Chapter 1694: Chapter 1694
The night in Ruen was utterly "ignited." Of course, "ignited" was just Jenkins's way of putting it; "frozen" would have been a more fitting description.
Without any prompting from Jenkins or Sarlis II, Dolores and Sarrot Stuart called a truce upon learning of the snowman army's appearance, temporarily agreeing to cooperate. They combined their forces, assisting the Northern Legion in confronting the terrifying snowmen.
The Church's Benefactor squads also assembled, advancing toward the snowmen's point of entry into the city with a resolve to die.
At that moment, the various items Jenkins and Sarlis II had used in their duel earlier in the night proved their true worth. Because all the human factions in the city were now on the same side, the effects of their persistent items covered the army and the Benefactors alike.
Healing, dark vision, unity, weakness detection... Though the counterattack was hastily organized, the humans managed to drive the snowmen out of the city in their first offensive, thanks to the snowman army deliberately holding back and the effects of those gameboard items.
This all transpired during the third and fourth rounds after midnight. In those rounds, both Jenkins and Sarlis II remained in Nolan, commanding their pieces to help the army and the Church resist the snowman army, taking no extraneous actions. It truly resembled a wargame, only with both players on the same side.
His Majesty the King was worried for his country, while Jenkins, of course, was just putting on a show. After all, the snowman army was his.
And for their outstanding performance in coordinating the resistance against the snowman army, Dolores and Sarrot jointly earned an opportunity.
North of Ruen, on Rodale Avenue, what was once a bustling commercial pedestrian street had become the rear base for the human army on this night of unexpected events. Besides serving as the temporary command post for the Church, the Northern Legion, and the Stuarts, it was also the center for transporting the wounded and coordinating supplies.
The temperature had plummeted by nearly ten degrees that night, so despite it being summer, the princesses were draped in white fur shawls—garments that had been found in a hurry.
Soon, a servant brought a message. The Queen of Hamparvo, who resided in the palace and seldom made public appearances, had also come and was requesting a meeting with Dolores and Sarrot.
A smile touched Dolores's lips. Then, under her sister's worried gaze, she leaped directly from the roof down to the street below.
As she fell, ice crystals in the air momentarily formed into platforms, allowing her to break her fall step by step. The whole descent looked as if Dolores were continuously jumping downward through the air, an ice flower blooming beneath her feet with each pause, until she finally landed steadily on the ground.
The Queen met the prince and princess in a commandeered tobacco shop at the end of the street. Neither Dolores nor Sarrot was the child of the current Queen, and their relationship was rather distant. So, upon seeing her, they didn't even offer a polite greeting, instead asking in unison:
"Where is the item Father entrusted to you?"
A violent explosion echoed from the distance. A few seconds later, a gust of wind tore through the street, disturbing the tobacco shop with its open door. Amidst the howling wind and the flickering flame of the kerosene lamp, the two Stuarts, dressed in military attire, fixed their stepmother with a severe gaze. The beautiful woman, however, looked rather flustered by the scene, only managing to whisper after a long moment:
"Your father requested that only the most suitable person receive the—"
She was an exceptionally beautiful and elegant woman, but she lacked the ability and courage to make the two children understand who their elder was.
"I am bribing you." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ ɴovelfire.net
Sarrot declared, producing the coin, his tone laced with impatience.
"I am bribing you as well."
Dolores had no more interest than her brother in hearing what her stepmother had to say next. She produced the symbol of the Blasphemy Seed.
They both held out their palms to the Queen, the two coins glinting in the steadying firelight.
The woman's hand rose, seemingly of its own accord. She closed her eyes, unwilling to watch her own action, but that couldn't stop her hand from ultimately choosing Dolores's coin.
"This is what your father left—"
The blood-red seal had barely been taken out before Dolores snatched it away. She then took a step back, casting a wary glance at her older brother.
An expression of surprise crossed Sarrot's face. After retrieving his coin, he tilted his head up slightly to look at his sister:
"Dolores, surely you don't think I would forcibly take something that belongs to another? I, as the prince of this nation and the eldest son of the glorious Stuart family, would never stoop to such an act."
With that, he turned and left. Dolores, on the other hand, caressed the seal in her hand, a faint smile on her face, before she too turned and departed.
