“How is this possible!?”
The dwarf felt his mind go blank the moment he saw the scene.
Where did these nearly a thousand people come from?
He saw the Terrence brothers leading the thousand miners who should have been in the dungeon, all wearing the remaining armor from the City Lord’s Treasury.
Steel blades gripped in their hands.
“Brothers, everyone inside the mansion is one of us, City Defense Army who have turned from darkness to light!”
“And these black-robed people are all lackeys of that fake Willis! Kill them!”
On the other side, the captured Elves also joined the battle.
Their numbers were few, but their magic was formidable.
Especially Karo Mama.
As long as Winnie’s life was threatened, these Elves who cherished their kin—even more so because it was Winnie Kanasha—would obediently comply.
As for the Magic Suppression Collar, Willis naturally taught Hill Yu the method to remove it.
She was the one to unlock them.
With the addition of Terrence and the Elves, the situation that had been unfavorable for Nightfall turned even worse.
Though the miners’ combat strength wasn’t high, combined with the seven hundred City Defense Army and the various traps long prepared…
It became a massacre for the Nightfall assassins, who were unskilled in direct combat!
Anne immediately hid inside the house, changing her appearance.
Otherwise, if she were mistaken for the fake Willis and hacked to death, it would be a tragedy.
As time passed, the seventeen thousand soldiers at the city gate quickly encircled the five hundred soldiers led by Hill Yu.
“Ha! Hill Yu, the time of death for you and Willis has come!”
Gabur charged forward.
At that moment, a deafening cry of battle erupted outside the city gates.
Startled, Gabur saw soldiers rushing over to report.
“M-m-my lord, outside, outside…!”
Before he finished, Gabur himself witnessed the city gate guarded by soldiers suddenly collapse under a rushing tide.
Countless people surged in like a flood.
They wore ragged or bloodstained armor, wielding scavenged blades and swords as they charged!
“Kill! For Her Highness, for ourselves—kill!”
Borden and Nidnia led the charge, clashing instantly with the City Defense Army at the rear.
“I’ll take men to encircle— you all break through!”
Willis, on horseback, issued the command and split half her force to flank toward Hill Yu.
“Willis!? Why is she here? These people… where did they come from?”
While Gabur was stunned, both sides’ forces had already collided.
Surrounding homes were destroyed, buildings collapsed, flames raged.
Civilians screamed in terror and fled, while Willis led her troops without mercy.
Quickly, she circled through a side street to reach Hill Yu’s flank.
“Sister! It’s me, Willis, your true Imperial Younger Sister!”
Hearing this, Hill Yu feigned shock:
“What!? Willis, could the rumors outside be true!? The you I’ve spent years with was an imposter!?”
“Yes, Sister! But now is not the time for reunions—let’s kill the enemy together!”
“Alright!”
Hill Yu replied, leading her people to break through.
“Gabur, how about this move—turning encirclement into counter-encirclement by this Imperial Princess?”
Willis taunted, leaving Gabur dumbfounded.
Fake Willis?
Imperial Younger Sister?
What nonsense?
But seeing the two harvesting his subordinates’ lives, he cast aside these thoughts, roaring as he led his men to continue the slaughter.
“Wi! Llis!”
Willis, still fighting, shouted.
“Traitors, listen! This Imperial Princess possesses mercy—immediately lay down your arms and kneel!”
“I can spare your families—just atone as miners.”
“If you resist, you’ll face eternal damnation!”
Willis’s words caused some soldiers to hesitate, and Gabur coughed blood in rage.
Because, under her speech, many soldiers’ morale wavered.
There was no time to ponder more—he could only lead those nearby to fight on desperately.
Yet the miners’ hatred toward the City Defense Army ran deep—they fought with reckless abandon.
Soon, these pampered soldiers began to collapse.
Facing a horde of red-eyed, crazed miners, the City Defense Army weakened under the physical and psychological strain.
Not to mention Willis ceaselessly persuading them to surrender.
By dawn, the rebel army was either dead or had surrendered.
