Kapitel 339: Chapter 340: Chaos Breaks Out
Outside the eastern granary of Astapor, the crowd swarmed beneath a sea of torches.
The dim flames swayed in the night wind, casting fleeting shadows on the faces of the restless mob.
The air was thick with tension. People shouted and jostled, their collective agitation mounting to the brink of violence. It seemed as if, at any moment, they would storm the granary to seize the grain.
Yet the sight of the Unsullied—cold, expressionless, and immovable—held them at bay. These disciplined soldiers stood guard with their long spears, a living wall of order against the growing chaos.
The stalemate dragged on.
"Someone must lead the charge!" Lady Urho hissed, her sharp eyes locking onto Cleon.
Cleon understood her meaning immediately: she wanted him to lead the mob.
"Maybe we should wait a bit longer… until there are more people," Cleon suggested hesitantly.
Lady Urho's expression turned icy. She fixed him with a cold, piercing gaze.
"Do you want to remain a butcher forever? Or do you want to become a noble lord?"
"I…" Cleon clenched his teeth. Finally, he nodded. "Fine! I'll go!"
Before stepping forward, he grabbed her roughly and kissed her. Then, with newfound resolve, he pushed his way into the crowd.
The closer Cleon got to the front, the clearer he could see the Unsullied standing guard.
These unfeeling war machines didn't so much as flinch, even as the mob's feverish rage reached a boiling point.
Cleon hesitated. He knew that leading an attack would mean meeting the Unsullied's cold, unforgiving spears head-on.
But before he could figure out how to avoid becoming the first casualty, something unexpected happened:
The Unsullied began to withdraw.
The disciplined soldiers formed into ranks, turned away from the granary doors, and marched off, leaving the gates unguarded.
The Unsullied were gone.
Cleon broke into a broad grin. Leading a charge would no longer carry any risk.
But his excitement was short-lived. He quickly realized that with the Unsullied gone, he wouldn't need to lead at all.
The crowd surged forward in a tidal wave of desperation. Like a beast unleashed, they flooded toward the granary, pushing and shoving in their frantic rush to claim the grain.
However, the chaos soon spiraled out of control.
The absence of the Unsullied also meant the absence of order. In their frenzy to grab grain, people turned on each other, shoving and trampling those around them.
Those who managed to seize sacks of grain didn't get far. As they emerged from the granary, they were set upon by others, who beat them and stole their spoils.
The entrance to the granary quickly became a battleground, with people fighting viciously over every scrap of food.
Precious grain spilled onto the ground, where it was trampled and stained with blood, forgotten in the escalating madness.
Before long, the chaos spread like wildfire, consuming the entire city.
---
In the streets of Astapor, the unrest quickly devolved into unchecked anarchy.
Gangs of opportunistic criminals roamed the city, looting, killing, and burning as they pleased.
The turmoil overwhelmed the already strained forces of order. With the Unsullied focused on guarding the south gate, the other three gates were left unprotected. The gates were soon flung open, allowing desperate residents to flee.
Outside the city, the Company of the Cat and the Long Lances regrouped. When news of the riots reached them, they wasted no time launching a renewed assault on Astapor.
Within the city, Lady Urho and Cleon began to panic.
The scale of the riots far exceeded their expectations. From their carriage, they could see streets ablaze and mobs rampaging through the city. Shouts, screams, and cries of despair echoed all around.
"Where are the Unsullied?" Lady Urho demanded, her voice trembling despite her effort to appear composed.
"I… I don't know," Cleon stammered. Sweat dripped from his brow as he looked helplessly at the chaos around him.
They had hoped the Unsullied would confront the mob, maintaining a delicate balance of conflict and order. This would have kept the riots manageable while tying up the Unsullied, allowing the mercenary companies outside the city to break through.
But instead, the Unsullied had vanished entirely.
Who would quell the riots now? The mercenaries?
And where were the Unsullied? What were they doing?
Lady Urho realized, with growing dread, that events had spiraled far beyond her control.
---
Gillot, the leader of the Long Lances, also recognized the unexpected escalation of chaos.
When the city gates were opened, he led his cavalry into Astapor, expecting to encounter skirmishes between the Unsullied and rioters. Instead, he was met with a mob of rabid civilians, some of whom were deranged enough to attack his troops.
After his initial shock, Gillot ordered his men to suppress the rioters.
The Long Lances were under contract to help the old nobles regain control of Astapor. Allowing the mob to destroy the city would harm their reputation as a mercenary company.
Mounted squadrons charged down the streets, their gleaming lances cutting through the crowd without hesitation. Gillot's men showed no mercy as they massacred rioters in a grim attempt to restore order.
---
Meanwhile, Bloodbeard and his Company of the Cat faced similar chaos as they stormed the city from another direction.
Seeing the extent of the disorder, Bloodbeard cursed the old nobles for their incompetence but reluctantly ordered his men to join the fight against the rioters.
However, quelling a riot was easier said than done.
While inciting chaos was relatively straightforward, suppressing it required overwhelming force—and neither mercenary company had the manpower or resources to bring the situation under control.
With only around two thousand mercenaries between them, the Companies of the Cat and the Long Lances were hopelessly outnumbered by the tens of thousands of frenzied rioters.
The carnage grew worse by the hour, and the mercenaries' casualties mounted alongside those of the mob.
---
Near the granary in the city's eastern district, the scene was particularly dire.
Lady Urho's carriage, surrounded by her guards, was under siege from a mob of rioters.
"We need to hold them back!" one guard shouted as he slashed at the advancing crowd, cutting down several attackers.
But for every rioter who fell, more took their place, their bloodlust unrelenting.
Surrounded on all sides, the guards were being overwhelmed.
"Stand back!" Cleon bellowed, shoving his way through the throng to reach the carriage. "Do you know who this is? This is Lady Urho, the widow of the noble Lord Ghiscari! How dare you lay a hand on her!"
Hearing this, Lady Urho's face turned pale.
Idiot!
She cursed Cleon silently, her heart sinking.
As soon as the mob learned of her connection to the late noble, their frenzy intensified.
Red-eyed and screaming, they surged forward, throwing themselves at the carriage in a blind fury.
(End of Chapter)
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
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Rangliste 
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Stein