Early in the morning, the tranquility of a baby's cry broke the silence of a grove of trees on the outskirts of the capital.
Catherine was pale, and large beads of sweat were still visible on her forehead. She lay in the carriage, weakly looking at the wet nurse beside her, who was holding an infant whose wet head was sticking out and crying loudly.
Catherine smiled with relief, then immediately fainted. The wet nurse, who was holding the child, panicked at the sight and hurriedly opened the carriage door to call for help, only to find that they were surrounded by Belvado's soldiers.
It was clear that the plan to use the carriage as bait had been foiled. The enemy obviously didn't invest any more effort in the bait and instead returned directly here.
"Damn it, if it weren't for the time of birth, we would have run away long ago!"
The words weren't spoken loudly, but the nanny heard them clearly. The speaker was none other than Catherine's husband. The nanny pursed her lips; this was the only way she could express her strongest protest.
Gregory, unusually, did not get angry upon hearing this. He knew his brother-in-law well; his mouth always moved faster than his brain, and at this moment, he was probably already regretting what he had said.
Indeed, Hamadi glanced at Gregory, then immediately slapped his face, feigning a toothache. But what he found even more unbearable at this moment was that their guards were no more numerous than the enemy's, and exhausted, making it hard to say what kind of resistance they could offer.
Centurion Belvaldo, who had surrounded the group of nobles, was very excited. This was his only victory since last night. There were advantages to being slow; he could let his comrades chase after them while he waited patiently, and a great opportunity arose.
"Nobles, step forward! Pay the money and you will be spared! All others who resist will be executed!"
After repeating this cliché, the centurion greedily eyed the golden dome and ornate decorations of the carriage. Then, with a predatory look, he glared at the noblemen before him. "Did you hear me? Leave your money, and you can leave!"
Gregory took off his coat and threw it on the ground, then took out his money bag and threw it onto the coat.
Seeing this, Hamadi sighed and began to unbutton his coat and throw it on the ground.
The centurion curled his lip. If it weren't for the strict rule against killing nobles, he would have ordered them all to be chopped up, stripped naked, and left in his carriage.
"What's in the carriage? Leave the carriage here, and you can go!"
Gregory and Hamadi exchanged glances. There was indeed still a considerable amount of money they had hidden in the carriage, but compared to that, Serena was the most dangerous. A woman who had just given birth was the most dangerous.
The soldiers were already impatient; several Belvedere cavalrymen jumped off their horses and went straight to the carriage. They yanked open the carriage door.
The scene inside made them extremely unhappy. They looked at each other, then at the centurion behind them.
The centurion glanced inside the carriage and instantly understood everything, but he had no intention of showing any mercy. He waved his hand, "Drag her out, and take the carriage away!"
Upon hearing the order, several soldiers immediately dragged Catherine, her wet nurse, and the midwife out of the carriage. The wet nurse and midwife were still able to stand, but Catherine suffered terribly; when she was thrown onto Gregory, the pain jolted her awake.
The centurion nodded, quite pleased with the angry yet hesitant demeanor of the nobles before him. This stirred a pang of regret within him; he suddenly wished they would rebel, giving him a pretext for a massacre.
Thinking of this, the centurion suddenly had a flash of inspiration: why not try humiliating them?
However, he ultimately did not do so, not because he was being overly kind, but because he saw other cavalry units rushing past outside the woods toward the capital city gate, and from the direction of the city gate, a dark mass of people was vaguely emerging.
He wasn't far away, but if they didn't act now, they might miss out on the opportunity to profit from the situation.
The centurion looked at the group of men in front of him, snorted, waved his hand, and signaled the cavalry to get on the carriages and hurry toward the city gate.
Thus, the centurion's act of kindness in thinking of his own brothers, and his strict obedience to orders, saved the last hope of the Galician royal family.
This centurion's name was not recorded in history, and his existence was quickly forgotten. But his actions today have had a huge, even far-reaching, impact on history.
While Catherine and her companions escaped death, a looting was unfolding in the capital.
Job gave a strict order forbidding the killing of nobles, but made no mention of the killing of commoners. Thus began three days of burning, killing, and looting in the capital.
Those residents of the lower city who were initially lured to the upper city were quickly used as cannon fodder or as shields. Those who survived faced wave after wave of exploitation by Belvado soldiers. In the end, less than one in ten survived, or at least managed to escape.
The residents of the Upper City, however, were farsighted. Long before the city was besieged, they had already begun using various underground passages and other means to move themselves and any wealth they could carry to a safe place.
Of course, the wealthiest Galician royal family in the capital also took a lot of things, but their city was breached in just one day, and they had to draw soldiers to handle the transportation, so naturally they couldn't take much with them.
Belvedere's army then stormed Galicia's most magnificent palace. They looted all the murals, sculptures, gold and silver artifacts, and even the gold, agate, and decorative gems from the pillars and railings that Galicia had not taken. They even tore off the marble floors, window frames, and wallpaper, taking them all with them. (See the Anglo-French looting of the Old Summer Palace.)
As for the maids and male slaves who did not escape, their situation was even more tragic. To put it simply, after three days, there were almost no living people left in the entire imperial city.
After three days of looting, Yom, who was usually quiet and reserved, couldn't stop smiling when he saw the hundred cartloads of gold and silver treasures. Naturally, after looting, he also had to set a fire to commemorate the occasion.
At the time of the arson, there were still approximately 50,000 people in the capital. The Belvedere army did not inform these survivors at all when setting the fire, and even "thoughtfully" chose to do so in the middle of the night.
The raging fire, accompanied by the cries of pain and fear from the people, engulfed the entire capital city.
In the dead of night, the entire capital was ablaze with a fiery red, a somber sight visible for miles around. It was even seen in Leon, near Ordorf.
This scene did not escape the eyes of a vampire. Akdina witnessed the entire process of Belvaldo's army setting fires. She watched it all coldly until Belvaldo began to break camp and retreat. Only then did she head towards Yun Zhe with a gloomy expression.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
