Work Prophet

The Old Oak Tree sensed the aura of danger.

No sooner had the White Queen appeared than the Family Head of the Dormond Family immediately took cover beneath the castle walls.

He watched with his own eyes as the White Dragon unleashed a long jet of flame toward the castle walls, setting everything ablaze above.

The Old Oak Tree was no stranger to the White Dragon, having seen it several times before while he was at Lion Heart Castle.

Every time he saw it, he couldn't help but marvel at the monsters' power and terror, and he felt fortunate that he did not have to make enemies with them.

But the Old Oak Tree now realized he might have rejoiced too soon.

The giant dragons were still as powerful and fierce as ever, only this time, they were no longer on his side.

He saw a group of militia archers shooting wildly at the white shadow in the sky, their aim poor with extreme fear; only a few arrows struck the giant dragon's body.

But they were easily deflected by its hard scales. To the giant dragon, such attacks were probably no more than a tickle. Nevertheless, it drew the dragon's attention, and turning its head, it opened its mouth, and in the next instant, the group of militia archers was engulfed by flames.

Screams sounded from within, but soon they ceased.

Then a great rumbling rose outside the city, like thunder, and the walls trembled slightly.

The Old Oak Tree saw many of the city guards leaving their posts, running about inside the city like headless flies.

Among them, he spotted a familiar figure and pulled him over.

"Where's your great-grandfather, Clovis? Where is Lord Clovis? Tell him to come out and maintain some order," he said.

The young man was startled when his arm was pulled, but when he recognized who it was, he relaxed a bit.

"Lord Vierstein, didn't my great-grandfather make it clear to you? He will not intervene in military matters; he has left it all to you to take charge. He won't lead the troops into battle," he replied.

"I'm not asking him to lead the troops, just to come out and quell the unrest. Right now everyone is panicking, and if this continues, we'll be finished even before the people outside break in," Vierstein said.

"They have a dragon, did you see that White Dragon?!" exclaimed the young man.

"I saw it, yes, I saw it, and that's exactly why I need to find Lord Clovis. Where is he now?" the Old Oak Tree demanded impatiently.

"I... I don't know, I haven't seen him in the castle these past two days. He's probably in the library," the young man guessed.

"At a time like this, he's reading books?" The Old Oak Tree's eyes widened.

"Whenever Lord Clovis faces a tough problem, he goes to the library. He always says the answers are in the books," the young man explained.

"Answers my arse, those scrolls can't help us defeat the army outside," the Old Oak Tree snorted.

"Then what should we do?" The young man grew even more panicked when the Old Oak Tree spoke thus.

"First find Clovis. He is the Family Head of the Figrola family, the lord of this land. He can't keep hiding in the library. At the very least, he needs to let the people in this city know he hasn't abandoned them, that he's still with them," the Old Oak Tree instructed.

Hearing this, the young man nodded continuously and then took off towards the library.

He stumbled along the way, colliding with a group of civilians also running in panic and fell into a pile of mud. But he couldn't be bothered to curse at the oblivious fools. He got up from the ground and continued on his way.

Fortunately, the library wasn't too far from the western gate, and he quickly arrived there, only to find that the guards at the door had also disappeared.

So, unobstructed, he ran into the library.

Different from the chaos and noise outside, it was as quiet and serene as ever here.

The spacious and bright hall was empty, not a soul in sight.

The young man shouted, "Lord Clovis!" as he hurriedly ran inside, leaving a trail of black footprints on the floor.

It wasn't until he reached the second floor that he saw the familiar figure in front of a row of bookshelves.

The young man said anxiously, "Lord Clovis, Lord Vierstein is looking for you."

Clovis was absorbed in reading a book and did not even look up upon hearing this.

The young man had no choice but to raise his voice a notch and repeated what he said before.

This time, Clovis glanced at him and said, "I know."

Realizing his own overreaction, the young man quickly bowed in apology, but when he looked up at Clovis, he found the old man had buried his nose back in his book without taking a single step.

"Lord Clovis, the lords outside have rebelled. They have actually elected Ireya as the new ruler of the western lands, and they are saying they will take Rock Snow City from our hands.

"They are attacking us right now, and they even have a Dragon on their side!"

Clovis frowned, clearly displeased, "Didn't I discuss this with Vierstein before? Military matters are his responsibility, I don't know how to fight."

"But Lord Vierstein wants you to make an appearance, use your prestige and your ties with the Figrola family to maintain order in the city."

As the young man spoke, he heard footsteps approaching from behind. Turning around, he found Guard Captain Ross with a terribly grim expression on his face.

"Lord Clovis, Vierstein has fled."

"Fled? What do you mean he fled?" the young man couldn't help but ask.

"He just took his men and left through the east gate," Ross said. "That bastard, he abandoned us when things looked grim."

The young man was so shocked by the news that he nearly leapt up, "They just left like that, why didn't you stop them?"

"When I found out they were running away, there were less than ten of them by my side, how could I possibly stop them."

"What do we do now?" The young man was utterly panicked and could only cast a pleading look back at Clovis.

Just then, Guard Captain Ross was also looking at Clovis, waiting for his command.

But all Clovis did was pause for a moment before raising the book in his hand again.

"Lord Clovis, are you still looking for the answer in your book?" the young man asked.

However, the old man shook his head, "Go find someone else for solutions. I will not leave this library again."

"Ah?"

"After this period of time, I have realized I'm not cut out for leading the family. I am happier here reading books."

Both the guard captain and the young man stood dumbstruck; they had not expected Clovis to drop his responsibilities and quit at such a critical moment.

Especially the young man, who had admired Clovis's calm composure when he first saw him in the library, even feeling a bit ashamed of his own earlier panic.

He said in a trembling voice, "Lor… Lord Clovis, are you joking?"

"I am not joking," Clovis said. "I'm serious. I thought history had taught me the answer, but now it seems that answer wasn't precise, and since all I know is reading, I don't know what to do next either.

"Go find someone else to make a decision. Stop keeping me from reading."