Chapter 130 My battle seems to have only just begun...
“Now we need to rush out and fight my uncle’s 30,000 troops, and lure 20,000 mercenaries in. But there are less than 10,000 troops in the city now, and some of them have been killed or wounded.” Di Yaruo looked at me. “Do you have a way to let us gain the greatest benefit with the least loss? I don’t want the 20,000 mercenaries outside the city to expend too much effort or die too many times. There are still tough battles to fight later.”
“Yes,” I’ve been thinking about how to break through these past few days, “I need to find a group of guards who can swim.”
On the fifteenth day of the siege of the annexed capital, at noon, the city gates suddenly burst open, and a large group of armored guards rushed out shouting battle cries. Although the guards of the capital had been stationed outside and were on high alert, they were still a beat too slow to react to the onrushing fierce troops, and their morale was greatly dampened. Fortunately, the commander and general were experienced in combat and quickly adjusted their mindset, directing the guards to fight bravely.
More than half an hour later, the auxiliary royal city guards who had already crossed the river were defeated by the main royal city guards. Their hard-won morale was also greatly damaged, and a small number of guards began to flee and retreat.
“Listen carefully,” said Bernard, his blue eyes deep, standing atop a distant mountaintop dressed in a pure black hooded coat. “Save her and get out. No matter what she says, save only her!”
The elite guards behind him immediately obeyed the order.
She was so disobedient; she didn't wait for him obediently in that room. He only needed to be busy for two days to take her away, but instead, she was trapped in the subordinate royal city.
He was very angry, but he couldn't do anything about it.
As the battle along the moat intensified, and the vassal capital was in complete disarray, more and more guards fled frantically to the other side of the river.
As time went on, the situation worsened.
Half of the guards from the subordinate royal city had already crossed the moat, and most of the guards from the main royal city had followed. The generals on the other side of the main royal city had already shouted their victory, and the defeat seemed inevitable.
Bernard's gaze turned cold, and he was about to order a rescue when the tide of battle suddenly turned.
With a deafening shout from the side of the annexed royal city, several loud booms seemed to shake the heavens and earth. A surging river rushed in, and the water level of the moat, which was only half a person deep, rose rapidly. The guards of the royal city who were crossing the river were caught off guard. Not only were they disoriented by the current, but those who were not good swimmers drowned. Only a small number of the royal city guards managed to swim back to the shore.
A small group of guards swam to the side of the annexed royal city, but were all killed by the guards of the annexed royal city. The two generals who were leading them were also riddled with arrows as they came from the direction of the annexed royal city.
The guards on the other side of the moat stared in disbelief, their faces filled with horror.
These two generals were their main force, and their tragic deaths dealt them a heavy blow.
At this moment, the water level of the protective river suddenly dropped again, and the guards of the subordinate royal city charged forward again, shouting and fighting. The remaining troops of the great royal city fought desperately while retreating quickly.
Just as the retreat from the main royal city was almost complete, 20,000 mercenaries from the subordinate royal city suddenly appeared from the other side of the mountain and rushed into the subordinate royal city with great speed and order.
Meanwhile, Bernot also received immediate intelligence: it turned out that some guards from the subordinate royal city had blocked the mouth of the moat with sandbags, causing the water level in the subordinate royal city to drop. When the guards from the main royal city crossed the river, they quickly removed the sandbags, causing the water level to rise. Some guards drowned, others fled, and morale plummeted.
They then blocked the river mouth again, causing the water level to drop. The guards of the vassal city rushed out again and routed the remaining enemy army. When the enemy army had almost retreated, the 20,000 mercenaries of the vassal city drove straight in, preserving their full strength.
“Keep a close eye on tonight!” Bernard said coldly.
All sieges should be carried out sooner rather than later.
However, by midnight, there was still no movement. The largest independent capital was heavily guarded, with everyone on high alert and the atmosphere extremely tense, fearing a surprise attack. But the subordinate capital remained completely silent.
Just then, Bernard received another secret intelligence report, his eyes wide with shock: "The widow's breach of the city and the flooding of the enemy army were all Lana's ideas?"
"Yes, Your Highness," the elite guard replied, bowing.
