Chapter 81 Chapter 82 Rumors
A few days later.
The villagers of Saint John were all fearful and were packing their things to leave their hometown. Men pulled cows, women carried babies on their backs, and the elderly were supported as they climbed onto the backs of the cows.
The militia, armed with weapons, looked anxiously towards the southern horizon, wary of a green-skinned army suddenly appearing.
News of the city being besieged spread like wildfires; it was no longer safe here, and they planned to take refuge in the forest first.
Saint John, dressed in a simple gray robe, hurriedly walked through the crowd of villagers. He passed by a woman carrying a goose and found his son next to a girl leading a小羊.
Young John was swinging a dull sword in his hand, unopened, boasting, “I’m going to fight alongside Uncle George. He’s so strong that he can twist an orc’s head off with just one finger.”
The girl said, “You’re too small; he wouldn’t want you.”
“Nonsense!” Young John exclaimed excitedly, spitting a bit, “He said he would teach me to fight in the future.”
The girl suddenly went quiet, her legs together as she looked down and said, “Good day, Sir Saint John.”
Young John was startled and turned around.
Saint John’s face was terrifyingly dark as he reached out and gave Young John a hard slap on the buttocks, causing him to cry out in pain.
“At a time like this, you still want to play? Still want to play?” he scolded. “I really don’t know how you are going to survive once I’m gone. Hurry up, behave yourself and go with the village chief. Don’t run around; I’ll tell the village chief to keep an eye on you.”
Young John said, “I want to go fight the greenskins with you.”
“Go fight? Is the battlefield a place for children?” Saint John said with an agitated face, just as the village chief walked over. Saint John turned his head and said, “Make sure to take good care of my son; he’s especially mischievous. You might as well tie him up with a rope; just don’t let him run around.”
“Understood, Sir Saint John.”
After giving his son a few more harsh words, Saint John rode off on a mule towards the city, which was surrounded by greenskins.
…
…
In the evening, the sunset was red like blood.
“Ah!!!!”
A piercing scream echoed in the air above the city as a goblin cannonball came crashing down from the sky, hitting a city guard squarely. A person and a beast fell off the city wall to the ground.
The soldiers below rushed to surround the area, their eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, holding long spears and pointing at the body.
The iron-tipped helmet had nearly pierced through the soldier, who let out a whimper before dying. From his corpse, the goblin cannonball had pulled his head from the iron-tipped helmet; his neck was nearly broken, and his head hung limply on his shoulder, emanating a foul stench.
The soldiers’ spears trembled as they violently thrust them into the fallen goblin. Looking at the body on the ground, someone said, “I don’t want to die like this.”
The goblins had bombarded the city with their catapults for two full days. Although the number of dead was low, everyone was on edge, frequently glancing at the sky.
Just as the soldiers were about to collect the bodies, a crow on a nearby dried tree cawed.
“Ah~ah~.”
Startled, the soldiers dropped the corpses and scattered, some even abandoning their weapons, running to the nearest defensive shelter. Those who couldn’t squeeze into the building simply dropped their weapons and huddled against the wall, using their shields to cover themselves.
After a few seconds, the imagined artillery attack didn’t come. Some brave souls lowered their shields, only to notice it was just a crow cawing on a branch.
…
…
At the city gate’s tower, in the makeshift command center, the atmosphere was tense, George and Drew glared at each other, while the others dared not speak.
George said, “We must launch a surprise attack on the greenskins’ siege equipment and burn it all down. The soldiers’ morale has been shattered by the goblin’s bombardment.”
“Those farmers are always low-spirited, fearful of death,” Drew replied. “We must defend the city at all costs and cannot give the greenskins an opportunity.”
“Are you just going to sit there and watch the greenskins build their siege equipment in front of you?” George asked. “It’s as if you are watching the enemy sharpen their knives while you stand there doing nothing!”
Drew slammed the table and said, “Don’t forget your place; you are only here to defend at my permission, and you dare to replace me in command? If you can’t stand it, then get the hell out of my city! Soldiers, take him out!”
Two soldiers stepped forward but dared not point their weapons at George.
George glanced deeply at Drew, said nothing, and turned to leave. The soldiers inwardly sighed in relief.
As he reached the door, he saw a row of counterweight catapults on the open ground behind the city walls, launching stones. The soldiers were hauling the catapults down and loading stones onto them. Soon after, a row of stones flew into the air, crashing down onto the greenskin camp, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Visually impressive, but poorly aimed.
George observed that several towering greenskin catapults remained intact. He shook his head, realizing the defending soldiers had never calibrated their catapults; there were very few people who knew how to operate them, and most were handling counterweight catapults for the first time, so their accuracy was left to chance, far inferior to the goblins’ bombardment.
Drew’s hope of using counterweight catapults to crush the greenskins’ goblin bombardment was nothing but wishful thinking.
In the distance, three goblin bombardments launched three goblins high into the air. They were tied to explosive clay pots, wailing as they flew and crashing into the human counterweight catapult, shattering the pots and spilling incendiary oil everywhere, igniting goblins that jumped and danced in panic.
