The riot in Ambratu lasted for a full day and night. It was not until the following day that the pacification troops dispatched by the Viscount of Lanwan finally arrived, long overdue.
Leading the suppression force this time was Eric Scamario.
Taking advantage of the birth of the Giant Eagle Knights, Charlotte had carried out a reform of her somewhat disorganized army.
Not long ago, the service period for the nine hundred knights brought by Stanley and the thirty knights supported by the Earl of Quakeforest had expired. Charlotte allowed them to return to their own fiefs, but many squire knights decided to stay behind. Among them were more than thirty squires who had awakened their spirituality relying on Charlotte's rewards.
Currently, excluding the Swordfish Island Fleet, the Viscount of Lanwan commanded approximately one thousand nine hundred knights and three Griffin Knight Squads.
Charlotte organized her forces into a hierarchy: ten knights formed a squad; ten squads formed a squadron; and five squadrons formed a battalion. She divided her one thousand nine hundred knights into four battalions, numbered First through Fourth. The three Griffin Knight Squads were organized independently into a single Griffin Squadron.
After four rounds of the Rite of Awakening, Charlotte had also successively gained five Giant Eagle Knights. These five were organized independently into a Giant Eagle Knight Squad.
Adding in the Fierce Wolf Warriors, who now numbered only a little over sixty and were redesignated as the Fierce Wolf Squadron, this constituted the entirety of the Viscount of Lanwan's military power.
Charlotte renamed her army the 'Lanwan Defense Force.' Herman Green was appointed Commander of the Defense Force, with Nathan Mellerfield serving as Vice Commander.
With this arrangement, Nathan Mellerfield was effectively stripped of all real power. When he first arrived in the Lanwan Viscountcy, he had fifteen hundred knights and three Griffin Knight Squads under his command; now, he didn't have a single soldier.
Nathan Mellerfield could only swallow this bitter pill, consoling himself with the thought that his time in the Lanwan Viscountcy was merely a temporary assignment and that he would return to the Green Plains Duchy sooner or later.
The First Battalion was Charlotte's most trusted core force. Nearly half of its personnel consisted of the original staff Charlotte had brought to the territory and local Lanwan knights. Their primary mission was the defense of the Lanwan Viscountcy and Charlotte's castle. The Battalion Commander was Jack Moore, and the Vice Commander was Jarrod Garcia.
The Third Battalion, commanded by Rayne Nazares, was responsible for garrisoning Fairy Lake and supervising the Lanwan Grand Canal project.
The Fourth Battalion, commanded by Ed Adkins, was responsible for garrisoning Dorukocha.
The Captain of the Second Battalion was Eric Scamario.
After reaping two major merits from Little Sassinian in succession, Eric Scamario had finally won Charlotte's true regard. The Second Battalion he led was second only to Charlotte's Imperial Guard—the First Battalion—in terms of elite status.
The daily task of the Second Battalion was the defense of Ambratu County. This time, Eric Scamario had come to Ambratu not only to suppress the rebellion but also to rotate duties with Jarrod Garcia.
Eric took the lead, galloping into the North Gate of Ambratu.
By the roadside, a rioter was grabbing an infant by the leg and swinging it against a wall. His companions laughed heartily beside him, and at their feet lay the mangled corpses of two other infants who had already been smashed to death.
The moment they made contact, before the rioters could even react, Eric swung his long-handled war hammer and smashed the head of the rioter holding the infant into a pulp.
Seeing Eric's gleaming armor and high horse, the rioter's companions immediately realized the situation was bad and turned to flee. Eric couldn't be bothered to chase them. He addressed his subordinates who were following him into the city: "Proceed according to the plan. Seal the city and clear the streets. No one is allowed to appear on the streets! After noon, anyone found wandering outside without cause will be treated as a rioter."
"Yes, sir!"
The squadron and squad leaders departed to execute their orders, sealing the city gates and posting notices everywhere to announce the decree.
After a day and night of inhumane atrocities, most of the rioters in the city had vented enough. At this point, the effect of Jonathan Hackman's premeditated purge of the prestigious and politically experienced leaders among the former Ambratu citizens became apparent. Once the rioters had vented their anger, they discovered they had nothing left to do!