Meanwhile, inside the affiliated royal city, Di Yaruo was bathing in the hot spring, letting her maid comb her long hair while gazing intently at the beautiful night view outside the pool. "You mean, we have to wait a little longer?"
The hot spring pool is built halfway up the mountain and is completely open-air. Apart from a few round pillars surrounding the pool, there is nothing else.
I didn't intend to bathe naked here, so I sat by the pool and talked to Di Yaruo.
"One or two hours should be about right."
The deepest night is about to begin, followed by dawn.
“I originally thought that meeting me was your good fortune. Without me, you would never have escaped the most heavily guarded prison in the Eastern Territory.” Di Ya Ruo’s body was mostly submerged in the water, and the maid could only wash a few strands of her long hair that were sticking out. “But I never expected that you would also be my good fortune.”
"Wherever the superpowered woman is, that place will see a turning point."
She seemed to be deeply moved.
“I’m going back to my room to take a shower,” I said, standing up from the pool. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
The secondary capital was built on the mountainside, and the mountain road was winding and meandering. It took me a while to get back to my room. As soon as I opened the door, a figure suddenly appeared. I was startled, but after recognizing him, I managed to hold back my anger and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Haiya was dressed in a black robe and wore a black hood, making it impossible to see his face. He looked furtive.
He grabbed my wrist, and I felt disgusted and tried to shake him off. "Have you been spared from my whipping lately?"
“Listen to me,” he said, gripping me tighter, “we’ll cooperate and get rid of Di Yaruo. She’s no good, cooperating with her will only lead to death, but if we cooperate with you, I’ll have a chance to live.”
"What nonsense are you talking about?!" I said impatiently.
“She married me only for the throne of the West. She is not a direct descendant of the West royal family and cannot be the queen of the West. But she can marry me and manipulate me into a puppet king, while she holds the real power and controls the West. But I don’t want to be her puppet; I won’t live more than two years under her rule.”
I stared at him coldly. "She's better suited to be the one in charge. You're no good king."
“She might not be a good king either,” he said hastily. “I’m going to be a puppet anyway, so why not find a good partner? You’d be better off as king than her.”
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" I yelled angrily.
“Really, think it over.” In the darkness, his eyes gleamed with a burning light. “This is your chance. Once you become the de facto ruler of the Western Frontier, you will no longer fear those men forcing you. You will be a truly free man.”
I abruptly shook off his hand. "Get out!"
He walked out sullenly, waving his hand as he went, "You don't know what's good for you! This was clearly your chance to turn your life around!"
I angrily kicked him in the butt, and he didn't dare to fight back, so he walked away even faster.
As night was drawing to a close, the vassal capital remained completely silent.
"Your Highness, no news has come." The elite guard carefully reported to Bernard, who was dressed in a pure black long-sleeved hood.
"It'll be soon!" A strange smile appeared on Bernard's lips.
He had originally thought it would be midnight, but now he had changed his mind.
As dawn gradually broke, a faint ray of light appeared, the first rays of sunlight before sunrise about to illuminate the majestic, rugged mountains.
Suddenly, the deafening roars and sounds of battle rang out once again.
However, the sound did not originate in front of the city gate or at the foot of the mountain, but rather within the largest independent royal city in the western region.
The time before dawn is when everyone is most relaxed, when everyone thinks war is impossible.
A group of armored guards, seemingly descending from the sky, surged out from all directions of the city, turning the largest independent royal city into a river of blood.
These ferocious killers, wielding swords and blades, ran swiftly through the city, killing anyone in their path. They stormed the towering city gates with astonishing speed. After a fierce battle, with a deafening roar, the gates burst open almost instantly, and even more guards surged in from outside, engulfing the royal city like a tidal wave.
Di Ya Ruo, the only daughter of the former king of the largest royal city, personally led her army, riding the finest warhorse, and charged in. With one hand holding a sharp longsword and the other a megaphone, she proclaimed, "Gentlemen, I am the true heir to the royal city. Today, I will exterminate those traitors."
The common people in the city heard it all clearly and were utterly horrified.
"From now on, we will no longer harm civilians. Please retreat indoors immediately and do not run around in the streets. Swords have no eyes."
