The Fall of the City

After Gaita and his men left, a few people who came out of the bar quietly followed them.

Gaita returned to the Governor's Mansion to report to Viscount Krick.

"It's good that it was delivered. I didn't expect the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce to be a mole of the Northern Alliance Army. Viscount Yorich is the Grand Duke's cousin, and even a top-twenty heir to the Grand Duke's throne. Why would he do this?"

Viscount Krick was also surprised when he received Gaita's report.

"I'm not entirely sure about that either, but even brothers in noble families can become bitter enemies over inheritance rights, so Viscount Yorich's behavior isn't surprising!"

Gaita's words made Viscount Krick nod in agreement; it was indeed true.

Thinking of this, Viscount Krick had a sudden inspiration and said to Gaita, "Gaita, you've been with me for a year, and I admire and trust you very much."

I believe you have the ability to become a nobleman, and you are a more suitable heir than your elder brother. If you continue to fully assist me in helping the Northern Alliance Army capture Blackwater City in the upcoming operations, I guarantee I will support you in inheriting your father's title. What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, Gaita lowered his head deeply and said in a very excited tone, "Governor, Gaita will always remember your kindness and will do my utmost to assist you in achieving your great cause!"

Krick nodded with satisfaction upon hearing Gaita's words. His original intention to get rid of Gaita diminished considerably, and he felt that he had completely grasped Gaita's weakness.

However, Gaita's expression was quite different from his words; he looked extremely disdainful, as if Krick's words were utter nonsense!

Later, at Viscount Krick's behest, Gaita was given command of the Governor's Guard, which, under his command, prepared to join the attack plan organized by Battalion Commander Rust of the Governor's Guard City Defense League.

Gaita would act as the liaison between the Governor's Mansion and the City Defense League, reporting Rust's actions to the governor at all times and relaying the entire plan to Victor outside the city through Geshilton.

In the camp near the Blackwater City docks, Victor was slowly reading a letter, his expression quite amused.

Little Paru, standing to the side, was a little curious, but he knew that the letter was sent by the Intelligence Department and must be very important information, so it was not appropriate for him to inquire about it.

However, after reading the letter, Victor spoke first, "Paru, how's Gale doing lately?"

"The Gale has almost subsided, but our stamina reserves are insufficient. We can't fly for too long; no more than 5 hours a day!"

"That's enough. Now we need Gale's help. The enemy will attack our camp two nights from now. I only know the approximate time; we'll have to rely on Gale's assistance for the specific details!"

"No problem, sir, the Gale will do a beautiful job!"

After getting the answer he wanted from Little Paru, Victor stood up and walked to the map to examine it.

As he observed, he thought, "With an inside man, as long as we eliminate the elite of this garrison, we can further undermine the defenders' will. If possible, I still hope to open the city gates without bloodshed!"

Blackwater City was, after all, a transportation hub and a military stronghold of the Grand Duchy. Although its military strength was not great, its city walls were high and it also had an inner city.

If a siege were to actually be necessary, the casualties among his troops would be considerable. Moreover, if the siege led to a riot within the city, damaging the commercial districts, it would certainly significantly impact the city's value.

Moreover, the Governor's Mansion contains various records from the establishment of Wright County, and Victor would be very disappointed if they were destroyed in the war.

Now that he has the chance to conquer the city without bloodshed, Victor doesn't want to waste it.

"But what I really didn't expect was that Governor Krick would have such outstanding talent under his command. It's quite a good acquisition!"

The Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce sent him not only the city's garrison's battle plan, but also information about the city's civil and military officials, including Gaita, who was known as the Shadow Governor.

In particular, Geshilton was very optimistic about Gaita's choice. He put Gaita's information at the top and even personally guaranteed Gaita's determination to join Victor's team.

This made Victor very interested in Gaita, who was the governor's secretary. According to the information, this young man was exceptionally talented and handled government affairs on behalf of the governor.

His ability was demonstrated through a series of actions, including streamlining the previously chaotic political situation in Wright County Political Situation, coordinating with Great Merchant Guilds to stabilize grain prices around Blackwater City, gathering refugees to repair the city walls, and so on.

Currently, Golden Sunflower Territory, one of the two territories under the Golden Sunflower Family, is struggling to manage due to Steward Boon's advanced age. Moreover, with the end of the Civil War, the territory will expand further, and Steward Boon Golden Sunflower Territory certainly be unable to manage it at that time.

