After finally sending Vera off, it was already late into the night.
"Back to the bedchamber."
With a sigh, I turned and headed toward my room.
Tasha quickly called over two young nuns to hold up the long train of my robe behind me.
To be honest, I was truly afraid those two little nuns would suddenly cause an updraft while lifting my skirt.
Upon returning to the bedchamber, I first went to the baptismal chamber.
To maintain the purity of the Holy Water, no one else was permitted to enter the baptismal chamber, so I bathed alone.
I gazed at the massive bathhouse, a place of golden brilliance and intricately carved pillars that must have cost a fortune to build.
Looking down at my body, the memory of my former self was starting to fade.
'Sigh...'
I couldn't help but let out a soft breath. Human adaptability is truly a powerful thing.
In just over a month, I had already adjusted to life as a Saintess, and even this body had become familiar.
Fortunately, for the time being at least, there was no immediate danger.
I sat by the edge of the pool with my long legs in the warm water. It felt comforting against my stomach, and a warm sensation filled my entire body.
I slowly slid into the water, watching the ripples spread outward from my skin. Eventually... two soft mounds swayed gently with the current.
I began to ponder the recent events.
I organized my thoughts.
The demons had been exceptionally active lately, and their behavior differed significantly from what was recorded in history.
By all logic, the demon army had the opportunity to break through the Great Wall, yet they didn't push for a total slaughter.
Instead, they simply made an appearance and then withdrew. No matter how you looked at it, it was incredibly suspicious.
This behavior was clearly a cover for something else.
The Garnet family, acting as human collaborators, had sided with the demons and had been demonized themselves.
This led to the current reality where Seaview City had effectively broken away from the Kingdom of the Moon, becoming an 'invaded and occupied territory.'
The Kingdom of the Moon had been in a state of continuous decline for years, to the point where it could barely maintain a force of fifty thousand knights.
Nearly eighty percent of the annual tax revenue was used just to sustain the military structure of those fifty thousand knights.
However, the flaw was that at least thirty thousand of those knights had to be permanently stationed at the Great Wall.
That portion of the funding was almost like throwing money away.
Yet, the Great Wall could not be left without those thirty thousand knights. Otherwise, if the demon army pressed the border, there would be no time to defend, and they would break through straight to the capital.
Just like this recent demon attack on the Great Wall. Although Tristan was seriously injured, if the demons truly broke through the first Great Wall, the second Great Wall would assemble thirty thousand knights and a hundred thousand infantry, supported by various massive defensive weapons.
These included things like the magic cannons, heavy siege crossbows, and the magic barriers that were constantly maintained.
Even with ten times the enemy's numbers, it would be difficult to breach the second Great Wall.
The third one went without saying. Although it was the shortest of the three, it was the most heavily fortified.
The third Great Wall was not far from the Four-Ring Mountains. At that point, it would become the main battlefield, and reinforcements from Brilliant City would arrive immediately.
The first Great Wall, strictly speaking, served as a deceleration zone within a larger combat buffer area.
In this section, the demon's advance would be slowed down to buy time for all the equipment on the second Great Wall to be inspected and deployed.
This was the defense strategy of the three Great Walls.
The first was for buffering and slowing the enemy.
The second was for the main defensive battle.
The third was the site for the final decisive battle.
Leaning against the edge of the pool, my long silver hair spread across the surface of the water. I looked up at the massive magic crystal lamp above, calculating my next strategic plans and deployments.
Primary goal: Defend against this demon war, ensure the demons are kept outside the Kingdom of the Moon's territory to avoid loss of land, and preserve national strength.
Second goal: Reclaim power and land from the nobles, redistribute it, and reorganize the country.
Third goal: Train officials, build roads, develop commerce, advance agriculture, and alleviate poverty to bring wealth to the people.
The primary goal was currently in progress, and work had already begun on the third goal.
Only the second one... reclaiming power and land from the nobles... remained a massive problem.
Aside from the area around Brilliant City, none of the land in the country was under my direct jurisdiction. Those regions had been almost entirely swallowed up by the nobility.
If I wanted to completely sever the nobles' reach, I would need a powerful military force.
But that looped back to the third goal. However, the development of the third goal required more land.
