When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

The sound of the Cuirassiers’ hooves was like rolling thunder, striking the frozen ground of the Fet Carter River bank.

Kutuyov’s wolf-fur cloak fluttered in the wind; although small in stature, the speed of his saber was unmatched.

Slashing and hacking, ducking to dodge, he amazingly cut down two Extraordinary Knights of the Servant Army from their horses.

"Traitors!" Kutuyov roared, turning with the Cuirassiers, "You’ve utterly embarrassed us Norn people!"

The Cuirassiers followed behind him, splitting into dozens of squads, diving headfirst into the Servant Army’s formations.

They didn’t charge headlong; instead, they targeted the flanks and rear of the Servant Army, sometimes shooting arrows, sometimes charging, retreating immediately after a round.

If the Servant Army kept its formation, they would bypass it; if it became chaotic, they’d circle back to deal more blows.

With Perkins losing contact, these Blood Servant nobles dared to act on their own.

As for the lowest-level Norn Knights and soldiers, they were unwilling from the start.

After such a charge, many simply threw down their spears and ran back, and the initially orderly encirclement was instantly torn open in multiple spots.

"Block them! Stabilize the formation!" Perkins’s adjutants flew quickly and low, their shouts echoing.

The Blood Knights listened, charging toward the pontoon bridge led by the vampire cavalry.

But just as they started, they were tangled up by several squads of Cuirassiers.

Standing by the pontoon bridge, watching the Cuirassiers weave through the enemy ranks like fish, Alexei’s initial joy had turned into worry.

The lead bullet that hit Perkins earlier did indeed give everyone a jolt of confidence.

But he knew in his heart that the Cuirassiers couldn’t hold out for long.

Although the Cuirassiers were all Extraordinary, they numbered just over a thousand, mostly light armored projectile cavalry.

At the moment, this was just a surprise attack; it seemed imposing, but the core army in the middle hadn’t moved an inch amidst the chaos of the Servant Army’s disarray.

"Young man!" Urgent hoofbeats came from the side as Kutuyov’s rams curled horse charged up to Alexei.

The old man reined in his horse, its front hooves high in the air before crashing down hard, splattering snow and mud.

His wolf-fur cloak covered in blood, yet his eyes shone terrifyingly bright: "How long until we cross the pontoon bridge?"

"The youths are crossing," Alexei replied, "For us to cross the river, it will likely take one to two hours total."

The pontoon bridge was narrow, accommodating only two or three abreast, requiring partial crossings.

"That’s sufficient." Kutuyov nodded, pointing his saber toward the bridge, "Take the Shooting Army across first, I’ll have the Cuirassiers cover the rear."

"And you?" Alexei pressed.

Kutuyov smiled, spun the saber in his hand, squeezed the horse with his thighs, then charged back into the fray.

Watching the old man’s figure disappear into the ranks of the Cuirassiers, Alexei tightly gripped his musket.

Gloev approached, handing him some dried rations: "Your Highness, fill your stomach first; once we’ve crossed the river, we’ll quickly enter the Holy Alliance’s protected area."

"Any movement from Lakunio’s side?" Alexei didn’t take the rations, his gaze fixed on the distant vampire formation.

Gloev followed his line of sight, shaking his head: "Not yet, they seem to be rearranging their formation."

Indeed, the Servant Army’s formation had fallen into complete disarray.

The precision of the Cuirassiers’ harassment was such that every attack perfectly timed their adjustments, killing a few and then pulling back.

Numerous Servant troops began retreating, led by officers and knights.

Behind the formation, Lakunio watched until his eyes turned from light to dark, whip cracking in hand.

The reason for the Servant Army’s loss of control was simple: the clear hierarchical status system.

The Blood Race sat at the top, followed by Blood Servants, then human-traitor nobles, and finally ordinary humans.

To vampires, humans weren’t subjects, barely livestock, or food.

While the vampire-established order was temporary, it had been a thousand-year experiment for the vampires at the Royal Court.

During his time in Norn, overseer Shanruan’s main task, aside from supervising the army, was transforming Norn society.

Replacing the Chosen King with vampires and high nobles with Blood Servants.

Though protests from civilians and lower nobility rang loud, for higher-tier nobility, life remained unchanged.

Even better, as vampires offered the possibility of longevity and greater freedom.

Upon becoming Blood Servants, they immediately sided with the Royal Court.

In this environment, a condition for entering the core decision-making was Blood Race identity, even for Blood Servants.

Yet Lakunio, a human, adamantly refused to become a vampire and still entered the highest decision-making echelon.

Breaking the rules!

Moreover, all became human traitors, only allowed into the vampire Holy Mountain, yet how could he maintain human status?

Didn’t that make other human nobles turned Blood Servants look ridiculous?

You drew attention!

Thus, under normal circumstances, with vampires present, these nobles could perform militarily better than usual.

The former Norn Chosen King was different; he couldn’t control these Great Monarchs below.

Because for the vampires, towards these nobles and armies, they wielded true power over life and death for high-level vampires.

Reflecting on the battlefield, as long as high-level vampires like Perkins were present, Lakunio’s command would be steady and smooth.

If vampires like Perkins weren’t there, commanding these sloppy Great Monarchs would require much more effort.

Just like now; despite the main forces remaining, and the enemy not yet having established defenses, he had to miss the opportunity, reorganizing the army.

Under current conditions, the main vampire infantry would likely be held back by these Servant Army.

At this moment, Lakunio wished he could drink the vampire’s toxic blood and be done with it.

Whenever this moment arrived, a nightmare feeling enveloped him, recalling that time at Thousand River Valley facing the Holy Alliance.

With divine enemies ahead and sluglike allies behind.

Having allied with the Royal Court, he believed its efficiency and capability would be the former.

Why then, was it still the latter?

"These useless fools!" Lakunio cursed softly, "Continue retracting the lines; Blood Knights, cease strong charging the pontoon bridge. Allowing some escape is acceptable, first eliminate these Cuirassiers."

He knew who commanded the Cuirassiers, recognized the scent when clashing with this old friend among the Border Knight Order.

That kind of harassment tactic precise to the core, that kind of unorthodox approach.

No one but Kutuyov could achieve this.

"Old man, you’re still alive?"

No denying, Kutuyov once led the Norn cavalry across the border, confronting the Border Knight Order for over a decade, displaying his prowess.

His presence had skewed an otherwise foolproof plan to capture Alexei.

The Blood Knights leaderless, the Servant Army fighting independently, nearly 20,000 troops were stalled by just over a thousand Cuirassiers and three thousand Shooting Army on the riverbank.

"Should we deploy the main forces?" the deputy cautiously asked.

"Wait a bit longer." Lakunio set aside the binoculars, "With so many Shooting Army, and these Cuirassiers, it’ll take at least an hour and a half for them to cross via pontoon bridge. We have time.