If he doesn't come, Raul will complete the ritual, receive the power of the Eternal Notes, and then head straight to the academy to find and deal with her.
Unless she escapes, Raul couldn't think of a third possibility. So Raul made all necessary preparations, even stationing the vast majority of the academy's Golden Sound staff here.
But now, her third option has arrived.
"This guy, does she plan to kill all the Golden Sounds?" Raul murmured softly.
At this point, those waiting staff stepped forward and said to Raul, "Dean, we can't just wait here any longer. That guy is insane! She wants to kill all the Golden Sounds and prevent us from completing the grand ceremony!"
This indeed seemed like the most likely situation at the moment.
But after a brief consideration, Raul still shook his head.
"No, from what she has done, she is a very rational person. She has been planning for so long and won't choose to self-destruct at this moment." Raul said, "She wants to drive us back, or rather, she doesn't want to see me complete the ritual... Yes, that must be it."
Raul believed in his judgment and then instructed his subordinates.
"At times , we must not let ourselves be led around by the nose. We don't know what hidden powers she has, returning to the academy recklessly to find her poses too high a risk. The safest way is to wait for me to complete the ritual."
The staff exchanged glances and then asked, "How much longer do you need?"
Raul checked the time: "Just under forty minutes."
"Forty minutes? Should we just continue waiting here for forty minutes?" the staff said, "Master Todd is still being hunted! Are we just going to wait here?!"
Raul's frown deepened.
He knew things were getting complicated.
Because most of his capable staff came from the two major families of Taichu.
So, compared to the academy, they were more loyal to their family.
Thinking of this, Raul realized even more that he couldn't rush and said as calmly as possible, "Only forty minutes, how much can she accomplish? The alarm has already been raised, and the other Golden Sounds will also be on alert. The only ones she managed to get were Karen and Evan, who originally had no guards because they felt Hewinia already had corresponding notes and wouldn't attack them, that's why they were unprepared. Didn't Mr. Todd survive? Though the situation looks pretty bad, please remember, it's times like these when we must not lose our cool."
Seeing Raul emphasize this once again, the staff began to hesitate.
"Don't think of her as too terrifying, if she really had that strength, she should have come here to attack already." Raul continued to reassure his subordinates, "The fact she hasn't done so only shows her strength is still limited; it's just that she has more notes, and initially hiding in the shadows gave her a slight advantage. Once those staying at the academy come to their senses, she won't be able to stir any storm."
Raul's reasonable explanation gradually calmed the staff's spirits.
Indeed, at the end of the day, that woman is just one person.
To think she could challenge the two major families of Taichu, which have been thriving for a thousand years, is truly a fool's dream.
If that's the case, the safest method indeed is...
The door of the Eternal Sound Hall was pushed open again.
An old, blood-soaked Silver Sound Player charged straight in and then collapsed under everyone's gaze.
"It really is Quill!"
"Damn it, wasn't he protecting Master Todd?"
The staff from the Chuke family immediately rushed up and pulled Quill up.
"Quill?! Quill, how are you?!"
"Don't ask how he is! What about the young master, how is Master Todd?!"
Quill's eyes were blank, as if he had lost his senses, and he just kept muttering a few words.
"Young master... save... the young master..."
After hearing this, Raul realized that the situation, which he had just managed to stabilize, was about to spiral out of control again.
Sure enough, those belonging to the Chuke family staff immediately stood up.
"Dean, we cannot wait any longer." One of the staff said to Raul, "Tonight we've already lost Master Karen, we can't lose Master Todd too. Maybe your plan is good, but we cannot accept such a price."
Even though he had anticipated that they would make this choice, Raul still sighed lightly and tried to speak in a commanding tone, "What if I, as the Dean, order you to stay here and protect me?"
"I'm sorry, Dean." The staff bowed slightly to Raul but said with extraordinary coldness, "You don't have that status."
Upon hearing this, Raul's expression immediately turned grim.
But this Chuke family staff didn't explain further and promptly left with other members of the Chuke family.
Following them was the Ether family.
"I'm sorry, Dean. You know, we already lost Master Daniel at the three courts, and a month ago, we lost Master Roland too." The staff of the Ether family also said, "Even the Ether family cannot bear the loss of a generation of Golden Sound Players."
Then they also left with their clansmen.
As a result, the number of players in the hall suddenly dwindled to less than a quarter, leaving only the orchestra responsible for the first Inner Song and Phinis along with his people.