When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 893 - 844: Retreat, Retreat, Retreat!

Having dealt with the two most troublesome groups of knights, the Holy Gunmen finally turned their attention to the advancing Imperial Infantry.

The Holy Gun Cultivators, having exhausted their Holy Power, rotated with the soldiers of the last third line of defense, turning to face the frontal Gunnery Corps from the side.

The Leia Great Swordsmen, who had been advancing steadily, were already flustered when they saw the Red Knights and the Imperial Knights defeated.

Especially when they crossed those bombardment markers, the artillery from the Holy Alliance was incredibly accurate.

Not only did it precisely take out their catapults, but it also created ripples in the dense phalanx.

The cannoneers, in particular, aimed directly at the Tower Shield Guards and fired.

One moment, you could see the huge tower shield shaking violently, and a hefty Tower Shield Guard soaring through the air, crushed beneath the heavy shield.

Meanwhile, a series of spring-loaded guns extended from the shoulders of the front-row soldiers, aiming at a long row of densely packed infantry formations in the distance.

Groups of twenty fired in a rotating manner at an overwhelming speed.

With each volley, everyone could see several comrades beside them collapse to the ground with a scream.

Even the high-ranking Foot Knights clad in heavy double-layered armor were no exception.

The moment he was hit in the chest by lead, he spat blood, touched the small hole on his breastplate, and fell slowly.

The screams, the chaotic footsteps, the pounding of horses' hooves in the distance, the urgent drumming...

The smell of earth, flowers, rust, the stench of excrement and urination, the bad breath of comrades, and the stench of sweat all emerged...

Countless sensations were amplified with the quickening heartbeat, causing some people to freeze, unable to move.

If not for the monks continuously casting Divine Art to boost morale and calm fear, they might have fled before even engaging in battle.

The previously orderly formation turned into a jagged shape after three or four volleys.

But before they could react, they saw an unimaginable scene.

The Wild Wolf Cultivators actually left their positions and launched an assault on them.

If this were in the past, they would have surely laughed at these soldiers' overconfidence, but now they felt an uncontrollable fear.

"In this world, who can compare... only us, row upon row, the Holy Alliance Salvation Army..."

What was originally a light-hearted ditty, accompanied by the drumbeat and stepping, became increasingly heavy in tone and atmosphere.

The Great Swordsmen tightened their grips on their longswords, the lead pellets continued raining on the formations, but they had no time to bother.

They just roared, shouted, trying to regain formation in front of the approaching Wild Wolf Cultivators.

"Charge!"

"For freedom!" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Heavy footsteps pounded the ground, the metallic clashing sound intensified, and the Wild Wolf Army charged like a wall.

Disregarding formation, the Land Servants and Great Swordsmen pressed forward.

But at about ten meters in, a cold wind with icy spikes suddenly blew from the Wild Wolf Army.

In this cold wind, the Divine Art and the leaping wolf shadows appeared simultaneously, as if they had arrived at a cold flying prairie.

Upon engagement, the Land Servants unexpectedly maintained balance despite successive blows.

However, the Holy Alliance Army steadily pressed them back, pushing the Land Servants back thirty to fifty meters before returning.

The Land Servants should have pursued.

But seeing the retreating Imperial Knights, Red Knights, and the standing cannons, they chose to defy the Square Array Commander's orders.

"Retreat!"

Watching the departing Leia Army, the Wild Wolf Cultivators seemed to have a mutual understanding and simultaneously raised their heads, letting out a long wolf howl.

Little Hart ran around excitedly, because he could clearly see—the Leia Army, which had been fighting from morning till afternoon, was retreating from the battlefield.

Of course, this wasn't an escape but rather camping nearby.

There's more fighting to come!

But Little Hart believed they would win, because this was a war of attrition, and His Majesty said time was on their side.

In as soon as three days, or as late as five days, the Chongxin Battle Group would arrive for reinforcement!

Victory was near! Xia Lvcheng was near!

"We won, we won!"

......

"Retreat?" The shout in Leaian echoed across Redway Manor, and after the battle, it echoed in Norman within this small tent.