Having killed so many people, they couldn't just pat their butts and go home to sleep, could they? What would they do when the Viscount of Lanwan's army came to settle the score? Wouldn't that be waiting for death?
Flee Ambratu and seek a living elsewhere? Were they willing to do that?
At least the former citizens were not willing. They had just used simple and brutal means to snatch back a portion of their manors, houses, and fields; how could they be willing to discard them so easily?
The other side of the riot was in a similar state. Although the former freedmen had prepared weapons in advance, hired some Extraordinaries, and incited a slave revolt, they lost control of the slaves and mercenaries the moment the riot began. The slaves and mercenaries acted entirely on their instincts to loot and vent their fury.
When that instinctual violence was exhausted, they didn't know what to do. They were merely a heap of loose sand—no leader, no plan. Even if no one stopped them, they wouldn't know how to occupy the city. Moreover, the former citizens inside the city hadn't been driven out at all.
These rioters wandered aimlessly through the city. Occasionally, they would break into a home, drag out the owners hiding inside, and torture them to death for amusement.
It wasn't until squads of black-armored cavalry appeared in the city, shouting the order to "Clear the streets," that these rioters were startled awake and fled in panic toward the outside of the city.
However, it was too late.
The moment the scouts informed him that Eric Scamario's cavalry had entered the city, Jarrod Garcia immediately issued the order to seal the gates.
Most of the rioters were trapped inside the city walls.
"Charge out! They don't have many men. Let's rush out together!" Bill shouted to Avery and his other companions. "We've killed so many people; if we get caught, we're finished."
"Mn..." Avery nodded. Although his head was still a bit woozy, the instinct to avoid danger remained.
Sitting on his horse, Jarrod Garcia watched as his subordinates formed their battle lines. Seeing the rioters opposite him still stirring restlessly, showing signs of wanting to force their way through, he couldn't help but curl his lips.
He was being underestimated...
It was true he didn't have many troops, but they were all well-equipped, well-trained, and coordinated perfectly. Jarrod couldn't understand—what gave this disorderly mob the courage to charge his defense line?
"Charge!"
A roar erupted from the crowd of rioters as they rushed forward, crashing into the neatly arranged line of Lanwan knights like a tide slamming against black reefs.
If the tide is turbulent enough, perhaps there is a possibility of breaking the reef. But if it is not, then all that remains is splashing spray.
Avery held a short sword in one hand and a round shield snatched from a rioting slave in the other. Boom! Without any fancy moves, he collided head-on with the large shield of a Lanwan knight.
With this collision, Avery's dizzy head instantly cleared up significantly. He felt as if he had slammed into a wall of copper and iron; the opponent didn't budge an inch.
Avery cried out inwardly. For the past two days, he had been bullying civilians and slaves. Habitually, he had treated the enemy as ordinary people he could bully at will. It was only with this collision that Avery realized what a foolish thing he had done.
Unlike the imagination of many—where numerous swordsmen holding weapons leap and dodge, using dazzling moves to cleanly dispatch enemies one by one—clashes between heavy infantry formations are often a contest of pure strength. Two armies exert all their might, pushing and squeezing each other, forcing the enemy's line to retreat. in most cases, the side that cannot hold out and retreats first is inevitably the side that collapses.
Avery was a veteran of the battlefield. It wasn't that he had never encountered a situation where he couldn't move the enemy line upon impact. In those situations, the pushing force of his comrades would inevitably come from behind, shoving him forward with all their might. Yet now, there was nothing.
Avery caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye and saw his companions foolishly holding their short spears, trying to stab through the gaps in the Lanwan knights' shields.
Avery instantly felt despair.
"Advance!"
"Hooah!"
The Lanwan knights let out a great roar and exerted force simultaneously.
The front row of rioters couldn't withstand it for even a moment. They were pushed over, tumbling backwards, and their line instantly dissolved into chaos. In a dense infantry phalanx, soldiers rely not only on their armor and shields for protection but also on the cover of their teammates. Once the line is in disorder, this cover becomes empty talk. After the teammates beside him were pushed away, the vigilant Avery immediately glimpsed three short swords stabbing toward him from three different directions, aiming at spots his shield couldn't cover.
Avery gritted his teeth, threw his shield out directly, and then turned to become a deserter. This was the first time in his life he had deserted.
Perhaps it would also be the last.
