Looking at Grace shedding tears like a lonely little girl, Willis gradually regained his composure. "Give me the map, and I'll offer you both a way out," Willis slowly said, staring at Grace. "I swear it on my mother's name."
Grace gazed at this brother, who had never cared for her since childhood, as though she was meeting him for the first time. "I believe you won't lie," she said, still choking on her tears. After speaking, she took off the sapphire necklace around her neck, pressed on the sides of the gem with two fingers, and surprisingly, the pure blue sapphire opened like the shell of a clam. It was a hollow sapphire, and from the outside, it was undetectable.
Inside the gem was a parchment the size of a fingertip and a black ring. The parchment was the map of the Morphy Forest, and the black ring was the symbol of the Calaman Kingdom estate.
After Willis took the parchment and ring, he indeed released Grace. Christine and the maid, Raffi, ran over from the next room. Willis didn't pay much attention to the three of them; he mounted his horse and led his men away. The city was doomed. Outside, there were at least a thousand Garrel troops, and the city's defenders were only around three hundred, plus the refugees who had been gathered, so it was impossible to hold the city. It was just a matter of when it would fall. He sent all the able-bodied fighters to the four city gates, giving the Garrel troops the illusion of a desperate defense. In reality, he led his most loyal fifty cavalry to break out through the weakest point in the defense.
"Where's Sharpe? Where is he?" Grace noticed that the old butler was missing and shouted to Willis, who had not yet left.
"He resisted all the way. I killed him," Willis said, leaving without looking back.
Grace collapsed to the ground, utterly defeated. If before she had hoped to rely on the protection of the butler and maids to cross the Morphy Forest and reach the Calaman Kingdom, now she had truly given up. Without the low-level butler's power, and with only the weaker maid to protect her, whether they could even get close to the forest was uncertain.
"Miss, what should we do?" Maid Raffi asked, holding Christine, who was now clearly in poor condition, her face flushed and her eyes blurry as though she might faint at any moment.
Grace immediately realized she couldn't fall apart. Her niece still needed her care; the Philip family's bloodline couldn't be allowed to end. She still had some assets in the city of Shiloh. For now, the only thing she could do was to disguise herself as an ordinary civilian and wait for a time when she could uncover those treasures. Even if she couldn't be a noble, she could still be a wealthy civilian. Furthermore, as the renowned honorary Countess of the kingdom, she was sure to gather people who would support her in the future. Life wouldn't be so bad.
Grace fantasized about a bright future, but how could she guarantee the Garrel troops wouldn't find her? How could she ensure survival after the city fell? Never having experienced war and bloodshed, Grace was just like a caged canary in the end.
When she and the others had left the mansion, they were caught by the guards placed around the city by Willis. Now that the butler was dead, and she had no powerful protectors, who knew what those desperate refugees might do? "Back to the yard," Grace ordered the maid.
Outside, Caesar was charging forward, holding a shield he had found somewhere, braving a rain of arrows. Captain Monte of the First Squad had already secured a position at the base of the city wall and was directing the soldiers to climb the siege ladders. Other squad leaders also led their men to join Monte, but something seemed off about the city's defense—it was strong but unorganized. Was the city's commander an idiot? The fire oil and boulders were all being thrown into one place. Monte had managed to occupy the ground beneath the wall with a feint, and now they were steadily gaining ground.
It seemed Baron Kyle had also noticed that while the defenders were fiercely holding their ground, their internal resources were depleted. The defenders had no reinforcements in sight, so he decided to send in the Fourth Squad and the Third Squad, which had just rested. He planned to break through the gates in one final push. The first squad to break through the gates would get a larger share of the spoils, and Kyle, coming from a military family, trusted his judgment. He had a feeling that his squad would be the first to break through.
