Surrender, or die!

While Will sat in a damp ocean prison, he wondered if General vont Smith had already seized victory Durres.

A month ago, when Will arrived at Kukes, General vont Smith arrived at Durres with 12,000 troops.

Durres did not have a castle keep, and the city was not walled off. But there was a five-kilometer wall around the port, with a strong iron portcullis gate, and a thick wooden door. Durres marines and city guard's forfeited the city, to protect the port.

Before attacking the port, General vont Smith had his me sweep the city for traps and guerrilla rebels. Durres was the second-largest city in Albania. It took two weeks to sweep out insurgents and secure the city.

By the time Will arrived in Lezhe, Durres was under military control and martial law was in effect. The only thing left was to open the port.

The time worked well because King Roland had delivered the siege weapons the general requested.

General vont Smith looked at the fortified port wall, and informed the rebels, "to surrender, or die!"

When the Albanian rebels did not surrender, General vont Smith ordered his troops, catapults specialists, and mages to attack the walls.

Spells rain down on the wall only to dissolve.

"General, the port is under an array," a mage shouted.

"Keep attacking until the array crumbles," General vont Smith commanded.

The soldiers approached the wall, their siege ladders latched onto the wall. The soldiers began to climb to the battlements. Will other soldiers began ramming the door.

Unlike the walls of Tirana or Korce, which were expertly designed to prevent any blind spots, the port walls of Durres did not allow for proper coverage. That means the Fermion soldiers could inflict as much damage as they received.

The Albanian rebels began shooting arrows and throwing bricks at the invading Fermion army.

The first day of the battle was a bloodbath, and both sides inflicted as much damage as possible.

The ram was set ablaze when the Albanian poured oil from above the gatehouse and then dropped a torch.

With the ram destroyed, the soldiers double their effort on scaling ladders.

Due to the onslaught, the Albanians suffered greatly. If not for their superior position, they would have been overtaken in a few hours.

To reinforce the wall, they dispatched whatever armed forces they could muster to stave off Fermion's attack.

The Albanians believed they could last the siege. With the sea behind them, they had access to food, and the nearby warehouses had barrels of freshwater. With a wall, array, fresh water, and food, they believed they could outlast the siege.

All they had to do, was hold out until the Great Eastern Empire arrived. Regretfully, they learn too late the emperor rejected their pleas for military support.

When night came, the Fermion troops pulled back to the adjacent Durres barrack. On the first day of fighting, General vont Smith lost 450 soldiers.

"General, how many enemy troops do you suspect are behind the port wall?" asked an high ranking officer.

"I suspect there are close to 5,000, possibly as many as 7,000. It's hard to tell," General vont Smith replied.

"General, the mages are taking terms attacking the array, with the catapults. Is there any word on the Array Master's whereabouts?" A captain asked.

"No, not yet. The closest Array Master is in Gadreel. I imagine it shall take some time to transport him. Let's keep attacking, and assume one's not coming," General vont Smith advised.

'This will be a bloodbath that will surely affect the productivity of Durres for years to come,' the General sighed and thought to himself.

For the next three days, Fermion troops scaled the walls trying to retake Durres' port. Each time they were pushed back. Not once did the mages and catapults stop the bombardment.

General vont Smith sighed, four days his army fought the Albanian rebels with no success.

…

In Vlore, Colonel vont Valdez's army was equally not making progress. His army arrived at Vlore, a week later than General vont Smith arrived at Durres.

However, unlike the Durres, Vlore was a walled city. Even worse, Vlore's array was set not to allow visitors. All Colonel vont Valdez could do was wait until the array fell.

The Colonel and his 10,000 soldiers waited out the array to wipe out the rebels.

The commanders were quick to act and at once ordered their men to rush towards the wall with ladders in hand; they did not even have the time to build any siege weapons; as such, they could only hope to get over the wall with the use of ladders. Though the intensive fear was in the eyes of the peasant levies who felt as if the hand of God was crushing them beneath his grasp, they mustered the courage and tried to get close to the wall.

They were at once pushed back and Colonel vont Valdez put attacking the city on hold to build more siege equipment and catapults.

The colonel planned to finish building the ladders, catapults, and door battering ram.

"We'll wait for an Array Master, let's not them tire ourselves out," Colonel vont Valdez said.

He was in no rush. So long as he seized the city in the end, that's all that mattered. Moreover, by the time the Array Master came, his army would only need to clean up the remnants.

It was not like there was anyone else to stand against his army at that point. His army may make a valiant effort, but he was confident that he would win that fight. Unlike Durres, Vlore did have as many soldiers, nor as many professional solider.

Right now, no one else in Albania was strong enough or organized enough, to fight the Fermion army.

"Send men to keep an eye on the array, make sure that they don't come out to try and cause trouble," the colonel told his captains.

The colonel turned and ordered his officers to schedule a night watch. Colonel vont Valdez was not worried about such a small number of rebels, even if they were strong, but that did not mean that he wanted to lose his men.

"Yes sir," the captains responded before leaving to take a small contingent of light armored men with them.

…

"The battles should have started by now," King Roland said as he waited for the messengers he sent to return. Alongside him was a still energetic Duke vont Whitby.

"Yes, they should be here by now. I don't imagine much shall happen until an Array Master arrives, or the Great Eastern Empire," the Duke said.

"Hmph, do you don't believe the empire shall aid the rebels, do you?" the king asked.

"No, by now he knows we control almost the entire kingdom. It would be prudent to wait until the Sea Witch's replied. I hear the Orca Clan's navy is strongest. Who would choose to fight them to retake a defeated kingdom? It'd be madness," the Duke said.

"You think Will can get the treaty?" the king sounded impressed.

"He'll need it for his sea trading company. As long as our needs and his greed align, he'll work with us. Remember that. Did his letter arrive yet?" Duke vont Whitby replied.

"Yes, Western Albania has surrendered. Only the two port cities remain now," King Roland smiled.

"What did Will say? Did he ask for Lezhe?" the Duke asked curiously.

"No, he only reported the villages and cities surrendered without a fight," the king said.

"Your majesty," Bryson interrupted. He handed the king a letter on a gold platter.

"Dear uncle, both army have successfully seized the ports. And, it also appears we found a willing Array Master in Gadreel. Rupert vont Zeppelin, Will's Runemaster has agreed to help us for a price. More interesting, he's bringing his Elven Master with him," the king smiled.

"Two favorable pieces of information at the same time. Although, I must say, I'm not looking forward to meeting that Nuvian fellow again. I bought a sundial and space pouch, and he overcharged me. Thankfully, Will told me and was able to refund my money. That elf is a swindler," the Duke said.

"Ha-ha, I feel bad for that poor introvert Rupert to have such an ignoble master," the king laughed, amused by his uncle's story.

"Have you sent the summons for the nobles' congress. I'm sure all the nobles are nervously anticipating your redistricting," the Duke laughed.

"Yes, I cannot tell you how many pleasant letters, I've received asking for an expansion, exchange, or a different territory," the king said massaging his temples.