I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 271 (Patreon)

Chapter 271: "The Great Defeat That Shook the Royal City!"

"Lord Gade, are we just going to follow the Second Prince like this? Duke Rickman has already set off with his men to suppress those group of mine slaves. It's estimated that they will soon triumph."

A knight, several kilometers away from the battlefield, couldn't help but inquire when observing his lord, the Count, moving at a leisurely pace.

Conquering those rebellious mine slaves would be a significant achievement handed to them on a silver platter. Are they really going to concede?

"What can we do? We have only this handful of men. Can we really overpower them?" Count Gade sighed helplessly.

The Second Prince had only given him fifteen hundred men. With this number, they couldn't accomplish anything. He didn't even dare to get too close to the battlefield, fearing that the Duke might suddenly turn their way, wipe out their thousand men, and then blame the mine slaves for it.

Don't think this isn't possible. In matters concerning the throne, if there's a chance to eliminate opposition, they wouldn't hesitate!

Gade sighed deeply. He couldn't fathom what game the Second Prince was playing. Even outside the royal city, Hatar had assigned him an utterly absurd task...

Suddenly, everyone present felt a violent tremor beneath them. Soon after, intense gunfire erupted from a distance, audible even across several kilometers.

"Is the battle really this intense?" Gade was surprised. He then thought it might be the bishops using some powerful divine magic, and the outcome would likely be decided soon.

Just as Gade thought, a dense crowd emerged on the horizon in the far wilderness.

These must be the defeated mine slaves, right?

Thinking this, Gade drew his longsword from his waist. The knights and guards beside him also tightened their grip on their weapons, excitement written on their faces.

Unexpectedly, Duke Rickman had brought so many elites, yet they still couldn't completely wipe out those mine slaves.

But for them, it was a stroke of luck. Beheading a few mine slaves and bringing their heads back would justify their expedition and satisfy the higher-ups!

"Wait, that seems to be the Duke's army..." an observant soldier suddenly noticed something amiss.

Gade paused, then noticed that among this fleeing group, some were still wearing armor with the kingdom's emblem... These couldn't possibly be mine slaves!

Moreover, leading the charge was someone he knew well: Duke Selen of the kingdom!

Ten days ago, he had seen Selen, full of spirit, leading his troops alongside Duke Rickman for the expedition. However, this noble Duke now had none of his former aristocratic bearing. His face was covered in blood, clothes in tatters, looking utterly disheveled.

The soldiers following behind him looked even worse, nearly every one of them disheveled, their armor in shambles, shouting incessantly, "Hell... Hell has descended!" "The great Lord has abandoned us, it's divine punishment... This is divine punishment!"

"Duke Selen, what has happened?" Gade, horrified, hurriedly intercepted him and asked.

"Fire rain... Fire rain everywhere... The army is defeated... Count Johnson is dead, Duke Rickman is finished... It's the Archmage; this rebellion of the mine slaves is related to the Archmage..." Selen, upon seeing Gade, spoke with a deathly pale face, as if he had found a savior.

He had witnessed Duke Rickman fall from his horse; the situation was dire.

Listening to Selen's account, Gade finally understood the sequence of events. A terrifyingly powerful Archmage appeared on the battlefield, unleashing an immensely powerful magic that led to the army's defeat.

To single-handedly rout an entire army - Gade couldn't help but gasp at the sheer magnitude of such power.

"Quick, those demons might catch up any moment. Escort me back to the royal city; this must be reported immediately to His Majesty and the Church!" Selen tightly grabbed Gade's arm, urgently pleading.

"Don't be so hasty, Duke Selen. What about Bishop Nord? Are they behind?" Gade pulled Selen's hand off his arm and asked again.

Selen shook his head in terror. They seemed to have been targeted by that Archmage; the rain of fire had been relentlessly chasing them.

A high bishop had been hit in the head by a huge cannonball from an unknown source, blood splattering, and had lost his life instantly. Hence, they had to scatter and flee to have a slim chance of survival!

"If that's the case, then it's easy!" Gade's eyes flickered with a sense of regret. "I'm sorry, Duke Selen, but I'm afraid I can't escort you to the royal city. But well..."

"I can take you to meet the Duke!"

Upon hearing this, Selen's face changed abruptly, but Gade had already swung his longsword at his head, blood spraying instantly.

Selen's body collapsed limply from the horse, his face still carrying an expression of disbelief.

"Attack, kill them!" Count Gade raised his bloodied sword, pointing at the soldiers in uneven armor behind Selen, shouting loudly.

Those who had accompanied Gade to scout were his and Prince Hatar's private soldiers. They would execute even the most absurd orders without hesitation.

After a brief moment of confusion, a massacre began!

The soldiers who had been fleeing alongside Selen never anticipated that, having just escaped that hellish battlefield, they would once again face betrayal from their own kind.

Moreover, they had already discarded their heavy weapons in their desperate attempt to flee, rendering them defenseless. Fleeing was futile; even their fastest running couldn't match the speed of crossbows...

Gade wielded his longsword, harvesting one soldier after another. This was the secret order given to him by Prince Hatar: to leave these people here as much as possible, weakening the Church's and Prince Harold's forces.

Previously, he had thought it was pure fantasy - how could those mine slaves, with no strength or ability, contend against the kingdom's regular army, let alone stir up any commotion?

But now, reality showed him it was not just a commotion, but an avalanche!

...

After artillery fire, muskets, fire rain, and Gade's slaughter, finally, out of the fifteen thousand elite troops Rickman took to suppress the mine slaves, only twenty-odd cavalry, escorting Grand Bishop Nord, hurriedly fled back to the royal city...

Simultaneously, news of the massive defeat quickly spread throughout the entire royal city!

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