The lively celebration in the royal capital hastily concluded amid Joyce's interference and the turbulence surrounding the crown prince, but for most nobles, the conflict was only just beginning.
As the top supporter of Crown Prince Harold, Duke Rickman made a grand announcent after the banquet, declaring his compliance with the divine order. He would personally lead the army to Joyce's territory to suppress the rebellious miners!
Other nobles supporting Harold echoed this sentint, hurriedly organizing their private forces to avoid being preempted by Prince Hatar's n. After deliberation, a dozen or so prominent nobles decided to gather their own troops, supplented by conscripted peasant soldiers from the southern regions, amassing a force of fifteen thousand within a week.
A force formidable enough to crush the rebellious miners!
Surprisingly, the vigorous contender for the throne, Prince Hatar, remained relatively inactive.
In fact, right after returning from the palace, Hatar promptly gathered his supporters, preparing to swiftly dispatch a force to quell the southern uprising.
However, before he could act, Anthony intervened.
"If Harold is so eager, let them handle it. Those miners aren't easy to deal with..." Anthony remarked coldly.
"Master, could this uprising among the miners be related to the wizards?" Hatar hesitated for a mont, asking with a hint of confusion. He couldn't fathom how these individuals could pose a significant threat.
Count Joyce, despite hyping up the supposed leader of the miners, seed to Hatar nothing more than soone crafty, catching Joyce unprepared and taking advantage of underhanded tactics. Untrained commoners stood no chance in a battle, even with the assistance of wizards!
Especially since the miners' act of destroying the statue of the goddess had enraged the church, with Archbishop Anluke stating at the banquet that several bishops and a team of priests would be dispatched!
Unless... unless the Grand Wizard Anthony was willing to intervene personally!
Anthony neither confird nor denied. It wasn't the ti to reveal the secrets of the School of Mystic Arts and the domain of wizards; ambiguity was his stance.
"If the kingdom remains stable, you won't gain any advantage. Setting aside the Church's interference, Harold's supporters hold more power than you. Only a suitable upheaval can turn the tide in your favor."
"Just follow along, and you'll ascend to the throne when the ti cos."
Though Anthony knew little about these miners, he understood this was the plan of a particular figure. Solely relying on hastily assembled forces wouldn't suffice to eliminate them.
Taking Anthony's words as tacit approval, Hatar's urgency diminished. However, allowing Duke Rickman and others to venture to Joyce's territory still felt insecure to him.
For the first ti, his father, King Bazeel, explicitly ntioned the crown prince in front of all the empire's nobles. Coupled with Archbishop Anluke's proposal, whoever resolved the miner situation, even if the choice displeased the two, they couldn't easily retract it.
If Harold ssed this up, it would be troubleso!
Hatar pondered whether to organize a large army to follow the others, feign cooperation in suppressing the revolt, and then turn the tables at the opportune mont. Coordinating with the miners and wizards, they could obliterate the private forces of the dozen nobles heading to the Earl's domain!
Even Anthony was taken aback by Hatar's ruthlessness. After a mont of contemplation, he didn't endorse Hatar's risky move. Unless they ensured complete annihilation of the entire army, it would only give others leverage.
"You can send a team to gather information first before deciding!" Anthony suggested, hesitant.
anwhile, within Count Joyce's domain, the final battle raged on!
Having played a cunning diversion and easily seized the castle, Raydell faced his most significant challenge since the uprising - dismantling the local church!
Unlike the barony with only one priest in residence, the church here housed a bishop and five priests. The commotion caused during their takedown of the guards had alerted the church, eliminating the possibility of a surprise attack. The only option left was an all-out battle!
This was the clash between the commoners and the extraordinary!
In the pouring rain, thousands of miners ard with confiscated bows, spears, and knives surrounded the church. Dozens of bows released arrows like a torrent, yet an invisible barrier raised by the bishop deflected the onslaught. Arrows struck, creating ripples, but couldn't penetrate the shield in a short ti.
While finely crafted crossbows might rival flintlock firearms in power, it relied on breakthroughs in material science and pulley systems. However, the 'strong crossbows' made by the empire's craftsn were subpar. A round of bolts couldn't break through the second-tier divine spell, the "Holy Light Shield."
In contrast, a single holy light burst from the bishop would claim the lives of a dozen n!
As for the miners rushing in for an attack, they fell to their knees, wailing under the radiance of the divine spell "Atonent for Sins." They fervently repented for their sacrilegious act of destroying the statue, defying the divine.
This horrifying scene intimidated the nurous miners, making them retreat, only daring to shoot from afar using their bows.
The disparity between the extraordinary and the commoners was evident!
"Are these the true representatives of the divine?" Raydell observed the bishop effortlessly handling their siege, then glanced at the dozens of bodies on the ground, tightening his grip on his long knife.
He wanted to charge in and fight alongside the others, but he knew it would be futile.
"Yes, that's why I told you, the real challenge has just begun," Lynn's voice echoed in his ears. "The bishop stationed in the Earl's domain is probably a second-tier divine practitioner."
"Is there a way to kill him?" Raydell urgently inquired, imdiately dismissing the first thod Lynn ntioned. Every second waited ant several miners would perish...
"Two thods. First, wait for his energy to deplete," Lynn casually suggested, explaining that whether it was a wizard or a divine practitioner, casting spells depleted ntal energy.
However, within the church, their opponent seed to receive so form of assistance, prolonging their strength under the protection of the priests.
"What about the second thod?" Raydell rejected the first option outright. Every delay ant more miners lost.
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