Athena looked down at Ray, who was looking up at her.

In his memory, the little girl who used to follow behind him was now a female general of a country, standing against him.

Ray sighed in his heart; the two had once been in love, but now, they could only meet on the battlefield. No, he had always loved Athena and regarded her as his life. But Athena just doesn't love him anymore.

Ray tightened the reins, gently nudged the horse, and stepped forward a few steps.

Beside him, a woman in black reminded him, "Your Majesty, be careful."

"It doesn't matter." Ray stood under the city tower and said to Athena on the tower, "Atheny, do we really have to be like this?"

Athena looked at him with a cold expression, even with hatred in her eyes. She looked down at the familiar and unfamiliar figure under the city tower. Ray’s black robe unfolded in the wind. He was no longer the powerless heir of the past. The current Ray was the King of Virelda. He fought all the way to Pidence City for his ambition, not hesitating to collude with Northcold. The man before her was a stranger to her.

"Ray," Athena’s voice fell from the city tower, as cold as iced water. "There is no room for manoeuvre between you and me. After coming all the way here, how many innocent people have you killed? And now you’re still talking to me about loyalty?"

Ray, under the city gate, suddenly clenched the reins, the horse’s belly was squeezed, and it uneasily pawed its hooves. He looked at the silver-gray figure on the city tower, the hair beside her temples was lifted by the wind, and the tenderness that Athena once had was no longer on her face. She pointed the sharp spear at his chest.

"Atheny." His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his voice was extremely gentle, as if he were afraid of scaring Athena. "As long as you come back to my side, I will immediately withdraw my troops. Everything I have done is just for you."

"You’re not doing it for me. You’re doing it for your ambition." Athena interrupted sharply, pointing the spear at him. "For your ambition, you slaughtered 30,000 people in Ramberg. For your ambition, you colluded with Northcold, leading enemies into the country. Ray, are you doing it for me, or for yourself?"

Athena’s voice grew louder and louder, and Ray’s heart felt like it was being pricked by needles, the pain suffocating him.

The woman behind Ray spoke. "Your Majesty, there is no need to say more to her. 100,000 troops can attack the city at any time." The woman was dressed in black and wore a mask. Only a pair of sharp eyes were exposed, looking at Athena with hatred. She waved her hand gently, and immediately dozens of civilians were pushed to the front of the city gate. These were all civilians Ray caught along the way. They were men and women, old and young. Everyone looked at Athena with fear and longing in their eyes. They kept shouting, "Please save us, save us."

Athena’s eyes suddenly widened, and those terrified faces deeply pierced her heart. "Ray, you are despicable and shameless, using the lives of the people to threaten me," she said.

Ray acted as if he didn’t hear her and just stared at Athena. "I know you hate me, but I never wanted to hurt you. As long as you come down, I will immediately release those people and lead the Northcold army back to Ramberg. From then on, we will divide and rule Petanion along the river. How about that?"

"Divide and rule along the river?" Athena laughed, her laughter full of deep sarcasm. "Do you think that Petanion’s land is something you can divide at will? Do you think that the Fouver Pass that Xander guarded with his life is for you to bargain with?"

She suddenly turned around and said loudly to the people on the city tower. "He uses the lives of the people as a bargaining chip and uses false promises to lure us to open the gate. Once the city is broken, we will all become sacrifices to his ambition!"

"Kill him!" someone shouted, immediately igniting a thunderous roar. Stones and broken arrows rained down on the city.

Ray’s personal guards immediately raised their shields to protect him. The woman in black frowned and shouted to Athena, "Stop! If you don’t stop, I’ll kill them!" Long sabers were held to the necks of the people below the city. The elderly and children cried. Athena watched this scene, her heart aching. Ray was actually using the lives of these innocent people to force her.

Suddenly, Athena noticed something unusual. Although those people looked fearful, their eyes darted around, and their skin was darker than that of ordinary people.

"Something’s wrong." Athena slowly shook her head, "They are not citizens of Petanion, they are Northcold people disguised."

After seeing through Ray’s treacherous plan, Athena’s expression turned cold and hard. "Release the arrows."

The fire arrows streaked across the sky like shooting stars, shooting towards Ray’s direction. The bodyguards hurriedly raised their shields to block the stray arrows for him. Under the barrage of arrows, Ray’s brows furrowed. "What’s going on?"

The woman in black lowered her eyes and said somewhat flusteredly, "Your Majesty, Athena must have seen through the identities of these commoners."

Ray’s brows furrowed even deeper. He glared at the woman in black coldly. "Is this the foolproof plan you were talking about?"

The woman in black lowered her head even further.

"Janice, I don’t keep idlers around me. If you are of no use, why would I keep you by my side?" The woman in black was none other than Janice. After the case was settled, she was driven out of Pidence City and wandered around. Later, after hearing that Ray had become the King in Ramberg, she went to join him.

Janice shook her head anxiously, "I must have a way to make Arthur achieve his wish. Please don’t abandon me." She thought for a moment, and suddenly her eyes lit up, and she said, "Your Majesty, I have another plan that will surely make Athena willingly come out of the city."

"The moat is the water source for the entire city." Janice lowered her voice, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes. "If you cut off this water source, they will definitely not last half a month. Athena cares most about those people and definitely doesn’t want to see the whole city die of thirst. In order to save these people, she will willingly return to your side. At that time, you will be able to take Pidence City into his pocket without spending a single soldier."

These words awakened Ray. Ray suddenly looked up and looked at the moat that bypassed the city not far away. The moat was the lifeblood of Petanion. If he cut off its water source… He only thought about digging a channel to divert the water, but he never thought about directly blocking the source. Although this strategy was insidious, it was a hundred times more effective than a strong attack.

"What a desperate measure." Ray’s brow gradually relaxed, and a cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. "Janice, your strategy is very good, and I am very satisfied."

Janice was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly knelt on the ground, her forehead heavily hitting the ground. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your praise. I am willing to do anything for you!" She secretly raised her eyes and looked at Athena on the city tower, a surge of pride in her heart. All her misfortunes were caused by Athena.

She thought, 'Don’t people all say that Athena and Xander are loving?' Then she would break them up. Even if Xander died, she would not be able to stay by his side as his wife.

Athena, you owe me all of this,’ she thought hatefully.