Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 469 My lord, you're charging in the wrong direction.
Gwen was feeling somewhat anxious.

She looked around; Isaac was not beside her.

As previously agreed, Isaac would return to her side immediately after securing the castle gates to help her break through quickly.

But I haven't seen him yet.

Gwen gritted her teeth.

Most of the resistance fighters were on foot, and they would be immediately spotted as soon as they appeared in the suburbs. In other words, the resistance fighters now had no way out.

They can only move forward. Moving forward might allow them to fight their way out, but if they retreat, they will be meat on the chopping block, and any Winter Wolf cavalry unit could make them never return.

"Everyone, charge!" Gwen shouted, leading more than ten mounted soldiers to charge forward.

The main force of the resistance army did not rest at all. After marching for a morning, they immediately charged into battle. Their condition was visibly poor, but fortunately their opponents were not very professional either.

The guards standing at the city gate stared in disbelief at the charging resistance troops.

Many of these city guards had never been on the battlefield in their lives. This was a region near the Canary Mountains, a place that was not contested by military forces—even the grand dukes didn't care much about it and simply handed it over to Count Bazel.

The soldiers' entire combat mission consisted of hunting coyotes outside the city.

It took a full half minute for anyone to realize what was happening as the resistance soldiers roared and charged towards them.
"Captain, are they bandits?"

"What bandits? Those are resistance fighters! Those bastards from White Crow are attacking! Damn it, raise the drawbridge!!!"

Sladedinburgh is a proper fortress, with a moat outside the city – which should have been a moat, but it was only springtime and there had been no rain, so the shallow moat had long since dried up.

The suspension bridge only has chains on one side; the chains on the other side are broken due to rust, and the area around them is blocked by several pieces of rotten wood and is under repair.

It wasn't that the resistance fighters were lucky; even when they attacked the city last year, the chain was still under repair. Given the efficiency of the noble lords, they usually wouldn't really remember this until they learned a lesson.

Such as now.

The guards hurriedly found the winch that was raising the drawbridge. It was noon, and there were many people coming in and out of the city gate, with many trying to squeeze in.

The soldiers didn't care about anything else and wanted to raise the drawbridge immediately, but before they could even test whether the dusty winch was usable, the sound of horses' hooves came from the direction of the bridge.

Gwen and her vanguard have already charged forward.

They yelled and brandished their swords, and the people crowding the city gate immediately fled. Some, however, were oblivious. One guard didn't react until Gwen rushed in front of him. He turned to run, but was trampled on the road by the horse's hooves.

Gwen raised her sword with some regret. She had just intended to swing it at him. He was a brave soldier who dared to fight against this group of riders all by himself. He deserved to die by her sword.

However, her horse control skills were still lacking. Pulling the reins left and right confused the horse, which didn't know what its owner intended. So it simply dealt with the problem by trampling the enemy to death.

"Castro, Lean, take control of the city gates!"

Gwen pointed to the winch, and two resistance fighters stopped their horses, one holding a musket and the other a spear, and charged forward.

The soldiers by the winch had never seen anything like this before. When they saw the burly warriors on horseback, they were terrified and scattered in all directions.

The two men exchanged a glance but did not pursue the enemy. Instead, they stood guard on horseback in front of the winch. Their riding skills were not yet up to the task, and they would have to dismount if they wanted to fight. So they simply maintained a deterrent presence from there.

Gwen led the remaining riders toward the castle. Although she didn't know the way, she could still see the towering castle and rode straight through the street.

Isaac still hasn't shown up, and her heart sank.

Gwen's hands were trembling. She knew she had no way out now. If she could rush into the castle and take control of the area as soon as possible, everything would be fine. But what if she failed?
Gwen didn't want to think about the consequences.

The city's roads were muddy dirt tracks with only a few sections of gravel. The streets were crooked and haphazard, but thankfully the castle's location served as a guide, and the elevated position on horseback allowed Gwen and her party to remain on their way.

As they rounded a corner, Gwen, who was leading the way, suddenly gripped the reins tightly.

A small squad of city guards, a dozen or so men, happened to be running briskly down the street ahead.

The soldiers' armor was haphazardly worn, clearly indicating they had been hastily assembled after hearing the commotion, but they were all carrying weapons.

A dozen or so soldiers carrying spears.
For a moment, both sides were stunned.

Gwen felt a bitter taste in her mouth. Why did she have to run into this? She knew the skill level of her men. They weren't exactly elite on horseback, let alone on horseback.
It's a miracle if you can ride a horse without veering off course.

Should we dismount and fight them? How much time would that waste?

"Charge! Don't waste time with them!" Gwen shouted, drawing her musket in preparation for a fight.

The muskets could only fire one shot at a time, with no time to reload. Although each rider carried several muskets, every shot fired by these charging riders meant one less shot to fire in the subsequent battle.

Gwen raised her gun, ready to charge, and the riders behind her also drew their muskets.

The man who appeared to be the captain on the other side shuddered at the sight of the muskets and immediately shouted, "All soldiers, charge with me and stop them!"

He immediately raised his spear and charged into the alleyway.

The soldiers behind them were stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening. As if they had suddenly discovered the enemy from both sides, they shouted various slogans and rushed to both sides.

Almost instantly, the road was cleared.

Gwen was now somewhat confused.

How can you charge in the wrong direction?
She quickly realized that time was of the essence and she couldn't care less about the soldiers. She led the resistance fighters and charged forward.

After they passed, the captain peeked out of the alley and immediately shouted, "Soldiers, quick! We've driven them back! Chase them down!!"

Suddenly, many heads popped up from the alleys on both sides.

"Boss, do we really have to go after them?"

"No way, my legs tremble just looking at those muskets."

"You're risking your life by playing with one Leo a day?!"

"Shut up!" the captain roared, startling everyone into silence.

"Didn't you see they were heading towards the castle? Lord Bazel's personal guard is there; these people will definitely fight them. We'll just say we drove them back; Lord Bazel might even appreciate us."

The soldiers' eyes lit up.

Soon, the city guards rushed towards the resistance fighters who had already run far away, each of them looking incredibly brave.

However, his pace was not very fast.

Gwen had no time to care about the city guards' petty thoughts.

She could already hear gunfire behind her; the main force of the resistance must have clashed with the city guards.

Sladedinburgh wasn't large, and the sound of gunfire woke everyone up.

Soldiers will likely be heading to the inner city fortress soon, and with the existing soldiers already stationed there, their dozen or so men alone might not be able to handle it.

They need to control the castle, or at least keep the gates from being closed off by the other side, so that the resistance will have some chance of winning.

Besides, Isaac hasn't shown up yet.
Gwen felt her heart pounding; the most crucial moment was about to begin.

Suddenly, the view opened up before them, and the riders finally rushed out of the city and arrived below the castle.

In front of the castle was an open space, which was reserved specifically so that in the event of a battle, the attacking enemy would have to charge into the castle gates through this unprotected area, braving a hail of arrows.

Once inside the castle gates, you enter the inner city of Sladedinburgh. It's not a large area, but it has all the basic facilities, including wells, warehouses, stables, and military camps.

Without siege machinery, it would be difficult to kill the people inside by simply besieging the city.

What Gwen needs to do is at least hold onto this goal.

But when she saw the city gate, Gwen's heart sank completely.

(End of this chapter)