Chapter 138: People in War

Chapter 138: People in War

Boom! Boom!

Inside the building at 17 Minsk Street in Jowood Borough, the mistress of the house, Stelyn Sammer, and the maids cowered in a corner of the room amid the distant explosions, feeling the ground beneath their feet tremble faintly.

Only when the succession of terrifying sounds moved farther and farther away did Stelyn straighten up. Her nerves stretched taut, she looked left and right.

“What on earth happened?”

The two maids shook their heads at the same time, both bewildered and afraid.

Stelyn left the corner, instinctively wanting to walk out of the room and speak with the neighbors to find out what had just happened. Yet she feared another accident might strike, so she could only pace back and forth inside the living room.

After several minutes, she suddenly heard the sound of the door opening. She hurriedly turned her head and saw that her husband, Luke Sammer, had returned with the manservant.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” Stelyn asked instinctively.

The burly Luke replied with a grave expression, “I happened to pass nearby, so I came straight home.

“Quick, put on your coat. We’re going to the church right now!”

“What… what happened?” Stelyn asked the same question again.

Luke stepped forward and said, “Feysac airships are bombing Backlund!”

“H-how could that be?” Stelyn’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Now isn’t the time to discuss it. In any case, it has already happened. We must go to the church immediately!” Luke embraced his wife. “Don’t worry too much. I saw that those airships weren’t coming this way.”

“All right, all right!” Stelyn responded, still somewhat panicked.

As she put on the coat handed to her by a maid, she instinctively worried, “What about the children?”

“They’re at the Church school. Someone will organize them to take shelter. We can’t possibly get there in time right now,” Luke said rather calmly.

“All right.” Stelyn made a prayer gesture, hoping the deity she believed in would grant protection.

Together with the manservant and the maids, the couple quickly left their house and walked toward the other end of the street.

When passing the house at No. 58, Stelyn glanced at it and murmured, “I used to laugh at Lawyer Jurgen, saying he actually moved south for Mrs. Doris’s illness and gave up so many opportunities in Backlund. Now, I’m a little envious of him…”

Luke also looked over and said, “Don’t worry too much. Everything will be fine.”

As Stelyn hurried along, she couldn’t help asking, “Luke, should we flee Backlund?”

“No. There’s no need!” Luke Sammer answered with great firmness. “This was only an accident.”

Seeing his wife’s obvious incomprehension, he added, “Backlund is the kingdom’s capital. It must be the area with the highest level of defense. This time, it was only because no one expected it and there was a lapse that things turned out this way. Next time, the Feysacians won’t have another chance!

“The kingdom is the strongest military power on both the Northern and Southern Continents. The Feysacians will certainly be taught a lesson. There’s no way they can invade Backlund again. After this, Backlund will instead become the safest place!”

“So that’s how it is…” Stelyn felt that her husband’s words made sense, and she was willing to believe him.

After giving that explanation, Luke fell silent for a few seconds before saying, “However, we still need to make preparations. Once the Church announces that we can move about freely, we’ll immediately bring the children back, then buy more food—as much as possible, however much we can get!”

…

Backlund Bridge Borough, inside a public school.

Because the distance was too great, Daisy and her classmates had not noticed what had happened in the North and West Boroughs, nor had they sensed the chaos spreading into Hillston and Jowood Boroughs.

However, a teacher still came to their classroom, organized them into lines, and led them toward the nearest church.

This instantly made Daisy recall the Great Smog of Backlund from the previous year. Back then, they had also been told to hide in the church beside the school.

Is… is something like that happening again…? The shadow in Daisy’s heart made her body tremble slightly, while strong sorrow and anger surged within her.

As she passed the doorway, she couldn’t help turning her head to look at the teacher in charge and asked, “Is this another disaster?”

“Possibly…” That teacher did not know the exact situation either. He only knew to follow the requirements sent by telegram.

“Will there be a disaster like this every year? Maybe even more than once?” Daisy asked in a drifting voice, carrying a trace of childishness.

The teacher looked at her with pity and shook his head.

“All difficulties will pass. God will protect everyone.”

Daisy did not waste any more of the others’ time. She obeyed the order and followed the crowd somewhat numbly toward the nearest church.

…

North Borough, 22 Phelps Street.

Audrey, who was at the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation, heard the explosions and immediately caused dragon scales to hide beneath her skin. Then she rushed to the window.

Seeing the Feysac-flagged airship formation appear in the sky, witnessing bomb after bomb being thrown off course by the hurricane—some falling and exploding in the distance, while others vanished outright as if entering the spirit world—Audrey’s mind flashed with the words Mr. World Gehrman Sparrow had said, as well as the task from the Psychology Alchemists. From this, she came to a sudden realization.

War had truly broken out!

