novelraw Chapter 457 : Nora’s Weakness
Chapter 457 : Nora’s Weakness
Chapter 457: Nora’s Weakness
“Oh, you’ve misunderstood.” Hughes did not bother with Nora, who was still locking eyes with Monica.
“It’s not this half of Nora—it’s that half of Nora.”
“Ah?”
Not only Monica, but everyone else in the room was also stunned.
Hughes helplessly explained once more about Nora still being in battle.
“So, you mean, even though Nora died, it doesn’t stop her from continuing to fight?”
“She might even be stronger,” Monica interjected. “After all, she’s lost a weakness.”
As she said this, she glanced at the weakness sitting across the table, still glaring at her.
“Ahem, let’s put Nora’s situation aside for now. She’s indeed a critical combat force, but her state doesn’t affect the overall situation.” Hughes gestured for everyone to turn toward the map together.
“The terrain of the Northlands is mostly plains, which is one of the reasons we chose to center our operations around the railway. The overall construction difficulty is lower, and maintenance is easier as well.”
Although the Empire’s Northlands were cold, they were not frozen to the point of forming permafrost. Many refugees from the Northlands had fled to the Mystics, and they were very familiar with the route along the way.
“This terrain is favorable for our gradual advance, but it also poses great difficulty for the Resistance—they can hardly find an effective way to deal with cavalry. Alexei, you’re more familiar with this part. Please explain.”
“Alright.” Alexei picked up the charcoal pencil from the table. “The Northlands aren’t entirely without mountains and forests, but they’re rather concentrated—for example, the Canary Mountains. Though vast and covered in forests, they’re quite distant from the surrounding towns. In other words, the Resistance might find a place to hide, but they’d easily be surrounded by the Winter Wolves cavalry.”
“Then what if they occupy a town?” Josh suddenly asked.
“Very difficult.” Alexei circled several spots on the map. “Look here—these few locations seem ideal, conveniently connected by roads. If it were on our side, they’d be great strongholds. But everyone, remember one thing—this is the Northlands.”
“The Northlands haven’t seen war for a long time.”
The fact that Earl Bazel managed to stand his ground with just a single cavalry force already said a lot. Compared to the Empire, which waged war all year round, the Northlands were far more peaceful.
“Josh, you have many refugees from the Northlands under your command. They should have seen those towns—why don’t you tell us what they’re like?”
Josh paused for a moment, then recalled and spoke, “I did hear many stories from them. Unlike the White Raven Principality, the towns in the Northlands have almost no walls, and there aren’t many stationed soldiers either. The land is vast and sparsely populated—most settlements are practically unfortified.”
Alexei traced his finger along the map. “That brings us back to the terrain. The Canary Mountains block the flames of war from the White Raven, while the barren lands make this region poor. The Empire isn’t much interested in it, which allowed the Northlands to remain peaceful for so long. But the flat, open land offers no natural defense—building walls here is hardly cost-effective. So, the lords built castles only at key strongholds for defense. As for everything outside the castles—they just left it be.”
“For the Resistance, this is a disastrous start. They can hardly find a defensible position. If they hide in the forests, they cut themselves off from the civilized world and will freeze to death once the winter snow seals the mountains. If they go to the towns, they can’t fend off cavalry raids. Many among them are old, weak, women, and children—even if they abandon those people ruthlessly, they still can’t outrun cavalry on foot. All truly defensible strongholds are large castles, and the Resistance has no means to capture them.”
Everyone took a deep breath, their eyes filled with worry.
Hughes sighed. “That’s why I urgently called everyone here. I fear the Resistance won’t last much longer. The most optimistic estimate—”
He looked toward Alexei.
“Two weeks, my lord.”
“If all goes smoothly, they can only hold out for two weeks. And the intelligence we received is already more than ten days old.”
The room fell silent.
“Constructing the railway there will take at least half a year. Even Moths Chasing Fire—those supernatural beings adept at traveling—would need a week to reach them. Ordinary riders would take twice as long. Traveling by ship to Rift Valley City and then on foot—at least twenty days.”
“That’s all under perfect conditions, which are impossible in reality. The Church of Candlelight, the blockade by the Three Grand Dukes—none of them are easy to deal with.”
“What does everyone think?”
The room was quiet for a moment before Chloe’s pages rustled upright. Everyone turned to look.
〖Hmm, I do have some information. At the very least, Isaac isn’t dead. He’s a Moth Chasing Fire acknowledged by the 【Chrysalis】. After death, his soul would return to the 【Chrysalis】. If a ritual were conducted, it might even convey some information. In short, I haven’t seen him inside the Chrysalis.〗
That was, at least, some good news—Isaac was still alive.
Given his dual-path supernatural status, killing him was no easy task. Hughes had asked him before—there were indeed many who could kill him, but very few who would dare. As long as Isaac didn’t want to die and focused on escaping, almost nothing could threaten him.
Hughes suddenly thought of something. “Chloe, I’m curious—if he really died, could you still use that diary?”
〖Of course not.〗
That made sense—it must be some kind of bound equipment. Hughes mused silently.
〖He wouldn’t be able to take it from me anyway.〗
Hughes: “…”
Tata raised his hand.
Hughes hesitated for a moment but still nodded to him.
Though Tata often came up with absurd ideas, his skill was undeniable.
Let’s just hope his proposal this time isn’t to install engines on Castel and sail the entire island away.
“My lord, I’ve developed a new ship—it perfectly resolves all the flaws of the previous design. It should come in handy.”
“Perfectly resolves?” Hughes’s expression was full of doubt.
That last one-thousand-meter-long aircraft carrier with a ram, catapults, and Gatling cannons had already shocked him to the core. He still hadn’t recovered.
“Of course! Please trust me, my lord. This ship is not bulky at all—it’s actually quite compact! And it even fulfills your previous request—the Dragon’s Breath Cannon can now be mounted on board! Also, those earlier ships had poor reliability and tended to sink, but this one completely eliminates that issue!”
Hughes’s eyes brightened.
Compact, armed with the Dragon’s Breath Cannon, and reliable?
Was this… a dream ship? Could Tata really design such a thing?
Honestly, if it truly met those conditions—even if the ship looked like a coffin—Hughes would accept it, holding his nose if he must!