The Survival Rules of NPCs

Chapter 34: The Lurking Shadow!

"Baron Holmes has just confirmed his joining our Heart of the Forest. Now, in Holy Stone City, twenty-five out of the thirty-one barons have confirmed their joining. After Thanksgiving, they can leave the city and use the Seal of Authority to call their people back to the city to make a final offering for the Mother Goddess's entry into Holy Stone City!"

Behind Orland, several young men in black robes looked fervent, and their aged faces were also filled with excitement.

Orland stood on the high ground of the north gate, looking out at the forest that was already ten feet away from the city. He was so excited that his hand holding the sword trembled.

From father to himself, the visions of two generations are finally about to make a breakthrough.

Although the forest has remained outside the city and has not approached further, this is presumably due to the protection of the local authority. As long as the local people pray sincerely, the roots of the Shadow Forest will surely be able to enter the city, and the Mother Goddess will also emerge from that forest and truly descend upon this decaying world!

"The only potential threat now lies with those viscounts!"

To Orlando's left stood a man in red with a sinister expression, whose face closely resembled the old man whom Lady had sentenced to death in the square that day.

"Those old fogies are nothing to fear." Orland was in high spirits, waving his hand confidently. The secret of the Heart of the Forest filled him with confidence.

Aside from taking Lady's body, Allen did nothing else. And even if he did want to do something, what could a Minister of the Interior with less than a hundred samurai under his command do?

With his current abilities, he wouldn't be afraid to face a hundred of his warriors alone.

To put it bluntly, no matter what kind of conspiracy, open scheme, or political means, nothing is as direct as violence. Force is the foundation of power!

That old bastard Allen and that Michel who's been lurking in Mirandil for so many years have controlled the finances of the Heart of the Forest, suppressing their faction and causing the Heart of the Forest to waste so many years. Now their faction has the true power of the Heart of the Forest, and Allen, the former leader of the Heart of the Forest, is a thing of the past!

"The others are fine, but that Viscount Sanin... he seems to have over a thousand knights, right?" the man in red said with some concern. "Yesterday I heard that because Thanksgiving at the church is about to begin, those knights have gradually returned to the city. I don't know why that old man Sanin suddenly came back from Mirandil. Something just doesn't seem right."

"You're overthinking it..." Orland waved his hand dismissively, "An old man nearing his grave, who couldn't even secure a position as Minister of Finance back then and left in a huff, what kind of threat do you think he is? As for those samurai, they're just country bumpkins. Even if I only had a hundred soldiers, let alone twice their number, I could still rout their rabble. War isn't about numbers!"

The group fell silent upon hearing this. Although Orant's words were arrogant, he certainly had the right to be arrogant now. A superhuman warrior who could defeat Lady with his bare hands—that title alone was enough to deter those country warriors from making any rash moves. In the worst-case scenario, Orant did indeed have the power to suppress everything.

It seems that it is indeed safe enough at present, not to mention that there is also a lot of hidden force within the Heart of the Forest.

"Let's speed things up," Orland laughed. "Before Thanksgiving, let's win over the remaining barons and offer sacrifices to Mother Earth on Thanksgiving Day. That should please her the most, and everything we ask for will surely be granted!"

Upon hearing this, the aged faces of those young people broke into excited smiles; the thing they had been dreaming of was about to be theirs!

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"What brings Lord Saning to my humble abode?"

In the dead of night at Allen's manor, without any warning, the returning Viscount Saning suddenly visited, making Allen immediately realize that the man's return was not a coincidence.

"You know very well why I'm here," Saning sighed softly. "If that guy had listened to me back then, his descendants wouldn't be in this state now, don't you think?"

Allen remained silent. The most visionary person behind the old city lord back then was actually this old man who had no real power and did not fight or grab. But now that he has suddenly returned, what does he want to do?

"Over the years, Michel has become famous in Milandil and has become a guest of the Duke. I knew I was right back then. You two had a purpose in encouraging him to take over Holy Stone City. Michel is a businessman and he is as young as when I first met him. I knew that there must be a big secret in this forest."

"But you didn't do anything..." Allen said casually, sipping his tea.

"That's because you all adhered to the bottom line!" Saning said coldly. "Over the years, both you and Michel have indeed made the people of the Mirandil area live a more prosperous life. Because of the big businesses that Michel started, there is a shortage of labor in the city, and the number of refugees in many cities has decreased by at least half. Holy Stone City, which was originally a poor and desolate city, under your governance, almost 90% of its citizens can wear cotton clothes and eat cold bread in winter. You have used the resources in the forest, which has indeed satisfied your own desires, but it has also made everything around you better."

