Total Retreat, You Should Thank Me

Aaron saw the archers aiming on the city wall and knew he couldn't slack off anymore.

Watching a play is fine, but you should still be mindful of boundaries.

Those who participated in the raid were all Narnia's elite troops. If they suffered heavy losses in this siege, the battles that followed would be even more difficult.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The three gunshots rang out very clearly in everyone's ears, causing both sides in the midst of the battle to pause for a moment.

After a brief silence, the centaur leader shouted, "Retreat! Retreat now!"

The Narnian abandoned their immediate opponents and rushed toward the City Gate.

Aaron twirled his gun a few times, then put away the silver pistol and silently retreated outside the City Gate.

Having done this much, he had a clear conscience, at least preserving Narnia's fighting strength to the greatest extent possible.

"Close the City Gate! Close the City Gate right now!" Miraz roared in exasperation.

In his view, the night should be a brilliant defense of Telmar.

Although it was a bit exciting, it would all be worth it as long as the invading enemy was wiped out.

If Caspian is killed, he will be the sole heir to the throne.

By annihilating the Narnian, he would have fulfilled his ancestors' dying wish.

His achievements were enough to rightfully allow him to inherit the throne, and the elders of the council could not find any fault with them.

But if they escape, the battle will be flawed, like a thorn stuck in your heart.

Peter was also completely dumbfounded. He didn't expect Aaron to have a second gun, and he certainly didn't expect him to bypass him and send a retreat signal.

He was planning to storm the castle and capture Miraz, but once the retreat signal was given, he had no one else to cover him, and going up alone would be suicide.

"Hurry up, Peter!" Susan shouted.

Peter's chest heaved with anger, but whether he liked it or not, he had no choice but to retreat.

"Take her out," Peter said to the centaur leader, instructing him to take Susan away.

He himself stayed in the city to help the wounded evacuate as much as possible.

"Where's Caspian?" Susan asked as she passed the City Gate.

"I didn't see him," Aaron said truthfully. "If nothing unexpected happens, he went to rescue his teacher."

"Don't overthink it. The retreat signal has already been sent out. As long as he's not deaf, he'll know where to run."

Susan was speechless and obediently followed the centaur leader away.

Edmund also heard the gunshots, but behind him were pursuers, and ahead were city walls tens of meters high; he had nowhere to go.

Fortunately, the Griffin that brought him here noticed his helplessness and quickly flew over, grabbed his shoulder, and carried him into the sky.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The soldiers on the city wall worked hard to cut a chain, and a large bag of stones tied to it fell to the ground.

This is an emergency control device that can temporarily close the City Gate and drawbridges to deal with the current situation and prevent the enemy from escaping.

The City Gate began to descend, and the drawbridge outside also began to slowly rise.

The Narnia army had withdrawn more than 80% of its forces, but a portion remained far from the City Gate and was unable to retreat in time.

Upon seeing this, a human-cow immediately stood below the City Gate and single-handedly lifted the heavy gate, giving the others a chance to escape.

Suddenly, a side door inside the castle burst open, and Caspian and Cornelius rushed out.

They each rode a horse, and Caspian also led one for Peter.

Peter did not hesitate; he immediately mounted his horse and charged toward the City Gate.

"Attack! Order the attack!" Miraz said.

"But our men are still down there," the general said with difficulty.

Miraz didn't care about any of that. He snatched the crossbow from the general and said, "Attack now."

Those Narnian have fled, so be it. At worst, he can lead his troops to hunt them down again after the bridge is built.

But he couldn't let Caspian escape; it would be a threat to his throne and his son.

Moreover, Caspian now knows the cause of his mother's death, and there is no room for reconciliation between them. Once Caspian seizes the throne, he will definitely not let him go.

A dense barrage of crossbow bolts rained down on the City Gate, and many Narnian fell on their way back.

The bull was also hit in the thigh by a crossbow bolt, but he continued to persevere.

"What a tough guy!" Aaron exclaimed. "To be honest, I don't really like the way you are, but I still admire your actions."

"Stop talking nonsense and get out of here. I can't hold on much longer," the ox said in a muffled voice. "After I fall, it won't just be the City Gate that are closed, but also the drawbridge."

