Lord Kili shook his head upon hearing the suggestion. "If we stay here, the situation will only get worse. The assault from the Nascent Duchy is too fierce. If we die here, it will only bolster their momentum. Retreating might sound disgraceful, but by pulling back, we can join forces with other cities behind us to stand against this army. That, for us, is the best possible choice."
Upon realizing that the city lord had already made up his mind about retreating, the other officials refrained from further comment.
However, one civil affairs officer hesitated for a moment before asking:
"But City Lord, if we retreat… what will happen to the civilians within the city?"
"The soldiers of the Nascent Duchy are notorious for their cruelty. There have been many reports of them treating people as food. If we abandon the city, I fear the residents will suffer heavy casualties…"
The Nascent Duchy had attacked them before. Each time, they ransacked every city they took, leaving nothing behind. To many, they had become the embodiment of nightmares.
Lord Kili's brow furrowed. Clearly, the officer's question displeased him. In a cold tone, he replied,
"This is the only option we have. We must save our strength. We can avenge them later when we're united and stronger. For now, preserving our forces is our top priority."
With those words, the room fell silent. Many officials did not agree with the idea of a complete retreat, but Lord Kili held absolute authority over the matter. They had no choice but to comply.
"If the city lord has decided to retreat, then so be it," said a deep voice suddenly.
"I will stay behind with my men and cover your withdrawal!"
The speaker was a man built like a bear, the captain of the city guard. Though he knew he could not change Lord Kili's decision, he could still act according to his own conscience. He would stay and protect the city's residents.
As captain of the city guard, this was his duty.
"Celt, don't be reckless," Lord Kili said, trying to reason with the burly captain. "I understand how much you care about the people here. But the army of the Nascent Duchy isn't something our mere few thousand troops can hold off."
Celt met his gaze, his eyes resolute. "Lord Kili, you can leave without worry. I will send a unit to escort you safely."
His tone was firm, leaving no room for argument.
The reason he had joined the military in the first place was because his own parents had been killed by the Nascent Duchy's army.
Now, as a captain, he could not bear to watch so many civilians die or be displaced.
Even if his strength was meager and he could not stop the Duchy's army, he was willing to give it everything he had.
If he could delay the enemy's advance even for a while, perhaps reinforcements from other cities would arrive in time.
At the very least, more residents might escape.
To him, as a captain, showing fear before battle was unacceptable.
Realizing Celt's stubbornness and that persuasion was futile, Lord Kili gave a slight shake of his head.
With the army fast approaching, remaining here would only lead to certain death.
Without further hesitation, Lord Kili quickly gathered the officials willing to leave.
They began packing and preparing to depart as soon as possible.
After they left, one of Celt's personal guards frowned and asked,
"Captain… is this truly the life-or-death moment for Winterhold? Are we really going to stand here and fight while they flee the city?"
The other guards also began murmuring complaints, visibly discontented with the situation.
Celt cast a cold glance across them, and the noisy protests immediately stopped.
The guards lowered their heads, maintaining silence and order.
"The Nascent Duchy launching a large-scale assault in winter means they're lacking in food and supplies. Unlike their previous organized invasions, this one is out of desperation. I suspect the cities surrounding Evaheim have already fallen. Leaving the city now would be just as dangerous as staying in it."
Hearing this, the guards finally realized the gravity of the situation and suppressed their earlier complaints.
Indeed, the Nascent Duchy was a nomadic nation, boasting a large cavalry force that moved with terrifying speed.
Since they were attacking for supplies this time, they would sweep across the land like locusts, overwhelming every region.
Leaving the city without a plan would be walking into a trap. Staying within the fortified city might offer a sliver of hope.
"Besides," Celt continued, "you all know what those officials are like. Getting them to do anything useful is nearly impossible, but when it comes to embezzlement or despicable acts, they're all experts. If they stayed, they'd only stir panic and chaos. Most of them would probably just surrender anyway."
The guards nodded in agreement, realizing they had indeed been too hasty in their judgment. Captain Celt had considered everything thoroughly.
"Right now, mobilize the entire scouting unit," Celt ordered.
"We need to locate the Nascent Duchy's main force as soon as possible!"
Though it would be nearly impossible to resist an army of a hundred thousand, if they could delay them even slightly, then so be it. At the very least, they would make some of those enemy riders pay the price in blood.
In the Courtyard
John swirled the potion in his hand, a foul-smelling concoction that gave off a faint stench. Glancing sideways at the elderly Jaque, he asked warily,
"Old Jaque… you sure you're not scamming me again? This stuff doesn't look like it could help me ascend to Bronze Rank Swordman at all."
Old Jaque had quite the reputation as a swindler—he would accept anything, and haggle everything.
Most of what he sold were flashy but useless items of questionable quality.
"Have I ever let you down?" Jaque replied, eyes gleaming. "Sure, it smells a bit, but this thing's solid. I brewed it myself. It's a unique potion—only effective the first time you take it. Any more, and your body develops resistance and it stops working."
"Really?" John stared at him skeptically.
Jaque nodded earnestly. "Of course! This potion boosts your bloodline and helps stimulate your mana patterns. That's your biggest issue right now—you've got too few mana patterns. Drinking this will help you develop more, and your bloodline will surge along with it!"
Seeing Jaque speak with such conviction, John reluctantly decided to trust him.
Despite Jaque's frequent unreliability, John knew the old man wouldn't intentionally cause him harm.
He sat down on the grass in the courtyard and raised the potion to his lips, downing it in one gulp.
The potion tasted even worse than it smelled—thick, sticky, and nauseating.
John nearly gagged, but forced himself to swallow it all.
He immediately activated the elemental energy within his body, urging it to digest the strange mixture.
As time passed, the potion began to take effect within his body.