When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#409 - Live Well (4k)

"……So the number of people entering the city is simply not enough!"

"What do you mean the number of people entering the city isn't enough? Do you want more slaughter to be satisfied?" Karl grabbed Pettier's collar, his eyes red, and roared.

Several Kush Black Riders quickly stepped forward, pinning Karl's arms and pulling him away.

Pettier, covered in sweat, gasped for breath, saying, "I mean, given the number of troops outside the city, there should have been more troops entering.

They currently only have an understrength Edict Company, a few hundred foot knights, and a thousand guards. This is clearly unreasonable.

If I were Alman, I would have the understrength Edict Company on alert outside, and personally lead a full-strength Edict Company into the city. Why would I let the company commander, Ellard, take the credit?

Moreover, they have tens of thousands of guards. Rapid Current City is so large, they should have deployed more troops to take the city gates faster.

Why are they only attacking the South and West gates?

They have over thirty thousand people, why did they only send so few troops? Where are the others? Why aren't they entering the city?"

In reality, within the city, only the guards and foot knights were diligently capturing castle towers and seizing city gates.

Currently, only the South and West gates have been captured, and the battle line has advanced to the East gate, leaving only the North gate, defended by Catherine, still in their hands.

On the other hand, the dozens of Edict Knights within the Edict Company, along with over two hundred Transcendent Knights, were slaughtering and looting house by house, filling sacks taller than a person with spoils.

It's been so long since the city was breached, and even though the knights are looting quickly, they've only occupied half the city. Even Karl sensed something was wrong.

"Are you saying there's a problem with the Church army inside the city?" Karl's eyes lit up. "Can we drive them out of the city?"

"I'm saying there's a problem with the garrison outside the city!" Pettier, having caught his breath, had a sickly flush on his face. "There's an Edict Company in the city. With the heavy casualties we've suffered, how can we counterattack?"

"Then what do you mean?" Karl asked, dissatisfied.

"If I'm not mistaken, the garrison outside the city should just be a few groups of ordinary guards and reserve peasant soldiers!" Pettier rubbed his hands excitedly. "Let a few Kush Black Riders probe from the North gate. There must be a reason why they're not entering the city."

"Okay." Karl immediately called out a team of trusted Kush Black Riders to leave. "They'll be back in half an hour at the latest."

"Where is Lady Catherine? I need to report to her."

"The Guildmaster was ambushed by a Demon Hunter at the East gate and injured. She's bandaging her wounds in the blockhouse." Karl pointed to the red brick blockhouse in front of him. "I'm not sure which room she's in. You'll have to ask."

Before his racing heart could fully recover, Pettier pushed past the guards and rushed into the blockhouse.

He hurried, taking the stairs two or three steps at a time, and, guided by a maid, jogged into the meeting room.

The once exquisite wool carpet was covered with crying old, weak, and female refugees, and some wounded soldiers were applying medicine to their wounds, their foreheads covered in fine beads of sweat from the pain.

These were the most core and loyal members of the Megrd Merchant Guild, as well as the old, weak, and female refugees from nearby blocks, totaling over a thousand people inside and outside the blockhouse.

Carefully stepping over the haphazardly placed limbs and wounded, Pettier arrived at the balcony outside the meeting room.

On the balcony outside the meeting room, Catherine had removed her armor, wearing her usual long dress, and was leaning on the railing, gazing into the distance.

Flames and black smoke rose alternately, and knights galloped wildly down the wide streets, cutting down fleeing civilians.

Workshops, shops, restaurants, warehouses, the carefully preserved floats of various merchant guilds, the piles of ledgers and books, were all trembling under the swords and flames.

On various streets, city guards and mages were still defending step by step with barricades, and most of the mercenaries had either surrendered or disappeared.

Catherine, who had been slashed by a Demon Hunter, stood on the balcony, a piece of flesh cut away from the wound on her arm due to the poison.

Catherine watched the city she had built brick by brick collapse under the swords of the galloping knights.

"Executive Catherine, do you remember yesterday when you asked me why the Church army's offensive had weakened?" Walking behind Catherine, Pettier spoke directly without waiting for her to ask, "I know why!"

"Why?" Catherine didn't turn around, her voice as weary as an old person's.

Pettier excitedly told Catherine his discovery, and then said, "If that's the case, I suspect the Savior Army has arrived. Alman would abandon Rapid Current City for a big fish like the Holy Grandson."

