The Dust Settles

Inside Deva Castle, Hunyadi's face was grim as he crumpled the letter in his hand and angrily threw it into the fireplace.

This was the third letter he had received in as many days, and without exception, their contents urged him to accept his fate and surrender the city to avoid a massacre when it fell.

His brother wrote to persuade him, his former subordinates wrote to persuade him, and now even his most trusted ally, Archbishop Vitez, had written to persuade him.

The Emperor, on the other hand, had not written this time, which only showed his firm stance.

Hunyadi knew that once Deva fell, there would be no other outcome for him but death.

Therefore, for the sake of his ambition and desires, he would rather drag the entire city down with him.

In these past few days, a considerable number of soldiers and residents had secretly escaped through the mountain paths under the cover of night.

At first, Hunyadi tried to prevent people from escaping, so as not to continuously weaken the city's defenses.

However, as the daily food rations dwindled, everyone who wanted to live was unwilling to remain in this doomed city.

Many people fled into the mountains with all their belongings, which allowed the mountain bandits to make a fortune.

Some attempted to escape to Hunyadi Castle via small paths; they were caught by the Croatian army ambushed there, had all their property confiscated, and were dealt with on the spot, or sold in batches to slave traders.

Ultimately, only less than three thousand residents and remnants of the rebel army remained in the city.

They had completely run out of ammunition and food, and in the subsequent fierce attack launched by the Emperor's grand army, Deva quickly fell.

The Austro-Hungarian Army, serving as the main force in the siege, swiftly passed through the city, intending to surround Deva Castle at the edge of the mountains.

Seeing that the tide had turned, Hunyadi knew that holding out in the castle was a dead end, and fleeing into the deep mountains offered no escape either, so he decided to risk leading his remaining hundred or so personal guards to break through towards Hunyadi Castle via a small path.

As long as he could reach there, he had not yet failed!

The darkness before dawn, like white paper soaked in ink, pressed heavily on the mountain ridge.

The winding mountain path was like a snake, and night dew condensed on the flowers and plants by the roadside, emitting a cold, eerie light.

Piles of withered leaves trembled slightly by the path, and a few leaves swirled, caught by the airflow.

Hurried footsteps broke the silence as Hunyadi led the remnants of his defeated army, fleeing towards his family castle.

The surrounding darkness made his soul tremble, prompting him to continuously quicken his pace, even though his followers beside him were already panting.

He knew there would be an ambush on this road, but he had no choice; running into the mountains was a dead end, while running to his old home still offered a glimmer of hope.

Just as he was filled with doubt, wondering where an enemy squad might suddenly appear, he rounded a corner.

What greeted him were archers standing ready in the bushes by the roadside.

They held finely crafted Genoa crossbows, and the moment they saw the enemy, several crossbow bolts were fired at an extremely fast speed.

Two crossbow bolts pierced Hunyadi's breastplate, and another struck him squarely in his left eye.

Hunyadi fell from his horse and quickly lost his life.

The rebels who were still willing to follow him in his final moments engaged in a fierce and tragic battle with the Croatian army ambushed there, ultimately being completely annihilated.

The battle concluded within half an hour; when Hervoye received the news and arrived, he only saw Hunyadi's corpse, stripped naked by the soldiers.

Out of consideration for their many years as colleagues, Hervoye ordered Hunyadi's body to be wrapped in Hunyadi's banner and then sent back to Deva for the Emperor to handle.

Originally, the Emperor's order was to capture Hunyadi alive if possible, as Laszlo intended to escort him back to Budapest for a public trial and execution in front of the nobles.

However, swords have no eyes on the battlefield, and Hunyadi's death in this manner was also the fate of most soldiers in this era.

Inside Deva Castle, Laszlo paced back and forth in the great hall, with numerous generals and attendants respectfully lined up on both sides.

They had already received news from Overseer Hervoye, informing them of Hunyadi Laszlo's death.

Joy filled their faces; the months-long campaign had brought considerable pressure to every general.

Among them, Sigismund and Vlad were the happiest.

Although Vlad regretted not being able to personally kill Hunyadi, he was delighted that his great revenge had been avenged.

Sigismund no longer had to face the nightmare Hunyadi had brought him.

Matthias and Vitez, however, stood together with calm expressions, as did Laszlo.

Completely eliminating the rebels, slaying Hunyadi, a persistent thorn in his side, and then reclaiming all three counties of the Hunyadi Family's territory for the Royal Family.

This should have been an exhilarating matter, yet Laszlo felt only a slight joy, and endless sighs.

In just a few short years, from comrades to divergent paths, everything changed so quickly, yet it was all within Laszlo's calculations.

From the moment he began to strip Hunyadi of his military power, Laszlo had been planning for this day, and today he finally achieved his wish.

Perhaps there was still a trace of guilt towards Janos in his heart, but all of this was Hunyadi Laszlo's own doing.

Laszlo absolutely could not allow the Hunyadi Family, this behemoth that could brazenly challenge the Royal Family's authority, to continue to exist.

Just as the Emperor was still immersed in his inner world, two soldiers carried a stretcher into the hall; a corpse lay on the stretcher.

A blood-stained Raven banner covered the body, preventing everyone from directly seeing its appearance.

However, everyone understood that this was Hunyadi, the son of the White Knight, the Governor of Transylvania.

Laszlo walked to the corpse without hesitation, lifted a corner of the banner, and saw that twisted yet familiar face.

He exhaled softly and re-covered the body.

Then, he looked around and declared in a quiet voice to everyone: "Gentlemen, we have won!"

"Long live the Emperor!"

The crowd erupted in a fervent cheer, excitedly celebrating with each other.

Some made a fortune, others endured immense suffering, but no matter what, this damned war was finally over.

Laszlo turned and saw Matthias's lonely figure; he walked over and gently patted the young attendant, wanting to say words of comfort but not knowing where to begin.

At this moment, Vlad suddenly said, "Your Majesty, should he be decapitated and displayed?"

Laszlo gently waved his hand, rejecting the suggestion: "No, there's no need for that.

You go find a coffin for him and prepare him; he will accompany the army to Hunyadi Castle and be buried there."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

That night, the grand army held a celebration banquet in Deva, and Laszlo personally bestowed honors upon each member of the Dragon Knight Order who had come with the army, commending their loyalty.

Soon after, the Hunyadi Castle garrison, having learned of Hunyadi's death, opened its gates and surrendered.

Hunyadi was buried within Hunyadi Castle, right next to Janos's tomb.

Laszlo enfeoffed this castle to Matthias and also granted land to many generals with distinguished military achievements.

Szécsényi, the commander of the Budda Legion, as a local noble of Transylvania and deeply trusted by Laszlo, was chosen as the new Governor of Transylvania.

His military post was thus relieved, and Báthory István, whom he recommended, succeeded him as the Royal Overseer and Legion Commander.

After quelling this rebellion that lasted for several months, all the various forces then embarked on their journey back.

The Emperor's grand army passed through Timisoara again on their return journey.

This time, the grand army successfully broke through the fortress's defenses, beheading all the remaining rebel remnants in the city and hanging their heads at the gates of Timisoara.