Coventry's mobilization lasted a week and a half, during which many infuriating events took place.

According to Merlin Avery's latest suggestion, which he actually relayed from Victor's chieftain, the inner side of the outer wall was to be filled with black carbonic oil. This arrangement would ensure that the Desert Barbarians' besieging forces would be dealt a particularly heavy blow when the Outer Wall was abandoned, and that all the towers and defensive equipment of the Outer Wall would be destroyed, making it unusable for the Desert Barbarians.

The idea is good, but the implementation is more problematic than the top hair of the desert lizard. Over the question of how to retreat and who to light the fire, the deputy commander-in-chief of the city guard, Mistress Chiyovala, and the temporary chief of the rangers, Mistress Ansenbach, had a heated argument, and almost made a fist at the military meeting. The process of collecting the oil was another absurdity, the owner of the Chamber of Commerce, who had stored the most oil in the carcoal, happened to be the uncle of the new Fumin Minister, Lord Hans, so he openly claimed that the order of the city lord's mansion violated his rights and interests, and not a drop of the oil would be handed over.

Baron Edelman solved the first problem with a roar, and both parties were fined two months' imprisonment and instructed to write out the evacuation and ignition plans respectively, which were then submitted to the City Lord's Office staff and advisors for discussion and approval. The second trouble was dealt with by Master Hans categorically, and he personally whipped the brainless uncle forty lashes, confiscated all the charcoal oil, and saved his position and this fellow's life.

As soon as the two troublesome matters were resolved, several major chambers of commerce from the inner city jointly petitioned the city lord's mansion to disclose the Coventry defense plan to them, so that they could work together to find out what was missing. Baron Edelman refused this unconscionable request, as several chambers of commerce had done business on the side of the desert barbarians, and it was likely – or would – be – that the defense plan would be leaked.

The Chamber of Commerce immediately criticized Baron Edelman's reply, which seriously offended the noble character of the presidents of the major chambers of commerce, and he must publicly apologize. Before these people left, a citizens' petition group gathered outside the gate of the city lord's mansion to demand compensation for the legal houses and shops that were forcibly demolished some time ago, and severely punish the city guard soldiers who misbehaved during the forced demolition process.

This was the straw that broke the camel's back, and Baron Edelman rushed to the representatives of the townspeople, and shouted at them, claiming that he would hang them at the city gates, so that they could see with their own eyes the majesty of the desert barbarian army, and then those who did not wet their pants would be entitled to compensation.

Baron Edelman's fury made the Chamber of Commerce and the Citizens of the Rank and Rank Representatives all shut their mouths, on the one hand, they finally realized that in Coventry, the head of the Thornflower family was able to carry out his most outrageous decisions, and on the other hand, the Iron Master sat in the seat of the Archon's advisor, which at least showed the attitude of the only guild power capable of standing up to the Thornflower family.

The citizen representatives left the City Lord's Mansion in a gloomy manner, and their experience gave the street tavern a few more talking points and a few rumors. Representatives of several major chambers of commerce turned to the Apothecary's Guild and asked the two newly promoted grandmasters to uphold justice, but it was also very unsuccessful. The outspoken Deben Basten did not show up at all, and the more slick President Haleland received the delegates, but the delegates received nothing but a bunch of high-sounding nonsense.

Nothing is more of a headache for businessmen than the loss of profits. The presidents of the major chambers of commerce talked all night and formed an alliance, intending to negotiate with the Thornflower family again and force Baron Edelman to make concessions. However, the next morning, their plan fell through.

Billowing smoke rose from the northwest of Coventry, and the blood-red firelight shone on the sky that had not yet been fully lit. Judging by the direction and distance, the courtyard that once belonged to several villages and farms, as well as a noble villa, was now all engulfed in flames.

After receiving the news, Baron Edelman immediately appeared on the northwest city wall, and looked out with his hand on the battlement. Avery followed behind the Archon, some of his sleepiness long since dissipated by the time the news came.

"Ansenbach, what's going on in the northwest direction, and why didn't your Rangers send back the information in advance?"