The farmers ran in all directions, terrified, as a counterweight catapult behind them caught fire.
George turned his head away, unable to watch any longer.
Behind him, Drew’s furious voice echoed: “Where are the reinforcements? Why hasn’t a single messenger arrived? Are those cowards just watching idly while the greenskins defile this land blessed by the goddess?!”
George shook his head and descended the narrow staircase with the soldiers. One soldier, summoning the courage, asked, “Lord George, do you know who the Screamer is that the greenskins speak of?”
George fell silent. He knew the most talked-about subject in the city wasn’t the greenskin army outside, but the “Screamer.” Everyone also knew that the Screamer referred to the cute girl with black hair behind George.
People unanimously believed that Jima was the woman bringing misfortune to the city, and there were even some who indignantly suggested driving Jima out of the city. If it weren’t for the fear of George’s strength, Jima would have long been driven out by the furious citizens and handed over to the greenskins.
George didn’t want to answer that question. He said, “I heard that some say Jima, that black-haired girl, is the source of the disease? That it was she who caused the lord to fall ill with vampires’ disease?”
The soldiers fell silent.
George said, “That’s false.”
After saying this, he reached the bottom of the stairs where the soldiers left him and stood in place watching him go.
Jima, wearing a hooded cloak, leaned against the wall. Two strands of black hair flowed out from her hood; she raised her head, and her pure little face emerged from the hood, looking at George.
A smile appeared on George’s tired face.
At that moment, an indignant voice from behind them suddenly rang out.
“It’s her; she harmed us!”
Jima’s smile on her face stiffened, and when George turned back, he saw two soldiers looking at him expressionlessly.
“Forget it,” Jima whispered in front of him, “It’s normal for them to resent me. I don’t have to risk being crushed by a goblin to guard the city walls.”
George opened his mouth but couldn’t find the comforting words. The black-haired succubus girl smiled at him, almost seeming to comfort him instead.
They walked together, and George said, “Sometimes I feel so tired; why are people’s prejudices so deeply rooted?”
Jima replied:
“Today, Jenna healed five, but six more fell ill. The patients’ hair turned black and gray, so it’s normal for them to suspect me. Even though I didn’t spread the disease, that’s just human nature; it’s like crows, living off of carrion, and people see them as symbols of misfortune.”
As Jima spoke, she pointed at a crow’s corpse nailed to a tree by the roadside.
This was a local custom, believed to drive away misfortune and disease by nailing a crow dead.
A woman held a hammer and was nailing a crow. Upon seeing Jima, she quickly put down her hammer and gestured for Jima to leave while muttering, “…God bless, devil, devil, quickly leave…”
Jima turned her head, the smile on her face vanishing, looking ahead.
This city could not accommodate a smile…
George wanted to embrace Jima tightly to comfort her, but he also knew that Jima was very proud and didn’t want to be seen as a weak woman.
Suddenly, Jima asked, “Do you pity me?”
George opened his mouth to say yes but closed it again, not wanting to make Jima unhappy.
“Hey, you’re as stiff as a log,” Jima’s tail appeared, playfully swatting George, and she laughed, “Why not squeak for me?”
A person nearby saw Jima’s tail and screeched, running away quickly.
George opened his mouth and said, “Squeak.”
“That’s right, you have no sense of humor,” she said. “At this time, you should squeak like a mouse.”
George looked around; the people on the street were keeping their distance from them, or rather, they were avoiding Jima, as if there was a circle of disease around her; getting too close would result in misfortune. The window next to him slammed shut, and a prayer to repel evil sounded from behind it.
George opened his mouth: “Squeak~~.”
Jima exclaimed in delight, “That really sounded like one!”
A smile bloomed back on her face.
George felt both happy and heartbroken for Jima. She was truly a girl easily satisfied; although she often played tricks and was mischievous, when faced with prejudice and discrimination, she didn’t complain about the heavens or the earth but instead found ways to comfort herself.
Jima giggled all the way back to the castle with George.
The sky darkened, and the moon rose above the horizon.
Jima opened her eyes and entered the dream realm. She flew above the castle, looking at the city below, shrouded in a yellow fog, filled with the rumors that Jima had spread.
For instance, black hair symbolizes the mother of disease. The Screamer poisoned Lord Drew, turning him into a vampire. She wanted the entire city to die to sacrifice to the evil god for eternal youth…
At the very moment the greenskins besieged the city, Jima knew there would undoubtedly be rumors targeting her. Since that was the case, why not spread the rumors herself and gain the power of lies?
The swirling yellow fog of rumors below was far more vibrant and powerful than Jima had anticipated, even approaching the trend of the “Elven Queen” rumors’ yellow fog.
Perhaps when it comes to rumors concerning one’s survival, people tend to believe them more firmly.
Another goal of Jima spreading rumors was to better deceive George, shaping a favorable image.
She recalled how George had squeaked, unable to help but laugh out loud in her dream.
“This fool actually squeaked; it’s hilarious!”
Beneath her, the yellow fog of rumors swirled and grew.
