Work Prophet

Tristan knew that people's hearts had scattered.

Unlike the Resistance Army they faced, Ireya and her companions fought for their homeland, to protect their own territories and loved ones. They all shared a common belief, hence they fought more fiercely as the battle went on, seemingly tireless.

On the other hand, although they had an absolute advantage in numbers, they came from different places and had no particular reason to capture the western regions.

It was fine when they were winning, as there was money to be made and everyone would fight hard. But once trouble started, problems emerged easily, and they could even crumble and fall apart.

While Tristan was still reflecting on this, he saw that the dwarves on the other side had already seen the bad turn of events and had taken off first.

Their commander Balin had been taken out early on, and since they were at the forefront, they took the heaviest hits, already losing two to three thousand men.

Seeing the most formidable fighters of the Wing Tribe flee, the dwarves obviously didn't want to stay behind to meet their end, and as they ran, they shouted warnings.

"General Balin was killed by the Double Rest Sect's Holy Artifact. Saturday is too powerful. Everyone run! There's only a dead end if you stay."

Tristan didn't know whether these dwarves were truly dazed from the battle, babbling nonsense, or just looking for a reason to justify their disgraceful retreat.

In any case, it was stupid, and not only that, dangerously so.

If it weren't for Balin's early sacrifice, Tristan might have suspected the dwarves of treachery, but he couldn't control them, letting these fools scamper around spreading panic everywhere.

Seeing morale drop further and the army starting to show signs of impending collapse, other lords were also losing their composure, and they broke their silence.

"My lord, we must leave now or it will be too late."

"Yes, the Double Rest Sect keeps producing Holy Artifacts one after another, and with the help of the giant dragon, the outcome is decided. There's no point in stubbornly continuing the fight."

"Lord Solomon won't blame you. You've done your best. It was the Wing Tribe who fled first. Perhaps we too should retreat back to Rock Snow City, and send someone to seek reinforcements from Lord Solomon."

"This time, Lord Solomon only sent less than three hundred men. If he were willing to send more, that White Dragon would definitely stand no chance."

One by one, everyone urged Tristan to break out sooner rather than later, fearing he might not see reason and drag everyone down with him.

This was because they didn't yet know the true situation in Lake City; otherwise, no one would care about Tristan—they would have dispersed long ago.

Tristan also acknowledged that defeat was inevitable. His earlier resolve to hold on wasn't due to any sort of loyalty to the Wing Tribe.

It was mainly because he was the commander of this army, leading nearly 80,000 men against a little over 20,000, and losing would be a huge blow to his reputation, bringing shame upon the Pangluosi Family as well.

Tristan felt reluctant, but he was gradually coming to his senses, realizing that Arundel's advice was correct.

Though the losses this time were heavy, as long as he lived to return, he would still be the lord of Elk Valley. And since the Wing Tribe had abandoned them first, Solomon would have no grounds to blame him.

What Tristan was worried about now was whether the surviving members of the Wing Tribe, fearing punishment, would turn around and blame the defeat on him upon their return.

With this in mind, he looked around and asked, "Where's Ivan? Where is Ivan?"

Tristan wanted to send Ivan to Lake City to report to Solomon exactly what had happened here, but he couldn't find the former head of intelligence anywhere.

The Wing Tribe pulled him out of the dungeon, asking him to continue as a translator to assist them in communicating with Tristan.

But this time, since they were about to face the White Dragon and Li Yu, the Wing Tribe didn't want any baggage before departing, so they dumped Ivan on Tristan.

However, Tristan now realized that Ivan had disappeared.

The nobles and lords looked at each other, and after a moment, one spoke up, "I haven't seen him since the battle started."

"......"

Tristan no longer knew what to say.

What in the world was happening today, with everyone so eager to flee?

As the first person to recognize the danger, Ivan indeed slipped away the fastest, but since he was alone, his escape didn't draw much attention.

Moreover, because of his translator status, even the overseeing soldiers wouldn't stop him; he actually managed to get away.

However, owing to his mid-escape and the blame for Lannita's capture still resting on him, Ivan dared not return to Rock Snow City.

Turning himself in at Green Field was even less possible. After surveying his surroundings, the former intelligence chief saw a forest in the distance and decided to head in that direction—if pursuers came after him, the forest might give him a better chance to stay alive.

Yet, as Ivan made his way, just as he was about to reach the forest, the White Dragon and its following Wing Tribespeople coincidentally headed in the same direction, giving the former intelligence chief quite the scare.

In a panic, he found a small pit to hide in. Ivan watched the White Dragon fly over his head, then faintly heard sounds of battle, and before long, he saw the White Dragon fly past again, followed by a group of Wing Tribespeople.

Unaware of what had happened and too frightened to come out, Ivan could only continue lying low in the pit. He didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually, both the White Dragon and those Wing Tribespeople had been gone for a while.

Feeling he was likely safe now, the former intelligence chief sat up from the pit, but before he could even feel relieved, he noticed a group of people surrounding the pit, each holding a long iron pipe, all aimed at him.

"Who are you?" the man leading them, with thick black hair and a military officer's bearing, raised an eyebrow.

"I, I'm nobody… just a traveler passing by," said Ivan, trying to force out a smile. "I never expected a battle to be going on here. It gave me such a shock that I thought of hiding in the forest."

"A traveler?" A smirk appeared on the black-haired officer's face, "Your accent sounds like someone from the Royal Capital, so you've run quite a distance."

The former intelligence chief felt a bit embarrassed and wanted to argue further.

However, the black-haired officer waved his hand, already commanding, "Tie up this suspicious fellow first. If we want to earn more military merit, we need to move faster. With those Wing Tribespeople escaping, I don't think those left will last much longer."

Tom's prediction came true. As Tristan and others decided to break out, the Alliance Army quickly collapsed, dropping their weapons and scattering in all directions.

Miss Rabbit tasked Thomas with temporarily guarding the Sun King, while she herself rode on the White Dragon alongside Li Yu, chasing down the fleeing soldiers.

The Lady was ecstatic. Counting the Dragon Slayer battle, this was the third war she'd commanded—three victories in three, with the latter two against stronger opponents each time.

But with Li Yu's assistance, she still achieved final victory. Even though she was not particularly sensitive to political matters, she vaguely sensed the significant implications this war had for the Bratis Continent.

However, that was a matter for later. For now, Miss Rabbit was completely immersed in the joy of victory, continuing to chase down the remnants, intent on capturing prisoners and maximizing their gains.