Caesar and his men had already reached the gates, and Captain Monte's position below the wall was well-established with three siege ladders. "Bender, Moritz, bring the ladders!" Caesar commanded. Around him were twenty or so soldiers, old comrades from his previous small squad, along with a few capable squad leaders. The others were left behind to ensure the safety of Sir Soren, as the young master's life was a top priority.
"Uncle Monte, where are York and the others?" Caesar had seen the other squad leaders, York among them, earlier, but now he couldn't see them. He felt something was wrong.
"Oh, Caesar, York and Colleen have already gone up. My fighting energy is too drained, so I had to stay here," Monte replied breathlessly. Most of the progress made at the wall had been due to Monte's own efforts, and it was normal for him to be exhausted after using up his fighting energy to block boulders and arrows.
Hearing this, Caesar immediately grew anxious. "Gullas, Tom, Jon, come with me!" Caesar grabbed a siege ladder and bit his sword between his teeth as he climbed with all his might. He had always regarded Uncle York as a fatherly figure. Although York was powerful, even he could make mistakes. Caesar couldn't afford to take any chances and had to fight alongside him.
The soldiers around them, inspired by their squad leader's courage, surged forward without fear. Gullas, in particular, had once looked down on the slender Caesar as squad leader, but now, his respect for him had grown immensely. He and Tom, who was just as strong, followed closely behind Caesar. Jon, armed with a bow, covered the group from the rear, clearing obstacles and potential threats.
Caesar, sword still in his mouth, scrambled up the ladder, using both hands and feet. As he neared the top of the wall, he noticed that York and the others hadn't quite established their position, as arrows and boulders still rained down sporadically. Fortunately, Caesar's half-body armor, which included a helmet, protected him from most arrows. He nimbly dodged the boulders, though.
Those behind him weren't so lucky. Arrows and fire oil fell mercilessly, and any soldier who fell from the wall, while not very high, would likely be severely injured. The rolling stones caused massive casualties. Only the higher-ranking soldiers, like the squad leaders and some strong soldiers, could keep up with Caesar's pace. No wonder the lower-ranking soldiers often suffered the most in battle.
Caesar didn't look back, but from the heavy thuds of fallen bodies and the soldiers' screams behind him, he could roughly guess the casualties.
As he gathered all his remaining fighting energy and pushed himself to leap higher with a powerful kick, Caesar shocked both the enemy soldiers on the wall and his own men below. He had never used such a technique before, and the effort left him astonished.
"Another knight! Don't let him up!" a Shiloh soldier shouted from the wall.
Caesar, still surprised by his own jump, quickly adjusted his position, moving horizontally along the ladder and the wall. Finally, he made it to the top, a near-miraculous feat, with some help from York and the others coordinating the defense.
When Caesar reached the top, the battle on the wall was in full swing. Including York, three squad leaders were forced into a small area of about twenty square feet, surrounded by dead bodies from both Garrel and Shiloh.
Caesar looked around and noticed that only two of the enemy soldiers had fighting energy, but they were surrounded by troops. The pressure was too much for York and the others to move.
Fortunately, the ladders were still in place, and Garrel's soldiers continued to climb. If they could hold the ladders, the wall would eventually fall. The defenders of Shiloh knew this too, but the Garrel side now had four knights with fighting energy on their side. Even with magic to back them, their reinforcements hadn't arrived yet.
Unlike the fierce battle on Caesar's side, the battle at the other gates was a little less intense. Baron Kashir, unlike Kyle, had no high-level knights to send in and was relying on his lone low-tier knight for defense. Despite this, he was determined to breach the gate first.
"Master Jackson," Baron Kashir whispered, and a figure in a black robe emerged from the shadows.
"Baron," Jackson said quietly.
"We must break through this gate first. Please help," Kashir pleaded.
A massive explosion echoed through the battlefield, and sharp-eyed soldiers noticed three fireballs floating above the gate where Kashir was attacking.
Caesar and his men heard the blast.
"Magic…" Caesar murmured. It was the ultimate weapon of the battlefield—mysterious and powerful.