NOVPUBChapter 194: Chapter 193: Siege
Chapter 194 -193: Siege
Both of them were clear on one piece of intelligence: deep within the mine, there was some eerie entity hidden away that Gaotian Mining Company had been trying to excavate.
“Could this also be a part of the Heretical Cult’s plan?” Ailuodi pondered, “The infection effect of that thing is indeed exaggerated, but its range of action is less than a few dozen meters. And most of the Miners’ Brotherhood have been in close contact with it, even Luowei Siya has held out for so long; in a sense, it’s not as terrifying as the Black Death.”
Chaoyang turned his head to look at Leisk, “Since you can feel the extent of the Evil God’s influence on the present world, have you been to the underground of Huiqiu Mine?”
“Underground? You mean those mineshafts that go hundreds of meters deep into the earth?” The other party shook his head, “There are indeed many wrongful deaths down there, but overall, nothing unusual, and I haven’t ventured further.” He paused for a moment, seemingly catching on to Chaoyang’s concern, “Is there something fishy going on down there?”
“It’s a long story,” Chaoyang connected directly to Luowei Siya’s consciousness, ‘It’s me, do you know of any secret passages that lead to the special mining area that Gaotian Company has sealed off?’
‘Mr. Zhao! You can actually speak to me directly?’ Luowei Siya sounded quite surprised.
He had never used this ability before in order to lessen Luowei Siya’s unfamiliarity with her new body. But now, with the situation being urgent, he could not afford to care too much, ‘Those who have signed a contract with the Paradise Master can sense each other, and your body is even more special, allowing direct conversation with me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to convey the information about going into hibernation early to you.’
‘So that’s how it is.’ Luowei Siya adapted quickly, not asking why and directly replied, ‘Such secret passages do exist, but they require jumping between several abandoned tunnels. It’s hard to explain verbally, let me come along.’
‘Where are you now? No… I already know.’ Through her perspective, Chaoyang saw the familiar Yeni Temple, ‘I will get Mr. Xue to send you to the outskirts, to meet with Zhang Qiang and the others. They should be on their way to Huiqiu Mine by now.’
‘No problem,’ Luowei Siya replied cheerfully.
‘Also, don’t let Haiqi follow you. You can change bodies, but she cannot.’
‘Even if you didn’t mention it, I wouldn’t have let her go to such a dangerous place. But I really didn’t misjudge you, Mr. Zhao, you are indeed a gentle person.’
After cutting off the communication, Chaoyang said to the other two, “Let’s go as well. We can discuss the secrets in the mine shaft while on the way.”
…
To the northeast of Magnificent Castle, outside Huiqiu Mine.
The Guard Squad of the city was gradually arriving on the periphery of the minefield, and the soft blue glow of several hundred spiritual lanterns were like moving stars, carving out a narrow corridor in this silent foggy area.
After a night’s rest, the morale of the remaining troops had recovered quite a bit. Although it was still not up to normal times, they were capable enough to surround and suppress a mining company. Especially after hearing that many nobles and businessmen who had colluded with the Heretical Cult were hiding inside, the soldiers’ enthusiasm significantly increased.
Due to Shandela’s injuries not yet being recovered, the position of commander for this attack fell upon Woody’s shoulders. It was the first time he commanded nearly a thousand people in battle, and he was undeniably exhilarated.
“Report to the commander, the scouts have found that the railway track ahead has been blown up, and there’s no chance of repairing it any time soon!” At that moment, a light cavalryman galloped up to him, saluted, and then reported.
“Blown up?” Woody raised his eyebrows and looked ahead. The view was still shrouded in haze. At this distance, neither the minefield nor the railway tracks were visible, “How far is the break from the entrance of the minefield?”
“Less than a hundred meters!”
This meant that the cultists had practically dismantled the railway at their doorstep.
They probably didn’t want the Guard Squad to enter the minefield so easily… he thought, but the distance was too close; artillery could easily cover the entire mining area, and anyone with a bit of military knowledge wouldn’t place an obstacle here. If it were him, he would have started sabotaging the railway at least a thousand meters away.
This also indicated that the enemy was somewhat desperate.
“Notify the train to slow down and stop at the break,” Woody quickly ordered. “Have the artillery team ready for on-site loading and unloading of the cannons.”
“Yes.”
The conscripted train was carrying four six-inch naval guns. Although they could follow the troops into battle after being fitted with wheels and spade devices, the setup was still quite troublesome. If a shooting position could be determined in advance, this process could be significantly shortened.
As orders were efficiently carried out, the city guards quickly established an offensive line outside Huiqiu Mine. When the train arrived, its giant Moonlight Stone headlight immediately became the perfect searchlight, not only illuminating the troops themselves but also outlining the contours of the mine some two hundred meters away.
At this moment, the gathering of over eight hundred people was not a large number, but it was definitely considered a large force in Magnificent Castle. With the cannons backing them, even Black Steel Security would not be able to confront them head-on.
What surprised Woody, however, was seeing the mine’s gate tightly shut, with no one coming over to inquire about the situation. The mine was also quite silent, as if it had completely stopped working.
Earlier, reconnaissance riders had brought him news that indeed five landing skiffs and many fresh footprints had been discovered on the southwest coast. This meant that the information provided by Paradise was not wrong; some heretics had indeed moved from the south coast to the Huiqiu Mine area. As for where the Joyful Goddess had gone, whether the noble merchants who were guests had disembarked, all of that was still unknown.
Woody claimed that these wealthy people had fled into the mine primarily to boost the morale of his troops. Yet he also had his doubts. The mine’s Guard Squad surely counted two to three hundred, not to mention the miners who numbered in the thousands. Why would they show no reaction to the heretics settling in?
It couldn’t be that all of them were followers of the Causal Sect, could it?
“Send someone to call out, see if we can get them to surrender directly,” Woody instructed according to the military manual.
A light cavalryman, taking up the city guards’ banner, dashed quickly towards the main gate of the mine.
Just as he was about thirty meters from the gate, suddenly a few gunshots shattered the tranquility of the countryside. The cavalryman swayed twice before falling off his horse, motionless.
“Preposterous!”
Woody was furious. Envoys from the warring parties had immunity; even if they were not willing to accept the surrender, there was absolutely no need to kill the envoy.
“Pass my order, let the artillery team immediately blast open the gate! The vanguard is to take over the mine’s fence and eliminate all the moving targets. In this battle, the city guards will not accept surrender!”
Following the order, the six-inch naval cannons began to roar in turns, the muffled sounds of their firing rolling over the foggy land like thunder.
The Huiqiu Mine’s fence, mostly built of red bricks, was fine for preventing miners from escaping but was no different from tofu under the bombardment of artillery. Within less than five minutes, it was blasted into a mess, riddled with breaches everywhere. The iron gate was pierced by cannonballs, with one even sent flying into the air.
Seeing the enemy’s “defensive fortifications” collapse, the city guards’ vanguard instantly charged. Two hundred men, divided into four groups, rushed from different directions towards the mine and successfully clambered over the blasted fence.
At this time, Woody also received another report.
The “Paradise warriors” who had been accompanying the city guards had disappeared.
“Gone? What do you mean by ‘gone’?” he cursed them for their lack of organization and discipline while asking, “What about those four-wheeled vehicles they were driving?”
“They’re still in the original place, but the men are gone,” his subordinate reported accurately.
“It’s a pity that Lady Shandela trusted them so much,” Woody decided to make a note of this to report to the Commander later. “We don’t need to worry about them anymore; frankly, they’re just mercenaries, opportunists. It’s only natural not to rely on them when it counts. We can win this battle on our own!”