Mien Krincha and the military officers of the mines were also slain.
Only Gabur, burning Sword Qi, fought on like a trapped beast with a thousand men.
At that moment, an unexpected shout erupted.
Willis turned her head, startled to see over seven thousand soldiers charging forth.
Now it was her turn to be shocked.
“Who are they?”
In the midst of battle, Hill Yu glanced over, exclaiming:
“They’re the Noble Families of Ushi City! Damn!”
Even she, so conscious of her image, couldn’t help cursing.
“How did I not foresee that these Noble Families would rebel too!”
“They reported three thousand troops openly, but secretly amassed so many more!”
Willis hadn’t anticipated this betrayal.
While she was still in shock, a black-robed leader at the front laughed loudly.
“Ha! Former master, we anticipated you’d be prepared… these City Defense Army were merely bait!”
“Brothers, stand! If we kill her, we can live freely! Otherwise, think of your fate if you surrender!”
His words incited the previously surrendered City Defense Army, who now, seeing reinforcements, feared Willis’s retribution.
They rebelled again, grabbing weapons from corpses to launch another attack!
“Ha ha, Willis, what do you think of this reversal of encirclement? The fourth gift from Nightfall!”
His words were met only by a curse:
“Go to hell~!”
The situation changed drastically.
Although the miners hated the Noble Families and City Defense Army, they weren’t true soldiers and had no training.
Only hatred drove them.
Against the magic and military formations of the Noble Families’ Private Soldiers, casualties began to skew.
“Kill!”
Willis no longer had time for levity—she plunged into the fray.
Elsewhere, the battle at the Castle Lord’s Mansion neared its end.
Though Nightfall’s men suffered from ambushes and explosives, their individual strength surpassed that of the miners.
Both sides quickly devolved into a war of attrition.
Now, both had lost half their numbers.
The Terrence brothers wore expressions of pain and guilt, but felt no regret.
At that moment, a thunderous roar echoed.
Ofilia, shouting wildly, rode at the head of a cavalry charge.
***
A dark mass of cavalry stormed in.
“Warriors of the Rawal Family, hear me—slay the traitors! The Imperial Princess shall reward you greatly!”
Eliot Laval rode beside Ofilia.
At his command, cavalry surged into the Castle Lord’s Mansion.
“I didn’t expect the road from the north gate to be so long. Looks like I’m late,” Eliot smiled, seeing the one-sided battle.
Ofilia, panting beside him, asked curiously:
“How did you hide a thousand cavalry and a thousand soldiers outside Ushi City?”
Willis had sent her as a messenger—to Eliot.
He only smiled.
“Our family’s two thousand troops were originally meant to escort Her Highness for trade at the Great Tunnel…”
“Her Highness promised me new equipment and weapons for an entire army, so I arrived early with my men to wait.”
“But Her Highness didn’t let me show up—said there was a small task for me to help with…”
“But how is this a small task?”
Eliot muttered with some resentment.
“I heard your family had acquired a mine, yet Her Highness had my troops camped outside in the wild for so long. Shouldn’t I at least get one as a reward?”
He grinned.
At last, Ofilia understood why the Rawal Family hadn’t joined when the Laiensi Family first arrived.
With the Rawal Family’s arrival, the battle at the Castle Lord’s Mansion ended swiftly.
Anne, disguised as Willis, was stabbed to death inside by Terrence.
Only the three Terrence brothers witnessed it at the time.
The miners who rushed in after saw the scene as well.
“The false Highness is dead! All her crimes and sins have died with her!”
“Now, we must save the true Highness! Brothers, follow me!”
Terrence roared, bursting out the door.
In full view, he set the room ablaze.
Then he left with his men and Eliot.
Inside, Anne grumbled as she changed out of the bloodstained, torn clothes, replaced the burst blood bag, and escaped through the back door in a new disguise.
But on Willis’s side, things were even more dire than expected…
With nearly seven thousand Private Soldiers from Noble Families and wealthy factions assaulting them, the miners began to retreat in defeat.
Willis and Hill Yu were mired in fierce combat.
