Across the misty morning haze, Tifeike. Wimbledon could vaguely see the flags fluttering on the city walls.

He raised his spyglass, trying to identify the family crest on the banners. The sailboat and crown pattern on a green background undoubtedly belonged to his sister, Garcia. Wimbledon. These were also the most numerous flags on the city walls.

The second most common were the white flags, with a tower and a snake coiled around it on a white background, which was the emblem of the Barya family. Ha, he sneered inwardly, having sided with the Queen of Clearwater, yet still hanging the flag with the tower pattern was simply shameless. When I catch you, you traitor, I'll make you swallow that flag, Earl Barya. He thought to himself.

Finally, there was the red banner with the Towering Lion, the equally shameless Xita family. Tifeike remained expressionless, but in his heart, he had already sentenced Ailin. Xita to death, just like Toman. Barya. Of course, they would have to eat the flag as well.

"Sir Naiman, raise the flag of the Kingdom of Greycastle!" Tifeike ordered.

"As you command, Your Majesty." The Gale Knight responded, then spurred his horse towards the army behind him, "The King commands, raise the flag!"

The new King turned back and saw flagpoles being raised one by one, the grey flags unfurling in the wind, the black pattern solemn and majestic, a giant tower and two tilted, crossed spears on either side, this was the emblem of the King of Greycastle. Any traitor would confess their crimes and be beheaded under this flag.

Upon receiving news of Garcia's independence, he immediately took countermeasures - mobilizing troops from the East Territory and the capital to attack Eagle City. Although his heart was a tumultuous storm, he maintained a calm facade, which greatly boosted the confidence of the ministers who supported him.

It took nearly a month to summon vassals and troops, a week to travel to the East Territory, and another half a month to get here. Tifeike finally arrived at Eagle City yesterday at sunset. Fortunately, the capital was not greatly affected by the Demon Moon, and the roads to the Southern Territory were not impassable due to snow. On the contrary, the ground was frozen solid due to the low temperature, and the grain carts moved faster than those freemen.

His force was very large, mainly consisting of his own guard, the Royal City Knights, and the troops of Duke Fulan. Cherit of the East Territory. The three groups totaled six thousand men, of which as many as one thousand were well-trained and well-equipped knights. According to reliable intelligence, Garcia's forces were less than three thousand, and most of them were freemen from Clearwater Port, who were fine with robbing unarmed peasants and merchants, but could not possibly stand against knights in a direct battle.

Finance Minister Sir Gaode had raised objections, arguing that after the Demon Moon ended, all regions would need to be cultivated, and conscripting a large army at this time would adversely affect the harvest. Therefore, Tifeike did not ask vassals to send serfs to fight, but instead summoned freemen from his territory to be responsible for logistical support. In this way, even if they fought in the Southern Territory, spring plowing would not be delayed.

In any case, Tifeike. Wimbledon could not allow Garcia to stay in the Southern Territory any longer. Eagle City was not a strong city. It started as a market, conveniently located in the middle of the surrounding towns. Later, with the development of commerce, it gradually evolved into a city in less than a century. In addition, successive lords, in order to promote its pro-business image, did not build insurmountable high walls. Three thousand civilian troops and the subordinates of two earls did not amount to a large army. The sooner he took countermeasures, the greater his chances of winning. If he gave her a chance to catch her breath and thoroughly integrate the entire Southern Territory, it would be very difficult for him to defeat her.

After a night of rest, his men had eaten and drunk their fill, ready to go. The sun gradually changed from orange-red to bright gold, the fog began to dissipate, and the real appearance of the earth-brown city walls was revealed - in the eyes of the new King, it was not a real city wall at all, but merely an earthen slope. From the bottom to the top of the slope was an inclined plane, which could be climbed directly with hands and feet without any siege ladders. The top of the slope was diagonally inserted with a circle of round wood fences more than one person tall, which could block vagrants and bandits, but not fully armed warriors.

The people on the city walls stood sparsely, clearly not prepared for defending the city.

"Your Majesty, the cavalry responsible for staking out the south gate report that they have observed the movement of a large number of troops." The Gale Knight ran back to the new King, reining in his horse to report.

Tifeike handed the spyglass to Duke Fulan, and said in a relaxed tone, "It seems she wants to escape."

The latter carefully observed for a while, and nodded, "Being able to make such a quick decision is also a decisive choice. Eagle City is not suitable for a last stand. If she puts her troops in the city, we will wipe them all out." The Duke smiled as he said this, "As you predicted at the war council last night, she didn't expect us to arrive so quickly."

"The timing of our arrival is also perfect," Tifeike said, "Even if she wants to escape, she can't move at night."

"You're right, marching at night is a big taboo. If she did that, her troops would collapse without a fight. And once the troops are scattered at night, it's almost impossible to regroup them. In that case, even if she escapes back to Clearwater Port, she will only find a dead end."

"Therefore, my dear sister must wait until dawn to order the army to retreat." Tifeike looked contentedly at the Eagle City within his grasp, thinking that everything she had done was within his expectations. Garcia was too greedy for the symbolic status of Eagle City and stationed her troops here - occupying the mansion of the Southern Territory Guardians of the past did indeed make it easier to conquer the hearts of the Southern nobles, but the benefits were accompanied by dangers. He deliberately sent a feint army to set off slowly, and led the cavalry to the East Territory first, without infantry, and all the dry food was transported by carriages. After arriving in the East Territory, the remaining troops were replenished by the Duke, and they detoured from the other side of the kingdom to Eagle City. The cavalry sealed off the roads first to reduce the possibility of scouts passing on messages.

It was impossible for a large army to move at a moment's notice. Garcia should have received ambiguous news two or three days ago, and started to retreat at dawn today, which was already a hasty move. It takes a day to walk from Eagle City to Clearwater Town, and two legs can't outrun four legs no matter what. As long as he concentrates a thousand knights to catch up with her troops and pursue them closely, her ridiculous coalition will naturally collapse.

Unfortunately, Garcia still has the possibility of escaping from his grasp. If she abandons the three thousand people, leaves on two horses alone, it is not difficult to return alive to Clearwater Port.

In the end, he will have to go to her lair to finally end this farce, he thought.

"Your Majesty, then let's split up according to the plan we made earlier." Duke Fulan said, "Are you waiting for me to enter the city, cross the city and pursue from the south gate, or detouring? If you detour, you will have to travel a longer distance."

"I'd better detour from the southwest," Tifeike thought for a while, "It's not convenient for knights to move in narrow streets, and Garcia may also block the streets with debris to hinder the troops from passing through. Detouring, even if it's an hour longer at night, doesn't hinder the subsequent pursuit."

"Then I'll set off, Your Majesty."

"Be careful," Tifeike reminded, "Garcia probably won't leave any troops in the city, and there must be a lot of traps. Also, beware of places with narrow streets and many houses. As long as a group of suicide soldiers are ambushed, your safety can be threatened."

"Hahaha," Duke Fulan laughed heartily, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, when I followed your father on expeditions, I personally beheaded hundreds of heads, and I have never been injured." He waved to his guards, "Sound the horn, attack!"

The army behind him surged, and several streams of people emerged from the formation and marched towards Eagle City under the leadership of several knights - these were the freemen as the vanguard, followed by mercenaries wearing armor, who were also the main force in this siege. The knights brought by the Duke had all been concentrated under his command.

When the main force began to attack the city walls, Tifeike led the remaining knights and attendants towards the southwest.