Assembling the Troops

Chapter 104 Assembling the Troops

The crowd marched in a long line toward the small church where Moraz was. Getting paid to repair the canal was one thing, but revenge was another.

The villagers are very simple-minded; they believe that taking your money doesn't mean they owe you a favor.

Behind Marcus and Curran followed hundreds of young men, including some fiery-tempered girls who also joined the quest for revenge, armed with spears and clubs.

People clamored to sacrifice the bald goblin and the handsome knight to the water queen in order to bless the following year with a bountiful harvest, many children and long life for the family, and to keep mosquitoes and diseases away.

The church had fallen into disrepair over the years. Apart from a tower clock that could no longer keep accurate time, there was only a dilapidated stone house and a low railing. Behind the rusty and decaying iron gate, mercenaries with crossbows and bows stood in a loose formation behind the railing, their eyes filled with ferocity.

Among them, soldiers clad in steel armor and wielding fan-shaped shields stood at the forefront of the formation, their ranks perfectly aligned. The twilight glow reflected off their helmets, revealing their resolute eyes.

"They were the family's guards, the warriors who once fought alongside my brother in various battles, but now they've become Moraz's puppets—" Eileen looked at the neatly dressed soldiers, her expression dejected.

If she viewed the current situation from her former perspective, the residents of Linhe Town surrounding the church would undoubtedly be a group of rioters, definitely troublemakers.

They do not pay taxes, do not participate in the kingdom's commercial markets, and even adhere to a system completely different from the open and rational one of the Griffin Kingdom.

Superstitious traditions.

And now she needs this group of troublemakers to create momentum.

Little YUITT

The leading mercenary, with a strange tattoo on his cheek resembling Moraz's, stood behind the tightly closed iron gate, loudly shooing away the troublemakers who were about to riot: "Get out of here! The boss is only being lenient because you're citizens of his territory, telling me time and time again not to cause trouble. I heard what happened in the tavern yesterday was done by a guy named Marcus. Who gave you the guts?!"

"Are you calling me?"

Marcus grinned, ready to deliver a witty rebuke to the man's ugly tattoos—provocation was a warrior's specialty.

"Wait a minute, let me handle this." Eileen grabbed Marcus's wrist and whispered, "It's best to avoid bloodshed and keep the damage to a minimum."

Her fingers were slender and soft, yet she gripped them tightly. Marcus nodded in agreement, agreeing that they should make a big fuss, but not really make it so that his wife would lose her husband and his children would lose their father—that would benefit no one.

Eileen walked at the front, and under the watchful eyes of the soldiers, she took off her hood, revealing her beautiful hair that shone like golden gauze, and her pretty and charming face.

"You are—" The mercenary leader clearly recognized her.

The family guards, who were on high alert, reacted even more strongly. One of them, who had been holding a shield, exclaimed in disbelief, "Miss Eileen, weren't you missing?"

"Sweet, it's a pleasure to see you. It seems you remain loyal to the Baron."

Sweet gestured for the family guards to remain calm and hold their ground, while he stepped forward alone to the iron gate, carefully examining the young lady he hadn't seen in a long time.

Upon confirming that the beautiful woman before him was indeed the lady he had loyally protected for so many years, Sweet gritted his teeth and growled, "Damn it, Moraz lied to us! He said you were kidnapped by the people of Riverside Town!"

"The truth is—I was betrayed by him to a cult, and this gentleman beside me," Eileen raised her hand to introduce the head guard, "is Marcus Norfitz. He's the one who rescued me from Moraz's lies."

"He's from Linhe Town." Sweet's wary eyes resembled those of a frightened wild animal.

"My father was also from Linhe Town, as were many others. Sweet, I need you to get the family back on track."

Sweet hesitated for a long time, looked back at the church, and finally shook his head with undisguised shame, saying, "I'm sorry, miss, we are loyal to Baron Vissi, your brother Moraka, who ordered us to be loyal to his own brother."

"I knew it—" A hint of disappointment flashed in Eileen's eyes. Over the years, she had treated these soldiers who were loyal to her brother well, but they always talked about honor and loyalty, and regarded the battle achievements they had won by luck more than ten years ago as great achievements to boast about for the rest of their lives, so as to make them miss the knight who led them to victory.

