Chapter 108: Battle of North Soqya (Part 4)
Soqya Peninsula, Dolrcocha City-State.
Breaking a city-state was easy, but conquering one was difficult.
Within Dolrcocha, Charlotte could clearly feel the city-state's restlessness and unease. Unlike when she occupied Ambratu, here, even the freemen and slaves regarded her with deep suspicion, even hostility.
Charlotte didn't find it strange. When she occupied Ambratu, she had raised the banner of avenging Harvey Sherwin, clearly directing her spearhead at Ambratu's elders and citizens. Ambratu's freemen and slaves had remained uninvolved. Considering the common human trait of enjoying a spectacle, Ambratu's freemen and slaves might have even looked forward to Charlotte and the Ambratu citizens beating each other's brains out.
However, Dolrcocha was different. Charlotte's army had arrived too suddenly and behaved too fiercely. Many Dolrcochan residents probably hadn't even heard of the North Soqya Frontline and naturally didn't know Charlotte's intentions. In an era where sacking and burning cities was commonplace, in the eyes of ordinary people, an army could be more terrifying than a butcher.
Still, an invader had to have an invader's self-awareness. Charlotte didn't harbor any sweet dreams of being welcomed as a savior by oppressed people wherever she went. Moreover, she had no intention of staying in Dolrcocha for the time being.
This time, she was just here to destroy.
After setting fire to the Council of Elders, Charlotte began to inventory Dolrcocha's public treasury, intending to pack up and take away all movable wealth. At the same time, she ordered the surviving citizens within Dolrcocha to be rounded up by district and escorted to the citizen assembly square in front of the Council of Elders.
Samuel Borrows was just an ordinary citizen, sixteen years old, unawakened. He had received some military training but hadn't yet had a chance to go to war.
When Charlotte breached the city, Samuel had just woken up and was eating breakfast. The sudden, earth-shattering roar nearly scared him off his seat.
Before Samuel could figure out the source of the roar, the sound of galloping hooves echoed through the city, followed by the incessant sounds of fighting, shouting, and wailing...
A brightly armored cavalryman on a tall, powerful horse rode past Samuel's house.
Unfamiliar armor, unfamiliar insignia – Samuel finally realized: the city-state had been invaded by an external enemy!
At that moment, Samuel immediately turned, retrieved a short spear and a wooden shield from his bedroom, and was about to rush out the door to chase the cavalryman. But a rough, large hand grabbed him and then closed their front door.
"Father, why are you stopping me?" Samuel turned to look at his father.
"What are you going to do?" his father, Wendell Borrows, asked sternly.
"Enemies have come! Of course, I'm going to defend the city-state!" Samuel said without thinking.
His father snatched the short spear from Samuel's arm, snapped it effortlessly with a crack, then, holding the two broken halves, asked, "Are you going to fight those tin cans with this? Can you even pierce their iron plating? You stay home and hide. Don't go out."
"Father?" Samuel looked at his father in disbelief. His father had once been a citizen-soldier renowned among the neighbors for his bravery and skill in battle, until he was severely injured and could no longer wield a sword, forced to leave the battlefield. In his childhood, his father had been his hero.
Samuel didn't understand why such a heroic father would now, in the city-state's time of crisis, advise him to hide at home and not go out.
"I'm already a cripple. If you die in battle too, what will happen to your mother and your sister?" His father's tone softened.
Hearing this, Samuel turned his head and met the pleading, worried, and fearful gazes of his mother and sister. The do-or-die sentiment in his heart gradually deflated.
Samuel, along with his father, mother, and sister, hid in the cellar, silently praying to the Lord of Gods not to be caught in the crossfire. Fortunately, these invaders seemed to have little interest in looting homes or burning civilian houses. The family, hidden underground, never heard anyone break down their door.
It wasn't until the afternoon that the voice of their neighbor, Uncle Brown, came from outside: "Samuel, Wendell, are you home? Open the door!"
Samuel wanted to open the door but was held back by his father.
