Chapter 470

Prada had no idea that Gervas and his group had come to the royal tent palace out of sheer desperation.

Their only thought was to use the Princess there as a means to escape.

So they had never anticipated that Princess Sukama’s influence weighed far more than they’d imagined.

At once, Gervas wasted no time, leading his subordinates to rapidly set up the inner camp and await Moral’s arrival.

……

Meanwhile, just as Gervas had seized the royal tent palace, Lindongcheng experienced a major upheaval.

With the last remaining grain supplies burned, the kingdom’s army had fallen into complete starvation.

Though they had managed to survive for several days by eating tree bark, herbs, and slaughtering horses,

even these—plants, horses, and cowhide—would eventually run out.

Over the past two days, soldiers had grown so starved their stomachs pressed against their spines, let alone their combat readiness.

Had it not been for their last shred of will to survive and the advantage of the towering walls, the beastmen would have stormed the city long ago.

Of course, after observing them these past two days, the Beast King had confirmed that the kingdom’s army inside Lindongcheng had reached its final, desperate hour.

He immediately began preparations to breach the city tonight.

And the key to breaching the city once again fell upon Willard and Solit.

Though Willard and Solit had no desire to comply, they were already trapped in the beastmen’s scheme—and sinking deeper by the hour.

Whether they wished it or not, it was no longer up to them.

That night.

Willard and Solit, faces tense and uneasy, climbed toward the city wall.

Behind them followed more than thirty soldiers, none carrying longswords.

“Halt! Who goes there?”

“Captain, it’s us—Solit and Willard!”

“Huh? Why are you two here? Are you leaving the city again? But we weren’t notified of any such order tonight!”

“And why are you bringing so many guards?”

The Stonecrack family soldier captain stared at Solit and Willard in confusion.

Earlier, Willard and Solit had passed through this sector of the wall several times, so the captain was familiar with them.

Thus, he wasn’t overly wary—only deeply puzzled.

Willard and Solit didn’t dare delay, quickly explaining, “Captain, this order came suddenly from the Supreme Commander, so we only just met with the Duke.”

“We received his permission only moments ago, which is why he had no time to notify you in advance.”

“Is that so?” The captain’s face showed doubt, and he was clearly about to demand proof of the Duke’s authorization.

But Solit and Willard had no such permit—so before he could speak, they cut in swiftly: “Of course it is, Captain! This mission is of vital importance!”

“We’re going out to retrieve food for the army!”

“You know the state of the city! Food is gone—no leaves, no bark left! If we don’t bring back food now, we won’t need the beastmen to kill us—we’ll starve to death ourselves!”

“Really? You can get food?” Even though verifying authorization was critical, the captain’s attention snapped to the food after days of hunger.

“Of course. Our previous outings weren’t idle strolls—we were contacting our spies embedded among the beastmen!”

“This time, the spy has prepared over a thousand catties of dried meat, hidden just outside the city, waiting for us to retrieve it!”

“That’s why we brought these thirty-plus soldiers—to carry the meat back!”

“By the way, to give us strength for the haul, we just ate a hearty meal—several pieces of horse jerky. Captain, would you like some? We’re already full!”

“Dried meat?” The captain’s eyes widened, his throat convulsing with swallowing, “Uh… Solit, Willard—if you could spare even a little… I’ve been starving these past two days…”

“Captain, we understand. I’ll have our men bring up the jerky—everyone here will get their share.”

With that, Solit turned to the soldiers below the wall: “Come up! Give your dried meat to these Stonecrack soldiers—we won’t run short after we leave the city!”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers immediately climbed the stairs.

Hearing there was dried meat, the Stonecrack soldiers made no move to stop the unarmed men.

Normally, no one except night watchmen was allowed on the wall without permission.

But now, the Stonecrack soldiers saw only dried meat—no suspicion crossed their minds about Solit and Willard’s intentions.

Thus, the thirty-plus soldiers reached the wall under their watchful eyes—and, as the soldiers eagerly anticipated, they pulled cloth bags from their belts.

Inside each bag were only a few small pieces of dried meat, no bigger than a palm.

At the sight of the meat, the captain and all other Stonecrack soldiers’ eyes gleamed.

When they received the jerky, their hands trembled uncontrollably, throats gulping frantically.

“Captain, everyone—don’t be polite. Eat quickly! We’ll bring back more from outside—there’ll be plenty for us!”

“Thank you, Solit and Willard! We won’t refuse!” The captain no longer hesitated—he thanked them, then shoved the meat into his mouth.

The long-missed aroma flooded his senses—he felt weightless, euphoric.

Seeing their captain eat, the other soldiers wasted no time—each snatched jerky and stuffed it into their mouths.

“So fragrant!”

“So delicious!”

“Yes! Absolutely the best jerky I’ve ever eaten in my life!”

Instantly, the soldiers began murmuring in delight as they ate.

Willard and Solit exchanged a glance—they knew the moment had come.

“Captain, time is short. Let us show you the Duke’s authorization—once confirmed, we must leave at once.”

“Mm… fine… gentlemen,” the captain, lost in the scent of the meat, thought of nothing else.

Solit began fumbling in his robe, inching closer to the captain as he searched.

When he was less than half a meter away, Solit seemed to find what he sought—and yanked his hand from his chest.

Pfft!

Before the captain could react, a flash of cold light passed—and a sharp pain pierced his chest.

“Ugh…” The captain’s eyes widened, the piece of meat still clenched in his teeth.

Confusion filled his gaze as he slowly looked down at his chest.

A short blade was buried there—blood gushed freely from around the dagger.

“You…”

The captain tried to speak, but his strength vanished too fast—he lost the ability to utter another word.

The other soldiers, at first stunned, froze when they saw the dagger in their captain’s chest.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

But before they could react, cry out, or move, each felt a searing pain in their own chests.