In the Name of Empress-Chapter 418 - 293: The Saintess’s Refusal
Erin was full of anger, but she did not know how to vent it.
Indeed, she did not receive an edict from the Pope; her only reliance was a sincere handwritten letter from Cardinal Iga.
Iga also had no authority to command Roland and could only persuade him.
Both Iga and Erin, like Christine, were from the Wende Empire.
In fact, many of the higher-ups in the Divine Court of Light were from the Wende Empire.
The Wende Empire was already struggling to resist both the Prudon Kingdom and the Vladimir Empire, even more so fighting on two fronts simultaneously.
Moreover, the backward veto system of the High tier Councilors made it extremely difficult for them to organize resistance.
The situation was urgent, leaving the Wende Empire no choice but to seek assistance from the Divine Court of Light.
Honestly, as long as there were other ways, they would not want to seek help from the Divine Court of Light.
Those greedy priests would demand sky-high prices without hesitation.
Even if the invaders were defeated with the help of the Divine Court, the Imperial Family would suffer enormous losses.
But they had no choice.
During the national emergency, the parliament was still in endless quarrels, and the High tier Councilors were relentlessly using their veto power for personal grievances and disputes.
Fortunately, the Vladimir Empire had only launched a probing attack for now.
Once they got serious, Wende Empire’s situation would be even more dire.
In desperation, the Emperor of the Empire had to bypass the parliament and directly seek aid from the Divine Court.
This led to the scene of Erin requesting support from Christine.
However, Erin seemed to have forgotten one thing: although there were tens of thousands of large contingent temple warriors, many elite warriors, and a high tier sanctuary here, they had nothing to do with her.
The high tier sanctuary and elite warriors were units assigned during the efforts to recruit Roland and were merely managed by Christine.
The large-scale expanded temple warriors were also built with Roland’s money and Christine’s efforts, without utilizing any resources from the Divine Court.
Neither reason nor law gave Erin the right to mobilize these troops.
Unless she had an official edict from the Pope, legally she had no justification, and even then it would only be legal justification.
The Pope was no fool and would never issue an order destined not to be carried out.
This was purely Erin’s wishful thinking.
Even Iga’s handwritten letter revealed a trace of helplessness.
Such a simple truth, Erin, of course, understood; she was merely hoping that Christine’s feelings for her homeland would surpass everything else.
The Wende Empire was facing grave peril, and every citizen of Wende had the duty to take up arms to resist the invasion.
This was Erin’s logic.
But Christine did not agree.
In her view, she was a servant of the Goddess on earth and did not belong to any secular nation.
Faithful devotion, loyalty to the Divine Court was what a Saintess should do. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
If the Wende Empire could not hold on, it meant there was no seat for her on the old ship of the new world, and it should exit the historical stage.
Going against the tide of history was like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Iga’s handwritten letter was written very earnestly, starting from Wende Empire’s long history and brilliant culture, going on to the blatant aggressiveness of the Vladimir Empire, and finally gently reminding Roland that losing lips also made it hard to keep one’s teeth intact.
Admittedly, it was a very compelling letter; Roland was very moved but still resolutely refused.
It was not because of disagreement but rather differing positions.
In Roland’s view, the fall of the Wende Empire was not good news, but their directly blocking the Vladimir Empire was even worse.
At least the Vladimir Empire was far away, with long supply lines, and limited force mobilization. The Wende Empire and the Governor’s Territory were less than five hundred kilometers apart, too close for comfort.
His attitude was quite similar to Christine’s.
If they had the capability to establish an empire, they should have the strength to protect their foundation.
If they could fight, they should fight; if unable to fight, they should defend; if able to defend, they should defend; if unable to defend, they should flee; if able to flee, they should flee; if unable to flee, they should surrender; if able to surrender, they should surrender; if unable to surrender, they should die.
The world had always been this cruel.
It was only on the home ground of the Flower Sea that he and Sif had a slight chance of victory; going to Sofia’s home ground for direct confrontation was courting death.
Roland’s reply was also sincere.
He used data and tables to contrast the power disparities and potential for war, while also listing the logistical vulnerabilities of the Vladimir Empire.