The knocking outside never stopped, and it seemed to grow more urgent. Finally, a low voice said, "Two Dolrcochan citizens, the Viscount of Lanwan invites you for a discussion. We don't want to damage your residence. Please don't waste time and force us to break down the door."
Wendell, resigned, had no choice but to go open the door with his son.
As soon as the door opened, Samuel saw several armored soldiers guarding a group of Dolrcochan citizens. These citizens were all Samuel's neighbors.
After confirming their identities, the leading knight, Adams, pointed to several houses ahead and asked, "Which citizens still live here?"
Samuel was slightly stunned, then looked at the citizens behind Adams, including Uncle Brown, who had already been "invited" out. Those citizens awkwardly avoided Samuel's gaze.
Samuel understood why these invaders were so sure he and his father were in the house. But Samuel had no choice but to answer Adams's questions truthfully. He estimated that Adams had already asked Uncle Brown and the other neighbors these questions; he couldn't hide it even if he wanted to.
After getting the answers, Adams took Samuel and the others to the next house and had Samuel knock on the door.
After this family came out, Adams indeed asked the same question again: "Which citizens still live here?"
Once all the findable citizens in the entire district had been gathered, Adams escorted them collectively to the square.
In the square, there were several small tables, spaced about ten paces apart from each other. On each table were paper and quills.
Samuel stood trembling at the foot of the central speaking platform in the square, waiting. Soon, a white-haired old knight ascended the platform.
This old knight was Jack Moore.
Jack Moore stood on the speaking platform and announced loudly, "The Dolrcocha city-state formed the North Soqya Frontline, intending to invade the territory of the Viscount of Lanwan. Upon hearing this, the Viscount of Lanwan was extremely furious and resolved to give the citizens of Dolrcocha some punishment. However, considering that not every Dolrcochan supports this shameless act, the Viscount of Lanwan has decided to give the good people a chance to survive. You can denounce each other and expose the villains who support the invasion. Write their numbers on the paper. The Viscount of Lanwan will only execute the five people who receive the most votes."
A commotion erupted below the platform. These Dolrcochan citizens were shocked by how well-informed and swiftly the Viscount of Lanwan had reacted – they themselves hadn't even prepared to send out troops yet. They were also angered and terrified by Jack Moore's blunt death threat.
However, the archers surrounding the square simply and brutally suppressed the sounds of the commotion.
After the announcement, Jack Moore gave each of them a wooden plaque with a number written on it to hang around their necks.
"Remember it clearly? Don't write it wrong." Jack Moore paused for a moment, then added, "Zero is a bit complicated, and it might be troublesome for everyone to write. So, we hereby agree that writing nothing on the paper will represent number zero."
Samuel's mind was buzzing because he saw that the wooden plaque hanging on his father Wendell's chest was number zero.
The knight-squires led these Dolrcochan citizens to the small tables one by one, one table per person, and placed paper and quills in their hands.
Samuel held the quill, but it felt as heavy as lead. Even if the people around him were not on good terms with him, even if he wasn't familiar with them, they were all Dolrcochan citizens. They had once drilled together, discussed politics together, voted together. There was a natural sense of identity, closeness, and trust among them...
Although his head was still a muddle, Samuel vaguely realized that today, once he put pen to paper, everything would change.
Samuel wasn't the only one who realized this. First, intermittent sobs sounded in the small square, then someone started wailing. Then, someone actually broke down, tore up the papyrus in their hands, turned, and fled towards the outside of the square. Of course, they were quickly caught and brought back.
"Please don't waste time," Jack Moore had someone bring an hourglass, flipped it over, and placed it in the center of the speaking platform. "When all the sand has fallen, we will collect your votes."
Samuel looked up at the hourglass and saw the sand flowing extremely quickly. Sweat immediately beaded on his forehead.
Samuel desperately wanted to close his eyes and submit a blank piece of paper, but that was clearly not an option, as it would be tantamount to voting for his own father.
Finally, just before the sand was about to run out, Samuel gritted his teeth and wrote down number five – it was the number of Uncle Brown, who had knocked on his door not long ago.
