When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

"Switch to the fortress formation."

This is the command issued by Jeanne.

"Armored Corps spread out in a semi-circle, First Imperial Guard Corps in the center, Black Hat First and Second Corps on the sides, Black Hat Third Corps at the rear."

This is the order Jeska disseminated to the various corps based on Jeanne's command.

"Holy Gun Masters, board the vehicles nearby; the rest switch to a horizontal formation."

This is the command issued by Dass, the Guard Legion Commander, to the Brigade Commanders.

"...Third and Fourth Long Spear Brigades, switch from column to line and close in to elbow distance."

This is the command issued once again by the First Long Spear Brigade Commander.

"Third Long Spear Brigade, everyone, march to the right!"

By the time it reached the mouth of the Third Long Spear Brigade Commander, Brune, it became this extremely simple command.

However, the War Monks of the Third Long Spear Brigade don't need to heed Horn's distant instructions; all they need is to follow the lead of the Brigade Commander.

That's how the command goes; War Monks only need to follow orders, while those issuing commands have much to consider.

Carrying long spears, Brune moved his heavy steps, keeping pace with the person in front and walking toward the designated position with matching strides.

Amidst the bustling crowd, Brune noticed a shackled idler in their moving formation.

He was tall but thin. While everyone was busy and tensely preparing for battle, he was smiling.

Brune even sensed that his faint smile was directed at himself.

Brune seldom frowned and chose not to look at the stranger.

"Hey, who's falling behind, which team are you with?"

"Don't push, don't push, I'm boarding the wagon first."

"Damn it, I'm still outside; why did you guys seal the gap!"

"Toot toot toot—"

The noisy commands and whistles gradually faded, and amidst both orderly and occasional chaos, the vehicle-fortress gradually formed a simple outer wall.

The Beastman Service Soldiers carried pickaxes and shovels, filling soil under the wagons and locking each armored wagon with hinges.

Bags filled with soil were thrown down from the wagons, piling at the most perilous gaps between the wagons.

These gaps were filled with Long Spearmen holding spears, with double-tiered spears protruding above the bags, pointing diagonally toward the sky.

Holy Gunmen stood atop the wagons, extending their bolt-action guns from the triangular shooting holes, looking toward the distant marshland along the sights.

At the junction of the foothills and plain, they could already vaguely see black shadows.

The air quieted down, Jonar swallowed his saliva, and his fingers holding the bolt-action key slightly shook.

Since the anti-reverse pawls could only maintain for a minute, timing the winding was still a critical decision in battle.

In the endless silence, Jeanne stood on horseback, squinting into the distance.

Suddenly, a Beastman twitched his beast ear and walked to Jeanne's side, lifting his head: "Her Highness the Saintess, I hear rustling sounds."

"Are they coming?"

"Seems like..."

"They're coming!" Jeanne suddenly spread her legs, sat on the saddle, and waved the flag, "Prepare to face the enemy!"

In the rumble from the ground, nearly two hundred giant spiders, including seven or eight Cow Spiders and nearly a hundred Long-haired Undead, appeared in sight.

They were rushing towards this side.

"Wind the springs!"

Instantly, the sound of creaking sprang up above the formation, and according to the actions in the Holy Codex, the Holy Gunmen began their step-by-step operation.

Even though the officers of the Holy Gunmen had only one order: "Wind the springs."

But according to the War Monks' Holy Codex, they had to sequentially complete five actions: clear the mainspring box, reset the firing lever, insert the lead shot, twist the mainspring key, and push the catch.

"Aim!"

Jonar rested the gunstock on his shoulder socket, extended the barrel through the shooting hole, and let his sight stretch far beyond through the sights.

Under the sunlight, the Long-haired Undead screamed wildly, their long hair swaying wildly in the cold wind.

The giant spiders emitted a terrifying "hissing" sound, their eight legs casting dazzling shadows.

Gripping the wagon's edge, Rudilo widened his eyes, nearly able to make out the facial contours of the Long-haired Undead.

That distance was probably between seventy and fifty meters.

"Fire!" Rudilo swung the command sword in his hand.

"Praise Holy Wind!" Over a hundred Holy Gunmen shouted in unison and pulled the trigger.

The charging monsters seemed to be whipped severely, nearly simultaneously lifting a continuous blood mist from left to right.

A dozen jumping spiders flipped over on the spot, green venom mixed with black blood flowing on the soil.

Blood waves fell like rain.

Broken shells fluttered in the wind, while Long-haired Undead swung their skin-and-bone arms, staggering and still advancing.

"First row, step to the left, turn around, advance to the edge of the wagon, wind up."

"Second row, step forward two steps."

Methodically, Jonar withdrew the holy gun from the firing port, stepped to the left, and stood shoulder to shoulder with the long spearman serving as close-quarters guard.

