Free Web NovelEarly morning in the Grey Rock Province carried a damp chill.
The heavy rain was relentless, raindrops slamming against the marching carriage with a dull, rhythmic thud, sounding like someone constantly beating a tempo.
The carriage moved slowly along the muddy official road, the wheels rolling through puddles as a slight bumping sensation passed through it time and again.
Louis woke up amidst this familiar rocking.
He didn't sit up immediately; he simply opened his eyes and gave a light wave of his right hand in the air.
"Hum—"
A faint hum spread through the narrow carriage.
A translucent, pale blue light screen, like a thin curtain being drawn open, floated quietly in the air.
【Daily Intelligence Update Complete】
【1: Shock in the Imperial Capital. Second Prince Kalian has captured Yuchen Hall and crowned himself Emperor.】
Louis's gaze lingered on this line for only a moment: "He's even more impatient than I expected. To think he didn't name himself Regent, but crowned himself Emperor instead. How interesting..."
There wasn't much of a stir in his heart; he simply gave a calm judgment.
Kalian had run out of patience after all.
He hadn't taken the path of the Regency, hadn't tried to sway the attitudes of the various nobles, and hadn't attempted to maintain that crumbling layer of decorum.
He had skipped all the intermediate steps and placed the crown directly on his own head.
This was fine; at least for him, it wasn't bad news.
If the Empire still had a Regent with real power in his hands, the situation would be more troublesome instead.
It would have become a rope binding direct action.
"As expected," Louis whispered to himself. "A mad Emperor and a powerful minister in command of the army. The waters of the Imperial Capital are now completely muddied, giving my subsequent actions even more legitimacy."
Then he shifted his gaze downward.
【2: Kyle Remont has burned dozens of northern villages and cities, driving tens of thousands of refugees to block the main road of Blackstone Canyon, and has deployed Disciplinary Squads in the rear, intending to use civilian flesh to delay the mechanized advance of the Northern Army.】
The blue light of the screen reflected in his eyes, but it failed to stir any emotional ripples.
"Kyle..."
Louis's fingers lightly tapped the armrest of the carriage, producing a low and clear "tap, tap" sound.
Burning villages, driving people, blocking roads, using hunger and fear to force crowds to pile forward, and then using Disciplinary Squads to block the path of retreat.
This method was truly beastly.
Moreover, while it appeared cruel on the surface, it was actually a form of laziness—using human lives as a substitute for thought and strategy.
"Using people like mud," Louis's gaze turned slightly colder. "You certainly inherited that bone-deep arrogance from your father, along with that touch of beastliness."
If it were any other general facing this situation, they would have almost no choice.
Retreating would mean handing over the initiative.
Advancing by force would mean trampling over thousands of civilians; while reputation was secondary, the most important thing was that Louis himself could never bring himself to do it regardless.
This was a death trap Kyle had prepared for him.
Unfortunately, this death trap was for an opponent who couldn't see the whole picture. For Louis... Louis continued to look down.
【3: Five tons of Blackfire Magic Bombs have been buried in the rock walls on both sides of Blackstone Canyon. Due to the heavy rain causing a drop in the alchemy ignition rate, they have been forced to switch to physical fuse detonation. All fuses converge at Eagle Beak Rock on the left side of the cliff top, with five Death-Sworn Knights responsible for manual switching.】
His gaze stopped on this piece of intelligence, and then the corner of his mouth twitched very slightly.
Because of the heavy rain, the failure of alchemy and the switch to physical fuses meant that all detonation points were concentrated in one location.
"It might be a good idea for someone else, but unfortunately, you've run into me," Louis smiled and reached a conclusion in his heart.
【4: Because the refugee tide has completely blocked the main road, Kyle's logistics convoy cannot retreat to Grey Rock Fortress. Three hundred tons of winter military grain have been forced to be temporarily unloaded at Abandoned Mine No. 3 on the left side of the canyon entrance to serve as rations for the Disciplinary Squads, with only simple camouflage and protection measures.】
Louis's gaze finally became focused. This batch of grain might be a vital piece of intelligence.
The light screen trembled slightly in the air before slowly fading away, as if it had never appeared.
Louis closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat, quickly deconstructing and reorganizing the four pieces of intelligence in his mind.
A complete thread quickly emerged. First, allowing the refugees to be driven into the canyon.
The narrow terrain, the mud after the heavy rain, tens of thousands of people huddled together—they already couldn't move forward, and it was even more impossible to retreat.
They would become the most natural obstructions, completely blocking the entire passage.
Then came the wait.
Waiting for him to be forced to stop his advance, waiting for the supply convoy to be forced to stretch its battle lines, waiting for the heavy units to fall into the chaos of mud mixed with crowds. freēwēbnovel.com
Finally, pressing that detonator.
