Pale Emblem

Chapter 156: Peeling off the cocoon

Echo Town is now heavily guarded and on high alert. It is almost impossible for Victor's dozen men to rescue the imprisoned survivors by force. Even if they make full use of their extraordinary abilities and carefully set up a plan to rescue nearly a hundred survivors and transport them out safely, it cannot be said that there is no hope at all, but there are still many difficulties.

The crux of the problem is that General Clark has framed the survivors of Braun Town, including Victor, Harvey, and Maddie, who are now all criminals. They try to rescue their former companions by themselves, which is equivalent to going against the entire city-state. This is like hitting a rock with an egg. Even if they succeed by chance, there will be big troubles waiting for them later.

Generally speaking, when encountering such a situation, one should first find a way to clear the charges and avoid confrontation with the entire city-state, and then subsequent problems will be easier to solve.

That's why Maddie and Harvey tried to get in touch with the commander of the Flame Tiger Legion. They didn't want to end up as a group of wanted bandits hiding in the wilderness with no resources and no future. Such an outcome was not in the interests of Lord Victor.

Of course, Victor couldn't care about that now. The survivors of Braun Town died in the arena every day, and they couldn't hold on for too long.

Ranger Ruth had just finished reading the intelligence summary that was being circulated, and then passed the letter in her hand to Jessica beside her. She said, "I saw a good news and a bad news... The good news is that Clark sold all the awakened refugees under the age of 20 to the leader of the Thieves Guild, Red Sir. There were about a hundred of them."

"As I recall, Red Sir was your former boss." Ruth said to the gladiator slave Kent.

Kent's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he said coldly: "I can dig out his skull and present it to the master."

Digging out the enemy's skull and making it into a wine cup to express loyalty and please the master. This barbaric and cruel act is very popular among the slave gladiators in the Dark Valley.

Ruth didn't understand what Kent meant and was stunned for a moment. Jessica next to her said, "You know something about the bandit leader... We want to know how you think he will deal with the survivors?"

"Oh... I know some thieves, and I know a few dens of thieves." Kent explained with some embarrassment: "I am just a small figure in the Thieves Guild, and I don't know much... But I have participated in several slave escorts, and most of those slaves were not abused."

"Okay, you don't need to say anything."

Jessica turned to Victor and said, "Master, the Thieves Guild in Luoye City sells slaves for profit, so they should be able to guarantee the lives and health of the slaves. So, for now, we don't have to worry about those who were sold to the Thieves Guild. We have clues about the Thieves Guild, so we won't be afraid of not being able to find them in the future."

"As for the survivors imprisoned in Echo Town, their situation is rather bad."

Jessica flipped through the letter, pointed at a paragraph of text and said, "I saw the intelligence you gathered. It said that if the nobles of Luoye City paid Clark a sum of money, they could personally or send their servants to fight the refugee slaves in a 'fair' gladiatorial contest. Even if they killed the refugee slaves on the spot, it would not matter because they had already paid Clark."

"Letting unarmed awakeners and fully armed professional masters fight each other, is this fair? These children from famous families are just using our people to practice their skills and make them bleed!" Harvey shouted angrily.

Victor's green eyes flashed with a cold light, and he said calmly: "Being angry or furious is useless... You might as well think of a way to rescue them."

"To rescue these people, we have to go to Echo Town ourselves." Ruth looked at Victor and said in a gentle and comforting tone, "There must be a way. At least we still have a ranger career path. If we make good use of it, we can do a lot of things."

"The question is, is it worth it?" Jessica asked Harvey and Maddie on the other side, "Is it worth it to trade the Ranger career path for the remaining dozens of survivors?"

Without much hesitation, McGrady nodded and replied, "Not worth it."

Harvey also nodded, indicating that he agreed with Maddie's opinion.

Their joint statement helped to relieve Victor of his moral burden, and Ruth and Jessica also smiled.

Maddie coughed dryly to attract everyone's attention, and then said: "The youngest and most promising group of survivors in Braun Town have been bought. They are safe for the time being, so we can leave them alone for now."

"Doctor Cole is hiding in Jinsha Town. He is very important to us. We have already contacted him, but he is timid and cautious. Although he has arranged a meeting place with us, I don't think he dares to come. We need to convince Cole to follow Lord Victor. There is no need to rush this matter. We are just afraid that if it is delayed until the end, there will be changes."

