Chapter 113 – The 'Rescue' of Dolaiz City

As time passed, the silhouette of Doleiz City grew increasingly distinct. The city had lost its former tranquility, with tens of thousands of refugees trapped outside its gates. Torches lining the walls illuminated the night sky, their dim flames casting elongated shadows of weary refugees.

“Let us in! Why won’t you let us in? We’re not sick!”

“We beg you, allow us entry!”

“At least… at least give us some food. My child hasn’t eaten for two days!”

The refugees who had trekked long distances to reach Doleiz City arrived starving and exhausted. Instead of receiving sympathy from the city’s residents, they were met with tightly shut gates that spoke only of rejection and indifference.

Cold-faced soldiers stood guard on the walls with drawn bows, having made it clear they would shoot any “rioter” daring to approach the gates.

By order of Hett, Minister of Internal Affairs of Doleiz City, all gates had been sealed, prohibiting any rioters from entering.

“What’s happening? Why haven’t we entered the city yet?”

At this moment, Knight Commander Kaiskaser arrived at the walls of Doleiz City with the final group of refugees. By now, approximately twenty thousand refugees had fled the plague-stricken areas. Seeing their only savior—Knight Commander Kaiskaser—appear, their weeping intensified abruptly.

“Commander, Lord Hett won’t allow us to enter the city!”

“That’s right! And we’ve run out of food. Our families are all starving now.”

“Have mercy on us! Little Rolaya is only five years old…”

Hearing the refugees’ pleas, Kaiskaser finally understood the situation. Unable to contain his anger, he strode to the city gates, channeled his Battle Aura to its fullest, and roared at Hett with a voice that thundered across the walls:

“Hett! Show yourself! I know you’re on the wall! Why are you denying these refugees entry?”

Hett, who had been hiding in the castle enjoying songstresses’ performances, heard the voice that echoed across a section of the wall clearly. Several friendly Family Heads of Nobles beside him turned to look at him with mocking smiles, causing the highly image-conscious Minister of Internal Affairs’ face to contort with rage.

“Lord Hett, the Knight Commander is waiting for you. Best not keep him waiting too long,” a middle-aged Noble remarked with a smirk.

“And don’t forget to hide that batch of grain. These lowlifes might be fleeing disaster, but they’re carrying plenty of valuables,” another portly Noble reminded Hett through a mouthful of torn chicken, chewing as he spoke.

“Hmph! I don’t need your reminders. Just keep a close watch on that bullying Minohorn Merchant Guild. I’ll handle everything else!” Hett shot a venomous glare at the Nobles feasting on delicacies, then slapped down a nearby songstress before turning to exit.

That Kaiskaser would publicly humiliate him like this made the resentment in Hett’s heart surge once more.

In the view of Doleiz City’s Nobles, these refugees absolutely could not be allowed inside. Aside from their potential to carry the plague, the relief supplies needed for their shelter would amount to an astronomical sum—money that would inevitably come from the Nobles’ own pockets.By then, any noble who refused to pay would be labeled as “an evil and tyrannical noble,” and adventurers from the righteous factions would immediately “uphold justice and rid the people of harm.” No matter how you looked at it, the refugees were a major problem for the nobles and had to be kept outside the city at all costs.

Of course, the nobles’ perspective was utterly unacceptable to the rigidly righteous Knight Commander, so he unhesitatingly stepped forward to speak for the refugees, even if it meant opposing all the nobles of Konola City.

“Hett, are you still a loyal servant of the Heide Family? How can you abandon twenty thousand refugees? Have you forgotten the ancient teachings of the Heide Family?”

As the night deepened and the weather grew colder, many refugees continued to endure the biting wind, waiting for the Doleiz City officials to provide an explanation. Kaiskaser grew increasingly furious and anxious—Doleiz City was now their only hope.

It wasn’t until the three moons had risen to mid-sky that Hett finally ascended the city wall, accompanied by several guards.