"I want to see Moraz, with the two gentlemen beside me." Eileen emphasized, which made Sweet feel even more ashamed. He had failed his mistress's expectations and even had two people from Riverside Town help him regain power.

Sweet sent someone to the church to inquire, and after receiving approval, he nodded and said, "The Baron agrees to see you."

"Baron? You're a piece of trash, Sweet. My brother has already lost the ability to think for himself. He's become a puppet controlled by his own brother, and you're still deluding yourself about the loyalty pact between knight and squire. What a disgrace." The aura that Eileen exuded surprised Marcus for a moment.

It seems that her previous gentle and weak demeanor was a disguise, just like Zhuo Er's initial dignified and calm appearance. In reality, she is a strong person at heart.

"Open the door!"

The iron gate slowly opened amidst Eileen's angry rebuke, but the soldiers maintained their defensive line, which further angered Eileen, who felt that Sweet was trying to fool her.

"Stay vigilant, that's an order."

The angry young lady waved for the two to follow, but the villagers behind her didn't quite understand.

Nelson, the head steward of the Rift, spoke first: "Hey, Marcus, we agreed to kill the Vizi family together. Are you going to negotiate? And what's with this pretty girl? She's also from the Vizi family. Did you sleep with her?"

"Don't fucking talk nonsense, I just want to sleep, but I haven't been able to yet."

"You little chick, if I met a pretty girl like that, I'd invite her out for a late-night get-together that very day." Nelson pointed at Kuran and continued, "Let him talk. Kuran's more shrewd than you."

Kuran coughed twice and cleared his throat: "Marcus and I are going to deal with the bald goblin and handsome knight from the Visi family. I'll offer their heads to the Water Queen later."

"That's more like it. Remember, it has to be fresh. If it's been dead for too long, it will displease the Water Ghost Queen."

The two sides stood facing each other, watching the three walk through the iron gate. The oppressive atmosphere in the church contrasted sharply with the revelry on the street.

The villagers kept provoking the cowardly soldiers hiding behind the stone wall, and the soldiers retaliated in the same way, resulting in a lively verbal battle.

Upon entering the church, Marcus discovered that a statue of an unknown deity had inexplicably appeared in the previously empty room.

This veiled woman may be famous in the Griffin Kingdom, but this is Riverside Town.

The two Visi brothers were standing in front of the goddess statue. The elder brother, Moraka, knelt in devout worship, while the younger brother, Moraz, calmly watched his sister walk into the church.

"It's a shame you're still alive, Eileen."

"————" Eileen bit her lip tightly. She had long anticipated Moraz's coldness and ruthlessness, but hearing this greeting still felt like a knife to her heart.

Many years ago, before he left home to wander, their relationship was so good—he introduced her to so many fun places, beautiful clothes from foreign countries, and news about boys in the city.

"What is your purpose in doing all this, Moraz?"

"Blood Silver," Moraz said in a deep voice, turning his head to look at the statue whose face was covered by a thin veil. "In the name of the Merciful Lady, the Serpent People have found Blood Silver in the forest near Riverside Town, which can cure Moraka's incurable disease. It can restore the sanity of knights suffering from barbarian witchcraft, but the price is—you must be offered to their evil god Seth."

"You!" Eileen was speechless for a moment. She looked at her older brother who was kneeling and praying, and her second brother with a firm look in his eyes. She never dreamed that the reason would be like this.

"Am I really supposed to be completely unaware of this?!"

"Sacrifice for the family! This is the principle our father taught us. Moraka gave his soul for the family's honor, and you..."

As the daughter of the family, I should understand this responsibility.

"And what about you? What did you do?"

Eileen's accusation prompted Moraz to roll up his sleeves, revealing a layer of fine, grayish scales on his right hand.

"everything."

The arguing siblings suddenly fell into an eerie silence, and the atmosphere in the church became strange amid Moraka's peculiar murmuring prayers.

Marcus suddenly blurted out, "Sacrifice my ass! I hate guys who talk a lot about principles but are only interested in business. You think you can sacrifice your life to cure a mentally challenged idiot? Have you lost your mind? Eileen is free. She has her own life and meaning, which is completely different from your stupid lives."