"So, I suggest that you deal with Doctor Cole's problem first, and then go to Echo Town and try to find a way to rescue the remaining survivors... If it really doesn't work, then we have to give up the rescue. We can't sacrifice all of us just to rescue them."

Things must be done according to priorities. The survivors held in Echo Town are in the most critical condition and difficult to rescue, but they are the least important.

If Victor's team rescues them first, there might be a big commotion, which might lead to something unexpected happening to Dr. Cole.

Maddie and Harvey weighed the pros and cons and agreed with the Ranger Sisters' suggestion to deal with Dr. Cole's problem first and then rescue the survivors in Echo Town.

When we are in a difficult situation and have to make a choice, our reason becomes cold and we are often unable to distinguish.

Victor knew very well that by saying this, they were actually planning to give up rescuing their companions who were being tortured. An anger grew in his heart, not because of the rationality or indifference of his subordinates, but because of Clark and the Silver Plate Horn family behind him, and even the entire Fallen Leaf City, and he wanted to completely destroy them.

  There is only a simple logic here. Aunt Sarah asked Victor to take care of the people in the Adventurer's House if she was able, but General Clark of Silver Plate Corner is persecuting them without any scruples!

Then, Fallen Leaf City is Clark's accomplice, and they all deserve to die!

As for the fact that there are always people who oppose Clark among the nobles of Luoye City, and most of the legionnaires under his command have nothing to do with this matter, Victor does not consider them at all.

Christine had been paying attention to her master the entire time. She sensed the hatred and anger, and said, "Master, the adventurer Hansen you asked me to investigate has been controlled and enslaved by me. The secrets of him and the Black Crow Shadow Adventure Group are all in our control."

"The Black Crow Shadow Adventure Group had long been infiltrated by a cult that worshipped demons. Hansen was an outer member of that cult. He was ordered to follow the Black Crow Shadow to Godore Fortress to wait for a mysterious contact person, and then get the fortress defense map from the contact person. After that, he stayed in Jinsha Town to wait for the next instruction. The day before yesterday, a member of the Black Crow Shadow group came to tell him that he would pick up a few 'guests' near the waterfall on the east side of Jinsha Town in the evening of the day after tomorrow, and then hand over the defense map of Godore Fortress to the 'guests'."

"Those 'guests' are very easy to identify. They are one or more barbarians."

Victor had heard this information from Christine, so he was not surprised. But the other followers were shocked by Christine's news.

"The cultists are trading the defense map of Godore Fortress with the barbarians?!"

"Is there a spy inside the Flame Tiger Legion?" "My goddess, are the barbarians and orcs planning to capture the defenses of Godore Fortress in one fell swoop?!"

Harvey and Maddie both came from the military, and Ruth and Jessica graduated from college and had studied military knowledge. They knew how difficult it was to draw a fortress defense map. Even if an average person walked inside a fortress several times, they would never be able to draw it. Moreover, the interior of a military fortress was never open to outsiders.

It is obvious that the Flame Tiger Legion has been infiltrated by the cult.

What's even more terrifying is that this evil cult actually colluded with the orcs and barbarians in secret. Whether they did it for money or for some other ulterior motive, the final result was to betray the half-elf kingdom.

  Half-elves sell out their city-state to aliens?

This is something that everyone cannot understand.

Victor said slowly, "I remember the sage Myne who lived outside the town of Braun. He was exiled because he advocated the abolition of slavery. Myne told me that because of the barbarian slaves and barbarian slave girls, the Disa Alliance had no secrets from the chieftain of the Blackfire tribe."

"Do you really think that this war is just Luoye City's revenge against the foreign orc clans?"

"The area around Lake Bolang has always been a land that both the Black Flame Orcs and the Disa Half-Elves want to seize."

"However, the Disa Alliance and the Black Fire Tribe cannot engage in a full-scale war in the Dragon Kingdom. Therefore, Bolang Town and the Lakeside Barbarians are separated by a krill river. They represent the Disa Alliance and the Black Fire Tribe's control over that piece of land respectively."

Victor looked at Harvey and Maddie and asked, "Otherwise, do you think the Flame Tiger Legion will sell sophisticated military equipment to Braun Town?"

