The rain has not stopped, and it has continued to rain.
It was already evening, and the sky became more and more gloomy. The entire sky was gray, and with the fine rain curtain, the entire city of Tozes seemed to be shrouded in a layer of black mist.
The fighting on the city walls has temporarily ceased, and the pirates have stopped their siege and returned to their ships.
The warriors who fought against the pirates all afternoon on the city wall got a respite. Under the command of the generals, they began to rest in shifts and returned to the city to eat and rest.
Although the pirates temporarily gave up the attack, the situation was not optimistic.
Everyone knows that this is just a short respite, and when the sun rises again, they will face an extremely severe war situation.
pat pat pat.
The light-colored boots stepped on the wet stone ground, and the water splashed away.
The cloak on the side shoulders fluttered in the air, and the young man walked quickly on the stone road.
Soon, he walked into the executive government.
The door of the government affairs hall on the bottom floor of the executive government was open, but the hall that used to be always crowded seemed a little empty at the moment.
Only a few people stood in front of the huge oval white jade table in the middle of the hall, waiting for something.
The faces of each of them are stern, with a dash of heaviness in their eyes.
The empty hall was extremely quiet at this moment, almost only the breathing of these few people could be heard. Everyone lowered their heads, as if they were thinking about something, and the atmosphere was extremely solemn for a while.
Suddenly, footsteps came from outside.
That voice shattered the uneasy silence brewing in the hall at the moment.
Almost at the same moment, the people who bowed their heads in silence suddenly raised their heads and looked towards the gate.
A figure appeared in the night, walking quickly.
Long blonde hair is the brightest shade in the dark at the moment.
Dressed in white.
The cloak behind him fluttered in the dark night.
Light-colored boots stepped on the bluestone slab, and Garlan, who was still a little childish on his face, walked out of the gate and walked in front of everyone.
Everyone leaned over, put one hand on their chest, knelt down on one knee, and bowed their heads deeply.
These people knelt with their heads lowered, with different expressions on their faces.
Those who stayed here were generals who led their subordinates to resist desperately when the pirates attacked, but there were only a few of them.
They all knew very well that many of their colleagues obeyed the orders of the consul and those powerful businessmen, and escorted those people to break out of the city and escape from the city.
Only they disobeyed the order and took their subordinates to stick to the inner city wall of Tozes.
In any case, as soldiers, it is impossible for them to abandon these hundreds of thousands of unarmed citizens and escape by themselves.
Therefore, even if they knew that they were a man’s arm, even if they knew that Tozes City would fall sooner or later, they decided to stay.
They will fight until the last moment of the city breaking.
They are ready to live and die with the city of Tozes.
Although they survived the first wave of pirates' attacks, there was no joy in the faces of these generals. They knew very well that, if there were no accidents, tomorrow would be the moment when Tozes City fell.
When the pirates came in, it was the moment when the city became hell.
Therefore, when they received the order to let them come to this hall, they were extremely stunned.
Because the person who gave them the order was actually the one they thought must have been strictly protected to leave Tozes City in the first place.
Even if they saw it with their own eyes at this moment, they couldn't believe that this noble highness actually stayed in the city.
The prince of Aaronlandis, Gallan.
The hurried footsteps sounded again, and someone hurried from outside, it was Seth who had just dealt with the slave riot in the upper city.
He knelt down and saluted.
Then, he raised his eyes to look at Garlan, his eyes were extremely complicated at this moment.
"prince."
He said, "You shouldn't stay in the city..."
The words stopped abruptly in the middle, and Seth's lips moved, after all, he couldn't speak anymore, just let out a long sigh.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is no hope for Tozes City.
If you stay here, you will surely die.
As soldiers, they are all ready to die generously, but the prince is different from them, the prince he...
Garland smiled at Seth.
As soon as he opened his mouth, Seth and everyone showed a look of astonishment.
Garlan said: "The consul is still in the city, and so are the Bertola people."
"how come… "
Someone shook his head and said.
"Impossible! The consul has clearly left."
"And those people are—"
Garlan turned his head and glanced at the blond knight behind him.
Cayhoes understood and took a step forward.
"The city gate has been closed before that, and no one is allowed to open it without the prince's personal order, and anyone who violates the order will be executed."
Kaihos stared at those people and said.
"The consuls of Tozes, other officials, and generals who wanted to protect Bertola and other merchants from fleeing were among those who fled before the war. My personal guards have caught them and put them all in prison, and the prince has done decision, and they will be tried by military law after the war."