Upon hearing this, Aaron sighed thoughtfully and re-entered the City Gate.

"Are you crazy? Hurry up and do it!"

"I'll help them to the end; after all, I was the one who sent out the retreat signal."

"It's a bit inappropriate to just stand by and watch," Aaron said, drawing his Longsword and deflecting several arrows aimed at the bull. "But let me make this clear: I can only block the crossbow bolts aimed at you; I can't worry about the others."

The man and the ox fell silent for a moment, unsure of what to say.

Over the next few minutes, Aaron swung his sword continuously, rhythmically, without a single superfluous movement.

After everyone had evacuated, in City Gate, besides a few corpses, there were dozens or even hundreds of arrows that had been shot down.

Not only were the people amazing, but even the Telmar soldiers, generals, the king, and even Peter and others on the other side of the suspension bridge were stunned.

They felt as if they had returned to the time when they first learned swordsmanship, with Aaron as their swordsmanship instructor, demonstrating top-level swordsmanship.

"Kill him," Miraz murmured, a hint of apprehension creeping into his expression. "He must be killed; he poses too great a threat."

"But... Your Majesty, our archers can't do anything to him."

"Then let's fight in close combat. I believe he can take on a dozen or so, but he definitely can't stop dozens." Miraz said coldly. "Besides, the bull is still there, he won't retreat easily."

The general nodded and immediately selected fifty soldiers to charge towards the City Gate.

"That's about it."

"That's about it," Ren Niu said with satisfaction. "You can go now. It's their good fortune to have a friend like you."

"Maybe!" Aaron shrugged, then kicked the bull in the stomach, sending him flying onto the suspension bridge.

Clang!

The huge, heavy iron gate slammed down, kicking up a layer of dust on the ground.

"You..."

The man and the ox hurriedly got up and ran to the City Gate, trying to lift the gate.

But he had used up too much strength and now he couldn't lift the City Gate at all.

"What are you doing here? The suspension bridge is about to be raised."

What will you do?

"I definitely won't have any," Aaron said confidently, then squatted down to the side, grabbed the iron gate with one hand, and slowly lifted it up.

Gollum!

The sounds of swallowing saliva rose and fell.

The man and the ox immediately turned around and ran away, dragging their injured leg.

The general and dozens of soldiers stopped in their tracks in astonishment at the sight. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed that humans possessed such strength.

One hand can lift a heavy iron gate weighing thousands of kilograms; there's a limit to jokes!

"With only fifty men, can they win?" The general doubted, thinking that at least a dozen men would be needed to take down Aaron.

"Go for it!" Miraz roared. "What are you all standing there for? Kill him now!"

The general regained his senses and immediately ordered, "Kill."

Dozens of men launched another charge, but they were too late. By the time they reached it, Aaron had already hoisted the iron gate to shoulder height.

"Goodbye."

Aaron flipped over and jumped outside the City Gate.

As the gates closed, the suspension bridge outside began to slowly rise.

Without hesitation, Aaron took a running start and leaped high when the suspension bridge was halfway up, landing steadily on the other side of the bridge, a distance of five or six meters.

"You..." Caspian opened his mouth in astonishment, "You're really human?"

"Fifteen years old?" Susan's eyes twitched involuntarily.

"Don't insult my noble character with your suspicious eyes." Aaron rolled his eyes. "Don't just stand here, we're at the City Gate!"

"Withdraw."

Peter reluctantly ordered Narnia army to leave the castle.

Aaron took out Lucy's medicine bottle on the way and had Susan treat the wounded, which prevented their progress from being slowed down.

As dawn broke, the group was returning to the bunker.

However, compared to before, the atmosphere in the team was a bit more oppressive.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked worriedly.

"It's obvious, we lost." Aaron shrugged casually, then handed the medicine bottle back to Lucy. "This stuff is actually quite useful; it saved a lot of wounded soldiers!"

"I knew it was missing." Lucy was speechless and didn't blame her.

"You should return my gun to me now!" Aaron asked Peter meaningfully.

