Work Prophet

As the first snowflake of winter fell on the land of the Bratis Continent, Conley, Allister, and Claudio finally met again.

And this time, it wasn't just the three of them; they were accompanied by their armies. Conley had sixty thousand soldiers, Allister brought forty thousand, and Claudio had thirty thousand — all elite troops.

Besides that, both Allister and Claudio lent Conley forty thousand golden lions, at least enabling Conley to cover the war expenses for this campaign.

The mood was complex as the three met again; none of them had anticipated becoming allies fighting side by side someday.

Moreover, if they successfully defeated Ireya, the three would still have to face each other in a decisive battle, leading to prolonged arguments when discussing the choice of the army's commander in Shorttail Town earlier, with no conclusion.

None of them trusted handing their troops over to another, fearing the other would intentionally exhaust their forces and weaken their power, ultimately choosing to lead their own soldiers until they could discuss their final strategy for the decisive battle.

Of course, this method lacked the convenience of unified command and made it difficult to fully leverage the army's combat power, as the battlefield conditions rapidly changed, leaving little time for negotiation.

However, there was no choice; there was a lack of trust among the three, and despite being bound by their oath, joining forces was their limit. With the combined might of their forces and two giant dragons siding with them, Allister and others believed their chances of victory were high.

But Lannita and the Wing Tribe were not so optimistic; among them were survivors from the western battle a year ago who witnessed the White Queen fighting off two adversaries, injuring the Red Grim Reaper and the Storm Monarch.

That White Dragon had been different ever since Merlin led it away, its power skyrocketing.

This is why during the conflict in the Golden Valley, Lannita refrained from sending a dragon to assist.

On one hand, she was restrained by Allister and Claudio; on the other, she worried about another dragon being led away by Li Yu or killed by the White Dragon.

This time, however, Lannita came prepared, instructing Hannah to make an ointment that emitted a fragrance irresistible to dragons.

Additionally, Lannita prepared a large barrel of poison obtained from the Blood Moon Association.

To this day, Lannita couldn't understand why those lunatics held them responsible for the death of Hirodod.

These persistent apparitions traveled thousands of miles from the west to Lion Heart Castle, poisoning, kidnapping, and assassinating to avenge the late Hirodod.

Over the past year, more than twenty Wing Tribe members had fallen at the hands of those remnants of the Blood Moon Association.

Although the number seemed small, it was critical considering fewer than nine hundred Wing Tribe members were still alive on the Bratis Continent, and some had already lost their ability to fight.

Even twenty members were a loss Lannita found difficult to bear. However, she did capture some remnants of the Blood Moon Association and extracted the Blood Banquet formula through interrogation.

This poison was renowned throughout the Bratis Continent, initially killing a host of Silver Moon Church High Priests and the noble commanders supporting them in Duolin City, followed by poisoning Emperor Edward II of the Empire.

Lannita planned to fill a roasted sheep's belly with poison and coat the sheep's skin with Hannah's ointment.

This trick was taught by Li Yu; Lannita previously lost the White Queen this way, and now she planned to use the same method to eliminate the dragon that betrayed her.

Once the White Queen was dead, they could claim the skies again, and even without directly confronting Ireya's army, incessantly harassing the west would be enough to force Ireya to retreat.

Lannita was not the only one prepared; after confirming the three would join forces against Ireya, the Second Son Alliance behind Claudio began to take action.

Tristan had betrayed them twice and suffered a defeat; many nobles in Elk Valley were displeased with him.

The Second Son Alliance secretly sent envoys to contact the Lords dissatisfied with Tristan, gaining their support.

When the army reached Elk Valley, these Lords would defect immediately and assist in besieging Deer Horn Gate.

Both Claudio and Conley were burdened with significant responsibilities in this campaign, while Allister remained relatively unobtrusive.

Both noticed that there were no Priest of Cornelia figures around Allister, nor any other priests from the Life Church, as they had been dismissed by Allister.

Recalling the previous gathering where Cornelia was absent, the old fox Conley quickly realized there might be issues between Allister and the Life Church.

For Conley, this was good news, as having faced the Life Church, he understood how troublesome Cornelia and her divine backing could be.

Aside from Merlin and his Double Rest Sect, Cornelia was the only Divine Officer capable of performing miracles.

It was Cornelia's miracle that cost Conley the New Moon Land, so if Allister parted ways with Cornelia, his future burden would be lighter.

Conley was even contemplating recruiting Cornelia, although he had now converted to Gaia, preventing him from adopting faith in the Life Goddess.

But as long as Lannita and Cornelia did not oppose it, he wouldn't mind believing in two Gods.

The army advanced westward, crossing the Red Plain, and quickly reached outside Elk Valley.

Tristan had gotten news early and wisely chose not to confront them outside, summoning all forces back to Deer Horn Gate.

Clearly, he intended to defend the fortified city built on the rock face. Furthermore, Tristan sent messengers to seek aid from Ireya.

Miss Rabbit had returned home to harvest after securing the Golden Valley and later provided troops with a break, just now setting out from the west.

Upon receiving Tristan's plea for help, she hastened her march, estimating that it would take at least a month and a half to reach Deer Horn Gate.

Unfortunately, this time she carried numerous supplies, notably large heavy items from the Double Rest Sect.

Miss Rabbit enlisted hundreds of cattle and horses to transport these items, but as for speed — it would be unattainable.

Therefore, Tristan needed to find a way to hold out for this month and a half, even though losing Deer Horn Gate or all of Elk Valley wasn't a significant issue for Ireya; she could reclaim it later.

But the disparity remained substantial for Tristan and the Pangluosi Family; Tristan knew that if Conley breached Deer Horn Gate, his family wouldn't fare well.

Conley had always been ruthless with traitors.