Work Prophet

"Gentlemen, gentlemen…" Seeing the discussion getting more and more out of hand, Knight Harvey had no choice but to speak up and interrupt, "Is it not a bit late now to think about changing bets?"

"Especially those who went with me to Rock Snow City, we all thought this was an election without suspense, so before this no one tried to curry favor with Ireya. If she becomes the Lord, she will certainly remember this."

"What of it? We just need to admit our mistake," Purple Sparrow Flower said. "We need her, and she needs us just as much. Even if Miss Ireya is in a temper and fails to see this, the Foreigner advisor by her side will remind her. Besides, I think we should not always view people with old prejudices."

"Miss Ireya turned around an election that was almost certainly lost, sharply sensed the potential danger, and left Rock Snow City ahead of time. She also enabled Alfred to successfully take Teacup Castle. Every move has been brilliant, and I think we need to reassess her."

"Isn't that her advisor's doing?" Someone said.

"Knowing how to utilize people is also a remarkable ability."

Another person sighed, "Had we known earlier, we would have done like Trinidad, feigning illness to avoid getting caught up in this mess."

Harvey was angry and banged the table loudly, "I want you to think about how to save Alfred's family, not how to discuss switching sides! Since you have already responded to Lady Vanessa's call to join the army, you should focus on how to win the battle."

"Alfred took Teacup Castle with only three men. We have nearly three hundred, and we've been surrounding it for over three days with no progress. Don't blame Lady Vanessa for getting angry and resorting to drastic measures."

Knight Harvey's gaze swept over his colleagues, lingering especially long on the faces of Purple Sparrow Flower and Gold Snake, making them both somewhat uncomfortable, before he snorted coldly after a long while.

"If any of you is thinking of seeking a new master, I won't stop you, but you had best first consider one question, which is where your new master is right now."

At his words, Purple Sparrow Flower and Gold Snake fell silent, too.

Indeed, those who wanted to defect to Ireya were now faced with the biggest problem of not knowing where Ireya was, whether she was alive or dead.

The young lady had left Rock Snow City early in the morning with her advisor, but nearly eight days had passed, and they were still nowhere to be seen, inevitably leading to wild speculations.

All present were Nobles, and they naturally understood the brutality of succession disputes within Noble Families.

Considering Vanessa's decisive actions and the craziness in her bones, it was not impossible that she might have taken extreme measures against her stepdaughter.

In fact, a mercenary named Fajia who had been with her all the way back was nowhere to be found.

With this in mind, no one clamored for a switch of allegiance anymore; instead, they dispersed to prepare for the upcoming siege battle.

Three hundred men aiming to take down a stronghold was nothing short of a fool's dream, but Alfred had even fewer men to defend the castle, which by a generous count might amount to just over twenty.

Not to mention there was an informer for Vanessa inside. It was unknown whether Alfred, upon seeing his family members being executed, would do anything crazy, something that could not be ignored.

After a pre-battle meal, the Knights completed the arrangement of their Formation amid the light morning mist.

Speaking of Formation, it was really just stretching the men out over the plain. Most of the three hundred were part-time militiamen with limited training, who could not adopt any complicated Formation; when the time came, a collective charge would do.

The few available Cavalry units were independently grouped, stationed near the castle gate on guard to prevent Alfred from suddenly launching an attack from the gate.

As for the archers, they followed behind the infantry, ready to shoot at the enemies on the walls.

Although shooting from below was not as easy as shooting from above, and it was less likely to hit those behind the merlons and arrow slits, Vanessa's side had the advantage in numbers. As long as they could suppress the enemy's attack, the infantry could use ladders to climb the walls and successfully take the castle.

Of course, this would certainly result in casualties, so the best method was still to conquer without a fight.

Soon, Alfred's wife, son, granddaughter, and grandson-in-law were all brought and paraded before the castle gates, with Alfred's granddaughter cradling a small infant in her arms.

The child seemed to realize something was going to happen to him, crying loudly, and many faces in the army showed pained expressions.

Knight Harvey, clad in his heavy plate armor which wrapped him tightly, rode his horse to the front of the city gate.

Raising his voice, he yelled inside, "Rebel Alfred, I have brought your family here. Don't you want to see them?"

There was no answer from the top of the wall; in fact, it was eerily deserted, with not a soul in sight.

