Blood Holy Scripture: True Ancestor Charlotte de Castel
Chapter 397: -145- Besieged

Chapter 397: -145- Besieged

"Quick, quicker! Wipe the inscriptions on this stone-shooting cannon clean. Mage Lord said these big fellows must be cleaned well to work properly!"

"Are the stones ready? They’re urging us again from the bridgehead, Count Mansion said that today we must repair the outer wall of the bridgehead!"

Outside North Port, the Don River.

On the only bridge spanning north to south across the Don River in the Castel Domain—the North Port Bridge, craftsmen bustled about, under the direction of Mage Apprentices, repairing the exterior walls of the bridge.

The North Port Bridge.

As the only bridge across the Don River connecting both banks, its function was as vital as the Castel Bridge that connected North Port with the mainland.

If the Castel Bridge that connects the mainland’s North Shore and North Port was the last line of defense for North Port, then the North Port Bridge connecting the north and south of the Don River was the sole route that would determine whether the rebels could continue northward and completely cut off North Port’s retreat.

And at this very moment, on both sides of the North Port Bridge, walls were being repaired anew, craftspeople hurried about, preparing various defense structures.

The goal was one only, and that was to protect this bridge well.

Atop a tower within the Count Mansion.

Charlotte stood before the railing, watching the bustling North Port enveloped by war, the warships patrolling in and out of the harbor, the stone-shooting cannons that were rolled out again on the shore defense walls, and the continuous camps and tents on the Don River’s North Shore, her thoughts drifting somewhere unknown.

It wasn’t until she heard familiar footsteps approaching that she turned her gaze back and cast a glance at the person behind her, chuckling lightly,

"Has another noble surrendered?"

Behind her, Viscount Lien Castel hesitated for a moment before nodding,

"Yes, Count. News from the south say that Bold-Violet’s army has taken the nearest castle fortress to North Port. By tomorrow at the latest, I fear the enemy’s vanguard might reach the banks of the Don River."

"Oh? The last castle fortress has also fallen? Which family was it?"

Charlotte arched an eyebrow slightly.

The expression on Viscount Lien Castel’s face turned somewhat awkward,

"Count... it... it was our family’s."

Hearing this, Charlotte turned around, casting him a somewhat peculiar glance.

Facing her piercing gaze, as if seeing through everything, the Old Viscount’s scalp tingled, and he hastily said,

"Count, our loyalty to Lien Castel..."

"Don’t worry, I won’t blame you,"

Charlotte interrupted the Old Viscount’s words.

She turned back around, gazing at the vast plains, hills, interlacing waterways, and densely scattered villages and towns of the Castel Domain, and then continued,

"The speed of the south falling was somewhat beyond my expectations, but I can understand."

"After all... for noble families, long-term survival is most important."

"Eggs shouldn’t all be placed in one basket, yet even a broken basket is still a spare one."

Hearing this, Viscount Lien Castel’s expression grew even more embarrassed.

He hesitated a moment, then said,

"Count, no matter how the other members of my family choose, since I chose to stand here, I will surely fight with you to the very last moment."

Charlotte glanced at him and nodded,

"I understand. That you can aid me in defending North Port, I am already quite satisfied."

With that, she chuckled once more,

"Frankly, compared to those nobles who can only rely on their Directly Administered Domain’s troops to confront superior lords, being able to raise an army of over ten thousand makes me quite fortunate."

Hearing Charlotte’s words, the Old Viscount was momentarily at a loss for words.

And Charlotte did not continue this somewhat sensitive topic any longer.

The speed of the South’s fall had indeed exceeded her expectations, and this could only be explained by many nobles actually not putting up a sworn resistance.

But about this, Charlotte didn’t feel too much outrage.

Even with the Third Prince’s poor reputation, in the face of tens of thousands of troops, those frontline noble territories had no other choice.

The constraint of a feudal lord over his vassals was inherently limited, and compared to the monarch and subjects of the Heavenly Dynasty, it more closely resembled the relationship between a company boss and employees.

As long as they could provide her with conscripted soldiers and taxes for warfare, or even come personally to assist in battle, the nobles had already fulfilled their obligations; she couldn’t possibly force them all to fight to the death.

To truly achieve the latter, one had to be a monarch who had successfully strengthened central authority, possessed overwhelming charisma, and received the fanatical worship and loyalty of the nobles.

And this was something not even Louis V had achieved, nor had many people known to Charlotte in the history of her previous life.

"Is there anything else?"

Charlotte glanced at Viscount Lien Castel and asked.

The Old Viscount hesitated for a moment before saying,

"My Lord Count, regarding the North Port bridge... Are you truly not considering destroying it?"

"Forgive my candor, but the North Port bridge connects the south and north. If we destroy it and then control the Don River, we could take an unbeatable position... entirely capable of dragging things out with the Third Prince."

Charlotte shook her head:

"We could drag it out, but if we destroyed the North Port bridge, wouldn’t our troops be unable to advance south as well?"

The Old Viscount was taken aback, then couldn’t help but say,

"You... are you truly planning a counterattack? But our army is too... compared to theirs..."

"Wait, are you saying that the reinforcements are real? Not just to comfort the nobles of North Port?!"

Charlotte smiled:

"When did I say the reinforcements were fake?"

"Then, the reinforcements you mentioned are actually..."

...

The speed at which the Allied Forces advanced was even quicker than the Third Prince had imagined.

Or more accurately, compared to the impoverished Bold and the forest-filled Violet, the Castel Domain boasted better developed roads, which allowed the army to quicken its pace significantly.

Facing the overwhelming superiority of the Allied Forces, the Northern Land nobles practically surrendered upon seeing them advance, with only a few stubborn and overestimating ’clowns’ resisting; the vast majority of areas failed to halt the army’s northern advance.

In just ten days’ time, the grand army arrived at the banks of the Don River.

The Third Prince, Philip, sat astride his Dragon Scale Horse.

Gazing at the distant North Port bridge spanning the Don River, and the bustling city hanging solitary by the sea, connected to the North Shore by only a bridge, a hint of insatiable greed flashed deep within his eyes.

The Third Prince turned his head, raised his hand, and pointed toward the distant vibrant city, then smiled to those around him:

"From now on, this place will no longer bear the Castel name."

"Pass the word down, rest for a day, and we attack tomorrow!"

...

Meanwhile, in the Romany Duchy.

Inside Milay Port, the largest port of the Falling Star Kingdom on the continent.

Numerous swift oar sailed ships, loaded with Stone-shooting Cannons and soldiers, were also prepared to depart at any moment.

Count Yulster stood at the prow of the flagship, eyes gently closed. After a long while, he slowly opened them.

"The timing is almost right. Notify everyone, all ships are to hoist the banners of Castel, raise the sails, and prepare to set sail."

He ordered the Bloodline beside him.