Chapter 154
They had been trapped in this nameless valley for more than a day.
After Priscilla had driven Darwin to his death that night, she had pushed Waldo to keep advancing, insisting they must wipe out the rebels completely
But the truth was, they didn’t even know where the rebels‘ main camp was
Not long after, they did encounter small groups of rebels and gave chase, but the desper they pursued, the more treacherous and twisted the terrain
Eventually, they entered a rocky maze. From that moment on, everything changed.
The stones seemed almost alive, subtly shifting, and soon a thick, eerle mist began to rise, swallowing the land until they could barely see a few feet ahead.
They could hear the clash of weapons and the screams of dying men, but the rebels themselves? Nowhere in sight.
One by one, their soldiers fell into bloodied pools, struck down by unseen hands. When they finally managed a headcount, barely three thousand me remained. The rest were either dead, lost deep in the stone forest, or had vanished without a trace.
Now, what was left of Waldo’s army was trapped inside the rocky labyrinth, battered and broken.
Waldo and Priscilla had tried leading sorties to break out, but every attempt ended the same way–huge boulders would crash down from above, forcing them back, and rebel arrows would rain death upon their heads.
Of the ten thousand soldiers they had started with, fewer than two thousand were still alive.
Two days and nights without food or water had crushed their spirits. Now, faces were hollow, heads hung low, hope nearly gone. Some stared blankly at the darkening sky as twilight fell again, feeling as if Death itself was descending to claim them, Resentment thickened like smoke among the ranks.
Suddenly, one soldier broke away from the crowd, sword in hand, his blade gleaming as he pointed it directly at Priscilla.
“You witch!” he roared, “You drove Darwin to his death! You led us into this death trap! Even if I die today, make sure you die first!”
Waldo was seated beside Priscilla, but he was in no condition to move quickly, an arrow buried in his shoulder, three slashes on his arm, and a deep cut across his abdomen that, by sheer luck, hadn’t yet killed him.
Seeing the soldier charge at Priscilla, Waldo gritted his teeth and struggled to rise. But Hughie moved first
He stepped between the soldier and Priscilla, blocking the way with a steely glare. “We’re surrounded by enemies–and you want to start killing our
own?”
“She’s not one of us!” the soldier bellowed. “She’s a spy! A witch sent by the rebels!”
Murmurs rose around them, growing louder by the second. “That’s right. Her father and brothers were all rebels”
“She’s one of them! She’s here to destroy us!”
“Your Highness,” someone shouted from the crowd, “she’s a traitor Kill her”
“Kill hert”
“Kill her”
The chant rolled through the valley, growing into a thunderous rear
At first, Priscilla had sneered, dismissing the accusations. But is the soldiers‘ fury built, as the bloodlust thickened in the air, a flicker of fear crept into
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Chapter 154
her eyes.
She shrank back, Instinctively grabbing Waldo’s arm and hiding behind him. “Walde” she whispered, voice trembling.
Waldo’s face was twisted in pain. He gritted his teeth but didn’t speak.
He couldn’t.
The pain tearing through his body was too much.
Hughie noticed and snapped, “Priscilla, you’re grabbing his woundi”
Startled, Priscilla looked down–and saw her hand stained with Waldo’s blood.
“Waldo, I didn’t mean to she cried, panic rising. “I’m not a traitor – helped you destroy the McBride family’s remnants! You know better than anyone -I’m not one of them!”
Just hours ago, she had still been arrogant, strutting around as if she were untouchable. But now, trapped, starving, and with death closing in, fear clawed at her heart.
She couldn’t stop thinking, “Are we really going to die here?”
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