Chapter 343: Chapter 304 Visitor from Cloud Tower_1
Atop the Wildwind Highlands, Marquis Anderson was a character held in high esteem by all sides. Barbaric Orcs and Snow Elves regarded him as their greatest enemy and were forced to set aside their differences to launch an offensive on Storm City to break his fortress strategy on the highlands, but their efforts failed. The Silvermane Principality viewed Marquis Anderson as a hero. Following his leadership of the Wildwind Highlands Legion to a victory over the combined Orc and Elf forces with fewer numbers, he was colloquially referred to as the "Marquis of Wildwind" across the Principality. However, "Marquis of Wildwind" was only a popular title, as the Silver Mane Duke had not officially granted the Wildwind Highlands to Anderson.
Yet, there was a strong voice within the Royal Court advising the Duke to bestow the title of Marquis of Wildwind upon Anderson. After all, there was no higher title the Principality could confer upon him, and he was already powerful in his own right. Some ministers believed that if Anderson desired the Wildwind Highlands, they should be given to him, rather than risking a true rift between monarch and servant that could shake the very foundation of the Principality.
While commoners and minor nobles were unaware of what was truly happening on the Wildwind Highlands, the major nobles and high-ranking officials were fully cognizant. They understood that if this precedent were set, others would surely follow, eroding the Monarch’s authority completely. Once loyalty eroded, the ranks would become difficult to maintain.
The Silver Mane Duke maintained his silence regarding the military affairs of the Wildwind Highlands. He provided Marquis Anderson with whatever resources he requested. When Anderson executed Count Fio and those generals, whatever crimes he declared them to have committed were accepted without question. The Duke provided Anderson no reason to declare independence, and Marquis Anderson, in turn, dared not tarnish his reputation by turning against such a trusting sovereign. However, the Silver Mane Duke remained noncommittal regarding the issue of fiefdom, tacitly accepting the current state of superficial harmony despite underlying detachment. After all, there was still a formidable Elf army within Thunderous Swamp. The Principality still had an opportunity in the Wildwind Highlands...
Marquis Anderson also knew that to protect himself and his family, he had to eradicate this Elf army. The Eternal Domain, which sheltered this Elf army, also had to be eliminated. Count Theodore’s return from Thunderous Swamp without success only further solidified Marquis Anderson’s determination to destroy this emerging force in the Wildwind Highlands.
Inside the Lord’s Mansion in Storm City, Marquis Anderson, in the prime of his life, was dressed in formal noble attire, waiting in the council hall for a visitor from afar. As the commander of the Wildwind Highlands Legion, Marquis Anderson exuded an aura of strength, his very posture radiating the presence of a powerful individual.
Outside the window, an airship was descending onto the plaza in front of the Lord’s Mansion.
An attendant entered and reported to Anderson, "My lord, Mage Miler has arrived."
Marquis Anderson straightened the marquis’ coronet on his head and said to his attendant, "Please show Mage Miler in."
Soon, a Mage clad in a red robe, with white hair and beard, leaning on a knotted wooden staff, entered through the doors.
"Respected Master Miler, welcome to Storm City." Marquis Anderson proactively greeted the visiting Mage Miler with a bow and invited him to take a seat. "Cloud Tower has always been the sacred site in the hearts of all Mages, and it is an honor for both myself and Storm City to have you, Master Miler, as our guest."
Mage Miler’s face bore an air of arrogance. In response to Anderson’s compliment, he said, "Marquis, you are a Knight, so please do not refer to yourself as a Mage. We Mages wield the highest powers of this world, and Cloud Tower has always made the pursuit of this power’s ultimate state our guiding principle.
"I hope there’s a compelling reason for my summons to Storm City, a reason Cloud Tower saw fit to dispatch me for upon your invitation.
"Otherwise, you will most certainly discover the consequences of trifling with Cloud Tower."
Marquis Anderson knew that the Mages inside Cloud Tower were all magic and alchemy research fanatics. They considered themselves the possessors of the world’s highest power, viewing themselves as a more advanced species and disdaining those they saw as inferior beings. Mage Miler, being sent to Storm City, must have had his research interrupted, naturally resulting in a simmering anger that needed venting.
Marquis Anderson was not angered by Miler’s disdain. He took out a magic crystal ball and placed it on the table. After casting a spell that made the crystal ball project a segment of magical imagery, he said to Miler, "The Goblin Alchemy Factory serves Cloud Tower, and it operates on the principle of selling alchemical goods to everyone. However, the Goblin Alchemy Factory in Nuta City is only selling these weapons to a faction called the Eternal Domain, refusing to sell to me. I believe this violates Cloud Tower’s principles."
"There is nothing the Goblin Alchemy Factory produces that cannot be sold..." Miler began confidently, but his attention was soon captivated by the imagery within the crystal ball.
Since Marquis Anderson had marked the Eternal Domain as a target for elimination, he had naturally conducted a thorough investigation of this adversary. Certain magical recordings made during the Nuta City riots had been collected and delivered to Anderson. The muskets, cannons, and rocket launchers used by the Eternal Domain’s armed forces showed Marquis Anderson a different way to wage war. The mercenaries’ utter helplessness against such weaponry had also left a profound impression on him.
Human armies focused on defense. Their tactics primarily involved identifying enemy weaknesses in defensive battles and then using Griffons and Knights for concentrated breakthroughs, with infantry following up to expand the victory. The fact that the Eternal Domain possessed such large-scale and powerful long-range alchemical weapons posed a significant threat to the Wildwind Highlands Legion. Marquis Anderson doubted whether heavy infantry armor could withstand musket fire, and it certainly could not stop cannons. Moreover, the Wildwind Highlands Legion didn’t have enough Mages capable of countering cannons.
Therefore, Marquis Anderson also wanted to purchase some of these powerful long-range alchemical weapons from the Goblin Alchemy Factory. However, the Goblin Alchemy Factory in Nuta City refused to sell to him. Upon further investigation, Anderson discovered that the Goblin Alchemy Factory in Nuta City was transferring equipment and personnel to the Eternal Domain. He concluded that the Goblins had been recruited by the Eternal Domain.
This was definitely not good news for Storm City. With Thunderous Swamp, the Elf remnants, the Eternal Domain, and now the Goblin Alchemy Factory, Yan Xing posed a threat to Anderson that exceeded even that of the Orcs, becoming his number one enemy in the Wildwind Highlands. If Anderson still wanted to achieve anything in this land, he first needed to separate the Goblins from the Eternal Domain’s influence and cut off the Eternal Domain’s supply of alchemical weapons.
The Goblins served Cloud Tower, and Cloud Tower did not involve itself in worldly strife. With the Nuta City Goblin Alchemy Factory so blatantly aligning with the Eternal Domain, Cloud Tower would surely step in to restrain the Goblins. Then, not only would the Eternal Domain lose the Goblins’ support, but he himself might also be able to purchase those powerful long-range alchemical weapons from them. Once spring arrived, the flowers bloomed, and the Wildwind Highlands Legion had regained its strength, he could launch an attack on the Eternal Domain.
Marquis Anderson, having successfully invited Mage Miler, believed he had cut off Yan Xing’s right-hand man.
He never expected Mage Miler to say, "These weapons... they don’t seem like something the Goblin Alchemy Factory could create."