Chapter 336: Head Count

"Boom! Boom!"

Another wave of cannon fire thundered. Several cannonballs exploded right in the middle of the Guard’s formation.

Nick was terrified. They had now become the primary target of the defenders. Each shot from these powerful weapons caused massive casualties.

Panicked, he lost control of his troops. Signs of collapse began to spread among the Guard.

And then something even more shocking happened: soldiers holding stick-like weapons marched forward from the North Gate in neat rows to the beat of drums.

At the same time, the sound of galloping hooves echoed. Cavalry from Cardiff City, dressed in silver chest armour, charged out. They raised their sabres and rode in tight formation, swiftly catching up to the retreating rebels.

Their speed allowed them to crash into the crowd. Many were trampled under the hooves. The horses didn’t slow down, smashing through lines like a tidal wave.

In that moment, the cavalry’s power was fully unleashed. The rebels, armed with all kinds of mismatched weapons, couldn’t put up effective resistance.

Chaos spread quickly. The already demoralised civilians began to flee in all directions. No matter how loudly the unit commanders shouted, they couldn’t stop the panic.

Aiden watched this scene coldly.

’Every soldier has a mind and heart. When they fight, they first ask themselves, why am I fighting? Only when that reason is strong will they fight with courage.’

But now, the thoughts of the King and the civilians were completely different.

He wanted to rule the world, but the people just wanted to fill their stomachs. And once they realised they could eat by surrendering, why keep fighting?

That’s why, once the defeat began, chaos spread rapidly.

It started at the North Gate and quickly reached the other gates.

The King’s army was just a group of civilians thrown together. There was no real discipline or unity. Seeing others flee, soldiers from other units began to run as well.

Timothy shouted. "Surrender, and you will not be killed!"

"Surrender, and you will not be killed!"

"Surrender, and you will not be killed!"

The same chant echoed loudly from the walls. Wherever the cavalry went, terrified people dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground.

Hidden among the rebels, the King was shocked.

His entire army had fallen into disarray. Officers couldn’t find their troops. Troops couldn’t find their officers. He couldn’t reorganise any resistance.

And the front lines crashing into the rear made things even worse.

"Boom, boom... Boom, boom..."

The sound of marching drums grew closer. Between each beat came a bang, the sound of advancing gunfire.

Realising he couldn’t stop the collapse, the King slipped into the crowd with his personal guards and fled.

In that moment, he finally understood: Prince Simon was nothing like Prince Augustus. And Prince Simon’s army wasn’t anything like Prince Augustus’s either.

He now saw clearly that Prince Simon’s victory at Dunmere wasn’t luck. It was because his army was truly powerful.

Looking back at Cardiff City with unwilling eyes, he spotted Nick in the fleeing crowd and quickly moved toward him.

The Guard under Nick’s command was still his trump card. As long as he kept them, he could rise again someday.

"My Lord, we’ve won," Aiden reported as Simon stepped onto the city wall.

Simon nodded. After nearly two years in the Eldorian Empire, he had developed a clear understanding of pre-modern warfare.

In fact, he had dared to come to Cardiff City because he believed his troops could defeat this seemingly massive rebel army.

After all, in ancient times, an army of hundreds of thousands sounded impressive, but only a few thousand were actually capable of fighting.

The King’s army was no different. Most of his people were civilians pushing carts with supplies.

And civilians, once defeated, would quickly run away.

"Many civilians have surrendered. We’ll need to figure out how to handle them." Simon said.

Looking through his telescope, he saw more and more people surrendering along Timothy’s path. Just as he predicted, as long as they were fed, they wouldn’t follow the King into rebellion.

They had only rebelled in the first place because they had no way to survive.

Aiden thought for a moment and said. "My Lord, these civilians from Preston may have surrendered, but they once followed the King and killed imperial troops. I believe we must not allow them to stay in Cardiff City. Instead, we should scatter them across various cities. Please split them into smaller groups, and eventually dissolve them entirely. If they gather again under someone’s influence, Cardiff City would be in danger."

Simon agreed. Aiden’s advice hit the mark.

These people weren’t yet an asset; they were a ticking time bomb. They could rise again if provoked.

The first rebellion was the hardest. The second would come more easily. And who knew how many ill-intentioned people were hiding among them?

Only once these civilians settled into new lives and came to accept their new homes and rulers would they become a true population benefit.

Until then, they were still a risk.

Outside the city, the soldiers of Cardiff City, now victorious, went out to help Timothy gather the scattered civilians.

Two hours later, Cardiff City finally quieted down.

"My Lord, there were too many rebels and the situation was chaotic. The King escaped." Timothy reported.

Simon wasn’t surprised. Defeating the King was easy. Catching him was much harder in a crowd of hundreds of thousands.

The panicking civilians had blocked both sides, the rebels and the defenders.

"Let it go. Don’t chase him anymore. Focus on helping the disaster victims. After today, he won’t dare return so easily." Simon said.

Timothy nodded and took his cavalry to continue the work.

The battle had lasted from morning to noon. The rest of the day was spent gathering civilians.

That evening, Aiden handed over a report on the number of survivors.

"150,000 people. It seems over 100,000 have scattered." He said.

"Tomorrow, have Timothy keep searching and guiding them into our territory. In Preston, they’ll only be used as tools by the King. Once Preston is no longer under siege, the court and Prince Augustus will move against him. And when that happens, these people will die horrible deaths. The Eldorian Empire is already full of holes. I won’t let more people die because of the King’s ambition." Simon said solemnly.

"My Lord, your righteousness is admirable." Aiden bowed. "If only the King had focused on resisting the reavers like you."