"The Luther family has invested in this city and made a lot of money over the years. In my opinion, even if you took advantage of his death to seize the city lordship from his descendants, as long as they could retain their share, I wouldn't have any objections. After all, his cowardly descendants couldn't hold onto such wealth. With you protecting the city, they might even be better off in the future. But now it seems I was wrong?"

"I see..." Allen swallowed a mouthful of black tea and sighed slightly. Although Saning was dissatisfied with himself, he agreed with his and Michelle's approach. This was the reason why he had chosen to remain hidden all these years despite his great talent.

"What's happening in Holy Stone City now is not what I wanted."

"I know... you're not that short-sighted!" Saning sneered. "If that one in the forest truly had the ability to contend with the Rhine Empire, you wouldn't have waited until now. You failed in your duty by not being able to suppress your foolish allies!"

Allen smiled wryly, realizing he had indeed been too careless.

The most restless among the radicals was Orant's father. However, Orant saw him as a weakling who was all show and no substance, possessing extraordinary talent bestowed by the Mother Goddess but daring not to go to the battlefield and only hiding in the back and shouting. His son, though hardworking, was of mediocre talent and far inferior to his father, who became a level 10 fighter at the age of 20.

A father with talent but no courage, and a son with courage but mediocre talent, had been suppressed by his father for so many years, so he relaxed his vigilance.

He never expected that they would obtain such power in the forest. To this day, he still doesn't understand why the Mother Goddess would stand on their side. Based on his understanding of the Mother Goddess, she doesn't seem to be a radical being, and she is often willing to listen to his and Michelle's advice.

"Tell me, how do you plan to cover for me?" Saning asked bluntly.

"There's nothing we can do. Unless Michelle intervenes, there's no way to stop the situation here," Allen said, shrugging.

"Although my samurai are all in the countryside, I have never relaxed their training. I have given them very high treatment, twice that of the samurai in your city, but the price is that they must persevere in their training. I have also hired senior instructors to train them secretly and take them out to kill bandits. In terms of combat power, they are definitely much stronger than those pampered security guards in the city who have never seen blood. Even if they are outnumbered, I think they have a great chance."

Allen wasn't surprised. The other party had always been wary of him and Michelle, so it was only natural that they had made some preparations in secret. He just didn't expect that such a trump card would be revealed to him.

"With coordinated efforts from within and without, how confident are you now?"

"Still difficult..." Allen sighed and shook his head: "You saw what happened to Lady that day. They have mastered the power of the supernatural. I have no idea how many people in the Heart of the Forest have mastered this power. Even if there are only five or six people like Orland, your thousand warriors are simply not enough."

Upon hearing this, Saning frowned. This was also the reason he came to find Allen. It would be difficult for a high-level superhuman warrior leader to win by relying solely on the quality of his soldiers. However, he did not expect that even with Allen's help, he was still not confident.

"We've neglected this aspect of training all along," Allen sighed. "Even Michelle, to prevent the forest's immense profits from corrupting people's hearts, didn't dare to train high-level superhumans, intending to wait until the time was right. In the current situation, with Lord Michelle's wealth and connections, of course, it can be resolved, but then..."

"No matter how well-behaved the mercenaries he hires are, they'll still be eyeing Holy Stone City, right?" Saning sneered.

Allen nodded helplessly, but Saning said, "That's still better than letting those lunatics ruin everything!"

"Actually, there's still another chance."

"Oh?"

"Lady Eliza begged me to take Lord Lady's body."

"Eliza?" Saning recalled briefly, "A very ambitious and courageous woman, but still too naive. With Martin's fate unknown, it's uncertain whether she can even retain her title, let alone get involved in this?"

"She has a powerful backer."

"A master?" Saning stroked his chin curiously. "They took Lady's body. Could it be that a necromancer is behind this? But can a necromancer reverse this situation?"

"I don't know. The other side seems very confident. Now we can only prepare. I don't expect the one behind Eliza to be able to turn the tide. As long as we can buy some time and let Michelle get here, we can at least avoid the biggest disaster."

"Alright, I'll have my men get ready..."

While the two were talking, they didn't notice that Gina, with her sapphire-blue eyes, was secretly listening from the back of the living room. The thick walls shouldn't have been able to hear the two old men's private conversation, but a face appeared on her jade-like hand, allowing her to hear everything in the living room clearly!