In the Name of Empress-Chapter 536 - 333: The Sky Is Blue (Part 2)
These Mad Cavalry are elite troops selected from the Assak-dominated steppe cavalry. They’ve received shaman blessings, wear two layers of chain armor, and are smeared with cold whale oil. During berserk mode, they are unaffected by external influences and can exert extraordinary combat power.
In berserk mode, their average combat power even surpasses that of the Temple Warriors, but once the berserk ends, their combat power drops below that of ordinary cavalry.
Training Mad Cavalry is difficult, and maintenance is costly. Even with the vast resources of the Vladimir Empire, it can only afford to sustain a little over thirty thousand Mad Cavalry.
These Mad Cavalry are the nemesis of infantry, the nightmare of cavalry, and the shadow that causes artillery to despair when they can’t reload fast enough.
They are almost invincible on the battlefield.
Two months ago, the first appearance of Mad Cavalry caused significant losses for Christine; it was also the first time the Holy Alliance defeated Christine in a frontal confrontation with equal forces.
The only downside to Mad Cavalry is the long training cycle, making mass production impossible, and losses are irreplaceable.
Since the start of the war, over four thousand Mad Cavalry have been wounded and lost combat capabilities, with the remaining twenty thousand or so forming two divisions, not to be used lightly until crucial moments.
Mad Cavalry is also the only troop type that requires Sofia’s approval before deployment, underscoring its importance and combat power.
The siege of Val City is a meat grinder-style attrition battle, and no one wants to throw their valuable Mad Cavalry into such a grinder.
They’d rather send the Northern Tartars and Tuva People from the distant steppes to their deaths.
The elite Mad Cavalry cannot stay far from the battlefield but also don’t participate in attrition battles.
While Christine was launching a desperate attack, Sofia was returning to the main camp, accompanied by Angelina.
Returning to her room, Sofia’s glacially composed face finally showed signs of strain, full of exhaustion.
"Your Majesty, what’s wrong?" Angelina was startled, her voice trembling.
As a core member of the Alliance’s high command, Angelina was well aware of the two major camps’ current situations.
Although the Vladimir Empire is vast, it’s constrained by the poor road conditions in the newly conquered Wende Empire, making domestic food and material transport extremely difficult.
The military supplies for the Alliance largely depend on the Tirol Kingdom. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
The resource-rich Tirol Kingdom has the capability to provide military supplies for the Alliance, yet they seem increasingly uninterested in this protracted war.
Angelina was, of course, aware of the rift between Queen Sisi and Sofia, but she could not speak about it.
Since they are allies, divisive words are not conducive to unity and should not be spoken.
As Vladimir Empire becomes more reliant on its two allies, and with Marshal Suvorov’s passing, the attitudes of the two allied nations have also changed.
They have more demands for benefits and power.
They desire equal status with the Vladimir Empire; they want a crown symbolizing imperial power and even wish to gain the leadership of the Alliance army post-war.
It’s quite normal for them to have such ambitions.
Unlike the Vladimir Empire, which is desperately short of talent and relies heavily on Sofia, these two allies have a plethora of skilled individuals.
They have an endless supply of top talents in fields like politics, technology, industry, education, and even arts.
Because of these strengths, the two allied countries somewhat look down upon the Vladimir Empire.
The descendants of the Odin People are undoubtedly superior to the cruder Rurik People.
This is a consensus among them.
Regarding who can represent the Odin People, Prudon Kingdom and Tirol Kingdom hold different views.
The Holy Alliance has never been a monolithic entity internally.
Even when they have been cut off from international trade at sea by the Freedom Alliance and can only use internal resources for a final fight, this strife has never ceased.
Facing the increasingly direct power demands of the two allied nations, if it weren’t for Sofia’s restraint, internal conflicts within the Alliance would have already escalated.
Even with Sofia, it is impossible to continuously suppress their demands.
She simply lacks manpower.
Suvorov was the military’s soul; his death changed too much. The Vladimir Empire is now leaderless.
Sahalin, the Blade of Destruction, exposed his weaknesses during the conquest of Boli Khanate.
He is an excellent army commander, adept at commanding battles of fifty thousand men, but serving as a corps-level commander is beyond him.
His style is steady.
Building solid defenses and fighting static battles are his forte.
Thus, he is utterly unsuited for this battlefield. According to his style, the stalemate would still be circling Hansa City, while the enormous resource consumption would have long since dragged the Allied forces down.
Sofia had no choice but to appoint Angelina.
Although she preferred to groom Angelina into a well-rounded talent to fill Roland’s absence, the battlefield’s shortage of manpower gave her no alternative.
She couldn’t possibly lead the battle personally, could she?
Commanding a war is mentally exhausting. If she overextends, she’ll be unable to control the overall situation in the final battle.
Fortunately, Angelina’s performance exceeded her expectations.
Sofia, nominally the Alliance’s chief commander, effectively delegates command to Angelina.
Returning to the main command center, Sofia finally dropped her facade, revealing exhaustion, startling Angelina.
In response to Angelina’s concern, Sofia only gave a faint smile and softly said:
"I didn’t expect such a severe backlash from the Holy Spring. It’s not a significant issue; I just need some rest. But how do you plan to take Val City?"
