chsdbacks #316 - No help
#316 - No help
“……So, I believe Ansenburg will be safe and sound. At least it can hold out until the Winter Solstice!”
Mitternich shook his head, helplessly putting down the letter in his hand.
“He still likes to exaggerate. Just watch, he'll be honest once the intensity picks up in a month.” Carter clearly knew the city defense officer well and spoke with sarcasm.
After listening to Mitternich finish reading the letter, Catherine took off her crystal glasses and leaned back in the wicker chair, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Inside the study of Red Fort, the headquarters of the Megedty Merchant Guild in Rapid Falls City, the three people sitting were still the three high-level executives of the Megedty Merchant Guild.
Originally, there should have been four high-level executives, but Cici was left in Jeanne d'Arc Fort by Horn as a plenipotentiary ambassador.
The hot wind, mixed with the moisture of the Nao'an River, blew in from the arched windows, making it so hot that people couldn't open their eyes.
According to the structure of Red Fort, Catherine's study on the top floor should have been as hot as a sauna.
However, at this moment, although the hot wind swirled back and forth in the study, there was still a chill that lingered.
The source of this chill was the large block of ice placed in the center of the room, and the pale blue iron skull standing on the ice.
Strands of cold air swirled out from the eye sockets of the skull, scattering around.
Opening her eyes, Catherine picked up a handkerchief and wiped her glasses: “How long do you think he can last?”
“Three weeks,” Mitternich replied immediately.
Carter, on the other hand, thought for a few seconds: “I think four to six weeks is the limit. By then, even if we don't give the order, they will all escape by boat.”
“Do we need to request support from the Salvation Army in Jeanne d'Arc Fort?” Catherine's eyes were burning.
“Request support from Jeanne d'Arc Fort? I don't think there's any need for that, right?” Carter rubbed his temples. “It's not that point yet.”
“Why?”
“We haven't officially fought the Edict League yet. We currently have enough troops and supplies.
If they rush over rashly, it will only increase the pressure on logistics and make the Miguo more expensive.
Besides, we asked them to come before, but they didn't, saying the casualties were too heavy, and they even detained Cici.
Now that the roads and checkpoints are all blocked, where are they going to come from?”
Catherine could understand Carter's little complaint.
When he invited Horn to Rapid Falls City to discuss important matters, he was prepared to bow his head to Horn and then let bygones be bygones.
Gifts, new alliance books, banquets, were all prepared.
But Horn said he was going to suppress bandits and wouldn't come.
He was indeed busy with affairs, but in Carter's view, it was like offering a warm face to a cold backside.
In addition, after Andar returned, he spread the word everywhere that the Salvation Army was unreasonable and incompetent, and Horn was arrogant and cold-blooded.
For various reasons, the Black Knights, from top to bottom, didn't like the Salvation Army very much.
In addition to the previous grudges, Carter had a fire in his heart.
If you don't like me, I don't like you either!
He insisted on fighting a beautiful battle to show Horn that he wasn't the only one who could defeat the Edict League!
“Mitternich, what's your opinion?” Catherine turned her attention to Mitternich.
Mitternich pulled his face away from the frost-spraying skull and stood up: “I have no opinion on this, but the citizens may not like it.”
Carter then said: “Putting aside everything else, that fake Pope's crackdown on usury is quite to my taste.”
Catherine put her glasses back on, lowered her head to sort out the letters and notes in her hand.
As the city with the largest number of merchants in the Qianhe Valley, the citizens were quite afraid of Horn's rectification behavior.
Horn hanged citizen merchants for two main reasons: “helping the devil” and “hoarding goods for profit”.
These two things, as long as a merchant was involved, they must have done it more or less. They always had to deal with nobles, and they always had to buy and sell.
He also banned usury, so how could the lenders survive?
“Can we rely on ourselves to withstand the offensive from the Nimble Knights?” Catherine sat up straight and asked the two decision-makers.
Carter and Mitternich looked at each other, and Mitternich took the lead in speaking: “Currently, the number of our Red Dragon Breath and Green Dragon Breath is basically enough.
Including the Black Serpent Bay mercenaries and the Kush Knights of Lower Ruifu County, there are 6,000 people.
We also have the Black Serpent Bay's hundred-man mage group. With them, we can still do a defensive counterattack.”
Carter then added: “In early August, the second batch of the Black Serpent Bay's Secret Society Allied Forces will arrive. As long as Hasuta launches an attack, everything will be fine.”
“Ansenburg can stop them for a month, and the small castles along the way can probably stop them for two weeks. Can't we hold out for a month ourselves?” Mitternich said with a smile.
Catherine wiped the sweat from her chest with a handkerchief. She seemed to recall something that gave her a headache, and rubbed her temples and asked:
“Have the wizards of Black Serpent Bay been behaving themselves recently?”
“Behaving themselves? What are you talking about.” Carter immediately complained, “This group of people is too noisy.”
It was true that the wizards of Black Serpent Bay were noisy.
As the sheriff, Carter had recently received several bizarre crimes committed by the Black Serpent Bay wizards.
On the first day, they urinated in front of the night watchmen on the main street where public urination was prohibited.
After being warned, they fought with the guards while urinating and won, and left triumphantly.
They were arrested and imprisoned. After three days of hard labor, they passed by the church on their way out of prison, stuck two grape seeds on the chest of the statue of the Holy Lord, and used pink paint to draw the outline.
If you say they are bad, they carry food and dinars every day to help refugees and laborers.
If you say they are good, the food and dinars they send out are robbed.
Every day, almost every day, seven or eight small shop owners and craftsmen came to the door with bruised noses and swollen faces.
“The Black Serpent Bay people are like this.” Mitternich helplessly touched the frost-spraying skull. “Whether it's the Green Dragon Breath or the Red Dragon Breath, we can't do without them. Besides watching them more, I really can't think of any other way.”
“Anyway, they confess their guilt and accept punishment, and they haven't done anything too outrageous.” Catherine sighed, “So we've decided not to ask for help, right?”
“The peasant rebels in various places are holding up the banner of the Holy Grandson. If we let them come to rescue us, will we still have a say? By then, they will only know the Holy Grandson and not you.”
Mitternich's voice was not loud, but it was a final decision.
After thinking for a moment, Catherine decided to deal with it independently first.
It's not necessary for the Salvation Army to defeat the Edict League, right?
Catherine had a faint worry in her heart. There were still many extraordinary knights in Langsand County, and the Salvation Army's rear was already unstable.
If she invited them, it would be a real loss if she lost Jeanne d'Arc Fort, which she had finally taken down.
“Are there any signs of a counterattack from the Iber Knights?”
“Our five astrologers have performed divination on Jinhe Township and Jeanne d'Arc Fort. Jinhe Township is shielded by the church's cross, but Jeanne d'Arc Fort is the Reversed Death.”
“So?”
“So I think, as long as they don't mess around, they can still withstand the Iber Knights' attack, and maybe even push back a few miles.”
“That's good.” Catherine nodded, “Then it's settled, we'll take down this offensive ourselves.
As for Jeanne d'Arc Fort, let's send some breastplates and alchemy weapons…”
“Eh!” Mitternich's eyes suddenly lit up, “Isn't Jeanne d'Arc Fort always saying they lack wizards? Why don't we send them a few troublemakers who are locked up in our prison.”
“Won't it affect the production of Dragon Breath?”
“It's just a few people, it doesn't matter.”