“Thwack!”

Sol’s sword was drawn from Viscount Sadde’s body, and fresh blood poured from the wound. Viscount Sadde’s eyes gradually lost their luster, and he collapsed heavily to the ground.

The disparity between a Great Knight and an Earth Knight was vast. Even if Sol’s weapon was ill-suited for him, even if he was surrounded by a crowd of fearless elites, even if his energy had been greatly depleted, when Sol resolved to kill Viscount Sadde, the viscount met his end before he could exchange ten blows.

Not long after Sol leapt onto the wall, the ground around him was covered with a blanket of corpses. Yet what Sol found surprising was that, despite this, the defending troops of Sadde Castle had yet to break.

Under the direction of their officers, they even began to organize another attack. Even though they stood on opposing sides, Sol couldn’t help but respect them more.

After manifesting his energy to kill dozens of enemies and then decisively defeating a Great Knight, Sol’s energy had been depleted significantly. Now, with hundreds of fearless elites charging him, along with a knight rank powerhouse leading the charge, Sol was in for some serious trouble.

Of course, Sol wouldn’t remain open to being besieged. As he drew the brunt of the attack atop the wall, Cooze and Dain led the guard up the simple ladders unimpeded.

“Charge!”

The first man to scale the ladder was the corpulent Darnell. His nimble figure contrasted sharply with his enormous size, creating a comical sight that made many laugh.

But the soldiers of Sadde’s Garrison couldn’t afford to smile. The defending troops had already entered the city in full force, yet they had yet to drive Sol off the wall. The outcome was already inevitable.

Cooze followed close behind Darnell, and soon, soldiers from the guard flooded over the top of the wall, quickly filling the space around Sol.

The scene devolved into a strange standoff, both sides glaring at each other with weapons in hand, seemingly waiting for some signal.

Sol finally waved his hand, breaking the frozen stalemate. “Lay down your arms. Punishment is reserved only for the leaders; surrender and you will be spared!”

“Clang, clang…”

No one knew who threw down their weapon first, but the sound of metal striking the ground went from sparse to dense. Even those who still resisted eventually gave in and tossed their weapons aside.

In truth, everyone knew that the moment Sol killed Viscount Sadde and the guards entered the city unimpeded, the battle was already over. The reason these soldiers continued to hold their weapons was merely because they hadn’t yet conceded.

The first sound of metal striking the ground was like a needle piercing an overblown balloon, releasing all of the soldiers’ final breaths.

“Hold your heads in your hands and line up!”

Even if Sol was the one to finish off the enemy, he didn’t personally handle the aftermath. Instead, he led a few men straight into the city, leaving others to take care of the hundreds of prisoners.

When they had their weapons, these soldiers were perhaps elite fighters unafraid of death, but when they surrendered, they were no better than any other army, merely a flock of sheep awaiting their slaughter.

As Sol entered the castle, frightened servants and looters ran about, and he even heard sniffling somewhere in the distance.

The sight before him caused Sol’s expression to darken. Without stopping this chaos, it was possible that the rest of the garrison soldiers would join in the looting.

“Cooze.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Take some men and maintain order. Execute any looters on the spot.”

“Yes, sir!”

With Cooze taking charge, the signs of disorder quickly subsided.

Crossing through the courtyard, Sol arrived in the main hall of the Sade family’s residence.

The room was lavishly furnished, with tables and chairs crafted from expensive gold-thread wood. The floor was covered by a rug that appeared to be a specialty product from the south, made from swan feathers, and many other decorations were unfamiliar to Sol, whose only indication of their value lay in their exquisite craftsmanship.

Although the Sade family was only of viscount rank, as the head of the twelve noble families of Bolay City, their wealth, accumulated over decades, was terrifyingly high. Even the Lancelot Family, a powerful noble clan, could not compare to them in terms of luxury.

After all, although the Lancelot Family held sway over a large region, their domain was also much larger.

Upon Sol’s arrival, Darnell reported, “Sir Sol, all members of the Sade family have been captured. Aside from Viscount Sadde himself, who fell in battle, everyone else has surrendered.”

The more privileged one’s lifestyle, the greater one’s fear of death. The Sade family had ample resources and naturally lacked for nothing. Aside from Viscount Sadde, who was a Great Knight, two other members of the family had been trained to knight rank, along with a host of quasi-knight experts.

However, aside from Viscount Sadde, who died in battle, the others surrendered upon the city’s fall, hoping to preserve their lives.

“Sir Sol, what do you think?”

The fall of the city had been sudden, so most of the casualties had occurred during the battle. Quite a few members of the Sade family had been taken captive, and even Lannister dared not make any hasty decisions; he needed to consult with his lord.

“Seize all the Sade family’s property, and send all the captives, including the Sade family, to Dragon’s Breath Pass to guard the border.”

“Yes, my lord!”

With a single sentence, Sol settled the fate of nearly a thousand souls.

“My lord.”

“What is it?”

“This subordinate made an unexpected discovery upon entering the city. There were eleven other families present in addition to the Sade family.”

“Oh?”

Sol had indeed noticed the group of nobles dressed in extravagant attire, thinking they were members of the Sade family, but he hadn’t expected such an additional bounty. “Bring them all here.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Shortly thereafter, the Bolay City nobles who had been in the Boule Chamber discussing business returned to the same chamber, though their reception was markedly different from before.

They had originally entered under the guidance of a servant girl, but now they were escorted by Lannister and a large detachment of brutish soldiers.

Upon entering, they saw Sol seated in the main chair, eyeing them with a stately gaze. The captives stood in the Boule Chamber, too afraid to take a seat, and felt uneasy under Sol’s stare.

“My lord, these are the families of Berlai. They…”

Among the captives were the heads of each family, or at least powerful spokesmen. If not for such status, they would not have been invited to Sade Castle to discuss matters.

Sol might not have recognized them, but Daemon knew their identities well. After all, they had been on the same side until recently.

“Sit.”

After hearing Daemon’s introductions, Sol had a rough idea of these individuals’ identities. It was fortunate that these people happened to be present, as it allowed him to announce the next set of important matters.

Upon hearing Sol’s words, the captives finally relaxed slightly, having been on tenterhooks under Sol’s intimidating gaze.

They sat back down in their seats, though their tea had gone cold, and there were no serving girls to pour fresh cups.

However, the tea was not the only thing that grew cold; the hearts of these men also chilled upon hearing Sol’s next words…