For some reason, Harvey suddenly felt a sense of unease.

Nevertheless, he suppressed this bad premonition and continued according to plan, "Lady and the young Lord are merciful, as long as you open the gates and surrender now. Not only can they guarantee the safety of your family, but even for your crime of rebellion, they might show leniency for the many years of service you've given to the Arias family."

After Harvey finished speaking, he waited, but there was still no response from inside.

The Knight's face began showing signs of impatience, and he raised his voice a few notches, "Alfred, do not persist in your delusion. Even if you don't consider yourself, think of your wife, your children, especially that newborn great-grandson of yours. You wouldn't want to see them suffer…"

Harvey hadn't finished speaking when the tightly shut gates of the city suddenly opened.

It startled the knight, who had actually accepted the Purple Sparrow Flower's argument that threats were useless against Alfred, and both the bloodshed and the subsequent siege were inevitable.

The reason he had approached the city at all was merely to demonstrate due diligence, never actually expecting the gates to open.

But Harvey was not worried about Alfred suddenly charging out to seize hostages.

Although there were only a dozen or so people escorting Alfred's relatives, each one was an elite capable of engaging the old knight and his twenty-plus men without issue, and the cavalry on the sidelines would also rush to assist.

Then Alfred would realize the tide had turned against him.

However, when Harvey looked again, he found no soldiers lying in wait behind the gate, only Alfred alone.

The old knight was also mounted on horseback, but he was neither armored nor carrying any weapons.

He just walked out of the city at a leisurely pace.

Harvey hadn't anticipated Alfred to be so foolish; although there were four people involved in the raid on the city, everyone knew that Alfred was the mastermind, and capturing him meant the rest were of no concern.

Teacup Castle would also revert to its rightful owner.

At this thought, Harvey's breathing became rapid, ready to order the capture.

But then his gaze shifted to what was in the old knight's hands.

Alfred was holding a wooden platter, which was covered with a silk velvet cloth.

And on that velvet cloth lay an egg-shaped object.

Having often accompanied Ruse, Harvey recognized it at a glance as Ruse's necklace, which was said to house an Ancient Spirit of the Arias family, though it had fallen into slumber due to some reasons.

Aside from Ruse himself, no one else had the fortune to witness it, and later the necklace was given to Ireya.

This fact was widely known in Green Field by now.

Seeing this necklace, Harvey felt even more uneasy.

He wanted his men to capture Alfred first, but unexpectedly the latter spoke up first. The old knight paid no heed to Harvey, nor did he glance at his own captured relatives.

He just raised his hands high and proclaimed loudly, "Seven days ago, at Rock Snow City, in the presence of Marquis Kuren, Sir Romero, Sir Leo, and over a hundred others, Miss Ireya was chosen as the Master of Green Field. Now, everyone at Rock Snow City is aware of this."

After he finished, his gaze turned toward a panicking Harvey, "You all witnessed this and yet chose to twist the facts, gathering troops and attacking Teacup Castle. What were your sinister intentions?"

With each word cutting deep, the old knight didn't wait for Harvey to answer and continued, "Such actions against the current, angering the ancestors of the Arias family, have awakened the Ancient Spirit within the necklace, blessing Miss Ireya and thus proclaiming her the true ruler of this land, all others are but traitorous imposters!"

"This... this is impossible, utterly ridiculous!" Harvey's voice grew shrill, "The Ancient Spirit is merely a legend, how could it... possibly exist!"

"If you don't believe it, then see for yourself. Not just you, all who harbor doubts are welcome to come and see."

A voice came from the top of the wall.

Harvey lifted his head, and coincidentally or not, the morning mist also just happened to disperse at that moment.

The morning light fell on the towering walls of Teacup Castle, and a figure appeared particularly majestic in the early light.

It was Ireya Arias, the recently absent new head of the Arias family, daughter of Bloody-eyed Ruse.

On her right side was a tall man gripping a War Axe, sporting a terrible ugly face, and who gave Harvey a grim smile.

To the left of Ireya stood a Foreigner clad in a strange black outfit.

He was holding a square box, and behind him, a wingless white monster bird was buzzing and slowly rising.

The riders, who had been through the chase the prior night, instantly recognized the creature and involuntarily let out a cry of alarm.

"Three-eyed monster bird!"