Betrayal and the City That Will Not Fall

The strategy of surrendering early was absolutely logical. As soon as the first man dropped his weapon and ran toward the city gate, those around him immediately snapped to attention. But instead of killing him or cursing him as a coward, they simply blocked his way, dropped their own weapons, and rushed forward as well...

After all, Prince Colin’s men only said not to cause trouble outside the city gate queue—they never said you couldn’t fight on the battlefield. If they wanted that promotion, they had no choice but to attack their own comrades.

“Nobody try to steal this from me! I’m going to be the first to surrender!” With this shout, the entire battlefield descended into chaos. The rebels stopped attacking the city and turned on each other.

After killing dozens of his own comrades, a burly man finally made it to the front. He crouched at the city gate with his hands behind his head, while those still hesitating about surrendering were left dumbfounded.

Just like that, the chance for promotion was gone? What about the chance for full pardon?

No, I can’t miss out this time.

Those wavering back and forth quickly made up their minds. The ones charging ahead had the biggest advantage, and one by one, they lost interest in attacking the city, dropped their weapons, and lined up to surrender.

“I surrender! I want to surrender! I’m one of the first thousand—I want to make it into the top thousand!”

The rebels at the front acted like madmen, throwing down weapons and uniforms, flinging their arms as they raced forward, desperate to grab one of the first thousand spots. Those in the rear, seeing the commotion, couldn’t hold back either. If they couldn’t get into the top thousand, they’d go for the top two thousand or three thousand—anything was better than being conscripted or enslaved at the end.

“Surrender! Hurry up and surrender! If we don’t, we won’t even make it into the first five thousand, and then we’re doomed!” The rebels not only surrendered themselves but also urged their comrades to do the same. And in their scramble for the top spots, they stabbed their own comrades right on the battlefield.

"Gui, I’m sorry, brother. I have a wife and kids to take care of. I have to fight for one of those top two thousand spots."

Killing a comrade gave them one more chance.

This wasn’t a one-off. All over the battlefield, those rushing to surrender slashed at their own comrades for a better spot. When Serena, Caleb Wang, and Victor Yun reached the city wall, they saw the rebels slaughtering each other.

"You saw this coming?" Caleb Wang’s face was grim. His look at Serena held blame—and a trace of fear.

Serena gave a bitter smile and nodded lightly. "Anyone who can betray Eastlyn can just as easily betray their own comrades."

"Many of them had no choice... What you did was too cruel." Caleb Wang wasn’t claiming to be too kind to kill; he just couldn’t bear to see Serena force people to reveal their darkest sides.

Except for not wielding the blade herself, what Serena did was no different from a butcher.

"Cruel? If killing the enemy is cruel, then you shouldn’t be on the battlefield. Here, there are only enemies and comrades. Whether they had a choice or not, once they stepped onto the battlefield, they became our enemies. If you don’t kill them, they’ll kill you—or your comrades. Even friends who meet as foes must swing the blade. If you don’t kill him, he’ll kill your brothers." Serena spoke bluntly and calmly.

"But they’re already surrendering. Surrendered soldiers aren’t supposed to be killed." The battlefield was cruel enough, but Serena was making it worse.

"They’re not surrendered soldiers yet. Prince Colin said only the first five thousand would be accepted—they’re not in that number, so they don’t count as surrendered. Besides, if they can betray their country one moment and their comrades the next, do they deserve my mercy?" Serena’s eyes narrowed, a hint of mockery in her smile.

Life is precious. As a doctor, she cherished every life; but standing in power, as a leader, she cherished the lives of her own soldiers. For them, she would not hesitate to raise the butcher’s knife against the enemy!

Caleb Wang wanted to say more, but Victor Yun stopped him. Victor saw things more clearly: "If the rebels don’t die, it’ll be Prince Colin’s troops who die. If they can kill their own comrades, they don’t deserve pity."

"But not everyone is like that." Caleb Wang pointed to another spot. A bloodied youth was helping his wounded comrade toward the surrender line. Caleb couldn’t hear what they said, but he saw the injured man keep pushing the youth away, while the youth stubbornly refused to let go.

There were loyal and righteous men among the rebels too; you couldn’t condemn them all. But...

"So what? This world is full of people who go hungry, who sell their children to survive—are you going to help every single one?" Serena’s words were almost cold-blooded. Before Caleb could retort, she cut him off: "If you’re really that noble, you’ll need the power to do it first. And if you had that power, you’d start by helping Northlyn. Northlyn has always lacked grain; every winter, countless people starve to death. If Young Master Wang is so kind, let the Wang family donate grain to Northlyn every year, so the people there can grow strong and invade Eastlyn in return."

Serena wanted to be kind too; she longed for peace. But she simply didn’t have the power. The Four Kingdoms ruled separately—even if she pitied Northlyn’s starving peasants, there was nothing she could do for them now.

Ordinary people couldn’t even protect themselves. Even if you gave them grain, they couldn’t keep it safe.

After saying this, Serena turned and left, leaving Caleb Wang stunned on the city wall and Victor Yun still watching with concern.

Victor Yun, seeing Caleb Wang in a daze, kindly dragged him down from the wall. "That’s war—it’s kill or be killed. Kindness is useless now. If you can’t stand it, then don’t watch. Serena only does this to protect her own people."

"I just..." Caleb Wang covered his face with both hands, unable to say another word for a long time.

Compared to Serena and Victor Yun, Caleb Wang had been sheltered too well—he still saw the world as too beautiful.

Safe inside the city, he had no right to call the soldiers fighting on the walls cruel for protecting him.

"Don’t be so sentimental. Just apologize to Serena later—she knows you mean no harm." If it were anyone else, these words would have ended the friendship.

Caleb Wang had nearly accused Serena of being cold-blooded and brutal.

Caleb Wang nodded, saying no more. He took one last look at the bleak battlefield and turned away, resolute...

Not long after Caleb Wang and Victor Yun left, the chaos caused by the surrender was ruthlessly crushed by the rebel commander: anyone preparing to surrender was executed.

Violence met violence. After rows of men were slaughtered, those who wanted to surrender no longer dared step forward, fearing the commander would kill them.

Just as the rebel commander prepared to send men to kill those crouched at the city gate, the gate suddenly swung open. A column of cavalry charged out, the vanguard shouting, "Brothers, charge—slaughter those traitors who’ve fed their consciences to the dogs!"

"Kill! Kill!"

Prince Colin’s troops surged forth, the shouts of battle shaking the sky. The rebels, scattered and demoralized, were no match at all.

"Fall back! Fall back!" The rebels had suffered heavy losses attacking the city, and now, with morale shattered by the uprising, they were no match for the Jiangnan troops. Realizing he couldn’t win, the rebel commander ordered a retreat, ignoring the shortage of provisions.

He still had a backup plan—grain and treasure hidden at Warcrest Mountain would be enough to keep them going for a year or two, enough to recruit more troops and wait for Prince Jason’s reinforcements.