The Survival Rules of NPCs

Chapter 18: A Desperate Situation!

"Mrs. Eliza seems to be recovering well," Bright said, making her a cup of hot coffee.

Eliza took the coffee but didn't dare touch it. Her parents had warned her not to drink anything sent by wizards, especially since this one, who clearly had a noble and extraordinary status, was working as a corpse collector. It made her even more hesitant to drink it.

"Thank you so much for your help. My husband Martin's condition has stabilized. I'm really curious about where this terrible virus came from, and why the antidote always contains...some strange stuff?"

Bright's heart tightened, but he looked puzzled. "What strange thing? Isn't it a normal medicine?"

really!

Eliza gritted her teeth and said to herself, "How could the antidote be such a disgusting thing?"

"It seems your assassin subordinate has quite the twisted sense of humor..."

"Oh, that boy Kaylan?" Blyt nodded. "He's very young, so please forgive him if he offends anyone, Mrs. Elizabeth."

Eliza pursed her lips slightly. You don't seem to be as old as them either. But you never know, wizards are the hardest people to judge by their appearance.

"As for this cursed virus, it comes from the Heart of the Forest cult, and also from that terrible forest to the north." After successfully blaming Dog Egg, Bright quickly got to the point.

"Last night's flu outbreak also came from that sect's methods. Their goal was to spread this terrible virus to all the nobles through the doctors they control in the city."

Eliza's eyes widened. She hadn't expected that the damned cult was not only targeting the Luther family, but also trying to control all the nobles through such means.

"What is their purpose?"

"The northern forest is getting closer and closer, and behind the Heart of the Forest may very well be a terrifying evil god."

"Then we should report this to the Empire immediately..." But Eliza stopped abruptly. The Sunfire Cult used purification methods to cleanse those corrupted by the evil god's power, especially nobles. She'd heard that few could withstand it. She and Martin had both been infected with the virus; could it be...?

"Your concerns are valid, Madam," Bright said quietly. "The toxins in your bodies have improved, but some remain. If the priests of the Sun Cult arrive, they will most likely detect those things in your bodies and may very well use their purifying power to cleanse all the nobles here."

"Why?" Eliza asked, puzzled. "We're not enemies of the Empire. Even if we've been tricked by a cult, shouldn't the Empire help us?"

"Whether to provide aid or to purify you due to your deep infection depends entirely on the Empire's will. If the city is valuable enough and the Empire wants to reclaim its interests here, it will most likely choose the latter. This is why Mr. Lady cooperates with those cult members."

"What?" Eliza's beautiful emerald green eyes widened, clearly unable to contain herself. As a prosecutor directly under the Imperial Ministry of Justice, Lady usually clashed with local nobles, but they were still in the same circle. She never expected her to do something like this!

Are you sure?

"If you have any connections, you could try to find out whether Lord Lady's nephew actually went to the city he was appointed to take up his post as sheriff. And you saw the banquet the other day, didn't you? That prosecutor was really targeting Lord Allen, wasn't he?"

"If that's the case, I need to inform Lord Allen immediately..." Eliza immediately stood up.

"I would advise you, Madam, not to do that."

"Why?" Eliza frowned. "Lord Allen is the most supported local nobleman. If we want Holy Stone City to cleanse the cult itself and prevent the higher-ups from investigating, he is the most suitable candidate."

"Lord Martin's assassination was Lord Allen's idea."

Eliza froze.

"Do you have any evidence?" After a long silence, Eliza gritted her teeth and uttered these words. She didn't believe it at all, but if it were true, then what Holy Stone City was going through was simply hellish.

"I have no evidence. You can choose to believe me or not," Bright sighed. "Kailan has already gone to Mirandil to investigate this matter, but the results won't be available for another two weeks. In the meantime, it's best to stay away from that man. Now, what you should be concerned about, Madam, is, given this situation, what allies do you have left to win over, besides Lord Allen?"

Eliza slowly sat down, and after thinking for a long time, she said, "Aside from the prosecutor and the chief judge, there are a total of five viscounts in Holy Stone City. Lord Allen, the finance minister, and the knight commander account for three of them, making them the people who control the most warriors in the city."

"Do you know exactly how many, madam?" Bright asked the crucial question.

Eliza recalled, "I remember Martin once told me that Martin's father, the old city lord, in order to develop the scale of Holy Stone City more quickly, followed Lord Allen's advice and invited Lord Orland to be the knight commander, entrusting him with most of the knight force responsible for maintaining order. In order to quickly revitalize the scale of Holy Stone City, the Luther family used most of the power of the seal on basic professions such as merchants and farmers. The number of knights was less than three hundred, which was basically used to maintain order in the noble residential areas. A large part of them were even sent to Rose Avenue before."