“Knight Commander Kaiskaser, though I share your concern for the people, I must consider the hundreds of thousands in the city and the Lord’s interests. If even one infected person slips through, it would spell disaster for everyone. You cannot ignore the bigger picture!”

Standing on the city wall, Hett bore no trace of his usual cunning and ruthlessness. Instead, he appeared every bit the tragic hero, willing to shoulder infamy for the greater good.

But Kaiskaser had long seen through his facade. He immediately retorted sternly:

“These refugees have all been rigorously inspected by the City Guard. They are all healthy, uninfected villagers. I swear on my honor as a knight that they pose no danger. Will that suffice?”

“Knight Commander, it’s not that I distrust you, but this matter is of utmost importance. The Lord has specifically ordered strict inspections. Surely you wouldn’t disregard the Lord’s command?”

“You…”

Hett’s shameless words left Kaiskaser momentarily speechless with rage. But he took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to curse, and nearly pleaded:

“Fine, at least provide these people with some hemp cloth to build shelters and some food to fill their stomachs.”

With Hett invoking the Lord’s authority, Kaiskaser had no rebuttal. The Lord’s command was nominally absolute, and no matter how much Kaiskaser cared for the people, he could not defy it.

Watching this scene unfold from the wall, Hett sneered inwardly. By the time the Knight Commander urgently sought an audience with the Lord, he would find that the easily tempted Gollat was too engrossed with two fox-eared maids “imported” from the West Wildlands to meet with the preachy Knight Commander. As for the nobles, they had united in a show of inaction.

“Doleiz City is mine. You, so-called Knight Commander, are nothing.”

That was the thought in Hett’s mind.

“Though those two fox-eared maids were really expensive.”

Hett grimaced at the memory of the cost, then turned and descended the wall without so much as a glance at the twenty thousand despairing refugees.Thus, under the “generous” relief from the nobles of Doleiz City, over twenty thousand homeless refugees received merely two thousand “pieces” of sour, stinking rags. They had to gather branches themselves to build makeshift tents, with over ten people crammed into each one.

The “relief” food provided by Doleiz City consisted of dry bread mixed with sawdust. Most importantly, these loaves had to be purchased by the refugees themselves—at prices higher than white bread.

When Kaiskaser angrily confronted the agricultural official managing the food supplies, the latter righteously declared: “There’s no such thing as free bread. If you want to eat, you must pay—that’s only natural.”

As a result, apart from a few priests from the Benevolent God Church and some fearless professionals willing to aid the pitiful refugees, the other residents of Doleiz City maintained an attitude of detached indifference.

Under such circumstances, the refugees had no choice but to set up their makeshift camps, soaking the sawdust-filled bread in water and forcing themselves to swallow the bitter meal.

Though Bilan and Dichiduo were required to stay away from the refugee camp, they were assigned a tent made of thick felt and even received white bread specially delivered by Kaiskaser for their dinner.

Bilan nestled in Dichiduo’s embrace. Her bones were growing brittle, yet with Dichiduo by her side, she felt remarkably free from fear and sorrow.

“By tomorrow, the people of Doleiz City should have gathered enough supplies to launch proper relief efforts. And Mr. Kaiskaser will surely persuade the Lord to allow the refugees into the city. Refugee rescue teams from other territories of the Dillon Kingdom are probably already on their way. These people will soon find new homes. Everything, everything will definitely get better!”

Dichiduo gazed hopefully at the refugees lying on the ground like walking corpses, comforting himself with these words.

“Yes, it certainly will!”

Bilan, who had seen through the cruel nature of the nobles, knew Dichiduo’s hopes were naive fantasies. Other territories wouldn’t permit a single refugee to cross their borders. The only thing Doleiz City would unite in doing was finding ways to rid themselves of these refugees. But she merely parted her lips slightly, ultimately saying nothing more.

(End of Chapter)