Work Prophet

Miss Rabbit had been thinking about fishing for a long time, and as soon as she stepped out, she unexpectedly caught a big fish.

The battle with Drake helped Ireya resolve quite a few issues at once; according to Joseph, Berries Castle had less than two hundred garrison troops left.

Moreover, alongside Drake were the armies of several nearby lords, meaning that their territories were now unprecedentedly vulnerable.

The young girl naturally didn't stand on ceremony with them, capturing all these places in one go, her display of strength frightening many into submission.

Though Ireya had been a formidable fighter before, having first defeated a giant dragon, then overcoming the dwarves' large army in the Dragon Ridge Mountain Range, and later crushing the invasions of the Wing Tribe.

However, over the past year, she had been focusing on production in the Western region, developing agriculture, leading many to forget how adept she was at warfare.

Now, the young girl forced everyone to remember her impressive past victories with a series of clean and decisive triumphs.

So the remaining lords of the Golden Valley panicked, whether they had chosen to side with Allister, remained loyal to Claudio, or were still observing. They disregarded prior grievances and banded together.

The strength of this enemy was too formidable; clearly, a single family couldn't hope to defeat such a powerful foe.

Meanwhile, Lilania and her husband had just completed their preparations and set off on their journey. Their original plan was to meet Ireya outside Berries Castle and attack together, but they were surprised to find Ireya was already inside the castle drinking cola.

By the time Lilania and her husband reached Berries Castle, they learned that this Western army had resumed moving north after resting over the weekend.

Wherever they went, local lords either surrendered their cities or fled, and no one dared to resist.

Drake's disastrous defeat demoralized many, especially with the rumors among the defeated soldiers that Ireya and her Western army could summon white smoke and thunder on the battlefield and control a terrifying large iron ball to crush any enemy foolish enough to stand against them.

With the precedent set by the Wing Tribe, more and more people began to believe Miss Rabbit truly had divine assistance.

And how could mere mortals compete against the divine?

Black Hand Edra pondered this as Rune City filled with emissaries from various families.

These emissaries had been chattering in his City Lord Mansion for days, each displaying an increasingly anxious demeanor, which only deepened Edra's frown.

"Enough," Black Hand interrupted their chatter, "Complaining here every day and spreading tales of the enemy's might won't help you protect your lands."

"And what brilliant ideas do you have then?" asked a young noble.

Rather than dismiss him due to his age, Edra respected him, for he knew this was Wolf, from the Fanrasen family.

Just two years ago, this name and the family behind it were utterly unknown.

But Wolf rose to prominence at a tournament held by Solomon, where he defeated several opponents, earning the Wing Clan Commander's favor, who rewarded him with land and wealth, allowing him to leapfrog into prominence.

After Solomon's death, Lannita did not trouble the new nobles Solomon had appointed, instead, she relied on them more, gifting Wolf a fertile piece of land in the Golden Valley as a present.

He subsequently became the new noble with the most land in the Golden Valley.

"Your Emperor, Conley, doesn't he have two dragons," Edra spoke politely to Wolf, "Perhaps you could write and ask to borrow one, allowing us to focus on dealing with Ireya and her Western army."

Wolf shook his head, "The Wing Tribe already lost a dragon, and now they treasure the remaining two like precious gems. I don't have the pull to request one."

"You should tell the Wing Tribe that Ireya has claimed kingship; she won't be satisfied with merely taking the Golden Valley. If we lose, Elk Valley is next, followed by the Red Plain," Edra asserted.

"What about your Emperor then, what's his plan?" Wolf queried.

"His Majesty is too far away, even with the will to help us, he can't do much unless you open the Red Plain and Elk Valley to allow his army passage."

"That's beyond my authority," Wolf replied calmly, then glanced at the other nobles still arguing in the hall.

"There are matters on my lands that need tending to, let me know once you reach a conclusion," he stated.

He turned and left Edra's mansion, not waiting for Black Hand's response.

Edra watched Wolf's departing figure with narrowed eyes.

Another noble named Jeluo turned to Edra and remarked, "Think that boy might betray us and switch allegiance to Ireya?"

"He made his start by siding with the Wing Tribe, but clearly holds little loyalty to them."

"These upstarts have no sense of noble honor," Jeluo commented, never one to think highly of the nouveau riche who grew by feasting on the old nobility's remains; a band of shameless hyenas.

Edra, however, put aside thoughts of new versus old nobility battles, focusing instead on the pressing survival issue.

At the current pace of that army's advance, it wouldn't be long before they reached his doorstep.

"Perhaps we could seek help from the Pangluosi family in Elk Valley," a noble suggested.

"The Pangluosi family? They've long been terrified by Ireya, nearly emptying their coffers to ransom Tristan. They lack the courage to confront Ireya again," Black Hand said with a sigh.

When Tristan suffered a crushing defeat, many nobles ridiculed him, but it turned out they were soon to face the same.

If that battle wasn't enough to convince people otherwise, Derick, as Edra's tutor and the famed General of the Golden Valley, had his abilities well known to Edra, and yet, he vanished just by encountering that Western army.

Black Hand couldn't imagine leading troops to victory against Ireya, even if he combined the forces of everyone in the hall.

This was his greatest headache: unable to fight, unwilling to abandon the hard-won lands to flee.

As Edra and the other nobles furrowed their brows in worry, a voice emerged from the crowd, "I might have a way to help you through this predicament."