Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Gwen felt rather anxious.

She looked around — Isaac was nowhere near her.

According to their earlier agreement, Isaac was supposed to return to her side immediately after taking care of the castle gate to help her break through quickly.

But up until now, he was nowhere to be seen.

Gwen bit her lip.

Most of the Resistance Army were on foot. The moment they appeared in the outskirts, they would be discovered immediately. In other words, the Resistance had no way out now.

They could only move forward — advancing might still open a bloody path, but once they retreated, they would become meat on the chopping block. Any squad of Winter Wolves cavalry could wipe them out with no return.

“All units, charge!” Gwen shouted, leading more than ten mounted soldiers forward first.

The main Resistance forces had no time to rest. After marching all morning, they were immediately thrown into battle. Their condition was visibly poor, but fortunately, their opponents were not exactly professionals either.

The city guards standing at the gate stared wide-eyed at the charging Resistance Army.

Many of these guards had never seen a battlefield in their lives. This was a region near the Canary Mountains — a place of little strategic value. Even the Grand Dukes barely cared about it and had simply handed it over to Earl Bazel.

For these soldiers, their only combat experience was going outside the city to kill a few coyotes.

Now, facing the roaring charge of the Resistance, it took them a full half-minute before someone finally reacted to what was happening.

“C–Captain, are those bandits?”

“Bandits, my ass! That’s the Resistance! Those bastards from White Raven are attacking! Damn it — raise the drawbridge, now!!”

Sleddinburg was, after all, a proper fortress. Outside the city was a trench — supposed to be a moat — but as it was early spring, there had been no rainfall, and the shallow moat had long since dried up.

Only one side of the drawbridge still had chains; the other had rusted through and was broken. A few rotting planks were set up around it, currently under repair.

It wasn’t that the Resistance had good luck — even if they had come last year, those chains would still have been “under repair.” At the pace of those noble lords, they usually only fixed such things after suffering a loss.

Like now.

The gate guards frantically rushed to the winch to lift the bridge. It was noon — many people were going in and out of the gate, with some trying to squeeze in.

But the soldiers didn’t care. They just wanted to raise the bridge as fast as possible. Yet before they could even test whether that dusty winch still worked, a rumble of hooves approached.

Gwen and the vanguard had arrived.

They shouted wildly, waving their swords. The crowd at the gate quickly scattered — some were not quick enough. A guard, realizing the situation only when Gwen was already upon him, turned to flee but was trampled by her horse.

Gwen regretfully raised her sword. She had intended to cut that man down — he was a brave soldier who dared face a charge of riders alone. He deserved to die by the blade, not the hoof.

But her horsemanship was still poor. Tugging at the reins confused her steed, which didn’t understand what its rider wanted — so it simply resolved the issue in its own way: it trampled the enemy to death.

“Castro! Lian! Take control of the gate!”

Gwen pointed toward the winch. Two Resistance soldiers pulled their horses to a stop, one holding a musket, the other a spear, rushing over.

The guards near the winch had never seen such a sight — seeing the burly warriors on horseback terrified them, and they scattered in all directions.

The two riders exchanged a glance. They didn’t pursue but stayed put on their mounts, guarding the winch — their riding skills weren’t good enough for complex combat maneuvers. If they fought, they’d have to dismount anyway, so they might as well keep their presence intimidating from horseback.

Gwen led the rest of the riders toward the castle. She didn’t know the streets well, but the towering castle was visible from afar, so she spurred her horse forward through the streets.

Yet even now, Isaac had not appeared, and her heart began to sink.

Her hands trembled — she knew there was no turning back. If she could reach the castle quickly and take control, everything might still be fine. But if she failed—

Gwen dared not think of that outcome.

The city streets were muddy dirt roads, with only occasional patches of cobblestones. The roads were crooked and narrow, but the castle’s position gave her direction, and being on horseback provided a higher view. She and her riders didn’t lose their way.

Turning a corner, Gwen, at the front, suddenly pulled her reins tight.

A squad of city guards — about a dozen — was hurrying down the street ahead.

Their armor was mismatched — clearly hastily assembled after hearing the commotion — but at least they all carried weapons.

A dozen men armed with spears.

For a moment, both sides froze.

Gwen’s heart sank. Why did they have to run into them now?

She knew the skill of her riders well. On foot, they could count as elite — but on horseback?

If they didn’t ride off course, that was already good enough.

Should they dismount and fight? That would waste too much time.

“Charge through! Don’t waste time fighting them!” Gwen commanded loudly, pulling out her musket, ready to risk it.

A musket could only fire one shot — there was no time to reload. Though everyone carried several, each shot fired here was one less for the battles ahead.

Gwen raised her musket to force her way through, and her riders did the same.

The opposing captain flinched at the sight of the firearms and shouted, “All soldiers, charge with me! Block them!”

Then, instead of attacking, he turned and dashed into a nearby alley.

His men hesitated, then seemed to understand — as if spotting enemies on both sides — and charged shouting into the alleys to the left and right.

In moments, the street was empty.

Even Gwen was stunned.

How could anyone charge in the wrong direction?

Then she realized what had happened. Time was short — there was no need to worry about those soldiers — she led her riders straight through.

After they passed, the captain peeked out from the alley and shouted, “Soldiers! Quick! We’ve driven them off! After them!”

Heads immediately popped out from both alleys.

“Boss, are we really going after them?”

“Forget it — just seeing those muskets made my knees shake!”

“Risking our lives for a single Rio a day? No way!”

“Shut up!” the captain roared, startling them into silence.

“Didn’t you see they were heading toward the castle? Earl Bazel’s personal guards are there! They’ll definitely clash! When it’s over, we’ll say we were the ones who drove them off — maybe Earl Bazel will reward us!”

The soldiers’ eyes lit up.

Soon, the city guards were “charging” after the Resistance, looking every bit the brave warriors — though their steps were not particularly fast.

Gwen had no time to care about their little schemes.

She could already hear gunfire behind her — the Resistance main force must have engaged the city guards.

Sleddinburg was not large. The moment gunfire erupted, the whole place was roused.

The inner fortress would surely send soldiers soon, and there were already troops stationed inside. With only her dozen riders, it was uncertain whether they could handle them.

They had to seize control of the castle — at least keep the gate from being shut. Only then would the Resistance have a sliver of hope.

And Isaac still hadn’t appeared.

Gwen felt her heart pounding wildly — what came next would decide everything.

Her view suddenly opened up — the riders had burst out of the city and arrived beneath the castle.

Before the castle lay an open field — deliberately cleared. In battle, attackers had to cross this exposed area, enduring a hail of arrows to reach the gate.

Beyond the gate was Sleddinburg’s inner keep. It wasn’t large but had all the essentials — a well, warehouses, stables, and barracks.

Without siege engines, it would be nearly impossible to trap the defenders inside.

Gwen’s mission was to at least hold this gate.

But upon seeing it, her heart completely sank.