From beginning to end, neither of them spared another glance for the other woman in the shop.
"I originally thought your family atmosphere was quite good. Not perfectly harmonious, perhaps, but I never imagined it would be ..."
Jenkins, at the table in Nolan, rested his head on his hand, his arm propped on the gameboard. He spoke hesitantly, having rarely heard Dolores speak of her stepmother and never before realizing the state of the Stuarts' relationship with the Queen.
Sarlis II said nothing. The eldest princess behind him shook her head, signaling for Jenkins to drop the subject.
Having obtained Sarlis II's private seal, in addition to the ring representing the family's legacy, Dolores now possessed two artifacts symbolizing the power of the Hamparvo Kingdom.
She was very close to victory. However, in the following rounds, Jenkins's side was limited by having only three princesses to act with. Meanwhile, Sarlis II had numerous pieces at his disposal. In the two hours before dawn, he managed to obtain the small, exquisite silver queen's crown by tracing the Queen's original family lineage.
This ornament was crafted when the first queen married Sarlis II. After she passed away from illness, the crown was put away by the king and was never given to the next queen to wear.
"So Father kept it all this time."
Dolores soon learned of her brother's progress. Hearing about the crown again, she murmured to herself with a hint of sorrow. But she quickly composed herself and resumed her active search for the final artifact.
Jenkins wasn't entirely sure what Alexia had been up to all night, but he was certain that this small-scale war in Ruen was her master plan. After being pushed back beyond the city walls after midnight, the snowman army erupted with even greater combat strength. No matter how the human forces attacked, the snowmen refused to yield another step.
They advanced at a slow pace, eventually forcing the humans to abandon the northern district of Ruen and evacuate the residents to safer areas. By the time the clock in Nolan struck four, the snowman army already occupied a fifth of the entire city.
This was terrifying progress. If Alexia truly intended to capture all of Ruen, the resisting humans would never be able to hold out for reinforcements.
In ordinary times, such a thing would never happen, but with the end of the epoch, disasters were erupting everywhere. The demigods who should have been guarding the city were all out "putting out fires." Only three demigods were left on duty in Ruen tonight, but the commander of the snowman army, enhanced by Alexia, could just barely hold them off for a time.
By four o'clock in the morning, the human coalition's command post had long since been moved from that commercial street to the royal palace on the city's high ground. The entire northern district of Ruen was now ablaze—fires deliberately set by the humans to slow the snowmen's advance.
Just as Sarlis II had said, Ruen could be rebuilt. The people understood what was most important.
The towering flames painted the western flank of the palace crimson. A young prince, rushing up from the base of the hill, handed a black iron pendant to his older brother.
"It's a token for entering and leaving the palace freely at night. After the Ice and Snow Festival, Father forbade anyone from doing so, and all such pendants were confiscated. Since it represents the right to enter the palace, it can also serve as a symbol of power."
The eldest princess answered.
Jenkins nodded and asked his opponent:
"The last artifact... it wouldn't be your crown, would it?"
Things had now developed beyond even Sarlis II's expectations. For several rounds now, he had remained silent during his turns. Perhaps it was due to his health, or perhaps for mental reasons, but watching one's capital being overrun by grotesque monsters would likely leave even a healthy king in a poor state of mind.
Dawn was drawing ever closer. Just as Jenkins was racking his brain, trying to figure out what Alexia was truly after, Sarlis II, whose turn it was again, made a startling decision:
"Abandon Ruen. Lead the local residents in a retreat to the southern plains. Our army is strong, and we have plenty of firearms. If we leave now, we can save at least half of the populace."
"Are you certain you want to do this?"
"Viscount Williamette, I see no hope of them defeating those monsters. That is Ruen, not Nolan. There aren't as many Benefactors from the Church there to help the common people."
From Sarlis II's perspective, the decision was agonizing but absolutely rational. Jenkins had to admit the king's decisiveness, but he knew Alexia's goal was certainly not to occupy the capital of the northern kingdom.
In the second-to-last round before dawn, the Stuarts were inside the palace discussing the evacuation with the Church when a voice drew their attention. Everyone looked toward the meeting room door, where Sarlis II himself was standing.
Back in Nolan, Jenkins scoffed. He glanced at the king, who had slumped over the gameboard and fallen asleep, and offered no comment.