Clang!
The sound of a sword striking a shield rang out, signaling that time was up.
The knight-squires received the order and immediately began collecting the votes.
Jack Moore received the votes, shuffled them all, and began to read them out on the spot.
The first one was number three...
Hearing this number, Samuel's heart trembled – it was his own number.
Samuel immediately began to guess who had cast this vote for him. He first suspected a chubby boy named Ben, because he had recently stolen the girl Ben admired, and Ben had been hostile to him ever since. Then he suspected a citizen named Bard, because he had just knocked on Bard's door...
However, Samuel soon had no mind to ponder these questions.
Because his father's vote count was increasing.
Number zero!
Number zero!
Number zero!
...
Samuel had no idea if those people didn't want to vote or if they deliberately voted for his father. Perhaps it was both.
Due to his disability, Wendell was usually ill-tempered and often argued with neighbors, making him unpopular. Rather than make a difficult choice, it was easier to send someone they disliked to their death, just as he had voted for Uncle Brown, just as Ben had voted for him.
When the votes were tallied, Wendell was sent to the chopping block with the highest number of votes.
"No..."
Samuel, his eyes red, rushed forward to try and save his father but was knocked down by a knight-squire's club.
"Go back! Go back! Don't worry about me! Don't worry about me!"
Wendell roared at his son.
Uncle Brown was also sent to the chopping block. He ranked fifth, with just one more vote than the sixth person.
Samuel didn't know how to face this outcome. He remembered the gifts Uncle Brown had given him in his childhood, and the summer nights of years past when Uncle Brown and his father drank and laughed together.
After the five were executed, the knight-squires drove Samuel and the others away, telling them to hurry home; their business was done.
Samuel walked out of the square in a daze. He looked at the other citizens walking with him and couldn't help but think: these are the people who killed my father.
However, unintentionally, Samuel met a hateful gaze – it was Uncle Brown's son.
Samuel opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word of defense.
Was it really over?
Samuel dared not think about it.
"This is a massacre..." Watching the first batch of Dolrcochan citizens being sent away and the second batch being herded into the square, One-Eyed Logan couldn't help but sigh. "We are killing the soul of the Dolrcocha city-state, using the method most familiar to city-state people."
As a former city-state person, Logan knew very well what a dark future awaited this city-state once widespread suspicion, hostility, and resentment spread among the citizen class. Logan had always prided himself on being clever and ruthless, but he admitted to himself that he could not have conceived of such a heart-twisting method as Lady Charlotte's.
Robin Mancini glared at Logan and rebuked, "This isn't a massacre, this is punishment!"
The massacre, or rather, punishment, proceeded methodically. The city-state of Dolrcocha grew increasingly silent.
The day after the six allied city-states of the North Soqya Frontline confirmed Elder Cleon of Fidi as their commander-in-chief, a fast boat flying the Dolrcochan flag sailed into Badan's port.
"Doris? What are you doing here?" Elder Balotelli of Dolrcocha saw the citizen-soldier messenger who arrived by fast boat. This messenger was the son of Balotelli's old friend, so Balotelli recognized him at a glance. He looked with surprise at the shocking wound on the other's arm and asked with concern, "How did you get injured? Attacked by pirates?"
Pirates were often active in the waters near Soqya. Of course, they weren't always pirates but rather sea merchants; sea trading was their main occupation, piracy just a sideline, which made them very difficult to eradicate.
"No, no," the pale-faced Doris shook his head. "Not pirates, it was the Oran people..."
"Oran people?" Balotelli's heart skipped a beat, and he secretly prayed it wasn't bad news.
However, the news Doris brought was worse than any bad news Balotelli could have imagined.
"O-Oran people attacked Dolrcocha! Griffins, griffins directly breached the city walls! We couldn't hold them back at all! Elder, please hurry and lead troops to rescue Dolrcocha! If you're late, Dolrcocha will be finished..."
Doris pleaded, weeping tears of blood.
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