When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

The passage of time can be incredibly swift for historiography.

In one line, two countries are engaging in friendly interactions, but in the next line, due to some incident, the relationship breaks down and they come to blows.

To the reader, it seems as if everything happens within an incredibly short span.

Yet the start to the finish of these series of events might have spanned several decades.

For those involved, it can feel incredibly slow.

Horn felt the same way. In the past, when reading various histories, he always felt that wars from start to finish seemed like the blink of an eye.

But after actually experiencing the Thousand River Valley War and the series of wars that followed, he realized—

The process from the beginning to the end of a war is actually an extremely long one.

And even battles themselves only occupy a very small part of a war.

The majority of the time is spent in tedious marching, political wrangling, strategic deliberations, and logistical arrangements...

Even while fighting, economic construction and magical research in the rear must not be neglected.

Just like now, the relationship between the royal court and the empire gradually deteriorated in 1457.

By 1458, after several rounds of probing, the terrible Xilan Islands naval battle occurred.

But after the naval battle, apart from the royal court occupying the Xilan Islands and controlling the maritime domain of the area, nothing else happened.

In fact, even the treasure ships of the Falans navigating the southern seas carrying magic beasts and rare treasures were no longer attacked.

Of course, this was also because Charles VIII spent a fortune purchasing a large number of clockwork coastal defense cannons and ship cannons from Horn.

Now it is April 1459, and the Holy Alliance is only just having its first encounter with the royal court, and even then, it is a mere preliminary skirmish.

"So are you sure that the commander of the northern route army is Lakunio?" In this strategy discussion room, vampires from the Sorrido Clan, related scholars, and monks were all present.

On the wall was a large map, with many small flags and charcoal sketches marking key points and attack diagrams.

A quick glance would reveal this was an analysis of past and future routes for the royal court’s advance on the Roaring Corridor.

What Alexei obtained from the Holy Alliance was not limited to military material support.

It also included access to the highest political resources from the Holy Alliance’s secret council, a reference report that money couldn’t buy.

Of course, Alexei, as a young Norn greatly influenced by the thoughts of the Holy Sect, was quite worth investing in.

Although encountering a few early failures, he still gained valuable royal court intelligence.

One must know, ever since the decentralized royal court was transformed into a centralized system by Serafe, intelligence leaks have been increasingly rare.

Horn was completely in the dark about this enemy.

Upon hearing Horn’s inquiry, René was the first to nod and say, "Those vampire war prisoners have been sent to the ry Court Barracks, and we’ve verified that what was said is not wrong."

"What is his current identity? Human or Blood Servant?" an elder from the Sorrido Clan asked.

"Human."

"Oh, this is peculiar." The Sorrido elder covered his mouth with a handkerchief to prevent any spittle from flying, "Either he’s a puppet, or he’s disguising himself as a human, but what for?"

It’s rare for a human to be able to lead a vampire army.

No, it’s not just rare; it’s exceedingly rare, almost unheard of.

In the traditional view of the royal court, humans are considered unpurified low-level heretics.

Humans could engage in menial professions like commerce, but they are absolutely prohibited from interfering in the military and political matters of vampire reserves.

Let alone commander or governor, not even a deputy has ever been a human.

The others present nodded repeatedly; after it was determined in internal meetings that there was a high probability of conflict with the royal court, the Pope’s Palace began widely disseminating related studies.

Several of the monks had attended the internal reference lectures by the elders of the Sorrido Clan and had gained some critical understanding of the royal court’s social ecosystem.

"Not necessarily." Just when everyone was discussing, a marginal voice interjected.

It was a woman, a vampire woman, dressed simply in a shirt, her wavy hair flowing freely.

Yet several Sorrido Clan elder vampires instinctively straightened their backs.

She was none other than Monica, a former high-ranking royal court official and the local governor of the royal court.

The vampire female governor, "purchased" back then, was brought here because of her intimate knowledge of royal court politics.

Although the Sorrido Clan had lived in the royal court for many years, they lacked a prince and thus never enjoyed high status; they were more scholarly in nature.

They couldn’t speak to the high-level secrets and unspoken rules of the royal court.

"Why not necessarily?" Horn questioned back.

Monica, far from seeming imprisoned for three years, casually crossed her legs, "Serafe’s military management learned from you."

"Learned from me?"

"Yes, in her army, there is a separation between military commanders and political overseers.

The highest-ranking overseers are often members of her core faction, while commanders are promoted solely based on ability.

As long as one has talent, anyone can be elevated, mainly from among the generals.

In other words, in her eyes, the overseer is the true commander of the army, while the commander is a deputy with somewhat more autonomy."

"Are they trying to emulate our Holy Alliance’s Battle Commander and Senior Pastor systems..."

"They tried to draw a tiger and ended up with a mouse."

"Oddly amusing."

Horn disregarded the monks’ political play, instead focusing on something else: "How did you discern this?"

"Regarding their imitation of the Holy Alliance, it’s my conjecture." Monica spread her hands, "But isn’t she learning from the Holy Alliance everywhere? That blood covenant cannon is an example."

To Monica, the combination of blood explosion art and shooting didn’t necessarily need to take the form of a cannon.

Serafe, however, appeared to have plagiarized the name to ensure she was correct.

When Monica mentioned the blood covenant cannon, Horn immediately turned his gaze to the blood covenant cannon on the table.

It was a trophy captured by the Shooting Army against vampire infantry, and it had undergone significant changes compared to the one Danio brought earlier.

Firstly, it was significantly longer, and according to intelligence provided by Alexei, it had vastly improved shooting precision compared to before.

Not to mention the weight.

Previously large glass tubes became smaller, now only thumb-thick.

As for those semi-transparent things that looked like glass, they weren’t actually glass.

"This is white obsidian," Governor Monica explained, "a special mineral from the Doomsday Volcano next to No Light City."

"Can only the Doomsday Volcano produce it?"

"Yes." Monica, in handcuffs and shackles, gently caressed the white obsidian blood vial, "The effect of this vial is likely the same as your bronze clockwork spring.

The spring compresses mana into bronze, while this vial compresses blood explosion art and releases it."

Horn turned to Hakuto: "How effective is it in combat?"

Talking about this, Hakuto became noticeably more cautious: "The range is farther than the front-loaded Kanni Di, but not as far as the rear-loaded Kanni Di, and the precision is similar to the front-loaded Kanni Di."

Horn nodded slightly, suddenly stood up: "Discussing like this won’t make anything clear; how about we all join me at the shooting range for a comparison?"