Early morning, a light mist.

The Lunlang family's troops began to assemble. The soldiers had been told earlier that today they would no longer be spectators, but rather actors who would take the stage themselves.

At the entrance of the Lunlang family's camp, Gosarun Lang, fully armed, gazed at Donic's castle in the distance through the thin mist, a barely perceptible smile appearing on his lips.

He glanced to both sides; the camps of the Ars and Tra families were also bustling with activity, clearly indicating they had risen to watch the Lunlang family's siege performance. This thought made Gossa even happier.

“A bunch of fools, it’s time to show you your true fighting power,” Gossa thought smugly, though his brother Adam saw it as blatant opportunism and theft of others’ hard-earned money. Gossa, however, didn’t see it that way. He felt he had given the two barons ample time to prove themselves; they simply hadn’t seized the opportunity.

And he, of course, wouldn't make that mistake.

At the age of seven, he was sent to the capital to serve as a page, training under a great knight. Ten years later, he earned his knighthood and returned to his hometown. For the past three years, he has devoted himself to training and building what he considers an invincible army, and in his spare time, he has also traveled to the capital to exchange and learn about warfare techniques. In short, this life, which may seem somewhat obsessive and monotonous to outsiders, has continued for three years, until this day.

"It's time to show my true skills, Donic City, you are my first victory!" Gosa said with great pride, then turned to look at his camp. The soldiers had already assembled, and his brother was slowly walking towards him.

“Gossa, the soldiers are waiting for you to say something. Say a few words,” Adam said, walking up to Gossa’s horse.

Gossa looked at the soldiers standing in neat rows, their spears and swords gleaming, their shields sturdy, and their armor impeccable. This was the strongest army Gossa had ever seen.

"Friends, soldiers!" Gossa's voice rose sharply when he said the word "soldier." "For three years, we've sweated together, we've suffered together. You've always had a question in your hearts: why are we doing this? Today, the answer will be revealed!" Gossa drew his longsword, pointing it towards the distant Donic Castle. "There lies a formidable army. Although the poor performance of our allies may have led you to misunderstand them, do not underestimate them. They are an army worthy of being called a rival, at least more deserving of that title than our allies."

Adam looked at Gossa with some confusion. "What are you talking about, my brother?" But he didn't say those words; he just looked at Gossa with curiosity.

“However,” Gosa’s tone rose again, his voice growing louder, “I call them strong only to illustrate one point: it is precisely because of their strength that they deserve our intervention, that they are worthy of our intervention! The Lunlang family’s army does not slaughter weak forces! The Lunlang family’s army only defeats strong enemies!”

An astonishing cheer erupted from the military camp, with shouts of "We will not slay the weak, but only defeat the strong!" echoing throughout. Even soldiers from surrounding camps craned their necks to look at the Lunlang family's army.

Gosa watched the soldiers' reaction with satisfaction, then looked smugly at his brother.

Adam was still somewhat puzzled. He found it amusing how these words could excite these soldiers. Shouldn't they have said something like, "The gold is in the city; if we win, it'll all be ours"? However, he was indeed not very good at, or rather, knew nothing about, military affairs. Since the outcome was good, it didn't matter.

“Brother, what my army needs is not gold and silver, but something more important than gold and silver,” Gossa seemed to understand his brother’s thoughts and said with a smile, “pride.”

Adam paused awkwardly for a moment, then smiled helplessly. "Was my expression that obvious?"

Gossa looked at his soldiers with a smug expression. "Father always talks about interests, which is fine in politics, but it doesn't work in the army. Brother, you are most like Father, so it's not hard for you to think of these things."

Adam couldn't help but think more highly of his younger brother; it seemed he wasn't the simple, military-obsessed soldier that outsiders described. Adam rubbed his nose and patted Gosa on the shoulder, "Do a good job, and don't get hurt."

Gesa nodded and patted his brother on the shoulder.

Half an hour later, the bugle call to attack rang out outside Donic Castle. The Lunlang family's army, marching in formation and high spirits to the beat of the drums, moved toward Donic Castle.

On the castle, George and Philby looked at each other, their eyes filled with despair. They had fewer than two hundred uninjured soldiers left, while below the castle, a full thousand fully armed soldiers, their morale high.

"Another surprise attack like yesterday?" George asked Philby tentatively.

“We don’t have enough soldiers. If you’re confident you can lead two hundred men to hold out for an hour, I’m confident I can lead those wounded soldiers to launch another surprise attack.”

George gave an awkward laugh, then looked towards the distant woods, where everything was quiet and there was no sign of anyone. That was the fastest place reinforcements could reach.

"Is that all for today?" George asked.

“It seems that this is the end of the day,” Philby said, drawing his longsword and examining it closely. “However, I can take a few more down with me.”

“I’m going to the basement to get them out of here. I think that should hold out for at least an hour, my old buddy.”

“No problem, but you underestimate me by just one hour, old friend,” Philby said, brandishing his longsword and strolling down the long steps.

Yun Zhe looked at the soldiers behind him; after a short rest of less than three hours, they had regained some of their strength. Beside him were Andrew and Arthas, who hadn't slept all night. They were hiding in the woods closest to the reinforcements, watching Lun Lang's army advance towards the castle in neat formation.

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