The Holy Guard currently had nearly two hundred members, but only a little over a hundred had completed training and officially left their previous duties to engage in combat.

Expanding the force tenfold would bring it to a thousand men.

Castel’s entire population was less than ten thousand, meaning the military would make up over 10% of the population—a shockingly high ratio. Simply put, it was close to universal conscription.

Tenfold was also the Holy Guard’s operational limit. Alexei would break up the existing Holy Guard and use them as the backbone of the newly expanded force.

With this recruitment ratio, nearly all eligible men in Castel would join the military, while the rest would be needed in the factories.

Typically, this was the limit of mobilization. Pushing further would require conscripting elderly men over fifty or children under sixteen—an inefficient move. Castel was already functioning as an industrial nation, an industrial island. These valuable people were of little use on the battlefield but could still contribute in the factories.

Hearing this figure, most people gasped, stunned by Hughes’ audacity. The Empire had been at war for years, and people here had some understanding of warfare. This was an all-in gamble!

And it made sense—the sea level kept rising. If they couldn’t find a way out soon, everyone would die.

Alexei swallowed hard, suppressing his excitement. Northlanders never feared war, and having studied at the Imperial Army Academy for years, he had a natural longing for the battlefield.

He turned to look at Chloe, and both of their eyes revealed a hint of fanaticism.

The storm was approaching. In the following days, everyone was busy, even Hughes, who was working nonstop.

Orders were issued one after another, pushing Castel’s vast machinery to its maximum power under precise instructions.

From the factories to the Holy Guard, people were spreading speeches and mobilization efforts everywhere. Castel’s people knew the coming disaster and saw their companions standing alongside them.

To Hughes’ surprise, when people learned of the situation, they did not despair. Instead, they quickly gathered their resolve. It took him a while to understand—perhaps people did not fear sacrifice but rather a meaningless death.

Defending their homeland, standing with their loved ones behind them, and looking at the Castel they had built together—nothing could be a better call to arms.

The Moths Chasing Fire were incorporated into the Holy Guard. These people had extensive combat experience, having spent years causing trouble for the Church of Candlelight in the Empire. Their greatest skill was boosting morale and maintaining organization in the face of overwhelming enemies.

They were also quite skilled at inciting the populace to rebel against the Church—but that was another matter.

After discussing with Chloe, Alexei decided to have them temporarily serve as political commissars. They would have advisory roles in battlefield tactics, but command would remain under the military’s original structure.

The Banshees, on the other hand, were not integrated into the Holy Guard. Instead, they operated as an independent strike team. Clad in heavy armor, they would rapidly advance across the battlefield while the Holy Guard followed up to finish off the enemies.

As for the supernatural members of the Moths Chasing Fire—the Chrysalis—they would not be deployed on the front lines. Their unique high-altitude perspective made them the best battlefield tacticians.

With both the Banshees and Chrysalis in the command center, combined with the mind link and full battlefield vision, the commanders of this era—or even on Blue Star—held an overwhelming strategic advantage.

The Holy Guard also upgraded their rifled muskets to bolt-action rifles. The most difficult part—the bullets—had already been solved. Hughes simply handed over a few ready-made blueprints for the factories to produce.

Due to overall machining limitations, the weapons had a slightly higher failure rate. However, their excellent accuracy and power compensated for this flaw. The bolt mechanism also made clearing jams easier. Most importantly, these were no longer muzzle-loading weapons.

The biggest advantage of fixed-case copper bullets wasn’t just accuracy—it was the simplification of the shooting process. No more tearing paper cartridges, pouring gunpowder, inserting the bullet, removing the ramrod, tamping down the charge, and putting the ramrod back. Now, it was simply: bolt action—load bullet—bolt action.

In terms of firing efficiency, it was a complete game-changer.

Hughes had considered manufacturing automatic firearms, but metalworking remained a major issue. The machining precision was too low, and the weapons lacked airtight sealing, resulting in frequent malfunctions.

A constantly jamming automatic weapon was far worse than a stable bolt-action rifle. After careful consideration, Hughes decided to abandon the idea.

Taking too big of a leap wasn’t always wise.

The expansion and reformation of the Holy Guard were nearly complete. Recruitment went smoothly—if they didn’t fight, everyone was doomed. Under immense pressure, Castel had united as one.

By comparison, the Banshees’ armor arrived much later. Manufacturing these suits was incredibly difficult. In the end, it was Nini who used Fossil to Mud to handcraft some critical components, making completion possible.

Despite the difficulty, the final product was astonishing.

When Ash donned the full armor and stepped into the main cathedral, the entire hall fell silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. The massive and heavy design left everyone in awe. It was a long while before people reacted, looking up at Ash with amazement, whispering among themselves.

Ash was already tall, and with the helmet on, she stood close to three meters high. Even standing still, she resembled a towering steel wall.

And when she charged across the training field, she was like an unstoppable steel fortress crashing forward. The sheer, overwhelming presence was utterly terrifying.

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Hughes watched and felt his heartbeat quicken. Even winning the lottery wouldn’t match this level of impact. He was a modern man accustomed to information overload, yet when the Holy Guard saw Ash charge at them, they didn’t even react to escape. They just stood there, dumbfounded, only snapping out of it after a long pause.

The sheer sense of overwhelming power, the cold and heavy presence of metal armor—it was mesmerizing.

A race like this was born to be warriors. They were the Banshees of the battlefield.

The Holy Guard gradually recovered. When their frozen minds finally processed the fact that such a powerful warrior was their ally, their initial fear transformed into fanaticism.

Soldiers were naturally drawn to strength.

Many instinctively began reciting the sacred texts, chanting praises to Castel.

This was Hughes’ idea—to diminish the influence of religion and shift faith from deities or objects to a love for Castel itself.

To love the land that nurtured them and to shed blood in its defense—this was more sacred than any religion or god.

The monsters attacking the fortress had not increased in number. In fact, their assaults had lessened. But no one let their guard down. More and more monsters were gathering in the distance, visible even to the naked eye.

Finally, after days of rushed construction, three newly built airships were completed.