Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 457 Oh no, they've started analyzing.
Blood Harbor, in Hughes's office.

The office wasn't large, but it was now packed with people. Zoe, Josh, Nini, Ash, and others were all there, and even Alexei and Gaia, who usually stayed in Castells, were present at the meeting.

Logically, this group of people should have caused some trouble and amusement when they got together, but they were all silent, cautiously looking at Hughes, who had a gloomy face.

Hughes urgently summoned everyone today, but didn't say anything. Judging from his expression, he probably had bad news.

"Bad news, everyone."

Hughes spoke in a low voice.

"According to reliable intelligence, the resistance in the North has not been wiped out, but the situation is now extremely dire and on the verge of collapse!"

People's eyes immediately turned to the mother-in-law.

“It’s not news from my mother-in-law’s side,” Hughes sighed. “It’s Isaac’s people who contacted us.”

"Isaac!?"

"Holy crap, he's still alive?"

"He's a superhuman, isn't it normal for him to have survived?"

“This is not normal at all. He went to the North, but Nora didn’t know anything about him. It’s been so long since the Deep Sea War ended, and he hasn’t contacted us. I always thought he had defected.”

"He won't betray us; Isaac is loyal!"

Hughes tapped the table: "Quiet."

The room fell silent.

"The Ash Alliance founded by Isaac has run into some trouble and had to move west to the Empire, so they haven't been in contact with us, but that's not the point."

Hughes glanced at everyone in the room, his gaze finally settling on Nora.

"The current problem is that the resistance in the North is on the verge of collapse and could be wiped out at any moment by Bazel's Winter Wolf Guard!"

Everyone gasped.

"Nora, tell me the details."

Nora jumped onto the table, spreading a roll of map out on it with her mouth full.

"Gentlemen, I was the one who questioned Isaac's subordinate. His identity should be fine. He is just an ordinary member of the Moth of Flames. He was very lucky. He managed to cross the Northern Territory while the old woman and the Candlelight Society were chasing him, and arrived in the Duchy of Tiss before the Candlelight Society could retaliate. He eventually found his way here."

“I asked about many details, and everything he said made sense, so for now we will rely on the information he provided to analyze the situation in the North.”

Nora bit a charcoal pencil and drew a circle under the Canary Mountains in the North.

"When he arrived, Isaac had just begun to make contact with the resistance. At present, the two sides have basically reached an agreement on cooperation. Isaac will provide the resistance with some firearms, about a few dozen, and the resistance will also accept Isaac's help."

"Ask a question!"

Nora glanced around with some confusion, then saw Monica struggling to raise three hands from behind Ash.

"Just ask."

"Do they know we're here?" "Good question." Hughes picked up the thread. "That's our biggest problem right now. Neither the resistance nor Isaac knows we exist."

"They knew neither our current situation nor our strength, which led to very problematic objectives for them. They planned to hold out in the North in order to find an opportunity to retreat to the south or west."

"We can go west?" Zoe asked, somewhat surprised. "Isn't that the front line with the Empire?"

“If they don’t get any news from us, they might turn west,” Hughes sighed. “Their information is too outdated; they have no idea that we’ve already started developing in Bloodport. They still think we’re stuck on the island.”

Nora nodded and jumped up and down, spitting out the charcoal pencil: "This was a terrible decision, because after analysis we found that the resistance was completely no match for the Winter Wolves."

“Mr. Alexei, the lord says that you will be the one to introduce the part about the Winter Wolf.”

“It’s my pleasure.” Alexei stood up and picked up several diagrams to show the others.

"The Winter Wolves are pistol cavalry, a tactic that has recently emerged in the Empire. It's been discussed quite a bit in the Imperial Army Academy, and my graduation thesis was on it. Cough, I digress."

"The biggest advantage of this type of cavalry is its mobility. They are light cavalrymen who only wear cuirass armor, hence the name cuirass cavalry. Their attack method is to charge to firing range, take turns firing, and then retreat. The specific tactics are quite complex. The biggest advantage of this type of cavalry is that they are good at dealing with infantry."

The images he showed drew frequent nods of approval from the onlookers. With breastplates and helmets providing protection, ranged arrows had limited effectiveness against them, while the pistol cavalry's semi-circular maneuvering tactics maximized the effectiveness of the light cavalry.

Simply put, he's good at flying kites.

Although it might seem like pistols would be countered by line infantry, since pistols are less effective against long-barreled muskets, the opposite is true in actual combat.

Light cavalry can launch attacks on the flanks of infantry, and the musketeers' thin lines can be easily broken through. As light cavalry, finding weak flanks is incredibly easy.

Contrary to popular belief, changing formations on the battlefield is an extremely complex tactic. It's not something that can be done simply by turning around; it requires highly elite soldiers and a very high level of organization.

However, cavalrymen's basic skill is to circle around and look for weaknesses.

"The resistance's combat skills are basically at the level of a militia, several levels below the port guards." Nora sighed. "And the North is mostly plains, where pistol cavalry are almost the most effective counter to the resistance. I have absolutely no idea how we can win."

Alexei nodded: "Indeed."

"In addition, the forest where the resistance is hiding is also in danger. At present, a fire could force them out, and then they would be forced to fight the winter wolves on the plains."

The people inside fell silent.

Nora's eyes dimmed slightly: "I'm sorry, everyone. I provided incorrect information. I mistakenly believed that the resistance had been wiped out, which misled everyone's judgment. It's all my fault."

Nora rolled forward half a circle, pressed her face against the table, and made a gesture of bowing her head in remorse.

Hughes patted her head: "Alright, we're not here today to discuss who should take the blame, and it's not just bad news. We've also received some information that we all agree is the future hope for the resistance."

Everyone in the office looked at Hughes.

Hughes's eyes were resolute: "That means Nora can still fight!"

There was another moment of silence in the room, and everyone's eyes fell on Nora's head.

She had just been biting a charcoal pencil, her lips were still black, and her hair was disheveled and hanging in front of her eyes. She was trying to blow the hair that was blocking her eyes away.

Monica couldn't hold back any longer and pointed at Nora's head: "Fight? That's it?"

(End of this chapter)