Yun Zhe's face was ashen, not from suffocation caused by the fire, but from the sudden feeling of his own weakness. His body had completely weakened the instant the fire was lit. A chilling fear welled up from the depths of his heart, making him almost want to jump off the tower and get away from this place completely. He saw that everyone he saw wanted to slaughter and drink their blood.
Yun Zhe stumbled and bumped into walls in the corridor—yes, the physical kind. He dared not approach the firing ports, for many soldiers had already been shot dead while greedily peering out to breathe the air. He could only lean against the nearby stone wall, feeling the stone change from cold to warm, the choking heat spreading through the passageway. All around him were the sounds of coughing.
Yun Zhe suddenly wondered if he should take advantage of the swirling smoke to suck the blood of a few soldiers.
But in the end, Yun Zhe managed to control his impulse. He bumped into a tall figure; it was Arthas.
"Tell the soldiers to wet their clothes with urine and cover their mouths and noses...cough cough cough cough," Yun Zhe shouted to Arthas with his last remaining will, then coughed repeatedly from the smoke.
Arthas nodded; they actually knew this, but were still a little shy about putting it into practice. Arthas decided to help Yun Zhe up, but Yun Zhe pushed him away and ran towards the highest point.
There was a small platform there. Yun Zhe thought to himself, if all else fails, he could jump off from there. As for whether it would arouse suspicion, it was better than being discovered after drinking blood.
Yun Zhe ran to the rooftop and saw a scene that amazed him: the sky began to darken, as if it was about to rain.
In that instant, Yun Zhe let out a long sigh of relief, and those bloodthirsty thoughts and feelings of weakness vanished from him. He collapsed onto the small platform at the top, only regaining his senses when a touch of coldness hit his face.
As the heavy rain gradually stopped, this battle, which lasted for more than ten days, finally came to an end.
Trapped in the castle by the fire were not only Donic's soldiers, but also soldiers from Ars and Tra. Despite their opposing sides, their will to survive was remarkably similar. Had it not been for a timely rain, the casualties would likely have been far greater than those caused by the fire.
The last of Donic's resistance forces, trapped in the center of the castle, felt a sense of relief at surviving a catastrophe. Confined in the tower, they endured the smoke and fire outside and the fear of the burning castle. Yun Zhe was at a loss; all he could tell them was to wet a cotton cloth with urine and cover their mouths and noses—that would allow them to survive.
Of course, they didn't just sit and wait to die. They pounded on the door with all their might, and finally, amidst the smoke and fire, they hammered a crack in it. Then they saw the Donic family's soldiers on the other side, busy putting out the fire.
When the sealed gate was opened, the soldier who opened it looked at the soldiers who were covering their mouths and noses with rags with great confusion. They looked disheveled and embarrassed, and their joy at the arrival of reinforcements was also quite restrained.
Yun Zhe was soaked to the bone, and his complexion was still not good. He went to Serena's side and asked about the current situation of the battle.
Serena's face showed concern. She had changed into a finely crafted full-body armor. She stood on a high point on the city wall, with Xixi sitting beside her, her face equally pale. Seeing Xixi, Yun Zhe finally understood who was behind this torrential rain. Serena approached Yun Zhe and whispered, "The key enemy, the Lunlang family, has already retreated in full force. The Ars family has fled to who knows where, and the fastest to escape was the Terra family. They even retreated to their own camp first, and they're probably already close to their own castle!" A hint of contempt appeared on Serena's face as she finished speaking.
"Then why don't we send someone to chase after them... cough cough cough, cough cough" Yun Zhe coughed again. "This is a good opportunity. Let's take this chance to eliminate Terra in one fell swoop, and from then on, there will be no more trouble."
Serena seemed to have guessed that Yun Zhe would say that. She gestured to the person beside her, "They've already gone after them, you're too late this time." After saying that, she showed a rare smug smile, as if to say, "How about that, didn't I do a good job?"
Yun Zhe nodded, said nothing more, and looked at the ravaged castle. "What are your plans for the next step?"
"Of course I want revenge! I want to get justice from the Lunlang family! And I want to find out the truth about the plague!" Serena was a little angry at Yun Zhe's indifferent reaction, and her tone became a few decibels higher.
"Putting revenge aside, you've secured your position as Earl, haven't you?" Yun Zhe asked again.
Serena was currently basking in her triumph. The joy of her resounding victory prevented her from analyzing the meaning of the words too much. She nodded and smiled with satisfaction, "I suppose so."
Yun Zhe nodded. "Then, can we settle our payment now?"
Serena's smile froze. Not far away, Xixi also raised her head, looking at Yun Zhe with a look of disgust.
"I have no money right now," Serena answered crisply. This was the truth; at this moment, she would probably struggle to even get a thousand copper coins, let alone a thousand gold coins.
Yun Zhe turned to look at Serena, and said, "I have no money," which was not a good answer.
"I need time, I need to reply..." Serena's tone grew lower and lower, and at this moment, she looked exactly like a bastard trying to renege on his debt.
"How long do you need?" Yun Zhe asked, inwardly reminding himself that next time he signed such an agreement, he must add a time limit.
Serena bit her lip. Although she was born into a merchant family, she couldn't calculate this kind of thing in a short time.
"A year!" Serena was suddenly very disappointed in her performance. What she found especially hard to accept was that Yun Zhe was asking for money and preparing to leave at this time, which caught her completely off guard. She then realized what had happened, feeling a mix of anger and regret.
"Fine, just give me a fiefdom instead," Yun Zhe shrugged. "I'll keep the thousand gold coins myself."
Serena looked at Yun Zhe in surprise, thinking to herself, "Actually, I initially wanted to grant you a piece of land too..."
"I want a piece of land, near the elves, what do you think, is that alright?"
Serena took a step back, curiously examining Yun Zhe. "If I were to seal this place off to you, would you want it?"
Yun Zhe looked at Serena in surprise, wondering what she was up to.
"You really don't know?"
Yun Zhe was even more puzzled. Serena's mind was filled with thoughts of Yun Zhe's ignorance, which prevented him from extracting anything useful.
"The elves are coming, and you're still running towards the border?"
Yun Zhe stared at Serena, and from Serena's little brain, he suddenly gleaned an important piece of information.
This land originally belonged to the elves!
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