Attack on Five Rams City

Although Giles had hurried back to Five Rams City at the fastest speed he could manage and immediately quelled Earl Wenli's rebellion, he still had little time to prepare for the Kingdom Army's attack.

After crossing the mountainous region known as Devil's Belly from Eagle Beak Pass, the road farther south became very flat. The dense network of rivers in the southern territory might cause some trouble for the march, but the south also lacked any great rivers capable of forming an impassable natural barrier. The Kingdom Army was advancing rapidly.

Giles also knew that Minos could not delay the Royal Army for long. The enemy would certainly spread the word that he had abandoned his army and fled. The traitor Wenli was right—many of his vassals would believe that he had lost his honor and was no longer fit to rule the southern territory.

Over the past few days, Giles had frantically assembled a new army. He sent officials to conscript all the young men from Five Rams City and the nearby villages and towns, opened the armory, and hauled out every weapon inside to distribute among the conscripted soldiers. He then ordered them onto the walls to defend the city.

Besides the able-bodied young men, Giles also gathered up all the food in the surrounding area. Anything that could be transported was moved into Five Rams City, while anything that could not be carried away was burned and destroyed.

But he left behind large numbers of the elderly, the weak, women, and children. If the Kingdom Army allowed them to starve to death, it would bear the moral responsibility.

What Giles wanted was to strip the land bare and fortify the walls. An army was not a self-sufficient organization; wherever it went, it needed to requisition or purchase