Moreover, if he died, who would take care of the little one? It needed to eat so many mulberry leaves every day!

“Dong! Dong! Dong!!!”

The refugees fell one after another. It was clear from their wide-open eyes that they were filled with unwillingness and resentment, but this land had always been so cruel. Some rulers could seize others’ cities and homes over a single offensive word—so why wouldn’t they take these people’s lives for the sake of the city’s appearance?

Refugees without a home city were no different from rats on someone else’s bustling streets. Even if they abandoned all dignity and struggled desperately to survive, there would still be no good end for them.

Ryan Carter’s head started to spin.

He was a proper citizen of this Eternal City—a diligent mulberry farmer, an honest silkworm merchant, paying taxes on time and making offerings proactively.

If those people were rats, eating rat poison would kill them. At least he was a loyal ox, but he had only accidentally eaten poison from his own yard… Spare my life!

Ryan Carter didn’t even have time to prove his identity. At that moment, several soldiers carrying burlap sacks walked out into the courtyard, cold moon-blades hanging at their waists.

He tried hard to stay conscious.

In the end, Ryan Carter still couldn’t resist the effects of this “rat poison” and collapsed, swaying.

Just before losing consciousness, he saw a pair of jade-like feet, stepping gracefully like lotus petals, elegantly approaching from the depths of the courtyard…

Ryan Carter tried hard to see the owner of those feet clearly, but he had already completely lost consciousness.

In the haze of the drug’s effect and his muddled, dreamlike thoughts, the jade feet merged with the statue of the Valkyrie of the Nine Cities, transforming into a vivid, lifelike beauty—charming and graceful, her face flushed as she leaned in close.

……

The dream was as sweet as spring. Ryan Carter felt that Heaven had not treated him unfairly, gifting him an intoxicating fantasy before his head was to be cut off.

He dreamed that the graceful, gentle statue in the city had come to life, slowly crawling toward him in the dim glow of an oil lamp. The breathtaking curves and the slightly upturned, blushing face were the ultimate visual pleasure in this world. As for what happened next, it made Ryan Carter feel that even dying wasn’t so hard to accept.

Under the dim oil lamp, surrounded by cold, pitch-black stone walls, the porcelain-white body writhing in his arms was burning hot.

“Ah, I’m dying.”

Ryan Carter couldn’t help but cry out, thinking it was all a hallucination before death, but unexpectedly, his voice echoed back in this enclosed space.

“I’m dying… dying… dead…”

Hearing his own echo, Ryan Carter slowly came to his senses.

He looked around and found himself in a dungeon. The faintly flickering oil lamp was no illusion—he could even feel its warmth when he reached out to touch it.

He wasn’t dead??

Could it be that wasn’t rat poison after all!

Crap, if he was still alive, he’d most likely be sold off to some remote stone mountain or mine to work as a slave!!

Being a slave in a claustrophobic mine… he’d rather have been poisoned to death!

“Hm?”

Suddenly, a pleasant moan sounded right beside Ryan Carter.

He turned his head and finally noticed that there was a naked woman lying next to him.

Her long hair was like black tea-colored silk, and the lingering blush on her face made her so beautiful it was almost unreal. His heart stopped for a moment as he gazed at her up close, then suddenly began to race wildly.

What was going on!

Wasn’t he just dreaming??

Why was he in a dungeon?

Why was he locked up with a woman?

Her appearance was exactly like the statue standing in the very center of the city—the Valkyrie, whose serene beauty was like a fairy, but whose methods were those of an iron-blooded emperor!

“So you’re both awake. Big sister looks great—seems this little stray served you well last night.” A sharp, foxy female voice came from the high iron window outside.

The woman beside Ryan Carter was still a bit groggy, as if she were drunk.

“I wonder how many hearts will break when people hear that the dazzling big sister, as lofty as the sky, slept with a little beggar. But don’t worry, big sister, I’ll make sure everyone hears about it. It’ll be the most talked-about topic at every meal.” The sharp, foxy voice continued.

This made the woman beside Ryan Carter finally snap fully awake, but before she could respond in anger, the footsteps outside gradually faded away, and that triumphant, piercing laughter echoed in the cold dungeon for a long time.

Ryan Carter was a bit confused. He stared at the woman imprisoned beside him.

The person before him was clearly the city lord—the Valkyrie everyone spoke of. Her peerless beauty was unmistakable, even without clothes… ahem, in any case, Ryan Carter was sure it was her.

Judging from what that person just said…

“You were overthrown?” Ryan Carter broke the silence in the dungeon and asked.

This land had always been extremely chaotic, with wars never ceasing. The speed at which rulers changed was no slower than the changing of the seasons.

The Valkyrie said nothing, using her long hair to cover herself. Unfortunately, what should be slim was slim, and what should be full was full—she couldn’t cover everything.

Chapter 2 The Fallen Lady City Lord