Ultimately, he concluded that the Wende Empire should hold out and resist; if unable to resist, they should flee, take their living forces to exile abroad, and establish a government in exile.
To defeat the Vladimir Empire, they had to confront them in places where their supply lines were hardest to maintain.
For example, the Val City State, or even the Jin Yuan Republic.
If they won, the Wende Empire had a chance of restoration.
At the end of the handwritten letter, Roland, after much thought, still reminded Iga to be wary of being stabbed in the back by the Tirol Kingdom.
Sending troops was out of the question; these were elite forces he had paid to nurture!
Sending Christine back to assist was also impossible; Christine was Roland’s campaign commander, and more importantly, Roland’s designated final battle commander.
During the final showdown, Roland and Sif would leave the battlefield to face off against Sofia, leaving the frontline to Christine.
Just as Roland handed the handwritten letter to Erin, intending for her to leave, an unexpected figure stepped forward.
"I am willing to follow Miss Erin and share life and death with Wende."
The person who stepped forward was another high tier sanctuary, only half a level lower than Christine, named Joseph.
He had participated in the Battle of Helensburg and had made great contributions in defeating the Oden Kingdom.
He was a citizen of the Wende Empire; his grandfather was a famous general of the Empire.
Although he was a high tier sanctuary, which should stay out of secular struggles, he could not forsake his motherland.
"As long as we draw breath, Wende will never perish.
Take up arms and drive the enemy away, ushering in the dawn of our land.
Forward, forward..."
He sang the national anthem solemnly and passionately, his gaze calm.
His gaze gently fell on Christine’s face, with no blame or resentment, only calm and resolve.
He did not intend to morally coerce Christine, only to express his determination.
Christine avoided Joseph’s gaze, her expression calm as still water, yet the fine, fair hands hidden in her sleeves trembled slightly.
The Wende Empire, after all, was her homeland.
Seeing the struggle in her eyes, Roland softly sighed in his heart and painfully said:
"Christine, if you want to leave, you can take ten thousand temple warriors and all paladins. But you must promise not to do anything foolish, and if you fail, you must return to see me."
This was Roland’s bottom line.
Christine raised her head in surprise, her lips trembling, unable to speak a word for a long time.
She knew Roland too well to have ever thought he would be so generous.
Looking into Roland’s clear eyes, she knew he was not just being polite; he was serious.
Erin’s eyebrows lifted in joy, her voice slightly excited, "Thank you, Roland."
"That’s great, Christine, we can fight side by side again, your command..."
"No, I won’t leave."
Christine cut off Erin’s words, coldly refusing.
"Why?!" Erin’s eyes widened, her beautiful face visibly distorted.
Even that tight-fisted Roland agreed to spare resources, so what did Christine mean by this?
That was ten thousand temple warriors! Although the combat power of the extended temple warriors was slightly inferior, when used effectively, they could demonstrate the combat strength of fifty thousand ordinary troops.
And then there was Christine.
She was a top-tier commander, a magician on the battlefield.
Her presence was equivalent to an army of a hundred thousand.
Roland’s generous offer was equivalent to gifting a force with the equivalent strength of a hundred and fifty thousand troops.
Even Cardinal Iga could not have imagined, but Roland offered it.
Yet Christine refused to accept.
Erin was somewhat bewildered.
Seeing her bewildered look, Christine calmly explained:
"Erin, from a political perspective, the Wende Empire is already decayed; instead of sinking with a decaying ship, it’s better to build a new one."
"From a military perspective, the Val City line is the best decisive battleground."
"I will bury the barbaric Vladimir people here; I will support the reconstruction of a new Wende, but I will not be buried alongside the decayed Imperial Family."
Christine’s attitude was resolute; she raised a hand to stop Erin, who wanted to say more, directly seeing her off.
"Erin, you may leave now."
Erin’s eyes were slightly red; she bit her lip, fearing she might shed tears in front of these detestable figures.
As she turned to leave, Joseph glanced back at Christine.
His gaze held a bit of confusion, a touch of helplessness, some sorrow, and a hint of indifference.
He turned and left firmly.
He knew very well that they would not meet again.
Perhaps when they see each other again, it would be in a new cycle.
