Rose Empire

Chapter 51: A Rescue in the Xia Style

Lanwan Viscount's Castle.

Warm-toned lamplight swayed gently, and the subtle, sweet aroma of incense drifted through the maiden's chamber.

Having just finished her bath, Renee sat on the bed, folding clothes. The young maid, intending to sleep soon, wore only a thin, loose nightgown of pale pink. The sleeveless garment was held up by a single silk strap tied behind her neck.

Suddenly, Renee felt a warm, damp sensation against her back through the nightgown, like a cat licking her lower back. Her muscles instinctively tensed, but then she remembered that the only other person in the room was a certain young lady. She relaxed, a sense of helplessness washing over her.

The sensation slowly traced a path up her spine from her waist, eventually reaching her neck. The strap behind her neck was tugged loose by someone's teeth.

Renee quickly clutched the slipping nightgown with her hand. "Miss, what are you doing?"

"Feeling frisky?" Charlotte rested her chin on Renee's delicate shoulder, her warm body pressed against Renee's back, rubbing against her intermittently.

"Miss," Renee said, a mixture of amusement and exasperation in her voice, as she lightly flicked Charlotte's forehead. "Who talks about themselves like that?"

Charlotte wrinkled her nose, unfazed by Renee's gentle tap. She blew softly on Renee's ear and asked in a playful voice, "Want to have some fun together?"

"No, I'm going to sleep. You can entertain yourself, Miss. I'll change your sheets in the morning."

"If I play next to you, you'll be tempted."

"I won't be tempted, Miss. Don't worry."

Renee chuckled and tried to push her young mistress away, but Charlotte clung to the maid's waist, refusing to let go, acting like a spoiled child determined to get her way tonight.

Just as Renee was about to give in to Charlotte's playful demands, a sudden knock echoed on the bedroom door.

"What is it?" Charlotte asked impatiently.

Cecilia's voice came from outside. "The scouts have spotted the Little Sassinian army."

"Little Sassinian?" Charlotte, who had been lost in her amorous thoughts, suddenly became serious.

Renee considerately got out of bed to help Charlotte get dressed.

Soon after, Charlotte met with Old Jack, who was dressed in military attire. Jack Moore briefly recounted what he had observed over Lanwan.

Charlotte had originally tasked Old Jack with monitoring the movements of Ambratu, but instead of seeing Ambratu's citizen-soldiers, he had spotted the Little Sassinian fleet.

"Seventeen twenty-oared warships," Charlotte estimated roughly. "Even if each ship carries only a hundred infantry, that's still seventeen hundred soldiers."

"Can Ambratu withstand this surprise attack?" Charlotte asked gravely.

After a moment of thought, Old Jack shook his head. "It's hard to say. I didn't see any sign of Ambratu's citizen-soldiers. If they can return in time, they might be able to hold off a force of one to two thousand. Ambratu's citizen-soldiers undoubtedly have a significant numerical advantage."

Charlotte shook her head. "Since the Little Sassinian have launched this sneak attack, it means the main force of Ambratu's citizen-soldiers has already reached Little Sassinian. They simply took a route we aren't familiar with."

"Then Ambratu is in danger," Old Jack said.

Charlotte frowned in thought, then ordered, "Assemble the territory guards. We're going to rescue Ambratu."

"Yes!" Old Jack immediately went to relay the orders.

South Bank of Lanwan.

A fleet of seventeen warships had already landed on the shores of Ambratu. Fully armed heavy infantry disembarked one after another.

The commander of this infantry was Sandro, a veteran who had received orders from Apo. As soon as the infantry disembarked and formed ranks, Sandro issued the order to attack the city.

This force numbered two thousand, but only about a hundred were superhumans. This was why Apo had called the mission nearly suicidal. Apo couldn't be sure how much defensive strength Ambratu still possessed. If Antanas had left two or three hundred superhumans in Ambratu, this surprise attack force would be annihilated.