"So, the largest number of samurai in the city are all under the command of the Knight Commander?"

"Yes, Lord Knight Commander Orland's seal is almost entirely used for the number of samurai. There are a thousand samurai positions available, and he is also in charge of most of the security work near the city and the city gates."

"And the other viscount?"

"Are you talking about Lord Saning?" Eliza thought for a moment and said, "He was one of the first people the old city lord recruited. It is said that they even studied together at the University of Finance and Economics in Milandil and had a very good relationship. However, it seems that he was dissatisfied with the old city lord ever since because the finance minister did not give him what he promised. He does have quite a few warriors under his command, but they are mainly used to maintain rural security."

"Countryside security?" Bright frowned. "Isn't that something a local baron should be doing?"

He had only just learned this. The division of labor among the nobles in a city is very clear. Most of the barons who join the city are not qualified to participate in too many resources within the city. They can appoint some city merchants to enjoy some of the city's benefits, but the number of such appointments is never very large. The baron's seal of authority must mostly be used for the appointments of farmers in the countryside, as well as some warriors who maintain the security of the countryside.

"This..." Eliza hesitated for a moment before saying, "This involves some unresolved issues from back then. At Lord Allen's suggestion, Holy Stone City tried to develop the mineral veins in the Blackthorn Forest. There were always rumors of danger in that forest, so at that time, soldiers from the barons of the countryside were conscripted to escort them. It is said that some things happened during the exploration, and many warriors were lost. At that time, the mineral veins had not yet been discovered, and the future situation was uncertain, so many barons were unwilling to spend resources to train warriors."

"It got to this point that Lord Saning eventually dispersed his warriors to restore order in the countryside."

Bright: "After the mines in Holy Stone City were developed, the city's economy was revitalized, and those barons must have received a considerable share. Didn't they fill the vacancies for warriors?"

"No..." Eliza shook her head: "The population behind Holy Stone City began to grow rapidly, and food and supplies became scarce. The baron of the countryside took the opportunity to use most of his power of authority to appoint farmers and weavers to earn cash from the new population in the city. In order to coordinate, the city lord promised to give Lord Saning more tax revenue, so Lord Saning's warriors were stationed in the countryside."

Bright nodded upon hearing this. In other words, the number of warriors reported by Holy Stone City was actually fake, probably less than three thousand. The warriors under Lord Sanin were all outside, while the armed forces in the city were mostly with Allen, the Treasurer, and that Knight Commander.

From this perspective, Knight Commander Orlando seems to be the last person who has a chance to stop all of this...

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"I understand. Is your information reliable, Knight Elsie?" Knight Commander Orland still seemed somewhat incredulous in the face of Elsie's visit.

"My lord, rest assured, the intelligence is very reliable. Most of the nobles are likely already infected. Please act swiftly; only in this way can we avoid the terrible consequences..."

"Alright!" Orland stood up. "I'll go prepare right away. Can you persuade those warriors on Rose Avenue whose families are being held hostage to join you in the attack?"

Elsie was about to nod, but then she suddenly paused, realizing that she hadn't said anything about the Rose Avenue security guards having their families taken hostage!

Seeing Elsie's stiff expression, Orland asked疑惑地, "Is there a problem? The doctors on Rose Avenue have all had their families taken hostage, and the security guards there haven't made a sound. That means they've all been taken into custody, right? The fact that they didn't notify you is proof enough..."

"You're right, sir." Elsie's expression softened, but her heart was already ice-cold.

I never said that my subordinates didn't inform me!

Lord Orland's overly confident attitude gave her a bad feeling.

If even Lord Orland is on their side, then Holy Stone City is probably beyond saving, right?

Thinking of this, a wave of despair washed over me.

A thought arose in her mind: she would take her two children and flee Holy Stone City immediately.

"By the way, where did you get your information about something this big? I need to verify it, after all, you know how far-reaching this matter is!"

"I can't say for now..." Elsie forced a smile. "Please don't ask, my lord."

Orland nodded, then said to those behind him, "You heard it too, didn't you? Our prosecutor's plan?"

"What a pleasant surprise..." A beautiful young girl with fair skin slowly walked in, but her overly pale skin lacked the color of a living person, giving her a sickly beauty.

"Lord Orant..." Elsie slowly retreated, her heart turning to the extreme cold!

That terrifying cult not only won over Lord Allen, but also the Knight Commander.

"I'm very curious where she got her information," the girl said with a smile. "Is there any way to get it out of her?"

"The solution isn't difficult..." Orland said calmly, "Her two children are still in her villa!"

Elsie: "!!!"