The next morning was sunny, and Flavia had hardly slept during the night. Rhadam and Marek had already begun organizing their troops as the first light of day broke. Soon, news arrived that Jhadol's ships had docked at the harbor.
Jhadol had arrived at the shores of Artel City with two ships. As the ships docked, the soldiers began disembarking one by one. The sight of the soldiers descending from the ships filled the hearts of the soldiers who were there to welcome the Admiral with a great sense of confidence. Jhadol, true to his reputation, had trained his soldiers with great discipline. The naval soldiers, dressed in white uniforms, quickly filled the entire dock. Jhadol also disembarked from his ship and, leading his soldiers, started marching towards the camp area, accompanied by the soldiers who greeted him at the dock.
Rhadam was the first to greet Jhadol when he and his men reached the camp area. "Welcome, my friend," Rhadam said in a friendly manner.
"It seems you've also come to greet me on the roads," Jhadol replied, and the two comrades embraced each other warmly. Then Marek appeared. "It seems you didn't have time to shave this morning," Marek said with a cold expression. Jhadol responded with the same seriousness. "Have you gained some weight?" After scrutinizing each other with seriousness, the two commanders suddenly burst into laughter, which amused not only them but also the soldiers. After a brief courtesy exchange that allowed each of them to pass, the three commanders began walking towards Flavia. They reached the front of her tent, where Jhadol had encountered the security barrier of the Shinrals.
"You'll get used to it over time," Marek advised.
When they entered the tent, Flavia was examining a piece of paper. Upon seeing Jhadol, he folded the paper and put it in the pocket of his cloak, then stood up. "Lady."
"Welcome, Jhadol. I hope your journey wasn't too exhausting because I won't give you much chance to rest."
"I'm always ready to obey your orders, Lady."
"Good. There will be a meeting with Pauly this afternoon. While we're away for the meeting, you'll stay here and take command of the army."
Jhadol heard Flavia's voice in such an authoritative manner for the first time. Moreover, he seemed to have already established his superiority in the environment. Although he was Flarka's brother, he was amazed at how he could overshadow Rhadam and Marek to such an extent. He calmly lowered his head, but before he could respond, Marek interjected.

"Lady, Rhadam is more experienced in land battles. It would be healthier for Rhadam to stay in command of the army," Marek said. His tone indicated that he was not pleased with the decision that had been made.

"As you command," Marek said quietly, biting his lower lip. Jhadol was quite disturbed by Marek's outburst. Although he glanced in Marek's direction in a challenging manner, Marek was looking down at the time and didn't notice Jhadol's gaze. Rhadam, seemingly unable to make sense of the situation, glanced at Marek before turning back to Flavia. Flavia, without paying attention to the minor tension that had occurred, invited everyone to gather around the table.

"If there are no further objections, let's review our war strategy. The city is quite large. Marek, you'll march to the southern part of the city with 300 soldiers. There's no need for an immediate attack. As long as you're there, they won't be able to pull their troops towards the main point of our attack. And due to their smaller numbers, they won't be able to hold us back with half their strength. When we enter the city, we'll send you a signal. That's when you'll launch the assault. Is there anything you'd like to add?"

"Lady, there are two warships waiting at the harbor, ready to move at any moment. If they try to escape by sea, we can strike them down before they can get far from the shore," Jhadol said, pointing to the harbor on the map in front of them.
"Excellent. Then we can set out now," Flavia said. She was pleased with Jhadol's initiative. "When we return to the capital, I must inform my brother about this," she added, giving herself some advice in her own thoughts. At that moment, Rhadam spoke up:

"There's something I don't understand. Pauly is not a fool; he knows he's outnumbered. The city is not considered to be very close to the coast. Why did he initiate such a rebellion? There must be something he's relying on," he said curiously.

"Lady, I know the Shinrals take orders only from you, but if we lose contact with you on the battlefield, there should still be someone they can take orders from."

Marek also supported this idea. Flavia called Ateş, the most senior among the Shinrals. Shinra warriors were generally known for their silence. However, Ateş couldn't speak at all. Flavia had given him the name "Ateş" when he was twelve years old, based on his fiery gaze. Flavia told them that if they couldn't reach her, for now, they should consider Jhadol as their second in command. After slightly bowing his head, Ateş returned to his place.

Then Flavia, Rhadam, and Marek, accompanied by three more soldiers, began walking towards the High Grove. Although Rhadam insisted on selecting warriors from the Shinrals as their companions, Flavia did not accept this. She didn't want the Shinrals to be seen by too many unfamiliar eyes. Around noon, both sides appeared almost simultaneously in the grove. Pauly had brought three unarmed soldiers as stated in the letter. Razor was standing right beside him, silently surveying the surroundings. Flavia recognized him immediately. He was the commander who had attempted to attack Flarka when he was in the city. He had an expressionless face.

Flavia was struggling to hold herself back from attacking. If it weren't for her brother's request, she would prefer to launch a direct attack. But for now, she had to proceed with this meeting. At least, she wanted to finish the conversation as quickly as possible. "As I mentioned in the letter, I also have some demands, Lady. Just as the war is not in your favor, it's not in my favor either. You know that many traders from foreign countries come to my city. One day, a group of traders from Alkar entered the city. I found out that one of them was a spy. They offered me a considerable amount of money for my cooperation, and I accepted their offer. Give me the region, and I'll grant them the right to trade in my territory and provide you with the information I've learned." While Pauly spoke, he looked at Flavia with his usual smile. Flavia looked at him with disgust and replied:

"I came here to arrest you, not to cooperate with you. You snake! You're even willing to sacrifice the future of our country for trade deals! What kind of traitor are you?"

