章節 59: Threat from the South

The enemy slowly disappears from their sight. The Ryntum army celebrated their first victory despite their shock watching the horrific scene a few hours ago.

Richard made a sigh of relief and slowly sat down on his chair. Ryntum has only overcome the first hurdle but this is not the end. The second one is coming from the south with an equally massive army.

He doesn't know where the Duke is currently at. If the duke has started marching, he is probably unable to make it back. Initially, he worried that Riz needed to face the duke all by himself. However, he is confident Riz can face them alone after witnessing the cannon's destructive power.

Bideford possesses more cannons than them, ready to be used at any moment. Richard believes that the duke will face a much more devastating result than the first prince.

William enters his tent, "Milord, what should we do next?"

"Have you figured out where they are retreating?"

"Yes, milord. They are going to Mezorin in the adjacent Naharog County."

"Naharog, huh?" Richard thinks for a moment. Count Naharog supplied a lot of soldiers to Nicholas I. He might take this chance to put some dirt in Nelson's eyes. Richard opens his mouth, "Let the soldiers rest for today first. We will start chasing after them tomorrow."

....

Near Portsbury Mountain.

The miners are mining for sulfur as they usually do every day. The harsh working conditions are less of their concern since the pay is good. They get paid 1 Ros per kilogramme of sulfur they harvest. On average, the miners can harvest eighty to one hundred and fifty kilogrammes per day which means an income of 80 to 150 Ros per day.

Gatharix Mining Company sells them all the equipment they need to be sulfur miners. The working hours are flexible. They can come any day to the office and report themselves before going to the mine. Nobody was going to reprimand them if they didn't come. It just means they have no income if they don't mine. The only thing that the company warns them of is to keep it secret or they will not only lose their job but also face the consequences from the boss.

From above, one of the miners points his finger at something. "Hey, look!! Who are all those people."

The rest of the miners turn around to see what's going on. "Tha-That's probably the Duke Baroks army. They are most likely heading toward Bideford. Someone needs to report to the boss." One of them said frantically.

"Let me go and report it at the office." said the youngest miner there. He believes that he can deliver it faster than anyone else.

"Good. Go with haste, young man. Let Ryntum win as I don't want to lose this job. Hahaha."

Other miners also followed him laughing. This job has paid so well that their living standard has increased a lot.

"Leave it to me." The youngster hurriedly rushed down to the mining office located in Portsbury Village. The office building looks like a wooden shack from the outside to deceive the tax collector that comes to the village periodically. Everyone in the village knows that the company is mining resources illegally.

Once arrived, the youngster called the manager, "Mr Mark, I have some important news for you."

"How about you calm down first," said Mark Miles. He, just like Luis Hines is a former woodcutter that Riz employs when he established his paper company. Now, Mark is managing the sulfur division for Gatharix Mining Company.

"Duke Baroks...He-He is on his way to Bideford as we are currently speaking."

"!!!" Mark raised his eyebrows upon hearing it. A few minutes passed before he spoke again, "Thank you for informing me." He needs to send a letter to the boss immediately.

"Do you not have any sense of crisis? The army is coming, you know." The youngster feels a bit weird about Mark's lack of response.

"Ohh...Don't get me wrong. The boss already expects them to come. Thanks to you, the boss can now accurately know when they will arrive."

"Alright, if you say so." The young miner quickly leaves the building. He still has to bring down the harvested sulfur he left behind.

Without wasting any time, Mark writes a letter to his boss informing him about the approaching threat. While he is at it, he writes a letter to James Gray who is managing the gypsum mine.

"Huri!! Come here," he called his assistant who was just outside his office.

"Yes, boss," Huri replied.

"Have someone send these two letters and tell that person to avoid using the main road."

Huri nodded. 'This must have something to do with war.'

....

30th May 300 Paign Era, Bideford Town.

Riz is currently sitting in his father's office as a regent. Since Richard went to war, he has been using this place to govern the Ryntum territory. He was diligently reading the document in his hand which is a report on the progress of the construction of the town halls and the government plaza. It can be said that the project is a megaproject that Riz can't wait to see completed.

'The town halls can start to be used after the war at the earliest. As for the government plaza, I hope I can use that place in December.' It can be said that the government plaza project is a megaproject that Riz can't wait to see its completion.

His eyes then fell on the crumbling letter on the floor. His hand reached for the letter and after fixing it to a certain degree, Riz read it.

"Hahahaha, it looks like Baron Csorvar wants to try his luck. To think he wants to put his grandson on the seat of the marquess." Riz leans on one side and rests his head on his hand. "Should I do something to Russell? Although he lives quietly right now, it doesn't mean he has no ambition."

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

Someone knocking on the door, interrupting his focus, "Milord, there are letters for you." He can hear Charlotte's voice from behind the door.

"Come on in."

Charlotte enters and sees Riz is being buried by the documents. She couldn't help but praise him, "Milord, I have to say that you look good when you are working."

"I know. There is no way a handsome man like me won't look good in any situation." Riz praised himself with a straight face. Since someone is praising him, it wouldn't hurt if he added a little bit to the praise by himself, right?

Charlotte just rolled her eyes and handed the letter to him. She regretted praising him a bit since Riz didn't show the reaction she wanted.

Riz takes the letter and sees its sender, one is from Richard and another one is from Mark. He opens the letter from Richard first and a smile creeps up on his face.

Charlotte couldn't help but ask, "Is it good news?"

"Yes, father defeated the first prince's army."

He opens the second letter and frowns as he reads the letter. He mutters, "Duke Baroks is coming and is estimated to arrive in four days. Charlotte, make sure the soldiers are ready at any moment."

"As you wish, milord."