Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord Chapter 455 : You're Not Dead?

Chapter 455: You're Not Dead?

When Gwen led her team to storm into the military camp, she was completely taken aback by the scene before her.

The Winter Wolves were moving corpses.

At first glance, Gwen thought the Winter Wolves Guard had been wiped out—blood was flowing everywhere across the entire camp.

But upon closer inspection, there were only about a dozen bodies, though nearly all of them had been drained of blood.

Those corpses had been stacked into a twisted throne. The sight was terrifying. Gwen didn’t bother to analyze what kind of performance art they were engaging in—she raised her sword and shouted:

“Open fire!”

The Resistance fighters held all sorts of weapons. The muskets brought by Isaac weren’t enough to fully arm everyone, but they'd also captured a fair number during their last skirmish. Most people could at least fire a single shot.

The soldiers in the vanguard raised their guns and fired a volley. The Winter Wolves on the other side were completely caught off guard, standing dumbfounded as they were riddled with bullets.

There was no need to aim at this range—several people in the front were shot to pieces, and even several behind them fell.

More and more Resistance fighters were arriving. The gunfire crackled continuously, never fully stopping, and even a few feathered arrows whizzed through the air.

Now the Winter Wolves were finally drawn over. Having just been disciplined by Lina and lost many of their officers, they didn’t anticipate a sudden attack at all.

And so the batch of soldiers who had just erged ended up catching a barrage of bullets with their faces. The first wave of Resistance fighters had just finished reloading and fired a second volley.

A large swath of Winter Wolves collapsed instantly. Having already been shaken by Lina earlier, the rain of bullets and the constant fall of their comrades seed to trigger a chain reaction—snapping the last taut string in the Winter Wolves’ minds.

They stood dumbfounded, surrounded by wailing comrades, blood underfoot, blood on their bodies, blood on their comrades’ faces. It felt like they had arrived in hell—and when they ca to, reality was no different from it.

The wailing sounded like a hymn. The gunfire was music. Below was a crimson stage, and the audience beneath it called out their numbers through dark muzzles.

And the ones on the stage…

Were they supposed to dance?

Fear and blood flowed together. Madness spread like a plague. Those white-haired, white-eyed people from the White Raven Principality had already charged in. They were the demons of hell, here to devour their flesh.

Madness filled the eyes of the Winter Wolves.

The panic tugged at the very walls of reality, triggering greater chaos. The endless whispers rose within the hearts of the Winter Wolves.

Everyone instinctively tried to flee. Their minds were blank. They didn’t know what had happened or where to run. Their hearts were gripped by fear, leaving them completely unable to think.

The camp had collapsed.

They shoved and trampled each other.

When Gwen realized there was no organized resistance, she didn’t hesitate. She tossed away her musket and ramrod, raised her longsword, and charged.

“Cease fire! Charge! Charge! Kill them all!!”

The Resistance fighters howled as they charged forward.

A few Winter Wolves retained so semblance of sanity and tried to retaliate. They intended to hide behind the crowd and fire back with their guns. But upon seeing the Resistance charging headlong, they abandoned that idea and fled for their lives instead.

Gwen swung her sword and hacked wildly in all directions, but she soon realized she had run into a problem.

True, the Winter Wolves had lost their courage and rationality. They were running around like wild boars.

But on a battlefield, it was actually easier to capture two hundred people than two hundred pigs.

Point a gun at a soldier, and he’d raise his hands and squat obediently. But these Winter Wolves didn’t stop no matter how many guns were pointed at them.

So Resistance fighters even got injured...

In short, the camp had descended into chaos—and that chaos quickly spread into the town. Though the Resistance had gained the upper hand in combat, they were still outnumbered.

One person could capture three squads but couldn’t possibly watch over two pigs.

And so Gwen despairingly realized that she and the Resistance had been dragged into a full-blown ss by the other side—a kind of ssy brawl that the Winter Wolves had ample experience in.

Experience in running for their lives.

The fighting dragged on from day to night. The Resistance was utterly exhausted before they finally managed to drive out or kill all the Winter Wolves in town—and that was with help from the townsfolk.

As for counting spoils or enemy casualties… that was nearly impossible. Gwen only knew that at least dozens of Winter Wolves had been killed. Most had fled the town. The Resistance and townsfolk suffered so casualties too, but not many.

As for captured goods, there were plenty. The Resistance had seized nearly half of the Winter Wolves’ equipnt and supplies. Why only half? Because the Winter Wolves Guard had too many people—Grizzly Town could only host so many of them.

After an entire day of fighting, Gwen and the rest of the Resistance were warmly welcod by the townsfolk. Unlike before, the people now utterly hated the Winter Wolves.

Previously, quite a few townsfolk had joined the Resistance. In this battle, under Gwen’s command, the Resistance had deliberately avoided harming ordinary townspeople—and even rescued them multiple tis.

There was no need for speeches. Victory was the best recruitnt order. The Winter Wolves, once lording over the people, had now gone mad with fear. The townspeople now looked at the Resistance with completely different eyes.

The young Resistance fighters were all given plenty to drink. Thankfully, the Winter Wolves weren’t organized enough for a night attack—if the units stationed in the other two towns ca over, it would’ve been trouble.

Gwen had also drunk a few glasses. Slightly tipsy, she wandered through the town, danced a little with so enthusiastic young ladies, quarreled with a cat in an alley, and then wandered back to the camp to sit atop that throne of corpses for a while.

Finally, sobered up by the breeze, she sat more comfortably on the throne and bit her finger, looking troubled.

“To think we actually took the town just like that.”

“What should we do next? Those Winter Wolves who fled must’ve gone to warn the other two towns.”

“This is going to be a problem. The Resistance only has about ninety people right now. The combined garrison of the other two towns must be at least three hundred, not counting the ones who ran there...”

Gwen’s headache only worsened.

Sure, the battle was won—but what about tomorrow?

Fighting in the streets was one thing, but outside was open plains. Were they supposed to play a ga of tag against cavalry with three tis their numbers?

But if they didn’t go out, how were they supposed to hold the town? The main Resistance force was still at the camp. They were only supposed to be here for an ambush...

A tangled ss filled her mind. In the end, Gwen sighed and gave up on thinking.

“Guess I should check on Mr. Isaac first.”

When she finally reached the room where Isaac was kept, he opened his eyes right at that mont. His gaze locked onto Gwen, and he imdiately blurted out in a panic:

“Gwen? What are you doing here!? Run! Take everyone and go—I’ll hold her off!!”