Boom! Boom!
In the building at Cherwood Borough's 17 Minsk Street, the female owner of the building, Stelyn Sammer, and her maidservants heard a loud explosion from afar. She fearfully hid in a corner of the room, feeling as though the ground beneath her feet was trembling.
Only after the constant, terrifying commotion started to fade away did she straighten her body and look left and right with an unusually strained mind.
"What exactly happened?"
The two maidservants simultaneously shook their heads. They were both at a loss and also afraid.
As soon as she left the comer of the room, she instinctively wanted to walk out of the room and talk to her neighbors to figure out what had just happened. However, she was worried that another attack would happen again, so she had no choice but to pace around in the living room.
After a few minutes, she suddenly heard the sound of the door opening. She quickly turned her head and realized that her husband, Luke Sammer, had returned with his valet.
"Aren't you working?" Stelyn asked subconsciously.
The stout Luke replied solemnly, "I happened to pass by the vicinity and came back immediately.
"Quick, put on your coat. Let's go to the cathedral now!"
"What happened? What happened?" Stelyn asked again.
Luke took two steps forward and said, "Feysac's airships are bombarding Backlund!"
"How... How could this be?" Stelyn's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Now is not the time to discuss this. Whatever it is, it has already happened. We have to go to the cathedral immediately!" Luke gave his wife a hug. "Don't worry too much. I think those airships aren't heading over."
"Alright, alright!" Stelyn replied in a panic.
As she wore the coat the maidservant had brought over, she instinctively said with concern, "What about the children?"
"They're at the Church's school, so there will be people who will arrange for them to take shelter. We don't have the time to reach them," Luke said calmly.
"Alright." Stelyn made a prayer gesture, hoping that the deity she believed in would provide them with protection.
The two of them, along with their male and female servants, quickly exited their house and walked towards the other end of the street.
As she passed by Unit 58, Stelyn took a glance and whispered, "Previously, I had laughed at Lawyer Jurgen, saying that he gave up a lot of opportunities in Backlund from moving to the south just because of Mrs. Doris's ailments. Now, I'm starting to envy him..."
Luke shot her a look and said, "Don't worry too much. It'll be fine."
While walking quickly, Stelyn couldn't help but ask, "Luke, are we fleeing Backlund?"
"No, there's no need!" Luke Sammer answered firmly. "This was just an accident."
Seeing that his wife was clearly confused, he added, "Backlund is the capital of the kingdom, so it has to be the most well-defended area. This time, it was just an oversight that no one expected. The next time, the Feysacians won't have another chance!
"The kingdom has the strongest military in the Northern and Southern continents. The Feysacians will definitely be taught a lesson. There's no way they can invade Backlund again. After this, Backlund will definitely be the safest place to be!"
"I see..." Stelyn felt that her husband's words made sense, and she was willing to believe him.
After the explanation, Luke fell silent for a few seconds.
"However, we still have to make some preparations. Once the Church announces that we can move freely, we'll immediately fetch the children back and buy more food. We'll buy as much as we can!"
Inside a public school in the Backlund Bridge area.
Due to the distance, Daisy and her classmates didn't realize what had happened in the North and West Boroughs, nor did they sense the chaos that had spread from Hillston Borough to Cherwood Borough.
However, teachers still came to their classrooms and arranged for them to line up to head to the nearest cathedral.
This made Daisy recall the Great Smog of Backlund last year. Back then, they had also been asked to hide in the cathedral beside the school.
D-did something similar happen again... The trauma in Daisy's heart made her tremble slightly as she felt intense sadness and anger.
When she passed by the door, she couldn't help but turn her head to look at the teacher in charge and ask, "Is it another disaster?"
"Maybe..." The teacher didn't know the details and had only followed the orders sent by a telegram.
"Is there a disaster like this every year, or maybe even more than one?" Daisy asked with a slightly ethereal voice with a tinge of innocence.
The teacher looked at her with pity and shook his head.
"All difficulties will pass. God will protect everyone."
Daisy didn't waste his time and followed the crowd to the nearest cathedral in a somewhat blank manner.
North Borough, 22 Phelps Street.
After hearing the explosion inside the Loen Charity Bursary Foundation, the first thing Audrey did was to conceal her dragon scales before rushing to the window.
Seeing the airships with the Feysac flag appearing in the air and the bombs being carried away by a hurricane and being thrown into the distance, either landing on the ground and exploding or disappearing as though they had entered the spirit world, a thought flashed across her mind—the words that The World Mr. Gehrman Sparrow had said, as well as the mission of the Psychology Alchemists. She came to a realization:
War had truly erupted!
