I Pioneered Scientific Magic

Midnight, the blazing bonfire illuminated the dark square.

Tens of thousands of impoverished people formed long lines in the night.

Captain Loren, the leader of the guards, held a thorny whip in his hand, speaking harshly. "Hand over the coins you received, and anyone caught hoarding will have to answer to my whip first!"

"I remember it should be twelve silver coins!" Loren sneered.

The impoverished people on the scene looked at each other. After a while, a raggedy-dressed pauper cautiously spoke, "Lord Loren, are you perhaps mistaken? It should be ten silver coins..."

After the wizards had occupied the town, they conducted a purge, hanging many corrupt nobles and tyrants. They distributed most of the confiscated wealth to the people.

Each pauper received ten silver coins as compensation for the exploitation and enslavement by the nobles.

Despite the Church's propaganda depicting wizards as evil, facing the tangible temptation of money, most of the struggling poor accepted it.

"Are you trying to deceive me?" A sinister smile appeared on Loren's lips. He suddenly raised the thorny whip and fiercely lashed it at the pauper.

A crisp sound echoed, and the unfortunate pauper screamed as his cheek swelled.

"I said it's twelve coins, so it's twelve!" Loren snorted, whipping the poor man again, who fell to the ground in pain, trembling.

Loren stared at the terrified eyes of the remaining paupers, feeling pleased. Those cursed wizards looted every noble's estate, and his Loren family was no exception.

What puzzled him more was that the wizards distributed a large amount of treasure to these peasants!

Loren believed that some pauper must have conspired with the wizards in secret, informing them to receive such rewards. Otherwise, who would complain about too much money?

Considering this, Loren reported the collusion between these paupers and the wizards to the Bishop, expecting punishment for the paupers and reclaiming the right to the looted wealth. He also planned to give these rebels a taste of punishment, and the extra two silver coins would be part of the penalty!

Under Loren's threat, the subdued commoners reluctantly handed over their meager possessions.

Those who couldn't pay faced a severe beating!

Paying two extra silver coins might seem insignificant, but most paupers were already destitute, making it a life-threatening demand...

One pauper couldn't even afford one silver coin. As a devout follower, he firmly believed that the wizards had malicious intentions, surely enchanting the money with evil magic. Thus, he refused to accept any compensation.

Regardless, Loren didn't care. He thought no one would reject the silver coins offered. He swung his whip mercilessly, pouring his anger on these paupers.

Forgetting that just half an hour ago, he himself knelt, begging for forgiveness under the judgment of the High Inquisitor and Saint Lucia...

In just a minute, Loren had severely beaten the devout follower to the brink of death. As he prepared to beat him to death to intimidate the other lying paupers, a sudden and intense artillery sound erupted from outside the city!

This sound... was it artillery?

Loren was startled; a deep fear emerged from within because a few days ago, those wizards had used such powerful artillery to breach the sturdy city gates.

But how could this be?

Didn't those wizards use airships to attack the oil fields? They should be in chaos now, fleeing from the Papal forces.

Could it be that the Papal forces were defeated?

Loren refused to believe this possibility, but soon he saw hundreds of city guards abandoning their armor and fleeing towards him.

"Run! It's the wizards, the wizards are coming back!"

Several city guards shouted desperately, only to be shot down by a volley of muskets.

In the moonlight and the glow of the bonfire, thousands of rifleman, fierce as wolves, advanced toward them. Loren's soul shivered with dread as he ordered his guards to intercept them, grabbing a warhorse to escape himself.

The enraged paupers were not about to let Loren leave so easily. They swarmed, pulling him off the horse, unleashing a barrage of punches, kicks, bites, and scratches.

"Get away! You lowlifes! When the High Inquisitor arrives, you'll all be thrown into the purgatory!" Loren screamed in panic, but his guards had long vanished. Alone, he couldn't resist the onslaught of the 'mob,' and soon, silence prevailed under the righteous blows.

Within moments, the rifleman had reached the crowded square. The terrified paupers awaited the judgment of the wizards.

However, after Redell, the leader, understood the situation, he ordered the confiscated silver coins to be returned, and the paupers were treated for their injuries, including the faithful follower who had been whipped.

Although physically healed by magic, the devout follower seemed somewhat lost, as if he had lost his soul.

As the paupers regained their coins, their faces expressed disbelief, and a vague thought emerged in their minds.

Perhaps under the rule of wizards, things weren't so bad.

At least, no one tried to take away their meager savings.

In a surprise attack, the rifleman quickly regained control of the city.

With the Papal forces busy chasing them and the defending forces left weak after the takeover, they suffered minimal casualties.

"Lynn, the Dean, really predicted everything..." Redell couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

In the noon battle, they lost many cannons and armored vehicles, along with nearly three thousand wounded soldiers. A direct confrontation with the Papal forces wasn't a suitable option.

However, evacuating was equally difficult. With just over a hundred airships, it was impossible to take everyone away.

So, Lynn proposed hiding the main force outside the city. They would create a grand illusion of airships going to seize the oil fields, luring the Papal forces away. Once the Papal forces left, and the enemy let down their guard, they would strike back, even capturing the poorly defended city with oil.

According to Dean Lynn's words, they employed strategies such as an empty city, attacking the enemy to rescue themselves, the dark passage plan, and baiting the tiger to leave the mountain!

Many wizards were curious about what this magical star did before reaching the land of wizards.

Could it be that he was a major lord of the empire, as only then could he understand so many tactical techniques?