NOVEL NEXT Chapter 675: Aris' Turn
The plan worked pretty well. They ended up repeating the same thing over and over again, bringing one to three thugs every single time.
When the first kids got tired, the second ones would replace them, giving them time to get some rest.
It was still surprising that out of thirty children under Iris, they managed to get seven children to do the running. Of course, the seventh person was the youngest, whom Iris asked to be the replacement in case the other six kids couldn't continue.
Meanwhile, ten people were handling the corpses inside the two buildings.
The remaining thirteen children, led by the twin brother, Aris, went around the area, stopping people in the slum to head in their directions.
Only Iris remained in her original position the whole time, monitoring the entire situation from afar.
Of course, Nathan had summoned his familiars, except for Nidhogg. Fenrir was stationed on top of a building, using his superior hearing to listen to the entire area in case something was going on.
Anubis was positioned near Iris. His job was to heal the kid, including their stamina, whenever they reached the designated position.
If there was a weird movement from the enemies, he would be warning Iris and having her deal with the situation.
Last but not least, Jinwu had been flying around to monitor the movement of the Crimson Skeleton.
On the first day, they wanted to take down as many people as possible before the enemies noticed their people missing.
So, Jinwu would inform Nathan or even take down the people that noticed their movement.
Of course, even though Nathan desired to take down as many people as possible, he didn't plan to overdo it. After all, it might end up raising the suspicion too fast.
Hence, after subduing more than two hundred people, he decided to retreat.
…
Once the night fell, the children couldn't help but widen their eyes, staring at their dinner. All of them looked so delicious and luxurious, to the point where they looked like they were glowing in the children's eyes.
"What is this dinner?"
"Is it truly something we can eat?"
"Since when can we eat something like this?"
The children hesitated. Even though they wanted to eat everything, they couldn't bring themselves to do it, afraid there was a hidden string attached to it.
In fact, some of them were exhausted physically and mentally due to their mission. They weren't in the mood to eat.
"I don't want this…" One of them pushed the plate back. His face was pale, as if there was no more energy left in his body.
Iris wasn't here, not because she didn't want to be here, but because it wasn't her job to raise their spirit.
Aris stood up and shouted, "What are you doing? Are you sure you're going to waste all this food?"
"I…" The kid looked down. He felt bad, but he was still not in the mood. "It's not that they're not delicious. It's just…"
Aris clenched his fists before lowering his head. "Please eat it. I know that this is too much to ask, but I wish for you guys to eat, even if you're not in the mood."
The people were confused by his actions. They wanted to ask him, but Aris continued, "When my sister and I were stranded here with nothing except for our tattered bodies, it was you guys who took care of us.
"You gave us the little thing you had so that my sister and I could continue living.
"My sister had decided to work for that person for the rest of her life. It was so that she could repay you… She wants you to live a much better life than now.
"I know you don't know what's going on, but please… don't waste my sister's sacrifice."
"Sacrifice?"
"What's going on, Aris?" Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire
"What are you talking about?"
The children panicked, thinking something bad was going to happen to Iris.
But Aris shook his head helplessly and said, "I can't say anything right now, but I wish you can trust my sister. Everything she does is for you guys to lead a better life.
"Please eat… so that you can have the energy to do the same thing tomorrow. Just a few days… please endure everything for the next few days."
Seeing Aris pleading like that, the kids couldn't help but exchange looks. On the one hand, they were still confused as to what happened. On the other hand, they couldn't deny the fact that Iris had done everything she could for them.
The reason they gathered together here… Wasn't it because they trusted Iris?
One of them grabbed the bread before her and took a huge bite.
"Sena…"
"What are you doing? Has Iris disappointed us this whole time? She has been doing everything to make our life better. Isn't that why we end up following her? I don't know what's going on, but I trust Iris. That's enough for me."
After hearing her response, another girl did the same thing without saying anything. She just showed her decision through her actions.
With the second person to continue, more and more people began to follow. Before long, all the kids had started munching the food, whether they forced themselves or not.
Little did they know, Iris was standing outside the hut, listening to them for a bit. After knowing the conclusion, she smiled helplessly and walked to the other side, meeting Nathan and Flora.
"My lord. We have eliminated 223 people today. The kids are eating, so you don't have to worry. I'll assure you they will still work like today."
Nathan nodded his head. "I'm not worried. Besides, it's fine to take it easy tomorrow in order to confuse the enemy. We are planning to draw out a few of their summoners on the third day after all."
"I understand." Iris nodded. "Still, the building has been filled up. We have to dispose of their bodies somewhere."
"Don't worry. Flora will burn them all without anyone noticing it." Nathan nodded. "You should get something to eat too. Or is it too awkward to go back?"
"!!!" Iris widened her eyes as if saying, 'How did you know?'
Nathan grabbed at another chair, hidden from her view. "Come and sit here. We have ordered more food than we can eat."
Iris was startled. It was as if Nathan had predicted everything. She realized that she was still nowhere near Nathan's level.