At this moment, Isa Nebet, the protagonist of this game, or rather this world, was leading the refugees towards Graywhite Territory.
Although a large number of refugees had died on the way after initially storming Count Yager’s castle, the number of new refugees joining along the way was actually increasing.
Just as Lind had guessed, although Isa had captured Count Yager’s castle, she was unable to hold it.
Once the news of Count Yager’s death and the fall of the castle spread to the territories of the surrounding nobles, those nobles would immediately raise the banner of revenge against Isa. Whether they genuinely sought revenge or simply wanted to take advantage of the chaos, they would all seek to gain something after capturing Isa.
Unable to replicate the miracle of the falling meteors from that day, Isa had no means to resist the attacks from these nobles and simply abandoned the Verdant Leaf Territory, beginning her westward march.
After Isa made the decision to give up, the nobles were not eager to pursue her. Instead, they proceeded directly to dismantle the Verdant Leaf Territory and allocate the spoils from Count Yager’s castle.
After obtaining the nearly spoiled food that Yager had stored, Isa thought she could bring the refugees safely to settle in the western side of the Northern Border. However, with more and more refugees joining along the way, the food was being rapidly consumed.
Moreover, due to harassment and oppression from some nobles along the route, by the time Isa was nearing Graywhite Territory, many people had already been hungry for a long time.
Fortunately, there were finally no nobles around, and Isa could settle down with peace of mind.
Although there were rumors of a noble territory called Graywhite nearby, that territory had only just begun to develop, with a small population. Currently, it was merely a campsite full of tents.
This was also Isa’s reason for choosing to head west. Such small nobles did not possess much professional help, and their fighting power was generally low.
If a conflict arose, it would be a challenging task for them, and normal-thinking nobles would turn a blind eye to Isa’s group of over a thousand people.
Managing a group of over a thousand people left Isa feeling physically and mentally exhausted, but fortunately, the refugees who had helped her capture the Verdant Leaf Territory were now absolutely loyal to her. They had all witnessed the meteor shower descending from the heavens and believed it was a miracle displayed by the Goddess for Isa.
Additionally, the old village chief who had previously drunk Isa’s holy water had miraculously recovered and was able to help share some of the pressure with Isa.
“Lady Saintess, don’t forget to send scouts to check on the situation in Graywhite Territory.”
It was this old village chief named Jack’s suggestion to have Isa refer to herself as the Saintess. The Northern Border was filled with rebels, and the church’s control was weak. Having multiple rebel saintesses was generally insignificant to the church, but it was advantageous for Isa in unifying the people’s hearts.
“Rest assured, old village chief, I have already sent Bruno to check, and by now, he should be almost back.”
Isa handled these small matters with ease, but the current situation was not optimistic. At least most people were still hungry, and at night everyone relied on huddling together for warmth; if the neighboring territory had only tents, Isa’s situation was so dire that even tents had become a luxury.
Just as Isa finished speaking, a man carrying a pickaxe, named Bruno, returned with two sturdy-looking refugees.
Since burying his wife and child, Bruno had shaken off his previous state of despair.
However, the usually competent and straightforward Bruno now wore a troubled expression, unsure of how to address Isa.
“What’s wrong, Bruno? Did you encounter some difficulties while scouting Graywhite Territory?”
Isa looked at Bruno with concern. He didn’t seem to have encountered any danger; rather, he appeared to have come across something strange.
“Lady Saintess, do you really think all nobles are evil?”
Isa, puzzled by Bruno’s vague question, fell silent. She did not believe that all nobles were evil; during her studies in the royal capital, she had seen many nobles who, although concerned with appearances, genuinely cared for the commoners.
Moreover, although rare, some nobles truly fought for the benefits of the common people.
At this moment, Isa had already developed the concept that “there may not be a class that betrays, but there can be individuals that betray within a class,” but she was still unable to articulate it.
What struck Isa as strange was that Bruno, someone whose wife had suffered at the hands of the nobles and whose child had died from tainted noble food, was the one asking this question.
“There probably are, but at least we haven’t encountered any on our journey, have we?”
Upon hearing Isa’s response, Bruno and the two scouts seemed to have seen hope, and they finally spoke about what they had observed in Graywhite Territory.
“Lady Saintess, I saw… I saw that the Graywhite Territory had a sign set up for us, saying it’s a place to receive relief food from the Lars Family.”
“Ah?”
This time, both Isa and old village chief Jack were shocked. Could it be that a noble would actually provide relief food?
“Don’t rush; it could also be a noble’s scheme.”
The well-informed old Jack did not immediately believe the scout’s words and continued: “You see, Graywhite Territory has only a few hundred people. Even if they really wanted to provide relief food, where would they get enough for our group of over a thousand? It can’t be that Duke Lars would personally send supplies to that territory, right?”
Hearing this, Isa and the scouts realized the truth—this really was too unbelievable. Old Jack’s reasoning was indeed more plausible.
However, Isa felt that the lord of Graywhite Territory was not the type to be irreconcilable. At the very least, they had made a relatively gentle stance, so she decided to have Bruno check again to see if he could contact the lord of that territory.
Just then, the ground beneath Isa’s feet suddenly began to tremble, and many of the refugees became anxious, for they were well aware from their flight that this was the signal of the lord’s heavy cavalry being deployed. Although these heavy cavalry usually acted just to drive people away, it instilled an indelible fear among the refugees.
“Prepare to confront the enemy!”
With Isa’s call, the refugees, who had witnessed the miracle of the meteors, began to restore order in the camp.
Considering that the opposing territory was only a small domain with a few hundred inhabitants, Isa believed that as long as they did not lose their composure, their numerical advantage would at least make the enemy wary.
But soon, Isa realized she was wrong—wrong beyond measure. The heavy cavalry that arrived had three horses per person, all clad in blue and white armor, wielding enchanted long spears and war hammers that emitted a faint glow, and carrying longbows strung with the tendons of lion-tiger beasts.
Especially the leading female knight, whose equipment was not just luxurious but simply outrageous. It could be said that she had transferred the defensive runes meant for a castle directly onto her armor; only high-level professionals could even wear such gear.
What was most crucial was that their armor and capes bore the symbol of the Northern Wind Bear representing the Lars Family.
These were knights of the Lars Family, composed entirely of professionals.
“I am truly sorry, Lady Saintess; it’s all my fault.”
Bruno felt extremely guilty. This group of cavalry had appeared as soon as he returned to the camp, clearly indicating that his scouting had been discovered, and the opponents had followed him back.
“No, this isn’t your fault. The enemy is far stronger than you.”
Isa sank into profound despair.