Five tons of black powder falling simultaneously from the rock walls on both sides, with boulders and flames sealing the path ahead.
Those crushed to death wouldn't just be refugees.
There were also the knights and armies of the North forced to the front lines, and even those Steam Tanks that hadn't fully deployed. Once caught in the canyon, they would be no different in the face of rockfalls and fire.
A defense that appeared to be for stopping the enemy was, in fact, using civilians and his own disciplinary knights to trade for a desperate attempt at annihilation.
Louis gave his evaluation in his heart.
Stupid and malicious.
The refugees would be blocked in the canyon because of hunger and also because of fear.
The fear came from the explosives on the cliffs and the disciplinary knights behind them.
And hunger... Louis's thoughts stopped here.
Those three hundred tons of winter military grain were buried not far from the canyon entrance.
Right under the eyes of those people who had been starved for several days.
As long as that fear loosened even slightly and was briefly filled by hunger, the situation would fall into complete chaos.
Louis slowly opened his eyes.
Outside the carriage, the heavy rain was still pouring, and Grey Rock Fortress in the distance was vaguely visible through the curtain of rain.
A bold yet precise plan quickly took shape in his mind. freeweɓnøvel.com
It wasn't a gamble, nor did it require a miracle.
Just one cut, following the crack Kyle had left himself, cutting down steadily.
He turned his head and looked at the guard knight who always maintained a moderate distance beside the carriage: "Weil."
Weil immediately spurred his horse closer and lowered his head in response: "My Lord."
"Have Thomas come over," Louis said in a calm tone. "Now."
Weil didn't ask further; he simply gave a short nod and then turned his horse around, galloping toward the rear of the troop through the rain... The gale wrapped around pea-sized raindrops, slamming violently against the rock wall.
Rainwater flowed down the cracks in the stone like out-of-control streams, drenching the entire precipice until it was cold and slick.
Visibility was compressed to less than five meters, and thunder rolled and echoed through the canyon, swallowing all small sounds in its roar.
Thomas lay flat against the rock wall, his fingertips death-gripping a protruding stone ledge.
Rainwater flowed along the edge of his goggles into his eye sockets, only to be blinked away. He didn't look up, instead staying close to the rock surface and slowly adjusting his breathing, letting his heartbeat return to a controllable rhythm.
This kind of weather actually put him at ease.
The Lord's intelligence never failed, and the heavy rain before him was confirming those calm judgments one by one.
In this humidity, a precision alchemy fuse was like a damp match.
Forget stable ignition; even a reaction was hard to guarantee.
If Kyle truly wanted to detonate those five tons of Blackfire Magic Bombs, the only way was to return to the most primitive means—manpower, rope, and iron.
At this thought, the corner of Thomas's mouth almost curled into an untimely arc, but he quickly suppressed it.
Thomas was not alone on this mission.
The twenty-odd figures climbing along this precipice all belonged to the White Night Knights.
This was a special knight squad personally established by Lord Louis.
They had no official designation and were not part of any regular Knight Regiment.
Their very existence was for the execution of missions that could not fail.
Every member was the most elite, repeatedly screened from the several Knight Regiments under the Red Tide, with a minimum strength of a Extraordinary Knight or above.
Thomas was the captain of this squad.
Compared to explosive power and battle qi intensity, he was better at judging timing, deconstructing situations, and ensuring a mission's success in the shortest possible time.
At this moment, they were scattered across the rock wall with no formation to speak of, yet they maintained their distance from one another.
The soft armor on their bodies was soaked through, clinging to them; all metal buckles were wrapped in leather, and even their breathing was deliberately suppressed.
There was no release of battle qi, for at this distance, even a sliver of unnecessary fluctuation could be caught like a spark.
The White Night squad climbed upward along that long-abandoned herb-gatherer's mountain path.
That trail, originally intended only for the secret use of scrawny mountain folk, was known to few and had now almost vanished under the wash of the heavy rain.
Yet the White Night Knights seemed to have memorized every foothold; every hand raise and every foot placement was an instinctive reaction after countless drills.
They were like a group of geckos clinging to the precipice.
After an unknown amount of time, the slope of the rock wall finally leveled out.
Thomas raised his hand in a signal, and everyone stopped simultaneously.
He first peered out with half his body, rolled over the cliff top, and immediately lowered his center of gravity, pressing himself flat against the cold, wet rock surface.
The sound of rain was sharper here, yet also more chaotic.
He looked up, and in the distance, the sentry fortress established by Kyle was brightly lit.
But their target was not there; Thomas slowly shifted his gaze to the left.
In the darkness a kilometer away, a giant rock protruding outward like the curved beak of a bird of prey was firmly embedded in the cliff edge—that was Eagle Beak Rock.
