When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

In the forest at the southwest corner of the fortress, squads of war monks marched in orderly steps, appearing at the edge of the battlefield.

They wore neatly ironed silver-gray chest plates, held the ends of their long spears, and moved their steps mechanically.

"First Long Spear Master, align with me, close to the right!"

"Fourth Holy Gun Master, spread out to the right by one arm's length."

In the continuous whistles and orders, within almost three minutes, the Black Hat First Corps quickly transformed from marching formation into battle formation.

Three hundred long spearmen arranged in a 50X6 formation in the center, and two hundred holy gunners arranged in two 20X5 horizontal formations on the wings.

At the front of the forest, under Victor's leadership, the Black Hat First Corps had basically completed its preliminary deployment.

However, Rudilo, unable to resist for a moment, fired a volley of guns at the knights and was still trying to manage discipline.

Behind them, two hundred Wild Boar Knights led by Mira lined up on Rudilo's left side, tasked with protecting their flank.

Now, with Harvin absent, the highest-ranking noble was Count Perini of the Alco Family.

Count Perini, a Kush descendant, was ordered to remain outside, as a result of being excluded by other knights.

Ultimately, he became Harvin's last savior; upon taking over command, Perini immediately realized that it was still possible to run away now.

The enemy had yet to deploy their forces; Harvin was still trapped inside the fortress and might not be able to get out.

However, recalling the Sand Sculpture Knight at the rear and his large sculpture, Perini shivered and dismissed the thought.

The charge is still inevitable! Perini surveyed the battlefield once more and made a judgment.

"Do not gather closely, we will charge shortly. Do any of you have longbows?" Perini shook his head from side to side, asking the group.

A Falan Knight said half-sarcastically and half-mockingly: "I am unlike Shepherds; I do not use such cowardly weapons."

"And the rest of you?"

"Hahaha, no need for them."

"A mere longbow, is it not as inconvenient as a lance?"

Inquiring revealed this skill, used merely for arena tests, was possessed only by thirty or so Kush Knights.

Perini had no choice but to order these fellow compatriots: "When you reach the front line, shoot arrows, knock down the first row, and immediately slow down.

We won't make it to change lances, so let those Falan Knights reap the rewards!"

Confirming the armor's condition and picking up shields that, though useless, provided psychological comfort, the knights lifted their lances and began charging.

On the vast plains before the fortress, the thundering sound of hooves erupted, nearly a hundred Extraordinary Knights and over a hundred disciple knights launched a charge.

With the hooves racing, 300 meters quickly vanished behind them, as a dust cloud gradually approached the two military formations.

"Attention, one hundred fifty meters!" Perini shouted out, speaking not yet finished, when seven or eight arrows went flying out.

"Do not shoot! I told you to shoot only when at the frontline!" Perini angrily shouted at the Kush Knights.

A hundred twenty meters, one hundred meters, eighty meters...

Perini peered through the gaps of the charging knights ahead, seeing the Y-shaped gun stands erect, the dark guns aiming at them.

After a sudden panic, Perini instinctively ducked, burying his head in his horse's mane.

"Praise the Holy Wind!"

Forty holy gunners trembled simultaneously, and the gun barrels were pushed skyward by the recoil from the lead shot leaving the barrel.

In the banshee-like screech, the keen-eyed knight saw several black dots quickly approaching, before he could react.

A lead shot directly broke through his chest plate, blasting a cavity through his flesh, the immense impact forcing blood and shredded meat from the wound.

From Perini's perspective, it was like a blood arrow shooting out of the front knight's chest.

The knight then emitted a dog-like howl, clutching his chest, unable to remain seated and slid straight off the horse.

He was clever, pulling his foot out of the stirrup at the last moment, unlike another knight hit in the abdomen who was less fortunate.

With his ankle caught in the stirrup, he was dragged across the ground by the panicked, sprinting warhorse, his face and hands completely scraped.

The most terrifying was, Perini watched wide-eyed as the intestines flowing from his belly were caught onto a half-tree stump...

Anyhow, as Perini's horse thundered past, he held back nausea and drew his sword to give him mercy.

"Step!" Seventy meters past, Perini fought back the urge to vomit, roaring loudly.

Then seven or eight arrows flew again, landing in the Salvation Army's ranks, with little damage.

"What's going on?" Perini screamed.

The youthful Kush Knights' voices were tinged with tears: "I'm scared!"

Until experienced, one never knows the terror of the Devil's Wind.

Perini could only vent fear through battle cries: "Do not fear, the Holy Father will bless us!"

"Kill—"

The last twenty meters, the Banshee's shriek echoed once again.

