Chapter 465: A War Without Suspense (Part 2)
The time when Yang Qiu ordered the Skeleton Fleet to bombard the waters of Creek City's port area was nine o'clock in the morning in the other world.
It was one o'clock in the afternoon in the other world time when the first group of undead arrived at the city of Creek and began to frantically attack the city gates and defenses.
The Earth plane has entered the peak period of online players. The undead army that continues to advance and is immortal is gradually tearing a hole in the city defenses. The defending generals are no longer able to retake the occupied city defense line. It is four o'clock in the afternoon in the other world time.
For the players, it was just a siege activity that they started participating in after dinner. However, for the natives of Creek City, they had already spent most of the day trembling with fear amid the threat of war and the crisis of the city being broken...
The outer city area, where the deafening sounds of fighting could be heard from afar on the city walls, was now dead silent. The frightened citizens all closed their doors and families hid in their homes, trembling and praying desperately that this nightmare day would pass quickly.
In the inner city where no sound of fighting could be heard, the tense and depressing atmosphere was even worse than in the outer city. Few people could be seen on the empty streets. Occasionally, a horse-drawn carriage from a respectable family would pass by in a hurry, and one could tell something from the anxious and distracted look of the driver.
A young non-commissioned officer wearing the gorgeous standard armor of a noble's private army and riding a ground lizard horse rode through the silent outer city into the inner city, brushed past the carriages and servants of respectable families on the streets of the inner city who looked panic-stricken, and hurried towards the direction of the lord's mansion.
The residence of Count Geketian, one of the four great nobles of the Rhine Kingdom, is arguably the most popular place in the city at this moment. When the private soldiers turned into the street where the Count's residence was located, they could see from afar that the entire street was filled with carriages that had come to visit the Count, and was also filled with servants of respectable families.
"Get out of my way! Get out of my way!"
The private soldier didn't care which family's crests were hung on the carriages or which servants he must not offend. He whipped the coachmen and servants roughly and drove through the jammed streets amid complaints.
When they reached the Earl's Palace, the private soldier jumped off his horse, threw the reins to the male servant who was meeting him, and ran into the palace with sweat all over his forehead.
"The city walls can't hold up anymore?!"
The second son of Earl Gekaterian, who was nearly fifty years old but looked like Master Gladstone, was only in his early thirties. He almost dropped the exquisite teacup in his hand.
"How could this be? Aren't there more undead than our defenders? Who on earth is in charge of the command now? How could he be so incompetent?"
Gladstone, who had been an earl for decades, was furious and habitually threw the teacup in his hand at the private soldier who came back to report the news.
The private soldier didn't dare to dodge, and quickly lowered his head slightly, using his helmet to "catch" the flying teacup, and was splashed with tea in the cup all over his face.
Master Gladstone would naturally not be polite to his own dog. The angry old master jumped up from his chair, cursed the useless person who was commanding the city defense, and kicked the private soldier who was kneeling on one knee obediently, then hurried away.
As he passed by the large living room filled with guests, Master Gladstone, who had not made any effort to disguise himself in front of his private soldiers, took a few deep breaths, forced himself to suppress his anxious expression, and acted confidently and calmly.
After impatiently dealing with the guests who anxiously gathered around to inquire about the situation, and getting rid of these guys who were only counting on the Earl's Mansion to arrange a way out for them, Master Gladstone was able to spare some time to meet his father.
Earl of Goketan has been living in seclusion for most of the year and rarely receives outsiders. Most of the affairs in the Earl's Mansion are handled by his second son Gladstone. He will only ask his father for advice when there is a big matter that Master Gladstone cannot handle.
Gladstone led only his trusted butler and male servant, and hurriedly trotted all the way to the east side of the mansion. They left the bustling main courtyard, crossed the atrium, and walked for a while in the deep garden before arriving at the villa where his father lived.
This quiet courtyard, which can never be seen from outside the Earl's Palace, is not deserted at this moment.
Gladstone left the manservant outside the courtyard and led the deacon into the courtyard. Hundreds of men and women in different clothes and with gloomy temperaments who were scattered around the courtyard in groups of three or four all looked over.
Master Gladstone turned a blind eye and walked towards the two-story house in the yard with his head held high. The deacon who had followed the master all the way here turned pale, lowered his head nervously, and did not dare to look around .
There were quite a few people in the house.
In the main hall on the first floor, on a long sofa near the French window, sat a dozen nobles dressed in luxurious clothes.
Behind the sofa was a long row of high-backed chairs, occupied by nobles who were equally well-dressed but of slightly lower status.
In addition to those who were qualified to sit, there were also many believers in black robes standing scattered around the hall.
Among the sofa combinations, on the single sofa facing the door, sat Count Geketian, who was wearing a soft spider silk uniform.
Master Gladstone left the trusted butler at the door and strode to the sectional sofa, bowing respectfully, "Father."
Count Geketian slowly turned his head and looked at his second son.
Master Gladstone, who could always remain calm in front of outsiders, couldn't help but tremble slightly the moment his "father" made eye contact.
Even the "second son" is nearly fifty years old. Theoretically, Count Geketian, a great noble of the Rhine Kingdom and Lord of Tachia, should be nearly eighty years old, but he does not look that old.
The old earl sitting on the large single sofa, although not as strong as a professional strong man, but just by looking at him with the naked eye, it can be judged that he is quite strong and healthy - he sits upright, without any hunchback; his body is strong enough to support the wide spider silk uniform, and there is no sign of muscle atrophy that should be seen in an old man; the wrinkles on his face can only be seen around the eyes and lips, and the cheeks, forehead, chin and other parts are still very plump.
If he appeared at the same time as Master Gladstone and claimed to be Gladstone's brother, it would not arouse many people's suspicion.
