After the orders were issued, the entire Fang Ge territory plunged into chaos. Both the mobilization of troops and the allowance for the demon clan’s army to enter signaled to everyone that something big was coming.
Isha wanted to continue resisting these demon armies with her people, but the resistance had already exhausted themselves in stopping the raiding demons. After several attempts and losing a number of personnel, Isha had no choice but to lead the resistance into a strategic retreat back to their base.
Something was off; these demons were acting strangely. The demon prisoners Isha had captured were almost like crazed lunatics, completely uncommunicative.
It was as if they had become mad cultists.
As Isha made her decision, a large number of commoners packed their belongings, preparing to leave with the resistance.
Although the demon clan continuously promoted the idea that humans lived well under their rule, those who were not deceived by the falsehoods could tell the true situation, especially the commoners closer to the demon-occupied territories. The difference was simply between those who were starving and those who were dogs that also starved. The only ones who ate well were those who helped the demon clan guard their homes.
It was said that surrendering to the demon clan meant living well, but in reality, the lower-class humans faced no special treatment upon submission; they would only be exploited even more. Farmers who surrendered became serfs, while serfs turned into livestock.
Moreover, to satisfy their twisted curiosities, these demons would actively deform these humans for their entertainment.
The so-called favorable treatment was reserved for nobles and high-ranking commanders. The demons would then showcase these individuals, saying, “Look, humans live so well under us.”
There were a few truly ordinary people who received preferential treatment, but either they had some luck in connecting with the demons or were even more brutal than the demons themselves.
Thus, the commoners were determined to leave with Isha at all costs.
Not to mention anything else, at least the resistance’s rule was a million times better than that of the demons and Fang Ge.
Even the nobles in the city had prepared their horse-drawn carriages, intending to leave with the resistance.
Logically, these nobles were living quite well under the demon clan’s rule, enjoying the same powers they had in Fang Ge, along with numerous privileges, almost equal to that of the demon lords.
If they were willing to serve the demons, their status would rise drastically.
Previously, these nobles might not have fled, but now the demons demanded that everyone under their rule change their faith. Any noble with even a semblance of humanity or a minimum level of decency could not accept this condition; it was preferable to be killed.
Though the doctrine of the resistance’s Saintess was somewhat heretical, at least they were invoking the name of the Goddess. Furthermore, the Church had already acknowledged the Saintess appointed by Graywhite Territory.
Layton looked at the long queue and said, “Lady Saintess, if this continues, we might not have enough time to retreat.”
The resistance was best known for its guerrilla tactics, but it was clear they couldn’t execute those while burdened with such a long tail.
“Have these nobles throw away what’s in their carriages, and put the elderly and children in them. Those nobles who still have strength should march with us!”
Isha was unwilling to abandon the common people and immediately issued the order.
In addition to reducing their burden, the assets of these nobles could perhaps serve to stall the demons, after all, while the demons might have lost their minds, they still valued money immensely; otherwise, they wouldn’t have risked raiding the resistance, all for the sake of wealth.
“Bring a squad of soldiers to cover our retreat and take everything that can be moved.”
After saying this, Isha was about to turn back on her horse, but Layton stopped her.
“Lady Saintess, those nobles still need you to command them; the rear-guard mission should be entrusted to us.”
Upon hearing Layton’s words, Isha could only silently bless the rear-guard team. Although she longed to go with them, rationality told Isha that she was the only one in the resistance capable of directing these noble people.
Before long, Isha personally ran to the back of the line, starting to instruct the nobles to throw valuables from their carriages and make room for the elderly and children among the commoners.
“Graywhite Territory will not treat you unfairly. I will have someone record the items you throw away and provide you with a receipt. Later, you can use these receipts to reclaim these supplies from me.”
Since it was semi-compulsory, the resistance soldiers quickly began boarding these noble carriages, tossing out the heavy jewels, and keeping a simple record, allowing the elderly and children who could not move to board the carriages.
Although Isha said they could retrieve these supplies later, many nobles were still quite dissatisfied.
“Damn it, these old folks and children combined are worth less than my carriage full of goods. Why should we leave our belongings for these useless ones?”
One noble watched as their goods were continuously discarded, scowling. This not only encompassed all their family wealth but also precious items necessary to maintain their nobility even in the resistance’s impoverished base.
Now, these possessions were being abandoned to make way for some utterly worthless elderly and children.
Did the Lady Saintess truly value these useless elders and children more than gold and jewels?
One noble could not hold back and attempted to stop the resistance soldiers who were throwing things out: “You can’t throw this, you can’t throw that! This is a rare luminous pearl I brought from the Duchy of Milan!”
However, an even older-looking noble stepped forward, giving a solid slap to the noble holding the pearl, and the large pearl rolled from that noble’s grasp.
“You fool! It’s just a pearl, how can you be so reluctant to part with it?”
Afterwards, this aged noble addressed the resistance soldier who had tugged at him, saying, “I apologize; it is my failure to teach.”
Seeing this elder noble treat him so respectfully, the resistance soldier reciprocated with a military salute and said, “No problem, sir. Please take a rest; we will handle this.”
The elder nodded and then raised his voice to command his family, fully cooperating with Isha, discarding all valuables from the carriages while leaving only food, making room for the elderly and children in the convoy.
Once the tasks were completed, Isha took off her cloak, cutting it into several pieces and writing down all the items that the nobles had discarded, handing them the records, saying, “All items have been recorded. If there are any omissions or errors, you can tell me now, and I will verify and record them personally.”
It was inevitable that some recording would be omitted or incorrect, but no one among the nobles raised any objections.
Watching his several carriages of belongings become merely a small piece of cloth, the noble who had sought to cling to the pearl expressed dissatisfaction: “Father, we accumulated so many assets just to exchange them for this scrap of cloth?”
The elder slapped his son on the face again, saying, “From now on, you will no longer be in charge of the family business. Let your younger brother take over.”
“What? Father, why? Are we not at a loss with this business?”
The elder shook his head and addressed a younger noble beside him: “This receipt will be given to you. Remember, do not use this to claim any exchange with the Lady Saintess until the family is in the most difficult times.”
“No, even in the most difficult times, do not exchange it until the last moment of life and death, got it?”
The noble who had sought to clutch the pearl was even more confused, though he dared not ask further, while the younger noble grasped the meaning immediately and said, “Father, I understand. When the opportunity arises, I will have someone frame this receipt for us.”
