When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

"Andar!" Grabbing Andar's reins, Mitney shouted, "This is too rude, quickly apologize to Lady Jeanne."

"Lord Mitney, I really can't stand it anymore, I don't know what the point of this is..."

"What do you mean?" The cold wind blew Jeanne's long hair, and she stared blankly at Andar.

"Didn't you ask me to give my opinion? My opinion is that you should challenge the knights on the opposite side to a duel. The loser retreats their army; isn't that how it works in knight novels?" Andar could no longer endure the harsh reality.

You should know that among Catherine's forces, he was one of the few officers not belonging to the Carl Black Knight faction.

Even though Catherine said that everyone was treated equally, how easy was it to break through the nepotism?

He came to Autumn Dusk Island hoping to cooperate fully with the Salvation Army leaders, to defeat the Church, to establish meritorious service and make a name for himself.

But the Salvation Army here has given him too much disappointment.

He initially thought the Salvation Army would be different from other peasant rebel groups, but what was the result?

No heroes, yet the Saint's Grandson became famous!

Indeed, peasants are peasants; ultimately, they still rely on the leadership of knights.

Realizing this, he forcibly pushed down his anger and said sternly:

"Let me make it clear, don't get lost in the battles of knight novels; that's not real combat.

You learned to defeat the Duke from knight novels previously, but that was just a coincidence, not your actual strength.

Over the next two months, hand over 4,000 good lads to me for training, and maybe we can hold out until reinforcements arrive."

Rather than listen to this ignorant village girl, Andar would rather speak his mind from the start.

Otherwise, staying here would only be a waste of time, and he needed to cut his losses in time.

Jeanne's eyes widened, seemingly furious: "Why? We've trained well."

"Trained well?" Andar shook off Mitney's hand and rode his horse forward.

"Haven't you trained well? I asked."

"Training like this, you won't be a match for the Imperial Knights even in ten years." Andar straightened his chest.

Jeanne snorted coldly and looked Andar up and down: "You're eloquent. Have you ever defeated the Imperial Knights? What are you worth?"

"I..." Andar was instantly speechless, "I may not be able to defeat the Imperial Knights, but that doesn't mean I can't train you."

"You said before that we couldn't beat the Imperial Knights, so we couldn't train soldiers. Why can you train soldiers if you can't beat the Imperial Knights?"

The temperature of Andar's face quickly rose; he opened his mouth, yet could not articulate any words.

"Lady Jeanne, Andar is straightforward, sometimes..." Mitney lightly nudged his horse forward and helplessly placed himself between the two.

The worst-case scenario he envisioned had still happened.

Only Qianqian, who should have come out to mediate, did nothing, merely gazing thoughtfully at Jeanne.

No matter how Mitney tried to persuade them, the quarrel between the two only grew more intense, even drawing the attention of the soldiers in training.

"On the battlefield, combat proves everything; why don't you try stepping in?"

Taking a deep breath, Andar gritted his teeth and retorted, "Try it then, how will we do it?"

"We'll send out three soldiers, and you..."

"No need." Andar could no longer suppress his inner frustration and anger, bluntly stating, "Three soldiers? I'm taking on ten! Let me show you what real combat looks like."

Looking at Andar's flushed face and then at Qianqian's calm expression, Mitney suddenly pulled at Andar's sleeve, signaling him to talk to him privately.

But Andar shrugged off Mitney's hand and defiantly lifted his chin: "So? Are you afraid?"

"Fine, who's afraid?" Jeanne waved her hand at the distance, and a Salvation Army sergeant came running, "I won't take advantage, you wear armor and carry the Bladeless Sword."

"No need."

"Aren't you going to show us what real combat is like? How will you demonstrate without armor?"

Angrily dismounting, Andar almost snatched the armor from the person's hands and began inspecting it for any tricks.

This rude action caused Mitney to frown once more.

He walked towards Jeanne, preparing to apologize on behalf of Andar and intending to prevent this diplomatic incident, but Qianqian nudged him with her elbow.

Looking at Qianqian's indifferent face, Mitney's anger flared: "Qianqian, why are you just watching?"

"Mitney, trust me, Andar's prejudice is too deep and arrogant. Breaking his pride will do him good."

"Are you so sure they'll win?"

Dragging Mitney to sit on a tree stump, Qianqian said nothing, only revealing a mysterious smile.

The cold wind fiercely blew, making the vines on the fence sway back and forth.

Leaning against the fence, Jeanne played with the end of her braid with her left hand, silently watching Andar as he fastened the neck guard onto his shoulder.

The neck guard could cover his throat and collarbone, ensuring he wouldn't sustain any severe injuries even if struck.

If not for Armand's report, Jeanne still would have had a favorable impression of these people.

But this arrogantly ignorant knight was too detestable; otherwise, she wouldn't have deliberately set this trap to target Andar.

Of course, if Andar had not been arrogant, he wouldn't have fallen into this crude scheme at all.

Another "knight", huh!

She turned her head and instructed Dass, who had just arrived: "Have half of the people replace the stones, wind the coil a little less, and don't aim at critical parts."

"Rest assured, Your Highness, I know what to do." Dass put on his hood and, carrying a long spear, walked towards the ten selected soldiers.

Once everything was put on, the ten soldiers of the Salvation War Group carried their clockwork guns, lined up in two rows, five in each row.

The clouds in the sky grew denser, and Jeanne looked up at the dark gray clouds above.

The cold wind blew through the woods, with only broken branches swaying on the tree trunks, and carrion crows circling in the air, emitting mournful cries.

Apart from these cries, there was also a series of crisp creaking sounds.

"Is everyone ready?"

Leaning against the fence, Jeanne grinned, showing a mouthful of pearly white teeth.

"We're early." Andar spun his sword in a flourish and stabbed the longsword into the ground, resting his hands on the pommel's balance knob.

On the other side, Dass gestured, indicating they were ready.

"Fifty-meter distance, whoever is standing at the end wins, no rules."

With a kick on the blade, Andar hoisted the longsword upright. Through the T-shaped slit in his helmet, he could see the weapons in those peasants' hands.

The one-and-a-half-meter iron-clad wooden sticks.

A significant improvement compared to the usual branches and stones used by ordinary peasants, but in Andar's opinion—

"This is still far from enough!"

Stomping on the ground, leaving a deep footprint, Andar charged towards them.

Then, Andar saw that the five peasants in the front row, unable to withstand the pressure, actually knelt down.

"Do you take the battlefield as a joke? What use are a few short sticks?"

"Peasants are peasants, and knights are knights; you were born to provide resources for warriors!"

"Let me shatter your illusions and show you what bloody reality looks like!"

As he sprinted, Andar continued to roar with anger.

Treading on the frost-covered grass, the sun through the haze cast a dim light on his armor.

Covering a distance of twenty meters quickly, Andar clearly saw the numb expressions on those soldiers' faces caused by fear.

Raising the Bladeless Sword high in the air, Andar grinned maniacally and roared, "Forgive my inadequacies!"

"Clang—Thud!"