Kaihos's words caused everyone present to look at each other in dismay.
And the last sentence made them smile wryly.
After the war
If they were still alive after the war.
Looking at the sluggish people, Garlan said immediately: "From now on, all the city guards and soldiers will be under your command, Seth, your fleet soldiers will continue to be led by you."
His eyes swept across the crowd.
"I want you to keep Tozes."
"His Royal Highness, if we can, we also want to defend Tozes, but the naval fleet has been completely destroyed."
Seth smiled wryly.
"Even if it is all the city guards, plus the soldiers under my command, there are only a few thousand people, it is impossible to defend..."
"Four days."
Garland said, his eyes fixed on them.
"Hold Tozes for four days and we'll have reinforcements."
He said, "So, hold me for four days."
Garlan’s words instantly lifted everyone’s spirits. According to normal conditions, reinforcements would take at least ten days a week to arrive. From the current situation, Tozes couldn’t last for so long, so they thought that there was no way for the reinforcements to arrive. Hope too.
However, four days, if what the prince said is true, then if they fought desperately to survive for four days, maybe...
"We get it."
Seth answered instead of everyone.
"Prince, please give your order."
Garland shook his head.
"I don't know much about the military. If I give orders indiscriminately, it will only cause trouble. The same is true of Kaihos. He is only good at cavalry warfare, but he does not understand naval warfare, and he is not good at defending the city."
He said, "Seth, from now on, you will be in charge of everything. I will issue an order as a prince, and all the troops in Tozes City will be at your disposal."
Kneeling Seth took a breath, and his face that had been dignified was slightly red at this moment.
All the troops are in his hands, what kind of trust this is.
For a while, his breathing was a little short.
"His Royal Highness Gallan, Seth will definitely not betray your trust."
The clenched right fist pressed hard against his chest, and Seth's dark face was full of determination.
"I swear to Shamash, I swear to you, if the pirates want to climb over the city wall, they can only step on my body!"
He said unequivocally.
Then, he got up, called up several other generals, and started talking about the Tozes city plan that was spread out on the round table.
He discussed with everyone with a serious face, and raced against time to discuss how to arrange troops on the city wall.
Garlan didn't listen, he knew that he couldn't give any advice, and going there would only make people tie their hands and feet, so he turned with Kaihos and went to a room on the side of the hall.
"Your Highness, is it really good to say this? Four days is impossible."
As soon as he entered the side room, Kaihos said.
"It is true that Annu can fly back to the royal city for more than a day. If he travels day and night, it will take about three days for the cavalry or the navy to get here from the royal city. But..."
He repeated the word solemnly.
"However, the key point is that King Camos is out on an expedition and is not in the royal city. Whether it is to mobilize the garrisoned army or the navy in the royal city, it must be approved by His Majesty and possess the military talisman given by His Majesty."
"That is to say, Prince Heimos must first send someone to the Eastern Front to inform His Majesty about this matter, and bring the military talismans back to the royal city before mobilizing the army - so I said, it will take at least seven days."
"The four days you mentioned is absolutely impossible."
The knight frowned deeply.
"I know that you are trying to boost their morale so that they can persevere, but if there is no reinforcements after four days, they will think that what you said about reinforcements is a lie, and they may collapse immediately, or even resent you..."
When Kaihos spoke, Garlan kept his head down and thought, as if he was thinking about something.
"Kaijos, I've been thinking, are these things too coincidental?"
He pondered.
"Although this man-made disaster was caused by some selfish people who raised tigers and was attacked by pirates," he said, "it just so happened that the eastern kingdom of Isth attacked Aaron Landis, and the pirates were there. The face was torn at this time; just by coincidence, the unbearable slaves rioted at this time before the pirates attacked."
Garlan's words made the knight's brow furrowed even more.
"It's not so much a coincidence, it's more like it's all like someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes..."
Just halfway through what Kaihos said, there was a sudden loud noise outside.
At the same time, the door of the room was slammed open, and one of the generals just now strode in.
"What happened?" Kejos asked. "Why is it so noisy outside?"
"His Royal Highness, Your Excellency Kejos." The general's face was shocked and angry, and he was deeply disturbed, "The citizens of Tozes rushed over and surrounded the ruling government!"
He gritted his teeth and said, "They learned from somewhere that the consul and other officials left the city of Tozes and fled by themselves. They surrounded the government together and asked the consul to show up in front of them, otherwise they would rush in."
"what!"
One wave has not settled, and another has risen.
