Chapter 117: The Army at the Gates?!
For Blackstone citizens, who were always living in poverty and suppression. Finally, something happened that changed their lives.
Recently, the new lord was appointed by the princess, though they don’t even have seen her clearly in those years, and only a few occasional glances of her could be seen during these long years.
So when she changed the lord, none of them cared much. Because they knew, their lives were going to be the same, "poor" "Suppressed" "Slaves" "Helpless"
But then a miracle occurred.
Soon news spread, that the new lord had imprisoned the water manager, because of his exploitation.
At the start, no one believed, so when the villagers confirmed by themselves, they found out. That lord has not only punished him but even filled all the wells near the residence and farms. He also supplied enough water for the whole month for free.
Everyone thought this was a dream, however, when they tasted the water, tears came out from their eyes, and finally all the gathered people felt. "It was real." With that, each of them cried for the whole day with happiness or with relief. That from now on they don’t have to beg even for water.
Sadly, this happiness didn’t last long, and all the villagers heard the news, that the Lord’s estate got attacked and many soldiers rebelled during this.
And this brought fear to everyone, however, every one of them still prayed for the good lord, who extinguished their thirst for water.
So after a whole night of battle, the citizens finally heard the news of the lord’s victory, which made every one of them happy, but before they could celebrate, the bad news came, that the Lord had killed the enemy’s two nobles and now the territory was doomed.
With that, many soldiers and families left the territory, but tt-they couldn’t do that. Because each of them was born here and lived here, and even if the citizens wanted to...then they couldn’t, the reason being every one of them didn’t have enough money.
So everyone waited for the nobles rage, but the next day, the Lord came out again and dealt with the gangs which were harassing everyone for decades.
Seeing this, the gathered people thought, that...m-maybe the lord could save the territory and every one of them really didn’t have to run anymore, so the citizens waited and another news came of the lord clearing the surrounding bandits. Which increased their morale even more.
However, one problem still remained. All of them were hungry. Even though everyone had become numb to this, but this year, water shortage problems occurred many times, resulting in crops getting destroyed.
So previously, when the elders tried to ask the princess lord for help. The vice commander Roland didn’t let them enter the gate at all. Even beat them mercilessly.
But surprisingly, this time every one of them heard another news, that the new lord had released jobs for everyone, which included their meals and even money for their families.
On that day, every single person in Blackstone felt as though the heavens themselves had blessed them. For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, they went to sleep with full stomachs after an honest day’s work. No gnawing hunger. No empty bowls. No despair.
Warm smiles appeared on everyone faces that had long forgotten how to smile, while laughter quietly returned to homes that had remained silent for years.
"God bless our Lord..."
The heartfelt prayer escaped countless lips, carried by the evening breeze as if the entire territory itself was whispering its gratitude.
And for the next several days, those same words continued to echo through every village, every street, and every household in Blackstone, becoming the most heartfelt blessing anyone could offer.
Then each of them heard, that the Lord was going to another territory for something, which brought an uneasiness in them.
As the Lord was here and everything was going alright, but suddenly the lord was going out, which started making them afraid.
And what the citizens had feared finally came to pass. No sooner had the lord departed than countless newcomers began pouring into the territory, enlisting in the army. With no one left to keep them in check, they soon started oppressing and harassing the helpless citizens, turning their lives into a waking nightmare.
On this, the elders tried to complain, but couldn’t meet the higher-ups.
Soon afterward, word spread that Viscount Ashenford’s army was marching toward the territory. The news struck the gathered citizens like a bolt from the heavens, making it feel as though the very ground had vanished beneath their feet.
Panic erupted instantly, and despair spread through the crowd. With trembling hearts, they could only pray for one miracle—that their lord would return once more. Only then, they believed, might there still be hope to save them.
But days passed and the lord didn’t come, instead came the army. Which led them to think they were doomed for sure, but something different happened.
The Ashenford army, which came with valor. Was beaten so badly that they had to run with shame and fear.
Which surprised everyone and all the citizens tried to find out what happened. So when they really found out, everyone again praised their lord. Because "Lord has left his strongest commander to protect the territory." And she did.
Though the atmosphere of fear didn’t disappear, it gradually began to subside. Before long, the citizens watched as the adventurers and greedy merchants abandoned the territory one after another. As they left, they all repeated the same grim words:
"Once Viscount Ashenford’s main army arrives, this territory is doomed for sure."
Which also worried them a lot, so they closed their gates and windows tightly and also stopped going outside. Hoping that the army didn’t touch them as every one of them was an innocent citizen.
So while everyone was waiting, they heard the lord had returned, which excited everyone. However each of them still couldn’t bring themselves out. The cause was the Ashenford main army.
So they remained hidden in the hope, that everything would be over soon.
Present day.
THOOM... THOOM... THOOM... THOOM... THOOM... THOOM...
The morning sunrays came toward Blackstone territory and came along with the sound of an army marching.
"W-What?! An... army?!"
Startled awake, every sleeping citizen sprang from their beds and hurried to their windows, cautiously pushing them open just enough to peek outside. But the moment their eyes fell upon the scene beyond, every one of them was left utterly stunned.