Below the rock, a faint and steady alchemical light was being cut into intermittent spots by the curtain of rain.
Thomas narrowed his eyes, lying even lower to make his vision clearer.
It was a heavy black iron winch, firmly fixed to a rock base.
The winch's structure was crude and sturdy, with several thick steel cables wound around the axle, their surfaces coated in grease; rainwater slid down the cables but could not penetrate them.
These steel ropes were like a spiderweb spreading downward, disappearing into the rock crevices below the cliff.
Thomas didn't need to look to know what was at the end of them.
Five tons of Blackfire Magic Bombs.
Guarding the winch were five Gray Rock Death-Sworn soldiers.
They were positioned evenly, without conversation or unnecessary movement.
Each was like a stone statue nailed to the spot, only slightly adjusting their center of gravity when necessary to resist the gale.
Not Extraordinary Knights, Thomas quickly judged in his heart.
Indeed, this kind of work didn't require strength, only the need to press down at the last moment.
Having a Extraordinary Knight do the detonation would indeed be too wasteful.
His gaze finally landed on one of them.
That knight stood right beside the winch, his right hand already gripping the safety pin tightly, yet steady without a hint of trembling.
As soon as he pressed down, the winch would release, the hammer would fall, the primer would be struck, and the entire canyon would be blown into the sky.
Thomas took a slow breath.
Rainwater dripped from his chin, hitting the rock and being instantly swallowed by the sound of the wind.
He raised his hand and gave a short, clear gesture behind him.
The movement of the White Night squad quietly stalled at this moment.
Everyone was waiting for his next command.
Following that, Thomas raised his hand and made several short, clear gestures in the rain curtain.
Ignore the others; prioritize the winch operator.
It must be a killing blow; he cannot be given even half a second's chance to press the safety pin.
The gestures flashed and vanished in the darkness, yet were accurately captured by every White Night knight.
Twenty-odd figures quickly responded with hand signals and quietly adjusted their angles from their positions, each locking onto a target.
Their breathing was suppressed to the minimum, battle qi still dormant within their bodies without a hint of leakage, completely merging with the rainy night, leaving only calm and focused eyes.
Just then, the dark clouds in the sky rolled violently.
A blinding flash of lightning tore through the night sky, illuminating Eagle Beak Rock and the black iron winch in a pale light.
Immediately after, thunder rolled and gathered deep within the cloud layer.
Thomas knew the time had come and counted down in his heart.
Three, two, one.
"BOOM—!!!" A thunderclap exploded over the canyon.
The moment the thunder swallowed everything, Thomas moved.
Battle qi suddenly surged, and his figure turned into a pale blue afterimage, using the cover of the thunder to mask the explosive sound of muddy water being crushed underfoot as he instantly crossed a distance of dozens of meters.
The death-sworn soldier holding the winch seemed to notice something in the lightning flash and instinctively turned his head.
But his reaction was a beat too slow after all.
"Thud."
A dagger thrust upward, directly piercing his palm and pinning the hand °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° gripping the safety pin firmly to the winch's wooden handle.
Before the scream could escape, another cold light swept past.
The blade cut through the rain curtain, accurately slicing across the throat.
Blood was quickly washed away by the heavy rain as the knight's body leaned forward, crashing heavily against the winch, never to make another sound.
Almost at the same time, the other four Gray Rock Death-Sworn soldiers were also closed in upon.
Blade light flashed and vanished in the lightning and rain curtain.
No roars, no collisions.
Four bodies fell one after another in the heavy rain, sliding softly onto the rock ground before they could even issue a warning.
These Elite Knights were no match for Extraordinary Knights after all; they were all dealt with in a single encounter.
The crisis was resolved.
Thomas raised his foot, kicking the corpse in front of the winch aside, his gaze landing on the several taut steel cables.
This was Kyle's strongest trump card and his most insidious plot.
He took an alchemical hydraulic cutter from his waist and clamped the jaws onto the guide rope.
"Snap." The first steel cable snapped at the touch.
"Snap." The second one followed.
"Snap." The third one.
Losing tension, the steel cables whipped up and then quickly fell, like several severed dead snakes, retreating into the darkness below the cliff.
The five tons of Blackfire Magic Bombs, capable of destroying everything, had completely become duds at this moment.
Thomas put away his tools and looked up at the sky.
The thunderstorm had not yet ceased.
Thomas stood at the edge of Eagle Beak Rock, letting the heavy rain wash away the blood and grime from his armor as he looked down into the pitch-black canyon below.
There, tens of thousands of refugees were huddled in the narrow passage, shivering in hunger and fear.
And further away, Kyle was waiting with great anticipation to press a... button that no longer existed.
