Work Prophet

"...The lords gathered at Green Field now all start to regret their decisions," Ireya still insists that Divine Punishment will descend on the Sabbath, but more and more people are starting to realize she's just faking her confidence, and we are destined to lose this battle.

"Oh right, Merlin hasn't shown his face for many days now, some even suspect he has already escaped... The morale of the Resistance Army is very low at the moment, with people sneaking away every day."

"...Once the grand army arrives, there will be even more defectors."

The one speaking now was a minor noble nicknamed "Wise Man," who had also joined Ireya's Resistance Army, but seeing the bad turn of events, he had fled early on.

Having heard that Solomon's army was at Rock Snow City, he came over without stopping to offer his allegiance.

Clovis brought him before Tristan and Balin, and let him recount the current situation at Green Field.

After he finished, Clovis added, "What he says should be true; he is not the first one to run away. Many nobles from Ireya's side have already come to me begging for me to plead with Lord Solomon on their behalf."

Tristan and Balin exchanged glances, their eyes filled with joy.

"The time has come to launch the decisive battle," the Family Head of the Pangluosi Family said, "The army has rested for two days now; it is time to march and flatten Green Field, ending this war."

Balin also wore a grin, saying, "I heard that woman named Ireya has made quite a fortune over the years, extorting no less than seventy thousand gold lions from His Majesty for Prince Oli's ransom.

"I have come here with a heavy responsibility, to claim back the money that rightfully belongs to the Dwarves.

"Furthermore, I've heard that the Double Rest Sect has been making a killing by selling cheap textiles, a particular type of white paper, and some Divine Medicine that rejuvenates men."

"Before setting off, Lord Solomon promised we can take half of the spoils of war, so let's evenly split that half."

Upon hearing this, Tristan inwardly cursed the Dwarves' greed; Balin had immediately determined that the seventy thousand gold lions paid by Dwarf King Herry to Ireya were extorted.

This means that split wouldn't include the seventy thousand, which the Dwarves would enjoy all to themselves.

Moreover, splitting evenly might seem fair, but one should know that the Dwarves had brought less than twenty thousand soldiers this time, with the rest being nobles and their warriors conscripted by Solomon from various places.

There was no way so many people were going to settle for just half.

Therefore, without hesitation, Tristan rejected the Dwarf General's suggestion, "Let's distribute based on per capita or military merit instead, the more one contributes, the more one should receive."

Balin frowned; although the Dwarves had superior weapons, they certainly didn't have the numbers. In either a per capita or military merit distribution, they wouldn't have the advantage.

However, he couldn't find too good a reason to refute Tristan's argument, especially since if Solomon were here, he would definitely agree with the military merit distribution.

Thus, as Balin's eyes twinkled with cunning, a new idea struck him.

"Then let's split based on military merit. Our main targets this time are to kill that Lady named Ireya and the Prophet Merlin of the Double Rest Sect.

"If anyone can bring back the head of one of them, they will receive an additional tenth of the spoils, and the rest will be divided among the remainders."

Inwardly, Tristan sneered, the Dwarf General had almost written his calculations on his face, and once the battle started, they would surely focus all their efforts on killing Ireya and Merlin.

But this time, Tristan did not refuse. He didn't want to continue bickering with the penny-counting, insatiably greedy Dwarf.

The Pangluosi Family wasn't short of money, and he didn't care much about the wealth of the Double Rest Sect, he just needed to give an account to the other nobles and lords.

The current distribution method, at least on the surface, seemed much more reasonable than the previous one, and Balin was so confident that he could secure additional spoils of war, but the final outcome might not be to his liking.

There's a chance that he won't even receive as much as those who are allocated a share per capita.

"Let's do it this way," Tristan said indifferently, instructing his attendant to pass the message to the other lords that they would muster the troops and set out after lunch.

The warriors of the Alliance Army, upon hearing that they were about to besiege Green Field, also displayed considerable excitement.

Many of them, just like the dwarves, coveted the wealth of the Double Rest Sect and the Arias Family, eager to land themselves a fortune there.

Moreover, throughout their journey, they had barely encountered any significant resistance; victory followed victory, and rumors had it that the Resistance Army was on the verge of collapse, which suggested that the final battle would likely be an easy win.

Where there is pride, there is bound to be disappointment.

When Solomon launched an attack on the western territories, Clovis also coordinated by arresting the Sabbath of the Double Rest Sect and its believers who worshipped on Saturdays.

Many were captured, including Ireya's great-grandmother Ona, and thrown into the dungeon. The Lady had once written to beseech Ona to leave, but her request was refused.

The old woman appeared very calm, stating that she didn't have many years left to live anyway. If Clovis and the Wing Tribe wanted to kill her, then they might as well go ahead.

It would also serve to show the other nobles of the western territories how the Figrola Family treated their vassals.

Besides the believers of the Double Rest Sect like Ona, there was another very special prisoner in the dungeon.

—Ivan, the former head of the Empire's intelligence, who had only recently been sent to the western territories as an envoy by Solomon. However, with the capture of Lannita and the loss of a giant dragon, someone had to take the fall for these disasters.

Thus, Ivan was inexplicably arrested and detained in Rock Snow City, waiting for Solomon to decide his fate.

Having regard for their past relations, Clovis didn't make things difficult for Ivan, arranging for him the cleanest cell and providing his meals separately, including wine and meat.

But waiting for judgment was not a pleasant experience, and with his previous political acumen as head of intelligence, he could guess that his chances of survival were slim.

Solomon was a wise man who could likely see at a glance that he had been wronged. Still, Solomon also needed to give an explanation to Sibulun.

If killing him could make Sibulun a bit happier, Solomon would not hesitate. Thinking thus, Ivan couldn't help but sigh deeply.

It was at this moment that he saw two members of the Wing Tribe walk into the dungeon from outside.

Thinking it was Solomon who had arrived, the former intelligence chief involuntarily recoiled, and indeed, the two Wing Tribe members, led by the jailer, were coming straight toward him.

"Come with me," said one of them.

"Where to?" Ivan asked warily.

"Green Field," the Wing Tribe member said impatiently, waving his hand. "You know our language, come out and translate for us."