When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

Scales Hermitage.

This name, even in the Secret Party Realm, is quite an explosive presence.

Never mind that they, being a Secret Faction, are actually not atheists or devil worshipers, but rather they worship the rival Church.

It must be known that in Black Snake Bay, a sanctuary for fugitives and Secret Faction members, most people are anti-Church.

Especially many extreme Secret Faction members, who even swear never to derive any income through the Church in their lifetime.

In this nation where the Church pervades every aspect of daily life, that means they can only resort to crime to earn money.

Yet, against such a backdrop, Scales Hermitage insists on claiming they're not a Secret Faction, but the Miseran Order, a holy faction, and that everyone else are lost lambs...

Isn't that asking for trouble?

Although they have the façade of venerating a true god, everyone knows that beneath that façade lies an extremely terrifying demon.

They are the Secret Faction most fond of human experimentation and monster breeding, where in nine out of ten monster uprisings, Scales Hermitage is involved.

They even go as far as kidnapping witches with peculiar abilities in the name of knowledge, then dissecting and conducting a series of cruel experiments, even venturing to the Blood and Flesh Royal Court to abduct vampires and ogres.

To this day, the Blood and Flesh Royal Court refuses to provide any external assistance to Scales Hermitage and has placed the head of the Hermitage at the top of their most-wanted list.

To Scales Hermitage, this might not mean much, because their leader is already on the most-wanted list of the Church, the Empire (Demon Hunters), and the Secret Faction, so a few more fleas don't bother them.

Despite often being besieged and boycotted, Scales Hermitage indeed attracts some wizards.

Because Secret Faction members have to admit that with its radical approach, Scales Hermitage is leading others by a large margin in studies on the essence of magic and monsters.

The cold wind after the rain hit his face as Horn rode on horseback, still thinking about Scales Hermitage.

If the Evil God on Autumn Dusk Island was associated with Scales Hermitage, then the long-haired creatures would not be surprising, nor would the giant spiders in the Wild Spider Forest be unreasonable.

But were the wizards of Scales Hermitage really on Autumn Dusk Island?

Running out from the sparse small woods, there was yet another deserted village in front of him, and the barbarians in the village cautiously poked their heads out, peering at Horn's direction.

When Horn's gaze turned towards them, they would hide their heads behind collapsed walls and fences, but this was just hiding their heads without considering their ears, which were still visible due to their size.

Horn chuckled a bit.

According to his orders, the Black Hat Army did not commit large-scale slaughter; as long as they hadn't participated in battle before, they weren't bothered.

As Horn and his dozen or so mounted guards galloped past them, the iron hooves splashed mud, and in the mud, there were traces of black-red color.

It seems last night's drizzle hadn't been sufficient to wash away the bloodstains on the ground.

After yesterday's night rain, quite a few people in the camp caught colds again, they didn't know if it was Divine Favor or a common cold, but Madlan still dispersed some of the elderly and sick into the Beastman Village.

The fourth departing group was about to arrive soon, and by then, nearly twenty thousand people would be on the road.

They urgently needed a place to live and shelter from the cold.

The sky looked like it was smeared with a grey-black brush devoid of water, and behind the grey curtain was a pale sky veiled by strands of fog.

The lake water mirrored the sky like a mirror, also turning a light grey hue.

"Your Majesty, we have arrived." Rudilo, who met Horn, pointed to a long stone arch bridge extending far into the distance.

Dozens of beastman barbarians stood stubbornly by the side of the long bridge.

Their faces bruised, wearing long robes of animal hide, they kept cursing and warning the black-clad soldiers at the bridgehead, hoping they would not provoke the Blood God on the island.

Along the lakeshore was a towering granite rock with the bridge's start built upon it, and dozens of meticulously carved bridge piers stretched outward until shrouded by the mist-covered Autumn Dusk Island in the distance.

Autumn Dusk Island seemed to float in the mist.

If someone unknowing galloped onto the long bridge, they would surely lose sight of their way in the dense fog and then fall into the water at the broken end of the bridge.

According to the beastman priests, only on the sacrificial day every seven days would the long-haired creatures refrain from attacking outsiders coming to the island.

The next sacrificial day was still five days away, Horn could not wait five days, he must complete the cleansing of Autumn Dusk Island by the day after tomorrow.

Over these days, he had already ordered the beastmen of the United Kingdom to do their utmost in fishing, while on the salt well side, they maximized the output of brine extraction. Horn had even dispatched 100 Blessed to learn the peat alchemy method.

Continuing to waste such time would make it too late to stabilize before the snow fell.

"Brother, the boat is ready." After the day's expedition yesterday, Jeanne showed no signs of fatigue and was instead full of energy.

Victor then pointed to the broken bridge, explaining: "Due to the limited number of boats, only ten or so, with each fitting at most seven or eight people, we can only transport a hundred people to the island at a time, and the boats being small mean warhorses cannot go onboard.

We decided to first go up the broken bridge, reach the break point, and then take boats from the bridge to Autumn Dusk Island, which is just over one or close to two miles of waterway.

Once the first ninety people land ashore, they will immediately construct defensive works and dispatch scouts. After the second batch of one hundred people land, they'll start clearing those long-haired creatures along the line, while a third batch of one hundred will continue to land as support."

"Alright, let's do as you planned." After all, it was a suggestion from the frontline commander, Horn promptly agreed.

Victor quickly selected soldiers, bringing along 20 Holy Gunmen, then 60 Cuirassier Long Spear Soldiers and 10 Sword and Shield soldiers.

These 90 were all Blessed, who could switch posts to fire the spring-load guns when necessary.

Behind him followed these 90 soldiers, with the sides of the long bridge having rafts and canoes gliding slowly through the water.

Horn brushed his hand across the railings by the bridge, noticing the Pompeii-style patterns on the bridge piers and floor tiles were already blurred, the marble railings long since weathered away, and green grass and reddish-brown moss grew in the cracks of the floor tiles.

This millennia-old long bridge from the El Empire era was sturdier than Horn imagined; he stamped hard, yet not a tremble occurred on the bridge.

This was a bridge built over a thousand years ago, or even earlier, stretching over a thousand meters long, and four to five meters wide.

Nowadays, even building a 100-meter bridge makes masons huff and puff; indeed, El technology was unmatched in the world.

Horn shook his head, the mason contracted earlier was the last to arrive at Horn's group, and he wondered what thoughts would cross his mind when he saw this long bridge.

Walking from the abutment to the bridge's end, the previously towering bridge piers gradually started to collapse, either tipping directly into the water or with the bridge deck submerged into the lake.

"Let's board the boat from here."

Jumping onto the largest paddle boat, Horn grasped the boat edge to steady himself as a dozen small boats sliced through the mist.

The distant Autumn Dusk Island gradually emerged clearer, along with the shadowy figures moving in the fog, which were no longer blurred.

Horn tightened his grip on the Pope's Staff in his hand, inserted the wind-up key in advance, and aimed the staff's muzzle forward.

"Your Majesty, look." Beside Horn, Victor pointed at Autumn Dusk Island in the fog with surprise, exclaiming, "There's actually a dock there."