Then he walked back to the edge of the wagon and began winding it up again, while the soldier behind him stepped forward two steps and inserted the holy gun into the firing port.

Unlike in field formations, due to the limited size of the wagon, all the holy gunners had only two rows to rotate. During the shooting intervals, they could only rely on the flails carried by the long spear and holy gunmen for close combat.

The thunderous sound of gunfire echoed in his ears once more. Brune gripped the long spear in his hand tightly, and his legs beneath his knees trembled incessantly.

He didn't know when it started, but cold sweat soaked his back, yet he couldn't move.

Brune definitely smelled a faint urine stench, but he wasn't sure if it was his own.

Looking at the people around him, those who participated in the bloody battle at Joan of Arc Castle naturally didn't feel any nervousness when faced with such a scene.

Only those complete rookies would tremble like Brune, and the urine smell probably came from them.

Run, run fast, Brune stood numbly in place, but his legs felt like they were filled with lead, and he couldn't move no matter how hard he tried.

"...Upper thrust!" The brigade commander at the front row shouted the command, and Brune instinctively wanted to thrust his long spear, but he immediately realized he was still in formation.

If he thrust now, he would only pierce the back of the head of the person in front of him.

He couldn't see the activity on the front line, couldn't see what it was like or what kind of slaughter was happening. The dense spears and crowded heads blocked his view.

He could only smell the scent of blood, hear the screams and battle cries, and see the medics running from the back to the front, carrying the wounded back to the center of the wagon fort.

"Ah——"

A new recruit suddenly screamed, dropped the long spear in his hand, and ran toward the back amid the brigade commander's desperate roar.

Brune didn't turn his head, but he saw two military judges run over and press him to the ground within seconds.

Otherwise, should I run too? At most, I would just suffer at the Holy Trinity for a while; Brune didn't want to die.

He simply wanted to live, and had no other thoughts. He had no deep-seated grudges, no family or friends, standing here waiting to die was just foolishness.

Tinnitus and stomach spasms struck simultaneously, rendering Brune almost unable to hear the sounds around him.

Was he scared stiff? Why didn't he flee?

Was it because of Merikso's threats? Because of Jonar's friendship? Or fear of the instructor's stick? Or the fate of deserters at the Holy Trinity?

Just thinking about dying made Brune nearly vomit, but he just couldn't move.

Until——

"Third Long Spear Brigade, mount the wagon to meet the enemy!"

"Third Long Spear Brigade, everyone, turn column and follow me onto the wagon."

Darn it, Brune reluctantly took steps, following the people ahead as they headed toward the wagon, his mind dulled from obeying orders for too long.

Countless chaotic thoughts swirled in his head as he boarded the wagon, picked up the long spear, and stretched it out from the edge of the wagon.

Either the enemy kills you or you kill the enemy.

This phrase inexplicably echoed in Brune's mind, quickly dispelling all stray thoughts, leaving only the phrase itself.

"Either the enemy kills you or you kill the enemy."

"Third Long Spear Brigade, lower thrust!"

"Kill!" Brune felt like his soul had left his body; his body instinctively thrust the spear.

In front of him were the long-haired undead and jumping spiders fiercely crashing into the wagon's bed.

When Brune's soul returned to his body, a jumping spider was hanging on his spear shaft.

In fright, Brune instinctively shook, flinging the jumping spider from the spear, directly toppling another jumping spider.

"Well done." The brigade commander immediately patted his shoulder, "Kid, I knew you had guts, courage under fire."

Staring at the blood on the spear shaft, Brune was dazed for several seconds before he cracked a smile.

"Don't get distracted, block that long-haired undead! Holy guns, shoot it off the wagon."

"Got it." Jonar pulled the latch, aiming at the long-haired undead.

When the long-haired undead fell off the wagon, Kolebo's face grew grim.

Standing at the rear with Horn, he watched the tall soldier, who grew braver with each kill after slaying his first jumping spider.

The second one, the third one, he quickly became the top scorer of the car group.

Repeated gunfire, repeated thrusts, jumping spiders and undead fell one after another.

Finally, as Jeanne waved the battle flag and rode her horse forth, a white light flashed, and the last dozen long-haired undead were already gravely injured.

Unlatching the hinge, the ranks of long spearmen marched out of the wagon fort, starting to finish off the gravely injured or merely stunned monsters.

"How about it?" Horn patted Kolebo's shoulder, "Never seen such strength, have you?"

"I lost this bet." Kolebo's grim face gradually disappeared. He turned around and smiled bitterly at Horn, "With such strong infantry entering the Empire, few foot soldiers could defeat you.

If you truly have a powerful cavalry, taking Langsande County would not be an issue."

"So..." Horn stood in front of Kolebo.

"I'm not someone to break a promise, so there's only one answer." Kolebo half-kneeled, "I will serve you, serve the Pope Country."