"They must have died in the line of duty, there is no other possibility. The Provisional Captain of the Rangers, with a long gloomy face, replied, "I have sent a squad of Rangers to every village and town, and I have them carry with them the alchemical potions used to signal the war, which can release wolf smoke during the day and light beacon fires at night. As you know, in our western Xinjiang, every village and town has strong walls and watchtowers, and most of the outer perimeters have dug trenches, which can withstand the siege of hundreds of barbarians. Being able to make all the dozen or so villages and farms in the northwest have no time to warn means that the number of enemies is far greater than expected. ”

"We all know the situation of the barbarians, they may be numerous, but they are not in order. Over the years we have won many attacks by the barbarians, who screamed wildly, rode horses and camels, and slammed into the walls with great courage, and their faces were covered with blood. Chiyovala, the deputy commander-in-chief of the City Guard, who had always been at odds with the Rangers, interjected. "Let's put it this way, unless the troops are pulled out to fight the barbarians, or if there are people in those villages and farms who are bought by the desert barbarians, I can't think of any reason why the defenses of a dozen villages and farms will collapse in an instant. ”

This is indeed something that everyone in Coventry knows, and Ansenbach was at a loss for words, unable to find a rebuttal. Chiyovala dismissed his political rival, triumphantly turned his gaze to Baron Edelman, and bowed deeply to him.

"Your Excellency, please leave the task of reconnaissance of the enemy to my city guards. I assure you that the lads of the City Guard are far better than the careless Rangers, and will be able to get a clear picture of the movements of the desert barbarians......"

"Thank you for your hard work, Lord Kiyovala. Baron Edelman, who was looking out with a bronze speculum in one hand, suddenly interrupted, "This kind of thing is enough to reconnoiter the enemy's situation, and it is enough to carry out it on the city wall, let's take a look, the army of the desert barbarians can be regarded as menacing this time." ”

Avery also had a monocle in his hand, which, although it looked old and mottled in appearance, was actually much more powerful than the one in Baron Edelman's hand. It's an antique from the City of Wisdom, and a scavenger has traded it for a bronze-grade healing potion, and Avery has used his barely remembered knowledge of the crafting to fiddle with it, and it's still usable, and when combined with alchemy, it's enough to peek into every plant and tree at a distance of about 5 kilometers.

He had discovered the movements of the barbarian army before Baron Edelman, and the only reason why he remained silent was because he was so shocked by the unprecedented size of the army that he lost his ability to speak.

The sun had risen in the air, but the sky to the northwest was still shrouded in dust and haze. It was billowing smoke, and even more so that the sky seemed to be shrouded in terrible shadows. Countless flickering cold lights gradually appeared in the dust, which were the javelins held high by the desert barbarian camel cavalry, the marching war drums rang out like thunder in the distance, and a large area of black oppressive infantry swarmed like a tide all over the mountains, sweeping across the plains and valleys, and one after another came into Avery as if there was no end to it.

Farther afield, hundreds of camels hauled siege engines as tall as windmills, and Avery knew very little about military affairs, including giant catapults made from whole trees, rams wrapped in rough leather with wheels taller than a soldier on horseback, mobile shield carts that resembled a huge tortoise shell fastened to the ground, and siege towers that were ugly and more than forty meters tall with drawbridges that looked like deformed arms.

and countless trailers, countless livestock, countless barbarians carrying and carrying tattered household goods, ragged and tired, like refugees fleeing the famine.

"The gods are above, so many barbarians...... Surely the barbarians of the whole desert have migrated!" Chiyovala's voice changed, it sounded a little funny from the nervousness, but no one on the city wall had the heart to laugh at him, not even Ansenbach, who was in a hostile position, kept his mouth shut.

Dead silence hung over the walls, and someone could seem to be heard sobbing. Avery actually wanted to cry bitterly, not out of fear, but for his unfortunate fate. It was a long time before Baron Edelman's hoarse voice broke the silence.

"Lord Chiyowala, order the third, fourth, sixth, and twelfth companies of the city guard to go to the city and fight, each company defending the walls 100 meters wide. At the same time, four companies were prepared as reserves. Draw two hundred molten gold warriors among the rangers and sheriffs, don't spread them too thin, and form ten support points with the tower as the core, each support point must ensure that a high-level molten gold warrior strengthens the defense, and we must withstand the first wave of onslaught from the desert barbarians!"

Qiyuwala nodded subconsciously, and then reacted, "Your Excellency, this is not in line with the original plan, the city guard only has twelve full companies and three unsatisfactory companies, and your order has made more than half of the men and horses go to the city wall, in this case, it is impossible to maintain the plan of three shifts!"

"The original plan has been nullified, a third of the city guards can't stop the attack of so many desert barbarians, if you don't want to lose the outer city wall in the first place, Lord Kiyovala, you'd better do as your Excellency the Archon instructs. Avery replied in a solemn tone, and then saluted the pale-faced Baron Edelman.

"Somehow must be found to destroy the siege equipment, and I'll go to President Helderland and try to get a batch of fiery gel and poison potion. Your Excellency, if those barbarians send emissaries to declare war, please delay as much time as possible, is it okay?"