CHAPTER 568: CHAPTER 546: THE MOST DESPERATE BATTLE, IT’S NOT LIKE WE’VE NEVER FOUGHT BEFORE

The number of black-clad soldiers in the streets of Rapids City has been increasing.

The black-clad soldiers who had initially departed ship by ship are now returning, ship by ship.

They have built barracks in the ruins area between Rapids City and the port and have even helped to clear out a lot of debris.

In the course of helping out, the citizens of Rapids City have gradually become familiar with these soldiers, losing the previous fear of staying behind closed doors.

Because these black-clad soldiers are different from other mercenaries, they almost never commit acts of petty theft or robbery and murder.

The worst thing they have done is that some war monks from the Black Crown Battle Group would intimidate shopkeepers, eating or buying things without wanting to pay.

But when the shopkeepers blew their whistles to call the Night Watchers and the gendarmes, these war monks would grumble and pay the money.

After a few times, hardly any shopkeepers would be fooled by the Black Crown monks.

As for the Close Guard Cultivators, they are mostly shy, honest farm kids, paying for their meals and purchases straightforwardly, not even haggling much.

There were even a few cases received by the Night Watchers where Close Guard Cultivators were tricked out of their money.

Of course, the result was that the shopkeepers and the rascals who had tricked them first had all their cash confiscated and their shop licenses revoked.

They were then ritually kicked in a circle by the Close Guard Cultivators and dragged back to the barracks, where they are still cleaning toilets and emptying latrine buckets for the Close Guard Cultivators to this day.

But as the number of black-clad soldiers increases, many citizens are becoming worried.

The presence of so many barracks and soldiers signifies a large-scale war is imminent.

Indeed, this is the case.

Currently, six Black Champion Armies and six Imperial Guard Corps have gathered in Rapids City, with a total of 6,750 war monks all having arrived.

Additionally, 400 Holy Gun Cavalry and 500 Beastman Cavalry entered Rapids City yesterday.

Even 300 Kush Knights from Jinhe Town led by Perini, 900 Mountain Infantry and Bow Cavalry from North County led by Mira, and a hundred-member Mage Corps with 600 Black Snake Bay Barbarians led by Louise are still on the way and will arrive continuously.

If the assembly is completed, and including the Defensive Army, the forces Horn has gathered this time will reach 12,000 men.

This almost squeezes the limit of Horn’s resources, running completely dry.

This 12,000-strong army’s expenses burn through 6,000-7,000 gold pounds a month, with the Holy War Bonds from Rapids City, Joan of Arc Castle, and the Holy Armory Court Barracks selling wildly.

Even though the populace does not understand the opportunities presented by the Leia civil war nor the window opened by the North and South Church’s split,

they trust Horn. If His Majesty Saint Sun is exerting such effort to accomplish this, it must be something crucial to their fate.

Many citizens trust the interest rates on the bonds — if they win, they will be set for life!

Unlike many who think the Holy Son is assured of victory, Horn is deeply worried at this moment.

In the conference room at Uffizi Palace, he looked at the letter on the table and was silent for a long time.

"You’ve all seen it, haven’t you?" Horn raised his head and looked at the gloomy conference room. "The Shattered Stone Plain army has invaded North Mangde County, rendering our previous battle plans potentially useless."

"The invasion of North Mangde County by the Shattered Stone Plain people won’t be as easy as taking it down just like that," Jeska was the first to speak eloquently. "With North Mangde County’s treacherous terrain, reaching Cold Spring Castle would already be quick if done in two months."

"Is there any difference? The invasion route of the Shattered Stone Plain army fits perfectly behind Grand Duke Hemashi. Melialti can’t return even if she wants to."

"Will they further assist Prince Kongdai?" Busak asked worriedly.

Mitney gestured dismissively: "No way. They’re not originally involved in this affair. They might snatch some benefits in a winning offensive, but genuinely helping to pinch the Female Grand Duke is out of the question.

Unless Prince Kongdai beats the Grand Duke up first, then they might be willing to kick a few times."

"Lakunio, Lakunio..." Amid the cardinal’s chatter, Horn kept mumbling this name.

Assassinate Ludvik, invade Kasha County, raid the Grey Knights, draw the Shattered Stone Plain into action, forcing Melialti to have no retreat but to launch an attack on the defensive Prince Kongdai.

Damp Dock, Deer Horn Town, and the South Nao’an River’s three locks trapped Horn’s movements, forcing him to watch from afar.

In twenty days, he could breach Deer Horn Town.

But even if he reached Sentry Fort, Prince Kongdai would have already moved north to attack Melialti.

His Salvation Army, mainly composed of infantry, would find it doubly difficult to catch up to Prince Kongdai’s pace without river transport ships.

By the time they catch up, it would likely be a weary army against a well-prepared and secure directive army.

The root of Lakunio’s ability to reverse the situation in half a year is simple: he has too many cards in hand.

He has the backing of the entire Leia Kingdom’s aristocracy, with resources at his disposal far more than Horn can command.

If Horn could leverage the knights of the Immortal Stone Field to make a sneak attack at Prince Kongdai’s rear, even pillaging a bit at the edge of Hotam County, Prince Kongdai would be hopping mad.

But for him to perform so perfectly was still beyond Horn’s expectations.

Lakunio, oh Lakunio, why has a general of your capability been unknown for thirty years?

Could it be you haven’t achieved any military merits? Do "mediocre" generals in the Empire typically have this skill level?

As if struck by a sudden realization, Horn’s gaze swept toward a dazed Mitney: "Back then, when Prince Kongdai slew the vampire grand duke on the battlefield, was it under Lakunio’s command?"

"Uh, Lakunio served as the captain of the border Knight Order for thirty years. Prince Kongdai did it twelve years ago... Ah, yes, the vampiric kill happened during his tenure."

Then it’s not surprising, not surprising at all...

People see only the sharpness of the sword but overlook the hand wielding it.

But thinking about this now is useless. Horn adjusted his posture and named a few people:

"Jeska, Hakuto, Carl, you are all veteran generals knowledgeable about the geography of the Thousand River Valley. Can we break through Deer Horn Town in ten days?"

Hakuto and Carl exchanged a glance without speaking.

Jeska hesitated but eventually sighed: "If you give me a hundred Red Dragon’s Breath and a pre-built mortar road in Deer Horn Town, ten days is possible."

Though not outright denial, the implication was clear: if they can’t breach Deer Horn Town in ten days, they risk being divided and conquered by Prince Kongdai.

"What about attacking Damp Dock?" Jeanne suggested, raising her hand.

"Difficult. Damp Dock is a fortress built by Duke Kush Clavaron II back in the day with treacherous terrain, specifically meant to fend off mountain barbarians.

Later, the Church expelled the Kush people east of the Rapids City, and to guard against the Kush people, the Damp Dock was specially rebuilt to house over 4,000 soldiers, reinforced with Holy Water.

Later on, when we took over east of Rapids City from the Kush people, we further fortified Damp Dock for protection."

As the Battle Commander of the Black Crown Battle Group, Jeska is stationed on the defense line near Damp Dock.

After personally leading troops to scout Damp Dock and launching one or two probing attacks, he had achieved little success.

After contemplating in the main seat for some time, Horn suddenly stood up: "Let’s gather the army here in Rapids City for the time being. Whether we advance north or take a detour, or whatever, let’s gather the troops here first.

We’ve fought through more desperate battles before and haven’t we gotten through them?

I firmly believe that those who gain the people’s support receive more help, while those who lose it receive less. As for what comes next, we’ll just do the best we can."