Work Prophet
Chapter 71 - 32: Outstanding Speech

Chapter 71: Chapter 32: Outstanding Speech

Jordi looked towards the direction from which the flames originated, his face changing slightly, "This is bad, it’s a distress signal fire. It seems to be coming from the Trinidad Knight’s feud."

"It must be those damned lizard people, they’ve finally grown impatient and launched an attack," his squire, Carl added, "But why have they come so early when the harvest is still a month away?"

"No matter the reason, the Trinidad Knight and the people of his domain need us," Miss Rabbit said with a serious gaze.

The Purple Sparrow Flower Knight and his own squire exchanged looks, the latter nodding, "You’re right, I will take twenty militia to support the Trinidad Knight."

After Carl finished speaking, he began to gather people in the village, distributing weapons and equipment.

However, as it was already dark, many people had gone to sleep, the Squire Knight had to run around for quite a while before he could gather the troops.

Upon hearing they were to fight the lizard people emerging from the swamp, fear was evident on the faces of many militia.

Though the weapons and equipment of those bandits were as primitive as theirs, their skills were far superior to these farmers who had only received minimal military training.

Normally, it would take three to four militia to deal with one Lizardman Warrior, and most critically, the lizard people weren’t attacking their village or abducting their women, so naturally, the enthusiasm of these militia to fight was lacking.

The young girl felt that it was time for her, as the Lady, to say something.

After thinking for a moment, she had someone hold a torch as she approached the militia about to depart.

The leading Squire Knight’s expression changed slightly. He understood that Ireya only wanted to boost morale, but he also knew all too well that this new Family Head of the Arias Family’s talent in this area was rather mediocre.

He worried that instead of boosting morale, it might land them another heavy blow, then he really wouldn’t know how to lead the team.

Thinking this, Carl cast a pleading look towards the Purple Sparrow Flower Knight, but the latter quickly looked away, pretending not to notice.

Meanwhile, the young girl had already reached the front of the militia, looking at each of their anxious faces. After a moment, she raised her hand.

"I promise you on the honor of the Arias Family, that as long as you can repel those lizard people, each of you who deploys will receive five pounds of pork sausage, five loaves of bread, five cups of Honey Wine, and five silver coins. When you return victorious, I will hand these to you personally," she declared.

Miss Rabbit felt extremely nervous. Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke. She didn’t have the eloquent oratory skills of Li Yu, nor could she lead her soldiers into battle and inspire them like her father, Lord Ruse.

After much deliberation, she concluded she could only empathize with others by leveraging the power of money to motivate the militiamen headed for battle.

After she finished speaking, the crowd was silent for a moment, then erupted into cheers, louder than they had been during the day, with some banging their spears against their wooden shields.

The leading Squire Knight also breathed a sigh of relief.

It had actually worked! Although her approach differed from Lord Ruse’s style, Miss Ireya’s straightforward and blunt method of inspiration might suit these commoners better. If there were any downside, it was merely a bit costly.

Meat, bread, and wine aside, just five silver coins per person amounted to ten gold coins in total. It had been a long time since the Arias Family had a leader who spent so freely.

What he didn’t know was that on the other side, Miss Rabbit was also feeling the pinch.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them a bit. This was indeed a massive financial sacrifice, as she pulled out so much money all at once that the girl’s heart was nearly breaking, but there was no helping it—this was her first speech, in front of so many people, and a failure would be terribly embarrassing.

Moreover, Ireya was genuinely concerned about the safety of the Trinidad Knights and others, so she finally gritted her teeth and spent the money.

The high morale that then burst forth from the Militia also took Miss Rabbit by surprise, almost as if it had opened the doors to a new world, but that was a story for another time.

Carl saw that the team’s fighting enthusiasm had been aroused, so he took advantage of the momentum and quickly led the people on the road.

However, after they had left for some time, a man covered in blood staggered into the village.

The man claimed to be a Squire Knight of the Trinidad Knights, saying that over sixty lizard people had emerged from the swamp this time to attack and loot, and unlike before, where they fought individually and fled after a frenzied loot, this time they seemed to be organized and moved with strategic precision.

The Trinidad Knight, seeing they were overmatched, gathered all the warriors and villagers inside the small castle at the center of the village, lit the beacon, and sent people out for reinforcements.

His identity was quickly confirmed.

The Purple Sparrow Flower Knight’s face turned ugly when he heard this. There were twenty-two warriors and nearly forty militiamen on the Trinidad side, which was about the same number as those lizard people, but their combat strength was far inferior.

Even with Carl and the militiamen he took, it still wasn’t looking good, and while Trinidad and his men had a castle to rely on, concealing themselves behind stone walls if outmatched, Carl and his people would have to face those lizard people directly.

If it were a regular military, just withstanding the first assault would allow them to join forces with Trinidad’s troops and flank those damn lizard people.

However, the militia Carl took were incapable of such, and though their morale might be high now, just one charge from those lizard people and three or four deaths would quickly cause the entire troop to collapse, turning them into lambs awaiting slaughter.

The Purple Sparrow Flower Knight immediately called people over, trying to get them to catch up and support Carl and the others.

However, the Squire Knights had been gone for a while, and Jordi wasn’t sure if they could catch up.

Miss Rabbit decisively stated, "We need to do something more; I promised those people that when they return, I would personally distribute food and silver coins to them!"

"Lord Jordi has already sent people to call that team back," Alfred replied upon hearing this.

"But there’s a chance they won’t catch up, right?" the girl countered.

"There is that possibility, and there’s nothing we can do about it," the old knight’s voice sounded somewhat cold, "It looks like Lord Jordi already has no spare manpower."

"There is a way. Lord Jordi may have no people, but we do, thanks to your insistence, Alfred. I brought quite a few guards with me," Ireya said, "It’s not just Carl and the militia he took; the Trinidad Knights and their people also need support, we need to find a way to repel those invading lizard people."

"Miss Ireya, with all due respect, the guards I brought are only to ensure your safety; everything else is not our concern."

"How can it not be our concern?" the girl’s mind was clearer at this moment than ever before, "Even if you don’t care about the casualties among those civilians, Lord Jordi’s Feud is right next to Trinidad’s Feud. If those lizard people loot Trinidad and then crush Jordi’s forces, they will definitely continue their slaughter and looting here.

"By then, we will be directly facing those guys, and having lost all reinforcements, there will be no one else to fight alongside us."