Work Prophet
Chapter 364 - 122: The Plague of Rats

Chapter 364: Chapter 122: The Plague of Rats

The fundraising scandal kept escalating as expected, and within just half a month, more than half of the families in the Western Territories had clearly stated they wouldn’t contribute the money, or would only give a small portion.

Seeing that the goal was far out of reach, Leo, the envoy, couldn’t just sit still any longer. He couldn’t continue to play dead in the Marquis Mansion and started visiting families one by one to persuade them to donate.

As expected, he was thoroughly scolded.

In Miss Rabbit’s words, someone was now disliked both by people and dogs in the Western Territories. Many nobles, upon seeing Leo’s carriage from afar, would have their castle’s gates closed.

The people in the Western Territories were inherently fierce, and most believed that even if they didn’t pay, the Emperor wouldn’t have a good way to deal with them—it was highly unlikely that he would actually send troops over for such a matter.

Therefore, Leo’s job became even more difficult. After more than ten days of running around, he hadn’t managed to raise a single penny, and many people were already waiting to see him leave the Western Territories empty-handed and with a dejected look.

However, what happened next was beyond everyone’s imagination.

The first to arrive at Flower Castle, a territory of the Soto family, were those fluffy and dark little creatures.

This ancient castle was known for its beauty, with high inner walls covered in green vines and a vast sea of flowers on the hillside below. Every spring, the Soto family would hold a tea party and invite nearby neighbors to enjoy the blossoms at the castle.

But this year, an uninvited group of guests arrived first and quickly wreaked havoc on the sea of flowers.

The destruction they brought was far from over.

Lady Orenna felt something licking her feet in her sleep, which made her laugh involuntarily, but when she opened her eyes, the sensation didn’t go away.

Not until she saw the huge black rat at her feet did she finally scream.

Her encounter wasn’t unique, nor the worst one. A male servant sleeping downstairs woke up in pain, only to discover half of his ear was gone.

The kitchen and the cellar were even worse hit. By the time the guards arrived, they only saw thousands of dark figures scurrying about the room, gnawing on everything chewable.

In the end, the Baron and his family had no choice but to hide on the top floor of the castle, closing doors and windows, stuffing all the cracks with burlap, and enduring a night filled with fear and anxiety until dawn.

Curiously, as the first rays of morning light shone on the stone walls of Flower Castle, the rats withdrew from the castle as if commanded, vanishing down the hillside.

The Baron, trembling with fear, opened the door of his room, only to feel the urge to cry without tears at the sight of the utter mess before him. Walking around the castle, he could hardly find anything undamaged.

Not just food, but bed linens, clothing, and even furniture had been gnawed to tatters.

About two days later, a severe rodent infestation broke out in Red Tower City.

Just as night fell, thousands of rats emerged from every corner of the city, forming a black flood that swept through the streets.

Shops and homes along the street all suffered, and even the City Lord Mansion wasn’t spared. City Lord Kamzi, leading from the front, donned his armor, brandished his treasured sword, and valiantly fought against the detestable rats.

That night, he slew over twenty rats, but compared to the immense number of the horde, such losses were negligible.

Moreover, one rat took advantage of Kamzi’s distraction to crawl into his armor, scurried about inside, and even bit his privates.

In the end, the residents had to wait for daylight, when the rat horde withdrew on its own.

One disaster after another of rat plagues made the atmosphere in the western lands tense all of a sudden.

Moreover, it was perhaps not a coincidence that the Soto family of Flower Castle and the Treles Family of Red Tower City, who were originally the nobles most strongly opposed to making donations, were now subjects of rumors claiming they had offended the Life Goddess, and this was punishment from her.

However, not many people believed this theory.

In the western lands, whether noble or commoner, most were followers of Pisya, showing little reverence for the so-called Life Goddess, and did not believe in her ability to mete out Divine Punishment.

But before long, Leo came forward to endorse this theory and even provided advance warning of where the rats would strike next.

——Duolin City.

Unlike Flower Castle and Red Tower City, Duolin City held a very special significance in the hearts of the people in the western lands; even after just experiencing turmoil, this Holy City was still deemed to be under the care of the Silver Moon Goddess.

Now Leo’s outright declaration that the Life Goddess would bring down Divine Punishment upon this city was clearly a provocation to the Silver Moon Church, and indeed to all followers of Pisya in the western lands.

As a result, Leo, who was already considered an unwelcome guest by the western nobility, had simply upgraded to the most unwelcome person in all of the western lands.

He now had to go out accompanied by two squads of guards; otherwise, he had no idea where he might be knocked out by a blunt hit from a zealot of the Silver Moon Goddess.

And indeed, on the fourth day after his warning, Duolin City truly was struck by a rat plague.

Although the Raimondi family was forewarned and had prepared, the countless rats flooding into the streets and alleys of Duolin City still caused unimaginable destruction.

And this time, it was clear their main target was the two Temples within the city.

The Priests and students inside the Temples fought against them with torches and pine oil, burning some of the rats, but the remaining ones demonstrated a fierce aggressiveness that defied their natural instincts.

Taking risks of scorching their fur, they leaped over the flames and continued to pounce on the humans behind.

The Divine Officers of the Silver Moon Church ultimately had no choice but to abandon the Temples, temporarily retreating to the outside.

The next morning, the events that took place in the city quickly spread throughout the entire western lands.

This time, people finally began to take Leo’s warnings seriously, and before long, some families began to send the overdue donations to Rock Snow City in secret.

After witnessing the rat plagues in Flower Castle, Red Tower City, and Duolin City, no noble dared to underestimate these creatures that were commonly seen on any ordinary day.

The terrifying destructive power they unleashed when they came together was something even lions and tigers would choose to avoid.

However, some nobles still stubbornly refused to pay.

Among them was Miss Rabbit, and now the Raimondi family was not an obscure name in the western lands anymore. With the addition of the title of Dragon Slayer Hero bestowed by the Emperor Himself, the Lady had subtly become the most prominent figure among the opposition.

However, this was not necessarily a good thing; there is always a price to be the most prominent.

Now, many were paying attention to her situation and that of Green Field, waiting to see how much longer the Raimondi family could hold out.