Davis Domain.
Two boats dared not dock at the harbor, casually choosing a riverside spot to anchor.
"Tie up all the captives!"
Aaron gave the order, taking Roland and several captives with him, watching the sky.
After a night of turmoil, it was now just before dawn, the darkest moment of the night.
At this time, people felt the most exhausted, and their alertness was at its weakest.
"Sir, it's a good opportunity."
Ba Zhi licked his lips, gazing at the still-dark and quiet buildings.
But Roland could only smirk bitterly.
His desire to survive had prevailed, causing him to surrender, but seeing his hometown so defenseless, he couldn't help but feel astonished.
"Yeah, such a good opportunity, merely plundering some civilian homes would be too much of a waste..."
Aaron shook his head, looking at Roland with a faint smile. "Your Excellency Roland, soon you will have to trouble yourself to open the castle's big door... I will personally follow behind you."
"I'm honored to serve you!"
Roland's bitterness only intensified, before he continued, "Aren't you worried about the defensive forces inside the castle, or someone leaking the news and setting up a trap?"
"Well, I will naturally confirm that in advance."
Aaron Sotos smiled as he answered.
In a world without supernatural powers, simply having a touch of Mystery made him feel like he was cheating.
When approaching the castle, he would naturally use the method of entering dreams to confirm whether there was any danger in this operation.
If [Danger Perception] gave a strong warning, he would naturally retreat, not foolishly rushing to his death.
...
The light of dawn was faint.
Atop the castle, guard Abel yawned with boredom.
In the Davis Domain, those who could fight well were mostly at the frontlines, while those with even a little ability had been mostly mobilized by Roland.
What remained now were just the old, weak, and disabled.
He had been on watch all night without incident, and was already extremely tired.
At this point, he was eagerly waiting for his replacement, so he could go to the kitchen to enjoy oatmeal soup and salted meat, a special treat reserved for the Night Watchmen.
Suddenly, he saw a group of people coming, eventually reaching the base of the castle.
The leader of the group was, astonishingly, Roland Davis.
"Your Excellency Roland?"
Abel cried out in surprise.
"It's me, open the gate right now, damn it! Our plans have gone awry, and I need to report to the lady immediately!" Roland Davis shouted.
If one were to get close, they would see that the forehead of His Excellency was dripping with sweat, while behind him, Aaron grinned, pressing a dagger to his waist.
"Alright... alright."
Abel did not doubt them at all and went to call someone to open the city gate, welcoming Roland and his party.
With creaks and cracks, accompanied by the teeth-grinding sound of the gears and ropes interlocking, the drawbridge slowly lowered, and the old wooden door gradually opened.
Entering the castle, Abel still greeted them: "Sir, is there anything I can do for you... Ah!"
The next instant, a long sword pierced directly through his chest.
After Aaron acted, Ba Zhi and the other selected men immediately drew their weapons and killed the people at the castle gate.
It was so effortless to seize the city gate that even Aaron felt it was too smooth.
Although the divination in his dream showed that there was indeed no danger nonetheless.
"Sir, let's charge!"
Ba Zhi howled, cutting off a guard's head with a scimitar, his eyes bloodshot.
Apparently, the wealth accumulated by a lord in his castle over many years had completely driven this person out of his mind.
"Send the order, attack."
Aaron nodded, allowing Ba Zhi to charge ahead.
Clang!
From within the castle hall, a group of attendants emerged, looking old, young, and somewhat frail, but surprisingly numerous.
"Are these Knight Attendants?"
Aaron recognized at a glance that, like Theodore's fondness for keeping his butlers and knights' sons by his side as attendants, the Davis family had the same tradition.
At the same time, these children, who had been cultivated since childhood, also carried a hint of being hostages.
Their fathers and brothers might still be fighting for the Davis family on the frontlines, while they should be well protected in the rear.
Them coming out to fight now clearly meant they'd been backed into a corner.
"Damn bastards, I'm going to cut your heads off!"
A scream came from Beck up ahead – he had been careless and was stabbed by a half-grown child, not seriously injured, but bloody nonetheless.
"The enemies are very determined to resist... Failure is possible."
Aaron watched it all unfold, his expression as dark as water: "Light the beacon!"
This was his second plan, to immediately set the beacon ablaze after capturing the gate, while the eloquent men outside would try to incite the civilians! And release the captives to let them join the plunder!
Never underestimate a person's baser instincts!
Having been neighbors for so many years, Aaron knew what kind of character the Davis family had, it was already good if they didn't oppress the civilians to death.
At this time of crisis, seeing the castle being breached, those civilians would definitely not voluntarily come to their aid.
On the contrary, they would be very interested in joining the chaotic looting.
'Upon capturing the castle, the best strategic choice would be to hold out here, coordinate with the frontline army, and annihilate the Davis family completely... But it's too risky, holding a castle with only dozens of people in the face of a thousand-strong army may last for a while, but any misstep could lead to total annihilation!'
Aaron certainly didn't possess the noble quality to sacrifice himself for the greater good of his family, even if there was only a possibility, he wouldn't risk it.
Therefore, using the enemy civilians to thoroughly devastate the castle, reducing the difficulty of subsequent attacks, became the best choice.
And he would naturally withdraw before the return of the Davis army!
"You! Are you still determined to resist? You have already failed... The Davis family is doomed, your loyalty will not receive any reward!"
Aaron, wielding his longsword, looked at an aged knight with white hair charging towards him and said coldly, "Even if you don't surrender directly, taking the wealth from inside the castle should be enough for you to live well on the outside."
"You don't understand..."
The old knight roared and swung his sword.
Though experienced, he obviously lacked the physical strength.
Finally, he was pierced through the chest by Aaron's sword.
He still struggled, spitting blood, "You don't understand... The chivalry... Is loyalty!"
Aaron withdrew his sword, his expression cold, "Yes... I am not a knight. I don't understand loyalty. I am a beast controlled by desire!"
"But, I won, I survived, and you died... That's reality!"
"The most noble slogan is no match for practical interests!"