Chapter 419
The people advanced toward the Royal Guards, and with each step they took, the Royal Guards retreated.
The Royal Guards commander couldn’t bear it any longer. He drew the long sword from his waist and was about to strike the people on the head when, suddenly, a sharp arrow came piercing through the air with a whoosh, hitting him right in the chest.
“Commander?” The Royal Guards behind him were stunned, watching as the commander’s body shook violently on horseback. He looked down at the half of the arrow shaft protruding from his chest, and blood gushed out. The next moment, he fell headfirst from his horse and crashed heavily onto the bluestone slab.
A deathly silence spread through the crowd for a moment, followed by an earth-shattering exclamation. Everyone’s eyes turned to the direction from which the cold arrow was shot.
On the roof of the Bladehaven Hall, a figure in silver armor stood on the corner of the eaves, his right hand still in the posture of drawing a bow, and his left hand held a quiver with half a dozen fletched arrows.
“It’s General Osborne!” Someone recognized the silver armor, which was Michael’s armor. The Osborne army all wore silver armor.
Michael slowly lowered his arm, and the vibration of the bowstring was especially clear in the noise. His gaze swept over the panicked Royal Guards below, and he shouted in a cold voice, “Prince Xander has treated you well, and the King has never treated the Royal Guards unfairly. Do you really want to work for the rebels and end up beheaded?”
The Royal Guards looked at each other, and the hands holding the spears began to loosen. But the expressions on their faces were blank, and they didn’t know what was happening at all. All they knew was that they were subjects and should naturally obey the King’s orders.
Someone asked in confusion. “General Osborne, we are just here under orders and don’t know what happened.”
“Yes, who can tell me what happened?”
The Royal Guards were all confused and wanted to know the truth.
Michael said loudly to the crowd, “Fermin colluded with Ray to stage a coup and rebel. Prince Xander is now missing. Fermin wants to take this opportunity to massacre the Xander Manor. You were all subordinates of Prince Xander. Do you want to repay kindness with revenge and help the wicked do evil?”
These words were like a thunderbolt, splitting the last psychological defense of the Royal Guards. A young soldier dropped his spear with a clang and knelt on the ground, “I am willing to surrender!”
With the first, there was a second. In the blink of an eye, half of the Royal Guards threw down their weapons and lowered their heads, not daring to look at their companions.
The remaining die-hards still wanted to resist, but Michael did not give them a chance and said in a cold voice, “Those who resist stubbornly will be killed without mercy.”
In the end, half of the three thousand Royal Guards submitted to Michael. The rest retreated to the Imperial City. Even so, Athena had a good chance of winning. As long as she defended the Xander Manor and waited for Natasha to bring people to cooperate with her from the inside out, she could kill the Queen, cut off Fermin’s head, and rescue Arthur.
Michael finished counting the Royal Guards who had surrendered: exactly one thousand five hundred people. They stood outside the door, waiting for Athena’s order.
“Divide them into three teams.” Athena stood on the steps, her eyes sweeping over these surrendered soldiers. “One team will be stationed at the Bladehaven Hall with the Deputy General, one team will follow General Osborne to strengthen the Xander Manor’s defense line, and the last team…”
She paused and looked at the residential area blackened by fireworks in the corner of the street. “Go and help the people repair their houses and transport the wounded.”
Where there was fighting, there were casualties, and it was the common people who suffered. The Royal Guards in the last team were obviously stunned, seemingly not expecting to be sent to do these things.
A veteran with a stubble couldn’t help but look up, his eyes firm. “Princess Consort, this subordinate will do everything to protect you.”
Athena shook her head and said, “I left you here not to protect me, but to follow me into the palace and rescue the King. As long as the King is here, the world will not be in chaos; otherwise, once Fermin ascends the throne, the world will be in chaos.”
The Royal Guards brought boulders to build three lines of defense outside the Xander Manor, with Aegis Guards and surrendered Royal Guards taking turns on duty. Archers lay on the battlements, their arrows always aimed at the streets leading to the Imperial City.
Athena stood on the gate tower, watching the last team of Royal Guards retreat to the Imperial City, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Athena.” Michael walked up to the tower and handed her a map. “Natasha’s carrier pigeon brought news that she has contacted the Aegis Guards and is only waiting for us to light a signal fire.”
“Great.” Athena finally relaxed after days of worry. Her fingertip landed on the three words of Westhaven Gate on the map. That was the weakest point in the Imperial City’s defense, and also the breakthrough point agreed upon by Natasha.
“Have the Guards keep a close watch on Vermilion Gate.” She drew an arc on the map. “If they dare to leave the city and counterattack, use fire arrows to ignite the oil and delay their advance.”
“When the time comes, you will lead a team of people to attack from this direction, and I will lead a team of people to cover you…” Athena calmly discussed the siege plan with Michael. She looked at Michael from time to time, seeking his opinion. “What do you think?”
Michael looked at Athena with surprise. “I didn’t expect that you would have learned so much.”
When Xander was mentioned, Athena’s longing surged up from the bottom of her heart. She smiled bitterly, suppressing the insane thought. She smiled slightly at Michael. “Yes, he taught me a lot.”
Seeing Athena’s slightly red eyes, Michael came back to his senses and said somewhat helplessly, “Athena, I’m sorry.”
Athena shook her head. “It’s fine. I believe in him, and I know he will be back.”
When the sun climbed to the sky, a bell suddenly rang from the Imperial City. Athena straightened up abruptly, and Michael looked in the direction of the Imperial City with a deep gaze and said, “It’s the Dawnwatch Bell. It will only ring when the King is assassinated or the Imperial City is in danger!”
The crossbowmen on the gate tower instantly tightened their bowstrings, and the guards who had surrendered also gripped their spears. Athena looked in the direction of Vermilion Gate, where it was quiet.
“Hold steady.” Athena pressed on Michael’s hilt and said in a calm voice, “This is Fermin’s feint to lure us into attacking the city.” Fermin’s men couldn’t leave the city, so he wanted to lure them in to trap them. Athena wouldn’t fall for that.
Now, she was waiting to join forces with Natasha’s men and storm the Imperial City. Athena frowned as she said this. She and Michael were in two teams, with Michael as the vanguard, and her team was covering for him. But two teams were still missing. One team sneaked into the palace to distract Fermin, only harassing and not fighting, so that he would be in chaos. The other team needed to intercept the enemy’s main force for them, so that they couldn’t attend to both ends.
Just as Athena was racking her brains, trying to arrange who should go, two figures walked in. Alexandra wore armor, a woman who could hold her own against men. The other was Kurtis, the venerable General, awe-inspiring and impressive.
Seeing these two, Athena was very surprised. “You…”
Alexandra hooked her lips proudly. “My ancestors were military generals. When I was young, I was even more unconventional. Riding and archery were no problem. Even if I haven’t been on the battlefield, dealing with this rabble is not a problem. Athena, let me take a small team to intercept the main force of the enemy.”
“Then I will lead a small team to sneak into the Queen and disrupt the rear,” Kurtis volunteered.
“And us.” The uniform voices brought tears to Athena’s eyes. Only to see the three sons of Kurtis, her uncles, also appear together.