In other words, the two goals were now dependent on each other's 'fruits,' but without the mutual help of those fruits, neither could move forward.
It had almost become a dead end.
Currently, I only had one move that could break this deadlock.
The Decree of Distribution of Grace!
Aside from that, I had considered other strategies like 'killing three warriors with two peaches' or 'ruining a country with mulberry trees.'
However, to kill three warriors with two peaches, I first needed to have the peaches.
To ruin a country with mulberry trees, I needed money.
After thinking it over, the Decree of Distribution of Grace was the most suitable for the Kingdom of the Moon at this moment.
Just as I was thinking about how to enact the Decree of Distribution of Grace, Tasha's voice suddenly came from outside.
It gave me a start.
"Your Highness, a report on civil affairs."
"Speak."
I looked toward the door, where Tasha's small silhouette was visible through the curtain.
"Your Highness, Bishop Lola just sent someone to report. Due to the continuous heavy rain, the Moonlight River has surged. The downstream town of Wuwang Town and several neighboring villages have been destroyed. Large areas of farmland are flooded, and the number of casualties is still being tallied. Bishop Lola has already gone to the scene to take command."
"I see. Did Lola say anything else?"
"Bishop Lola said... she will personally oversee this matter and asks Your Highness not to worry."
"Who did Lola take with her?"
"In response to Your Highness, Bishop Lola took Minister Weber and a thousand infantrymen."
A town was hit by a disaster?
From what I knew, any place that qualified as a 'town' in this era had at least ten thousand people. A thousand infantrymen might not be enough.
"Issue a Divine Oracle."
"Yes."
Tasha lowered her head, her expression solemn.
I paused for a moment, looking at the heavy rain outside the window.
"Order Augus to immediately organize twenty thousand able-bodied men to head to Wuwang Town for rescue. Once the rescue team arrives, hand over command to Minister Weber. Notify Rodney to immediately prepare supplies and food for support. Inform Bishop Lola that once the rescue team arrives, she is to hand over her tasks and leave the matter to Weber and Rodney to execute together. She must return to the city as soon as possible."
The sound of a quill scratching against parchment continued. A moment later, the Divine Oracle was written by a nun and handed to Tasha.
Tasha took the Divine Oracle, turned, and knelt on the floor, holding it high with both hands.
"The Divine Oracle is complete. Please inspect it, Your Highness."
With a splash, I stood up from the water and walked over to the Divine Oracle, scanning it from top to bottom.
I confirmed it was word-for-word correct.
I picked up the seal that had been prepared nearby, channeled my holy energy, and pressed it lightly onto the document.
"Go, as quickly as possible."
"Yes."
In that short time, I had considered countless scenarios.
First, Brilliant City could not function without Lola. For one thing, the information network would not operate normally without her authorization.
Administrative affairs were the same.
Therefore, she could not be away for too long and had to return immediately.
There weren't many people who could replace her.
Patriarch Von was too old. Although he was experienced, it would be inhumane to have an old man lead a rescue team in this stormy weather.
Augus could do it, but he had just taken office today. Giving him two heavy responsibilities at once was a bit much.
That left Weber and Rodney as the only usable people.
Although I rarely saw those two, I could basically judge their personalities from Lola's reports.
Weber was kind-hearted, good at communication, and possessed leadership skills, making him perfect for on-site command.
Rodney was acerbic but rigorous and serious in his work, making him the best choice for distributing supplies.
These two could complement each other. At the same time, giving them this task would serve as good experience.
The number of people I could use was still too small.
I still hadn't even filled the positions for the ministers of the six departments.
Soon, the three Divine Oracles were distributed, and the situation was mostly under control.
As for me, there seemed to be nothing left to do but sleep.
Forget it, I'll go back to sleep.
I dried myself off, returned to my bedchamber, and buried my head under the covers.
...
"Kill!"
At the border of Seaview City and Stargaze City.
Rain poured from the sky as the sounds of battle shook the earth.
Yanagi Musashi held a long sword with a slightly curved blade, calmly watching the army before him.
"General, these troops are practically defenseless. Is this truly the army of the Kingdom of the Moon?"
