I Pioneered Scientific Magic

Chapter 414: The Holy Church's Surprise Attack and the Defeat of the Garrison

Midnight, Misty Ridge, fifty thousand imperial troops quietly arrived at the city under the cover of the legendary divine art - the Illusory Realm.

"It seems these wizards have quite some skills!" Joshua muttered as he looked at the towering city walls in front of him.

Last time he was here, the small border town had walls less than three meters high. Now, before them stood a seven-meter-high sturdy wall.

In just half a day, the wizards had worked a magical miracle!

Above the walls, campfires burned brightly. More than fifteen hundred guards stationed on the walls seemed not to have noticed their presence.

The number of guards was much less than Joshua expected, but considering the heavy casualties suffered by the riflemen in the previous battle, most of them should be recovering from injuries. Combined with the remaining riflemen guarding other parts of the city, the numbers didn't differ much.

A cold smile played on Joshua's lips. Those wizards probably couldn't imagine that, just ten hours later, the imperial guards would be fully restored, launching a surprise attack under the cover of night.

"Under Lucia's crown, Lord Inquisitor, shall we launch the attack now?" Sireid respectfully inquired.

The distance of seven hundred meters was already the limit. Approaching further, even within the Illusory Realm, would raise suspicions.

As for the lava fire dragon, Sireid had it stay ten miles away, ready to fly over at the moment of the battle to avoid detection by the wizards.

Lucia extended her right hand, boundless divine light gathering in her palm, condensing into a thumb-sized sphere. It shot directly towards the towering wall seven hundred meters away.

Soldiers on the wall could only see a bright firefly drifting towards them in the dim night, moving at an incredibly fast speed. The seven hundred meters were covered in an instant!

Even before they could shout, the glow expanded rapidly, then exploded!

A thunderous explosion echoed through the entire castle, and the towering wall shattered under the intense blast. The city gate was blown open, debris flying, creating a misty rain of rocks.

Dozens of patrolling guards on the wall were knocked down by the shockwave of the explosion, blood splattering, and cries of agony echoing continuously...

At the moment Lucia took action, the Illusory Realm was instantly shattered. Over ten thousand divine punishment knights shouted, "For the glory of the Lord!" and rushed through the open gate with raised scimitars and longswords, cutting down the guards within the city!

Perhaps their attack was too sudden, or maybe these people had not yet recovered from the morale-shattering defeat in the noonday battle. Under this unimpeded assault, the Holy Church's expeditionary force had already entered the city!

Too smooth... Joshua felt a thick sense of unease. After entering the city, they found torches placed on every street, and guards were set up, but they encountered no effective resistance!

No rows of rifle shots, no cannons, and no wizards!

The entire city was eerily quiet, with guards scattered and fleeing in fear.

Eerily quiet to the point of being frightening!

"What's going on?" Sireid was puzzled, unable to understand the situation.

Where were their enemies? Those wizards?

Just as everyone was wondering, a group of brave divine punishment knights brought the leader of the guards to them.

He was a man in his thirties, slightly slender, with slightly chubby cheeks. He knelt in fear, repeatedly bowing, his voice trembling as he spoke.

"Lord Bishop, I surrender... I surrender! I beg you to forgive my sins. It's those damned wizards who cast spells on us, forcing us to guard this town for them..."

"Enough!" Joshua interrupted the man's defensive words, coldly asking, "Tell me, where are those wizards?"

"They... they left fifteen minutes ago, riding on a flying house of some kind," the middle-aged man answered hesitantly.

"You mean they've escaped?" Joshua frowned, surprised.

While not impossible, it was strange. The Empire and the Holy Church's combined forces far surpassed these minions of darkness. Wizards had just suffered a defeat, carrying wounded, fleeing was normal.

However, the timing was so perfect, exactly fifteen minutes before their arrival.

Their luck could only be described as terrible!

"Do you know which direction those wizards went?" Lucia suddenly inquired.

"Y-yes... to the north!" the middle-aged man replied hesitantly.

At this statement, the bishops present were all shocked because the kingdom was to their west!

If they wanted to retreat, they shouldn't be flying north!

"What's in the north?" Lucia asked in confusion.

"It's the oil!" Joshua's expression turned serious. After searching the memories of the captured prisoners, he had suspected this.

Because the wizards, in launching this counteroffensive, should have first reclaimed the lost territories of the kingdom. The fact that the other two legions had been staying within the kingdom's borders also proved this point.

The legion they encountered was the only exception, actively infiltrating the Empire's territory and aiming for Misty Ridge. Most likely, it was for the oil.

"These wizards must want to seize or destroy the Empire's war weapon!" Sireid exclaimed indignantly.

The importance of oil was self-evident. In recent years, in wars against barbarians and dealing with demonic creatures, it played a significant role in reducing casualties.

Lucia shook her head, not agreeing with Sireid's speculation.

While oil was useful, it paled in comparison to the wizards' cannons.

"They must have found another use for the oil," Lucia speculated.

In the last battle against the kingdom, the Griffin Knights led by Avidel had taken a considerable amount of oil, most likely confiscated.

After researching it, these wizards might have discovered some secrets, urgently wanting to obtain it. Perhaps they believed it could affect the outcome of the war to some extent, hence their sudden search for the oil...