"Therefore, we failed."
Jenard, who was holding Jenny's hand, suddenly spoke up, making quite a few people glance over.
"In the Year of Blood, our Starlight Legion rushed to Blade Territory's aid." Jenard raised his head and gazed at the sky as well, his voice full of emotion. "Yet we were beaten into utter defeat, abandoning our arms and armor all the way."
Morgan rubbed the hilt of his sword and furrowed his brow.
"Duke John couldn't understand why, every time we raised the Nine-Pointed Star Flag, the enemy's morale soared. They became furious, enraged, fierce, and fearless of death, as brave as Northlanders. Now I understand. We were the ones who thought we were liberating Blade Territory and 'fending off foreign invaders'—we were the real foreign power all along."
As soon as he said this, the Star Lake Guard fell silent.
Tales sat inside the carriage without saying a word, his expression grim.
Amid the unfamiliar gazes of the surrounding citizens, their group walked along Emerald City's strange streets. Their spirits were low, and the atmosphere was oppressive.
But Tales soon realized that the incident on Rukhsan Street had far-reaching consequences, and that the challenges he would face during his rule went far beyond this alone.
"This really wasn't a coincidence."
Several hours later, Gollor and Miranda returned from outside, bringing Tales the first-hand, most direct truth—one untouched or obscured by any official or faction:
"It was inevitable."
It turned out that the two groups involved in the conflict were not street thugs at all. On the contrary, they were all ordinary civilians. One side consisted of the carriage guild's drivers, most of them natives of Southbank Territory, who drove their horses through Emerald City's streets to deliver goods and transport passengers. The other side was mainly made up