When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 582 - 560: Horn Arrives at His Loyal Feiliu Castle
"Did he wet his pants?"
Watching the dark wet mark gradually appear on Banifus's robe, Horn covered his nose in disgust.
Jeanne glared, "If it weren't for him, Danji wouldn't have died. Brother, what do you plan to do with him?"
"Keep him locked up for now. There's a lot of useful information in his head, let's interrogate him first." Horn waved his hand dismissively, signaling the gendarmes to take him away, "To prevent escape, break his legs with the clamp first."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The gendarme captain pounded his chest and then dragged away the person Horn once hated and feared the most from the dock.
Banifus, after all, was the nominal highest bishop of the Thousand River Valley Church, naturally possessing special significance. Killing him carelessly wouldn't serve its purpose.
After settling Banifus, Horn gave some instructions to the boatmen before stepping lightly onto the streets of Shuimi Town.
Although local residents in the houses on both sides didn't dare to step out, they still secretly peeked at Demon Horn through cracks in the doors and windows.
Unlike the rumored three-meter tall and wide green-skinned monster, the Saint's Grandson in front of them seemed rather slim.
Standing among the Imperial Guards who were all over 1.8 meters tall, he appeared as a peculiar concave character in contrast.
Though short in stature, his imposing presence was unmatched by other soldiers.
He wore a knee-length tailored military uniform, but had altered the collar into a stand-up style, partly for warmth and partly for a more dignified appearance.
A purple silk sash crossed from his left shoulder to his right waist, his feet were clad in shiny black leather leggings, and a faint smile graced his face.
Amidst the escort of gendarmes and Close Guard Cultivators, Horn stepped briskly and powerfully to the saluting Legion Commanders.
"Report to Your Majesty, we ambushed the enemy's Imperial Decree Company at Black Lettuce Village, killing 245, capturing 159, with the rest fleeing." As the main commander, Lauren pounded his right hand on his left chest twice, "Holy Father bless, we have already seized the outskirts of Feiliu Castle's Imperial Decree Camp."
"You all, you're always able to surprise me." Horn laughed heartily, shaking hands and embracing each of the Legion Commanders.
It's worth noting that Horn and Jeanne were originally supposed to arrive at Shuimi Town with the second batch of reinforcements by noon the next day.
But fearing that the Salvation Army monks couldn't handle the Imperial Decree Camp without cavalry, he specially brought Jeanne and 100 Saint Gun Cavalry to arrive earlier.
Originally hoping they'd just defend Shuimi Town, little did he think they would not only defend but also launch an attack.
With a single ambush, they wiped out seven to eight tenths of the forces left by Prince Kongdai. Seeing this, Feiliu Castle surrendered without a fight.
"This isn't all our doing," Lauren coughed, "It's the leaders of the Saint Sun's Army, André and Valent Taylor, who lured the Imperial Decree Camp here."
Horn then turned around, shaking hands and introducing himself to a complex-looking Valent Taylor and a grinning André.
However, they didn't exchange pleasantries for long before Horn excused himself and went over to the war monks.
For these soldiers who had won the battle, His Majesty Saint Sun diligently shook hands with each one, asking for their names and praising their achievements.
Even with the wounded soldiers, Horn took the initiative to greet them, even rolling up his sleeves to help Service Soldiers change bandages for the injured.
Blood stains dirtied his clean and immaculate clothes and beautiful sash, but he seemed not to notice.
Valent Taylor and André followed behind Horn, quietly observing him perform these simple yet intricate tasks.
Valent Taylor's expression grew more relaxed, while André's grew more solemn.
Valent Taylor saw Horn's care for ordinary soldiers, while André saw something different.
He noticed that every black-clad soldier greeted seemed immensely excited.
Even standing out in the cold wind late at night on the streets, there wasn't a single complaint, some even appeared to enjoy it.
André had seen with his own eyes how brave and determined these black-clad soldiers were in spirit and morale.
Generally speaking, the more prideful the army, the less governable it becomes; talented people are always proud.
