In the meeting hall of Liberty City, Liam sat in the place of honor, drinking heavily. The floor was littered with empty wine bottles; he had been in high spirits lately and drank here whenever he had a spare moment.
"Hic!"
Liam let out a drunken burp, staring blearily at the bottle in his hand. This wine was truly excellent—worthy of being produced in Sedona City.
"Hic! Today is the seventh day since George and the others set out, isn't it? They should have taken Sedona City by now. After this, I'll be able to drink this wine to my heart's content." Liam happily poured more wine into his mouth.
Bang!
The doors to the hall were suddenly flung open.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Liam was startled into a coughing fit, half-sobering up from the shock. He glared furiously at the person at the door. "Huff... huff... Your Highness..." The knight who had pushed open the door gasped for breath, his face pale as he shouted, "Disaster has struck!"
"What is it?" Liam frowned, rubbing his temples.
"Your Highness, there are enemies outside. Liberty City has been surrounded!" The knight cried out.
"What?" Liam bolted upright, staggering as he rushed outside.
"Your Highness, your shoe fell off!" The knight shouted from behind, holding the discarded footwear.
Tramp, tramp, tramp…
Ultimately, Liam only managed to run about a hundred meters before knights had to carry him up onto the city walls.
"Huff... puff..." The two knights were exhausted.
"What's the situation?" Standing on the wall and looking down at the people below, Liam's pupils contracted. He immediately felt a crushing pressure—the pressure emanating from an elite knight order.
"Your Highness, they appeared out of nowhere. If we hadn't noticed them early, the city gates would have been seized already," The defending knight said with lingering fear.
"How is their strength?" Liam's brow furrowed tightly; he felt a bit dizzy.
"Extremely strong. I sent a squad of knights to test them, and they were cut down with ease," The defending knight said grimly.
"Dammit! They dared to attack while George took the knights away and the city was vulnerable," Liam hissed.
"Your Highness, we still have a thousand knights in the city," The defending knight reminded him softly.
"Can we win?" Liam's eyes lit up.
"That... well..." The knight stammered. He had just been frightened out of his wits—didn't the prince see the hundred or so corpses lying on the ground below?
"Hmph!" Liam snorted coldly. Looking at the embarrassed knight, how could he not know the answer?
He faced the area below the wall and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Who are you? Come out and face this Prince!"
Whiz!
A piercing sound tore through the air. A long arrow streaked across the sky and slammed into the wall right in front of Liam.
Thwang!
Liam gulped. Staring at the long arrow made of steel—its head buried deep in the stone wall while the fletching still vibrated—his legs turned to jelly. If he hadn't been leaning against the battlement, he would have collapsed.
"The rebel Liam has attempted to revolt to seize the throne. For his own selfish gain, he has plundered the wealth and grain of the Western Lands, disregarding the lives of the commoners!
Under the request of Princess Lucy, my lord, Lord Lucas of Sedona City, has come to suppress you, you traitor!" Aiden's booming voice roared toward Liberty City.
"What? I'm the rebel?" Liam was dumbfounded.
In the next second, his expression turned incredibly dark. He was revolting, but no one had ever dared to say it out loud. Now, having his secrets exposed in public, he was driven to a frenzy of rage.
"Your Highness, isn't that Lucas of Sedona City the very person Count George went to suppress? Why is he here?" A noble nearby reminded him.
"Could it be... George failed?" Liam's face changed drastically. He lost his composure and screamed, "What did you do to Count George? Where is he?"
"He has been captured and is currently being held in the dungeons of Sedona City!" Aiden shouted with a cold laugh.
"No, how is that possible? That was a thousand knights!" Liam cried out, despondent. Even if the First Prince had sent a knight order, it would be difficult to completely annihilate them. That was half of his entire foundation. At the thought, Liam felt his head spin, and the world before him began to blur into double vision.
In the next moment, Liam fainted.
"Your Highness! Quick, escort His Highness back to his room!"
"Call for a witch doctor immediately!"
"..."
The city wall fell into chaos. With the pillar of their support fallen, any thought of a counter-attack vanished; they could only focus on defense.
"We will give you only three days to consider. If you do not surrender, we will begin the siege!"
Leaving behind those words, Aiden silently watched the commotion on the wall before turning to leave. His reconnaissance mission had been a resounding success.
Tramp, tramp, tramp...
Aiden returned to the military camp. They had sneaked over this morning; if their movements hadn't been given away by a merchant caravan, Liberty City might have been taken in a surprise raid.
"My lord, Liam fainted," Aiden shouted as he entered the tent.
"Oh? So fragile?" Lucas raised an eyebrow, surprised. "He's not faking it, is he?"
He didn't think a prince with the ambition to rebel would be so weak that he'd faint from a few words and one of Elisa's arrows. None of them realized that Liam had simply drunk too much and was then overwhelmed by the psychological blow.
"I wouldn't know, lord. It was quite chaotic up on the wall," Aiden shrugged.
"Ignore him for now," Lucas shook his head and commanded, "Aiden, go personally to guard the other gate of Liberty. I don't want anyone escaping."
"Yes, my lord."
"Rhea, sorry to trouble you, but sneak into Liberty City later. Scout out their defensive layout; I'm counting on you for the intelligence for tonight's operation," Lucas said, turning to Rhea, who was sitting to the side gnawing on dried mutton.
"Mm!" Rhea nodded coolly, stuffed the remaining mutton into her shirt, and walked out.
"Tony, get all the hot air balloons ready. Tonight's night raid depends on them," Lucas said, his face turning serious.
"Yes, my lord!" Tony gave a crisp military salute.
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