When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#406 - Last two days, arrived in Grand Rapids!

"Wait a minute, I am the chief knight of Countess Marika! You can't..."

Before the knight, dressed in a white damask robe, could finish speaking, a bolt of lightning struck him squarely on the forehead.

The electric current cooked his brain as it traveled down his spine and into the ground, causing the hairs of several passing soldiers to stand on end.

Jeanne, her iron boots clanging crisply on the massive stone steps, walked past the now-deceased chief knight.

This town of Tissen was a necessary stop on the way to Rapid Falls City. It had a small population of six or seven hundred, mainly making a living by serving passing cargo ships.

Jeanne stood on the stone platform beside the Tissen town pier, a cool breeze from the Nauan River ruffling her black hair with hints of gold.

Amidst the howling wind, she heard a peculiar chant.

The townspeople in the houses along the pier and riverbanks held their breath, peering at the river through cracks in their windows.

The setting sun dyed half of the Nauan River into a shimmering red silk, the prows of the fir boats cutting through it like long knives, stirring up white waves and spraying foam.

The cool mist rose into the sky with the foam, the bows bobbing up and down as they slowly approached from the distance.

Cargo ships... cargo ships... more cargo ships!

The oars turned like centipede legs, nearly a hundred ships crawling along the river like a giant beast.

The white sails were close together, catching the southern monsoon winds, an invisible hand pushing the ships forward until they docked at the Tissen town pier.

"Hai, hai, hai!"

With shouts, seven or eight anchors were thrown into the water by the sailors of Small Pond City, swimming forward to drag them.

They climbed onto the pier and secured the thick anchors onto the anchor racks, wrapping the chains around them.

The chains rattled first, then screeched.

The sails were lowered, and the longboats gradually approached the pier until they gently bumped against the underwater pilings, signifying that the ship had docked.

Wearing simple black cleric's garb with a half-cape, Horne strolled out leisurely, looking no different from any other young cleric.

Except for the halberdiers and holy riflemen surrounding him.

"How is it?" Horne looked around at the sparsely populated town and asked, "Any problems?"

"No, they didn't expect us at all," Jeanne said, hands behind her back, discussing the battle casually, "All twelve knights were killed, and thirty guards were captured."

"Any scouts nearby?"

"The main roads are blocked by Hussars and Norse Knights. Even if they escaped through small paths, the news wouldn't travel faster than us."

After asking a few more detailed questions, Horne found Jeanne's preparations to be meticulous.

Horne couldn't help but sigh. Asking Jeanne to do math resulted in missing numbers and conditions, but leading troops in battle came naturally to her, covering all aspects.

Who would have thought that a militia captain's daughter would have such a talent for war, as if she were born for it?

After having accommodations arranged, Horne stood on the pier, watching the warrior monks who had been traveling for a day disembark from the ships.

Batch after batch, as if they would never stop coming.

But there were only a little over six thousand here, with another fleet stationed downstream.

Tissen Town certainly couldn't handle over ten thousand people; six thousand was already a stretch, so the fleet was traveling in two batches.

This expedition was the largest in the Papal State's history for many years.

In terms of infantry, there were eight Black Hat Regiments totaling 4250 men, four Guard Regiments totaling 2100 men, 2000 Protectorate soldiers, and 1200 soldiers from Small Pond City, for a total of 9550 men.

In terms of cavalry, there were 240 Holy Rifle Cavalry, 350 Hussars, 180 Norse Knights, 206 Kush Knights, and 120 cavalry recruited from Small Pond City, for a total of 1096 men.

Including the sailors, Horne's army numbered over 11,000, representing the full strength of the Salvation Army in Langsand County and the Juan Nuo faction in Kasha County.

Back in the days of the Small Mud Ditch battle, it was just a brawl between a few hundred people, but now it was more than ten or a hundred times that.

If this massive army were to travel entirely by water, it would require 180 small cargo ships or 65 large cargo ships.

Thanks to Jeanne defeating the noble coalition in advance, Small Pond City had four precious days to mobilize ships and resources.

The voyage from Small Pond City to Rapid Falls City was approximately 230 kilometers.