With a thunderous roar, as if heavenly soldiers were descending, more and more armored guards on horseback surged into the city gates, their shouts and cries of battle deafening. The civilians all hid inside their houses, watching through the cracks in their windows as the large group of guards fought their way through the chaos, eventually heading towards the royal palace...
The palace was in chaos; all the nobles and mistresses were frantically gathering their gold and jewels, fleeing for their lives. The elderly king sat on his throne in the grand hall, shouting, "There's a traitor! There must be a traitor! Which beast opened the city gates and the palace gates?"
No one paid him any attention; everyone was running for their lives.
The magnificent hall of yesterday is now in a mess. The jewels inlaid on the pillars have been dug out, the golden lamps on the walls have been knocked down, the expensive red carpet on the floor has been rolled up, and even the beautiful gold pots and porcelain cups on the tables have been looted.
The poor old king was wailing and lamenting on his throne when he accidentally fell off, hitting his head on the ground and bleeding profusely. Disheveled people ran around the palace, fighting over some valuables until they were bleeding from head to toe, yet not a single person came to help him up.
He didn't know when, but the hall was now empty except for him. The desolate, hollowed-out hall looked rather forlorn.
"Father!" A soft, clear voice, like that of a little girl, suddenly rang out throughout the hall.
Her voice wasn't originally loud, but the hall was so large and empty that it echoed and made her voice sound particularly loud.
The old king, blood streaming from his forehead, looked up and saw a small, thin girl, about ten years old, slowly approaching him.
She was extremely thin, so thin that her cheeks had been shaved off, and her nose was high and thin with a slightly hooked tip, exuding a cruel aura.
Upon closer inspection, she and the old king bore an uncanny resemblance, as if they were cast from the same mold.
"You, you..." The old king pointed at her but couldn't speak.
“I always thought I didn’t have a father because my mother told me that my father was dead.”
A thin little girl dressed in a gorgeous white dress slowly walked up to him.
"But my mother told me today that you are still alive and that I should call you Father."
The little girl slowly reached out her hand to him; her tiny, long hand, with bones visible, was somewhat eerie.
“My mother told me that I should acknowledge that I am your daughter and that I will be the rightful heir to the throne.”
The old king's entire face was trembling, and even his mouth was shaking as he opened it. "You, you, I, I... I still have sons, your brothers."
“My mother said that they were not my maternal grandfather’s direct descendants and that they were doomed to die.”
Two streams of turbid tears flowed down the old king's ashen face. It seemed as if he had used great strength to raise his hand, and a cat's-eye green ring on his ring finger was flashing with an inexplicable crimson hue.
“Take it off,” the old king said tremblingly, “I have no strength left.”
The little girl looked at him coldly, took a white glove out of her pocket, put it on, and then raised her hand to remove the cat's eye ring.
"Where is your mother?" The old king sat weakly on the steps below the throne. "Does she not want to see me?"
“My mother said that since you threw her into prison, she will never see you again, whether she lives or dies.”
“Tell her that she is my brother’s best child, and that I still do not regret killing all her brothers and sisters, including her stepmother’s two children, to make her her father’s only daughter.”
After saying this, the old king took out the jeweled dagger strapped to his calf and plunged it fiercely into his own chest...
I happened to arrive at the entrance of the main hall and heard his last words.
It was a shock to the audience.
When I helped the Elf King seize the throne, I thought he was the good guy and Daio was the bad guy, but the complexity of the matter far exceeded my expectations. Now that I have helped Diya reclaim the capital, I thought she was the victim who was deeply persecuted and her uncle was the perpetrator, but the truth of the matter has exceeded my prediction.
I was utterly shocked.
They stood there motionless for a long time.
Until Beatrice quietly walked up to me, took my hand, and said, "Sister..."
"Is he dead?" I couldn't bear to look at the bleeding old king.
"He's dead."
"let's go."
Not far away, one could still hear the sounds of fighting and shouting, the stench of blood, and the pitiful cries of someone crying out.
I have a feeling—my battle has only just begun.
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Author's Note: Writing is hard work, and I really hope you'll check out my other novels too! Mwah!
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