He pursed his lips and returned the revolver to its original position.

"You had a second gun, why didn't you tell us?"

"You didn't ask!"

Besides, I don't know you guys well, so I wouldn't dare hand over my weapon without having a backup plan.

"Shouldn't you give me an explanation for the retreat signal?" Peter said with a hostile expression.

"You should thank me," Aaron said confidently. "From the moment the alarm went off in the castle, we had no advantage whatsoever."

I didn't stop you from launching the attack, since war always results in death, and we were all prepared for that.

"When you're at a disadvantage, you should act decisively. You were blinded by rage then. If I hadn't given the retreat signal in time, we would have been completely annihilated once Miraz closed the City Gate."

"My strategy is to capture the leader first, and take down Miraz..."

"Impressive." Aaron clapped his hands. "But the premise is that you have to fight your way to the top of the city wall. Even if those soldiers in battle ignore you, you only need to kill about forty guards."

"I have others covering for me," Peter retorted, unconvinced.

"I don't deny it." Aaron nodded. "At that time, two rows of archers were already in position. Were you planning to charge into battle amidst a hail of arrows?"

Even if you were incredibly lucky and managed to break through to the top, the Narnia army would probably be reduced to less than one-tenth of its original strength.

"Your gun is in my hands. If there's a chance to get close, it's still possible to kill you."

"Hehe!" Aaron couldn't help but laugh. "Excuse me for speaking frankly, but you probably have never handled a firearm before!"

How confident are you in your marksmanship?

"This..." Peter was speechless. There were many guards around Miraz at the time. If the first shot hadn't killed him, there wouldn't have been a second chance.

"You should be able to kill him, right?" Caspian asked tentatively.

"Yes, you have a second gun." Peter seemed to have grasped the key point. "With your marksmanship, if you..."

"Stop." Aaron said speechlessly, "I was at the City Gate at the time, and Miraz was on the city wall."

To kill a heavily guarded king with a pistol from several meters away—that's a joke that's gone way too far.

Aaron had a very clear understanding of his own abilities. He was a good shot, but there was still a big difference between his accuracy and his shooting skills.

At a distance of a few meters, unless he replaces his pistol with Sniper Rifle, he really can't hit it.

He couldn't explain himself once he took out those two guns, and he didn't want to use magic in front of so many people.

"Speaking of which, even if you were with Susan, you still couldn't win over Miraz?"

Peter hearing this, Peter was immediately enraged and glared fiercely at Caspian. "You'll have to ask our Prince Caspian about that."

"I?"

"If you had followed the plan, we wouldn't be in such a mess."

"I admit I bear responsibility." Caspian took a deep breath. "It's really hard to stay calm when facing your killer..."

"Kill your enemy?" Aaron immediately showed interest, and a dramatic scene of brothers fighting for the throne flashed through his mind.

"It's none of your business." Caspian's lips twitched slightly as he continued, "Even if I proceed according to plan, we might not succeed."

Even though you two are in his dorm room, and the crossbow is right next to his pillow when he sleeps, nothing will change.

In my opinion, staying here and adopting a defensive strategy might give us a better chance of winning.

"You're the one who told us to come here, have you forgotten?"

Caspian paused for a moment, then said, "That was my mistake."

"No, your mistake is that you see yourself as the Chosen One who can lead everyone."

"I am not the one who abandoned the Narnia people."

"It's you, you, my dear Miraz..."

"Enough," Aaron interrupted the two. "I must remind you both that the bridge in Beruna will be completed soon, and the Telmarine army will be attacking soon."

Upon hearing this, Peter and Caspian stopped arguing.

The current situation is very unfavorable for them; building fortifications to deal with Miraz's army is the top priority.

Meanwhile, the Telmarine built a castle.

Miraz was formally enthroned in the parliament hall, Puspi presented him with a crown.

The council elders did not raise any further objections, after all, the Narnian' raid the previous night had made them all feel threatened.

Whether Prince Caspian was with the Narnian or not, they couldn't be sure, but that was no longer important.

Telmarine need most right now is not a prince, but a king who can eliminate threats and protect the kingdom. No one is more suitable Miraz.