Work Prophet
Chapter 601 - 33: Gravel Valley

Chapter 601: Chapter 33: Gravel Valley

Although Lady Ireya was anxious to rescue people, she did not let down her guard. She asked Greta to dispatch a portion of her rat scouts around the perimeter of the army for vigilance, and Li Yu also commanded a squad of Black Hound Guards to intentionally fall behind, secretly deploying drones for reconnaissance.

However, the journey was unexpectedly smooth and they did not encounter any danger, until they were nearly at the valley where they stumbled upon some wild men scouts.

And those fellows were rather cowardly, merely observing the army from a distance and running away before anyone could get close.

Ireya couldn’t be bothered to chase after them, as her attention was now focused on the two mountains opposite them.

From the rats’ intelligence, Lady Ireya learned that enemies were ambushed there, likely waiting for them to step into the valley before launching an attack.

The terrain there was also very suitable for an ambush; it seems that Marquis Kuren and his forces were trapped in the valley in a similar way.

Thus, Lady Ireya became even more cautious, ordering the army to halt their advance, and had Li Yu deploy drones once again for reconnaissance.

However, due to the cover of night and the trees, the drones couldn’t completely clear the view of the mountainside.

Lady Ireya hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to wait another night, until the sun rose the next morning. Once they had a clear understanding of how many people were hidden on the mountains, they would decide whether to launch an attack and how to go about it.

She also allowed the army that had traveled for a whole day to rest for the night, to regain some strength for the impending battle.

On the advice of Duren, Miss Rabbit selected a small hillock with relatively open views and some elevation outside the valley to serve as a temporary camp.

Lady Ireya did not forget about Marquis Kuren and his ten thousand men, who had been trapped for over twenty days, and decided to dispatch a small squad to deliver a batch of food into the valley first.

This mission was still somewhat risky, but still, many people volunteered to deliver the supplies.

Miss Rabbit eventually chose Tog of the Nofos family, also known as "Ying Song."

His only son had accompanied Marquis Kuren into battle; willing to find his son, Tog, who was about to celebrate his two hundred and nineteenth birthday next month, personally led the troops into battle this time.

Lady Ireya entrusted sixteen wagons loaded with bread and water to the white-haired Ying Song who said nothing. He merely nodded at the young girl and hurriedly led his men on the road.

Later, Miss Rabbit called over Tom, asking him if Big Hand had made any new maneuvers, but she received a negative answer.

Ireya was slightly surprised as they had already reached the outside of the valley and, logically, the internal operatives should have shown some reaction.

Lady Ireya had already prepared a piece of "valuable" intelligence for Big Hand, but his current calmness made it difficult for Miss Rabbit to deliver the information.

After all, Lady Ireya couldn’t put a gun to Big Hand’s head and make him send a message to the dwarfs and wild men on the mountain.

But she didn’t have a clear understanding of the situation on the mountain yet, so Miss Rabbit didn’t really need to use this chess piece for the time being.

Although she made ample preparations, facing the first battle of her life made Lady Ireya somewhat nervous, and now it was closing time for Li Yu as well.

Even though the Prophet of the Double Rest Sect had made arrangements before leaving and had left her with plenty of manpower and Holy Artifacts, Miss Rabbit still felt uneasy.

In front of others, she maintained the composure befitting a commander, but once back in her tent, she simply couldn’t sleep, pacing back and forth, unable to stop herself from biting her fingernails.

So, she began to pray again, hoping that there weren’t too many enemies on the mountain, so that the next day she could successfully rescue Marquis Kuren and the people trapped in the valley.

...

Red Beard and Iron Spear couldn’t sleep either. Te two huddled together and whispered in conversation.

"Did those imperial people travel all day just to get to Gravel Valley?" Iron Spear asked, curious.

After saying this, she noticed a flicker in Red Beard’s eyes.

"Wait, the place where the dwarves set up the ambush is here?" Iron Spear immediately showed a look of realization, nodding and saying, "Indeed, this place is quite suitable for an ambush."

"There are cliffs on three sides, with only one way out, and if people are trapped, you don’t even have to lift a finger; just pushing rocks down from the mountain could kill everyone below.

"I remember two hundred years ago, there was a tribe called Long Neck, wasn’t there? They moved into that valley to live, and a heavy rain buried the whole tribe under rocks and mud that fell from the mountain. After that, no one else wanted to go there."

At this point, Red Beard stopped hiding the truth,"That’s right, those dwarves lured that old guy with hairy ears and his people into Gravel Valley."

"But it looks like those imperial people aren’t going to fall for it this time." Iron Spear seemed a bit gleeful at their misfortune.

She never really liked those dwarfs; they were too sneaky. Despite having prepared for so long and having the advantage in troop strength, they weren’t willing to engage the imperial people in an outright battle, only resorting to these petty schemes.

Now that their plan was obstructed, she found the trouble more amusing.

But Red Beard shook his head and said, "It’s not that simple. Those dwarves are more cunning than one another. Even to us, their allies, they’re secretive. Besides themselves, no one knows what their real plan is."

"Doesn’t matter now. It looks like they’re going to fight tomorrow. How’s your side’s preparation? Has the inside man figured out how to secretly let us out? If we don’t leave soon, we might really end up getting our heads chopped off."

"He said... he’s been thinking of a way, but it still needs some time," Red Beard answered vaguely, "Mainly because we’re being watched very closely now."

"He did agree to help us, right?" Iron Spear frowned.

"Of course."

"What kind of favors did you promise him? We don’t have anything valuable on us."

"I’m the future Wutu of the tribe; I don’t need to bribe people with gold and silver."

"So he just easily believed your words, and you hadn’t even met before?"

"This is a promise between men. What would a woman like you understand!" Red Beard became angry and embarrassed by the questioning.

Iron Spear looked at him somewhat strangely, "I was just asking. Why are you in such a hurry? Do you want me to hug you again?"

"No. No way! Don’t do that kind of thing in front of others again, it undermines my dignity," Red Beard warned.

"Alright, if you don’t plan on escaping right now, then I’ll try to get some sleep," Iron Spear said.

But no sooner had she spoken than the sound of horse hooves approached, accompanied by shouts from some imperial people.

Iron Spear and Red Beard didn’t understand what the imperial people were saying, only that they kept repeating a sentence, in a tone filled with endless sorrow and anger.