At first, Avery ran with all his might, but after running wildly for a while, his footsteps became slower and slower.
Finally, with a clang, Avery dropped the short sword in his hand.
The City-State no longer existed. His home no longer existed. His wife no longer existed. And he, stained with the blood of Ambratu people, was no longer his original self...
Was there any need for him to run?
Avery stopped and knelt dejectedly on the ground.
Da-da-da.
The sound of galloping hooves rang out. Three black-armored cavalrymen sped over, passing by Avery.
A long-handled war hammer traced a perfect arc, accurately smashing Avery's head into pieces.
"Knight Garcia, Battalion Commander Eric requests your presence at the Governor's Mansion," a black-armored cavalryman reported, arriving in front of where Avery had fallen.
Jarrod Garcia looked at the one-sided battle situation before him, nodded, and said, "Alright, I'll go over right now."
Arriving at the Governor's Mansion, Jarrod Garcia had just stepped through the door when he heard a mournful wail, like that of a wounded beast.
"Jarrod Garcia! I'll fight you to the death!"
A figure rushed out of the room, charging straight at Jarrod.
Jarrod raised his leg to kick reflexively, but upon seeing that the figure was John Rice, he forcibly held back his foot and instead used his hands to block the sluggish charge.
"Lord Governor, why take your anger out on me?" Jarrod said helplessly. He knew what John Rice was angry about, but he couldn't explain to John Rice that he was merely following orders. He still had to make a living under Charlotte, after all.
"If you hadn't stood by and watched, refusing to save the dying, how could so many people in Ambratu have died!" John Rice pointed at Jarrod Garcia's nose and questioned him. "Did you see the mutilated corpses of the Ambratu people outside? Did you hear the wailing of the Ambratu people? These wrongfully dead souls are all your sin! I will accuse you of your crimes to the Viscount of Lanwan in the future!"
"No need to wait for the future. I have already heard."
A familiar voice rang out. The young girl's figure strode into the Governor's Mansion, followed by Renee, Cecilia, and Eric Scamario.
"Viscountess," Jarrod Garcia bowed respectfully to Charlotte.
Charlotte nodded, then looked at John Rice.
"Viscountess..." John Rice said, his voice hoarse. "The people of Ambratu have suffered enough hardships. Please spare them..."
John Rice was not a fool. He knew that without Charlotte's tacit approval, Jarrod Garcia, as the defending general, would absolutely not dare to condone a riot in Ambratu so blatantly. He even suspected that Charlotte was the mastermind behind this riot.
Listening to John Rice's words, Charlotte laughed. She circled John Rice for a long while before slowly asking, "Mr. John Rice, I am very curious. When you say 'the people of Ambratu,' who exactly are you thinking of in your heart?"
John Rice froze on the spot, not knowing how to answer.
"If I guessed correctly, when you say 'the people of Ambratu,' you are thinking of the former citizens of the Ambratu City-State, aren't you?" Charlotte said.
John Rice's body trembled slightly.
"Back then, you persuaded me to treat the Ambratu people kindly, so I appointed you as the Governor of Ambratu County, letting you help me govern all the commoners of Ambratu," Charlotte continued. "But what about you? You still only regard yourself as an Elder of the Ambratu City-State. You still only think of those Ambratu citizens who once voted for you. In my territory, there is no distinction between citizens and freedmen; they are all just commoners. I appointed you as Governor hoping that the citizens and freedmen of the City-State era could bridge their conflicts and live in harmony. But..."
Charlotte paused for a moment before saying, "Mr. John Rice, you have completely failed my trust and expectations."
John Rice opened his mouth, and after a long while, he slowly said, "I... I am willing to accept any punishment."
John Rice knew that Charlotte was making him shoulder the primary blame for this riot, but he could only choose to accept it.
"There is no rush for your punishment. For the time being, you remain the Governor of Ambratu County. The work of soothing the populace and counting the casualties still requires you," Charlotte said. "In addition, for negligence of duty and failing to suppress the riot in time, Jarrod Garcia is removed from his post as Vice Battalion Commander and fined half a year's salary."
"Th..." This can be blamed on me too? Jarrod Garcia almost blurted it out, but meeting Charlotte's eyes, he swallowed the words back down and bowed his head. "Yes!"
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