"Clang!"

The hand-and-a-half sword precisely flicked the clothesline, plunged into the citizen's chest with a thud.

The tall, masked armored warrior lifted his leg, intending to kick the citizen in the stomach.

His leg lifted but did not strike; a hooked spear was already lodged in his collarbone, pulling the masked warrior onto his back.

Picking up the iron club, the Night Watcher jabbed it into the warrior's face, causing an eyeball to burst like mashed pulp.

On the other side, a member of the Military Police drew his saber, lifting the chain mail to gut him.

Yet before the saber fell, a crossbow arrow shot over, hitting the calf.

"Ah, you son of a bitch!"

The military officer screamed in pain but gritted his teeth and pierced the heart of the masked warrior before him.

"Are you alright?" The captain of the Military Police from the Advisory Council pushed through the fleeing crowd, jogging over.

The soldier swiftly cut open the flesh with a small knife, extracting the arrow: "...I'm fine, just need to bandage it."

From behind a fallen round table, the Military Police captain pursed his lips and peeked out, looking around; the square was now chaotic, like a boiling pot.

"The Leia people are here!"

"The Salvation Army is back, trying to kill us!"

"Run, run!"

The surging, screaming crowd collided, tearing down straw shelters by the street, people scattering like headless flies.

In the crowd, at least a hundred masked, chain-mailed strongmen were indiscriminately killing, causing chaos and obstruction.

The smell of burning in the air intensified the fear.

From the corner of the street, nearly a hundred more robust, masked chain-mailed strongmen emerged.

If one were to look at the whole dock area, they'd find at least five to six hundred of these extraordinary warriors causing destruction.

If including those opportunistic hooligans and hired thugs, nearly fifteen hundred people were rampaging.

This time, the remaining nobles of the Thousand River Valley had spared no expense, bringing forth their hidden forces.

Yet not used against the frontline invaders, but to create chaos in the rear.

Their seemingly chaotic actions were crystal clear in the eyes of the Military Police captain experienced in multiple anti-riot operations.

They were targeting three directions: one was the unloading/loading area in the dock zone, another was the Saintess Bank and trading post.

The final direction, with the most extraordinary warriors, was towards the assembly of representatives in the plaza.

"I always said we should hang all the nobles; these devil's lapdogs!" The Military Police captain shouted toward the stage, clenching his teeth. "The crowd's almost cleared, cover the representatives and priests' retreat!"

Under Mitney's protection and with some ordinary representatives, dozens of Military Police and Night Watchers wielded holy guns and hooked spears, battling the masked warriors.

Lead and crossbow arrows occasionally shot out, amidst thuds and gasps, a person screamed and fell.

Forming a small circle, the representatives wielded shields, encircling Ge Angqi, resembling a little boat amidst the surging tide, bobbing up and down.

Despite the swift reaction, they were still blocked by the crowd, unable to move faster than a crawl down the street.

"Where did they come from? Mitney, Carl, is this your stabilizing strategy?" Ge Angqi shrank his head in distress, unable to hide his urgency and anger in his words.

Mitney, holding a round shield, retorted unwaveringly: "I told you earlier, the Military Police and Night Watchers are insufficient, unable to control Rapids City completely." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"No Defensive Army?" A representative from elsewhere, holding a round shield, his face full of distress.

"It was proposed to train them earlier, but wasn't it resisted by the guilds and ultimately denied by the Advisory Council?"

Ge Angqi suddenly fell silent.

At the time, he compromised his policy, fearing to tear things apart, heeding the guilds.

"These ungrateful rats!" He already knew about the guild's sabotage behind the scenes, his breath catching, nearly fainting.

"What about Cheka?" Someone else asked.

"I initially invited Commissioner Griz to settle in, but didn't some oppose it, fearing Cheka's indiscriminate arrests?"

More people broke into cold sweats.

Those overseas representatives, after listening, finally understood: "You Rapids City representatives, what were you doing all this time? Turns out Rapids City's emptiness was your doing."

"Don't tell me you took fifty thousand Dinar from the Leia people?"

"Don't falsely accuse us!"

Before the external battle was over, the circle showed faint signs of internal conflict.

Just then, another breathless Night Watcher arrived.

Mitney hurriedly asked: "Is the turret under control?"

"Mr. Carl has control over the turret."

Before the words settled, as if to evidence the messenger, two successive thuds sounded in the dock direction, followed by cries echoing the sky.

"How's the situation outside now?" Ge Angqi pursued urgently.

"The mob is around a thousand strong, many of whom can ride horses, likely former nobles or stewards and Armed Farmers turned Hundred Households Captains..."

"Can nobles mobilize that many people?" Ge Angqi asked, incredulous.

"A lot are local hooligans, but I saw..." The messenger glanced at Ge Angqi's grim expression, not continuing.

"Saw what?"

"I saw many of the rioters were guild mercenaries, even a lot from the dye-printing guilds..."

Before the informant finished, someone interrupted.

As dissatisfaction brewed, everyone froze, following the direction pointed by the interrupter.

Just ahead, on the street they were fleeing from, dozens of Knights were galloping towards them on warhorses.