Work Prophet

Conley had just listened to the survivor from the scout team describe the horrifying scene they witnessed in the woods not long ago along with their ordeal, his face was full of incredulity.

He could no longer maintain his former composure and shouted loudly.

"You bastard, why is it that everyone else is dead and only you came back alive! You must have been bribed by Ireya to come back and spread lies, trying to shake the army's morale. Someone, take him away and throw him into the dungeon!!!"

Claudio, standing to the side, was also astonished, but since it wasn't his men who died, his reaction was slightly better than Conley's.

He felt that the scout wasn't lying, because he could've easily made up a more believable story than saying someone's head exploded while they were walking, which was too bizarre.

But ultimately, Claudio said nothing and let the scout be dragged away.

Because regardless of whether the scout was telling the truth or not, it had to be treated as false, otherwise, even before the fight began, the army's morale would already be gone.

Once the scout was taken away, the room fell into a deathly silence.

No one spoke, and this oppressive atmosphere lasted for a long time before Allister said, "What do we do now?"

Conley's eyes were red, and he said through gritted teeth, "We'll go out of the city tomorrow and fight them. I refuse to believe they truly have a god standing behind them. Even if there is, I will defeat it."

However, after he spoke, he found that no one echoed his sentiment.

Claudio hung his head, lost in thought, and Allister averted his gaze after meeting Conley's.

Conley's voice turned cold, "You two aren't thinking of deserting, are you?"

Claudio coughed, "I'm not thinking of deserting, just that we should rethink our approach this time..."

Claudio's words were cut off by Conley, "We don't need to rethink anything. We already agreed to fight a life-and-death battle with Ireya here. Are you trying to break those sacred oaths?"

"You're just trying to drag us down with you because you've lost all your resources," Allister murmured.

Conley gave a sinister smile, no longer hiding, simply admitting, "That's right. I am forcing you to stake your resources too. If you refuse to keep your promises, I will order my army to attack your men, and we can all die together."

"Are you crazy?" Allister's face changed at his words.

Claudio hurriedly tried to mediate, "We didn't say we're retreating."

"If we give up Deer Horn Gate, Ireya and her Western Army will come in unchallenged. I may be the first to suffer, but you two won't escape either," Conley's voice was hoarse.

What really swayed Allister and Claudio was Conley's final remark.

"I know you fear the Double Rest Sect, fear Merlin and what stands behind him, but every day you delay, the divine power of that Foreign God will only grow stronger.

"It can curse Solomon and defeat his Wing Clan Army, summon Heavenly Fire to kill my Dragon, so maybe in some time, even just staying in your own castle, you might suddenly die."

Claudio sighed, "You're right, we can't be divided at a time like this."

"But how can we defeat Ireya? You've seen her methods; even the giant dragon couldn't stop her. What can we do?"

Allister was slightly emotional, "I need to find the Priest of Cornelia, only she can deal with Merlin and Saturday."

"That priest of yours abandoned you a long time ago," Conley sneered, "She didn't even come with you to Elk Valley."

"No, no, no, there's a misunderstanding between us, but she wouldn't abandon me. The Life Goddess wouldn't abandon me."

Claudio interjected, "You shouldn't believe that deceitful woman, remember what happened to father."

"Father wasn't killed by Cornelia! It was that bitch Heloise who poisoned his drink and tried to frame me."

"Gentlemen... I didn't come here to listen to royal secrets. Can we focus on the current war?" Conley impatiently interrupted the brothers' quarrel.

"Even though we lost two Dragons and those Wing Clan Warriors, we still have more numbers, and the enemy didn't bring Dragons this time, so in a face-off, we still hold the upper hand."

Conley's words, whether meant to comfort his allies or himself, did not really have the desired effect.

Both Claudio and Allister frowned deeply.

The main problem was that their opponent's strange tactics were just too numerous, making it impossible to gauge normally.

Conley kept talking, but no one was listening anymore.

After a while, Claudio finally spoke up, "We should stay in the city."

Allister immediately agreed, "Yes, Deer Horn Gate is known for its strength. If not for a traitor infiltrating Tristan's side, we wouldn't have taken it so easily.

"Since that's the case, we have no reason to abandon this fortress, going outside to fight Ireya head-on."

Conley, initially too agitated upon hearing the bad news, now sobering slightly, felt there was some truth to their words.

Their original plan was to force Ireya into a decisive battle under the city, and Ireya had come as expected.

In that case, there was no need for them to go out, as the side with a fortress to defend in a battle generally holds the advantage... right?

Though it was simple military knowledge, the three of them found it hard to be sure now, which was not a good omen.

Yet as Conley said, they had no retreat. If they lost this battle, the extermination of the three was just a matter of time.

"As long as we hold Deer Horn Gate, we still have a chance at victory," Claudio said.

After their discussion, none of them went to sleep and instead started arranging the city's defenses, and it was then that Conley heard yet another piece of bad news.

He heard that some Wing Clan Warriors who had followed Lannita for a night raid had returned alive, but those few seemed completely terrified.

They flew over Deer Horn Gate, but didn't land, heading straight east, as if something was chasing them.

This scene was witnessed by many of the city's defenders, spreading quickly within the army and causing another uproar.

Conley wanted to use the same old trick, catching the "rumor-mongers" to throw them into the dungeon, but this time there were too many spreading the "rumors," making it impossible to catch them all.