"I am a businessman, Lady," he said with a careless attitude. Knowing that he would provoke Flavia by saying this, he also didn't forget to open his arms wide. He had achieved his goal. Flavia angrily called out to the soldiers next to her:

"I've had enough of this nonsense, we're turning back," she said, and just as she was about to turn around, she felt a numbness in her body. When she brought her hand to his neck, she realized that a needle was stuck in her neck. She saw the hidden soldier among the trees and turned to Rhadam in fear. Rhadam and Marek had drawn their swords and stood in front of Flavia.

Rhadam cursed and moved towards Pauly when suddenly he felt a burning sensation in his stomach. Flavia let out a cry of pain and tried to take a step forward, struggling with her numbed body, but she fell to her knees. The drug in the needle was rapidly taking effect.

When Rhadam lowered his eyes, he faced a sword piercing through his stomach. He turned around to see who had stabbed him with the sword and locked eyes with Marek, a single tear streaming down his face.
"Why?" he asked breathlessly. Marek didn't reply, he just held onto his sword. Rhadam grabbed onto Marek's arm and barely managed to breathe as he asked again.

"You weren't supposed to be here, my friend. I tried hard for you not to be here, but none of you listened to me. You didn't leave their side, and they didn't leave yours. I'm sorry, my friend, I'm truly sorry."

Rhadam fell slowly to the ground, muttering "Why" as he took his last breath, while Flavia, trying to regain control over her numbed body, crawled forward with screams. Rhadam looked into Flavia's eyes and passed away with teary eyes. Flavia started crying, pulling out her dagger and crawling towards Marek when a rider emerged from the trees and knocked her unconscious with a blow from a staff to her head.

Just then, an arrow struck the rider who had hit Flavia. Another arrow came from among the trees, followed by another. And at that moment, another arrow swiftly came and pierced Razor's neck. As Razor suffered in agony and died, everyone present froze in fear. Pauly shouted, "What's happening? Who's attacking?"

Meanwhile, more mounted soldiers emerged from among the trees, and four of the soldiers dismounted and handed their horses over to Pauly. "Quick, crawl towards the shore!" Pauly shouted, starting to ride without even looking back. Marek, carrying the unconscious Flavia on his back, mounted the horse given to him and glanced at Rhadam one last time before riding after Pauly."
Arrows were being shot consecutively from the forest behind them, and with each wave of arrows, at least two soldiers lost their lives. Marek caught a glimpse of silhouettes running among the trees but couldn't determine their numbers.

At t he forefront of the Shinra warriors was Ateş, who had secretly followed Flavia under Jhadol's instruction. Witnessing the betrayal, Ateş was pursuing the traitors with great anger, but the horses were fast, creating an increasing gap. Ateş quickly climbed onto a small rock, drew his bow, and after taking aim for a short while,

He released his arrow. The arrow hit Marek's shoulder with great speed. Ateş then drew another arrow from his quiver and attached a perforated iron tip to it before shooting it towards the camp area. The arrow whistled as it fell near the area where Jhadol was waiting. Jhadol couldn't make sense of the sound at first, but he understood that he needed to take action and ordered his men to proceed in a crescent-shaped formation with a large group.

The Shinra warriors continued their pursuit through the forest, trying not to lose sight of their targets. It didn't take long for Jhadol's forces to catch up with the warriors. When Jhadol came across Rhadam's lifeless body on the ground, he fiercely spurred his horse forward. Each rider in Jhadol's group took a Shinra warrior behind them, and the chase continued at high speed. Shortly thereafter, Pauly came back into view. Ateş drew his bow and signaled for Jhadol to lean forward. Jhadol complied and Ateş released his arrow. However, Pauly had not yet entered the range.

As Pauly approached the shore, the distance between them and their pursuers shortened even more. Realizing that escape was no longer possible, Pauly ordered the city's army to come out. However, this was a bad idea because as soon as the armies exposed their heads above the walls, they were bombarded with a rain of arrows from the royal army. The city was under a siege from all sides, and no one could leave. Moreover, with no one in the city capable of commanding the army, the soldiers were left stranded behind the walls, unsure of what to do.

When the Shinra determined that the distance was sufficient, they drew their bows. The warriors riding in front of them leaned forward, providing them with the necessary space, and without any signal, all the warriors simultaneously released their arrows. However, the path leading to the shore was an open space, and the wind reduced the speed of the arrows, causing them to miss their targets. The archers tightened their bows again. Although Jhadol thought that shooting arrows would be in vain, he didn't object and also leaned forward. This time, the majority of the arrows hit their mark. Jhadol couldn't believe his eyes. He was seeing the Shinra warriors for the first time on the battlefield, and he realized that their reputation was not in vain. It was almost impossible for a team to maintain such a high level of accuracy in gauging the distance and intensity of the wind on the first attempt, and he had just witnessed it firsthand. Seeing the reliable warriors by their side, the team rode their horses with even greater determination.