Chapter 78: Special Treatment
Chapter 78: Special Treatment
In the year 1251 of the Starlight Calendar, during the month of Blazing Fire.
Lord Goldenrock stirred up a rebellion and issued a declaration of independence.
Immediately following, twelve powerful lords, including Lord Stormwind, Lord Winterfrost, Viscount Blackmarsh, and Viscount Feathered Serpent, responded and formed the Goldenrock Alliance.
The next day, the Goldenrock Alliance marched to subdue the noble territories within the Goldenrock Province that opposed the declaration of independence.
This included three barons and one viscount.
The war was about to ignite.
In the council hall of Flash City, Kye, Su Nan, three knights, and a host of other knights gathered to discuss how to face the Goldenrock Alliance.
"According to intelligence, Lord Goldenrock has already led his army to Montlight City, which is located near the border intersection of the Somman Province, the Purple Bamboo Province, and the Goldenrock Province. I suspect Lord Goldenrock intends to personally oversee the area to prevent a sudden attack from the Somman and Purple Bamboo Provinces."
A large table in the center of the hall displayed a military map of the Starlight Principality.
Bred was explaining the Goldenrock Alliance's strategic intentions to everyone present, pointing to the corresponding locations on the map with each sentence.
"Besides Lord Goldenrock, the remaining alliance forces have divided into four groups."
"Viscount Blackmarsh leads one group, tasked with attacking the Red Horn Territory."
"Viscount Feathered Serpent leads another group, tasked with attacking the Clear Heart Territory."
"Viscount Fangwolf leads another group, tasked with attacking the Steadfast Mountain Territory."
"Lord Stormwind and Lord Winterfrost have combined their forces to attack our Flash Territory."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the room involuntarily twitched their mouths and glanced at Su Nan.
The other three territories being attacked were each led by a viscount.
However, the Flash Territory was to be attacked by two earls!
And the Flash Territory was only a barony. This treatment was simply too special!
Everyone in the room knew that the Flash Territory received such obvious favor from the Goldenrock Alliance solely because of Su Nan's presence.
Perhaps in Lord Goldenrock's eyes, Su Nan alone was more troublesome than an entire viscount territory!
Faced with everyone's gazes, Su Nan remained calm, his face showing no emotion.
Kye cleared his throat and asked, "How many troops do Lord Stormwind and Lord Winterfrost have?"
"An initial estimate puts it at at least thirty thousand," Bred said solemnly.
Upon hearing this number, the other commanders furrowed their brows.
Although the Flash Territory had been continuously expanding its military capabilities and had the Dragon Blood Fruit and Lesser Dragon Blood Potion as their trump cards, their military strength had grown rapidly. However, as of now, excluding the militia, the truly combat-ready army numbered around eight thousand.
This level of military strength already surpassed most viscount territories, but it was still a bit strained to deal with two earls.
"Where are they now?" Kye asked again.
Bred glanced at the map and replied, "They will enter the Flash Territory in no more than ten days."
"From their route, it seems Lord Stormwind's destination is Firefly City, while Lord Winterfrost's destination is Chilin City. They likely want to stretch the battle line and disperse our forces."
Kye frowned in deep thought for a moment, then suddenly called out, "Jodan, Staley."
"Yes, my lord."
The two knights immediately stood up.
"I am assigning you three thousand troops. You will defend Chilin City and hold off Lord Winterfrost for at least two months!"
"Yes, my lord!" Jodan and Staley responded without hesitation.
Chilin City was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with steep terrain. Only the front was a relatively flat plain, making it easier to deploy troops and defend. It was a naturally defensible position.
With three thousand troops, they had a good chance of holding Chilin City for two months.
"I will personally lead the army to defend Firefly City."
Kye's voice was solemn.
Bred immediately understood Kye's meaning and hesitated, "My lord, are you planning to crush Lord Stormwind's army within two months? Isn't that too rushed?"
Kye shook his head.
He was well aware of the risks.
Jodan and Staley with three thousand troops holding off Lord Winterfrost for two months would already be a significant achievement.
If they couldn't crush Lord Stormwind's forces during this time, and Lord Winterfrost managed to breach Chilin City first, their situation would become dire, with enemies on both fronts.
Although the odds were heavily against them with five thousand troops facing over ten thousand, Kye wasn't without his trump cards.
First, there was the Blackrock Cavalry.
Thanks to the Dragon Blood Fruit, the Blackrock Cavalry had expanded to a force of five hundred.
While only about two-thirds were knights, their combat power was still formidable.
There was no other army in the Goldenrock Province as elite as the Blackrock Cavalry.
With the Blackrock Cavalry, Kye had the confidence to face Lord Stormwind's forces head-on.
Second, there was Su Nan.
Kye turned to Su Nan with a serious expression. "Su Nan, do you have any suggestions?"
Su Nan remained calm. "I need a batch of gems and a large amount of granite."
Everyone was taken aback, their faces showing confusion.
Kye, however, immediately understood, his eyes lighting up. "You want to craft stone golems?"
He had seen the stone golems in Su Nan's base, each with the combat power of a regular knight.
Though they were only low-level knights, their fearlessness and resistance to pain made them formidable on the battlefield, capable of taking on a hundred enemies at once.
With a hundred stone golems and the Blackrock Cavalry, Kye was confident they could crush Lord Stormwind's army.
Su Nan nodded slightly, confirming Kye's guess.
Due to the recent rapid expansion of the Blackrock Cavalry, black iron was already in short supply.
This forced Su Nan to pause the production of the castrated version of the steel golems, leaving no spare steel golems for the war.
It's worth noting that Su Nan had tried using gemstone cores for synthesis, but the final product couldn't replace the soul crystals.
After all, the most crucial aspect of soul crystals was the soul energy they contained.
Gemstone cores, lacking soul energy, couldn't produce it no matter how much synthesis was done.
However, while the castrated version of the steel golems was out of the question, stone golems were still viable.
The materials for stone golems, including gems, granite, and silver, could be gathered in large quantities in a short time.
As for the financial aspect, while the current treasury was tight, there were solutions.
They could pre-emptively withdraw the profits from selling potions from the Firefox Trade Guild.
Muzhuo would surely agree to their request, unless he was willing to see the Flash Territory fall and the potion trade route come to a halt.
"Very well!" Kye's spirits lifted. "With the stone golems, we will definitely win this battle!"
The other knights, now informed by Jodan about the combat power of the stone golems, looked excited.
Indeed, Lord Su Nan was full of impressive tricks, one after another!
With Lord Su Nan on their side, they had no fear of facing the combined forces of two earls.
"Have the materials transported to Firefly City. I'll bring the mana crystal forge there and craft the golems directly."
Su Nan smiled. "We need to give our long-distance 'guests' a surprise."
Thank you to the reader 20240725212327343 for the support!
(End of Chapter)
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