Work Prophet
Chapter 74 - 35: The Lady Who Went Astray

Chapter 74: Chapter 35: The Lady Who Went Astray

Anton had always thought that he was just making up the numbers at this pre-war council. He was not a member of the Arias family, nor did he hold any significant position within the castle. He was only a teacher sent by the Silver Moon Church to enlighten the children of the nobility.

The fact that he could attend and observe was probably because the Arias family wanted to honor the Silver Moon Church, so Anton was very conscious. Up until now, he had not participated in any discussion, had not expressed any opinion, and had not even spoken a word.

Thus, he was utterly surprised to find himself the center of attention at this war council, when he realized all eyes in the hall were fixated on him, many filled with anticipation.

The Universal Language teacher was also a bit flustered, and stuttered, "But... but the Church doesn’t have an army."

"We know that, but given the Silver Moon Church’s relationships with the major noble families in the West, it is believed that they could persuade them to send troops if they decided to," Lucio said, full of hope.

"This..." Anton found it difficult, but ultimately decided to speak the truth, "I’m just a teacher, with little influence in the Church. Of course, I don’t want to watch idly as those lizard people and their Evil God plunder, murder, and tarnish the devotees and the brilliance of the goddess on this land. So, I can write to the Church, but whether the Church is willing to help, or to what extent they can help, I can’t guarantee."

"Can’t the goddess just send down a divine oracle?" someone muttered under their breath, "So many of her followers have died already, including nobles..."

Anton’s face turned red, but he still tried to explain, "The goddess has her own plans, and she can’t always watch over the affairs of the mortal world from Holy Mountain. All we can do is pray earnestly."

If only Miss Rabbit had not logged off at this time; she would certainly have jumped up from her seat and argued that prayer was no longer effective, as she had prayed for a long time for the elections previously, only to nearly lose in the end.

If it were not for Li Yu and his backing by Saturday, Blanco and his mother Vanessa would be the ones sitting here with headaches.

The people present were no fools. Hearing Anton speak thus, they recognized that hopes for assistance from the Silver Moon Church were likely in vain.

Actually, with the current timing, it was still sufficient for everyone in the hall to evacuate; they could flee to the nearest Black Stone City. Yet until now, no one brought up this option.

Those present were mostly members of the Arias family, or old people who had served the Arias family for many years. They all understood what this castle meant to the Arias family.

As long as it had not fallen, even if the entire Green Field was scorched earth, this land still belonged to them, and these descendants still held firm to the sacred oath sworn to the Figrola family by their ancestors.

But if they were to abandon the castle and flee, even if the lizard people were eventually driven off, their return would not be smooth.

Nevertheless, Ona had picked two children from the Arias family to send to Black Stone City as a precaution.

Seeing that nobody had anything more to say, the meeting thus came to an end.

After that, everyone went about their business. Those gathering refugees did so, those sending for aid sent their letters, those checking supplies took stock, and as for Alfred, he climbed up the battlements again to survey the defense of the city.

When the first streak of dawn light fell on the rabbit flag above the castle, Ireya finally regained some of her spirit.

After running away in the middle of the night and experiencing intense emotional turmoil, and having not eaten up to now, the young girl looked somewhat frail.

But still, with the support of her Maid, she climbed up onto the city wall.

Having had the experience before, Miss Rabbit, now more adept, waved a large hand and bestowed a Gold Coin buff on the soldiers and strong civilians defending the city.

As for the pain of bleeding, that was a problem for later.

If Teacup Castle were lost, not to mention money, she would have no face in the afterlife to meet the ancestors of the Arias family.

Speaking of ancestors, the girl thought of the old ancestor she carried around her neck.

She wondered if the recent neglect in her duties to the Ancient Spirit inside it had angered her ancestor, thus bringing down such a terrible calamity.

But then Ireya thought again, even if her ancestor was displeased with her, a descendant unworthy of the lineage, it would not make sense to throw his descendant into peril. Moreover, the ancestors of the Arias family likely could not command the lizard people from the marshes.

