When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

On October 4, 1459, the Black Mud Castle treaty was signed, the Empire and the Royal Court ceased hostilities.

The vampires promised not to seek land beyond Windmill Land, being satisfied with acquiring it.

Henceforth, the two nations ceased fighting, turning swords into plowshares, and restored their old friendship.

Many ignorant citizens upon seeing this naturally cheered, bringing a slight resurgence in commercial trade during this time.

However, smart individuals from the middle and higher classes sensed something amiss from the clues.

This didn’t seem like peace, but rather like two giants retreating to gather strength after a mutual blow.

The ants under these giants might suffer the consequences.

When Mitney relayed the news along with Lorenzo’s letter to the Holy Alliance, Horn secretly went to Xia Lvcheng to meet with a mysterious figure.

Almost immediately the next day at noon, Horn ordered all Battle Commanders on leave to report back to duty.

At the same time, he requested that Jeanne, who was training troops in Dawn Federation, return to the ry Court Barracks by November.

Meanwhile, any Battle Commander who could come should do so in person, and those who couldn’t should send a Senior Pastor.

On November 3rd, Jeanne and dozens of veteran officers and staff gathered in the Holy Seat Mansion to commence the meeting.

"Facing the imminent war situation, I plan to raise the number of troops to 50,000 and train about 80,000 reserve national soldiers." Horn said straightforwardly.

"That’s a good thing." Kolman immediately chimed in, and a large number of military officers smiled.

The army constantly calls for a holy war, the vampires have clearly landed, yet they can only watch from the sidelines, who wouldn’t be anxious?

"But that means the structure will need a slight adjustment."

One by one, the smiling faces turned into disappointed ones.

According to Horn’s plan, during the war, the future troops of the Holy Alliance might gradually increase to about 100,000.

If 100,000 men are divided into battle groups of 5,000 each, it would mean a total of 20 battle groups.

Based on the current Holy Alliance’s summary of battle history, commanding 4 battle groups on one battlefield has already reached the limit of existing communication methods.

Regarding this issue, veterans active on the frontline for years like Jeanne, Dass, and Jeska all had opinions.

Especially in the current horizontal formation, even in staggered rows, a battle group can cover a region of one to three football fields.

With four battle groups, to move without interference, including retreats and advances, the distances need to be increased.

The eventual outcome is that the commanders must travel back and forth to fulfill their command.

Thus, above the battle group level, a further command tier must be established, which is the battle corps.

Each battle corps would oversee two to three battle groups, accompanied by a direct cavalry regiment of 4,000 men.

Overall, it equates to fifteen to twenty thousand men.

This setup is ingenious, the brilliance lies in its ability to independently operate at both the battle group and battle corps levels, except for the cavalry.

Because within a battle corps, a fitting combination of infantry, cavalry, and artillery is present, nothing is lacking.

It becomes modular, synthesized.

Essentially, this is the configuration Horn used against Prince Kongdai and King Jiji, only duplicated.

"Currently, we plan to divide four combat zones, appointing a battle corps commander for each zone.

Above the battle corps commander, there will be a wartime temporary commander, responsible for coordinating resources from various departments."

Horn raised his head from the pile of documents and scanned the room: "Exorcism Court provided me with a list of nominations, help me review and discuss."

"Eastern battle corps commander, Jeska."

Jeska joined the Salvation Army in August 1444, a first-generation elder, providing countless valuable military advice during the early days of the Salvation Army.

Moreover, in various battles big and small throughout his tenure, he made countless outstanding contributions.

Long Bridge Battle, Pavia Battle, Black Mountain Battle, Rapids City Rescue Battle, Cheese Bay Battle, Xia Lvcheng Rescue Battle...

He participated in almost all major and minor battles, is the Holy Alliance’s top general aside from Horn and Jeanne, and a seasoned veteran.

The battle commanders and staff officers sitting below were mostly Jeska’s old acquaintances.

Regarding this appointment, no one could voice any objections.

Horn looked at Jeska, compared to the spirited one-eyed old mercenary of yesteryear, Jeska now showed graying hairs at his temples.

