My Lady Chef

Meanwhile....

Ezran's POV:

"The walls are crumbling! Not a lot of men are manning the gates right now!"

"Catapults! Pull!"

I watched the ongoing siege efforts from beside one of our catapults which suddenly recoiled as I sent a few huge boulders flying at the walls of Guthrie as several makeshift ladders my men use to scale the walls made contact.

Amidst the loud noises of battle, barrages of arrows rained against the invading infantry. The metallic clang of shields being raised by the soldiers on the ground was met with death cries of the men who were shot down as they tried to scale the ladders fast to attack the wall's forces.

The air was heavy for some reason as I commanded another wave of boulders to be aimed at the turrets that housed the archers.

Cobblestones and wood exploded that moment the huge rocks made contact with two of them and our side rotated in triumph when one turret crumbled and fell.

"Milord! News of the other side!" A dirty soldier came in on horseback and handed me a small message.

Another bout of riots was reported to have broken inside the capital of Guthrie according to the few spies who managed to get inside through a secret crack in the base of the wall no one paid attention to. After I burned the surrounding wheat fields and forests surrounding the capital, I estimated that this will pressure King Cherno since he cannot send his people outside to gather food anymore. At the least, I expected a year before the capital crumbles.

But I was surprised that riots were happening in parts of the city after just a few months. But then I read the various reports of our spies and it seems like what my wife predicted has come to pass.

It seems like the food granary and storage were depleted due to King Cherno's lavish style of dining. Usually, during times of war siege, it is common knowledge to ration food to keep the city alive but the greedy king continues to eat and drink like he was not at war.

That quickly depleted their reserves and now people in the city were starving, fighting over meager scraps of food and starting riots because their ruler kept the remaining food for him and his supporters. This explains why few knights are manning the walls. Suppressing riots and fighting off an army seems like the breaking point.

It was all part of my plan to end this war once and for all.

"Look!" One of my men pointed out as the gates of the city opened.

I smirked. Seems like Emile and Raoul's party succeeded in entering one of the cracks on the wall base we discovered and have succeeded in their mission to incite various uprisings inside the city and bought enough time for the twins to open the gates.

I lifted a hand and gave the signal for my men on horseback to charge. My spurred feet kicked the sides of my war Emyu as it bent and squawked as it ran like the wind.

The wall defense was already collapsing and most of my men are now suppressing the Guthrie knights on the wall as I brandished my sword and began to cut down incoming knights as they tried to defend the gates.

Blood and death cries filled the skies this day and the familiar crunch of shattered bones as I bashed and sliced anyone who dared to attack me.

Many of the civilians ran and hid as chaos descended upon the capital as I pushed my main force to the Guthrie's Royal Palace. My knights paid no attention to them as I have warned them to never pursue unarmed individuals.

I was met with a wall of knights which got my blood pumping as a feral smile made a few of the senior knights quaked in their boots before my men crushed them on horseback.

I will end this today. Months spend on this battlefield were fun but I miss her.

I want to see her.

An arrow suddenly grazed my cheek and I instinctively raised a hand and one of my shadow beasts shot out and I heard growls and screams of fear as it devoured whoever shot at me from one of the tall buildings.

My Emyu suddenly collapsed and I saw that the arrow found its way to its neck. I rolled away just as the great bird fell on its side as the creature twitched and let out a death cry.

There was no time to grieve because several enemies surrounded me while I made my way to the main entrance of the Palace that already had signs of blood and struggle in them.

"My liege!" Oswald bellowed as he cut through the enemies and joined me as we cut through and soon I saw the twins Joel and Jael join the fray.

"The city is secured, Your Grace!" the blonde twin shouted as he smashed his fist into one of the Palace guards as we finally reached the throne room as I yelled for the other knights to fan out and search for the king while ordering them to capture his family and behead every noble in this corrupt place.

The extravagance of the Palace was an eyesore compared to the city where I saw emaciated children and gaunt adults on the verge of death due to starvation.

There will always be humans so monstrous that they do not deserve reprieve.

"Spare us, Duke Ezran!" one slim man dressed in expensive clothes was down on his knees, shivering as a few terrified noble men pushed a tied-up King Cherno in front of me. "Here he is! Please spare our lives! We will surrender and even help you track down every one of the king's relatives. Just kill him and let us live."

I raised my sword and soon the prostrate man's head rolled on the purple carpet now stained with his blood. This sent the other spineless nobles into a fearful panic but they could not do anything but cower and blubber stupidly as my knights grabbed them on by one.

And rested their swords towards their backs. At my command, they all stabbed them.

These idiots allowed their King to abuse their people. They reveled and caused the food shortage that made the common folks suffer.

But when their lives were in danger, they betray their king to save their necks.

Some humans are filthy cowards.

"Mo-M-Monster... You are a butcher! Continuously usurping kingdoms and causing countless sufferings and misery! " King Cherno spat at me and I looked at him coldly.

He was a fat, slovenly fellow. With a pudgy face, heavyset jowls, and small piggy eyes that bulged when I pointed my sword at his swollen abdomen that was barely covered by his stained tunic. When I raised my hand and my shadow beasts rose from my own shadow and started feasting on his ally's bodies; his bravado turned to terror as they left no bones or entrails once done but they did leave huge pools of blood.

He started to scream and tried to get far away from me but my men held him firmly. A sudden acrid smell and wetness that formed underneath him made me scowl.

Such a swine. Unworthy of his title as King and protector of his kingdom. He actually pissed on the spot just from seeing such a sight.

"Look around you Cherno. The silent suffering of your kingdom was never my doing but yours. You are not fit to rule this land. Your greed and avarice ends now."

I pulled my sword and in one clean slash..

The King of Guthrie's head went flying off his shoulders.

It is over. Guthrie has fallen.

Finally.