Overlord: Start from the Goblin Lair.

Chapter 373 Fire on All Sides
"Can you say that again?!"

In a monastery a few blocks away, an old monk in his sixties stood up with his hair and beard standing on end after hearing what his fellow believers said. He opened his eyes wide, and could hardly believe his ears.

"For the sake of a witch, they actually dared to disrupt the Archbishop's plan!"

"I'm afraid so, because..."

"That's not a question!" The old monk waved his hand, interrupting the newcomer. He angrily threw his cane to the ground and walked deeper into the monastery. "Everyone, assemble! Emergency assembly!"

"The plan has changed. We must mobilize as a whole! We must not let the cult's plan fail!"

This monastery is as old as the old monk. Many corners and dark places are covered with moss, and the walls are covered with dead and yellow vines. The old monk walked through the corridors and halls countless times, and his passionate words echoed in the entire building for a long time.

But what puzzled him was that the entire monastery was as silent as a dead place. No one responded to his words, and not a single monk or nun came out to respond to his call.

"What's going on? Are there dead people? Are they all dead?" Such a strange situation made the old monk feel uneasy. He took out the holy emblem, put it to his bearded lips and kissed it, "Where are all the people?"

They had been preparing for this day for nearly a month! Why would they choose this moment to fail?

Most of the monks and nuns in this monastery are elderly or injured members of the order. These people may not be capable enough, but their stance is unquestionable. How could they suddenly disappear at this time?
The old monk walked to the back of the monastery and pushed open the gate. The scene here was almost the same as outside, filled with the bleak atmosphere of autumn and winter. In such a scene, the old monk standing on the steps clenched the holy emblem in his hand, and the pair of blue eyes on his hooked nose slowly narrowed into two slits.

In his field of vision, all external objects were eliminated, leaving only the church members lying all over the ground, and the only person standing, a woman wearing a black dress and a black veil covering her face.

"who are you?"

“Shh,” the woman held up the index finger of her left hand, “don’t yell, they’re just asleep.”

"I'm not sure what would happen if I woke them up."

"You - evil demon," the old monk said in a hostile tone, "When did you appear in Rose City? I didn't even find you!"

"That means you've been away from the battlefield for many years, and even your perception has become dull." The woman put down her hands, crossed them in front of her belly, and stood quietly. Her dark and deep eyes peered into the old monk's soul with ill intent. "A person's appearance may change drastically, but a person's soul is not easy to change."

"You should have recognized me the first time. I once spared your life on the battlefield, Reverend Thompson."

When the woman in front of him called out his name, a wave of despair and powerlessness crossed the forty-five years of time and strangled the old monk's throat. He opened his eyes wide. It was a voice he would never forget in his life. "It's you! You devil!"

"I knew you wouldn't let me go! I just knew it! I always knew it!"

The masked woman looked at the old man who fell on the steps with satisfaction. Her long tongue was exposed to the air through the veil of nothingness, tasting this rare despair from the soul: "I never thought that the soul could be brewed like fine wine. This taste is really fascinating."

"But you are wrong about one thing." The tongue of the foul demon wrapped around the old monk's body like a whip and pulled him in front of it. "I am no longer a demon now."

The strong smell of sulfur continued to corrode the old man's nose and brain. This abnormal smell only made his mind more disordered. Following closely, the foul demon whispered like a devil: "Now I am just like your archbishop. I should go to hell."

Similar things disturbed every group of priests and messengers who were preparing to go to the manor to complete the siege. They either encountered drunkards or were entangled by the coachman whose carriage had overturned. The most unlucky group looked up at the sky on the way to the manor. In the cold air, black dragon wings covered with white frost flashed by like a nightmare, accompanied by meaningless dragon roars.

Things had developed to this point, not to mention the clergy, the entire Rose City was in complete chaos. Countless reports and alarms flew to the Rose Parliament like snowflakes, civilians, guards, merchants... everyone was begging the masters of the parliament to show mercy and come forward to end this riot.

However, the door of the Rose Parliament was like a big mouth, swallowing everything mercilessly, and there was no response from inside. Almost all the parliamentarians who could come gathered in the conference hall and sat around the round table, but no one dared to speak first.

Everyone noticed the abnormality of today's emergency meeting. The secondary manifestation was that behind the usually low-key old Faber stood his two big and lively sons; the main manifestation was that behind the chair of the Rose Parliament Speaker, a dark-skinned male elf held a dagger against the Speaker's neck full of age spots. He sneered and kept glancing at every member present.

“Mr. Faber, what…what does this mean?” The speaker’s voice was trembling. However, looking at the entire room, the old man who was the only one who was coerced by force was the only one who dared to speak. “We can discuss anything. Why do we have to go to this point?”

"Isn't the reason why the Rose Council made the suggestion to resolve the conflict? Are you dissatisfied with your current supervisor's work? Or..."

"Mr. Speaker, are you still going to play dumb at this point?" Old Faber knocked on the table and interrupted the other party. "Two seats in the parliament have not appeared in the past month. As the Speaker, you should know the reason."

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to the two empty seats. One of them belonged to Councillor Daniel from the Night Breeze Tavern, and the other wide and thick chair belonged to the new councillor this year: Mr. Hendricks.

"How would I know that?" the Speaker said with a bitter face. He tried to shrug or spread his hands to express his helplessness, but Zhuo Er behind him immediately stopped him from doing anything. "Faber, you are familiar with them, and you don't know, so how would I know?"

"That makes sense. In that case..." Old Faber was not annoyed. He leaned back in his chair. As Seymour's fingers trembled slightly, the Speaker screamed in fear. "Then let's just wait. When they show up, we can talk about what to do next."

(End of this chapter)