Tears instantly welled up in Carissa’s eyes.
“You can’t blame her. Now, I’m the only one left in my family.”
That was something she hadn’t shared with her friends. It was her deepest pain, something she couldn’t talk about without trembling with grief.
Travis and Bun abruptly threw back the curtain, their faces showing shock and horror in the darkness. They exchanged a stunned glance with Cynthia and Violet, and said in unison, “What?!”
Carissa buried her head in her knees, hot tears streaming down her face.
“They were killed by Westhaven spies lurking in the capital. All the spies from Westhaven were mobilized, and my entire family was wiped out. At that time, I was still Barrett’s wife and living at the Valor Estate, so I avoided that massacre. But if I hadn’t married, they might still be alive.”
Her friends were horrified.
The destruction of an entire family was a devastating blow.
The four of them moved closer, embracing Carissa and sharing her grief.
“Carissa, don’t cry. We’re here for you!” Cynthia cried..
Violet pushed them aside and held Carissa tightly, patting her back. Her voice trembled with tears, but was filled with determination. “Have all the Westhaven spies been dealt with? If not, we’ll find them and get revenge after we win the battle!”
“Some are dead, and some have escaped. It’s difficult to track them down once they’ve fled,” Carissa said.
She had kept silent about Aurora’s role in the massacre. If they knew Aurora’s actions had driven the Westhaven sples to slaughter her family, they wouldn’t care about the bigger picture. They would likely kill Aurora on sight.
This situation was more complicated than it seemed.
“It may be hard, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible,” Violet growled. “We’ll find them after the battle.”
Even though Violet came from the martial world, she knew Westhaven and Stafhaven had an agreement to avoid harming civilians over border issues. To resort to such ruthless acts against a whole family was nothing short of despicable.
“Yes, we’ll find them after the battle,” Cynthia agreed.
Bun and Travis nodded vigorously. “Don’t worry, Carissa. Those people won’t escape!”
Carissa embraced them, her tears flowing uncontrollably. Thinking about her family, she couldn’t stop crying. Once she started, it was hard to hold back.
That night, none of the five could sleep well. The next morning, their eyes were terribly swollen. Fortunately, Violet had some powder to help cover up the puffiness. With everyone already looking dirty to begin with, it wasn’t too noticeable.
The first fake assault on the city caught Sandorla forces off guard. They quickly gathered their troops on
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the city walls, positioning archers in rows to shoot arrows.
The attackers were armed with shields, and surged forward in waves. They even brought ladders and catapults with them, but after an hour of assault, they retreated without even setting up the ladders.
On the city walls, Liam looked down with a cold expression. “They’re panicking. Do they think a few soldiers are enough to take the city? Do they think we can’t fight back, just because they’ve injured so many of our troops? The Hell Monarch is not so impressive after all.”
Standing beside him, Victor said, “If the Hell Monarch lacked strength, how could he have captured over twenty cities? Don’t underestimate him–underestimating the enemy is a grave mistake.”
Liam shot him a cold look. “They captured over twenty cities because you were ineffective.”
Victor frowned. How could Westhaven be so arrogant? Did they really think their three hundred thousand soldiers were invincible?
The second assault was more intense than the first. They sent thirty thousand soldiers and used many stones with their catapults, causing some cracks in the city walls.
However, the Starhaven soldiers quickly faltered under the relentless arrows, and the attackers were forced to retreat in disgrace.
Liam laughed loudly. “The Hell Monarch is nothing special! Give it a few more days. When they run out of food, we’ll launch a full–scale attack and take Tower City!”