"Who could've guessed that we would catch such a big fish! Was I known who you were back then, I would've never let you out of my pawns!"

Gleefully laughing at Mike misfortune, Count Hikar couldn't stop himself from sneering. Be it ransom, fame or even simple leverage over the Xantia that he obtained with Mike's head were immense. Considering that there were some deals between the Latavian family and Uveno, he really struck the jackpot here! With his mood improved out of the sudden, Damash punishment for overstepping his authority got pushed into the future.

"What the hell is that?"

With his expression suddenly turning sour, Count pointed at Xyenna, who was already on the verge of bleeding out. With her face snow white and haggard breath, it was just a matter of moments before the old, boney lady would come to claim her ownership over her soul.

"Tend to her wounds immediately! She will fetch us a great price!"

For some reason, Xyenna attracted even more Count's attention than Mike. It was easy to understand it since his word implicated that she was a part of an already prepared deal, while the young merchant identity could only be assumed. Even if he was of much greater use, confirming Hikar assumptions would still take some time. As a pragmatical leader of the entire faction, he knew how to prioritize his interests.

"Sir, I ask for permission to speak!"

The officer who shielded the prisoners earlier stepped up and bowed his head to the supreme leader. From his shaking hands it was apparent that he was quite fearful of the Noble figure, but for some reason decided to speak up nonetheless.

"You may speak son."

Noticing the soldiers rushing to the girl with bandages and some herbal medicine, Count anger subsidised a bit. With everything going more or less according to his plan, there was no reason to appear cold to his own subordinates.

"If he is really this legendary figure, or if those people were really sent by the Xantia, should we act against them? What if they decide to retaliate? Ah, who cares about their revenge, just by cutting the subsidies and siding with City Hall could lead to a severe hit!"

The officer was visibly concerned about those points. Just those few words allowed Mike to gauge what was going on in Uveno.

As the closest neighbour to Latavia, this city lied in the immediate sphere of Xantia interests. Be it trade, manpower or intelligence, one could say that it served as the first line of defence against all foreign probing. With Latavian government tightly bound to the family, they didn't need to fear any rebound from the inner parts of the Kingdom, making the western direction as the most vulnerable to potential meddling.

From what the officer said, it seemed as if Revy tried to balance the internal Uveno powers and keep it in the state of constant boiling. With unstable government and constant infighting, it was far easier to install her own spies and servants there.

"You don't need to be bothered by that. This night we will vanquish those pesky meritocrats from the City Hall and finally achieve a complete rule over the Uveno. There is nothing that those shitty commoners will be able to do against us then!"

With a kind, protective smile surfacing on his face, Count replied to his officer. There wasn't a hint of hesitation in what he said. Looking at the army amassed in this small outpost alone, Mike could tell from where did his confidence steam off.

Scanning the corpses of both the mercenaries and his own soldiers, Count pointed at those dead bodies and ordered.

"Bury our people. Ditch the enemies to some corner. When you finishing tending to this girl wounds, we are moving out!"

With his hand moving to the side to point at Xyenna, Hikar threw a look at Mike.

"As I would love to have a short talk with you later on."

As soon as the orders were given, soldiers rushed to their tasks. With more than a few hundred people crowded in this small outpost, everything could be done quickly. Be it digging the graves for their fallen comrades or moving the lifeless Xyenna to a carriage, they didn't waste a single moment in doing so.

In just a few moments, prisoners got bound together with the single rope. If even a single of them were to slow down, everyone else could feel the bounds tighten around their necks. Considering how most of them were from the same group, this was the most practical way to ensure their obedience.

Barely ten minutes after the order was set, everyone departed. Rows upon rows of soldiers marched through the road, with multiple carriages following them. From the sheer amount of resources carried in those wagons, one could understand how grand the Count's plans were.

The walk wasn't as hard for Mike as he initially thought. While the marching speed was set by the soldiers and the prisoners had to adapt to it, he could end up much worse. From what he saw, out of the remaining five of this strange group, two of them had wounded legs! If not for covert help that they received from their comrades, the entire line would fall apart a long time ago.

Thankfully, Uveno was relatively close to the outpost they were in previously. With just a half-day of marching, Mike managed to spot the town in the distance. While he could see an ominous smoke way earlier, he didn't want to believe that it originated from the city!

"So they already made their move."

One of the soldiers commented when he saw the state that the town was in. Hanging his head low over his breastplate, he sighed in agony.

"Aren't you happy? With this, we will be the overlords of the entire plains!"

A rookie marching to his said replied with curiosity. With his anticipation-filled eyes, he was the picture of a soldier devoted to the case.

"Like it will influence us at all. Our wages won't increase, but the prices will rise. Instead of fighting off with the City Hall, we will bully the citizens. The only one who should be happy about this situation are lords."

At this point, the older soldier looked at the prisoners walking beside him and shook his head.

"While they told us to loathe Xantia for meddling in the situation, I can't really force myself into doing that. If not for them, the aristocrats would force our faction away long ago. If not for them… Forget it. If not for those merchants from the far east, the balance wouldn't shift towards our side…"

"What do you mean? What merchants?"

