Chapter 59 : Chapter 59
Chapter 59. A Backstab from the Barbarian Royal Court, A Difficult Decision
Seeing that the First Monster Legion had been pinned down, Prince Tanley immediately made a decision.
“Have the signal bearers send the command flags. Recall the Dragon Riders intercepting the barbarian tribes and send them to reinforce Ningshuang City.”
The order was issued, and the signal bearers immediately understood. The command flags in their hands waved rapidly as the special signals were transmitted through the wind and snow.
Seven or eight Dragon Riders who had been suppressing the barbarian tribes received the signal and immediately urged their dragons into the sky, preparing to turn toward Ningshuang City.
However, inside the central command tent of the Kadiya Kingdom, the First Princess Selena saw everything clearly through a crystal sphere.
Her expression darkened as she turned toward the Third Prince of the Barbarian Royal Court beside her.
“Stop them.”
The Third Prince slowly shook his head.
Selena’s brows instantly knitted together, her voice trembling with restrained fury.
“What do you mean by shaking your head? Are you planning to let them go reinforce Ningshuang City?”
“Princess Selena,” the Third Prince replied with some difficulty.
“Urgent news has arrived from the Royal Court… The Orc Kingdom has suddenly torn up the alliance treaty and is attacking our rear tribes.”
“My father has already recalled the Giant Legion to resist them. I intended to tell you earlier, but I could not find the right moment.”
Selena felt as if struck by lightning.
She stood frozen for a moment, fury nearly bursting from her eyes.
“What did you say? The Giant Legion has been recalled?”
She slammed the table violently, scattering the flags across the sand table.
“You are not lying to me, are you? At a time like this, you dare joke with me? We are fighting a war, not playing children’s games!”
The Giant Legion was the most elite force of the barbarian tribes and one of their most important assets in confronting the Kroll Kingdom.
And now it had been withdrawn?
No wonder the earlier interception of the Dragon Riders had seemed noticeably weaker.
The Third Prince’s face turned pale, yet he could only nod stiffly.
“It is true, Princess. The orcs attacked suddenly. The Royal Court is under threat from both front and rear. My father had no choice…”
“No choice?”
Selena cut him off sharply, her chest heaving.
“We are risking our lives here, and you people create this mess behind our backs. Without the Giant Legion, how are we supposed to resist Kroll’s counterattack? How are we supposed to maintain the offensive against Ningshuang City? What meaning is there in our struggle here now?”
She looked at the Dragon Riders in the crystal sphere who were about to depart, then at the battlefield outside the tent where the armies were locked in combat within the raging snowstorm.
A chill rose from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.
Her carefully arranged plan had suddenly become dangerously unstable because of this unexpected turn.
“Transmit my order.”
Selena drew a deep breath, forcing down her anger. Her voice was cold as ice.
“Send the Raptor Legion from the flank. No matter what, those Dragon Riders must not be allowed to leave.”
As soon as the order was given, the distant signal bearers immediately waved their flags, transmitting the interception command to the Raptor Legion.
Upon receiving the signal, the Raptor Riders immediately urged their mounts forward. Their low-slung beasts sprinted across the ice plains, claws tearing through the frozen earth and sending snow flying into the air.
They attempted to intercept the Dragon Riders before the dragons could ascend.
But they were ultimately a step too late.
Seven or eight dragons had already spread their wings and soared high into the sky. Their massive wings stirred the snowstorm as they climbed rapidly toward the edge of the clouds, breaking free from the entanglement of the ground forces.
The Dragon Riders glanced down at the battlefield growing smaller beneath them.
Then they turned their dragons and became several blurred black silhouettes.
They sped toward the direction of Ningshuang City, the roars of dragons echoing far through the wind and snow.
On the high platform, the tension in Prince Tanley’s shoulders finally eased slightly.
Watching the dragon silhouettes gradually vanish into the horizon, the cold numbness in his fingertips seemed to fade a little.
He turned to Kroll II.
“Your Majesty, with the Dragon Riders reinforcing them, as long as Ningshuang City can hold until they arrive…”
Kroll II did not respond.
He simply stared toward the direction of Ningshuang City, his expression complicated.
He understood Prince Tanley’s meaning.
But with only a single battalion stationed there, could Ningshuang City truly hold until the Dragon Riders arrived?
The outer walls of Ningshuang City had already been reduced to shattered ruins during the fighting. Broken stones and mangled flesh had frozen together into dark crimson lumps.
When William retreated into the inner city with the remnants of his forces, fewer than thirty percent of the original troops remained behind him.
The walls of the inner city were low and badly deteriorated with age. Calling them decorative would hardly be an exaggeration.
Grass even grew between the cracks of the bricks.
Tos knelt on one knee, leaning against his broken sword. Blood seeped from the splits in his armor and dyed the snow beneath him red.
The surviving knights were all wounded. Their breathing sounded like broken bellows.
The corpses of slave knights and mages had piled up like a small hill against the walls. No one had the strength left to count the dead.
William leaned against the earthen wall of the inner city.
The wound in his chest had reopened during the recent breakout. Blood soaked through the padding beneath his armor.
He looked out beyond the city.
The Kadiya legion was calmly setting up siege ladders, their banners snapping loudly in the cold wind, as if victory were already certain.
He then looked toward the sky.
Only heavy lead-colored clouds hung low. There was not the slightest sign of reinforcements.
“It seems… we will not be able to wait for help.”
His voice was soft, almost like a sigh.
Tos struggled to stand, dried blood still splattered across his face.
“Your Highness, I have already sent men to the supply warehouse. All supplies that can fit into Spatial Rings have been stored inside them.”
“For the ones that cannot fit, I have prepared fire oil. Once we withdraw from the inner city, we will ignite everything immediately.”
William nodded.
His gaze swept across the civilians crouching in the streets of the inner city.
Most of them were family members of the soldiers who had defended the city.
They clutched their children and trembled in fear, their eyes filled with terror.
Following his gaze, Tos swallowed hard before finally asking the question.
“Your Highness… what about the civilians in the city?”
William remained silent.
He did not look at him. He merely lifted his hand and waved it slightly, signaling him to carry out the orders.
Tos opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
But in the end, he simply lowered his head heavily and staggered away.
He understood.
The prince’s silence was the answer.
Once the inner city fell, if these civilians fell into the hands of the Kadiya soldiers and the barbarians, their fate would be worse than being consumed by flames.
Yet setting the fire would still push them onto a path of no return.
William slowly closed his eyes.
The faint sound of civilians sobbing seemed to echo in his ears, mixed with the horns and battle cries outside the city.
He drew his sword.
The blade gleamed coldly in the dim light, reflecting his pale yet resolute face.
“Everyone, follow me.”
He suddenly opened his eyes. His voice was not loud, but it carried unquestionable authority.
“We take the secret passage. Whoever can survive… survives.”
The remaining soldiers helped each other to their feet.
No one spoke. They simply followed silently behind him.
Behind them, the gate of the inner city creaked and groaned.
That was the sound of Kadiya soldiers beginning to ram the gate.
William turned his head and glanced toward the direction of the supply warehouse.
Soon, towering flames would rise there, burning away the final warmth of this city—along with all its struggle and despair—into ashes.
He tightened his grip on his sword and stepped into the darkness of the secret passage.
Behind him, flames shot into the sky, staining half the heavens red.