The attack of the pirates outside had just stopped, and there was a little peace in Tozes City.
At this moment, the city was noisy again.
This time, it was the outraged citizens who made the noise.
They had been terrified by the terrible rumor that 'they had been abandoned' completely ignited in their hearts.
Under the instigation of people with a heart, citizens whose emotions were completely out of control rushed over and shouted, besieging the entire ruling government.
…
It was night and it was completely dark.
In the pirate ship moored on the coast, the pirates were in high spirits.
In the afternoon, they wantonly burned, killed and raped on the shore, frantically kidnapped women and children, and robbed property. No matter how happy they were, those mourning and miserable mourning sounded like the sounds of nature in their ears, which stimulated their eyes to turn red.
Seeing that it was late at night and had to retreat temporarily, the pirates were still a little reluctant.
You must know that most of the outer cities are only construction site docks, and there are not many residents, just appetizers. The real big head, the wealth of the whole city, is staying in the inner city.
At this moment, they are gearing up for each other, and they can't wait to attack the inner city of Tozes in one breath. The considerable wealth accumulated by the city of Tozes over the years makes them feel unbearable.
"Boss, why don't we work harder."
"That's right, they can't hold it anymore. If we continue at night, maybe it won't be long before we can break through."
"Boss, you said—"
Everyone was talking.
The man who looked sloppy glanced lazily at his subordinates.
"No hurries."
"Wait a minute," he said.
As soon as he grinned, the golden front teeth dangled dazzlingly.
"Wait, maybe something happens in there, and we can break in without any effort."
The pirate leader Basha said this, showing a meaningful smile, and turned his attention to the city of Tozes, which seemed to be quiet in the night but was already chaotic.
…
hours ago.
…
The rain was still falling, and the fine raindrops wet the stone roads in the city.
Just when the townspeople of Tozes were huddled at home and panicked, in the middle of the night, those who were lurking in the center of Tozes moved.
Through the hidden trails and the shadows in the dark to hide people's eyes and ears, dozens of people secretly gathered in a secret underground dark room from all directions of the city.
"Spread the news immediately."
The man who brought these people together with a special communication method said.
The faint light illuminated the half of his cheek, which was covered by the cloak. If the leader of the riot slaves who had been killed by Seth's army was here, he would have recognized that this person was one of the few who encouraged them to riot. .
It was precisely because this person and his companions kept encouraging him for half a year and promised a lot of benefits one after another, that moved him.
But it is a pity that these people just regard him and all the slaves as pawns, and once they are thrown out, they no longer care about the lives of those slaves.
"Be careful, spread the news that the consul and the officials have secretly escaped from Tozes, and tell everyone that Tozes City has been abandoned, and all Tozes citizens have been abandoned."
"Let them know that the vast majority of the soldiers have protected the officials to escape. Tozes has become a ghost town, and pirates will come in early tomorrow morning."
the man said,
"The poor people who were abandoned by the officials and the state will die tragically under the knife of pirates."
After finishing speaking, everyone left immediately to complete the task given by the man.
The man who remained in the room sat quietly, shadows covering half of his face.
He looked at the city in the rainy night outside the window, and the corner of his mouth raised a sneer.
What a bunch of stupid guys.
Those slaves are, and so are the stupid townspeople who are about to be inspired by the rumors he spreads.
Just a few understatements can make those guys move like marionettes according to his wishes.
It's ridiculous that those stupid guys think they are carrying out their own will.
The consuls and officials who were greedy for life and fear of death should have all run away, but there are still a few generals who are not afraid of death.
In order to stabilize the overall situation, those people tried hard not to let the news spread, and desperately wanted to hold Tozes.
Speaking of which, he still admires those few guys who are loyal to their duties.
Unfortunately, the efforts of those generals are doomed to be in vain.
The panicked townspeople won't think it's their painstaking efforts, they'll just think they've deceived themselves and get angry.
As soon as the news spreads, the city of Tozes will be in chaos immediately.
The few generals who stayed in the city were not enough either in terms of identity or status, and none of them could suppress the rioting citizens and stabilize the situation in the city.
In this way, the army will be in chaos, morale will collapse, and the city will fall in an instant.
The man looked at the gloomy rain curtain in a comfortable mood, and an inexplicable pleasure filled his heart.
Oh, it is such a pleasant thing to lurk in the darkness like this, to play with everyone in the applause, to manipulate those stupid people at will.
The man thought so, raised his lips, and drank tea contentedly.