Chapter 143: Military Meeting

“So I told you already, those guys must have slipped away long ago. If nothing unexpected happened, they probably used some special spatial means to escape right after the barrier was set up. Normally, there’s no way to find them ~”

The voice came from a mysterious girl who was lazily sitting on a large stone next to the Saintess. She had a small figure, snow-white long hair, and was dressed in a glamorous red-and-white dance dress, all while wearing a small fox mask and sporting two adorable triangular ears on her head.

Although her tone and expression appeared rather presumptuous and lacked the respect due to the Saintess, none of the high-ranking knights or bishops present showed any objection or displeasure. Even a Holy Knight who had just rushed back from the front line couldn’t help but glance at her curiously a few times.

After all, her reputation and achievements had been soaring recently. In terms of fame among the Expeditionary Army, she was nearly second only to the Saint of Bright Light, the highest leader.

Although the Holy Knights belonged to the rear main force and had not witnessed her in action, it was said that it was this Miss Xī who summoned the sacred and pure White Dragon when the “Blood Calamity” broke out and rushed to the Celestial Barrier, destroying the evil formation set up in the mountains at that time.

Even though it was later the White Dragon who fought against the Demonic Thunder beneath the blood-red skies, and that miraculous golden pillar of light that descended from the heavens to destroy the Blood Canopy undoubtedly came as a divine grace from the Goddess, this Miss Xī’s ability to step forward at the first opportunity and return unharmed from the infested Saint Belgen Mountains surely proved her strength and righteous heart.

This Miss Xī was undeniably a messenger of light.

Moreover, due to her past actions in the Western Capital and her ever-present mask, many Temple Knights had quietly speculated in private whether this Fox Lady might actually be a divine envoy tasked with saving the Holy Kingdom on the brink of disaster from the demons… and other similar theories.

The ability to summon the White Dragon, a symbol of light and holiness, and the fact that the latter was willing to let the girl ride him served as the strongest proof of this.

Of course, this was merely speculation; no fool would directly run up to her and ask if she truly was a divine messenger. Any of her actions must certainly contain deeper meaning.

This was an unspoken consensus among the high-ranking members of the Expeditionary Army.

Upon hearing the White Fox Lady speak, the Saintess naturally shifted her gaze in that direction, waved her hand to signal the Holy Knights to step back, and then, with a slight wry smile, she spoke.

“I don’t doubt the information provided by Miss Xī; it’s just that as the leader of the Expeditionary Army, we have to try something given such a significant event has occurred… Well, let’s continue our discussion from before.”

Briefly brushing over the awkward topic, the Saintess picked up the pointer stick placed on the edge of the table and lightly tapped a spot on the map of the Holy Empire.

“Here is our current position. The main force of the vanguard has already passed through the valley and entered the eastern part of the Holy Kingdom. Aside from a few Temple Knights pursuing the remnants of the demons, the rest of the troops can continue advancing.”

“The original plan was for the Expeditionary Army to first head to the Flower Capital and join forces with the Redeeming Saintess’s forces, then together journey to the City of Angels in the Holy Capital, gathering all our strength before officially heading east to attack the main force of the demons in the two major provinces.”

As she spoke, the blonde girl slowly traced the route marked in gold on the map, which was the well-structured military plan devised before their departure.

However, the current problem was whether they should continue with the original plan, considering the serious incidents that had occurred at the Celestial Barrier, where the demons had been confirmed to be heavily present in the Saint Belgen Mountains—essentially the border region—and now that the Expeditionary Army had already engaged in battle with them, this required some discussion.

As expected, a bishop present quickly offered a suggestion.

“Your Highness, since the demon forces have expanded to the nearby Saint Belgen Mountains in the west, that suggests their power is no longer limited to the two eastern provinces. Now that we’ve caught a glimpse of them, it might be more effective to turn this into a breakthrough and track the fleeing demon remnants for a surprise attack?”

“…”

The Saintess pondered for a moment but did not respond immediately. Soon after, another young Holy Knight spoke up to oppose the suggestion.

“Bishop Virgil, have you considered the possibility that this could just be a trap left by the demons to distract our forces and attention?”

“Oh? What do you mean by that?”

Without hesitation, the young knight explained.

“Think about it: the Blood Calamity that struck Saint Belgen affected both sides of the mountains. The eastern region has been devastated, and why is it that despite this chaos, our knights can track the movements of the high-ranking demons but never truly catch up?”

“Don’t you find that strange?”

“This… I hadn’t thought of that.”

In a matter of moments, Bishop Virgil, who had spoken first, was left speechless and looked embarrassed, while the others nodded in agreement. Saintess Yuna and the casually observing White Fox Lady turned their gazes toward him, eyes glimmering with intrigue.

Finally, it was the Saintess leading the discussion who spoke.

“That makes a lot of sense. Now then… Holy Knight Kleisius, what do you think would be the most efficient action for us to effectively strike against the demon forces in our territory?”

That’s right, the one who rebuffed the previous proposal, appearing younger than all but Yuna and Vilyric, was the White Knight Kleisius, who had shared a few encounters with the White Fox Lady in Holy Star City.

To be precise, his full name should be Kleisius Summerfield.

Based on the intel from Plakaka and the information gathered during the investigation into the “Gaze of Irohn,” this conclusion was already evident.

Of course, it seemed no one present knew that he was actually part of a divine lineage, and even the clearly informed Saintess Yuna and Kleisius himself did not show any sign of it.

Indeed, Kleisius had come to lead a group of elite knights as the Head of the Temple Knights from Holy Star City in response to the call of the Holy War, much like the high-ranking clergy gathered here, who hailed from various major cities in the west, being trusted individuals of the Saintess.

Without displaying any familiarity, the young knight leader spoke with a professional, calm tone that was subtly distant.

“All in all, the demons in the Saint Belgen Mountains are merely scattered remnants. In terms of both numbers and quality, they don’t stand a chance against the true main force of our Expeditionary Army. The true cause of the massive casualties and losses is the terrifying celestial phenomena triggered by the evil rituals.”

“Combined with the intel regarding the unknown individuals preparing those rituals mentioned in the prior reports from the vanguard, it can be inferred that the demons themselves are likely not the true masterminds behind this incident, but their involvement seems more like supportive collaboration. These demons are likely just covering the retreat and misleading us.”

“In truth, the real main force of the demons is still holed up in the eastern provinces of Sanos and Keller, fortifying their grounds as if intending to turn those two provinces into their stronghold. As time passes, their influence and control there will only deepen.”

“Thus, chasing down those fleeing demons holds no real significance. It’s sufficient for the local Temple Knights to handle it. To save time, there’s no need to take a detour to the Flower Capital. We should allow the Redeeming Saintess to split her forces and head into the Holy Capital together. Our goal should only be one.”

The Holy Knight slammed his hand heavily on the map, marking the two areas drawn with black circles.

“Gather our forces as quickly as possible, then push eastward to strike the borders of Sanos Province, forcing the demons to engage in a large-scale battle with our army and annihilate them!”

   

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