Retaking The City

The surrounding witnesses went wide eyed and slack jawed. What exactly did they just hear? Daren Forolan kissed and ran? Oh, my! Even Stallesso raised an eyebrow at those words. Indeed, his grandson was not a child anymore. He was already interested in intimate actions now.

Daren's face became hot as he remembered his sudden exit. He was so excited that he pulled Aayla into his arms. Then, he kissed her forehead before running off. Now that his sanity returned, he really wronged Miss Glowery. No wonder she was so mad.

"I'm sorry, I was just so excited. I should have asked for your permission first."

The crowd instantly misinterpreted what Daren said. He truly liked that young lady in many ways~. Stallesso immediately stepped forward to calm the situation. Today was truly a happy yet sorrowful day. His eldest grandson might get married off soon.

Miss Glowery wasn't what he always expected for his grandson, but Daren liked her. Stallesso watched Aayla with his own eyes for many weeks. She was a level-headed, intelligent and extremely private young lady. More importantly, she had Ramona Heston's backing.

Stallesso sighed as he sensed Aayla's rage. The road to pursuing a wife was long when she was angry and a bit dense. He was just glad that his foolish grandson finally showed interest in someone. Especially since she wasn't an obnoxious, gold-digging, self-centered shrew like a certain arrogant young lady.

"Daren, I'll let you accompany me to Dor City. Chris will naturally come with, and I'm assuming that Miss Vhassohrin and Miss Glowery will as well. All of you are wizards in training with exceptional skills and reputations. The military can always use such help."

He quietly pushed Daren towards Aayla.

"My dear grandson, please make amends to Miss Glowery for any wrongs you may have committed against her," Grandfather Forolan whispered. "Start by giving a gift. What does she like? Ladies usually like sweets, flowers and shiny things. Those aren't readily available right now, so be creative! Magical artifacts and materials would be a good choice."

The Halcyon Guards quickly escorted the pair away after Stallesso gave them a look. He patted one guard on the back before lowering his voice again.

"Let's keep this quiet for their reputations. Send the word to have their luggage packed."

All luggage was packed just before the North Beti reinforcements arrived at Cuoq. The combined forces set out that night. Only the absolute minimum number of troops were left inside the city for its protection.

The trip to Dor City flew by quickly. Unlike normal horses and wagons used by civilians, the military had swift magical beasts and magically enhanced wagons instead. They cut down the travel time by one third. When they arrived, the Odalan army had surrounded the city.

Magical beasts with tight silver collars clashed with soldiers on the ground and wizards in the air. The walls of Dor City were heavily damaged, and the city's barrier wasn't deployed. The True Order kept the civilians inside their homes, but didn't seem to care about them otherwise.

The terrorists didn't hold back while fighting near the residential areas. Odalan soldiers cursed their ancestors up to eighteen generations for being so shameless and vicious. They had no choice but to block the attacks that would have killed civilians.

Originally, the Odalan army was pushed into a passive position. Civilian casualties had to be minimized. That must be why the terrorists hiding out in Odala became so bold. However, the tides of battle changed with the new reinforcements.

To say that Stallesso was furious was an understatement. This situation could have been solved long ago if the True Order hadn't basically forced the civilians to be shields. When he arrived at the battlefield, the enemy forces quickly retreated behind the wall.

They even dragged children, without magical talent of course, on top of the wall. Everyone could see the True Order's threat without them voicing it out loud. Their jeering faces were sickening. Unfortunately, they miscalculated. Such petty tricks couldn't stop Stallesso. They only made him angry.

There was a distinct difference in strength between the City Lords of the major settlements. Halcyon was among the top five, while Dor was average at best. After defeating the Dor City Lord, the True Order agents in the city had become too arrogant for their own good.

For three days and nights Stallesso carefully studied the layout of the city. The rat leading the terrorists stayed holed up inside the City Lord's manor. Since he wouldn't come out, Stallesso decided to go in. Before that, the hostages had to be rescued.

The team was put to work while Stallesso fine-tuned his plans. During those three days, Daren drew magic formation after magic formation on scrolls. Aayla assisted him by gathering the necessary materials and the completed scrolls. Chris and Jacki took the completed scrolls to place throughout the city.

On the fourth day, everything was ready. The military forces once again attacked the city, as if to test the True Order's resolve. The battle ended quickly, with only a few children rescued from along the walls. The insurgents smugly believed that the flow of battle was in their grasp.

That evening, the children were brought back inside the walls after days of standing on top of it. The insurgents forced them to stay outside just behind the walls in case they needed to be brought back up immediately. As the children shivered in the cold, a chance had finally arrived.

In the wee hours of the morning, Stallesso began his plan while the occupiers were the most inattentive. The magic formations in the scrolls activated. Soldiers quietly teleported into the city. Insurgent guards were taken down in the darkness. Alarms were smothered and information relays were cut off.

Another silent attack was launched on the walls, but the insurgents didn't realize that their messages didn't make it to their leaders. Wizards on the military's side scrambled all magical communications. The walls fell in minutes after the military also struck from behind.

The children were rescued, and civilians were evacuated in the middle of the night. As the people streamed out of the city, some agents further inside wised up to the situation. Lights gleamed through the darkness as the inner city began to wake up.

With their cover essentially blown, the military discarded stealth for striking power. They had to finish the battle quickly before the insurgents started attacking indiscriminately. Stallesso personally paid the City Lord's manor a personal visit.

From outside the walls, the city seemed to light up like fireworks exploded on the ground. Brightly colored glows lit up the buildings. The evacuated civilians stood transfixed as they watched the battle move into their city for the first time.

The transfixed civilians started blocking the retreat route, so they were pushed to move. With his grandfather in the city, Daren took control over the Halcyon Guards. Well, the captain issued commands while Daren silently agreed.

All they could do was maintain order while the civilians evacuated. The evacuation grew more chaotic as the battle went on. Violence escalated as they realized that the military had seized victory. Insurgents started mixing in with the evacuees to escape or cause trouble.

Chris stayed close to Daren as they guided the evacuees. Daren's inexperience was obvious, but he grew more used to the situation as the battle wore on. Suddenly, the battle inside came to a screeching halt. Cheers emerged from the inner city. News came quickly that Stallesso Forolan had won.

Trussed up like a chicken, the insurgent commander was thrown into the city's dungeons along with all of his aides and officers that still breathed. They would be tried in a court of law after everything had calmed down.

The Dor City Lord and the heir apparent had perished, so Stallesso was forced to take control until a new City Lord could be appointed. The civilians were let back into their homes after the remaining insurgents were killed, captured or fled.

Alcohol and good food were brought out as the civilians celebrated their new freedom. The victors quickly moved into the city for clean up and security. Daren rushed to the City Lord's manor with the team to see his grandfather.

"Grandfather, are you alright?"

"Haha, this old man is fine. Good work on those scrolls, Daren. They really helped out the army this time. Innello and Rebecca will be so proud when they hear of this."

Stallesso patted his grandson's head as he showered praise on him.

"So, I did good right?"

"Yes. Very good. You're still a bit inexperienced, but grandpa will help you fix that. We can talk about what you did well and need to improve on later."

"But I can still take care of myself and fulfill my duties." Daren pouted.

"As long as you keep yourself out of any large battles, young master." One of the Halcyon Guards interjected. "Your strong points lie in research, not combat. Just let us take care of that."

The other guards nodded as Daren's pout turned into a sly grin.

"Then, as long as you all accompany me, I'm good enough to go on the mission to Halcyon, right?"