Hill Yu faced Gabur, and though soldiers fought alongside her, she was surrounded by danger.
Her wounds multiplied.
Willis’s situation was even worse.
Amid barrages of magic and surging rebel forces, she often faced over a dozen foes alone!
Fortunately, her strength had grown in recent days, preventing her from being cut down instantly.
Even so, wounds continued to accumulate, blood flowing freely!
Miners all around her fell one after another.
The only solace was that, even in adversity, the miners never broke and fled.
Without a miracle, they might all perish here.
“I knew from the moment I decided to fight that I might die. Ha, I’m not afraid! If I can drag down two big shots with me, it’s worth it!”
Shouting, a miner threw himself at two soldiers, taking them down together.
In these narrow streets, where numbers gave little advantage, such reckless fighting turned the tide—if only slightly.
However, as Eliot arrived with reinforcements, the battlefield shifted once more!
Twists and turns!
By now, morning had dawned!
“Ha ha, did I arrive at the right time?”
Eliot asked.
“A little earlier would have been even better! Brothers, these are our reinforcements!”
Willis shouted.
To the miners, any force called “reinforcements” was hope, regardless of who they were.
Nidnia hesitated for a moment, but there was no time to think in this chaos.
This battle raged from night until dawn, and then until noon.
At last, by afternoon, it was over.
No matter how powerful Gabur was, faced with Hill Yu, Willis, and their combined forces, he fell in bitter defeat.
Killing a Swordmaster for the first time brought great gains to Willis.
Hill Yu benefited even more.
But now, everyone was exhausted.
“Mike Millen, City Defense Army, Noble Families’ Private Soldiers, and Nightfall—all came in full force…”
“These ‘gifts’—I’ve accepted them all.”
Willis, blood streaming down her body, nearly collapsed.
She lay on the ground, whispering softly.
Afterwards, came the scene of Willis revealing her identity and the deep sisterly bond with Hill Yu.
Before everyone’s eyes, the two embraced and wept.
“Wuwu, I didn’t expect the villains to be so ruthless, not only harming you but impersonating you!”
“It’s my fault too—for all these years, not realizing you’d been replaced… Imperial Younger Sister, it’s Sister’s fault!”
“No, it’s alright now, Sister. I’ve returned, and I will become a good Lord and reclaim all that is mine!”
“These miners are our benefactors, our brothers! Sister, let’s thank them together and apologize for all their suffering!”
Willis pulled Hill Yu up, bowing to the miners who had fought through the night—apologizing and expressing gratitude.
Seeing this, some miners wiped away tears, others felt complicated emotions.
Borden even knelt with his followers, shouting:
“As long as Her Highness gives us a good life, we will give everything in return!”
“That’s right! It was Her Highness who granted us new life! Thank you, Your Highness! Long live the Imperial Princess!”
The miners’ feelings were simple and sincere.
With everything settled, peaceful and happy lives were within reach.
“Thank you, thank you all for your understanding and loyalty!”
Willis wiped away tears, moved.
“However, Ushi City is still a mess—even with the traitors wiped out, it will take a long time to recover.”
“During this period, I hope everyone can help me! Please!”
Willis bowed deeply, nearly kneeling.
How could the miners refuse? Hearing her words, they all knelt, pledging to give their all!
“See, my fallen brothers! May your souls in heaven rest easy under such a wise Lord!”
Borden raised his arm and shouted.
“We will surely build a prosperous and happy Ushi City!”
Eliot watched this scene, mouth twitching.
Victoria nearly burst out laughing beside him.
At last, all forces and personnel opposing Willis in Ushi City were purged completely.
Only a war-torn, chaotic Ushi City remained—streets burned, countless civilians displaced.
“Sigh, managing all this will be so difficult…”
Willis wept as she mourned inwardly.
Fortunately, by slaying these traitors, their unspent wealth could still be recovered.
It would be enough to pay Eliot’s military costs, and for the Church of Judicature and the Empire.
As for governing Ushi City…
That would be a long journey, but Willis was confident!
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