When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

The sound of swords piercing the air and screams echoed under the gloomy clouds.

The beaver banner representing Xiaochi City was broken on the ground, black smoke filled the sky, and the warhorse lay sideways on the ground, letting out a painful wail.

Broken shields, shattered lances, hundreds of corpses and wounded soldiers lay on the ground, bright blood pooled into rivers flowing into the Lai Xi River.

Perhaps it was because Mizam's earlier orders had taken effect, the smoke on the battlefield had dissipated a lot.

This allowed the present militia and Salvation Army infantry to more hopelessly see those terrifying beasts.

The Extraordinary Knights in heavy armor formed dozens of charges, their longswords whirling as they galloped back and forth across the battlefield, chasing the fleeing Xiaochi City militia.

Not far away, a hundred Imperial Knights and their Squire Knights were organizing their formations, black smoke brushed across their bodies, and their warhorses snorted violently.

Leaning against a tree, Baron Kollen's face was pale, his bloodshot eyes watched desperately at the blood-soaked Arman, the Lingya Knight.

People knew Arman's title, Lingya, came because he was skilled at charming women.

But it was never imagined that the title was given only to the mightiest knights, not because he charmed women.

Under the lead of the Lingya Knight, Xiaochi City's army collapsed at the first touch, scattering like animals under Kollen's desperate shouts.

Feeling the earth tremble, the blood-drained Kollen barely turned his head to see a detachment of knights from Hotam County charging through a still-motivated militia formation.

The wave of iron instantly scattered the militia, and the following knights swung their longswords, cutting down the militia.

Standing militiamen were felled one after another, their pale eyes wide open as they crashed heavily to the ground.

"Damn it, you bunch of stillborns!"

Kollen struggled to support himself up, but nearly tore the wound on his thigh, gritting his teeth, he grabbed a stone and hurled it at the knights galloping past him.

The stone bounced past the hooves, the knights' laughter hitting Kollen, nearly knocking him over.

But Kollen couldn't even catch up to curse them.

His thigh had been pierced by a lance, pinning him entirely to the beech tree roots by the roadside.

The Imperial Knight who had thrust the lance seemed to notice Kollen's plumes and tassels, and didn't deliver a fatal blow to capture him.

Yet Kollen would rather he had delivered the fatal blow, as falling into the hands of the Church promised who knows how many terrifying punishments.

As a devout believer, he couldn't go against doctrine to commit suicide, and he lacked the courage anyway.

Kollen could only place his last hope in the Black Hat Army which still held their organization.

This was the only corps that managed to hold back the double charges from Hotam County's knights with the help of the Xiaochi City Hired Knights.

Forcing these knights to only dare pursue the militia instead of continuing to charge this array.

Amidst a battlefield full of deserters, the two corps of the Black Hat Army did not rigidly maintain a horizontal formation but stacked together, forming their more familiar grand phalanx.

Unlike the typical 50X50 grand phalanx, the Black Hat Army's two corps formed just a 10x10 phalanx.

Within the black smoke, their array bristled with halberds and pikes like a porcupine, ready to adjust their stance and spear points from any direction the Extraordinary Knights from Hotam County attacked.

Compared to the Guards under Mizam's command, they looked more like the regular version of the Deng Jia'er Array.

Reaching this extent, it's understandable.

Though these Black Hat soldiers were new recruits, unlike Horn's initial batch of raw recruits, they were retrained soldiers, having been armored soldiers or Elite Night Guards.

These "new recruits" were the best of the best, essentially the top guardsmen from all Langsande County gathered together.

Even though the armor rate was low, their rate of Extraordinaries was over half, and most had a few breathing techniques and extraordinary skills.

As a result, this group of Black Hat new recruits was equipped with plenty of axes and halberds the Salvation Army couldn't use.

With the support of the Salvation Army's elite officers and core veteran soldiers, and Horn's generous full pay and land compensation, they supported the framework of this Black Hat recruit corps.

Yet even these elite guards were retreating slowly, aiming to reach the carriage camp's defenses to hold out until the Salvation Army's return.

Although many said the Salvation Army had abandoned them, perhaps due to excessive blood loss, Kollen found himself cooling down.

Recalling Horn's strange orders, the noticeably slower marching pace of the Black Hat Army, he realized this Saint's Grandson was using them as bait.

And this bait, once consumed, was bound to have a line pull it back; just hold on a bit longer, hold on a bit longer...

"Let go, let go!"

"Alright, everyone divvy up the baggage, you head back to Joan of Arc Castle, we'll return to Xiaochi City, won't that be fine?"

"We can still use the carts for defense too."

"Your Saint's Grandson is missing, what cars and defenses! Let go!"

Kollen turned his head to look back but found himself blacking out, nearly fainting.

Small groups of Xiaochi City militia mustered their strength, charging into the Salvation Army's supply camp, seizing valuables, and using an offbeat path to charge behind the Imperial Lances for a surprise attack.

A few Defensive Army guards pleaded bitterly, only to be stabbed through the heart from behind by a Xiaochi City militiaman.

Swarms of militia rushed into the camp, looting among boxes and sacks, cutting down the Defensive Army if they dared impede them.

Instead, the Xiaochi City Hired Knights, deemed as having disloyal tendencies, upheld their professional integrity, still helping the Black Hat Army retreat slowly.

Previously, Kollen resented Horn for using them as bait, yet as he observed this scene for a full five seconds, he abruptly smiled in relief.

From now on, recruit rural soldiers over city ones, Kollen's consciousness blurred, if he survived, he must write this lesson into the family's military manuscript.

Wait, just before slipping into darkness, Kollen suddenly sensed something amiss, why had the sound of galloping hooves ceased?

Is it the Salvation Army? Have they arrived? Kollen struggled to open his eyes, raising his head towards the sound of footsteps.

On the battlefield, all the knights suddenly ceased their pursuit of scattered militia, converging together.

With the aid of Xiaochi City Hired Knights, the Black Hat Army retreated backward at an accelerated pace.

In the black smoke, a flag emerged first, snapping against the pole, red ostrich feathers fluttering with the warhorses.

Gaunt, grim faces slowly emerged from the hazy black smoke, chainmail slipping over linen robes, and straw shoes muddied with Lai Xi River silt.

His vision blurring, Kollen grinned grimly, leaning his back against the beech tree, his despairing head resting against the trunk.

A gentle breeze dispersed the black smoke, revealing over ten thousand Church Army infantry assembled in twelve interlocking formations, taking unsteady steps out from the smoke.

Aside from the Black Hat Army's orderly footsteps, the battlefield was as silent as death.