Chapter 294

Chapter Eighty Bad News

“Peyalo, the enemy is attacking the city…” Sophia murmured beside me.

The old teacher standing in front of us was banging on the podium and shouting, “Quiet! Don’t panic! The royal city will be fine! Please everyone, remain calm and wait for the announcement from the headmistress!” His words were muffled by the chaotic voices in the classroom and no longer as clear when they reached our ears.

“They’re here… They’ve breached the walls…”

“It’s a counterweight trebuchet! Those are fireballs of pitch…”

“These damned nobles actually dared to attack the royal city… Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth will surely have them all executed…”

“I want to go home… I really do… They won’t break through, right?”

“Even if they do, they won’t do much to us… This is the Royal Academy, my father is the cavalry commander of Casque City, they wouldn’t dare harm me…”

At this moment, no one had the heart to listen to what the chancellor was saying.

“…I need to find my father,” Sophia whispered.

Hearing her words, I tore my gaze away from the burning city walls and turned to look at Sophia’s trembling eyes.

“What are you going to do?” she asked me.

I shook my head lightly, “I haven’t thought about it yet…”

This was the first time I had ever experienced war, and it involved people I cared about deeply. My mind was in chaos, with no clue what to do. I wanted to find Victoria, but I didn’t even know where she was…

“Then why don’t you come with me?” Sophia gently held my right hand, “If the city falls into chaos, Father’s place will be much safer.”

“No,” I instinctively refused. Then, after thinking for a moment, I smiled at her, “I still have something to do.”

Sophia was slightly taken aback.

Two seconds later, her eyes widened, and her beautiful face was full of anxiety, “Peyalo, what are you planning? This is a war! Do you understand that? Many people will die in a war! Even if your father is from Scarc…what can a little girl like you do? You’re not allowed to go!”

She tightly gripped my hand, squeezing it so hard it hurt. Looking at her anxious and uneasy expression, I blinked in confusion.

What is this child thinking…

I patted her hand comfortingly, about to speak.

“Peyalo Miss…”

“Peyalo Miss!”

Suddenly, I heard someone shouting my name loudly. The voice seemed to be coming from the classroom door. I looked in that direction… only to find that the view was completely blocked by the students who had stood up, gathered together, and were looking at me with blank expressions. I couldn’t see who was calling me.

So, I tilted my neck back and tried to stand on tiptoe.

It sounded like a teacher… okay, I still couldn’t see. They were all too tall.

Unconsciously, I frowned.

“Hey! Move aside, you’re blocking our sprite from Ceylon Lake! Hurry up!”

“Be careful of your noses!”

After these two shouts, the crowd in front of me automatically parted.

These students were all first-year students from Ceylon Lake, often taking classes with me. Gradually, we became familiar with each other. Most of them had spoken to me at least a few times, and occasionally, some brave ones would joke with me, calling me a sprite, which they used as a boast among their friends. I had gotten used to it; although I found the nickname “sprite” to have subtle meanings, I no longer got angry because most people meant no harm.

But now, even if it was just a joke, or someone deliberately trying to ease the tense atmosphere, everyone’s laughter was forced.

“Peyalo Miss, a nun from the Holy Maiden Class is looking for you…” someone said to me.

But he didn’t need to remind me. After the crowd parted, I saw the old teacher and a young nun in pure white robes standing at the door, looking towards me.

“Holy Maiden Class…” Sophia was quite puzzled.

Then, she seemed to think of something, but wasn’t very sure, hesitantly asking me, “What do they want with you…”

The Holy Maiden Class was composed of nuns who accompanied the Holy Maiden. Their attire was different from ordinary nuns, pure white with gold patterns, instantly recognizable. They must have come for something concerning Margaret… they came here, so they must be in a hurry?

Let’s go and see.

I withdrew my hand from Sophia’s palm and gave her a reassuring smile.

“I’m leaving.”

“Where are you going…” Sophia looked worried.

Even if you ask me, I haven’t made up my mind yet…

Tilting my head to think, I could only say to her, “I might… leave the academy.”

First, I’ll go see Margaret and find out what she wants… Running over here at this moment definitely isn’t just to chat or eat chicken legs. I have a bad feeling, something might be wrong…

…I hope it’s not the abyss.

With a heavy heart, I took two steps towards the classroom door, then turned back.

“Sophia. I might… take some time before I can return… just like last time. Tell Sarah and the others not to worry, everything will be fine.”

With that, I strode forward.

A short while later, as I passed through the students, I seemed to hear Sophia take a deep breath behind me.

“…Sarah will bring over delicious food next time, she’ll save some for you! But if you come back late, Peyalo, we won’t wait for you!”

The girl’s voice was crisp and clear.

Pfft…

I stopped in my tracks, my emotions momentarily indescribable.

Sophia… don’t start acting like an old one.

She spoke in the manner of a clichéd story.

