Burden

"Ancient river waters once flowed before your eyes, Majestic mountains made you stop and gaze in awe; No matter when you ceased upon this path, You have now rested in your golden homeland."

Under a crisp, sorrowful melody. Within a deep, gentle song. Tang Qi, before an oak tree with rustling golden leaves, placed a freshly picked leaf on the newly erected tombstone.

An elder, over seventy, with temples of white hair yet a straight back, placed a sacred emblem over his chest and murmured:

"Intoxicated Gullagas, we implore you to grant the deceased a swift release from the shackles of death, ushering them into the heavenly realm of joy and fine wine, that through your benevolence they may attain the bliss of eternal life."

The silent dwarf poured the last cup of star plum wine before the tombstone. It also signified the cessation of the deceased's prayers.

"He was not a good man." Father Lynn stated truthfully, "Nor a good father."

After a moment of silence, he finally looked towards the girl standing before the tombstone, who had remained silent throughout. He finally sighed: "But at least he loved you deeply."

Catherine nodded gently, her expression revealing nothing of her inner thoughts. In front of outsiders, she always maintained a composed and polite demeanor.

She took out a bulging coin purse: "Thank you for your help, Father Lynn. This is a donation to the church--"

Father Lynn simply waved his hand: "Child, I am not a qualified priest; I could not cast divine spells for him or cleanse the encroaching darkness. But herbs cannot reclaim his soul. What is done now is merely a gesture of helplessness. Moreover, to speak of donating to the church... When the hooves of monsters eventually trample this town, wealth will no longer matter."

Catherine was not stubborn. As she put the coin purse away, she bowed respectfully and replied: "Then please pack your belongings immediately, and we will leave here together."

"No, child, I cannot go anywhere."

"Why?"

The old priest simply shook his head, looking out beyond the courtyard at the town shrouded in fear, and replied:

"I have resided in this town for decades, pouring my youth and passion into spreading the Lord's gospel. It is because I truly hoped to bring joy and longevity to this land. Thus, I accepted the love and donations of my followers, repairing the temple of fine wine, and doing my utmost to provide rudimentary healing and faith for Star Plum Town. I cannot, in their current fear, abandon them for my own safety and leave."

"But if you stay here, you cannot change anything." Catherine clenched her fists, her voice trembling slightly, "Everything here will be reduced to ashes under the orcs' plunder."

"Then let me die with them, leading them to the heavenly kingdom of fine wine."

"But--"

"Cough, cough, excuse me, please allow me to interrupt." With a myriad of questions, Tang Qi had no choice but to interject into their conversation, "Why insist on staying here? Wouldn't it be a happy ending for everyone if you led the entire town away? Based on my observations, those giant turtles move rather slowly. If my deductions are correct, they will arrive by noon tomorrow at the earliest. Even if we need to prepare food and supplies for the journey and travel by ox cart, it will still be faster than the turtles' crawl. The orcs are migrating from the south of the forest. If we head north, detour for a few days, and then proceed to Dragon Gold City, we should be able to avoid them-- There is enough time. You can absolutely lead the townsfolk away; there's no need to stay here and wait for death?"

Why the look of willingly sacrificing oneself? Catherine and Father Lynn exchanged a glance, then sighed and explained:

"But the prerequisite for all of this is that we can find our way in the forest."

Tang Qi couldn't help but click his tongue.

The effect of the [Eye of True Sight] had long since faded, and at least he couldn't see through the forest's mist anymore.

It was also impossible to record a story in the logbook now and gamble on it gifting him another bottle of potion with the same effect—

The [Logbook] required stories with a beginning, middle, and end, a proper structure.

Clearly, he would at least need to escape, get away from the orcs, and wait until things settled down before there was any chance of receiving a reward.

Moreover, he couldn't guarantee that the reward he received would be what he wished for.

"If entering the forest risks getting lost, and staying here means waiting to be plundered—it's a death sentence either way, so why not die a little later?"

Father Lynn shook his head and brought up the decision that Steward Hus had temporarily made before Tang Qi returned to the town, after fleeing back to Star Plum Town:

"After the steward and the young lord retreated to the town, they quickly used some form of communication to notify Lord Mel, who was far away in Dragon Gold City. Lord Mel then immediately reported the matter to the Dragon Gold City council, requesting the city dispatch troops for support, to prevent the orcs from discovering Star Plum Town's location and endangering the territory."

Star Plum Town was land under the jurisdiction of Dragon Gold City.

While paying taxes to Dragon Gold City, it also received protection under the city's laws.

When the land was encroached upon, dispatching troops for support was an explicit legal provision.

Even if Dragon Gold City was unwilling to act, Preventing the orcs from breaching the Great Wall to the south was also the original purpose of the [Lord Alliance]'s establishment.

The appearance of orcs in the Twilight Forest now would have a significant impact on the entire alliance.

Once they learned of the news, they would undoubtedly monitor the orcs' movements in real-time and launch a purge—

Of course, all of this was based on the premise that "the news was successfully transmitted."

The priest continued:

"It's just that no one knows if the orcs will discover the town, or when the army will arrive. So Steward Hus ordered all the adult men in the town to take up their farming tools and pitchforks, ready to be conscripted into a temporary guard force and build temporary defensive fortifications. The remaining women and children were ordered to stay in the town, and no one was allowed to go outside."

"That's because I haven't told them yet— Whether or not the town receives army support, the orcs will definitely come."

The master and servant duo, Explosive Wolf and Melard, to ensure their own safety, retreated to the village chief's residence after returning to Star Plum Town.

As a result, Tang Qi only saw a few escaped mercenaries guarding the hastily erected fence.

Afterward, he took Black Snake to the church. Upon receiving the verdict that it was beyond saving, he finally buried him under the golden oak tree.

Along the way, there was no time to report to the village—

He had, of course, also considered whether or not to report it.

Now, he was certain:

"The orc chieftain had a construct on his shoulder identical to Melard's. They can distinguish the correct path, and their target is this town."

For this reason, Tang Qi didn't even believe Dragon Gold City would follow the law and send a support army.

"But even if you tell the Nobles, what good will it do?"

The priest, who had spent his youth in this town, clearly understood the lords of this land better.

"Are you expecting them to be so merciful upon hearing this news that they'll call the residents to pack their bags and flee with them? Of course not, they'll just abandon these burdens. They might even use these 'burdens' as shields to escape."