Chapter 232 Chapter 229 Accusation
After it was done.
Jima consciously or unconsciously pushed the troublesome George off the bed several times with her foot.
But George lay like a mountain and grabbed Jima in return.
The next day, early morning.
Jima complained, “You made me sleep poorly, you’re so dirty. I’m going back to the palace to take a shower.”
Having said that, she left George behind, her back stiff and resolute.
Completely different from the submissive demeanor of last night, George even suspected that Jima’s low and pleading voice from last night was an illusion.
Then there were some trivial matters.
Jima dragged George to the Dream Palace, making sure he cleaned himself up properly.
She turned around and called Lianxi to bring cleaning tools to thoroughly clean George’s room.
Lianxi was cleaning the room.
Looking at the dirty scene, so messy it seemed as if it had been turned upside down by pigs. She was full of pity, muttering:
“That bad person George is a sadist in private, and he’s getting more and more arrogant; the master is so pitiful.”
“Little Lixi, do you need my help?”
Lianxi turned her head and saw the little horned child leaning against the door frame holding a rag, frowned and said, “Get lost!”
Lianxi was growing taller; ever since she followed Jima, eating well and sleeping well, exercising every day, she had grown taller than the little horned child.
The little horned child shrank his head but didn’t want to give up, saying, “I’m Lord George’s attendant; at least I want to see.”
“See me? Are you afraid I’ll do something bad?” Lianxi said, “Do whatever you want, just don’t interfere with me.”
Having said that, Lianxi bent down, neatly folded the bedding, packed it into a bundle, and prepared to burn it. Jima had instructed her not to let the little horned child participate, for fear that he would secretly take something to curse.
But she didn’t notice that the little horned child’s eyes were fixated on her black silk calves and behind.
At ten in the morning.
The morning meeting officially began, with a total of eighteen participants.
Jima, George, Eve Frostleaf, Gregory, and so on, including the tear-stained Lady Casson.
In Jima’s view, there were too many redundant personnel at the meeting, besides Lady Casson, there was also Gregory.
Jima most disliked seeing him; the guy’s gaze was “fiery,” wanting to see her burn with passion, unrelated to any desire.
In any case, Jima sat very uncomfortably.
“I’m glad everyone could come together,” said a middle-aged knight with a mustache guarding the rear, as if he were the master here.
Several people sitting at the round table looked toward him simultaneously.
He displayed a friendly smile: “I am the nephew of Duke Casson.”
Next to him sat Knight Tangde, who added, “He is already the acting lord, temporarily taking over this city. The Duke Casson in Heaven would surely feel at ease if he knew.”
Looking at Knight Tangde, Jima felt somewhat displeased.
According to her inquiry, Knight Tangde was one of the second batch to escape back to Quinas City. As far as she knew, this guy had already fled on the pegasus and was waiting until someone else first returned to the city before he impatiently flew back to the safe city.
At this moment, someone mentioned Duke Casson.
Lady Casson’s swollen red eyes shed tears again, sobbing, and the nearby maid hurriedly brought prepared handkerchiefs.
Many knights present showed impatience, including Duke Casson’s nephew, the acting lord.
Knight Tangde hurriedly consoled softly:
“Everyone here is a rare hero of this generation. You need not worry, madam, there is no place safer than here. Dragon-slayer George is present; he is brave and adept at commanding troops. It is thanks to him that we escaped from the mouths of countless beasts.”
“As long as he is willing, he will surely protect you, madam.”
Jima immediately smelled the scent of moral coercion.
Sure enough, Lady Casson, with her puffy eyes, looked up at George with tearful eyes:
“Dragon-slayer George, everyone praises you. For the sake of the lake goddess—” She noticed the divine emblem on George’s armor was of the God of Dawn, paused: “For the sake of our pitiful orphans and widows, can you vow to save me and my children from being food in the mouths of beasts?”
George said earnestly, “I will do my utmost to ensure that no one becomes food in the mouths of beastmen; not even death can stop me.”
Jima immediately felt unhappy. George’s foolishness made him happy, that was none of her business. But how could he put his life on the line?
I’ve invested so much; if you die, how will I win over the girl? The leg I barely managed to cling to will just vanish.
These people were acting; it was obvious they were digging a moral trap for George to step into.
Unfortunately, under the arrangement of the schemers, Jima’s foot could not kick George’s foot.
One must say, political struggles are truly dark.
Sure enough, George’s answer left Lady Casson unsatisfied, with tears continuously welling in her eyes.
Jima saw clearly that she wanted George to protect everyone, but instead focused on protecting her own family.
Lady Casson sobbed:
“I heard that my husband valued you greatly. He entrusted his sword to you, and my ribbon was tied to the handle. I once dreamed of meeting the day my husband returned victorious, yet… I could only see you step through the city gates with his sword in hand.”
“I’m not blaming you. My husband must have believed you were the one most likely to protect his territory and his legitimate heirs.”
“That’s how I see it, right?”