Since it was inland river travel, the ships' speed was about 5 knots, equivalent to 9 kilometers per hour, and they could travel for 10 or even 12 hours a day.

If all went well, the Salvation Army would reach Beech Fort on the 8th day after departing from Langsand County, two days earlier than planned.

But nothing ever goes as planned. Small Pond City, after the first incident of throwing into the cellar, had burned or holed a large number of ships to prevent the Edict Legion from attacking by water.

After receiving Jeanne's orders, the citizens of Small Pond City sacrificed their homes and mobilized ships from all over.

But the time was too short, and they barely managed to scrape together 36 large cargo ships and 70 small cargo ships, including 3 large ships and 10 small ships that would only arrive after the departure.

Horne calculated that, while slowing down, excluding sailors, rowers, and supplies, the carrying capacity was limited to about 8,000 people.

After deducting 1,000 cavalry, the remaining 3,000 had to take turns walking alongside the ships with the mules and horses.

This severely slowed Horne's speed, turning what was originally a two-and-a-half-day journey into a full four or even four-and-a-half days.

Although this was much faster than walking, it only offset the time advantage gained by Jeanne's surprise attack.

If it hadn't been for Jeanne's unexpected raid, Horne's strategy would have failed.

The latest novel is first published on Liu 9 Shu Ba!

"Have the armor allocations been sorted out?" Horne turned to Jeshka, who looked like he was about to throw up.

As a Northerner from Norm, Jeshka had never been good with water, and even a trip on an inland river boat nearly killed him.

Barely managing to prop himself up against the railing, Jeshka raised his pale face: "It's all sorted out. Everyone is basically satisfied with the allocation of four hundred suits of armor."

Before Horne set out, the people of Small Pond City had not only mobilized ships and manpower but also a large number of armors.

A full four hundred suits of Milanese half-armor!

Designed by the armor master Milan, this type of half-armor, due to its sturdiness and lightness, had become popular throughout the Empire within fifty years of its introduction.

This wave of armor assistance from Small Pond City had pushed the Salvation Army's infantry armor rate to a terrifying 55%.

In other words, out of the Salvation Army's 12 legions, 6,000 main troops, 3,300 at least had a cuirass, chainmail, or half-armor.

The Salvation Army itself had acquired a large number of armors through the liquidation of churches, monasteries, and nobles, totaling over 1,000 suits.

Through various battles and operations against the Edict Legion, they had also seized a large number of armors. They had traveled thousands of miles, working tirelessly, shedding blood and sweat to transport nearly 1,200 suits of armor to Horne.

After the Gray Furnace Town armory was launched, it produced three batches of 500 suits of armor in half a year.

The old grandmother of Golden River Township provided Horne with 350 suits of armor, and finally, with the 400 suits of armor provided by Small Pond City, there were a total of 3,580 suits of armor.

Of these, 3,300 were distributed to the infantry, 240 to the Holy Rifle Cavalry, ensuring that the Holy Rifle Cavalry were fully armored, and the remaining 40 fell to the Hussars.

This infantry armor rate of 55% was even with the expansion of new recruits. It should be noted that the 1,000 men in the two newly expanded Black Hat Regiments were pure spearmen, and only about a hundred or so were armored.

Horne had only paid this new regiment, trained them in discipline for a week, and marched them for five days, and replaced the original officers.

If these 1,000 men were actually put on the battlefield, they would most likely only be able to beat the drums on the sidelines, acting as filler.

The real main force was still the old Black Hat Regiments and the old Guard Regiments.

However, although their strength had increased, the strength of the enemies they faced had also increased.

A full two Edict Legions.

Back then, they had relied on multiple plans and the help of the weather to coincidentally defeat one Edict Legion.

They were now more than twice as numerous as before. Could they defeat two Edict Legions?

Standing on the pier for a long time, until the lights gradually came on, Horne spoke once again.

"How much longer until we reach Beech Fort?"

"Tomorrow," Jeanne said firmly, "At the latest, we'll definitely be there by tomorrow evening!"

"Tomorrow to Beech Fort, that's July 22nd to Rapid Falls City," Horne murmured, "July 22nd... July 22nd... July 22nd!"