Work Prophet
Chapter 349 - 107: Lunch Banquet

Chapter 349: Chapter 107: Lunch Banquet

The scene inside Duolin City was startling.

The first thing Priest Martina did after entering the city was to arrest the remnants of the new army, not just those causing chaos in the city, but also those who had committed crimes before. Each had to be found and brought to trial.

This decision was fully supported by all the citizens.

With the entry of the Church Protection Army, the situation completely reversed. The new army, which had been swaggering the night before, had now become rats crossing the street, with citizens flocking to the Church and City Hall to report the crimes committed by the new army.

As these crimes were gathered by Priest Martina, her frown deepened.

She tried to envision the depravity of human nature, but she had not expected people to be capable of such heinous acts.

Due to Hirodod’s absolute indulgence of the new army, the city’s security had deteriorated drastically in a very short time. Seeing each gruesome crime, Priest Martina’s face quickly turned ashen.

She couldn’t imagine what kind of villain could obliterate humanity to this extent; they no longer deserved to be called humans but were mere beasts.

Priest Martina didn’t know where Hirodod had found these bastards, but as the investigation continued, she gradually fell silent.

Because she realized that most of these people were ordinary citizens before joining the new army, the very bottom of the city, beggars, thieves...or villagers nearby.

She had seen some of them before and had even helped them during the winter by providing clothes and food.

These people had been very grateful.

Moreover, Priest Martina was well aware of their circumstances and knew that they were usually very honest and simple, often bullied by others.

Priest Martina was most impressed by a young boy, who was only fifteen years old this year and had been an apprentice in a local blacksmith shop.

According to the rules of the Bratis Continent, apprentices didn’t earn wages, but the shop took care of their meals and accommodation.

However, the blacksmith, who owned the shop, was stingy, made him do the heaviest work daily, and since he was a foreigner with no relatives or friends in the city, often gave him stale food to eat and let him sleep near the door.

In winter, he couldn’t sleep at all due to the cold wind seeping through the door gaps, and one night he almost froze to death.

Not long after joining the new army, he returned to the blacksmith shop and made an Iron Armor for the owner as a token of gratitude for his teaching.

After he took the red-hot Iron Armor out of the furnace, he fitted it directly onto the owner, burning him alive, then killed the owner’s wife and turned her body into a pot of roast meat, which he only ate after three nights.

There were countless incidents like this... The more Priest Martina read, the more horrified she became.

She was shocked by the cruelty of the villains, saddened by their past hardships, and most importantly overwhelmed by their sheer numbers.

Now, the calls for severe punishment of the murderers overwhelmed everything else in the city.

However, Hirodod had recruited as many as thirty thousand new troops during this period. Even if some were excluded due to being killed in combat or a few who were innocent, nearly twenty thousand were left.

If judged strictly, at least ten thousand would have to be beheaded, and the rest would not escape severe physical punishment.

Moreover, most crucially, these people were all followers of the Silver Moon Church, and many were extremely devout followers.

Otherwise, they would not have heeded Hirodod’s call and stepped forward to join the new army when the Church faced a crisis.

Although there was no absolute evidence, Priest Martina had a vague premonition that these people were also part of Hirodod’s plan.

Hirodod had left Duolin City, but he had left a huge predicament for her before he went.

Now, she had to be very careful in dealing with these people.

Priest Martina thought long and hard but could not come up with a solution that would satisfy all sides and ultimately set down her quill.

She rubbed her temples.

Priest Martina was already two hundred and twenty-seven years old, which was quite old even for a Half-Beast.

Although she had been very decisive in dealing with this crisis, whether it was escaping early on or later organizing the Church Protection Army from various noble families in a timely manner, only Priest Martina knew that her energy was not as good as before.

Especially these days, having just marched hundreds of miles and then dealing with a great deal of affairs upon entering the city, all she wanted now was to close her eyes and sleep well.

However, she knew she could not rest yet, for Hirodod was still out there, whereabouts unknown, scheming something.

Truth be told, Priest Martina did not understand what Hirodod was trying to achieve with his actions in Duolin City, especially after she had inquired about his recent doings in the city from many people, which made her even suspect that he might have gone mad.

Because any mentally sound person would not do the bizarre things he had done in the city.

Yet for now, she had to put Hirodod aside and attend a victory banquet.

The western nobles had unanimously supported her this time, even lending troops to help her win this battle, and she must express her gratitude, apart from these people, the Raimondi family was also waiting for her stance.

To see if the misunderstandings between them could be put to rest.

Priest Martina also despised Sir Ed’s indecisiveness and wavering, and she had no desire to see his shameless face again if possible.

But for the time being, the Silver Moon Church could not possibly move out of Duolin City, and as long as the Raimondi family remained the masters of Duolin City, future dealings were inevitable.

Priest Martina still had times when she would need the Raimondi family, so their relationship could not be too strained.

Additionally, shortly after Priest Hesiod was captured by Hirodod, he was tortured to death in prison.

The remaining four High Priests had no choice but to submit to Hirodod’s tyranny, but with Priest Martina retaking control of Duolin City, their situation was now quite awkward, uncertain how to face Priest Martina during these days.

But Priest Martina also understood that she couldn’t dismiss them outright, firstly because she, being a High Priest herself, lacked the authority to do so, and secondly, the legitimate confrontation with Hirodod wasn’t over yet, and she still needed the support of people like Kerkwon.

Utilizing this banquet was also an opportunity to reassure these four High Priests.

Anyway, this banquet was very important for either party and could not be declined.

Priest Martina even changed her clothes especially, arriving at the City Lord Mansion at noon.

Upon entering, she immediately saw Sir Ed’s warmly enthusiastic smile, who also introduced her to the work achievements during this period, including the kidnapping of a pharmacist by Hirodod to produce poison in the city, learned from an anonymous source.

Sir Ed personally led a raid on that tavern and found a large amount of strychnine, a highly poisonous plant, and discovered no less than ten barrels of completed poison, which he had already ordered to be destroyed.

Priest Martina praised the Raimondi family for their efficiency in protecting the city’s residents, and afterwards, they exchanged some other pleasantries, overall creating a rather harmonious atmosphere.

When all the guests had arrived, Sir Ed personally invited Priest Martina to take the seat of honor.

Priest Martina led everyone in a prayer before the meal, then raised her glass solemnly, and declared, "Praise the goddess."

Upon hearing this, including Sir Ed, all the guests also raised their glasses and echoed in unison, "Praise the goddess."

Afterwards, everyone drank the amber-colored liquid in their glasses together and began to enjoy the feast before them.

Sir Ed drank the fastest and the most ravenously, but after finishing, he still felt very thirsty, his throat parched, so he asked a maid beside him to pour him another glass, which he gulped down.

Soon after, Dordot sitting opposite him noticed something was wrong with him and pointed at his eyes, "What’s wrong with your eyes, why are they so red?"

"I don’t know, maybe I didn’t sleep well last night," Sir Ed said carelessly, but as he spoke, something dripped onto the back of his hand.

Sir Ed looked down, saw a splash of bright red, then his vision began to blur, and he collapsed, face first into the bowl of pudding in front of him.

And it wasn’t just him, at this point almost all the attending guests started to feel unwell.

They tried desperately to spit out whatever was in their mouths, but it was already too late.

Priest Martina, not being fond of drinking, had not drunk much, so she was the last to fall in the hall.

Watching the guests collapsing one by one, bleeding from the mouth and nose, writhing in agony, her gaze finally fell on a statue of the goddess at the door.

Before she could do anything else, her body swayed and she collapsed heavily to the ground.