She immediately turned her head and said to the huge golden retriever, Susie; her personal lady's maid, Annie; and the others, "Quick, hide in Saint Samuel Cathedral!"
Although Audrey didn't know how to deal with an air raid, the education she received from a young age told her to go to a cathedral as soon as possible if she ever encountered danger.
In fact, she instinctively wanted to rush back to Empress Borough to protect her mother. However, considering that Annie, the other servants, and staff were ordinary people who lacked experience and the ability to deal with su^ crisis, she had no choice but to take care of them and accompany them to Saint Samuel Cathedral.
In order to resolve any dangers that she might encounter along the way, she planned to put on Hand of Horror and Lie. On the one hand, she could "Distort" the trajectory of bullets, while on the other hand, she could control flames and trigger the bombs in advance.
In the face of long-range attacks, the Beyonder powers of the Spectator pathway were indeed not effective.
While secretly protecting her servants and the foundation's staff, she successfully entered Saint Samuel Cathedral and saw a few bishops and priests approaching her.
"Miss Audrey, you don't have to worry about the Earl and his wife, as well as Lord Hibbert. They have people to protect them. An air raid like this won't harm them. Besides, you also know how grand your family basement is and how strong it is." One of the bishops quickly brought her to the side to console her.
After taking off her fishnet gloves, she nodded and acknowledged the words of the bishop. She was no longer in a hurry to return home and instead asked, "What's the current situation like?"
The Feysacians have lost two airships and have moved towards West Borough. Don't worry, all the defenses have been mustered. They won't cause any further damage." After a simple exchange of words, the bishop led Audrey's group towards the underground area of the cathedral. And further below was where the Nighthawks were active.
160 Boklund Street. Butler Walter and a group of servants hid in an underground area which was used as a wine cellar.
This was done under Dwayne Dantes's orders, and this gentleman had headed out to find Bishop Elektra with his valet.
After an unknown period of time, Walter and company heard a knock on the door. Through the peephole, they confirmed that their employer had returned.
"There aren't any more raids now, but it's best you hide at Saint Samuel Cathedral for a while," Klein said as he surveyed the area.
"Yes, sir," Walter replied on behalf of the servants before asking, "And after that?"
As a qualified butler, he often read the papers and understood that the situation was tense. It wasn't difficult to guess that a war would break out after the explosions.
Klein thought for a moment before saying, "Once the Church has verified the situation, we'll head to Maygur Manor. You can bring your family along.
"No matter what, the capital of the kingdom is definitely a relatively safe place. And the manor at the periphery of the capital definitely wouldn't be a target of air raids, as it's of no value. Yes, there's enough food in Maygur Manor, and there's a large supply of wine. Even if the war were to be extended for a long time, we won't have to worry about starving to death."
Upon hearing the employer's words, the servants who had already formed a family immediately revealed looks of delight, wiping away their pale looks of fear. Walter expressed his gratitude directly.
He said with some deliberation, "You can buy more food. Under such circumstances, no one will find it excessive.
"Also, there might not be any more attacks near Backlund, but I can't say the same for security. The manor outside the city must be on guard."
Klein nodded.
"I've also considered this. I'll discuss this with Member of Parliament Macht and military personnel about purchasing a batch of ‘decommissioned' weapons and bullets. You must practice more.
"Anyway, during this period of time, Enuni and I will return to Backlund to handle certain matters according to the situation. If there's anything I haven't considered, I'll make up for it later."
As for the food, he didn't forbid Butler Walter from buying it. This way, if a famine really happened, he would have the ability to save them.
After discussing the follow-up procedures, everyone in the residence of Dwayne Dantes packed up their luggage and brought their valuables. They followed their employer into Saint Samuel Cathedral and arrived underground.
With a single glance, he saw Audrey walking amidst the people, Placating their moods. He smiled and nodded at her.
Upon seeing Dwayne Dantes, Audrey smiled back and confirmed that nothing major had happened from his attitude.
Fors and Xio had moved again, but they were still at the borders of East Borough, and they were even closer to the Backlund Bridge area.
After waking up naturally, Fors rubbed her hair and walked out of the bedroom to prepare lunch.
As she looked around, she saw Xio, who had gone out early, sitting on a chair and flipping through the newspapers. "What's wrong?" Fors asked blankly.
Xio frowned and said, "The Feysacians air raids bombed North and West Borough..."
"What?" Fors first blurted out before recalling the matters that had been discussed at the Tarot Club.
At that moment, a paperboy's voice came from outside.
"Extra! Extra! The kingdom declares war on Feysac!"
"Extra! Extra! The kingdom declares war on Feysac!"
