Inside the Royal City, the war still raged.
Thanks to the Kuxia Family mobilizing troops throughout the city, and to Lieutenant Xu—that trai... no, that insider who knew the City Defense Guard inside out and had abandoned the darkness for the light—Zhou You's forces were growing rapidly too.
At the very least, they now numbered several hundred.
Of course, compared with the fighting across the Royal City, or even all of Paradise, those numbers were negligible. The plaza alone had at least five or six thousand combatants, while countless smaller units fought one another in the streets and alleys farther away.
Still, though they were few, they were more than enough to defend this little patch of ground.
Dann had contacted them twice more during that time. Although he sent no further reinforcements, large quantities of military funds bypassed the blockade and arrived directly at the Diplomatic Palace.
When the crates were opened, there were no fancy frills inside—just gleaming gold and banknotes.
After receiving them, Zhou You did not even bother counting the contents. He simply opened every crate and made one announcement.
"Take what we agreed on before. For every extra day until the King Selection ends, you get another month's pay—still at triple the normal rate. Anyone killed in action gets the highest compensation available, and their children, spouses, or parents are guaranteed first-class citizenship."
That brief announcement did more than any stirring speech could. In an instant, cheers thundered from the surrendered soldiers.
And so it went.
Two days passed like that. As the situation remained deadlocked, the Kuxia Family stopped sending men over and instead brought up their old demand: send Sansan to their side.
Lieutenant Xu stood upstairs, looking down at the fully armed troops below, and tried earnestly to reason with them.
"Gentlemen,