She immediately turned around and said to Susie, the golden retriever, as well as her personal maid Annie and the others, “Quick, hide in Saint Samuel Cathedral!”

Audrey did not know how to deal with an air raid, but the education she had received since childhood told her that, in danger, one should go to a church as quickly as possible.

In truth, her instinctive thought was to rush back to Queen Borough immediately and protect her mother. Yet considering that Annie and the other servants, along with the staff members here, were ordinary people who possessed neither experience nor the ability to handle such a crisis, she could only first take care of them and accompany them to Saint Samuel Cathedral.

In order to resolve any danger that might arise along the way, Audrey planned to wear both the Hand of Fear and Lie. One would distort the trajectories of bullets, while the other would manipulate flames and detonate bombs in advance.

When facing long-range attacks, the Beyonder powers of the Spectator pathway truly were difficult to bring into play.

Secretly protecting her servants and the foundation’s staff members, Audrey smoothly entered Saint Samuel Cathedral and saw several bishops and pastors come forward to meet her.

“Miss Audrey, there is no need to worry about the Earl, the Countess, and Lord Hibbert. They all have dedicated people protecting them. An air raid of this level cannot harm them. Besides, you know very well how large and sturdy your family’s basement is.” One bishop quickly guided Audrey aside and offered comfort.

Audrey removed her thin gauze gloves and nodded, accepting the bishop’s words. No longer in a hurry to return home, she instead asked, “How is the situation now?”

“The Feysacians lost two airships and have turned toward the West Borough. Don’t worry. All defensive forces have been awakened. They won’t be able to cause much more damage after this,” the bishop said simply, then led Audrey and the others toward the underground area of the cathedral for shelter. One level farther down was where the Nighthawks conducted their activities.

…

160 Böklund Street. Butler Walter and the household servants were all hiding in the basement area that also served as the wine cellar.

This was Dwayne Dantès’s instruction, while the gentleman himself had gone with his personal valet to find Bishop Elektra.

After some unknown length of time, Walter and the others heard knocking. Through the peephole in the door, they confirmed that their employer had returned.

“There are no attacks for the time being, but let’s go to Saint Samuel Cathedral and shelter there for a while,” Klein said, looking around.

“Yes, sir,” Walter replied on behalf of the servants, then asked, “What comes after that?”

As a qualified butler, he often read the newspapers. He understood that the situation had already been tense, so it was not difficult for him to guess that, after the bombing, a certain degree of war would break out.

Klein pondered for a moment and said, “Once the Church confirms the situation, we’ll go to Rose Song Manor. You may bring your families.

“No matter what, the kingdom’s capital is bound to be relatively safe. And a manor on the edge of the capital is even less likely to become the target of an air raid. It has no such value. Mm. Rose Song Manor has ample food and plenty of wine. Even if the war continues for a long time, we won’t have to worry about starving.”

Hearing their employer’s words, the servants who already had families immediately brightened. Their earlier pallor and panic were swept away, while Walter directly expressed his gratitude.

Then he considered his words and said, “We can purchase more food. In a situation like this, no one will ever complain that there’s too much.

“Also, the area around Backlund may not suffer another attack, but public order may become chaotic. The manor outside the city must guard against this.”

Klein nodded.

“I have considered that as well. I’ll speak with Member of Parliament Macht and people in the military about purchasing a batch of ‘decommissioned’ weapons and ammunition. You should all practice more.

“In short, during this period, Enyuni and I will return to Backlund for business depending on the situation. If there are any oversights, we’ll make up for them then.”

As for food, Klein did not forbid Butler Walter from purchasing more. That way, if a famine truly appeared, he would have the ability to offer relief.

After discussing what came next, everyone in Dwayne Dantès’s household simply packed some luggage, took their valuables, and followed their employer into Saint Samuel Cathedral, entering the underground.

At a glance, Klein saw Audrey walking among the crowd, soothing their emotions. He smiled faintly and nodded to the noble lady.

After seeing Dwayne Dantès, Audrey smiled in return, confirming from the other party’s attitude that nothing serious had happened yet.

…

Forsi and Xio had moved again, though still near the edge of East Borough and closer to the Backlund Bridge area.

After sleeping until she woke naturally, Forsi rubbed her hair and walked out of the bedroom, intending to prepare lunch.

As her gaze swept across the room, she saw Xio, who had gone out early, sitting in a chair and rapidly flipping through a newspaper.

“What’s wrong?” Forsi asked blankly.

Xio frowned.

“The Feysacians launched an air raid on the North and West Boroughs…”

“What?” Forsi blurted out, then immediately remembered the corresponding matters discussed at the Tarot Club.

At that moment, a newsboy’s voice came from outside:

“Extra! Extra! The kingdom declares war on Feysac!”

“Extra! Extra! The kingdom declares war on Feysac!”