When this message was given, the whole city of Autumnfall panicked slightly.
The aristocracy was firmly opposed to migration; they could not accept giving up the city of Autumnfall. Because they were all aristocrats with huge wealth and land, if they gave up the city of Autumnfall, they would have nothing; almost all the nobles thought it was a rather stupid decision. In addition, they took this opportunity to accuse the church headed by Milan that it was they who made Autumnfall broke, and not able to pay the soldiers.
The Druids were more neutral. They realized that without help, when the orc army came back, they would not be able to defend the city.
But their view was that if they wanted to move, they should move closer to the Elven forest. The Druid organization could take in these refugees. Unfortunately, their views couldn’t be accepted by the general public because many people understand that the elves may not be willing to accept a large number of refugees.
Food, land, and materials.
The druids were scared that the elves would not be willing to provide these.
But the power of the temple was not high either, because if there was a choice, the vast majority of people were not willing to leave their homeland even if the temple had a high reputation among the common people.
In the temple hall.
A bearded, middle-aged priest stood in the middle of the room. He took a look at the others and said in a deep voice, “Are we really going to give up this city? Are we really leaving here? ”
“We lack food and soldiers.”
“Although the guards of the temple can protect some people, once we move on a large scale, they will certainly arouse the Scouts of the orcs. It is impossible for civilians to escape from the pursuit of the orcs.”
“In the end, we might all die!”
“Not only that.”
“If we don’t have enough food, we won’t have the strength to walk. The Oracle only told us to walk along the river but doesn’t tell us where we should go. If we only rely on the guards of the temple, I’m afraid we will be wiped out by the army of the orcs outside the city! ”
The middle-aged priest opened a map, pointed and said, “Even though the orc army retreated, there are still orc outposts here, here, and here. Their scouts have surrounded us. If we move civilians on a large scale, it is impossible to hide from these scouts. From here to here, the light cavalry of the orcs could block our way. I can’t imagine how terrible a disaster it would be if a large number of civilians were caught up by the orc army! ”
“If we leave the city, then we would not be able to retreat.”
The temple hall was dead silent.
Milan’s young face was a little dazed. As the most devout priest, she was only responsible for conveying the oracle. How could a little girl know so much? She looked hesitant and said, “What should I do? This is the will of the gods! He told us that there would be more calamities. If we don’t leave now, we will lose more! ”
A sigh was heard.
An old man dressed as a high priest came out and said slowly, “Your excellency divine priest! It’s not that we are not willing to obey his will. But now the problem is that we can’t go at all. Although our prayers can be answered by our Lord, he still hasn’t given us any divine power. Without that, our strength is greatly weakened and it’s impossible to protect so many civilians. ”
“Your excellency, please look outside!”
“Groups of old and weak women and children outside. The rest are either farmers or militia. Such forces may be useful in guarding the city, but once they encounter the orc army in the wild, it is impossible to fight at all.”
The priests at the hall looked at each other and clearly understood that what they said was true. It was impossible to protect civilians just by relying on the people outside and temple guards.
However, just then, a young female priest stood up. She was wearing silver and white armor and held a hammer in her hand; she looked rather brave.
She was called Fina.
She appeared in Soran’s dream previously; she lost her brother and cried in front of the god’s statue.
The war seemed to have made her more mature. She had a scar on her face; although it destroyed her beautiful face, it made her more resolute.
“Our god said someone will come for us!”
Fina took a look at the others and said slowly, “it’s hard to defend the city of Autumnfall! It’s almost impossible for us to hold on to the city when the orc army comes back. ”
“Also the Gnolls from the Abyss!”
“Once Yeenoghu, the Prince of Gnolls joined the war, then we would not last more than three days!”
“I too don’t want to leave this place.”
“But we have no other choice! We have lost too many soldiers. It’s impossible to defend the city with what we have now! Now there are refugees all over the city. If we continue to wait like this, we will only die! ”
Fina stood up and went to the center of the hall, looking at the other people, “now the most important thing is to be ready for our god to appear!”
“Since our lord had replied to our prayers.”
“Then he wouldn’t just let us die. Now our most important thing is to gather the people who are willing to follow us.”
A lot of the folk had lost everything.
They weren’t like the nobles that yearned for their land. Many people just wanted to escape from the war and look for somewhere to live.
If there really was somewhere safe, a lot of people would move!
“What about the nobles?”
The middle-aged priest looked at Fina and said, “They may not let us leave.”
Fina’s eyes became sharp, and she said in a deep voice, “it’s their decision to stay or leave. For those who are willing to follow our Lord to the outer islands, the nobles have no right to dictate anything. ”
“Land can be claimed if lost.”
“With our people, we will have hope! I will not let our people die here!”
The temple became quiet.
Agate River.
Soran looked at the mountains ahead and seemed to be thinking about something.
It was not far from the city of Autumnfall and would reach there latest by the afternoon of the next day. Everything went according to plan, and his divine priest told him important things in her prayers every day. Soran didn’t care much about the situation in the city. He just needed to take the people who were willing to follow him. As for the others who were unwilling, that was not his business.
Soran was not planning to go into the dirt again!
He had built a kingdom in the outer islands and was not willing to get embroiled into the mainland wars.
As for beating the orcs for Autumnfall, that was absolutely impossible!
The pirates may not be willing to fight for the half-elves, and Soran was not ready to suffer such losses.
He was in control of the three seas!
He had a large number of territory, routes, and chambers of commerce under his command. If the pirate army was consumed here or was severely damaged due to fighting with the orcs.
Then that would lead to chaos in Soran’s backyard!
There were many that wanted Soran dead. Those who were dealt with cruelly would do anything if there was any opportunity.
If that happens, then everything would be lost.
Furthermore, the Avatar Crisis was soon to come, and Autumnfall may not be easy to defend.
Ultimately it would only lead to death!