Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World-Chapter 666: The Loess Lands
Chapter 666: The Loess Lands
TL: Rui88
Watcher’s Fortress was not just a single, isolated structure.
Besides the main fortress stuck at the eastern exit of the Nerodan Corridor, many towns and villages were scattered behind it, in the eastern section of the Nerodan Corridor.
The existence of these towns and villages provided the legion with a degree of self-sustainability.
The entire fortress area could even be said to be the size of a small count’s territory.
Now, Watcher’s Fortress was facing a very serious crisis.
It was not from the front, although a tide of orc troops had surged there, the main fortress had never been conquered.
The real crisis came from the rear.
“Father in Heaven! You… you…”
Sir Elijah, the commander responsible for guarding the western side of the fortress area, was trembling all over.
It was not out of fear, but out of anger.
He stood with his back against the wall, his eyes seemingly about to spew fire.
“The Bradley family will be nailed to the pillar of shame in the kingdom’s history, to be judged by posterity.”
“The victor will not be judged!”
Standing opposite him was the Bradley family’s general, Gresham, looking at him with a cold smile.
Not long ago, the Bradley family’s army had arrived before the fortress guarded by Elijah, which was one of the entrances to the fortress area.
The other party claimed to be transporting a batch of supplies and reinforcements for the Watcher’s Legion.
Elijah naturally let them pass without hesitation. The front line was in desperate need of aid, and even his post had been drained of men, leaving only a few dozen.
But as soon as the Bradley family’s army entered, they immediately turned hostile. Relying on their superior numbers, they quickly took control of the entire fortress.
His poor subordinates were either killed or captured.
“Respected Sir Elijah, I will give you one last chance. Have you decided to pledge allegiance to the great Duke Bradley?”
“Pah!”
Elijah spat in the other party’s face.
“Well, that’s not very good behavior, and you’re still a nobleman!”
Gresham wiped his face, then waved his hand.
Squish!
Two long spears, one from the left and one from the right, pierced into the knight’s abdomen, pinning him to the wall.
“You sons of bitches…”
With his last breath, Elijah cursed:
“Ordo will send you all to hell!”
Gresham was expressionless.
“It’s not certain whether the kingdom will even exist!”
—
“Your Highness, ahead are the Loess Lands. We are about to enter the northeastern region of the kingdom.”
The scout in charge of reconnaissance ed to Catherine.
“I understand. We will rest a little longer and then continue our advance.”
Catherine sat on her horse, looking up, surrounded by many generals: Ofina, Klein, Lester, Demps…
She took a telescope from an attendant.
This tool was a gift from Paul. It could cleverly use lenses to refract light, thereby magnifying distant scenes.
Catherine had almost immediately fallen in love with this exquisite little gadget. For a general, its use was simply too great.
In fact, when she first came into contact with the telescope, she had thought it was some kind of magical artifact and had even repeatedly tested it with a Witch Detection Stone.
Catherine raised the telescope, and a scene completely different from the south came into her view.
It was a natural landscape of a thousand gullies and ravines, with fragmented terrain, deep soil layers, complex landforms, and not very lush vegetation. Large patches of yellow or dark red soil could be seen everywhere.
It was precisely because of the color of the soil here that it was called the Loess Lands.
Klein said, “After a little further, the Bradley family should come to meet us.”
Catherine nodded.
Half a month ago, she had led an army of five thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry from Crystal Shrine, rushing nonstop towards Watcher’s Fortress. Now they had finally completed more than half of the journey.
At this moment, a rush of hoofbeats came from the distance.
Ofina looked and recognized him. “It seems to be Bol, our messenger.”
The messenger galloped up to Catherine on his horse. He was also a knight.
“Your Highness, I saw the army from afar. I didn’t expect it to be you. To meet you on the road is a surprise. I thought I would have to go all the way to Nerodan to find you.”
Catherine recognized him, and a slight ripple stirred in her heart.
“Is there a reply from the Count?”
“Yes, this is Lord Grayman’s reply. Please take it.”
Bol took out an envelope and handed it to Catherine with both hands.
He praised excitedly, “As expected of the communication method called the ‘telegraph,’ it’s as fast as lightning. I sent your message in the morning that day, and by the afternoon, I had received a response from Lakeheart Town.”
What Bol was talking about was the flag signaling system from Northwest Bay.
When in Crystal Shrine, Eileen had repeatedly urged the king in his presence to build the signal stations from Northwest Bay all the way south to the royal capital, Crystal Shrine, to speed up communication between the two places and the various regions along the way.
Paul certainly had no objection to this proposal. Having an efficient communication line with the densely populated south would be of great benefit to the commercial development of Northwest Bay.
And King Rodney XVIII himself had a very strong interest in this so-called ‘telegraph’. In fact, he had witnessed the power of the ‘telegraph’ when he was in Northwest Bay before.
Considering that the connection with Northwest Bay would become more and more frequent, the king did not hesitate for long before making the decision.
The plan was for Alda to send people to Crystal Shrine, and both sides would build signal towers towards each other, one heading south and the other north, simultaneously.
The locations were also quickly chosen, passing through prosperous large towns along the way.
Of course, this could not be completed in a short time. So far, the two sides had not yet “connected,” but they could be used as they were built, and they were already in use on their respective sections.
After Catherine led the army to set out, considering that she and Paul were already engaged, she felt he should be aware of her movements, so she sent someone to the southernmost end of the northern section of the line to send Paul a telegram.
But the speed of the reply had greatly exceeded Catherine’s expectations.
She immediately opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.
There was not much content, only a few sentences.
Although the telegraph system was fast, it could not carry much information. The sender had to rack their brains to compress the message into a few words or even abbreviations, otherwise, the operators along the way might be exhausted.
Her fiancé’s reply did not even contain a greeting.
It only said that he would do his best to provide Catherine with assistance, including dispatching troops.
It also suggested that for the next communication, Catherine could send someone to Duke Ferdinand’s territory to deliver the message, which was the easternmost point of Northwest Bay. After several years of development, the signal station had been built there.
“This is my first correspondence with my future husband, and it’s in such a cold form.”
Catherine couldn’t help but feel a little regretful, but she still carefully folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.
She once again looked towards the yellow land in the northeast and flicked her horsewhip.
“Let’s continue forward!”
.
!
Chapter 666: The Loess Lands
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