Kevin was almost sleepless the entire night, his heart torn between fleeing or staying to face the lord’s army with everyone else.
In the end, he decided to stand with the others, sure that the lord’s mansion would eventually send troops to suppress them, the only question being when.
After deciding to ‘negotiate’ with the lord yesterday, they were confident in their strength but knew the upcoming struggle wouldn’t be easy.
To gain an advantage, they stationed themselves in Faber Village, as their own village lacked substantial defensive structures. The fortifications used against pirates had been dismantled after their defeat.
Now, the only defensive structure they could find was the Baden family estate, practically a small fortress.
To prevent their families back home from getting involved, they sent messengers to the village overnight, instructing those left behind to hide in nearby forests or caves by the sea, a strategy they had employed previously when pirates threatened.
The smell of roasting meat wafted up from below the tower, and the yard was filled with laughter and chatter. With Baden gone, his livestock naturally fell into the villagers’ hands. Thus, they indulged in meat feasts, a rarity for most of them.
However, Kevin had no appetite, feeling that something bad would happen soon.
At dawn, he volunteered for guard duty and stayed at the top of the tower, coming down only when someone brought him bread, which he ate hurriedly.
Around 10 a.m., Kevin’s fears materialized as a troop appeared in his sight.
He immediately recognized them as the lord’s army, familiar with the discipline and formation of sailors from his trips to Port Fran.
Kevin rang the tower bell urgently, the agreed-upon alarm signal.
The bell’s continuous toll threw the yard into chaos. Although the villagers were mentally prepared to confront the lord’s army, fear gripped their hearts when the moment arrived.
“Don’t panic, everyone take your positions!”
“Grab your weapons, stay calm!”
“We are strong, we are invincible!”
The ‘commanders’ chosen the night before tried to rally their people, despite their own doubts.
After some commotion, the yard quieted down, and everyone watched silently from the walls as the army formed up in neat rows opposite the estate’s main gate.
“Oh, sir knight, please stand up for us.”
“Hang those rebels, help us reclaim our property.”
Several wealthy villagers from Faber pleaded tearfully with Quik.
The actions of Kevin and his group from another village had emboldened some daring locals in Faber. However, after entering the Baden estate, they could only scavenge leftovers. Once stirred, people’s emotions are hard to calm, and those unsatisfied targeted other wealthy villagers.
Fearing retaliation, those who had taken advantage of the chaos also joined the resistance at the estate.
“Rest assured, everyone. The lord will surely deliver a fair judgment,” Quik assured, as he had the wealthy villagers escorted away.
Then, he ordered a soldier with a loud voice to shout through a megaphone towards the people on the wall: “This is the final ultimatum from the lord’s mansion. Surrender immediately and submit to the lord’s judgment, or we will treat you as enemies!”
The response from the wall was, “We want to talk to the lord. We have some conditions we hope he will agree to.”
What? These rebels want to negotiate with the lord’s mansion?
The navy officers couldn’t help but laugh.
“We repeat, surrender unconditionally right now!”
“We won’t leave here until the lord agrees to our terms. Please send someone who has the authority to negotiate, and we promise not to harm them.”
Captain Quik frowned in silence, reminiscing about his life’s creed during his days as a pirate.
Seeing the captain lost in thought, the first mate coughed loudly and said, “Captain, the rebels have refused the ultimatum. We can attack now. The soldiers are ready, and our scouts haven’t detected any ambush.”
Quik snapped back to reality and then, as if making a firm decision, yelled, “Attack!”
The navy soldiers, lined up in rows, marched towards the Baden family’s wall, carrying ladders to scale the over two-meter-high barrier.
This included navy officer candidates like Kevin Alfred, who were sent to experience the battlefield atmosphere. Suppressing poorly armed rebels was seen as a suitable opportunity for them.
“Why won’t you surrender? Why not?” thought the young candidates, their strides firm but their hearts conflicted. Alan, for example, came from a salt farmer family and believed more in the narrative of the salt farmers being oppressed by landlords than in their tax revolt.
He knew well the impact of the salt fields on traditional salt farming, having grown up in that environment. But his long-term training in obedience led him to follow orders and attack the salt farmers.
Seeing the army approach without heeding their demands, the people on the wall panicked.
“What’s the panic? They’re only about a hundred. We outnumber them by far,” the ‘commanders’ reminded loudly.
“Hit them with slingshots!”
“Slash them with swords!”
A sporadic hail of stones flew towards the navy soldiers, hitting many.
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The officers regretted not bringing cannons to quickly reach the riot site, knowing that just a few shots could have demolished the dilapidated wall.
“Spread out, advance at a run!”
There was no need to maintain tight formation against such a disorganized crowd.
The slingshots’ accuracy plummeted, and the sailors quickly approached the wall. The first soldiers to arrive fired a volley, forcing those atop the wall to duck. Others threw hand grenades inside, and after the explosions and screams from within, the sailors quickly scaled the wall without waiting for ladders.
The battle was over quickly…