On the Prophecy, the Emperor's Decision, and Lynn's Decision

"Bastard!"

"Is Xiaoyue Kif good for nothing?!"

"Several hundred men, and only a dozen or so came back!"

Inside Baron Kage's castle, the Great Yue Clan's chieftain exploded with rage the moment he received the news.

The Great Yue Clan had ten thousand people. While every one of them could fight if needed, that did not mean all ten thousand were soldiers.

They had wives and children too.

Young werewolves did not go to war, and female werewolves usually did not go to war either.

Each small clan numbered several hundred people, yet only sent several dozen of their young men.

Whether the werewolves' Mobile force even reached two thousand was questionable.

This was equivalent to destroying more than half their Mobile force in a single battle.

That city had at least a thousand well-trained human soldiers and towering walls.

That was the information the Great Yue chieftain had received.

"Chieftain, Mantekif has returned."

The tiger-man Mantekif returned to the castle, still holding a Tiger demi-human in his grasp. "Chieftain, the Golden Army has more or less been wiped out. Lord Xiaoyue Kif spotted a city on the way, and while he was attacking it, I was leading men in pursuit of the Golden Army, so..." Mantekif explained why he had not provided support.

"That human city lies outside the fortress, isolated and without aid. But winter is approaching. Are you confident you can lead men to take it?" the werewolf chieftain asked directly.

Mantekif replied, "We are not skilled at siege warfare, Chieftain. You know that."

"Chieftain, should we perform a divination through sacrifice?" the Werewolf Shaman asked as he entered from outside.

The Major events of a nation lay in sacrifice and war.

This was common knowledge throughout the world. Sacrifice was a matter of utmost importance, and every race in the world did it.

The werewolf chieftain approved the request, and the sacrificial ritual began at once.

The shamans began to dance, beating drums made from the skins of other races in their hands. Everyone sang sacrificial hymns, creating a truly magnificent spectacle.

This was a ritual for communicating with the gods.

At the sacrifice offered in prayer to the gods, offerings were brought forward one by one.

Two-horned goats.

Winter sacrifices were a tradition, a custom that existed in every world.

The two-horned goats were tied to wooden stakes, the flames were lit, and everyone circled the bonfire together as the divination began.

At the Imperial Church, the newly appointed Saintess was kneeling in prayer for divine guidance that winter.

Everyone was holding their breath in concentration.

A cruel prophecy appeared.

The Saintess stared in disbelief at the Tarot cards before her.

"How could this be..."

"Ria, what's wrong?!" Leticia rushed over and helped Saintess Ria up.

The Pope of the church walked over and said, "Holy Knight Leticia, this is likely the Saintess's first divination. She has expended too much Mental Power. Help her away first." At the same time, the Pope studied the cards before him and began to calculate.

"How could this be!"

The Emperor walked over as well and asked, "Your Holiness, what is happening?"

"Let us speak elsewhere, Your Majesty."

The divination ended just like that. Afterward, the Emperor sealed the news, but the prophecy still spread.

It had even become a nursery rhyme.

The Empire's nursery rhyme went as follows.

Goat, goat.

Having eaten the flowers.

Goat, goat.

Entering the garden.

Goat, goat.

Eating flowers.

Bugs, bugs, everyone is eating flowers.

Animals, animals, all are eating flowers.

Garden master, garden master, why do you weep?

Gardenkeeper, Gardenkeeper, Your favorite flower is Nailed to the cross.

Gardenkeeper, Gardenkeeper, Your daughter has come to the garden.

Within the palace, the Empire had long since deciphered this prophecy.

The goats referred to the Devil Race.

Among humanity's great clans, most family crests bore flowers. All ancient families used flowers.

Only the Nobles who rose to prominence later changed their family crests from flowers to other things, because nearly all flowers with auspicious meanings had already been claimed.

The Gardenkeeper referred to God.

God was weeping; His favorite flower was the Emperor being put on the cross.

God's daughter came to the garden, and then there was no continuation.

Because even the children's rhyme could not describe what came next. This story had no ending; it merely told the beginning.

The Emperor flew into a rage. Put on the cross?

Yet this was the kind of prophecy one had no choice but to believe.

But sometimes, the more one wanted to prevent a prophecy from coming true, the more likely it was to come true.

The Emperor made his decision: target the Devil Race and search for God's daughter.

However, the prophecy the Emperor received was somewhat different from the children's rhyme.

Leopold XIII would be betrayed. The Devil Race would capture him, and the Emperor would be Nailed to the cross.

Humans would be hunted across the entire world by the Devil Race. Only by abandoning their ancestral surnames could they survive.

The scene shifted to Aningsbe. As someone who had once possessed Divine Favor, Lilim naturally believed in rituals. That winter, she performed one and told Lynn the news.

"You mean the Orcs will breach the city, so we have to run?" Lynn said as he fiddled with the grass Slime and fire Slime in his hands. "I don't believe in gods."