Part 3: The End of the Silver Wolf
The situation within Prime Lake City was clear. The Silver Wolf Duchy's eight thousand defenders were preparing for a defensive battle. They had completed their defense system in the shortest possible time and pushed fortifications into the surrounding streets.
Of the Dipper Aureus Duke's thirty-two thousand Imperial Guards, one thousand went to surround the Black Sheep villa, two thousand to assist in taking control of the Dragon Tooth army, and the remaining army, eighteen thousand strong, was led by Lord Han himself, advancing on the Silver Wolf residence from the East, South, and North.
The West was commanded by Mont Mentiel, with three thousand Raven soldiers serving as the vanguard.
Lord Han's main formation was set with the Northern army, his primary direction of advance.
If the ten thousand Dragon Tooth forces had remained loyal initially, the outcome of this battle would have been uncertain. But the Dragon Tooth forces inside the city had been systemically absorbed by Daelian, and the fifty thousand strong army outside the city faced a choice between submission and becoming rebels.
Prime Lake City's strict rule was that only the Imperial Guards were authorized to have the gates opened at night to leave the city, but the Imperial Guards were not authorized to enter at night. This effectively prevented any kind of rebellion. The Imperial Guards might have secret missions requiring night travel, but wanted to enter the city? Crawl until dawn.
Battle drums thundered, shattering the last of Prime Lake City's night stillness.
Torches, stretching like fiery serpents, confirmed the movement of the great army.
On the Western front, the three thousand black-armored soldiers of the Raven Duchy, under Mont Mentiel's calm command, advanced toward the Silver Wolf defense line like a silent iron tide. They issued no earth-shattering war cries, only the sound of armor plates rubbing and unified footsteps. This deadly silence was more chilling than any roar.
The Silver Wolf army, relying on their street barricades, shot the first wave of arrows. The arrows clanged off the Raven army's shields. The few that slipped through the gaps were deflected by their superior plate armor. The Raven army did not rush to charge. The front-rank troops, wielding giant shields, stood firmly, providing cover for the crossbowmen behind.
"Fire!" Mont Mentiel's voice was low, yet clearly transmitted through the formation.
Instantly, a more potent and precise volley of crossbow bolts whistled out from behind the shield wall. With the shriek of death, they accurately pierced the loopholes where the Silver Wolf archers exposed themselves. Screams immediately arose from behind the opposing fortifications. The Silver Wolf army's first wave of long-range suppression was easily neutralized.
This was the gap in equipment and training between regular armies and the Duke's elite. This Raven army was the strongest Raven main force, forged by Mont Mentiel with heavy investment and iron discipline, held to a standard that surpassed the Empire's Imperial Guards.
Full plate armor protection for every soldier. That fact alone spoke volumes about the national power required to support it.
"Advance." Mont Mentiel commanded again.
The shield formation began to move steadily forward, like a mobile wall. Whenever the Silver Wolf army attempted a counter-attack, they were repelled by the long spears protruding from the formation and the precise crossbow fire. The Raven army operated like a precise killing machine: slow, firm, and efficiently crushing the obstacles ahead. They did not seek individual bravery but total victory with minimal casualties.
Meanwhile, a thunderous war cry erupted from the North—Dipper Aureus Duke, Lord Han's main force, had launched a full assault. This was a different style of warfare, like a mountain collapsing into a sea wave, using sheer force and morale to completely crush the Silver Wolf Duchy's defense line.
The pressure from the East and South fronts also suddenly intensified. The Silver Wolf Duchy's eight thousand defenders, like a lone boat in a hurricane, groaned under the pressure from four sides, threatening to completely shatter at any moment.
The Silver Wolf Lord, Li Shiye, stood on the highest watchtower of his residence, watching the enemy torches pouring in from all directions like tightening nooses. The muscles on his face twitched violently. His previous ferocity and resolve had been replaced by a deep despair.
He had hoped for support from the Dragon Tooth army, but the Dragon Tooth army had defected. He had hoped for sturdy defenses, but in the face of overwhelming strength, the fortifications were being peeled away layer by layer.
He saw the suffocatingly professional advance of the Raven army on the West and heard the overwhelming shouts of "Long Live Lord Han!" from the Imperial Guards in the North.
He knew it was over.
Further resistance would only result in his eight thousand men dying with him. He might not even be captured alive, but instead be slain in the chaos by some low-ranking soldier seeking favor with the new master.
A blood-soaked general staggered up the watchtower, crying out:
"Lord! The North Gate… the North Gate is about to fall! Our brothers have suffered too many casualties!"
Less than an hour of fighting, and a third of their forces were gone. Everyone knew there wouldn't be another hour.
Li Shiye closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of air filled with gunpowder and blood. When he opened them again, there was only exhaustion and compromise.
"Raise the white flag." His voice was raspy as a broken gong.
"Send someone… no, you go personally, carrying my scepter, to see Lord Han. Tell him the Silver Wolf Duchy… surrenders. We acknowledge his supremacy. The Silver Wolf Duchy's Elector vote belongs to him, as long as he spares us."
"Take Fei'er with you, take him to Lord Han as a hostage, to convince him that our surrender is sincere."
The general was stunned for a moment, then heavily kowtowed and scrambled down to execute this final, humiliating order.
Offering the Duchy's heir as a hostage!
Soon, a massive white flag slowly rose from the highest point of the Silver Wolf Duchy residence, appearing particularly harsh in the firelight and smoke. The sounds of fighting in Prime Lake City gradually subsided.