All My Summons Become Divine Girls

Chapter 241: The Mine Raid

The third drill ended with every shelter lead raising a hand, allowing the gold convoy to enter town beneath the eastern bell. Six wagons rolled through Loccy’s cart gap before turning toward the southern road, their tarps tied over enough gold to keep the region working.

Hajin walked beside the lead wagon while Hans watched the ridge from the wall, refusing a seat despite the strain still left in his leg.

The first real bell strike came before the rear wagon cleared the gate.

Two more followed without a pause, sending the eastern crews toward cover while guards ran for the road opening. One driver abandoned his wagon across the clinic route, forcing two families around its rear axle before Elise reached him.

"Move the horse, then leave the wagon," she said, taking the bridle from his hands, "the clinic route stays open."

Sable pulled the wagon tongue aside with three workers, clearing a narrow path as children reached Vella’s shelter.

The drill had taught everyone somewhere to go, though half the miners still chose the wrong wall before Lana redirected them.

Hajin reached the eastern post as twenty-four riders entered the mine bend behind a barrier cart.

Their coats carried no crest, but the lead rider held a quarantine order stamped with Flint wax above the regional road seal.

"Convoy remains where it stands," the rider said, lifting the paper toward the wall, "all mineral assets are seized pending a capital contamination review."

Marrick arrived behind Hajin with the matching blockade notices, reading the new order before shaking his head.

"The capital has not approved a contamination review," he said, holding up the earlier papers, "your seal belongs to a Flint road captain, not a royal office."

"Under the eastern quarantine, we have temporary seizure authority," the rider said, folding the order against his saddle, "move your people before they become part of the enforcement action."

Hans studied the men behind him, counting six shields near the front plus crossbows held beneath travel cloaks.

"They are hired soldiers," he said, keeping his voice below the wall, "the rear line watches officers, while the front waits for one command."

The lead rider lowered his hand, bringing every shield forward at the same moment.

Two crossbow bolts struck the bell post, cutting one rope before the worker threw himself behind the parapet.

"Loccy takes the opening," Hajin said, looking toward the barrier cart, "keep them outside without closing our escape gaps."

Loccy summoned her hammer into both hands, then moved through the defenders before anyone mistook the order for permission to charge.

"Elise, clear the clinic route," he said, pointing toward the stalled wagon, "Sable takes the rear of every civilian group."

Both women left the wall, pulling recruits away from the cart gap before their spearheads trapped Loccy inside it.

"Vella gets every wounded person behind the second barrier," Hajin said, looking toward the clinic, "Cassie’s party carries anyone who cannot walk."

Vella opened her violet barrier across the treatment lane, creating cover while Cassie directed Jonas plus Toby toward the road crews.

Juna remained beside Hajin, staring above the riders toward the northern ridge where the scouts had mapped the wall.

"Find the flank," he said, following her eyes, "if they copied the first report, someone is already moving above us."

She left the post without opening a Wing, disappearing beneath the ridge before the mercenary captain gave his next order.

The barrier cart moved first, pushed by four men while shield riders walked beside its reinforced front.

Loccy planted her hammer inside the road opening, leaving both side gaps clear for the defenders behind her.

"Last warning," the captain said, pointing the quarantine order toward Hajin, "release the wagons and nobody inside the town needs to bleed."

"Take the paper back to whoever paid you," Hajin said, resting one hand near his right wrist, "the convoy is leaving on schedule."

The captain returned the order to his coat, then drove his horse behind the advancing cart where the wall archers could not reach him.

Crossbows fired from the ridge line, striking the road braces Ferra’s workers had reinforced that morning. One bolt caught a convoy guard through the calf, dropping him beside the third wagon before Jonas reached him.

Toby released a white flash toward the crossbows, forcing three shooters to loose their next bolts into the wall.

Cassie raised an earth barrier across the wounded guard, giving Jonas cover while he carried the man toward Vella.

"They knew the treatment lane," Sable said, reaching the clinic route as another bolt struck Vella’s barrier, "the first volley went straight across it."

"Then keep people below the wagon line," Vella said, strengthening the violet wall, "I can hold this angle while you move them."

Elise cut the stalled horse free, clearing the final obstruction before pushing the driver toward Lana’s shelter count.

The workers moved badly, tripping over dropped tools and entering shelters out of order, but none remained in the open road.

Hans watched the barrier cart reach the first turn, where its right wheels entered the channel Loccy had left between the blocks.

"They know the bend," he said, pointing toward the captain hidden behind it, "someone gave them the opening plus the range from that ridge."

Loccy waited until the cart committed to the channel, shifting her hammer toward its front axle without leaving the gate. The mercenaries behind it spread into two lines, keeping their shields angled against the wall instead of crowding forward.

"Bandits would be at the wagons by now," Hans said, adjusting his spear against the parapet, "six riders have not moved, so they are waiting for us to commit."

Hajin counted the reserve riders, finding six who had never looked at the wagons despite the fortune beneath the tarps.

They were waiting for defenders to move east, confirming Hans’s read of the reserve formation.

Lana reached the post with her slate held against her chest, carrying four shelter pages covered in fresh marks.

"The mine crew is short one hauler," she said, finding the line with her chalk, "Toma left the town before the drill, but nobody at the mine saw him arrive."

His wife stood behind Lana with both children, looking toward the eastern road while the bell continued above them.

"He had the water cart," she said, gripping the younger child’s shoulder, "the post guard waved him through before the first ring."

Hajin looked toward the mine route, where the visible attack had placed twenty-four armed men between town and the bend.

Juna returned along the wall with pine needles caught in her hair, her face turned toward a second trail beyond the ridge.

"Four men left the scouts’ path before the bells," she said, extending one claw toward the northern trees, "their tracks go around Loccy’s wall, not toward it."

Below them, the barrier cart entered the choke point as Loccy raised her hammer for the first strike.