Chapter 423
Athena lowered her eyes, knowing that even if she could temporarily save Arthur’s life, she couldn’t make him live.
Arthur also knew that this poison would gradually corrode his internal organs, eventually turning him into a pool of blood, causing extreme pain. Therefore, he stopped Athena.
Athena looked at the scene before her, feeling no joy, only a heavy sense of sorrow. This rebellion ultimately made too many people pay the price.
‘And Xander, where is he?’ Arthur thought.
The Queen and Fermin were dragged away and locked in the dungeon. Arthur, supported by Thanatus, walked out of the secret passage. In the Imperial Palace, bodies littered the ground, and blood was everywhere.
Arthur sighed and, with trembling hands, took out the imperial decree from his sleeve and handed it to Athena, “A country cannot be without a ruler for a day. I entrust the edict of abdication to you. After the rebellion is quelled, Evander will inherit the throne.” He had to pause for a few breaths after each sentence. The severe pain from his lungs made Arthur miserable. He pressed his chest hard, only then feeling a little less pain.
Athena held the edict of abdication, feeling it extraordinarily heavy. She cupped her fist at Arthur and respectfully said, “Yes, Your Majesty!”
Arthur looked at her, his eyes filled with guilt. The person he was always wary of saved him from danger. Among these princes, none of them had Xander’s talent. He was born to be a king. It was a pity that he had no chance to be the King.
Arthur’s eyes swept over everyone present with a look of relief. “It is my blessing and the blessing of Petanion that we can have you!” His voice was firm and powerful. “From today onwards, Athena is named Serene Princess, and Michael will restore the Marquis status and inherit the title for three generations.”
Speaking of this, Arthur murmured, “If Xander was here, that would be great. With him here, Petanion would not be in chaos…”
Everyone lowered their heads, and Athena’s suppressed emotions were also broken by Arthur’s words. She kept waiting, just waiting for a miracle to happen. But until now, there was no sign of Xander.
‘Did he really break his promise?’ she thought.
“Your Majesty, bad news! The Northcold army has arrived outside the city gate, clamoring to break into the Imperial City and massacre the people within.” A black-armored soldier ran to Arthur and urgently reported the battle situation outside.
Arthur swayed, trying to suppress the horror in his heart. He swallowed hard before squeezing out a question through his teeth, “How many men are there?”
The guard reporting the news knelt on the ground, his forehead touching the gold brick, his voice trembling. “There are 100,000 men.” The soldier’s long sword fell to the ground with a clang, his face showing terror.
Arthur seemed not to believe it either and repeated the question. “Say it again, how many people?”
“One, one hundred thousand people…” The guard’s voice was even lower, his head almost buried in the cracks of the floor tiles.
The air in the hall froze instantly, and everyone’s face was gloomy. Michael subconsciously calculated that there were 7,000 Aegis Guards soldiers left in Pidence City, and 3,000 Royal Guard soldiers who had surrendered. There were barely ten thousand men in all, and to throw them against a hundred thousand of the Northcold iron cavalry was sheer folly, like an egg dashed upon a boulder.
“Back then, 30,000 Ugloria cavalry surrounded Fouver Pass for three months, and these 100,000 people…” Alexandra didn’t continue, but everyone understood what the unspoken words were. Pidence City might be captured in less than half a month. Half a month later would be the death date of all the people in the city.
Everyone was silent, their faces full of sorrow.
“So what if there are 100,000 people?” Athena’s voice suddenly sounded, breaking the silence. She walked to the center of the hall and said loudly to everyone, “When Xander was at Fouver Pass, he repelled 30,000 Northern Barbarians with 5,000 Aegis Guards. What he relied on was not the number of people, but the determination to die. Your Majesty, although Northcold has a large number of people, they are on an expedition and the supply line is long. We only need to defend the city gate and delay until they run out of food, and we can win without fighting.”
Athena swept across the faces in the hall with firm eyes, cheering them up. “Pidence City is indestructible. It is not easy for the people of Northcold to attack, not to mention that we have more than 10,000 elite soldiers and tens of thousands of people behind us. When the country is in trouble, everyone is a soldier. If we lose our fighting spirit because we hear that the other side has a large number of people, that is the greatest sadness. We will never give up until the last moment.”
“But can we hold it?” Someone asked with a trembling voice, “Although the city wall is strong, we can’t resist for long if 100,000 people attack the city in turn.”
“We can hold it.” Athena took over the conversation and scanned the crowd. “The Imperial Guards are familiar with the defense of the Imperial City and can defend the inner city; the Aegis Guards are powerful and can defend the outer city. The people are willing to live and die with us and can transport rolling stones and burn arrows. As long as everyone does their job, we may not be without a chance of winning.”
Michael looked at this scene and suddenly clasped his fists to Arthur. “Your Majesty, I ask to defend the outer city to the death.” He turned to Athena, a trace of tenderness flashed in his eyes, but was quickly replaced by determination. “I’ll leave the inner city to Princess Consort.”
Arthur pondered for a moment and said to Michael. “I allow it. Pass on my decree to immediately strengthen the city walls and transport all the fire oil, bows, and arrows from the treasury to the top of the city. Tell the soldiers that their home is behind them, and a step back is an abyss.”
“Yes!” Michael’s voice was sonorous and powerful. When he turned around, he took a deep look at Athena again, and then strode out.
Arthur looked at the scene in front of him and suddenly straightened his hunched back. He stood up from the chair, used all his strength, and said. “Pass on my decree, all those who can hold weapons in Petanion can join the army. Those who have made meritorious service in defending the city will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver, and those who have made great contributions can be granted titles and made generals, and will be exempted from taxes for three years!”
The imperial edict was delivered by the eunuch, and the people of Pidence City were in an uproar.
“A reward of one hundred taels of silver, and the possibility of being granted the title of Marquis, this is a great opportunity.”
“That’s right, just for the sake of this reward, and to protect my wife, children, and parents, I will fight those Northcold people.”
Someone raised his arms and shouted. “The Northcold people are ferocious. If they break through the city, we will all be doomed. Now that the country is in crisis, if you are a man, pick up your weapons and follow me to kill them on the city tower.”
“Athena is pregnant, and she has gone to the city tower for the sake of the people of the city. How can we men hide behind a woman and live in shame?”
“Kill!” The shouts shook the sky, and the men went to collect their weapons. If there were not enough weapons, they used hoes instead. The women and children made arrows, sewed clothes, and cooked for the soldiers. Even the children held small wooden swords and stabbed like real soldiers.
Morale was high, and Athena stood on the city tower looking at the people in the city, a smile on her face. She looked into the distance, where there was a dark mass, which was the army of Northcold. In front of the battle formation was Ray, sitting in a chariot.