Harvey was stunned and Maddie fell into deep thought. They found that the Flame Tiger Legion had been providing convenience to Brown Town for a long time. Even though the legion commander would ask them for money, he had never violated the fundamental interests of the Adventurer's Home and had always provided shelter for Brown Town.

The reason why Braun Town can continuously train awakeners and professionals is also thanks to the secret protection of General Bartru. With such support from him, is the money given by the Adventurer's House enough?

The reason is simple. The Flame Tiger Legion needs Brown Town to be able to gain a foothold surrounded by barbarians.

However, the foreign orc clans have disrupted the balance of the Bolang Lake Basin. Now it is their turn to find a way to gain a foothold in this fertile land.

"How can the new Orc invaders fight against the army of Fallen Leaf City?"

"They can only survive if they surrender to the chieftain of the Black Fire Tribe!"

Victor looked around and said, "What conditions will Chief Blackfire propose before he is willing to accept the surrender of outsiders?"

Harvey suddenly realized what was going on and immediately responded, "Let them capture Fort Godore!"

This guy has an upright personality, but his intelligence is questionable... Victor secretly complained, shook his head and said, "I said from the beginning that the Black Fire Tribe and the Disa Alliance both want to control the Bolang Lake Basin. Because Bolang Lake is rich in phosphorus beads, the treasures in it can please the Dragon King."

"The foreign orc clans also need this fertile land to thrive, but the Godore Fortress in Fallen Leaf City is located on a high ground and poses the most direct threat to the Bolang Lake Basin."

"Only when the half-elves admit defeat will they admit that they have lost control of the Bolang Lake Basin. Next, Chieftain Blackfyre will ask the Disa Alliance to draw a border. From now on, the Bolang Lake Basin belongs to the orcs, and Fallen Leaf City cannot send troops to conquer it, otherwise it will be the party that provokes an all-out war."

"The problem is that even if the orc invaders defeat Clark's army, Fallen Leaf City will not admit defeat. Because Godore Fortress is still in their hands, Clark's defeat is just a loss of some troops, and Fallen Leaf City can still send more reinforcements."

"This is the absolute gap in strength. The foreign orc clans can only win a small victory, and will eventually be expelled from Luoye City, or even completely wiped out."

"But if the impregnable Godore Fortress were invaded, coupled with the disastrous defeat of Clark's army, Fallen Leaf City's reaction would be completely different."

"They will panic and be at a loss. They will not dare to advance further and will mobilize for a full-scale war and ask for help from the nearby half-elf city-states."

“At that time, Chief Blackfire will take the initiative to jump out and accuse Fallen Leaf City of provoking a full-scale war between the Disa Alliance and the Blackfire Tribe. Then, he will dispatch troops to respond while demanding negotiations.”

"The outcome of the negotiations will definitely be that Fallen Leaf City gives up control of the Bolang Lake Basin, and the Black Fire Tribe steps in to control the new Orc clans, and the two sides restore peace."

The living room was silent as everyone was digesting Victor's analysis of the situation. At this time, Harvey said foolishly, "Will the orcs return Godore Fortress to Fallen Leaf City?"

Victor shook his head and laughed, "It is impossible for the Orc invaders to capture and occupy Godore Fortress like they did to Bolan Town... They only need to successfully invade and cause serious damage, which will be enough to shock the entire Fallen Leaf City."

"The conditions proposed by Chieftain Blackfyre are very difficult for the Orc outsiders. Even if they can invade the interior of Godore Fortress, they will probably be wiped out. Therefore, Chieftain Blackfyre used some of his forces planted in the Disa Alliance to obtain a map of the defense of Godore Fortress for the outsiders to see if they have the courage to carry out this dangerous mission."

Finally, Victor raised his lips in a sarcastic arc, "The foreign orc clans have no way to survive if they don't fight hard this time. Even though they know that invading Godore Fortress is a life-or-death mission, they have no choice. Now, with a useless fortress defense map, they have to fight with all their strength once again."

"And Luoye City never thought that they would be defeated. When they are defeated, they will be extremely shocked!"

When Ruth and Jessica heard this, their eyes were filled with admiration, and they felt that their beloved master was wiser than the half-elf sage.

"Yes, we can use this information to gain General Bartru's support..." Maddie said excitedly after having an idea.

"No!" Victor interrupted him immediately and said slowly: "This time, we want to help the orcs, but not to help them attack Godore Fortress, but Echo Town."