The mothers, desperate and weary, hoisted their children onto their backs — the youngest barely nine — and stumbled toward the Sentro's towering gates. Their trembling legs wobbled as the burden at their backs pressed down on them, while the other villagers watched helplessly.
Briella pursed her lips. She was done for. She did not understand how the situation became like that. It must be those two soldiers messing up with them. Should she escape? The mayor would not give her another chance.
She shouted to the women to come back. Her voice became hoarse, but the mothers continued to move toward the walled fortress.
Suddenly, a long, high-pitched blare pierced the air. The first trumpet sounded. It echoed from the North, cutting through the crowd's murmurs. Then came the second, from the West, and a third from the East, each sound sharper than the last. The villagers froze.
It was a signal. Estalis soldiers had attacked.