But Sandro didn't hesitate. He led his troops under the cover of night towards the gates of Ambratu.

On this moonlit night, a great fire illuminated the skies above Ambratu.

Chaos erupted in the city without warning.

"What's going on?"

Harvey Sherwin, who had been sleeping soundly with his young lover, was abruptly awakened by the sudden sounds of battle. He threw off the covers and rushed out of his room.

Harvey Sherwin was now a prized asset in Ambratu. Every influential figure in the city wanted to curry favor with this noble from the Orlan Empire. To maintain his "best friend" relationship with Harvey, Martin Kramer had even lent him a residence in the city indefinitely and gifted him a handsome boy from the church orphanage to "improve his life."

As Harvey stepped out of his room, he ran into Robin Mancini, who was also rushing out in a panic.

Among Ambratu's elite, Robin Mancini presented himself as Harvey's bodyguard. Naturally, when Harvey moved into this new residence, Robin followed.

"What's happening?" Harvey asked again.

"Enemy forces are attacking at night!" Robin pointed at the towering flames.

"Enemies? What enemies? How can there be enemies?" Harvey looked utterly bewildered.

"What other enemies could there be?"

Robin felt exasperated. Had this guy completely lost his mind?

"Of course, it's the Little Sassinian! Ambratu is at war with them!"

Harvey's confusion gradually morphed into terror. "Didn't Ambratu send troops to attack Little Sassinian? Why are they here? Were Ambratu's citizen-soldiers wiped out? What do we do? What do we do? Should we run? Yes, let's flee to Lanwan Viscount's territory. It's safe there!"

In truth, Harvey was also a one-winged swordsman from the Royal Griffin Knights faction. But the difference between one-winged swordsmen could be as vast as that between a man and a dog.

Harvey never trained his physique, rarely practiced swordsmanship, and had no combat experience. The power boost from his one-winged ability was only useful for bullying civilians. Knights like Jack Moore, Hermann Green, and Jarod Garcia, who were disciplined and battle-hardened, could easily kill ten Harveys in a chaotic battlefield without even using their superhuman abilities.

In fact, Harvey wasn't even sure he could defeat well-trained squire knights who hadn't awakened any abilities.

Harvey's cowardly behavior disgusted Robin, but Robin still had his own mission and couldn't leave Ambratu yet. So he tried to reassure him, "The city is in chaos. It's too dangerous to go out now. We might run into the enemy before we even escape. It's better to stay here. The Little Sassinian forces are weaker than Ambratu's. This is probably just a small diversionary force. If we hold out until dawn, they'll likely retreat."

"Alright then, Knight Mancini, you guard the front door, and I'll guard the back. We'll hold out until dawn, and then we'll be safe." Harvey grabbed Robin's hand, said this, and then hurried back to his bedroom.

Robin was even more speechless – this house didn't even have a back door!

Ambratu City.

The citizens of Ambratu were even more panicked than Harvey. The invading Little Sassinian citizen-soldiers broke into homes, killing everyone they saw. To speed up the slaughter, they even set fires around residential areas, forcing the residents to gather in the center, where they were eventually burned to death.

The cruelty that Ambratu's citizen-soldiers had shown to the Little Sassinian was now being repaid in kind.

Cries, pleas, screams, and wails filled the air, as if a divine punishment had descended upon this unfortunate city.

However, not everyone felt the sting of this disaster. Some even found reasons to rejoice.

Outside Ambratu, Capino Manor.

"Sir, those despicable Little Sassinian are setting fires all over the city! Shouldn't we immediately rally the remaining citizen-soldiers?"

Harry Kane, a democratic faction elder, suggested to the faction's leader, Olivier Capino.

This was a drawing room in the Capino family's estate, located outside Ambratu on higher ground. From the window, one could see the city's skyline. If any Ambratu citizen were present, they would notice that nearly all the democratic faction elders had gathered in this opulent room.

