Work Prophet
Chapter 622 - 54: Triumph

Chapter 622: Chapter 54: Triumph

The Lady had not yet arrived at Rock Snow City when she already saw a massive crowd standing in front of the city gates from afar.

The last time she had seen so many people outside Rock Snow City was when, after successfully slaying the dragon, David had led all the nobles from the city to welcome her.

This time, however, it was Hels who led the crowd, and there were even more people outside the city than the last time.

Nobles and commoners together formed a line several miles long, not only to welcome the triumphant warriors but also to welcome back the lord of this land.

Following the traditions of the West, Miss Rabbit had had a small boat made from an ash tree, placing the remains of Marquis Kuren within it.

The people of the West believe that, by burning the small boat, the deceased can be sent to an eternal resting place, abundant with reeds, to find final peace and joy.

Though Marquis Kuren wasn’t as famously accomplished as those historical ancestors of the Figrola Family, during his more than eighty years ruling the West, he had always been diligent, handling affairs justly and rigorously.

With him mediating conflicts among the nobles, wars among the lords of the West rarely erupted, and most commoners were able to fill their stomachs and avoid the suffering of war.

Moreover, he and his family had always guarded the frontier for the Empire, deterring the various powers nearby, especially the dwarves on the other side of the Dragon Ridge Mountain Range, until the events that transpired this time. The Red Lion Empire had maintained nearly seven hundred years of peace with the Dwarf Kingdom.

Such prolonged peace had even led many to forget how hard it was achieved.

Therefore, it caught everyone by surprise when those dwarves crossed what seemed to be an insurmountable natural barrier and appeared on the other side of the mountain range.

This cost the West dearly.

Aside from Marquis Kuren, this time, ninety-two nobles perished in the Dragon Ridge Mountains, with nearly every major family suffering heavy casualties.

The Lady dismounted about a mile away from Rock Snow City.

The steed she was riding now was called Sun King, a gift from Edward II at the martial arts competition.

Sun King was exceptionally spirited, but in contrast, it had a terrible temper.

Miss Rabbit had also fed it many carrots before she gained its riding rights, but the horse had its own ideas, and the Lady couldn’t always command it.

Therefore, during military operations, the girl wouldn’t ride it, only bringing it out on important occasions like today to add to the gravitas.

Hels did not wait in place; upon seeing the Lady dismount, he also started walking towards her with his group.

Ever since Miss Rabbit exposed David for colluding with the Wing Tribe, Hels, the second son of Lord Kuren, had also replaced his brother to become the next successor of the family.

And with the recent death of Marquis Kuren, Hels had outright become the Head of the Figrola Family.

The change in status had also significantly altered his demeanor; the frivolity of earlier days was nowhere to be seen, and he seemed to have become much more composed overnight.

"Sir Irelia, I knew you would definitely return in triumph!" Hels exclaimed as soon as they met.

"No, I was too late and couldn’t save Lord Kuren." the Lady regretfully said.

"That was not your fault, it was because those dwarves are too cunning. I only learned from the letter you sent that they had mobilized an army of thirty thousand this time and even persuaded the savages in the mountains to become their allies.

"Honestly, I have been worried about you all this time and even sent people to seek help from the Campbell Family in the Kangjin Valley, but before the reinforcements arrived, you had already defeated those dwarves; it’s truly astonishing."

As he spoke, Hels also glanced behind the girl.

Miss Rabbit had only taken a little over five thousand troops on the campaign, yet when she returned, the number in her group had nearly reached twenty thousand.

More than half of these were Dwarf captives. To keep watch over these captives, the Lady had negotiated another deal with the barbarians, asking them to send three thousand warriors to help escort them.

This was why the troop had become so massive now.

Miss Rabbit’s worries were not without reason, as along the way, there indeed were Dwarf captives who tried to escape, and others who attempted to incite riots.

However, those who fled were targeted by drones and brought back, while those who sought to instigate riots quieted down after Li Yu set off a few fireworks.

These events made the Dwarves recall the mysterious great defeat they had suffered previously, with the horrific apparitions that had appeared in the sky, clearly indicating that these imperial people were aided by a divine power.

Furthermore, when Miss Rabbit made a decisive move and killed close to a thousand people, she managed to subdue the Dwarves, forcing them to accept their fate and thus, they were escorted by the Lady to Rock Snow City.

And it was not just the Dwarves who were subdued, but also the barbarians the young lady had called upon for help.

Although this time they had been persuaded by the Dwarves to form an alliance to confront the imperial people on the other side of the mountain, there had been constant warfare between them before this.

The barbarians knew better than anyone the capabilities of the Dwarf warriors, these men who were short-statured and insatiably greedy.

But their skill in forging armor and weapons was indeed remarkable, which furnished them with excellent equipment as well as outstanding strength and endurance.

Coupled with their hard work and good discipline, they had become one of the renowned strong forces on the Bratis Continent.

Yet, such a formidable army, with advantages in numbers and weaponry and having prepared in advance, was defeated by the imperial people, who were far fewer in number.

The barbarians now held genuine reverence for the Lady and the man by her side who claimed to be a Prophet.

This was something recognized by the nobles of Rock Snow City, including Hels.

If anyone thought that the young lady overcoming the Black Dragon previously was just luck, her leading merely five thousand troops to defeat an enemy many times their number this time sufficiently demonstrated her astonishing military talent.

Hels had heard that the soldiers who went on the campaign were now calling Ireya the Empire’s Valkyrie.

Additionally, Hels noticed that many in the army now wore a strange bracelet of unknown material on their wrists.

Hels knew these to be the identity markers of followers of the Double Rest Sect, who had been followers of Pisya when they left but had converted to worship Saturday with the Lady upon their return.

This discovery secretly alarmed Hels, causing a sense of worry to rise in his heart.

He wasn’t concerned for the Silver Moon Church; in fact, Hels did not care which deity the nobles of the west worshiped, be it the Silver Moon Goddess or Saturday.

However, the Double Rest Sect obviously had a closer relationship with Ireya, not just because the sect’s order was in Green Field, but also because Merlin, the Prophet, was almost inseparably close to Ireya.

In the west, there were even rumors circulating about the two, and now, with the Lady having twice pulled the west back from disaster, her prestige had nearly reached its peak.

In contrast, the Figrola family was facing consecutive setbacks, and Marquis Kuren was gone, leaving them vulnerable. If the Double Rest Sect were to spread widely at this time,

would Ireya, with the support of the Double Rest Sect, perhaps also seize the opportunity to harbor even greater ambitions?

Hels had no answer in his heart. He squinted towards the Lady, only to see her instructing people to lift up an ash tree ship that held a corpse.