Gospel of Blood

As the first light of dawn broke in the east, the battle that began with a night raid had come to an end.

At sea, the combined fleet of Borde and Violet had been decimated. Only three warships managed to escape the encirclement, while the rest were either sunk or captured.

Even the flagship, “Glorious Borde”, had become a trophy.

The fighting on land was even more brutal. With the Northport Bridge, the only route south, controlled by Castell reinforcements, the duchies’ coalition forces were completely cut off. Trapped and attacked from both sides, they suffered heavy losses.

On the Dorn River, floating corpses were a common sight, the result of coalition soldiers jumping into the river in a desperate bid to escape.

In the camp along the riverbank, the number of deaths from trampling and crushing exceeded those killed in battle, making the task of collecting bodies extremely difficult.

Some clever nobles, along with small groups of troops, managed to break through the encirclement and flee north.

However, more nobles and soldiers ultimately chose to surrender.

Among the captives were even the elite extraordinary troops from Borde and Violet.

The night raid caused the coalition camp to collapse so quickly that the fleeing soldiers disrupted the formations of the extraordinary troops. As a result, they couldn’t organize effective magic formations and were overwhelmed by the Tulip elite troops.

Despite having superior numbers and equipment, the elite forces of nearly ten thousand from the two duchies suffered devastating losses. One-third were either missing or dead, and the remaining two-thirds were captured.

It was an utterly humiliating defeat.

This exposed the limitations of elite extraordinary troops. Without noble command and the time to deploy their magical formations, they were little more than well-trained elite soldiers. Even though many were extraordinary, they are still zero-tier.

Besides the elite troops, a larger number of conscripted soldiers surrendered. Entire regiments of coalition soldiers gave up resistance, especially after seeing the destruction of the fleet and the disappearance of the Third Prince. The nobles led their troops in surrender.

When Viscount Leon-Castell saw the situation in the camp, he was stunned.

He roughly estimated that if the total number of coalition troops from the two duchies who surrendered was indeed the nearly thirty thousand claimed by the nobles, then about fifteen thousand were now prisoners.

The confiscated extraordinary equipment alone might cover Castell’s losses in this war.

Viscount Lien-Castell realized that Castell had won.

This battle had utterly destroyed the coalition forces, dealing a severe blow to the duchies, especially with the loss of so many elite troops.

To be honest, he was still in a daze. He couldn’t believe that Castell, which was worried about its future just yesterday, had turned the tide in one night.

Viscount Leon-Castell couldn’t help but look at the reinforcements.

The number of reinforcements conducting the night raid wasn’t large. This legendary victory was primarily their achievement.

However, they showed little interest in interacting with Castell’s forces. After handing over the prisoners, most returned to the fleet anchored in the bay.

The Old Viscount only knew that they were extraordinary mercenaries hired by Charlotte.

“Are they really just extraordinary mercenaries?”

Viscount Leon-Castell looked at the fleet on the shore, feeling a bit skeptical.

Such a large-scale fleet wasn’t something just any power could own, and the most famous extraordinary mercenaries from Eastern Yunette Blacklands didn’t have a navy.

Although these ships flew Castell’s flag, his experienced eye could tell they weren’t locally built.

They had a style more reminiscent of Starfall.

“Starfall, huh…”

As he connected the dots, the Old Viscount became thoughtful.

Regardless of the true origin of these “mercenaries”, one thing was clear: Castell had won the war.

And now, he understood why Countess Charlotte had always been tight-lipped about the reinforcements and didn’t fully trust the local nobles who swore loyalty to her.

Recalling how he had arrested those nobles last night based on intelligence provided by Countess Charlotte, the Old Viscount felt a chill.

He hadn’t expected that even at this point, so many northern nobles were still secretly in contact with Borde!

What pained him the most was discovering his own son among the traitors. His most trusted child had been in correspondence with the South!

If Countess Charlotte had shared her plans for the night raid with the nobles to reassure them, the entire coalition would have known by the next day, and the victory might not have happened.

“Viscount Leon-Castell, what are you thinking about?”

Seeing the Old Viscount lost in thought, Charlotte asked with a smile.

Viscount Leon-Castell sighed and said,

“Thinking about those traitorous nobles. I never expected so many fools in the North still harbor illusions about the South, even Derek…”

He paused, his expression bitter.

“Countess, our family’s failure to educate them has disappointed you…”

“Don’t blame yourself. The Third Prince is a strong contender for the throne. It’s normal for many nobles not to want to take risks with me, especially since he gathered such a large army.”

Charlotte waved her hand dismissively.

“But he still failed. You defeated him. After today… your name will spread throughout the kingdom, maybe even the continent! No one will dare underestimate you in Castell, the Crescent Kingdom, or even the entire Western Yunette region!”

The Old Viscount couldn’t help but praise.

Charlotte shook her head.

“Just luck. If not for Viscount Roman-Four’s warning, I might not have realized so many nobles still harbored fantasies about the South. My actions in recent days have also been somewhat inappropriate. It’s normal for people to have grievances.”

Viscount Roman-Four?

Hearing Charlotte’s words, Viscount Leon-Castell looked towards Vincent, the eldest son of Viscount Roman-Four, standing respectfully beside Charlotte.

Noticing his gaze, Vincent smiled and said,

“My father only stumbled upon some letters from the nobles. The real credit goes to Countess Charlotte. My father merely gave a timely reminder before the war, but the countess identified all these people.”

Then he looked at Charlotte and respectfully asked.

“Countess, what are your plans for the nobles in contact with the South?”

Hearing Vincent’s question, Viscount Leon-Castell felt anxious and looked at Charlotte, his expression conflicted and tense.

Charlotte thought for a moment and said,

“Severely punish the ringleaders. For the rest, judge based on the severity of their actions and their contributions during the war. Let’s see how they perform going forward.”

Hearing Charlotte’s words, the Old Viscount breathed a sigh of relief.

“Countess, you are merciful.”

Charlotte smiled but said nothing more. She turned her gaze to the battlefield.

“Ensure proper post-war cleanup. After a major battle, there will be a plague. The bodies must be dealt with promptly.”

“Also, treat the prisoners well, especially the nobles. They are walking tana.”

“As for the captured extraordinary troops, try to recruit them. I hear many soldiers in these units are ordinary people who accidentally gained extraordinary powers. It’s worth a try.”

“……”

Though Charlotte lacked experience in commanding battles, she knew a thing or two about post-war handling.

Seeing the young countess methodically issuing orders, Viscount Leon-Castell felt even more respectful.

At that moment, a noble in charge of cleaning up the battlefield rode up to the group.

He dismounted and knelt before Charlotte, respectfully saying,

“Countess! The leader of the Nightwalker Mercenary Corps requests to see you!”

Viscount Leon-Castell’s heart skipped a beat.

The Nightwalker Mercenary Corps… the name of the extraordinary mercenary group that supported Castell last night.

Of course, he had never heard of this name before. It sounded more like something made up on the spot.