Actually, Jeska is only 48 years old, not yet fifty, but he appears exceptionally aged.

The battlefield is grueling, Jeska is riddled with ailments, not all can be cured by Divine Art or Spell.

"If there are no objections, let’s finalize this."

Jeska leaned on the table and stood up, bowed to everyone present.

Yet when he sat down, he felt somewhat wistful, having promised to retire at fifty, unsure if he’d get the chance.

"Next appointment, André for Northern battle corps commander."

Compared to the previous certainty, the discussions underneath grew louder.

Many started calling out, around the old guards from the Gulag period shouted, crying out against the Exorcism Court.

Who is André? Aren’t they clear enough?

Even though he and Valent Taylor together founded Saint Sun’s Army, it doesn’t change his warlord nature.

Especially during the dual ruling period, he was actually opposing the Saint Sun faction.

Despite later surrendering, he remained unreliable.

If the Holy Alliance lacked personnel, choosing him would be acceptable, but now the Holy Alliance is full of talents, why choose someone with no foundation?

Is it really better to follow late rather than early, or even betray early followers?

"May I ask why, Your Grace?" Kolman finally spoke up, typically direct in approach, caring little for propriety.

Horn straightforwardly replied: "He has been deeply involved in the North for many years, very familiar with northern military terrain, moreover has reputation.

In this scenario, assigning the Northern battle corps to someone else is equivalent to replacing a general at critical moments."

Furthermore, following the establishment of the Northern battle corps, surely the Thousand River Valley battle group will be transferred, making it easy to add others.

Besides, whatever insidious thoughts André might have, his resources are tied to the ry Court Barracks, his civil governance relies on the Holy Sect system.

Horn finds it extremely easy to control André.

He appreciates André’s military prowess.

Within the Holy Alliance, those capable of commanding large troop formations are only Horn, Jeska, André, and Jeanne.

Dass barely touches this skill, Victor and Juer Dan manage adequately.

Jia Li’s approach to warfare resembles a game of self-play, relying entirely on her subordinates’ own initiative.

In Jeanne’s words, Jia Li is merely a cavalry commander.

Horn refrains from favoritism; regarding warfare, of the four Saintesses, only Jeanne is noteworthy.

Especially after returning from the war experience on Dawn Island, she successfully formed and honed the initial large troop command capability.

Though many officers and staff offered reserved opinions, Horn insisted on pressing this nomination through the process.

Senior Pastor Valent Taylor stood and bowed: "I guarantee he will follow orders."

"Next appointment, Dass for Southern battle corps commander."

Like Jeska, the officers didn’t react much.

Who doesn’t know Dass?

He joined the Salvation Army in ’44, similar to Jeska, fought through every engagement, most important is he’s only 37 years old, in his prime.

Jeska and Hakuto belong to the first-gen veteran officers, Dass, Kolman, Victor are the second-gen veteran officers.

The current recognized third-gen are the likes of Lauren, Michelle, Juer Dan, these twenty-something youths.

The fourth-gen, likely includes Delawan and the faithful ones.

Dass, as an old comrade, holds considerable influence in the army, famous for conquering Eastern County and leading everyone to prosperity.

Besides, Dass’s surname is Gallar, he is genuinely related to the Pope, a proper blood cousin.

"I support."

"I support too."

Despite universal support, Horn remained somewhat doubtful.

Dass’s military talent is commendable, and he enjoys a good relationship with Horn, but that’s not to say he’ll show favoritism.

The support he provides to Dass merely means military achievements wouldn’t require lengthy qualifications, meet criteria and he’ll advance.

Just that he’s never engaged in hard battles, lacks experience commanding large troops under pressure.

Horn feared he’d overly protect Dass.

"I hold reservations, let it proceed into the evaluation process." Horn deeply inhaled and took out the Eastern combat zone’s appointment list.

"Nominate Jeanne Gallar as Eastern battle corps commander." Horn paused, "Immediately relieve her of purification leader duties, additionally serving as wartime commander, who’s in favor or against?"