Without direct officers, André asked himself, it would be impossible to command these veterans within two or three months.
Yet Horn, just by standing there, these soldiers behaved as if they were witnessing the descent of the Saint Master, exhibiting a rare inner reverence and obedience seen in strong soldiers.
This level of control over the army was exceedingly rare.
Initially, priests claimed Horn used mind spells to control soldiers, which André didn't believe; now he's starting to have his doubts.
After shaking hands and offering words of comfort to the last wounded soldier, Horn once again stood before André.
"Sorry for the delay, let's go inside, we can talk over a meal."
For one of the few times, André expressed his emotions bluntly, asking the question he most wanted to know: "Are you planning to enter Feiliu Castle next?"
Horn's eyebrows twitched as he once again assessed the mysterious rebel leader before him, revealing a meaningful smile:
"Not entering, waiting."
On March 9th at noon, the second batch of four legions, including two Imperial Guard Legions and two Black Champion Legions, had already arrived.
Accompanying them were 400 Saint Gun Cavalry, 500 Cuirassiers, 300 North Cavalry, and 300 Kush Cavalry, forming the third-generation Holy Grail Cavalry Corps.
It was called the third generation because the Holy Grail Cavalry Corps had two predecessors.
The first was the Holy Grail Knight Order from the time of Gulag, composed of two cavalry companies, totaling two people.
The second was the initial Holy Grail Cavalry Corps, evolved from the Holy Grail Knight Order during the time of Daze Village, with three cavalry divisions totaling 150 people, a troop increase of 7500%, all being Cuirassier Saint Gun Cavalry.
The third generation is the current complete Holy Grail Cavalry Corps, with Jeanne serving as Cavalry Corps Commander, commanding four cavalry squads, totaling 1500 cavalry.
Jeanne served concurrently as Saint Gun Cavalry Captain, Grush as Beastman Cavalry Captain, Mira as North Cavalry Captain, and Perini as Kush Cavalry Captain.
With over a hundred Mage Corps and Defensive Army members, the army near Shuimi Town had already gathered over 7200 troops.
Fine and small Shuimi Town could hardly accommodate such a large army.
So on the morning of March 10th, the Kush Cavalry and Beastman Cuirassiers began spreading out, surveying the terrain and mapping roads nearby.
The Public Register Farmers and refugee villages around Feiliu Castle could see the rolling plumes of dust on rural roads from the Black and Red Flag Knights when they looked up.
They immediately reported to their lords, saying that the Salvation Army was advancing towards Feiliu Castle. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Upon receiving the news, the bishop, citizens, and city nobles of Feiliu Castle busily prepared flowers and ten full boxes of jewels and gold pounds.
As for Matteo, he had been tied up by the bishops while he slept the night before and left at the city gate.
It's not that the bishops had no will to fight; the city walls just weren't tall and strong enough.
Being prosperous for a long time, Feiliu Castle had long lost its fortress function.
Previous archbishops had removed part of the city wall near the port for commercial convenience.
This section of the wall couldn't be repaired during the two years of war; in 1444 there was flooding, in 1445 seven out of nine counties rebelled.
During these two years, the Thousand River Valley District's tax revenue was cut in half, with most siphoned off by Prince Kongdai; the church had no funds to repair city walls.
If the nobles were still supporting Prince Kongdai, with their backing, relying on surrounding fortresses and city towers, they might hold for three to four weeks.
But local nobles had all rebelled; the church couldn't even muster enough forces to fill the towers and fortresses; there were many refugees and spies inside, waiting to 'open the gates for the church leader'!
Is there any necessity to defend the city anymore?
Anyway, after selling off Banifus and Matteo, the high-level bishops and nobles of Feiliu Castle fled to the countryside, planning to return once Prince Kongdai recaptures Feiliu Castle.
Though they might lose many shops and workshops outside the city, as long as they retained their privileges, regathering wealth was a mere matter of time.
So on the morning of March 11th, the welcoming procession for the most esteemed Saint Sun Pope Horn's arrival in his loyal Feiliu Castle was already waiting by the roadside.
