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Clifford knew that Thomas’ army was stationed just outside the city, so he had sent scouts ahead to monitor the situation. The main road remained open, with regular traffic passing by-no soldiers in sight, and no signs of an ambush.
Little did he know, just beyond Wandale, Chester’s forces seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. There had been no time to prepare, and the fighting began immediately.
Private soldiers were never as disciplined as regular troops, and the sudden onslaught shattered their morale. Chester gave them no time to recover. His forces had been on a successful campaign fighting bandits, and had been riding high on victory. Now, faced with the prospect of ambushing the rebels, the opportunity to gain glory was too enticing for any soldier to resist.
As the fighting outside the city raged on, Thomas led his army into Valken.
Along the way, someone rode ahead and shouted, “By the king’s orders, General Farrell is here to apprehend the rebels! All citizens should return home immediately and stay inside! The rebels are ruthless and ? bloodthirsty! They will slaughter the innocent! All citizens, return home and remain indoors. Only after the rebellion is quashed should you come out.”
For days, the city gates had been closed. With the Capital Army surrounding the city, the entire Valken City had been on edge. Many citizens had stayed indoors, fearing the consequences of stepping outside. Even merchants had closed their shops.
Now, as they heard the soldiers’ commands, those few still outside scrambled to lock their doors and secure their homes. They were worried the city might be engulfed in flames if the situation worsened. This sudden shift took Wayne and the others by surprise.
He had thought that once they entered the city, they would sit down with Thomas and his men for a thorough discussion. They would clear up the matter about Yuvan being a traitor, gather evidence, and announce the truth to the world.
Although this seemed unnecessary, the court needed to gain the people’s trust, and for that, such steps were required—even if there was no evidence, they would have to fabricate some.
Now, Thomas and his men could enter the city and search for immediate evidence, identify those involved, and then capture them all. Yet, instead of collecting evidence, they started fighting directly? However, Wayne wasn’t overly worried. Thomas’ rush to take action wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Once Clifford’s forces arrived, they would catch Thomas and his men off guard.
As the two sides clashed in battle, Everett had already arrived in Nerovia with a group of martial artists. The timing had been carefully calculated. At this moment, Nerovia was without capable leadership. While the officials were loyal to Nicholas, nearly all of the fighting men had been sent out to battle, leaving only a thousand men and a few city guards behind.
With Hayden’s emblem in hand, Everett made his way directly to the government office. He first dismissed the governor and took control of the office.
At the same time, Eustace led several of his bodyguards and merchant convoys to Nerovia. The battle for Nerovia was one of the easiest to win. With Hayden’s emblem in hand, Nicholas’ residence, Riverton Estate, was now sealed off.
Now, Riverton Estate no longer had any of Hayden’s people. All the former officials had been driven out to the countryside.
Once Everett had taken control of the government office, he led his men straight to Riverton Estate. They captured every aide and servant, subjecting them to intense interrogation. Under harsh questioning, they revealed all the secret codes they had used. Even the carrier pigeons that were raised by Clifford were seized.
Each pigeon had a specific flight route, and a few were used exclusively to communicate with Nicholas. If Clifford’s forces were victorious, a red silk ribbon would be tied to the pigeon’s leg. If they suffered a defeat, a white ribbon would replace it. In cases where the battle’s outcome was unclear, the pigeons would simply be released with no markings.
For years, the pigeons had carried messages written in a secret code to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. The aides also handed over a coded ledger, where the meanings of the cryptic terms were explained.
Some of the terms included animals like pigs, dogs, cows, tigers, wolves, snakes, and foxes, which referred to specific people.
The pig referred to Yuvan, the dog to Harvey, the snake to Salvador, the wolf to Sophie, the leopard to Rafael, and the griffin referred to Nicholas. The prime ministers and the heads of the six ministries also had their own code names.
A large pile of letters was found, exchanged between Nicholas and the other rebels.
Many of the letters were written in veiled language, but one set of letters stood out. These were the letters between Nicholas and Eustace, where the threat of a life debt was used to coerce Eustace into forging weapons, supplying war horses, and using merchant caravans as cover for their operations.
Eustace also brought out identical letters, making it clear that each letter was written in duplicate-one kept as a record and the other sent out. However, none of Eustace’s replies could be found among Nicholas’ possessions.
