the battle at the Tangerang gates erupts into a chaotic and bloody struggle. Julian must prove his leadership under a hail of bullets, while Kartika carries out an infiltration mission that will determine whether the city gates will open or become a graveyard for them all.
The roar of heavy cannons belonging to Friedrich's loyalists shook the ground of Tangerang, sending clumps of earth and smoke into the night sky. Julian ducked behind the remains of an overturned carriage, musket balls whistling over his head. Beside him, Adrian shouted commands to the lurik-clad fighters to keep pressing forward.
"They have the high ground on the watchtower!" Adrian yelled while reloading his rifle. "If we don't silence those cannons, our men will be wiped out before they reach the trenches!"
Julian stared toward the stone tower looming in the distance. "Kartika is already inside. We just need to buy her time!"
Within the darkness of the fortress walls, Kartika moved like a shadow. She had stripped off her noble attributes, wearing simple black clothes that blended with the night. With her silver dagger between her teeth, she scaled the back wall of the tower. Her task was singular: neutralize Friedrich's artillery unit from the inside before they could slaughter the advancing people's army.
Meanwhile, Anne Marie stood in the relatively safe rear lines, but she was not idle. Together with several youths, she began distributing leaflets using large catapults toward the Dutch lines.
"Do not fire! Look at these papers!" Anne cried from a distance, her voice piercing through the whiz of bullets. "Friedrich has been betrayed by his own country! Do not die for a traitor!"
Several Dutch soldiers in the front lines began to hesitate. They saw the official seal of Baroness van de Berg on the papers falling around them. Confusion began to spread among the enemy ranks.
Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the top of the watchtower. Flames soared high, signaling that Kartika had successfully detonated the artillery's gunpowder store.
"Now! Charge!" Julian roared, unsheathing his sword high.
With burning spirit, thousands of fighters stormed the now-wavering barricades. Julian led the very front line, cutting down every obstacle blocking the path to Batavia. The dark night was now bright with the fires of revolution, and for the first time, the scent of victory hung in the air—mingled with the smell of sulfur and the dust of the Tangerang streets.