Why do I suddenly feel like I’m about to face death… Pfft! Children say what they think… Children say what they think… Such things shouldn’t be said in front of so many people. Do I care about my face? But I didn’t get to eat Sarah’s deer meat pie last time.

“I want to eat, deer meat pie.”

“Alright, I’ll tell Sarah. Hurry back…”

“Mm.”

As I walked to the classroom door, the nun immediately bowed and said, “Esteemed lady, please follow me.”

She didn’t specify why she wanted to see me; perhaps she thought it was inconvenient here, so I didn’t ask. I just gave the old teacher a sweet smile before following the nun.

The nun was a quiet person… Perhaps most nuns were like this? I followed her down the giant stone steps to the first floor, during which there was no conversation. After exiting the school building, I saw three splendid unicorn carriages parked below the stone lion statues at the entrance.

“Miss, the Holy Maiden is waiting for you in the second carriage.”

It’s Margaret…

“Alright.”

I nodded to the nun beside me and quickly walked over, lifting the curtain to see the Holy Maiden’s beautiful face, as graceful as a lotus emerging from water.

“How did—”

I was about to ask her something when I heard another distant explosion like thunder.

Boom boom boom…

The sound was even more alarming than the first time, causing the ground beneath my feet to tremble slightly. Around us, cries of surprise rose and fell, and the students on the road were in a panic. A timid female student even fell to the ground out of fear. I instinctively turned my head toward the direction of the rising smoke.

In the next moment, my hand was tightly held by a soft, warm touch, and a force pulled me forward.

“You go up first,” Margaret’s gentle yet resolute voice echoed in my ear.

She pulled me into the carriage, and after I sat down, Margaret hurriedly drew the curtain and tapped the roof of the cabin lightly with her finger. The unicorn let out a neigh, and the carriage slowly started moving.

I couldn’t bother with small talk, nor did I care why she came to find me. I anxiously asked, “Will the city fall?”

The enemy’s attack was fierce… Even here, I could sense their powerful siege weapons. I had no idea how terrible the situation was on the other side of the wall… I was really feeling uneasy.

But the Holy Maiden sitting opposite me looked calm. She stared at me for a moment… What was she looking at?

I frowned, but heard Margaret softly say, “No.”

…She looked quite serious, as if she wasn’t trying to deceive me.

But maybe she didn’t understand such matters, and I needed to see Victoria.

So I asked again, “Where is Victoria?”

“Her Majesty is organizing the defense line. It’s best not to disturb her right now.”

“Where is she?”

“The palace.”

“Where are we going?”

“Out of the city.”

“Alright. Then, let me go somewhere… What did you say?” I widened my eyes.

What did Margaret just say… Out of the city? Did I hear wrong?!

I looked at the composed Holy Maiden, uncertain and repeated, “Out of the city?”

Margaret gently nodded, “Out of the city.”

She really said out of the city… At this moment?

My first reaction was that Margaret wanted to take me away from here. But then I thought, if even she was leaving, wouldn’t that mean the royal city was doomed? If Victoria… No, even if the royal city was doomed, Margaret wouldn’t be so urgent to run, would she? She was the Holy Maiden, who would dare to do anything to her… No, if they were attacking the city, the Holy Maiden wouldn’t run, Margaret wasn’t such a person, she must have an important reason… Ah…

Thoughts raced through my mind in an instant. After a short while, I thought of the worst possible reason.

“The abyss… has awakened?”

Damn, choosing such a time…

Breathe in, breathe out.

Stay calm… face it calmly… don’t panic… it’s not that serious, the abyss won’t come so quickly…

I was already mentally prepared for the worst scenario, but unexpectedly, Margaret shook her head slowly.

“No.”

“No?” I was stunned.

“The abyss hasn’t awakened. On the contrary, it seems the abyssal mud is gradually calming down, and the black liquid is no longer boiling.”

What?

This can happen?

I couldn’t help but grin, “Then isn’t that good?”

I was actually quite worried.

If the abyss suddenly awakened, the Church Knights guarding the canyon would be helpless against it. Terrifying monsters might take advantage of the enemy’s assault to come, and then what would we do… Just a moment ago, I even thought that if it were true, I would fight to the death to keep the monsters outside the city. In the worst case, I would have to expose my own abyssal power and kill it…

But I never expected Margaret to give me good news.

If the abyssal mud is no longer boiling, doesn’t that mean the monsters will disappear on their own?

Complications?

I didn’t care what the reason was, at least I didn’t have to worry about the royal city being attacked from both sides… But why does Margaret still look so serious…

“This is not good news, Peylo.”

In the next moment, the Holy Maiden’s slightly cold words brought me back to reality.

“The reason the abyssal mud is no longer boiling is not because the monsters have disappeared on their own. Relying on this is unrealistic. It actually represents another, even worse possibility. After discussion among the personnel on site, we now suspect… the abyss may have already crawled out of the abyssal mud unnoticed by anyone.”