The knights, still in the midst of their war cries, hurriedly bowed their heads, desperately praying not to get shot.

Standing tall, Count Perini shouted with all his might, "Now, shoot!"

The sound of dozens of bowstrings plucking filled the air, Count Perini's index, middle, and ring fingers held against the bowstring, with an armor-piercing arrow gripped between his index and middle fingers.

At such close range, there was no need to raise the bow, he simply aimed downward, drawing the bow to his cheek; as soon as Count Perini could see the faces of the Salvation Army, he released the bowstring.

Twenty or so heavy arrows instantly struck down more than a dozen Long Spearmen and Holy Gunmen in the front row, and Count Perini immediately slowed his pace.

Under the disgruntled gaze of the young Kush knights, over eighty knights from the Falan and Leia clans charged straight at the Salvation Army formations.

"It's all theirs anyway, even if we break through the formation, we won't get much benefit…" Count Perini shouted loudly to comfort these green Kush knights as he decelerated and turned.

"Boom——"

Count Perini felt something whiz past him, he turned his head to look, only to witness a scene he would never forget.

Among the Holy Gunmen's ranks, ten unsteady Holy Gunmen appeared.

Their clockwork guns were a third shorter than ordinary ones but twice as thick.

These blunderbuss-like clockwork guns, called hand cannon guns, could only be used by the Blessed with at least four points of holy power.

In a regiment, there might only be one or two dozen at this level, with theoretically each regiment issuing five guns.

But Victor sensed that Rudilo's side might be under attack, so he preemptively shared his hand cannon guns with Rudilo.

At this moment, ten shotgun guns, equivalent in power to large-bore guns, fired at the front lines, each barrel packed with dozens of iron shot lead pellets.

After Count Perini turned back, the rainstorm of lead pellets and iron shots pounded the Ibe Knights charging head-on.

"...Holy Wind blows over the Devil's body, peeling off the Devil's skin, revealing filthy flesh and blood!"

Count Perini couldn't help but recite this famous line from the Gospel, as the scene before him was too strikingly similar.

Wherever the Holy Wind blew, the sound of cracking and bursting echoed, and thick armor shattered into pieces in an instant.

Their once-strong muscles were torn into strips of flesh by the pellets.

The warhorses reared up in pain, neighing, and the forty-odd knights in the front two rows stiffly fell as if swept away by a giant hand.

Behind the hand cannon guns, the ground was strewn with wailing knights.

Yet, even with increased quantity, sacrificing accuracy and range, they still couldn't achieve instant death for the knights.

Most of the knights on the ground were wailing, severely injured, with few who were actually killed by a single shot.

Count Perini turned his horse and charged towards the remaining knights, shouting as he ran, "There's still hope! Keep charging!"

Indeed, there was hope still, as the knights' proximity was so close, and after being toppled by the heavy arrows, the Salvation Army fell into brief chaos.

Their recent burst of force was large, but the damage was similar to the total of the previous two volleys.

If they continued charging now, they could still achieve their intended goals.

"It's the Devil!"

"Quick, call the Monks, we cannot withstand the Devil!"

"Where's the Divine Art? Monks, come quickly!"

Facing the brutal carnage of the pellets, most knights were shaken, and some cowardly knights could not endure, turning to flee.

Seeing familiar faces running, the rest followed suit, one after another, soon everyone began a reverse stampede.

During this, they were even shot in the back by the reorganizing Holy Gunmen.

"Mira, it's up to you!" Standing on a massive tree root, Victor shouted to Mira.

"Don't worry!" With a flick of the reins, Mira led two hundred Wild Boar Knights, riding both riding horses and a few war horses, galloping out.

Seeing fully armored Black Armored Knights in pursuit, those Ibe Knights ran even faster.

Turning his horse around, Count Perini barely caught up with the knights fleeing towards Harvin and questioned, "Why are you running? We can still charge!"

"That's the Devil, we are no match!"

"You haven't charged, it's easy for you to talk."

"Trust me, let's charge again. Continuing to run now will only make us…"

"Get lost, unholy one, it's your faulty command!"

A Falan Knight brushed past Count Perini, his whip unintentionally striking Count Perini on the cheek with a crack.

Touching the lash mark trickling blood, the once-rousing leader, gathering the retreating soldiers, Count Perini fell silent instantly.

"Uncle Perini!" A Kush knight ran up beside Count Perini, "Are you okay?"

Count Perini did not reply; he touched his cheek, looking at the bright red blood on his palm, and let out a laugh that sounded both angry and self-mocking.

"I'm fine, gather all the Kush clan knights, let's break through together, charge out!"