Catherine suddenly turned around, her eyes shining frighteningly: "You mean the citizens can escape from the North gate."

Pettier looked over the railing at the wailing Rapid Current City and said in a deep voice, "Yes, the North gate is guarded by peasant soldiers. We can have the Kush Black Riders clear the way and break through the camp, and our people can evacuate, scatter, and hide in the forest.

I strongly suggest you go north along the Lesi River. The Holy Aunt's army has a stronghold there. Our people can scatter and join other Hottum County rebel armies."

"Our people? Only our people?"

Pettier smiled wryly: "If we're quick, we can also evacuate the civilians from this nearby block. You have to know, the knights are moving too fast, we don't have time to take the civilians with us.

They are still indulging in looting. Once they find out the citizens are trying to escape, they will do everything they can to intercept us……

So I think taking two blocks is the best solution at the moment…… Your Grace?"

Looking at the absent-minded Catherine in front of him, Pettier blinked and called out again, "Your Grace?"

Behind this blockhouse, there are still thousands of merchant associates and artisans, and their various old, weak, and female family members are concentrated here.

Not far away, a few hundred meters away, dozens of guards are fiercely fighting with the city militia for a small stronghold.

They don't have much time to escape.

Standing on the balcony of the blockhouse, Catherine walked to the center of the balcony and asked the people in the room without thinking, "Everyone, I am a witch, are you afraid of me?"

The betrayal of a small group of wealthy merchants and petty citizens is not the betrayal of the entire Rapid Current City.

Although these Huannuo followers and artisans still don't dare to get too close to her, they are still willing to follow Catherine.

The crowd looked at each other for a while, before someone said loudly, "Don't be afraid, my life was given to me by you, I'll just give it back to you."

Catherine didn't answer, just smiled softly, and took off the glasses Huannuo gave her, wiping them in her hand.

The wind blew through her sleeves, making a sound as if urging something.

Witches are monsters, getting close to them will lead to all kinds of misfortunes, she had already tasted this.

Twenty years ago, she should have died on the side of the road, becoming an unknown corpse.

But she, who was starving, was awakened by the middle-aged monk who was full of trash talk. The monk said, "You can die, but I gave you rations, you owe me, how about you die after you pay me back?"

Although she was only ten years old at that time, Catherine didn't like owing people anything, so she followed him.

I didn't expect this debt to last until now, and the rations have not been paid off until today.

Catherine wiped the cracks on the crystal glasses vigorously with a handkerchief, but she couldn't wipe them off no matter what.

"Your Grace?" Pettier asked tentatively, "What do we do next? Go out of the city to meet the Savior Army? Or go to the rebel army of Hottum County."

Without answering Pettier's question, Catherine carefully put on her glasses again, and after being silent for four or five seconds, she suddenly opened a completely irrelevant topic.

"I once asked my teacher, why did he take in us orphans? He obviously couldn't even eat enough himself sometimes."

"He said, his dream is too big, he can't do it himself."

"But what one Huannuo can't do, ten Brago monks can do, and what ten Brago monks can't do, one hundred Huannuo followers can do."

"Just like this, one pass ten, ten pass one hundred, you can do it when you have one million or ten million."

Catherine looked at the fleeing Rapid Current City in the distance, with fires everywhere, her voice was so distant that it seemed to come from outside the sky.

"So he took over the bankrupt Brago Monastery, so there was the small city of Huannuo, the Rapid Current City of Huannuo, and the Cold Spring Fort of Huannuo."

"I once didn't understand why the teacher would rather choose to be hanged than temporarily avoid the limelight, at least with him, Kashia County would not split."

"I now understand that one person really can't do everything……"

"When you have done all that should be done, then all you can do is the last thing."

Everyone present felt something was wrong, they looked at each other, but didn't know what to say.

The gloomy sky shone on Catherine's face, she squinted her eyes, looking at the sky covered by dark clouds.

Karl, who had rushed in from outside, stretched out his hand and waved it in front of Catherine, his face stiff: "Guildmaster, what are you talking about?"

Mitney next to him grabbed his wrist, pulled him back a step, and looked at Catherine with a complicated expression.

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"Rapid Current City was not built by me, it was built by the civilians of Rapid Current City."

"One witch Catherine can't build a Rapid Current City, but ten thousand Rapid Current City citizens can build a Rapid Current City, or even ten Rapid Current Cities."

