The Last Enemy
The Last Enemy
Different from the common castle, the towering structure was much higher but also more narrow. Aside from sightseeing and handling governmental affairs, it could hardly be used to convene the ministers for an official meeting.
The room furnishings had stood forever in the same place as if its owner had just left and would come back soon. A rufous square table faced the entrance, with some neatly arranged books and unfinished manuscripts in the center of the table. In the inkpot was a quill-pen, at disposal to write at any time.
He walked to the table step by step, and then sat on the wide chair. The chair was covered with a bamboo cooling pad, suitable for easing the summer heat. A basin of water was placed beside the chair. Apparently, it was used to store ice in the hot summer months. However, the weather today was gloomy, with dark clouds close to the sea horizon. It was not too hot in the room.
Timothy leaned over and sniffed at the table. A faint fragrance came to his nostrils, the fragrance of the blue sunflower that Garcia liked most. Planted in the Coldwind Ridge, it had a unique sense of cooling. Different from rose and rosemary, it held the scent of permeating ice and snow in the Northern Region.
Only an article used for a long period of time could embody the essence of its owner. There was no doubt that his little sister had often sat on this chair, with her hands on the table, listening to her men report or writing government decrees.
He could not help but chuckle at thought of this.
Finally, Timothy simply leaned on the back of the chair and laughed aloud.
He had finally won!
Garcia had given up the Port of Clearwater and the Southern Territory, which was tantamount to abdicating her intention for the throne of the Kingdom of Graycastle.
Upon hearing that the Blacksail Fleet would continue to march north, he had gathered his troops at once and drove over 5,000 slaves, Rats, and criminals to the Southern Territory to attack the Port of Clearwater, Garcia’s nest. The only defense had been from the Sand Nation in the Southernmost Region. It was not clear what they had been promised, they’d just put up a desperate fight like cornered beasts. Most troublesome, was that they had mad pills.
The battle lasted for nearly half a month. Taking advantage of his numerical superiority, Timothy defeated the counterattack and again continued to encroach on the defense line of the Sand Nation. Almost 3,000 people died from this war of attrition. Had it not been for the pills, these rabbles could not have engaged in the war, let alone fought against the barbarous and fierce soldiers of the Sand Nation.
The result of the war was that he finally crossed the corpses lying on the field and occupied the Lord’s Tower in the Port of Clearwater.
The "Queen of the Port of Clearwater" was now a thing of the past. The Southern Territory of the Kingdom of Graycastle was finally under the rein of Timothy.
"Your Majesty?" the knight on duty entered. Possibly he had heard him laughing.
"It’s nothing," said Timothy. He stood up, hinting that the knight should follow him, and then ascended to the terrace from the side door of the tholus.
A slightly salty sea breeze was swirling, and their robes rustled in the wind. The dark clouds gathered overhead in the distance, it appeared a heavy rain was approaching.
It truly was a pity! He had planned to witness the port, the wharf, and Garcia’s Lord’s Tower turning to dust and ashes, but it seemed to be impossible. He had been on various expeditions with his troops for nearly half a year and had hardly stayed in the King's City for more than a month. All the government affairs had been entrusted to the prime minister to deal with. Although Marquis Wyke seemed to be loyal, even loyalty could not resist the lure of profit. Gerald Wimbledon was the best example. He had to return to the King's City as soon as possible to control the turbulent political situation. The rain in the Southern Region would last for several days, but he could not wait any longer.
"I will return to the king's city tomorrow morning. The other knights and mercenaries will be under your command except for the guards and knightage in the King's City. Sir Ed Howes, guard the Southern Territory for me. Don't let the people of the Sand Nation set foot in the Kingdom of Graycastle."
"You’re leaving me here? But I wanted to fight for you, Your Majesty. I..." the young knight from the Howes Family in the north, was momentarily shocked.
"Defending the frontier is still fighting for me," Timothy interrupted. "Listen up, there are several things I need you to do. I need a loyal and competent person to deal with follow-up matters."
"But..." Ed appeared irresolute.
"I know what you're worried about. Rest assured, I won't leave you here to guard forever. After the follow-up matters in the Port of Clearwater come to an end, I will recall you back to the King's City at once. The Kingdom of Graycastle hasn't achieved unity yet. I will need more knights to fight for me before recapturing the Western Region. It is unlikely I would forget you," said Timothy, smiled and clapped the knight's shoulder.
He raised his head and then got down on his knees, eyes shining. "Yes, Your Majesty," he shouted.
"Rise," Timothy nodded satisfactorily and said, "Subsequently, you need to do three things. The first is to escort all the remaining residents in the Port of Clearwater to the King's City." ..
"You don't want to gibbet the betrayers?" Knight Ed asked in surprise.
"No, they're not real betrayers. They would have left with the Blacksail Fleet if they had defected to Garcia. If I killed them, it would just play into her hands," said Timothy. In fact, Garcia’s influence was really beyond his expectation. The port boasted a population of over 10,000 people, along with the slaves plundered from Eagle City. Only 400 people were reluctant to leave. But for the desperate defense of the Sand Nation, it would have been an empty city.
"May His Majesty be merciful."
"The second one is to burn the port, wharf and Lord Tower. I wanted all the people in the Southern Territory to see that the nest of Garcia has gone with the wind. Even she fled hither and thither to come back finally, only ruins left to her."
"Yes!" The knight answered.
"Your last task is to gather all the refugees regardless of the methods adopted. All the homeless, Rats, and caterans, even the people of the Sand Nation are okay. Since the Eagle City war, the disputes in the Southern Territory were never quelled. There will be a large number of refugees in the villages and towns nearby. You should have a troop of at least 5,000 soldiers before waging war to suppress the Western Region," Timothy looked toward the horizon as he said this calmly.
Garcia’s escape had proved the feasibility of his strategy. Her forces were consumed by more than half of the population of the Kingdom of Graycastle. Under general circumstance, thousands of civilians would be in command of one hundred knights to launch an attack. The knight who had no need to participate in the war would only be responsible for distributing the pills and commanding the general situation. With their advantage in numbers, those who surrendered first must be the enemies. Garcia’s withdrawal seemed to be much determined. If she had made a last-effort defense, the Port of Clearwater would have been encroached on by the crazy civilians who had swallowed the pills.
The only enemy he had now was Roland Wimbledon in the Western Region.