Eustace explained that he had sent several letters back, stating that the war horses weren’t his. He was raising them on behalf of the government because the capital lacked the necessary forage for the horses, while his ranch had an ample supply.
However, Nicholas didn’t keep any of those replies. Instead, there were a few letters in a well-hidden box, in which it was written that the Spencer family would fully support him.
Everett handed the letter to Eustace. The latter sighed and said, “These were written by my third uncle.
He’s stationed at the ranch. Losing 500 war horses this time forced me to come forward.”
In other words, there were people in the Spencer family who supported Nicholas despite Eustace’s repeated orders that as royal merchants, they were not to associate with rebels.
However, the Spencer family had so many branches. Many of them coveted Eustace’s position but couldn’t achieve it through ordinary means. Their only hope was to back Nicholas-if he succeeded in uniting the kingdom, they would finally have their chance.
Everett said nothing. Instead, he tied a red ribbon to the leg of a pigeon, signaling that Clifford had triumphed and would march toward the capital.
–
But Everett didn’t release the pigeon just yet. Instead, he would wait for Winona to join the battle on the main road. She needed to see Clifford in person and create a mask before Everett could let the carrier pigeon go.
It was already late at night In Valken City, but Wayne still hadn’t seen any sign of Clifford’s army. He felt an uneasy tightening in his chest.
It didn’t make sense-by now, the army should have already arrived. Why hadn’t they shown up yet?
He realized that after being surrounded for half a month, the news they had received was either delayed or tampered with. Clifford’s army may not have been anywhere near as close as he had thought. Without any help, it would be impossible for the troops within Valken to hold off the Capital Army.
Panic spread through him as he retreated to Horizon Estate, ordering the suicide soldiers to protect it. He also sent the rebel army to face the enemy and attempted to send someone out of the city to deliver a message. However, he soon discovered that Thomas’ men had already surrounded the gates.
Wayne realized he had fallen into a trap. Without reinforcements, luring the enemy into the city was like inviting disaster.
Furious, he roared at Samson, “Didn’t you say Mr. Murphy’s army would enter the city tonight? Why haven’t we seen them yet?”
Samson was just as confused.
“I don’t know, either. It was Mr. Murphy himself who told me,” he said.
Wayne’s heart tightened with fear. Clifford was known for his meticulous planning. If he said he would arrive by nightfall, he would never be late.
“Could there have been an ambush along the way? That can’t be,” Wayne muttered, his mind racing. “The scouts reported that General Murray’s forces were scattered, busy suppressing bandits, and they’ve already moved into Nanyara. They wouldn’t be able to return in time.”
“If there had been an ambush, Mr. Murphy would’ve sent word. They have scouts,” Samson said, his face pale. “Sir, what do we do now? We can’t win against the Capital Army.”
Wayne took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. “Our only option is to survive. We need to find a way to escape and meet up with Mr. Murphy.”
“But if we leave, Valken will fall,” Samson said urgently. “What about all our families? How do we get them out? The gates are under guard. We can only escape through Asterpeak Mountain, but with so many elderly and children, how can we make it?”
Wayne gave quick orders to the servants and guards at Horizon Estate. “We don’t have time to worry about that. We’ll escape first. Your families will be safe-they’re civilians. General Farrell won’t harm them.”
Samson hurried to the back courtyard. Fiona had already heard the news and was packing up their belongings. She didn’t need Wayne to explain-she knew they had no choice but to flee.
Yuvan’s children were in a panic, scrambling to gather valuables. However, the servants and attendants refused to listen to any of their orders, seizing gold and jewelry for themselves and fleeing through the back door.
Samson was enraged. He drew his sword and quickly struck down a few of the more unruly servants before the rest dared not act out further.
Fiona grabbed her brother’s hand. “Samson, you must send someone to cover our escape. We cannot fall into the hands of the Capital Army!”
She knew Wayne and the others had betrayed Yuvan. Though she didn’t want that, Yuvan lacked the resolve to make it happen. Seeing his lack of ambition and ungrateful nature, she realized he would never make her his queen once he rose to power.
It was better to defect to Nicholas and secure some rewards for herself. She was already too deeply involved to back out.
Samson’s gaze hardened. “I’ll send people to escort you out of Asterpeak Mountain. Once you’ve left, change your appearance and hide in a remote village. Don’t let anyone know where you are.”