George hurriedly said, “Madam, you need not worry; I swear—”
Gregory coldly interrupted, “George, a paladin must not swear lightly; have you forgotten? Before swearing, one must at least understand the situation and one’s own capabilities.”
Lady Casson cried even harder, and the maid gently patted her back.
George looked at the indifferent Gregory in confusion.
Wow, not surprisingly, the old fox.
Jima looked at Gregory’s old face and found it more pleasing and kind. If possible, she wanted to help Gregory pluck out his white hairs, one by one, to make him look younger.
The latter glanced at Jima, and that fiery gaze made Jima quickly avert her eyes.
“Lord George and Lord Bishop Gregory,” the mustached nephew knight said, “If the military situation is true, Quinas Castle cannot be held. We must quickly concentrate all our forces and prioritize breaking out with the people while the beastmen have not surrounded us.”
George exclaimed:
“Take the entire city’s people? That’s no small number. I’ve heard there are at least two hundred thousand residents in the city. Moving them all without the protection of city walls is nothing but a moving piece of meat for the beastmen.”
The mustached nephew knight replied, “In batches.”
At this moment, Eve Frostleaf suddenly spoke up in the common language, asking, “Who’s in the first batch?”
“Naturally, it is the legitimate heir of this land,” the mustached nephew knight said. “We knights must first protect the safety of Duke Casson’s family.”
Eve Frostleaf coldly retorted, “Humans, that is abandoning the city and fleeing.”
Jima then interjected, “Quinas Castle is the strongest castle of the Casson Principality; once we abandon it, we expose the entire southern region directly to the mouth of the beastmen.”
The mustached nephew knight coldly stated, “From a military perspective, as long as the beastmen are willing, they can bypass the castle. I hope the woman who knows nothing of military matters will refrain from making unfounded statements.”
Jima scoffed, “Essentially, it’s using the people of Quinas City as food to fill the stomachs of the beastmen. While they gorge themselves, you sneak away to safety; after the fighting, you can return to your land as masters anyway.”
“Succubus? You insult me?” The mustached nephew knight angrily exclaimed, feigning to take off his gloves, “I will duel you to defend my honor.”
“I won’t accept.”
“Despicable horned woman!”
At this point, Knight Tangde stood up and mediated, “Alright, everyone calm down; let’s discuss a good plan, as long as we don’t maliciously speculate about each other.”
“I don’t know how those from the Holy Temple see it?” The mustached nephew knight looked at Gregory and George, “After all, you don’t uphold the chivalric code.”
Gregory, with his eyes slightly closed, said:
“I’m old; I don’t have the spirit, I just want to burn a few evil creatures before I’m buried. Such matters should be left to the young to exercise more. George? What do you think?”
George couldn’t help but take a heavy breath. All along, he was better at how to fight various extraordinary battles. He was still too young and lacked experience for making decisions that could affect the lives of hundreds of thousands.
George said, “I heard about the lake goddess’s tears of blood, and I also heard that King Richard the Lionheart has issued orders to launch a chivalrous war. Why don’t we just defend the city? As long as we unite, maintain the strong castle, we will eventually wait for support.”
“I’ve sent someone to investigate; the storages in the city barely last a month, and there are less than a thousand knights combined.” The mustached nephew knight said, “The rest are only tens of thousands of peasant soldiers. Let them guard the castle, teach a lesson to the drunkards, and shoot a few arrows at the incoming lowly beastmen, that’s all.”
“That group of lowly peasants lacks the courage to face the towering cyclops. No matter how sturdy the city walls are, once the food runs out, they will give up resistance and obediently become food in the mouths of beastmen.”
George said, “Even the most cowardly coward will find the courage to protect their homeland to avoid being eaten.”
“You have never managed peasants; you don’t know—they could trip and end up dead on someone’s pitchfork—”
At this moment, Jima couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh.
Everyone looked at Jima.
“It’s fine; you can continue speaking.”
The mustached nephew knight continued:
“You from the Holy Temple do not see nobility and lowliness. Even if you are right, even if the beastmen do not attack the castle and remain outside, once the food runs out, we will have to eat horses’ corpses, then eat each other’s corpses, and we can only last for at most two months. Two months is not enough to wait for the chivalrous army’s arrival.”
Hearing the truth, George stood up and said, “Then let’s go back and discuss whether there are other methods; how about we give you a reply by afternoon or evening?”
At this time, the crying Lady Casson succumbed to fear, standing up, looking up at George, and screaming, “You liar! You betrayed my husband, sneaking back while unwilling to protect me.”
George quickly explained, “I am not…”
Lady Casson did not listen at all, hysterically yelling and crying, “You scoundrel! Despicable little green-skinned creature! Ungrateful wolf! My little son is only six years old, just able to wield a wooden sword.”
Knight Tangde comforted, “Madam, don’t cry; even if George disagrees, we will still protect you out of the city, taking your son to a place without beastmen…”
This meeting ended amidst the terrified cries of Lady Casson and her hysterical accusations.
But Jima knew that Lady Casson thought the same as most knights. They just acted well, without crying.
