When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist

Joan of Arc Castle is located in the northeast of Langsande County, surrounded by crescent-shaped mountains, bordering Mande County to the east and North County to the southeast.

With the presence of the canal, Joan of Arc Castle can connect to the tributaries of the Ibe River and Nao'an River.

Timber and minerals from Mande and North Counties in the east can be brought to Joan of Arc Castle via land routes, while daily necessities and food from the west can be transported to Joan of Arc Castle via water routes.

The Ibe River flows south, passing through the forty thousand hectares of farmland in the Ibe Plain, providing precious water resources for the local farmers.

On the Ibe Plain, over sixty percent of the knights are Leia people and Falan people.

Although they were born in the Thousand River Valley, it's rare for them to marry the local nobility; usually, Falan people marry Falan people, Leia people marry Leia people, and Kush people marry Kush people.

Only second sons, wandering knights, and the youngest sons of minor nobles would marry locals.

On the forty thousand hectares of the Ibe Plain, amidst the sea-like waves of wheat fields, there are 1,300 Knight Manors and 200 churches of various sizes.

After the appearance of the Falan Royal Knights, the Church urgently mobilized 200 Extraordinary Knights of Leia ancestry.

Half of them entered Joan of Arc Castle to assist the Church in suppressing the Falan Royal Knights, while the other half stayed in Gray Furnace Town to supervise local artisans, who were crafting weapons for mercenaries and repairing the knights' armor for free.

However, at noon on February 22nd, 100 knights from Gray Furnace Town set out in full force for some unknown reason, quickly marching towards Mayo Town.

On the road to Mayo Town, an army of over a thousand people advanced slowly.

Among them, the escort cavalry led the way in scouting and guided the armed farmer infantry in the middle, while the Extraordinary Knights at the rear were responsible for supervising the battle and killing deserters.

The warhorses of the 100 Extraordinary Knights struck the hard ground, raising clouds of dust.

They wore red feathers on their heads, sand-colored silver armor on their bodies, and silk cloaks tied with ribbons that fluttered in the warming spring breeze.

These knights' warhorses were local coarse-hoofed horses from the Ibe Plain, originally brought from the Kush River Grassland by the Kush people in the past.

Except now, instead of Kush people, the backs of these Kush coarse-hoofed horses bore Falan people flying iris flags and Leia people flying thorn flags.

Despite being only 100 knights, as knights close to Copper Eagle Castle, they faced the Secret Faction, monsters, and barbarians from the border annually, with rich combat experience.

"Count, we are still 5 miles from the scheduled battle location."

"Understood." A middle-aged man in beautiful, openwork silver armor stroked his beard and smiled.

"Hurry it up, stop dawdling." The adjutant beside him immediately shouted at the armed farmer infantry in front.

The Church claimed to have mobilized 100 Extraordinary Knights to guard Gray Furnace Town, but there were not just themselves among the 100 knights.

Each knight typically has one or two escort knights, who are generally armed farmers with no breathing technique or low-level breathing technique.

But the breathing technique of an escort knight must not exceed that of the knight himself, otherwise, it will be considered disrespect to the lord.

Besides cavalry, there were infantry squads composed of armed farmers, and each knight typically brought 4-5 men armed with wooden shields and short axes or inferior iron swords.

Thus, when these 100 Extraordinary Knights went to battle, they were followed by nearly 200 light cavalry, more than 450 armed infantry, and several hundred public register farmers carrying weapons and provisions, numbering over 300.

So, this army was actually close to a thousand in scale.

The commander of this small army was Count Enrico de Alco, and most of the knights in this small army were his vassals.

Riding at the forefront, flamboyantly wearing a purple gold-trimmed silk cloak, Enrico surveyed the army before him with satisfaction.

He felt he had reached the peak of his life.

Upon learning that a group of short-haired rats had slipped out of the Black Bone Swamp, Enrico immediately mobilized all forces stationed in Gray Furnace Town and launched an attack towards Mayo Town.

Regarding this group of rats, the knights of Joan of Arc Castle always felt:

Not afraid of you coming out to fight, but afraid of you occasionally popping out to sneak attack.

Such ambushes would tie up their substantial forces, making them unable to leave.

Rapids City was seized by revolting citizens, and the surrounding villages were occupied by cavalry organized by the citizens. Enrico originally thought he would be sent to gnaw on hard bones.

Unexpectedly, thank the Holy Father, he received a big gift.

However, this delightful feeling was soon slightly dampened.

"Lord," whispered a curly-haired youth following behind Enrico, "The enemy may not be as weak as we imagine. Perhaps we should first deploy formations and then continue advancing, instead of proceeding so chaotically."

Count Enrico glanced at this curly-haired youth, named Bernardo, who was the family accountant and lawyer.

In this army, he primarily assisted the Count in managing logistics and marching.

"That witch is alone, and we have so many." Count Enrico hesitated, saying, "Besides, lightning can't penetrate armor, right? Previously, Nikol and his men just suffered because the horses were unarmored, right?"

"Lord, but their casualty ratio and on-site situation are abnormal, Nikol and his men might have overlooked something..."

"What? Are you questioning the noble honesty of two knights?"

"Count, I know you are kind and compassionate, treating all servants well, but he's just an accountant and lawyer, isn't he?"

"Indeed, he's not a knight. When did it become his turn to judge the authenticity of information?"

Before Bernardo could finish, the other knights beside him eagerly interrupted him, as if he had committed a great mistake.

Given Bernardo was just a citizen tier, he should be seen as a servant. Even if Nikol and his men didn't tell the truth out of pride, they were still their own people.

If you don't help him today, who will help you if you make a mistake tomorrow?

Besides, servants must constantly be mindful of their status; otherwise, they might overshadow their masters.

This was the ultimate truth passed down from generation to generation among knight families.

Count Enrico's face inevitably looked displeased amidst the commotion, evidently feeling that Bernardo's actions brought him shame and discourtesy.

If he couldn't display the lord's authority before the servants, he would be left with no prestige before his vassals.

However, Bernardo was sent by the grandmother to supervise and assist him, representing to some extent the will of the grandmother and the entire Alco Clan.

Bernardo proposed a reasonable suggestion, and Enrico didn't wish to offend the grandmother.

The atmosphere became somewhat frozen, and eventually Bernardo slowly spoke:

"I overstepped, I apologize to Mr. Nikol."

"Hmph, mind your manners and behavior, Bernardo." Enrico patted Bernardo's arm with a hint of gratitude.

"Sorry, my lord." Bending over in salute, Bernardo loosened the reins and fell behind Count Enrico and the other knights.

And the entire army continued to advance in its previously scattered marching formation.

Never mind, Bernardo shook his head, turned around and left, before turning, another scout escort cavalry arrived.

Bernardo faintly heard, he seemed to be saying, "Half a mile to encounter the enemy."

A quarter of an hour's time, the enemy advanced two and a half miles, while our side, with over a thousand infantry, advanced only a little over a mile.

Our side was lightly equipped, with almost no logistical supplies, all left at Gray Furnace Town, and there were also cavalry.

The enemy was pure infantry, yet their marching speed was twice ours, despite being on a major road, but this was still too unusual.

Perhaps this battle wasn't as easy as Enrico imagined.

Sure enough, not even five minutes passed before Bernardo saw enemy Rangers appearing on the hillside and in the woods.

At the end of the road, a row of indistinct silhouettes appeared.

"Prepare to deploy formations!"