Cat Princess and Human Knight

Eagle's Beak Pass, main fortress.

Princess Sophia, the short-legged cat, felt uneasy looking at the somber atmosphere before her.

These past few days, she had been anxiously awaiting news, but when it finally arrived, she felt lost and uneasy.

Looking back at Yi Yin, the knight simply smiled at her, which made her feel more at ease.

Marquis Iron Oak, seated in the main seat, was in a state of turmoil. Beside him, his intelligence chief, an unassuming gray cat, was reporting on military intelligence.

"The nomadic cats launched a forced crossing at Tielu Ferry, and the noble coalition led by Duke Snowclaw gathered, preparing to attack them while they were crossing."

However, the upstream floodgates somehow went out of control and did not open to release water to hinder the crossing. A cat-howling clan then emerged from behind the allied forces and, together with the nomadic cats crossing the river, attacked the allied forces from both sides.

Amidst the chaos, the noble alliance suffered a crushing defeat, and the routed soldiers turned around and attacked the riverbank defenses. Duke Snowclaw had no choice but to retreat to Grayrock Castle, where he barely managed to gather the various routed soldiers together.

Now, the nomadic cats have surrounded the Graystone Castle.

The castle's food reserves were originally only enough for the standing army for three months, but now with the addition of the Snowclaw Duke and many other noble allied forces, the food supply will probably last no more than two weeks.

Even worse, there isn't enough water from the city's springs; many cats might die of thirst before their food supplies run out.

After listening to Gray Cat's report, the entire room fell into complete silence; you could hear a pin drop.

No one could believe what they were seeing: the nomadic cats, suffering from a severe white cat plague, had actually abandoned the prosperous Starfall Plains and chosen to invade the Shattered Hills.

The clan cat named Durotan was telling the truth.

Marquis Iron Oak smiled wryly.

"Two weeks... That Duke Snowclaw, I clearly warned him, yet he still got caught off guard and defeated."

"That's what the gray cat said."

"After receiving your letter, Duke Snowclaw was indeed on guard. He sent Lady Mistshadow to the Oasis settlement to investigate the movements of the nomadic cats."

However... on the very night Ms. Fog Shadow arrived at the Oasis settlement, all the intelligence stations there lost contact.

Three days later, the nomadic cat army had reached the banks of the Sentinel River, and five days later they began crossing the river.

Therefore, Duke Snowclaw had no time to react at all.

Marquis Ironwood shook his head.

"These troublesome clan cats, the nobles of the southern part of the Shattered Hills have been too complacent for too long, they have lost the ability to fight against the nomadic cats."

The nobles in the hall whispered among themselves, some looking panicked, others gloating.

The military aristocracy in the northern hills has suffered a lot of humiliation from the aristocracy in the central and southern regions in recent years. Those nouveau riche who have made a fortune through the Golden Corridor look down on their poor relatives in the north.

This time, those bastards really learned their lesson. Without the vigilance and precautions of the northern military nobles year after year, the nomadic cat pack would have already invaded and plundered. What use would it be to make more money then?

While all the cats were discussing the matter and even the Marquis of Iron Oak was undecided, Yi Yin gently nudged Sophia from behind.

Sophia turned around and saw that Yi Yin nodded to her.

Over the past few days, the person and the cat have been constantly optimizing this scenario, refining every word Sophia utters on stage, every possibility, and every response.

Now, it's time to make my appearance.

Sofia glanced at Yi-eun one last time, and Yi-eun gave her a thumbs-up in encouragement.

Taking a deep breath, Sophia knew she had to take this step.

Only by learning to save yourself can you be saved by others. There are some things that others cannot help you with; you can only rely on yourself.

Sophia entered the arena, bowed to the Marquis of Iron Oak in the main seat, and then spoke.

"What are you still hesitating for? Grayrock Castle is in imminent danger; you should send troops to its rescue immediately!"

Marquis Iron Oak was surprised that Sophia dared to stand up and teach him how to do things at this moment. Before he could speak, the nobleman next to him had already refuted her.

"Duchess Sofia, what do you know! Have you ever fought a war!"

Sofia replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"I may never have fought a war, but I know the situation is critical, and we must send troops immediately!"

Another nobleman stepped forward and mocked.

"What do you mean 'us'? You only brought a few knights and a few soldiers. Do you think you're qualified to represent us?"

"The Duke of Snowclaw is militarily inept, arrogant, short-sighted, and stingy. This crushing defeat is entirely the fault of the nobles in the south and central regions. Why should we pay for their failure and fight to the death for them?"

"yes!"

"They asked for it, what does it have to do with us!"

The nobles applauded. The nobleman who stood up spoke the minds of many present.

Sofia's legs were trembling as she was targeted by everyone, but she gritted her teeth and refused to back down, a situation that Yi Yin and she had anticipated.

She raised her head high, looked directly at the smug nobleman, and said.

"So what? You're just going to watch the nomadic cats wipe out the southern and central noble alliance of Grayrock Castle, and watch the nomadic cats wreak havoc in the Sentinel River Basin and the Golden Corridor in the southeast?"

Two-thirds of the hilly area is home to cats, whose nobles and those present are kinsmen who have been married for generations!

Just because of the mistakes of Duke Snowclaw and a few other nobles, you want to vent your anger on your own relatives and make a choice that will make your loved ones suffer and your enemies rejoice?

Look at your feet, look outside the door. The formidable Eagle's Beak Pass defense line was not built by the northern nobles alone, but by the combined financial, material, and human resources of the entire Shattered Hills.

The nobles in the central and southern regions did not do nothing; they were simply temporarily blinded by their flawed leadership!

They too once contributed to the construction of the Eagle's Beak Pass, and they too once showed compassion for the hardships endured by their northern relatives.

"When your loved ones make a mistake, do you irrationally vent your emotions and wish for their deaths?"

The nobleman was rendered speechless by Sophia's retort, and the nobles who had been applauding him also stopped, seemingly lost in thought.

Sophia looked at the Marquis of Iron Oak and bowed deeply.

"Your Excellency Marquis, now is not the time for a fight of egos."

The conflict among the nobles of the Shattered Hills is an internal conflict, while the conflict between the Nomadic Cats and the Shattered Hills is a clear-cut, irreconcilable conflict.

Faced with the primary contradiction, we must temporarily set aside internal disputes. We cannot allow minor internal frictions to prevent our relatives and friends from being wantonly bullied and humiliated by outsiders!

Sophia spoke each word with unwavering resolve. The nobles who had been coldly observing her changed their gazes, and even a few scattered applause broke out among the cats, indicating their support for her.

The nobleman who had been confronting Sofia remained silent for a long time. In the end, he chose to bow to Sofia, abandon his own opinion, and retreat back to the group.