and then quickly dragged back by their allies, Keith thought to himself that magic was indeed very useful.

My lord, times have not changed.

But Keith quickly realized something was wrong. After the spellcasters cast several spells, the other side drew a clear line on the ground. Obviously, the other side had just been calculating the maximum attack range of Keith's side.

Furthermore, the previously injured soldiers were given various medicines right under Keith's nose and immediately became energetic again.

He even gave the middle finger to the spellcasters on the city wall.

Well, the drugs produced by the rebels are selling well throughout the North, and even Keith's troops have drugs produced by them. How could they possibly be short of money and drugs?

It doesn't matter, as long as the reinforcements launch their attack, everything will be fine.

As Keith looked at the maximum attack range of Black Iron City that the other side had defined, an ominous premonition rose in his heart.

Soon, one of the opposing men, who looked like an alchemist, began assembling something behind the drawn lines with the help of several soldiers. Judging from the basic shape, it seemed to be the strange catapult owned by the rebels mentioned in the intelligence report, a thing called a cannon.

Seeing this, Keith finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had been wondering what it was all about. Didn't the other side have anything new to offer? Black Iron City had spent a fortune installing a magical barrier to defend against this thing called a cannon. With so few people on the other side, and having come all this way, how much ammunition could they possibly have brought?

It's possible that there's no need to use subsequent magic stones to power the magic barrier; the professionals alone could completely block the opponent's attack.

Thinking of this, Keith also popped out from the city wall and gave the rebels below the middle finger.