The rookie was visibly surprised. Apparently, the inner workings of the faction were so obvious that even a simple veteran could catch some news about them. This novice couldn't miss a chance to learn something new for him!

"The duel happened three days ago. From what I heard, some kind of big merchant from the far east was visiting the Count at that time and he expressed his utmost interest in obtaining our duelist. I'm not sure if it's true, but there were some talks about ancient duel rings located near the border. Why do you think the entire faction had to come out of hiding and mobilise? The count had to strike some kind of deal far more profitable than the subsidies that we were receiving from Xantia. Otherwise, he would keep hiding his power to keep sucking their money, wouldn't he?"

Bored by the long walk, the veteran was happy to find someone who would listen to him with his full attention. He didn't care if the prisoners were attentively listening to his as well. Considering the shift in diplomatic relations performed by his faction, they would be executed anyway. The remaining question was - how fast would that happen?

The closer they got to the city, the more obvious signs of the conflict appeared. Starting with tents orderly organised into groups of fifty, following with piles of preserved food and ending at various units marching in all directions. When they got into direct proximity of the gates, the count's plan laid bare before Mike's eyes.

From the lack of screams or other noises of fight coming from the city, it was obvious that Nobles abandoned their holdings inside the town. Limiting themselves to hold one of the gates, they kept a firm hold over it, waiting only for an order to began the bloody ordeal.

When they finally stopped, every prisoner sighed with relief. While the distance wasn't long, their injuries made a simple walk a road through hell. With a few hits with blunt parts of their guardians' weapons, Mike with his unfortunate comrades were forced to sit. Because of that, he was only able to powerlessly watch some strange looking man approaching the count in the distance, having a short talk with him and exchanging a handgrip.

A mere moment later, the carriage with Xyenna blasted towards the leader of the Nobles. In a single instant, Mike's eyes met with the girl desperate sight, before her wagon carried her away. Tightening his teeth and cursing his powerlessness, Mike could only watch as his faithfull bodyguard distanced herself farther and farther away before the reins to the carriage got passed to one of the strange man's servants. As soon as the transaction was done, a foreign man set off with his people while count waved his hand to start the assault.

At first, Mike was focused on the departing carriage with his friend, but it hid itself from his sight behind the continuous rows of soldiers marching inside the city. Only when more than a few hundred of them made their way inside, Mike was forced up along with other prisoners and prompted to march behind the soldiers.

Even before they managed to enter the gateway, screams and clangs erupted in the town. Despite the overwhelming disadvantage of numbers and preparations, City Hall wasn't going to surrender. After the years of hate and infighting, there was no place for pardons. When enough of those emotions accumulated, only the death cleanse the atmosphere.

With the swords poking their backs, the prisoners had to hurry. It was strange why they were even forced into the city if the plains outside were still swarmed by Noble's forces, but at least they could observe the fight with their own eyes.

When they finally crossed the gate, the full scale of the battle came to their view. On every street there were blockades, stopping the soldiers from advancing. Behind every barricade, defenders were throwing sharpened sticks, stones and even pots with faeces at the enemies. Everything that could slow down the soldier's movement would force them to stay in a disadvantageous position for longer, giving the archers in the back a little more time to send them to hell.

But those piles of rubble and broken wood couldn't stop such a massive army for long. In less than ten minutes, all of the barricades got broken through with soldiers rushing in… only to be stopped by other obstacles! More than that, the defenders there used the height advantage by shooting out from the building's windows, rendering the attack even harder to continue.

While the morale of the attacking troops was falling with every second, all the officers could do was to continue forcing them towards their deaths. With no siege equipment, Noble's had no way to force other gates open and there was no need for a great strategist to understand that the walls passages were defended by the elite City Hall troops. No matter the losses, the cheapest way towards the centre of the city lead through the town roads!

Forcing more and more people into the fray managed to achieve the first target. The fight got pushed deeper and deeper into the city, making Mike and the rest of the prisoners unable to watch the show anymore. Left with their guards and corpses piling up everywhere, they only wished to be able to cover their noses to block the foul smell.

Another forty minutes had to pass for the count Hikar to finally cross the gate. With another influx of soldiers, the majority of his forces was already inside, giving him enough self-confidence to enter the bloody area. A mere moment after he arrived near the prisoners' positions, a messenger came shouting.

"My Lord! My Lord! Common people are revolting against us! Our soldiers are forced back!"

Barely after saying his piece, the soldier fell to his knees and then on his face. Only then everyone could see several deep cuts on his back.

"That's not good, establish a safe perimeter and…"

Right when the count was trying to set some orders to reorganise his army, a loud sound broke through the commotion. At first, it was incomprehensible, but with every passing second, it became louder and louder. Even Mike took a while to recognise it, before raising his head high and looking through the gateway towards the sound source with a look of disbelief on his face. Orderly rows of footsoldiers and cavalry uniformly dressed in the grey armours confirmed his suspicions.

Just as he thought, this was the sound of Xantia's warhorns!