I Created Scientific Magic

In mid-August, in Steel City Seltodne, located in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Hattar, Marquis Ulysses had not had a good night's sleep for more than a month.

In recent times, the situation throughout the kingdom had been tumultuous, with changes occurring so rapidly that it was hard to believe.

Half a year ago, the lords of the kingdom were still choosing sides, discussing the succession of the heir to the throne. Ulysses, as a neutral party, wasn't particularly interested in who would become king, since the decrees from the capital had little impact on these border lords.

However, he never expected Prince Hattar to have the audacity to conspire with the notoriously infamous Wizard and even seize the capital, assassinating King Basel!

This act shocked the entire kingdom!

Although their new King claimed that the Eldest Prince had joined forces with a cardinal of the church to commit the appalling act of patricide, and that he himself had ascended to the throne to restore order, such a clumsy excuse was unlikely to fool even the most ignorant of commoners!

This event was bound to provoke the wrath of the church!

Considering this, Ulysses feigned compliance with Hattar's call to arms, regrouping under the kingdom's rule, but in reality, he joined with some border nobles to report the fallen state of the kingdom.

Once Edwell led his punitive forces and arrived, Ulysses did not hesitate to welcome the royal troops!

He was very clear about the power possessed by the Empire and the church. The followers of the Evil God might indeed flex their temporary might, committing the tragedy of killing the king within the kingdom, but as soon as the church's armies arrived, they would be slaughtered in an instant!

Ulysses was so convinced of this, yet within less than a month, he received news of the church's punitive forces suffering a crushing defeat, with the entire army annihilated...

At the moment he received the news, Ulysses was devastated; he couldn't believe that such a powerful expedition could experience such a disastrous defeat and even suspected that the scouts were conspiring to fabricate stories to deceive him.

When he finally confirmed the news was accurate, Ulysses plunged into great panic and also faced an extremely important decision.

Should he continue to follow the church's orders, or should he turn and rush into the embrace of the new king...

As a qualified noble, Ulysses had no scruples; whether it was a lowly assassin or a disreputable Wizard, as long as they were useful, he always welcomed all comers.

Of course, he had faith in God, albeit not much, and it dwindled even further after the army's crushing defeat!

Sticking with the winners was precisely the secret of the Ulysses family's survival for hundreds of years and continuous growth...

Nevertheless, Ulysses ultimately chose to wait and see because, over the past month, the Wizards who had achieved initial victories showed no sign of movement whatsoever. This led him to suspect that perhaps the followers of the Evil God had also been severely damaged in the war, and thus dared not step out of the capital.

Dressed in a nightgown, Ulysses paced around his vast estate. Before long, he received news from his returning spies. Without even bothering to change his clothes, Ulysses hurriedly summoned them over and eagerly asked,

"What is the situation like in the capital now? Are there any movements from King Hattar and the Wizards?"

"Reporting back to your lordship," said a robust Knight, half-kneeling on the ground, reporting in a low voice, "the minions of the Evil God leading the army have already left the royal city, and it is roughly estimated that there are more than thirty thousand men, divided into three legions, the whereabouts of two of which are currently unknown..."

"Gone missing?" Ulysses frowned with dissatisfaction. It should've been impossible to conceal the movements of such a large army.

"And what about the other legion? Don't tell me you've lost track of them too?" Ulysses asked in a cold voice.

"My lord, they... they are right behind us!" the Knight stammered.

"Behind us?" Ulysses was startled for a moment.

"They are now just outside the city! Less than ten kilometers away from Steel City!" the burly Knight answered cautiously.

"Outside the city?! So soon?" Ulysses was shocked, his eyes widened; the capital was a full two hundred kilometers from here, separating this location was Earl Hansen's territory, with no fewer than five strongholds and over twenty villages and towns!

Could it be that this army of tens of thousands had somehow flown over?

Ulysses immediately thought of the intelligence he had received earlier, about those alchemical creations reportedly as big as houses yet able to fly in the sky. He rushed out, mounted the finest warhorse in the manor, and within a mere five minutes, arrived atop the city walls.

Dressed in his night clothes, Ulysses was highly conspicuous on the city walls. Fortunately, at this time, no one cared about the impropriety of their lord, because on the horizon, an army of more than ten thousand was advancing towards Steel City.

In the front were a dozen or so exquisitely designed iron boxes, somewhat akin to the carriage of a cart, but not reliant on beast of burden to pull them, speeding freely across the wide plains, with enormous and fierce cannons being dragged behind by iron chains.

The tens of thousands of firearms troops followed on either side of the iron boxes, moving in well-ordered rows that remained undisturbed despite the length, each holding a long wooden stick with a sharp blade tied to the top.

Had Ulysses seen this device for the first time, he would have thought it to be some kind of shortspear. According to scouts' reports, however, this so-called firearm was an incredibly powerful long-distance witchcraft creation, containing within it the power of thunder and fire, capable of easily penetrating iron armor from a hundred meters away, causing Duke Rickman's prized Cavalry troops to break and sink into despair...

The only relief for Ulysses was that he did not see those giant flying alchemical creations.

Even so, their chances for victory were slim, for Seltodne could never be more fortified than the capital!

Not to mention that even the Pope's crusading army had suffered devastating defeat, let alone themselves!

Ulysses immediately analyzed the situation, considering whether to open the gates and surrender.

He was inclined to do so, but the Archbishop of Seltodne and the group of Priests were close at hand, and these people had received the news even faster than himself!

"There's no need to worry too much, Marquis Ulysses," the Archbishop said as if he saw through Ulysses's reluctance to fight, speaking reassuringly. "I have received a revelation from the Lord. Her Highness, Saintess Lucia, will personally lead the troops to exterminate these minions of the Evil God who have committed heinous crimes in the kingdom. We just need to hold on for a while, and victory will be within our reach."

"When the time comes, I will make known your merits to His Holiness the Pope, and you shall be the next King of Hadulata!" the Archbishop said resolutely.

(PS: The second chapter will be a little late, around 2 p.m.)