Under the gloomy and hot sky, Catherine turned around and faced all these companions and associates of the Megrd Merchant Guild.

For ten years, they have been following her, even knowing her identity as a witch, they have never wavered.

After ten years of training, their abilities are long enough for themselves to build a new Megrd Merchant Guild.

Catherine finally understood her teacher's mood that night.

All that I can do has been done, only this last thing is left—to pass on the torch.

"Guildmaster, what do you want to do?" Probably feeling something, Karl asked anxiously.

Without answering, Catherine just nodded to Mitney one last time, and after receiving a response, she closed her eyes peacefully.

"Guildmaster!"

"Executive!"

The people on the balcony screamed.

The hot wind blew her long hair, and in the horrified eyes of everyone, she opened her arms, took a step back, tilted her body, and fell straight back from the edge of the roof.

Several Kush Black Riders scrambled to rush forward, squeezing to the edge of the roof, trying to grab Catherine.

But just as they poked their heads out from the edge of the roof, a sharp, ear-piercing friction sound rang out, and a gust of wind and shadow swept towards their faces.

They subconsciously shouted and leaned back, slamming their backs heavily on the ground.

"Hiss!" Covering their aching backs, the Black Riders arched their bodies and looked up with ugly faces, wanting to see what it was.

That is?

In the Rapid Current City full of killing and crying, there was a moment of eerie silence in front of the North Gate.

People raised their heads, staring blankly at Catherine, who was held in the air seven or eight meters by vines.

This time, all the Bloodsucking Vines did not avoid their mistress, but adhered to Catherine's wrists and ankles along with her armor.

In everyone's sight, Bloodsucking Vines with scars wrapped around Catherine's body like water snakes, and thin thorns pierced her skin.

These finger-thick Bloodsucking Vines suddenly withered for a moment, but the next second, it seemed to swell to the thickness of an arm in the blink of an eye.

Mitney could see clearly that Catherine's wrists, face, and calves were full of scars left by the Bloodsucking Vines crawling, and blood from the witch was dripping into the Bloodsucking Vines along the thorns.

Terrifying veins bulged from Catherine's face and arms, and when she opened her eyes again, her pupils were completely black.

This is a sign that the witch is on the verge of losing control.

At this moment, the witch's magic will reach an unprecedented peak.

Everyone seemed to be able to hear the Bloodsucking Vines cheering and roaring.

Almost at the same time, the ground was shaking, and the gloomy sky seemed to shake along with it.

"Boom——"

Fearful shouts rose into the sky before the thick black shadows, they shattered the floor tiles, pulled down the houses, and meandered endlessly towards the sky.

Bricks and flying stones ricocheted on the ground, and leaves scraped across the ground, and countless arm-thick vines rose one after another.

The knights who were originally charging towards the civilians didn't even have time to dismount before they were rolled up with their horses and thrown high into the sky, and then fell to the ground.

Everywhere was the sound of heavy objects falling with a thud, and blood splattering.

And the civilians who were running away or hiding, either screamed and lay on the ground, or jumped into the well or even the small river in a panic.

Until everything settled down, and the shadow shrouded their heads, they dared to tremblingly raise their heads and climb out of the trees or ditches.

But they did not run away immediately, but stared blankly at the strange scene in front of them.

"What, what is that?"

In the smoke and dust弥漫 caused by the collapse of buildings and floor tiles, in the neighing of war horses and the wailing of knights, a wall in the shadows suddenly appeared in front of them.

It was a wall made of dense purple-red vines, like a guard, firmly guarding all the main roads leading to the North Gate.

The vines danced wildly, encompassing an entire block near the North Gate, and encircling a semicircular safe area.

Some bolder civilians poked the vines with sticks, but before they could even touch them, the wall formed by the grotesque vines gently opened a gap.

The civilians cautiously walked through, suffering no harm. The tendrils of the Bloodsucking Vines brushed against their backs, as if urging them on.

The refugees, who had been hunched over as they fled through the opening, raised their heads, forgetting to run. They simply stared at Catherine, who was being lifted seven or eight meters into the air by the vines.

Catherine, who every year sat on a float and scattered coins to them, laughing like a little girl.

"Go, escape! Escape as many as you can..."

Catherine's murmured voice reached everyone's ears, but in the end, it was gradually swallowed by the缠绕 Bloodsucking Vines.

"Live on, live well, live on!"