Victor had been looking for a qualified political officer to replace him, but there was no suitable candidate, given the manpower shortage in the Two Rivers Territory.

Victor welcomes the young man named Gaita who is now willing to join his ranks.

If they take Blackwater City, Victor plans to let Gaita continue to manage the Blackwater City's affairs for a while, to get a real feel for his abilities.

If he is truly capable, Victor will arrange for him to become Steward Boon's deputy, helping Steward Boon manage the Golden Sunflower Territory.

As for Viscount Krick, Victor felt it was better for him to disappear. After all, the cost of bribing a governor was too high, and it seemed like a bad deal.

"But for now, let's extinguish the last vestiges of resistance in Blackwater City."

At two o'clock in the morning, the east gate of Blackwater City was quietly opened, and a troop of Cavalry suddenly rushed out of the city. All the warhorses had their hooves covered and their mouths fitted with bits.

Captain Rust stood at the very front of the column, brimming with confidence, thanks to the troops behind him.

He didn't know why the governor had changed his attitude and took the initiative to contact several Great Merchant Guilds in the city in the governor's name, persuaded them, and borrowed nearly 200 cavalry from them.

Including the 300 cavalrymen of the City Defense League and the 100 cavalrymen of the Governor's Guard, the troops accompanying him in this battle totaled 600 cavalrymen.

With such a force, launching a surprise attack under the cover of night, Rust was confident he could directly breach one of the two enemy camps.

Rust, skilled and daring, chose the camp with the Golden Sunflower flag, which was Victor's own camp.

Rust wanted to achieve his goal in one fell swoop. If he could capture or even kill Viscount Golden Sunflower, the siege of Blackwater would surely be lifted, and the main force of the southward-bound legion would be forced to retreat due to the loss of command. This could potentially change the course of the Grand Duchy's civil war.

He will then make great contributions, and will not only have the opportunity to become a high-ranking official at the level of Legion Commander, but it is even possible that he will be granted a noble title by the Grand Duke.

With such ambition, Rust divided his troops into two armies, left and right, to attack Victor's camp simultaneously from two directions. This would surely force the enemy to be distracted, find a weakness, and achieve a decisive victory.

However, when he led the left War Department to charge into the enemy camp and set it on fire, he found that the camp opposite him was completely empty. All the tents were empty except for piles of dry grass, and even the guards on duty were straw figures wearing armor.

Just as he was filled with doubt, he discovered an even more terrifying fact: the right wing, which was supposed to attack simultaneously as planned, did not react at all.

Just as Rust sensed something was wrong and prepared to lead his troops in retreat, he discovered that his way back had been blocked.

Hundreds of Northlands Cavalry blocked their way inside the camp, and when they tried to leave through other exits, they found the camp surrounded by a wooden wall.

Even if they tried to escape by climbing over the walls, not only were trenches already dug behind those wooden walls, but there were also a large number of enemy troops lined up. Rust's troops were completely surrounded.

Just as Rust gave up the idea of escaping and decided to fight to the death in this camp, a large number of rockets were fired into the camp. The dry grass everywhere became the best fuel, and in a very short time, the fire could no longer be controlled.

Rust's troops completely lost their will to fight and fled the camp before it was completely engulfed in flames. They were captured by Victor's troops, while Rust himself committed suicide in the fire.

Meanwhile, the Governor's Guard of the right army were forcibly disarmed by the caravan guards. The governor's loyal guard captain and die-hards were executed, Gaita's men took over the Governor's Guard.

The War Department then returned along the original route, tricked open the east gate, and, with the help of some inside troops arranged by the Northern Frontier Chamber of Commerce, forcibly took control of the gate.

Victor's troops then stormed into Blackwater City through this gate, while the defending forces at the other gates began to defect.

One of the City Defense League Battalion Commander, who was still unaware of what was happening, was killed by his comrades, and his subordinate troops also went out of control.

By this time, Victor's troops had already divided into different units, each heading to a different city gate and a different key location within the city.

By the time Victor led his troops to the Governor's Mansion, Gaita and Geshilton had already taken complete control of the place. Viscount Krick had died in his sleep, and he was the only one dead in the Governor's Mansion. The entire Governor's Mansion was undamaged.

As the Sun rose, the residents of Blackwater City discovered that, without them noticing, the city had a new owner.