It appeared more likely that the Evil God behind those lizard people was causing the mischief.

What to do? She wondered if the Silver Moon goddess had noticed her followers on this side urgently needing her help.

Miss Rabbit felt it was unlikely, otherwise the earlier incident where she tacitly allowed Li Yu to conduct secret missionary work among four children, and her plans to assign her uncle’s feud to Li Yu, would have already been discovered by Goddess Pexia of the Silver Moon.

Who then could save her, and the people living on this land?

The girl, heavy-hearted, walked down from the city wall and came to the open area in front of the stone castle. As she passed a cedar tree, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

The maid accompanying them looked at the Family Head of the Arias family with a puzzled expression as she drew the ruby short knife from her waist.

After hesitating for a moment, she still slashed towards the fir tree in front of her.

Miss Rabbit, following her memory, struggled to carve a beach, palm trees, a lounge chair, and a parasol into the bark.

She remembered someone telling her that this was the ritual to communicate with some great being.

Although the girl was not even a follower, the patterns she carved were not very accurate.

However, after she put the knife away, she still clasped her hands and prayed devoutly under the old tree.

The maid accompanying her seemed to think of something, and her face changed slightly. She quietly stepped back two steps, unsure whether she wanted to distance herself from the bizarre patterns on the tree or from the Lady who was delving into paganism.

Luckily, the castle was still receiving refugees from all directions at that time, and everywhere was in chaos, so no one noticed the minor incident here.

Even Ireya herself was just trying her luck everywhere with a desperate hope, not really believing in the capabilities of a Saturday.

After all, according to Li Yu, this great being had not even managed to protect its mortal spokesperson, so it seemed unlikely to help her keep the castle safe.

Thinking of Li Yu caused Miss Rabbit’s already swollen eyes to start hurting again.

Fearing that others would see her crying, she quickly lowered her head.

In such times, the Lady must lead by example and not show any sign of weakness, otherwise, morale among her people would be even harder to maintain.

Ireya understood this and quickly wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes, leaving the matter of defending the castle to Alfred while she did nothing more than boost morale.

So, the girl decided to devote herself to the work of settling refugees and making arrows.

Time quickly moved to dusk, the sunset descended, gradually sinking below the horizon.

The villagers from several villages near Teacup Castle had either been taken into the castle or had fled towards Black Stone City on their own.

In the end, nearly five hundred people were gathered in the castle, mostly women, the elderly, and children.

This was not beyond the old knight’s expectations, for those who could run faster inevitably preferred Black Stone City, which was undoubtedly safer. Those who sought refuge in the castle were mostly those who were not so agile, worried that they might be caught and killed by the lizard people along the way.

Fortunately, these people had relatives to accompany them, and Alfred was still able to select one hundred and twenty able-bodied men to assist in defending the castle.

With this, the security of the castle was once again reinforced.

Seeing that it was about to get completely dark, the old knight ordered all the cavalry stationed outside for surveillance to return and closed the castle gates.

All the important figures in the castle were now gathered on the castle walls, each one with a serious expression, straining their necks looking towards the west.

Many people’s feet were nearly cramped from tiptoeing, yet they saw no signs of the rumored Lizardman Army.

Some even harbored a hope that perhaps the lizard people, satisfied after plundering a few knight’s feuds, had turned back to the swamps.

But soon, their wishful thinking was shattered by the harsh reality.

A group of small black dots was rapidly approaching from where the sun had set, and as they drew closer, the people on the walls could gradually make out their appearance.

As recorded, they had ugly heads with long mouths full of sharp teeth on the top, every one of them, both men and women, bare-chested, holding various types of crude weapons in their hands.

Some were made by themselves while others were seized along the way, including some farming tools.

And in the very center of the troop, four robust lizard people were carrying a seat made from bones of unknown animals pieced together.

There was also a figure seated on that chair.