Chapter 75: Family Reinforcements Arrive
Chapter 75: Family Reinforcements Arrive
The news brought back by Rachos Asad made Thor breathe a sigh of relief. The situation wasn’t as dire as he had imagined, so the idea of abandoning the territory was immediately and completely dismissed. All his thoughts now focused on the defense of the territory.
Time continued to slip away.
In no time, another month had passed, bringing them closer to the Minotaur attack described in the information.
More information also came through Rachos.
In less than a month, two baronial territories and seven pioneer lords' territories had been destroyed. The Minotaur tribe had further grown, increasing from about seven to eight hundred to over three thousand, with numbers still rising.
A large number of noble lords throughout the entire northwest region had begun to flee.
Even in neighboring areas, many nobles had started to escape.
The Maine River Valley itself was beginning to feel some impact.
But luckily, the distance was still considerable, so people were just anxious without taking any action.
In the castle, Thor silently studied the map in his hand.
Compared to the other lords and nobles of the Maine River Valley, he wasn’t so optimistic.
The constant stream of information over this period had made it clear to him that the Minotaurs' next target was the Maine River Valley. Even though there was still a significant distance between them, the enemy would arrive soon.
Given the rapid increase in their numbers, by the time they arrived, the Minotaurs would likely number over five thousand, possibly reaching six or seven thousand.
Even though these Minotaurs were created using secret magic and weren’t particularly strong, they weren’t goblins; ordinary people couldn’t deal with them. At the very least, it would take a squad of knights, even trainee knights, to handle them.
Over five thousand Minotaurs were terrifying.
"Alice, call Ryan over!"
Thor called out to the doorway, his gaze shifting from the map.
"Yes, Master!"
Anna quickly responded and left.
Moments later, Ryan walked in.
"My Lord!"
Ryan greeted respectfully.
"Take my orders, go to the mine, and instruct Steve to stop production. Within ten days, the magic crystal cannons must be transported to Eagle's Ridge, and all personnel must withdraw."
Thor quickly issued his command.
The large iron mine was indeed important.
By now, it was almost steadily bringing him an income of around four to five hundred gold coins every month.
But in the current situation, if the safety of Eagle's Ridge couldn’t be ensured, no amount of gold would matter.
It would be better to evacuate the mine first and concentrate all forces on dealing with this crisis.
After all, he didn’t need to worry about anyone daring to occupy it.
"Yes!"
Ryan was somewhat shocked, but he quickly accepted the order without any objections.
A day later, Ryan arrived at the mine and relayed the message to Steve.
Steve's expression stiffened upon receiving the news.
"Are you sure this is what the Lord said?"
Steve asked, looking at Ryan in disbelief.
"Yes!"
"He told me himself!"
Ryan nodded, his expression also serious.
"Alright!"
"I understand, I'll get on it immediately!"
Steve replied without further questioning.
Even though he had many doubts in his heart, in this situation, he too chose to follow orders unconditionally.
Soon, the entire mine began to shut down quickly.
Five days later, all operations at the mine ceased.
A large number of slaves and knights gathered.
Even the dwarfs were assembled.
Led by Steve, they began the journey back to Eagle's Ridge.
Two days later, they arrived at Eagle's Ridge.
With this added force, Thor felt a bit more at ease.
He began to redeploy, especially focusing on the five magic crystal cannons.
At the same time, he started arming Steve and the other knights.
While Thor was busy, the third month was quickly coming to an end.
According to the information, the Minotaur attack on the Maine River Valley territory was no more than ten days away.
Just as Thor was about to contact other lords, an unexpected surprise arrived.
Yes, an unexpected surprise.
Outside Eagle's Ridge, a sizable force was approaching in grand fashion.
This force was the support sent by Count Engel Dresrosa to his son, Thor Dresrosa.
Not only did it include five skilled administrators, but also a hundred craftsmen, ten official knights, and over a hundred apprentice knights.
Additionally, there was a grand knight.
As a grand knight, Peros naturally led this team.
He was unfamiliar with young Master Thor.
Unlike Michael, as a member of the Eagle Knights, Peros had little contact with Count Engel Dresrosa’s offspring.
He only had one or two brief memories of Thor.
Peros was somewhat reluctant to follow this order.
For him, it was almost like being banished.
After all, he was a grand knight, and at just over thirty years old, he could achieve much within the Dresrosa family.
The resources and training opportunities available to him within the family were beyond what he could find elsewhere.
But now, he had been ordered to follow young Master Thor to a pioneer territory, and he could already imagine the hardships ahead.
Nevertheless, despite his reluctance, Peros dared not voice any objection to Count Engel.
He simply had no hope for his future.
"Let’s hope that young Master Thor doesn’t have any of those dreadful habits!"
Peros sighed. All he could do was hope, as he ordered the team to pick up the pace.
They had left Loren City seven days ago.
If they moved faster, they should be able to reach Eagle's Ridge today.
Time passed slowly.
Soon, dusk began to fall.
"We’ve arrived!"
"It's just ahead!"
Looking at the map in his hand, Peros heaved a sigh of relief. After nearly two months of travel, they were finally almost there.
As he relaxed, the forest ahead quickly receded.
The scene that unfolded before him left him stunned.
The first thing he saw was a towering castle.
Then came fields of golden wheat.
"Damn it!"
"Did we go the wrong way?"
Peros was first taken aback, then cursed under his breath.
The prosperous territory before him certainly wasn’t Thor Dresrosa's Eagle's Ridge. After all, young Master Thor had only been a pioneer lord for less than a year. How could his territory be so developed?
The only explanation for this scene was that they had gone the wrong way.