When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

By the time all eight corps of the Salvation Army arrived in Mayo Town, it was already nearing noon.

With nearly 5,000 people, including logistics and cavalry, it was naturally impossible for them to camp inside Mayo Town.

Therefore, the corps straightforwardly took over three Knight Manors in the vicinity, collecting supplies while freeing up a lot of space for camping.

The Armed Farmers in the Knight Manors originally had little will to fight, with some even straightforwardly tying up the knights and delivering them over.

Horn naturally generously implemented the policy of land to the tiller again, distributing large batches of land to the Public Register Farmers.

After setting up the encampments for the eight corps, Horn didn't forget to block roads and information.

He instructed Jeanne to lead the cavalry and the Third Corps of the Black Hat Army to guard the roads, keeping any news from leaking until they were fully rested.

When they passed through Spider Forest, fearing that something might happen with the giant spiders, they made a rapid nighttime march, leaving both men and horses exhausted, needing at least a day's rest to be battle-ready again.

If they encountered enemies now, they could fight, but the casualties would be higher than expected, making it not worthwhile.

Last night, Cléante's dice-playing Hunter's Hut was cleaned thoroughly and fitted with clean furniture.

After arranging all matters, Horn yawned and walked into the hut, tossing his cloak to the side: "So? How are the battle losses?"

Armand pulled a yellowed piece of hemp paper from the table, and looking at the Arabic numbers on it, he adeptly reported: "After getting lost, Rudilo, the Legion Commander of the Black Hat Second Corps, rashly advanced deep, and upon exiting Spider Forest, conducted a night raid on the enemy sentry to gather intelligence, taking approximately two hours.

During this time, only three Beastmen were injured, one seriously and two lightly.

After obtaining the intelligence, the Second Corps rushed to the battlefield at full speed.

But as it was too dark, they got lost again for a while, coupled with sentries and arrow towers blocking the way, wasting too much time.

It took them nearly an hour to reach the predetermined position, by which time the enemy had basically formed their formation."

Hearing this, Horn couldn't help but chuckle. He had thought such mistakes wouldn't happen again in the Salvation Army.

The result was Rudilo, after getting lost, rashly advanced; after advancing, got lost again; then advanced foolishly with half a corps of 300 men and defeated Cléante's 800 mountain people.

The entire process was just one strategic thought: enemy, fight.

Horn had a hunch he would see quite a bit of this on the battlefield in the future.

"From the time the Second Corps sighted the enemy to engaging and breaking the enemy, a total of a quarter of an hour was spent, with the pursuit taking about an hour and a half.

The Black Hat Second Corps attacked 800 enemy soldiers with 300 of our own, resulting in four fatalities, 22 minor injuries, and three serious injuries on our side.

The severely injured need amputations and may not be able to continue fighting, while most of the lightly injured can return to battle in three to five days.

In this battle, the enemy suffered 51 deaths, over 200 light injuries, more than 40 severe injuries, 100 fled, and over 300 surrendered."

"What about the four who were killed?"

"Of the four killed, two were shot in the forehead by enemy archers, one was ambushed by a small group during the pursuit, and one was beheaded in melee combat."

Horn took the list from Armand's hands, glanced at the names on it: "Add them to the list of heroic spirits, conduct collective worship after the battle, and have the Military Chaplain suppress the atmosphere a bit, to prevent the War Monks from thinking all enemies are like this."

Armand took out a small notebook, quickly jotting down a few notes before handing Horn another sheet of paper according to the agenda.

"And what is this?" Looking down at the sheet, Horn asked Armand.

"This is the list of weapons seized from the battlefield..."

Hearing Armand's words, Horn's eyes lit up and he carefully read the document.

You never know until you see it; Cléante, this old guy, was hiding quite a few good things.

423 Armed Swords, just enough to serve as secondary weapons for the Holy Gunmen, so they won't be defenseless in close combat with the enemy.

Ten warhorses, perfect as spare mounts for the Cavalry Division or to be distributed to lower-ranked officers.

220 suits of brigandine, 131 suits of chainmail, isn't that convenient?

Currently, Horn's entire army only had 1,180 old cuirasses, with 150 given to the Cuirassier Cavalry, and 1,030 only able to equip one-third of the Long Spearmen.

These 351 outdated armors are better than nothing, at least providing some defense in archery and melee combat.

This means Horn's close combat Long Spearman have an astonishing 46% armor rate, as for the Holy Gunmen, they currently don't have any armor.

After all, they don't have much strength in terms of breathing techniques, unable to wear too heavy armor, and in the face of charging Extraordinary Knights, whether they wear armor or not doesn't make a big difference.

However, considering the Holy Gunmen might be hit by stray arrows, Horn collected over 700 brimmed helmets to distribute to the Holy Gunmen.

But this is not enough. According to Horn's vision, a standard Salvation Army War Monk should have a woolen cloak, a half chestplate, a longspear or a clockwork gun, and an Armed Sword.

Facing Extraordinary Knights directly with the current armor rate gives a high probability of victory, but it isn't quite enough for Imperial Knights.

"Armand, pass my order, instruct Jeanne to have the Cuirassier Cavalry and Beastmen Stragglers scout in the direction of Gray Furnace Town, charting roads and drawing detailed maps."

Horn gently rubbed Gray Furnace Town on the map with his finger, knowing Mayo Town was a small smelting center of Joan of Arc Castle, whereas Gray Furnace Town was the small forging center.

The warehouses of Mayo Town are full of ores, but Gray Furnace Town's warehouses might have all kinds of weapons and armors.

Given the current situation, Horn is not in a hurry to fight a definitive battle but decides to fight a slow war quickly, first targeting the wild, and connecting with local citizens and farmers.

Once connections are complete, the information provided by those woodcutters, hunters, shepherds, and farmers will allow Horn to unveil the entire map's fog of war.

Preparations complete, once the opponent's movements are confirmed, a rapid march must commence in a thunderous manner to strike before the opponent can fully prepare.

"One more thing." Quickly writing a hand order, Armand handed it over to Horn for inspection and signature, continuing, "Locals from Mayo Town, as well as nearby farmers, have come to petition, hoping to join the Salvation Army."

Though the Salvation Army has injured and deceased, it temporarily does not need to absorb new forces and cannot absorb new forces.

But seeing them so enthusiastic, Horn thought it wouldn't be good to show no response.

He tapped his head, thought for a moment, and came up with a solution: "How about this, we've confiscated quite a number of extra spears and oddly shaped weapons?

We'll form them into a Defensive Army from these zealous believers, distribute those surplus weapons to them, let them act as local defense forces and scouts, what do you think?"

"I think it's feasible." Armand nodded, swiftly writing another hand order.

Horn took out a new copper seal from his pocket, given that carrots don't last very long, and it's troublesome to carve new ones all the time.

However, his carrot seal was so iconic that the new copper seal was crafted by artisans in the shape of a half-carrot.

"Have Hakuto draft a charter for establishing the Defensive Army later, nothing too detailed, just functional enough."

Signing and stamping the hand order, Horn handed the command back to Armand, who called in the Child Soldiers from outside to deliver the order.