Bab 78: Chapter 78: Exceptional Treatment
In the year 1251 of the Starry Calendar, during the month of Fire Flow.
The Marquis of Golden Rock initiated a rebellion and announced independence.
Shortly thereafter, twelve influential lords, including Baron Storm, Baron Winter Frost, Viscount Black Ze, and Viscount Feather Serpent, responded and formed the Golden Rock Coalition.
The next day, the Golden Rock Coalition's army marched to subdue the noble lords within the Golden Rock Province who opposed the declaration of independence, including three barons and one viscount.
War was imminent.
In the council chamber of Shimmering City, Key, Sunan, three nobles, and numerous knights gathered to discuss how to confront the Golden Rock Coalition.
"According to the intelligence, the Marquis of Golden Rock has led his troops to Mengguang City, which is located at the intersection of the borders of Somon Province, Zizhu Province, and Golden Rock Province. I suspect he wants to personally oversee the area to prevent a surprise attack from Somon Province and Zizhu Province," Bred explained, gesturing to a military map of the Principality of Starlight laid out on the long table in the center of the room.
Each point he made was marked on the map.
"Aside from the Marquis of Golden Rock, the other coalition lords have split their forces into four routes."
"Viscount Black Ze is leading one army to attack Chijiao Territory."
"Viscount Feather Serpent is leading one army to attack Mingxin Territory."
"Viscount Liao Wolf is leading one army to attack Panshan Territory."
"Baron Storm and Baron Winter Frost are joining forces to attack our Shimmering Territory."
As the last statement hung in the air, everyone in the room involuntarily twitched their lips and exchanged glances with Sunan.
The other three territories under attack were each led by a viscount, while the Shimmering Territory faced the combined forces of two barons!
The Shimmering Territory was merely a baron territory; this treatment was exceptionally outstanding!
Everyone present understood that the preferential treatment the Shimmering Territory received from the Golden Rock Coalition was entirely due to Sunan's influence.
Perhaps in the eyes of the Marquis of Golden Rock, Sunan alone was more troublesome than an entire viscounty!
Facing the gazes of the crowd, Sunan remained calm, his expression unruffled.
Key cleared his throat and asked, "How many troops do Baron Storm and Baron Winter Frost have?"
"Preliminary estimates indicate at least thirty thousand," Bred replied solemnly.
Upon hearing this figure, the other commanders frowned tightly.
Although the Shimmering Territory had been steadily expanding its military capabilities and had the Dragon Blood Fruits and lower-tier Dragon Blood potions as two major advantages, it currently had only about eight thousand combat-ready troops, not counting the militia.
This level of military strength surpassed that of most viscount territories but was still somewhat inadequate against two barons.
"Where are they now?" Key asked again.
Bred glanced at the map and replied, "In no more than ten days, they will reach the Shimmering Territory."
"Based on their marching route, Baron Storm's destination should be Firefly City, while Baron Winter Frost's destination is likely Qilin City. They probably aim to stretch the front and disperse our forces."
Key furrowed his brow in contemplation for a moment before suddenly calling out, "Jodan, Stally!"
"Yes, my lord."
The two nobles immediately stood up.
"I will assign three thousand troops to you; you will go to defend Qilin City. At the very least, hold off Baron Winter Frost for two months!"
"Understood, my lord!" Jodan and Stally replied without hesitation.
Qilin City was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with steep terrain, allowing for relatively easy troop deployment on the flat front, making it easier to defend against attacks.
With three thousand troops at their disposal, they were quite confident in holding Qilin City for two months.
"I will personally lead the army to defend Firefly City," Key declared in a serious tone.
Bred immediately understood Key's intentions and hesitated, saying, "My lord, are you aiming to defeat Baron Storm's army within two months? Won't that be a bit rushed?"
Key shook his head.
He understood this reasoning.
However, if Jodan and Stally could hold off Baron Winter Frost for two months, it would be a considerable achievement.
If they failed to defeat Baron Storm's forces during that time, and if Winter Frost's forces managed to breach Qilin City first, they'd be caught in a pincer attack, making matters worse.
Though the disparity in numbers was significant—with five thousand against over ten thousand—Key still had his trump cards.
First, there was the Blackstone Cavalry.
Thanks to the Dragon Blood Fruits, the Blackstone Cavalry had expanded to a scale of five hundred soldiers.
Even though knights made up only two-thirds of that number, their combat power was still impressive.
In the entire Golden Rock Province, it would be difficult to find another unit as elite as the Blackstone Cavalry.
With the Blackstone Cavalry, Key was confident in facing Baron Storm's army head-on.
Secondly, of course, was Sunan.
Key turned to Sunan with a serious expression and asked, "Sunan, what do you propose?"
Sunan replied calmly, "I need a batch of gemstones and a large quantity of granite."
The crowd was momentarily taken aback, their expressions filled with confusion.
Key, however, quickly realized what Sunan was suggesting, his eyes lighting up. "You want to create Stone Golems?"
He had seen the Stone Golems in Sunan's base; each one possessed combat power at the level of formal knights.
Though they were only junior knights, their fearlessness and resistance to pain made them formidable on the battlefield, capable of being one against many in warfare.
With a hundred Stone Golems, combined with the Blackstone Cavalry, Key would have complete confidence in defeating Baron Storm's forces.
Sunan nodded lightly, confirming Key's guess.
Due to the recent rapid expansion of the Blackstone Cavalry, the demand for Blackstone Iron had exceeded supply.
As a result, Sunan had to pause his plans to create the truncated version of the steel golem, leaving him with no extra steel golems to contribute to the war effort.
Notably, Sunan had attempted to create soul cores from gemstones, but unfortunately, the final product could not replace soul crystals.
After all, the core of a soul crystal was the soul energy it contained.
Gemstone-based soul cores inherently lacked soul energy, so no matter how he synthesized them, they couldn't produce it.
However, while the truncated steel golems couldn't be made this way, Stone Golems could.
The materials for Stone Golems—gemstones, granite, and silver—were relatively easy to gather in large quantities in a short time.
As for finances, although the territory's finances were tight, solutions were available.
At worst, he could request an advance on the profits from potion sales from the Fire Fox Trading Company.
He was confident that Mu Zhu would agree to their request.
After all, unless he wanted to see the Shimmering Territory defeated, thus cutting off the potion sales route, he would surely comply.
"Excellent!" Key said, his spirits lifted. "With the Stone Golems, we will surely win this battle!"
The other knights, under Jodan's explanation, began to understand the combat power of the Stone Golems and displayed excited expressions.
No wonder Lord Sunan was so impressive; his brilliant strategies and tactics were endless!
With Sunan's presence, even facing the united forces of two barons, they felt utterly unafraid.
"Have the materials transported to Firefly City. I'll bring the mana crystal forging furnace there to create the golems directly."
Sunan smiled slightly and added, "We need to give our distant 'guests' a surprise."
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Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone