713 Elegy of Phoenix Part 1 (1/2)
Outside of Huoxing City and in the camp of the Phoenix rebel army, the chief commander's tentage was full of light. The bodyguards were standing guard outside nervously. The enemy was so strong that it was no longer a question of whether they would be able to take down Huoxing City, but when they would launch the attack that would do so.
The rebel army was passive. There were no big cities in the north that could lend them support. If they joined Solar City in battle in the south, it would mean that they had deserted the entire north.
The tentage was chaotic. This rebel army was formed by hundreds of noble families and its purpose was to take down Huoxing City in order to stabilize the north and provide reinforcement to Solar City if necessary.
In the tentage, the ten or so most powerful noble families were worried. There were three slips of paper on the table. They were found on the pigeons that were shot down by the middle-grade archers in the army.
The content written on them was all the same and they were the reason why the noble families were gloomy.
The pigeons were flying towards Huoxing City and the paper was supposed to inform the commander-in-chief of Huoxing City that Metatrin Kingdom and Bitter Water Prefecture had already formed an alliance and that both their armies would fight as one. Metatrin Kingdom would be leading the attack in the north of Phoenix.
Before the rebel army attacked Huoxing City, Saleen and Lex had yet to become allies, hence this piece of news took everyone by surprise. An actual alliance was very different from just a good relationship. With this treaty, Bitter Water Prefecture would never have to worry about this city no matter how far away they were because Metatrin Kingdom was just too near.
An Earl was in charge while the others in the tentage were Viscounts. The Grand Duke of Phoenix had the power to assign ranks of nobility, but the highest rank he could assign was that of a Viscount. The Earl had inherited his position as his ancestor had served in the Holy Rock City army before becoming a member of the Phoenix noble family and his rank of nobility had been passed down since then. The other Viscounts had received their ranks of nobility from Solar City.
The Viscounts looked toward the Earl, who was stunned. He was not a fool and he understood the meaning of this treaty. The men of Metatrin would now be able to enter Phoenix legitimately because of Lex's five-thousand strong army. Since both parties were now allies, attacking the armies of Bitter Water Prefecture was equivalent to waging war against Metatrin as well.
At this point, the soldiers outside the tentage reported that Huoxing City had sent a messenger.
The messenger was a native of Huoxing City. He was asked to wait outside the tentage while the package was brought in. The Earl's hands quivered after taking a look at the contents of the package.
The Earl's hands quivered out of rage and not fear.
The other party was asking him to surrender and the tone of the message was rigid. If they chose not to surrender, the armies of Huoxing City would keep no prisoners.
”What is written on the letter?” The members of the noble families that surrounded the Earl saw the ugly expression on the Earl's face and could not help but ask. The Earl thought about it and decided to pass the letter around for them to read.
Everyone reacted differently after reading the letter, but one thing was common and that was that everyone's expression had changed.
The armies of Huoxing City were extremely powerful. The Phoenix rebel army had fought against them a few times, but had never emerged victorious. Now that they had even outnumbered the Phoenix rebel army, this letter could not be considered as an insult.
It was simply a threat and a warning.
The Earl understood the intention of the letter. He sighed and said, ”What do all of you think?”
”Of course, we must fight to the death!” A Marquis said furiously.
”Hehe, we will die if we choose to fight. Let's not be stubborn. Everyone has heard of how cruel the people of Metatrin can be. No one knows how the one-hundred-thousand Holy See expedition were all killed by the Metatrins with no survivors,” the Earl's voice was deep and he continued, ”I have five-thousand soldiers under my command and I have decided to back out from this battle. If anyone opposes my decision, you can deal with me right now.”
The noble families were stunned but the Earl continued on, ”The alliance between Metatrin and Bitter Water Prefecture has made them unstoppable. Holy Rock City must have acknowledged their statuses. We are better off surrendering to Metatrin than to Holy Rock City. The peace between them is only temporal. One day, we will be able to get our land back.”
”But won't we lose everything if we surrender? The Metatrins want our land!”
The Earl looked at the person who spoke and said, ”If we go into battle, will we get everything back? We can still start fresh if we surrender. I heard that the King of Metatrin Kingdom has taken in quite a number of Phoenix and Luolan noble families. Although they have yet to be given lands, they have received protection for all their private properties and soldiers.”
Seeing how everyone was still hesitant, the Earl continued, ”Didn't you see that the army that entered Huoxing City comprised of quite a number of soldiers that came from noble families previously of Phoenix? The reason why they are attacking us is because they will be given land if they win.”