Ashen Dragon-Chapter 129 - 59: Siege

Outside Northwind Castle.

The clamor and noise rose and fell, filling the air in all directions.

"For the Ashen Nest!"

"Occupy Northwind Castle!"

The crowded wyverns resembled a surge of dark clouds that covered the sky, and the densely packed kobolds and Goblins flooded the ground like a muddy tide.

The skies and lands outside Northwind Castle were occupied by the retainers. To those inside the city, it appeared as if the end of days had arrived.

"Oh, my god..."

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The city guards standing on the walls looked up at the sky and murmured to themselves.

The Wyvern Knights from the Ashen Nest flew over the city, dropping leaflets like snowflakes.

The leaflets promised generous treatment upon surrender. They also included a reproduction of the contract with Duke Brad Rackman, even featuring images of the blood slaves of Northwind Castle.

The final line struck straight to the heart—

[Do you really want to pledge your loyalty to the death for a vampire?]

Some previously unseen Anzeta Academy bards appeared in the city, using their talents to mesmerize the audience. Once the applause ceased, the watchers would likely start questioning all their deeply held beliefs, from their faith in local temple clergy to their loyalty to their ruler.

These bards spoke of the dark history of the Rackman Family.

Before they could finish their tales, the guards would arrest them or even hack them to death on the spot, to serve as a brutal warning to others.

But the bards remained fearless, shouting before their deaths,

"One life for a thousand contributions, this life is worth it!"

"For the Ashen Nest!"

At this moment, a bard with the username "Lonely as Snow" was dragged by the guards and shouted, "I laugh towards the heavens with a heroic blade, whether to stay or leave, my courage as vast as the Kunlun Mountains!"

Though people couldn’t understand the meaning, they sensed the passionate and heroic tone.

He was then taken to the street and beheaded on the spot for public display.

With the swish of a blade, a head rolled, blood splattered, and many timid onlookers trembled in fear.

Soon, whether guided intentionally or naturally, differing voices arose within the city.

People quickly formulated a terrifying suspicion—those "traitors" who had been arrested might indeed have become so-called blood slaves, sacrificed to Duke Brad Rackman. Recalling the recent Devil contract cases, everything started to make sense.

But no one dared voice this suspicion, for it would bring about a fatal disaster.

They could only harbor this fear and conjecture in their hearts, waiting for the right moment, when it would inevitably explode.

At the entrance of the ceremonial hall in Northwind Castle, on Eagle Plaza, frightened citizens were gathered together.

Perhaps learning from the lesson of Count Dawson’s death in a shelling, they didn’t set the assembly location near the city walls.

Northwind Castle’s chief military commander, ostensibly the highest-ranking officer, Earl Brandon, surveyed the surroundings.

In the plaza below the high platform, there were nobles in ornate attire, soldiers in armor, beggars in rags, and farmers with patched clothes... at this moment, they were all gathered here, their eyes filled with fear and anxiety.

"His Grace said, we must delay time at all costs."

"Once he completes the great ritual, everything will be resolved."

"We must extract the last ounce of value from these people."

With this in mind, Brandon slowly began to speak.

"Citizens, I understand your fear."

"After all, the enemy you’re about to face is the infamous ’Infernal Calamity,’ the dragon that once destroyed thirty thousand allied forces, possibly the most terrifying, powerful, and evil monster to have appeared in Anzeta in nearly a century. Even combined, our entire army may not be a match for that beast."

The crowd broke out in an uproar.

Even though the Ashen Nest’s forces had already surrounded Northwind Castle and rumors were rampant within the city, many people still doubted the authenticity of these tales, with some even thinking the so-called Infernal Calamity was just an excuse for the allied commanders.

But now, the truth was exposed.

"Indeed, I don’t intend to hide it, nor could I. The Red Dragon and its evil retainers have already descended upon Northwind Castle, besieging our entire city. But do we just surrender, resign ourselves, and become slaves to these monsters, accepting the brutal rule of an evil dragon?"

The crowd fell silent.

Earl Brandon surveyed the surroundings and looked at a middle-aged soldier in the crowd.

"Soldier, yes, I mean you."

"Answer honestly, do you have children?"

With the Earl personally addressing him, the soldier seemed nervous but still stammered out, "Yes, a daughter."

Brandon nodded slightly. "A daughter, very well."

"But according to what I know, that Red Dragon is a dragon of lust and wrath. It once transformed into a hideous four-meter-tall humanoid, shamelessly violating a beautiful young woman before cruelly devouring her. This was personally witnessed by knights of justice in hiding and is a true account."

He paused deliberately, then continued, staring closely at the soldier,

"Imagine, if this evil dragon rules Northwind Castle, what it might do to your daughter? Could you bear to watch your daughter suffer inhuman torment, ultimately meeting a tragic end? Could you endure coming home to find the house in disarray, only to see the bloodied remains of your daughter?"

"No! I can’t!"

Seemingly picturing such a horrific scene, the soldier’s eyes immediately reddened, veins bulging.

Brandon nodded in satisfaction, then shifted his gaze to a merchant.

"Do you have a wife?"

"Yes."

The same approach, the same outcome, but under the Earl’s skillful persuasion, the conversation’s stirring power soared even higher.

"It’s almost time."

Brandon thought to himself.

Seeing the emotions of the people, Brandon finally surveyed all around, looking at everyone present, and raised his sword high.

"Everyone here, regardless of your identity, whether you are nobles, soldiers, farmers, or merchants. At this moment, there’s no distinguished Duke, only an ordinary person. Like you, I’m just a father to my children, a husband to my wife, a son to my parents, all of us are merely those hoping to protect our loved ones.

So tell me, can any of you allow your loved ones to suffer inhuman treatment, to fall into the claws of the evil dragon?"

"No!"

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The crowd was silent for a moment, then a wave of voices surged.

Among the over thirty thousand citizens of Northwind Castle, many were indeed moved by the Earl’s passionate speech, but some scoffed at it, swept up only by the momentum of the crowd.