Chapter 932 - Beginning of the Siege (1/2)
Chapter 932: Beginning of the Siege
“Oh my goodness…”
The city owner shivered as he watched the city covered in thick smoke and blazing flames. He heard howls of wild beasts and the screams of humans. Fortunately, he had sealed up the entrance to this residence before the riot began and stationed armored soldiers to stand guard. If not, he wouldn’t have been safe from this disaster. He initially believed that the problem would be resolved quickly by the Alanic Family. He knew that he was only a puppet with no authority.
And now…
It was apparent from the blazing flames that no one attempted to put out the flames. The entire city was also in a horrible mess with scattered objects, corpses, and blood. Currently, bandits who lived in the shadows of the city were also wreaking havoc. The garrisons were completely useless and none of them were seen on the streets. Moreover, the Alanic manor was surrounded by a sea of flames. No one was available to stop the bandits from plundering. The only thing that ordinary citizens could do in this situation was to defend their doors, praying softly that those troublemakers wouldn’t enter their homes. But even so, many of them couldn’t avoid the tragic fate.
“What should I do…”
The city owner gnashed his teeth and looked into the distance as a group of bandits threw torches into one of the houses. Shortly after, thick black smoke rose from the chimney and a mother and son pair ran out of the house, only to be captured. In an instant, the bandits slitted the son’s throat while the wailing mother was dragged into the dark alley.
What should I do… What should I do… I’ve lost contact with Sir Shane and my dozen garrison men are totally an inadequate measure. It’s impossible to rely on them to deal with the bandits!
Screech…
“Who’s there!?”
The city owner turned to the door in a fluster. It was a person who he couldn’t be more familiar with.
“C-Clive? Why are you here? How did you get in?”
“You’ve forgotten that I’m your assistant, Sir. How would I not know about the secret escape route in your home?”
Clive felt complicated emotions at the sight of this pale, miserable old man. He was powerless while watching all the disasters bombarding Highland City. The entire city was in complete chaos now. Although he did find some subordinates who supported him, their numbers were far from enough to be effective in any way. If it weren’t for the response from the Void Territory, he wouldn’t have waited this long. No matter what, this was their city, one that he grew up in. How could he possibly do nothing to rescue it?
“W-What are you doing here?”
The city owner’s expression instantly turned stiff. But shortly after, he seemed to have recalled something.
“Clive, you must have a solution, right?! Tell me, Clive. What should I do?”
“I don’t have any solution, Sir.”
Clive gnashed his teeth. Frankly speaking, if he had a choice, he wouldn’t have chosen this path. But now, the so-called choice was totally meaningless. All he could do next was to continue heading down this path and trust that the Void Territory kept their promise. And now, he came here in order to fulfill this promise.
“Our forces alone aren’t enough to prevent this situation from worsening. Sir Morey’s death has sent the entire city into turmoil and the Alanic Family can no longer handle the situation either. The nearest Country of Light’s army will require at least three days to arrive. Sir, do you think we can hang on until then? Perhaps the city will turn into ruins by then.”
As though affirming his words, deep and loud explosions erupted yet again on the outside. A streak of scarlet flare flashed in the sky and scared the city owner witless.
“T-Then what should I do?”
“Sir, we only have one solution to save this city…” Clive paused and eventually said. “We have to submit to the Void Territory and accept the rule of the Void Dragon. Only this will make the riots and chaos stop!”
“What?! Void Territory?!”
The city owner exclaimed. After a few moments, he shook his head quickly.
“N-No! How can we seek protection from the Void Territory? Aren’t we done for too if the Light Parliament knows about it? Haven’t you heard, Clive? Monsters live in the Void Territory! Are you willing to let the people of Highland City carry the reputation of monsters? I would rather this city be destroyed completely!”
“Huh? Monsters?”
Clive revealed a bitter smile.
“Sir, please don’t believe in your own lies. Look at the sky above us. Are you really so naive to think that the Country of Light treats us as humans? No! In the past when we were under the Light Dragon soul protection, did they ever treat us like humans? What do you think we are now, Sir? And what do you think we were in the past? We’re nothing. We’re just ants and chess pieces. Same goes for this city and its people. Do you think we have a choice? No, we don’t.”
Clive went up to the city owner.
“So, please give up your position as the city owner. If you do it now, you can still enjoy the rest of your life, Sir. I’ve contacted the Void Territory; this chaos in Highland City can’t continue any longer. As long as you’re willing to hand the city owner stamp to me, everything will come to an end. I guarantee that Highland City will not perish.”
“I refuse!”
The city owner snarled in his ashen expression.
“Don’t even think about it! Clive, I know you’ve been eyeing my position for a long time. I refuse to let you hand Highland City over to a group of monsters! Indeed, we may have been treated as slaves by the Country of Light, but we’re humans after all! Monsters are still monsters no matter how well they treat us! I would rather die than hand Highland City over to the monsters! I would rather let the people lead miserable lives under the rule of humans than to be ruled by monsters! If you want to stop me, you will need to kill me!”
“As you wish.”
In an instant, an ice-cold blade penetrated the city owner’s back and through his chest. The city owner widened his eyes in disbelief. As the blade was withdrawn, the city owner’s flame of life instantly extinguished and he became an ice-cold corpse as soon as he hit the ground.
“Didn’t I say leave him to me?”
Clive clutched the sword in his hand and glared at the elf assassin who emerged from the shadows.
“I know, but sometimes it is best that humans don’t carry the burden of some unnecessary matters. Now, let’s carry out our agreement.”
The elf vanished into the shadows while Clive stared blankly. After a few moments, he lowered his head and let out a sigh at the sight of the corpse.
“Yes, Sir. I guarantee that Highland City will not be destroyed.”
“The Country of Light’s army will arrive in half a day’s time? That’s fast.”
Rhode was astonished. He didn’t expect them to arrive so quickly. But it seemed like everything was as he predicted. The Light Parliament had already sent their men to monitor the city a long time ago, which explained why they were quick to send reinforcements. Shane even thought that they would never seek assistance from the Light Parliament unless it was absolutely necessary, but to the Light Parliament, no matter how small the scale of riot, it was a perfectly justifiable chance to station their military here, which would bring them closer to their goal. Therefore, Rhode was clear that the Light Parliament would definitely mobilize their army earlier, but he didn’t expect them to be this fast. Come to think of it, if he recalled correctly, hadn’t more than half of their forces been wiped up during their war against the Country of Darkness? How were they able to mobilize troops so quickly? This wasn’t logical at all… Well, forget it. Nothing was logical in this world to begin with.