A lieutenant beside him looked in confusion at the soldiers being cut down. Rather than an army, they seemed more like a group of ordinary people holding weapons.
They were almost unable to form an effective fighting force.
"You are a fool. This is no army of the Kingdom of the Moon. These are merely the private army of some noble."
As Yanagi Musashi recalled the Saintess of the Moon, he couldn't help but shudder.
Would that Saintess, who hid a dagger behind her smile, possess such garbage soldiers?
He wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death!
A Saintess who dared to toy with you so blatantly would surely have soldiers who were not weak.
Even if they couldn't stand against his thirty thousand knights, they certainly wouldn't be like this private army that crumbled at the first touch.
"Kojiro, take some elites and head straight for the enemy's main camp. There is no need to waste more time with these private soldiers."
He glanced at the distant military camp. There was a massive central command tent currently obscured by white cloth, making it impossible to see inside.
But these private soldiers were doing nothing more than wasting his men's stamina; they couldn't offer any effective resistance.
Yanagi Musashi was growing impatient.
"Yes, General!"
Kojiro cupped his fists, then turned to face those behind him.
"I want one hundred Brave Knights! Let the courageous step forward!!"
"Kill!!"
Hundreds of men raised their lances and roared almost simultaneously. Kojiro didn't even care exactly how many there were; he spurred his horse and instantly charged out from the center!
Over two hundred Brave Knights, with Lieutenant Kojiro as the tip of the blade, instantly tore into the chaotic army.
They were like a sharp knife, slicing through the entire battlefield as they went. Their target... the central command!
"Hahaha! Pathetic! Pathetic!!"
Kojiro laughed loudly, thrusting his spear to kill an enemy soldier. Then, he looked up at the enemy's central camp less than a hundred meters away and roared.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The two hundred Brave Knights behind him charged like madmen toward the enemy's central command, like a herd of stampeding bulls. Every man's eyes were filled with bloodlust!
No one was unwilling to follow; this was the best time to rack up military merits.
The vanguard was invincible, with almost no one able to block their path.
But just as Kojiro was less than fifty meters from the enemy's central command, a roar suddenly echoed from the distance!
"Roar!"
Kojiro froze, instinctively looking up toward the sound. What met his eyes... was a fist the size of a mountain rock.
Splat!
The galloping Kojiro didn't even have a chance to react before he and his horse were instantly crushed into a pulp by that single punch!
Blood sprayed onto the knights following close behind. they stared blankly at the scene.
As the massive fist slowly lifted, they all looked up at the... giant standing over ten meters tall.
"A demon giant soldier?"
Standing outside the battlefield, Yanagi Musashi didn't have time to react either. By the time he saw clearly, his subordinate had already been turned into a pile of gore.
And that massive black silhouette was undoubtedly... a demon giant soldier of the demons!!
Those were the powerful individuals that stood out when the demons demonized the giant race.
Normal giants were only about five or six meters tall. However, their physical strength was immense, and though they were few in number, few on the continent ever wanted to provoke them.
But this giant before him was over ten meters tall, thick-waisted and broad-shouldered, wearing a tattered leather skirt around its waist. Its body was pitch black, and its face was twisted with malice. It was undoubtedly a demonized giant, and an over-spec one at that!
Normal giants, even when demonized, rarely exceeded eight meters in height. But this demonized giant was already over ten meters.
Standing at a distance, Yanagi Musashi could estimate that the giant was at least twelve meters tall!
As he watched the demonized giant slowly raise its hand and lift a massive axe over ten meters long from its shoulder, his heart sank halfway!
"Not good! Vanguard, retreat!!"
However, Yanagi Musashi's warning came too late.
When that massive axe was swung by the twelve-meter-tall figure, the resulting destruction was incomparable.
With just a single horizontal sweep, even Brave Knights were injured if touched and killed if struck.
In the blink of an eye, more than half of the dozens of Brave Knights within the attack's range were killed on the spot!
In all the battles for Seaview City, such a tragic scene had never occurred!
Yanagi Musashi gritted his teeth, glaring at the massive figure. Although he desperately wanted to charge forward and slay the monster, as a commander, he knew... the tide had turned!
"Sound the retreat! Withdraw!!"
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