Although Antanas had taken almost all of Ambratu's elite citizen-soldiers and superhuman forces, every Ambratu citizen was nominally obligated to serve in the military. If an elder were to step forward and issue orders, Ambratu could still muster a few thousand citizen-soldiers, though their combat effectiveness would be questionable. Still, it was better than no resistance at all.

However, Olivier Capino shook his head. "No need. The city is in chaos. It's too late to rally the citizen-soldiers. Besides, I've already sent a giant eagle to inform Elder Antanas. He'll surely return with reinforcements once he gets the news."

"But if we do nothing, won't the citizen assembly blame us later?" Another democratic faction elder, Jürgen Woller, hesitated.

"Why would we be blamed?" Martin Kramer sipped the tea a servant had brought and sneered. "This is clearly Antanas's fault! If he hadn't taken almost all the troops with him, how could Ambratu have been attacked?"

"Exactly," Lucas Capino, Olivier's brother and another democratic faction elder, slammed the table angrily. "We warned Antanas that he didn't need to take so many troops to attack Little Sassinian. He ignored our advice and even convinced the citizen assembly to give him full command. Now, Ambratu is under attack, and its citizens are suffering. Antanas must take responsibility!"

"That's right! He must be held accountable!"

"Absolutely!"

One by one, the democratic faction elders echoed the sentiment.

Martin Kramer stood up and declared, "I propose that tomorrow, we motion to the citizen assembly to strip Antanas of his command and elder position! This will punish him for the harm he's brought to Ambratu's citizens!"

"Agreed! Antanas is unfit to lead!"

"Agreed!"

"Agreed! Antanas is a criminal!"

"..."

Martin's suggestion was met with a chorus of approval.

The discussion in the drawing room grew more heated. The democratic faction elders lamented the suffering the oligarchs had brought to the city-state and sympathized with the citizens' plight. Yet, as they spoke, they couldn't help but smile.

Outside the window, Ambratu continued to burn.

Lanwan Viscount's Territory.

The knights and squires of the territory guard had just settled down to sleep when Charlotte had them roused from their beds.

"Knights," Charlotte addressed them, "according to Sir Jack Moore's reconnaissance, Ambratu has been attacked by the barbaric Little Sassinian. Its people are in dire straits. As their neighbors, it is our duty to rescue them from this crisis."

The knights were puzzled. While it was true that Lanwan Viscount's territory and Ambratu were neighbors, were they really on such good terms that they would come to each other's aid? Just recently, the Viscount had closed the borders and extorted compensation from Ambratu. If anything, they should be enemies.

Though confused, since Charlotte herself was leading the charge, the knights had no choice but to follow.

However, despite her words about Ambratu's dire situation, Charlotte moved at a leisurely pace, more like she was out for a stroll than on a rescue mission.

After two or three hours of marching without leaving Lanwan's territory, Hermann Green, the captain of the guard, finally couldn't hold back. He approached Charlotte and suggested, "My Lord, if we don't pick up the pace, by the time we arrive, the people of Ambratu will have suffered greatly."

Charlotte gave Hermann a strange look, then sighed helplessly. "Sir Hermann, it is a knight's virtue to aid the weak, and I truly wish to save the people of Ambratu. But you may have forgotten one thing."

"What's that?" Hermann asked, puzzled.

"Compared to Ambratu and Little Sassinian, Lanwan Viscount's territory is the weakest," Charlotte explained. "They can mobilize thousands of troops and hundreds of superhumans at will. What do we have? A few hundred men. This Little Sassinian diversionary force alone numbers in the thousands. If we clash with them head-on, we'll suffer heavy losses. The Little Sassinian won't stay in Ambratu for long. Let's take our time. By the time we arrive, they'll have withdrawn, and that will be for the best."

"Our main goal is to show our goodwill," Charlotte concluded.

Hermann was left speechless.