Work Prophet

The dwarfs suffered losses in the Dragon Ridge Mountain Range and had to abandon their plan to invade the Western Territory, turning instead to attack the Golden Valley.

They relied on surprise attacks, winning several battles early on. However, once the nobles of the Golden Valley came to their senses, led by the Campbell Family, they quickly dealt a heavy blow to the dwarfs.

Both sides engaged in fierce battles around the Long Neck River, with the nobles of the Golden Valley gradually gaining the upper hand, but then the Pangluosi Family also sided with Solomon.

They marched from the Elk Valley, advancing swiftly and eventually trapping the local soldiers between them and the dwarfs across the river.

The nobles of the Golden Valley held on for four days despite the dire situation, but were finally defeated on the morning of the fifth day.

Duke Theodore, the head of the Campbell Family, was captured and sent to Lion Heart Castle, where Solomon quickly ordered his execution.

Wild, a vassal of the Campbell Family, also participated in the fierce battle by the Long Neck River and survived, returning to his own territory with just over twenty cavalry members.

Wild realized that after losing this battle, the Golden Valley could not be preserved, so he posted notices in the city, telling the residents that the Wing Tribe and their allies were coming, urging everyone to evacuate for safety.

He himself also led his remaining forces to Green Field to reunite with his granddaughter.

During this time, Wild had been following the Lady around on various campaigns. This diminutive, warty-eyed noble of the Golden Valley fought bravely, often charging at the front with his war axe.

He even competed with the nobles of the Western Territory over who had slain more enemies, earning a lot of respect in just half a month.

Moreover, everyone had sworn an oath to resist the invasion of the Wing Tribe and to watch out for each other.

By now, everyone had gradually reclaimed their lands, except Wild. Thus, when Miss Rabbit announced her plan to continue advancing east and attack Fertile Point, no one opposed.

Although many were eager to return to their territories, assess the damage, and restore production.

However, thanks to the prestige Ireya accumulated during this time, everyone accepted this expedition — particularly since Fertile Point was relatively near, just at the edge of the Western Territory.

It's less than a seven-day journey from Songshi Castle, so going there doesn't waste much time, though they still don't know the current situation in the city.

Since there were limited radios, Li Yu couldn't equip every town with one. The City Lord of Fertile Point, Wild, was considered half a comrade, so any information would be passed along, and Li Yu didn't assign additional informers there.

According to Tristan and other captives, when they left, there were about two thousand defenders remaining in the city, but Solomon had given orders to many allies.

He wanted them to partake in this war against the Western Territory, but some, due to the distance, arrived late. Solomon, not willing to wait, took eighty thousand troops to set out first.

Latter arrivals were instructed to gather at Fertile Point, awaiting further orders from him.

With so much time passing, it was estimated that there should be at least twenty or thirty thousand people in the city; if more had arrived, perhaps even forty or fifty thousand.

The Lady couldn't help but frown. Right now, she only had a full count of thirty thousand, even after accepting many nobles like Pearls who came to seek refuge.

Simply put, newly reclaimed land also required manpower for reconstruction and maintaining order.

The good news was she still had a dragon and the arms factory had sent over six Italian Cannons.

The young lady now had thirty-three Italian Cannons at her disposal, their firing power and shock immense, making the whole earth tremble.

Ireya thought for a moment and realized pondering over matters here was useless; she might as well head to the city under Fertile Point to have a look first.

Meanwhile, Wild was excited to hear that the Lady intended to help him reclaim his territory. He had already set out with fewer than a hundred warriors to scout the enemy lines ahead.

Ireya set off the afternoon of the next day, encountering smooth progress throughout. Although there were now more bandits and remnants of defeated armies, they dared only to rob villagers and small merchant caravans.

Seeing a large army, they fled as far as possible, not daring to cause trouble.

After leaving the Western Territory and entering the Golden Valley, Ireya slowed the marching speed and observed surrounding villages, which appeared even more desolate than those in the Western Territory.

Previously, the Golden Valley was renowned as the Empire's granary, with fertile land and a climate perfect for crops.

The Campbell Family was immensely wealthy, so much so that the Emperor had to borrow money from them, but their riches ultimately brought them disaster.

Invaders, upon occupying this land, first burned, killed, and looted, sparing not even the smallest village.

Furthermore, the allies summoned by Solomon later also engaged in rampant looting.

Everyone knew the Golden Valley was rich; even those arriving late hoped for a share of the spoils.

And so, it became the scene now seen by Miss Rabbit.

The remaining villagers were terrified upon seeing yet another army approach. Some took their remaining grain and fled into the woods, while some, emaciated, simply lay by the roadside awaiting death.

Their eyes were still open, but devoid of hope, startling both Niu Xiangui and Liu Xuebin.

Both were relatively young, in their thirties, born after the reforms and open policies, which meant they had experienced a long peace and had only seen such scenes in movies and games.

Though the Western Territory had also been invaded, Solomon had hurried through it to capture Green Field, resulting in less destruction.

Niu Xiangui initially thought about sharing some of the bread he brought with these poor souls but eventually gave up on this naïve idea due to the sheer number of starving people by the roadside.

But there were those who didn't give up.

—Adelle, who joined this expedition, led the Sabbaths in the Double Rest Sect to listen to her commands. Additionally, a Black Dog Guard unit of about three hundred was assigned to protect her and the other Sabbaths.

Adelle and several Sabbaths carried those starving by the roadside onto carriages, giving them a small piece of bread, which they ate with water.

It was Liu Xuebin who suggested the meager portion.

He worried that, after starving for so long, their weakened stomachs might burst from an overdose of food.

However, after a while, Adelle realized there were too many people, and the carriages were running out of space.

So she used the radio to contact the order, hoping they could send more help and carriages over before heading to the front of the troops to find Ireya.