Food, iron ore, coal, skilled workers—everything that could be used for war and survival was on Free City's list.
Free City was already half a step behind. Prices for those goods had climbed to two or three times their usual levels.
Fortunately, Free City had always been able to obtain cheap resources from the Dimon Kingdom. Annan's order two years earlier to clear vast stretches of farmland had also produced so much grain that some of it had to be turned into alcohol.
Meanwhile, the Industrial District worked day and night to produce the boots, armor, Golems, and muskets needed for war. Thick smoke rose constantly above the Blacksmith Shops. Not even the sea breeze could disperse it. Each morning, it mingled with the sea fog over Free City, leaving people coughing throughout the city.
Only when Lilith added the Breeze Domain Runes to the Mage Tower did she stop Free City's people from developing chronic nasal irritation.
As Free City mobilized, reinforcements arrived to the northeast, in the Pearl Territory.
The nobles of the Pearl Territory had been waiting anxiously for Free City's reinforcements.
Annan liked to say nobles judged everything by appearances, but in truth, every race and every class was much the same.
The arriving cavalry looked so imposing and stern that even the Empire's elite cavalry could hardly have made a better impression. When everyone realized these were the famed Hellfire Legion, they felt reassured.
The Hellfire Legion did not disappoint. After learning exactly where the Ratfolk had been causing trouble, the legion divided into ten teams. They formed a line across the plain and advanced, keeping close enough to support one another.
When they encountered a village occupied by a Rat Swarm, they did not all rush in. The center kept advancing while the flanks