In the dead of night, the palace was silent. Grand Duke Karim Ben Hassan was fast asleep, his brow slightly furrowed, as if he were worrying about the fate of the city-state even in his dreams.
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps shattered the tranquility of the palace. A servant rushed in without even knocking, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "Your Highness! Your Highness! Something terrible has happened!"
Grand Duke Karim was startled awake. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and scolded impatiently, "What's the panic! What could possibly happen in the middle of the night?"
He thought there was a fire somewhere, but he didn't expect that the servant's next words would plunge him into an ice cave.
"The orcs... something's happened at the orc quarters!" The servant's voice trembled even more violently. " Elliot, the Aldor envoy, led a raid on the orc quarters. There's blood everywhere. I heard... I heard that except for Centurion who escaped, all the other orcs were killed!"
"What?!" Grand Duke Karim sat up abruptly in bed, his sleepiness vanishing instantly.
He couldn't believe his ears. He grabbed the servant's arms and asked urgently, "What did you say? Elliot... he actually dared to attack an orc? This... how is this possible!"
The servant was gripped so tightly it hurt, but he dared not break free. He could only nod, trembling, "It's true, Your Highness! It's all over the city now. Many residents saw smoke coming from the orc enclosures, and some even heard gunshots and screams..."
The Grand Duke's hand fell limply to his side, his body swayed, and he collapsed heavily onto the bed.
He felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, and his pajamas were instantly soaked with cold sweat. His teeth even started chattering uncontrollably.
Although those orcs were monitoring him, they were also symbols of Great Chieftain Abar's power here. Elliot's audacity in attacking the orcs on Duchy of Roland's territory undoubtedly put Duchy of Roland in the spotlight!
Once Abar learns of this, the enraged orc army will surely raze Duchy of Roland to the ground, and he, the Grand Duke, will likely die without even knowing how!
Grand Duke Karim was gripped by extreme fear, and as his mind went blank, another attendant rushed in. "Your Highness, Lord Elliot, the Aldor envoy, is now outside the palace gates requesting an audience with you."
"How dare he!" Upon hearing Elliot's name, Grand Duke Karim sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes bloodshot.
His voice was filled with anger: "He just killed orcs in my city, and now he dares to come see me? Is he trying to drag me down with him?"
But this anger lasted only a moment before being replaced by a deeper fear.
Grand Duke Karim looked at his trembling hands, realizing that Elliot dared to act so recklessly, he must have the support of the Kingdom of Aldor, and that Sentinel Legion would arrive here soon.
If he dares to harm Elliot, Aldor's army will be the first to punish him; but if he goes along with Elliot's wishes, he will face the orcs' retaliation.
He felt suffocated by the dilemma, and although he opened his mouth, he couldn't utter a complete sentence.
The night outside the palace gates remained deep. Elliot paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. The evening breeze carried the unique coolness of a desert night, but it could not dispel the unease in his heart.
He looked up at the tightly closed palace gates, two possible scenarios flashing through his mind. Either Grand Duke Karim, under pressure from the Aldor's power, would once again treat him as an honored guest and acknowledge the Duchy of Roland's submission; or the Grand Duke, blinded by rage, would order his arrest and even have him torn to pieces as an apology to the orcs.
But from the moment they launched their night raid on the orcish stronghold, the arrows had already been released, and there was no turning back. If successful, Sentinel Legion would gain a crucial foothold into the Redstone Desert; if they failed, his life would be the price he paid for the Aldor's cause.
Time passed slowly, and apart from the sound of the wind blowing outside the palace gates, there was no other movement. Elliot's subordinates were also a little nervous, glancing at the palace gates and then at Elliot every now and then.
Just then, with a creak, the heavy palace gates slowly opened, and a group of fully armed knights walked out. Their faces were expressionless, and their eyes swept coldly over Elliot and his party.
The lead knight stepped forward and said coldly, " Emissary of Elliot, His Highness the Grand Duke requests your presence." His tone was clearly scrutinizing and wary.
Elliot's heart tightened. He nodded slightly to his subordinates, signaling them to wait outside the palace gates. Then, he took a few deep breaths, straightened his back, and walked proudly into the palace.
The knights surrounded him from all sides, forming an invisible escort.
When Elliot entered the brightly lit hall, the first thing he saw was the bloodshot eyes of Grand Prince Karim Ben Hassan.
The Grand Duke was trembling uncontrollably, clearly blinded by rage.
His roar immediately echoed throughout the hall: "How dare you! You slaughter orcs right under my nose! Why did you do this?!"
Elliot bowed slowly, his face bearing a seemingly sincere apology: "Your Majesty, please allow me to apologize. The night raid on the orc residence was indeed not discussed with you beforehand, disturbing the peace of your country."
But as he straightened up, his eyes turned cold and resolute: "But I must remind you, Duchy of Roland has no choice. Hesitation will only put you in a more dangerous situation. Your only way out now is to completely side with Aldor. Only we can provide you with protection and shield you from Abar's wrath."
"Protection?" Grand Duke Karim slammed his hand on the armrest. "I don't need that kind of protection! I can explain to Abar that it was all your doing and has nothing to do with Duchy of Roland! He will believe me!"
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded. The city guard officer, not even fully armored, rushed in, panting, and said, "Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! Just now... just now the soldiers on night watch at the city gate were attacked by the orc Centurion..." Monk forced the city gates open!
Grand Prince Karim's heart sank, and he asked urgently, " Monk? You've seen him?"
"Yes!" The city guard wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and continued, " Monk rode over at breakneck speed, threatening the soldiers with his weapon to open the gate. As soon as the gate opened, he fled for his life towards the plains! Before he ran, he shouted into the city that he would definitely go back and report to Great Chieftain Abar, and that he would lead the orc army back to massacre the Duchy of Roland and make us all pay the price!"
"Bloodbath..." Karim swayed and collapsed heavily onto the throne.
It seems the orcs have already concluded that Duchy of Roland is colluding with Aldor. Even if he chases after them now to explain, he will most likely be executed as a traitor.