Work Prophet

According to the latest news Ireya received, Lake City had not opened its gates for four consecutive days.

Although the residents of the city were allowed to leave their homes on the evening of the second day, they still could not leave the city, and the Wing Tribe had fully taken over the town from the guards.

However, there weren't many Wing Tribe members active within the city, including Lord Solomon and other high-ranking military officials who had not yet shown themselves.

City Lord Pearls had requested to see Lord Solomon several times but was refused, so he had no choice but to continue staying at the inn.

More and more people began to notice the abnormalities, especially on the third day after the Wing Tribe's return when dozens of crows mysteriously fell from the sky.

Their deaths were very peculiar; without exception, not a single one bore any wounds.

Pearls had heard about this matter and sat in his room for a long while before getting up to drag out the largest chest from under his bed and rummaged through it.

After a moment, he finally found what he was looking for.

It was his correspondence with Ireya from a while ago. He had originally planned to burn them all before surrendering, but when the time came, his old indecision kicked in, and he had inexplicably kept these potentially fatal letters.

Pearls read through the Lady's letters from start to finish again, especially noting the parts related to Divine Punishment.

In her letter, Ireya was certain that Lord Solomon and his great army would taste defeat in the West, and they would endure Saturday's most brutal and relentless Divine Punishment, which would even affect other creatures with wings on their backs.

At this point, a shocked expression appeared on Pearls' face.

Because the current state of affairs was unfolding just as the Lady had prophesied in her letter.

Even though Lord Solomon's side kept a tight lid on information, someone had seen the Wing Tribe secretly moving something out of the city in the middle of the night.

Rumors said that what the Wing Tribe was carrying out were the corpses of their own kin.

Yet, despite the apparent calm within Lake City with no battles occurring, why were members of the Wing Tribe continuously dying? Pearls dared not think further.

When he had communicated with the Lady, he too had hoped that some God would step in, put a stop to the atrocities of the Wing Tribe, and save the West, and the Red Lion Empire.

However, now that his hopes had turned into reality, Pearls could not find any joy because he and the Marier family behind him had already surrendered to Lord Solomon and the Wing Tribe and handed over almost all their treasures.

If the Wing Tribe were really defeated in the West, then his action of surrendering the city would inevitably be despised by the other nobles of the West; the Marier family's prestige would plummet, and it was very likely that he would be held accountable by Ireya.

Perhaps the only consolation for Pearls was that, aside from Lord Solomon and his ten thousand-strong Wing Tribe army, the main attacking force of the West, consisting of the Dwarves and the imperial nobility-led Alliance Army, had not returned to Lake City but were still making significant advances.

By themselves, they might already be enough to crush the Resistance Army gathered at Green Field.

...

The Dwarf and Imperial Alliance Army, in which Pearls placed great hopes, were indeed making excellent progress; they had arrived at and taken Rock Snow City, the political and cultural center of the West.

Scribe Clovis led the remaining fifty-plus members of his family to exit the city and welcome Lord Solomon's arrival.

Clovis had even instructed his servants to gather many fresh flowers, which they spread over the main road outside Rock Snow City.

But they did not get to meet the famous Wing Clan Commander; instead, it was Tristan of the Pangluosi Family who took over the sword left behind by Snow Claw Philip from Clovis's hands.

After submitting, to show his sincerity, he had also hurried to participate in this "reclamation battle" of the West.

However, Tristan didn't like the weather in the western border, the stench-filled swamps, or the fierce winds that nearly blew one away.

He just wanted to end it all quickly, to crush the Lady named Ireya and her Resistance Army, then return to Elk Valley to enjoy a good drink.

Still, he showed considerable patience towards Lord Clovis, even dismounting his horse as he took his sword.

"Lord Clovis, it's been a long time. The last time I saw you was at the wedding in Kuren."

Tristan had his sword taken care of, removed his gloves, and there was a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

Clovis, however, couldn't quite remember, "You are?"

"Tristan of the Panglos Family. It seems our two families will be serving the same monarch once again."

"Oh, it's you." Clovis nodded, then asked, "Where is Lord Solomon?"

"Lord Solomon had urgent matters to return to Lake City for and had me command this army temporarily with Balin until he returns."

Tristan said, gesturing towards a white-bearded Dwarf nearby.

Perhaps reminded of his deceased grandson, Clovis didn't salute the Dwarf General, which displeased the latter, who mumbled under his breath.

It was Tristan who played peacemaker in the end, "Alright, everyone's serving Lord Solomon here. Let's use this opportunity to wipe the slate clean of any past grudges."

Spitting on the ground, Balin retorted, "Don't lump me in with you. You're nothing but hounds tamed by Solomon. We Dwarves are the true allies of the Wing Tribe."

Tristan was also uncomfortable with his words, but he suppressed his anger and said to Clovis,

"Let's enter the city. We're short on time; Lord Solomon has ordered us to reach Green Field within seven days."

"And when will Lord Solomon return?"

"I don't know," Tristan shook his head.

The belligerent Balin interjected, "Cowardly imperial people. Our forces far surpass that Lady Ireya's. We don't need Lord Solomon or his subordinates to lift a finger; we can defeat the enemy ourselves."

"Don't be so optimistic. They have a Dragon," Tristan reminded.

"We Dwarves are not afraid of Dragons." Balin patted his chest confidently.

"You're afraid of Ireya. She once defeated your thirty-thousand-strong army with only five thousand warriors," Clovis said coolly.

His words infuriated the Dwarf General, who puffed his beard and glared, unable to retort.

To Tristan, however, it seemed unimportant. In his view, although the Lady named Ireya had won the Champion title in the martial competition, it only showed her personal valor.

It didn't necessarily prove her command skills. The battle in the Dragon Ridge Mountain Range was indeed splendid, but he had heard it was only because the Dwarves were scared by the Divine Arts cast by Merlin and the betrayal of the barbarians, which gave her a great victory.

But Ireya's youth was evident, and her command experience surely wasn't extensive. With superior forces, as long as they were steady and made no mistakes, defeating her and her Alliance Army shouldn't be a problem.

The only real trouble was that White Dragon.