But... this is only limited to the situation where the old earl does not speak or move.
When the old earl stared at his "second son" for several seconds and then spoke, his dull and rigid voice, his slow pronunciation that was similar to the "zombie NPC speaking speed" set by Yang Qiu, and... his weird expression with only his lips trembling while speaking and no other facial muscles involved, could even make ordinary people who knew nothing about the occult realize that something was wrong.
"What's the situation outside?" The old count asked slowly, word by word.
Gladstone lowered his eyelids meekly and replied respectfully: "The undead have already attacked the city wall."
If this sentence were said to the guests waiting in the living room, I wonder how many of them would scream out loud on the spot, and then reveal all kinds of ugly behaviors of panic.
When this was said in this villa...the people present didn't react much.
At least these equally respectable nobles sitting near Count Geketian didn't react much.
The group of people sitting on the high-back chairs at the back did appear slightly nervous, but it was as if the slow-motion button had been pressed.
Gladstone saw the stiff reactions of the nobles sitting there from the corner of his eye, but... it didn't seem like they were talking to his "father".
Instead of being so fearful, a hint of envy appeared.
Only the deacon standing by the door kept his head down, not daring to look at anyone in the hall.
A few seconds after Gladstone finished speaking, a noble sitting on the couch spoke up. He spoke a little faster than the old earl, and his expression was more lively than the old earl's: "It seems that the Nightmare Butcher really wants to kill all of us."
After a few seconds of silence, another noble spoke up, "Of course he showed no mercy. He almost wiped out the 'Pleasure Sect', 'Toya Sect', and 'Eternal Life Sect' who were reluctant to withdraw in time."
"It's ridiculous. How can those insignificant sects compare to us?"
"Nightmare Butcher is too arrogant to think that the artillery fire that is far inferior to the Alchemical Cannon is enough to threaten us."
"This arrogant guy should be taught a lesson."
After a strangely slow rebuke, the older-looking lady among the only two ladies sitting on the sofa said, "Gentlemen, the Nightmare Butcher is not that easy to deal with."
Count Geketian slowly turned his neck and looked at the noble lady: "Mrs. Carter, what do you think?"
Mrs. Carter spoke at a similar speed to the old earl. When she spoke, her face, painted with delicate makeup, was as stiff as a doll speaking: "When the Central Region fell, my people happened to be stranded in Rob Town. When the Joyful Envoy was destroyed, my people sensed a faint breath of the void."
As soon as the two words "breath of the void" were uttered, everyone present, who had not reacted much when they heard the undead attacking the city wall, changed color.
The carriers of the evil god's followers are even more wary of the breath of the void than the extraordinary ones.
When extraordinary people encounter the breath of the void, they only face an increased risk of losing control; but if it is the evil god's favored ones, it would be an extremely fatal matter - the evil god whose body is sinking in the void, its will will naturally be attracted to the void, resulting in the stripping away of the god's favored ones!
Count Geketian, who had not shown much emotion for many years, had his almost dead facial muscles trembling slightly, and a hint of anger appeared in his dull tone: "This dirty bastard, this despicable villain... No wonder he dared to reach out to Tachia."
If Yang Qiu heard what the old earl said, he might see through many confusions that he had not been able to solve before, such as the attitude of the Gold Coin Church.
Does the Gold Coin Church really not know that Taqia Territory has become the base camp of the cult and that the nobles in Taqia Territory have collectively fallen?
This would be an underestimation of the Orthodox Church that survived two wars of the gods.
It was logical that Cardinal Atwood, whose illegitimate great-grandson was being used as a pawn, knew nothing about this - after all, this high-ranking priest from Middle-earth was an "outsider", and it was normal for him to be excluded from core secrets.
But it would be somewhat ridiculous to say that the Gold Coin Pope was also completely kept in the dark.
Of course, even if Yang Qiu knew this secret afterwards, he would not think that the Gold Coin Church was in cahoots with the nobles of the Tachia Territory - a mere large noble territory was not qualified to sit down and discuss cooperation with a true religious sect like the Gold Coin Church, whose dioceses covered several countries.
The only possibility... is that after comprehensive consideration, the Gold Coin Church believes that it is not cost-effective to clean out the cult's den in Tachia Territory.
Any apologists, holy priests, night watchmen, and priests owned by the church are not cabbages. They all require an investment of time and money to train. As long as the church's top brass are still sensible, they will not throw the people they have trained into the pit.
In other words... the Pope of the Gold Coin Church probably weighed the cost of clearing the Taqiya Territory and the benefits that could be gained afterwards, and thought that this was a losing deal, so he chose to turn a blind eye...
Anyway, the Gold Coin Church has many dioceses, and losing the believers of one or two dioceses will not cause serious consequences; as long as the Taqia County can still receive the tithe and does not cause too much trouble for the Gold Coin Church openly, then His Holiness the Pope can hold his nose and pretend not to see it.
Of course, such a rebellious diocese must be a thorn in the heart of His Holiness the Pope.
The Pope is naturally happy to see someone come forward to help the Church eradicate it.
The Church of Gold Coin's shrewd and calculating approach would inevitably fuel the crazy expansion of the confidence of the Whisperers, a sect that has been "indulged" for two hundred years.
The current Pope of the Whisperer sect, Count Gettean, the absolute master of the Territory of Taqiya, does not think that he has no chance of winning against the Nightmare Butcher. Even though Mrs. Carter reminds everyone that the Nightmare Butcher has the trump card of "Breath of the Void", he is still full of confidence.
This nobleman, whose actual age could not be determined from his appearance, propped himself up on the armrest of the sofa with one hand, stood up mechanically, and said slowly in a strange tone that did not sound like a human voice: "Let's go, everyone, go teach that arrogant black magician a lesson."