The fire roared, the Corps Commanders and Military Chaplains gathered around the long table, staring incredulously at Jeska.

"Aren't we still capable of fighting?"

"We clearly repelled them today, we just need to wait for the Chongxin Battle Group to come,"

the Corps Commanders chattered, while Jeska remained silent.

It was the Legion Secretary who chuckled: "Perhaps the Chongxin Battle Group isn't coming?"

"Why?" This time, not only Little Hart, but several other Corps Commanders stood up in disbelief.

Jeska, with a grim face, glanced at them: "Because this is a trap."

"A trap?"

"Based on the Defenders' and Rangers' intel, the Staff Department calculated that the enemy numbers exceed thirty thousand."

Little Hart was stunned but immediately retorted: "Why exceed thirty thousand? Couldn't those non-battlefield Staff Monks be wrong?"

Bernardo stepped forward, usually kind-hearted, but now extremely serious: "It's not a miscalculation; it's based on the food supply, flags, and the word of mouth.

The Gospel Court's Secret Monks inquired in the Falan direction, but they evaded, unwilling to disclose anything.

Fortunately, His Excellency Armand from Windmill Land sent word, saying:

Upon His Majesty Saint Sun's ascension to the Holy Alliance Pope position, the false pope of Holy Seat City was convinced by Ginijis, deciding formally to launch the Chao Character Army.

From the intelligence currently gathered, this Chao Character Army is unimaginably large.

I know you have put a lot into reaching here, but the Chongxin Battle Group encountered almost twenty thousand non-Oslar soldiers at Xijiang Ferry.

If we keep fighting, we may be surrounded by over sixty thousand troops—this isn't a war of ten thousand against thirty thousand, but ten thousand against sixty thousand.

The situation has changed, so should the strategy.

We must rendezvous with them and then return to Kenke Town for defense."

After Bernardo's analysis, the tent fell silent.

From the Legion Secretary to the accompanying monks, from Corps Commanders to service leaders, everyone wore an ugly expression.

They had fought hard to get here, close to reclaiming Xia Lvcheng, yet they had to change plans and head back?!

After just winning the Battle of Malunpo, with their power, they should easily seize Xia Lvcheng, then the Empire in one sweep.

By then, these Wild Wolf Cultivators would not only gain citizenship but live as well as nobles!

Why fight again? Why keep fighting?

"The enemy's power remains strong. Is it possible to win with one or two battles and advances?" In the corner, Military Chaplain Modie finally spoke.

"We accomplished in four years what others did in a hundred, can we overthrow a thousand-year foundation in just four?"

Modie flicked his pipe: "I've long wanted to say, the army sometimes blindly believes, oh, we can beat the Imperial Knights and quickly finish this war!

Can we? Hmm? Answer me! Look into my eyes!

We are indeed stronger than before, but facing the Empire, we are still children.

But we have a sword in hand and are rapidly growing.

We only anticipate being stronger than the Empire, but we're not stronger than the Empire now; don't make the mistake of advancing rashly."

The many Corps Commanders fell silent.

War is so cruel, apart from lunatics who enjoy battle, who wants to keep fighting?

But reality is always disappointing; though they won, they had to retreat.

Only now did the Corps Commanders vaguely understand the military school's discussions on strategy and tactics.

"I'll say it one more time, regardless of whether the monks were wrong, this is His Majesty's order." Jeska also felt regret, but still chose to execute.

How many times did Horn emphasize the duty of obedience for War Monks when founding the army?

Besides, unlike the Empire's generals who grab power, the command and management rights of the Holy Alliance Army are decentralized.

Financial power is in the hands of the Legion Secretary, while life, thought, and foreign relations are controlled by the Military Chaplains.

His power is only in training, combat, and following orders.

Taking a deep breath, Jeska summarized: "In these two days, we've killed at least two thousand of them, losing nearly ten percent.

Especially their Red Knights, heavily hit by us, not appearing for two days.

Nonetheless, they need two to three days to recover morale, making now our best time to leave.

Your task is to inform the soldiers of all this and maintain morale.

His Majesty said, time is on our side, no need to rush."