When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist
Chapter 101 - 99: What Kingdom Are You?

Chapter 101: Chapter 99: What Kingdom Are You?

"Ee! Uh!"

"Habi xi xi xi!"

"Aminias!"

Between the puddles and dirt roads, the shrill cries, like those of monkeys, echoed eerily.

In the twilight gray sky, the cries appeared so strange, even more peculiar than when Horn danced a magical ritual.

Horn stood on the stirrups, looking in that direction.

Shadows with beast ears and long tails swayed back and forth on long poles, between puddles and dark ditches.

These shadows were too familiar with the swamp, and their daily movements relied on these long poles to leap between patches of solid ground and mire.

They knew where to plant their poles and where to land their thick footpads.

With an extra tail compared to humans, they possessed superior balance, and those long poles acted as if they were their third arm.

"What’s going on?" The elders started shouting in panic.

Jeska climbed onto the carriage: "Everyone stick close to the carriages, Black Hat Army and Imperial Guard to the shore, hold the long spears upright and aim at those beastmen."

"Me too?"

"Yes, the same."

Dass, being a first-time Legion Commander, had to follow Jeska’s lead in everything.

Horn drew his longsword, while Jia Li rode alongside him, brandishing a long-handled war hammer that emitted a heavy whooshing sound.

"Woohoo—"

The One-legged Giant leaped, the grass and bushes kept shaking, and eerie cries and laughter filled the long road.

Suddenly, the bushes shook unnaturally, the leaves moved like water, and a beastman emerged, using a long pole to jump into the crowd.

Amidst screaming, her strong arms locked around a child soldier’s neck, holding the pole with one hand, and jumped back into another puddle.

Even though it was just a fleeting moment, Horn clearly saw her appearance: the common face of Norn, black hair, thick nose.

However, she had a pair of pointed brown-gray upright ears on her head, with a long tail constantly shaking as she jumped.

Horn couldn’t determine what kind of animal beastman she was.

He turned his head again to look at those puddles, the shadows among the leaves flickering like ghostly figures.

The red sun between gray clouds and green mountains appeared somewhat eerie.

The villagers huddled together, shivering, which only made the beastmen’s howls seem more triumphant and bizarre.

It was simply provocation.

They really underestimated us, didn’t they? Without displaying some power, do they think my title of Holy Grandson is undeserved?

Horn’s expression suddenly became solemn, and he took a deep breath, eyes round and glaring: "Jeanne!!!"

A bolt of lightning instantly sliced through the air, striking a leaping beastman, who let out a scream of "Ah~" and splashed into the water.

All the cries stopped for a half-second, but this still did not deter the beastmen’s determination to attack.

In the blink of an eye, they pole-vaulted over puddles once more towards the convoy.

"Jeanne, assist me! Lightning, come!" Horn pointed the cloudy snow in his hand towards the beastmen, shattering the darkness with another seven or eight bolts of lightning.

The sound of splashes became endless.

For the armored soldiers, perhaps Jeanne’s lightning provided substantial protection, but for these unarmored beastmen, it was a different story.

Seeing their companions harmed, they became even angrier.

So, they let out a shriek even more piercing than before, launching a desperate charge with their backs to Horn, disappearing into the sunset.

Horn didn’t even have time to react.

The leaves fell, the water surface returned to calm, as if the extraordinary scene never happened.

"Your Majesty, I asked around, and four villagers were taken by those beastmen." Jeska ran over to Horn, "Two of them Black Hat Army, one an ordinary village elder, and one a child soldier, all male."

"All male?"

"Yes." Dass added from the side, "If they caught women, they would just throw them into the puddles, not take them away."

"I see. Those beastmen must be forcing them to kneel, trying to make them become Xingnu." From among the villagers, someone shouted in a loud voice.

Watching the beastmen who came and went suddenly, Horn began to understand what happened to those lost from the Homer Mercenary Corps.

Every day they make a couple of moves like this, taking away three to five people each time; it’s hard to fight and harder to chase.

It was indeed a headache.

Fortunately, Horn still had the lightning, oh no, Jeanne, to make their arrogance not so blatant.

"What about those Beastmen who fell into the water? Most of them are still alive."

Leia panted and walked over, "I’m afraid of electrocuting their comrades they’re holding onto, so I reduced the voltage."

With Horn’s tutoring, Leia was starting to gradually understand the concepts of current and voltage.

But she still couldn’t grasp multiplication and division within twenty.

After a moment of thought, Horn said to Madlan, "Find a few people, leave those who are trapped, but save those who can be pulled out and hang them there for reinforcement and attack."

This little incident did not affect Horn’s march, and as time slowly passed and the sun set, the group finally reached the encampment.

Here, they had a hill to rely on, allowing them to camp on the mountain.

Otherwise, if they camped along the path, those Beastmen would come wailing through the night, seriously disturbing the journey.

The weather had cooled, and the convoy now had seventeen or eighteen patients with colds and fevers.

The large carts were connected end to end to form a curved defensive line, behind which were newly made canvas tents.

After dinner, Horn asked someone to fetch clean water to let the villagers wash their feet and lance the blisters on them.

Returning to the tent, Horn yawned and pulled out books from a box, continuing to read geography atlases and articles related to political law brought from the Church.

Beside him, Jia Li was playing with a little clockwork mouse, something Horn had made as a toy specifically to distract Jia Li.

Meanwhile, Jeanne sat opposite him, diligently practicing her writing and math exercises.

Not long into their reading, a noisy commotion came from outside the tent.

"Who is it? What’s going on?"

"Your Majesty, we’ve captured a Beastman scout."

The Beastman pushed into the tent was about thirty years old. He looked no different from an ordinary human, except for his beast ears on his head, a long tail on his back, and pads on his feet, making it impossible to determine what kind of animal he was shaped after.

Interestingly, he was wearing a roughly sewn coarse linen toga, something from the era of the El Empire.

Though crude, the design was impeccable.

"Let me go," the Beastman shouted, "I demand the courtesy due to an envoy of the Kingdom."

His speech was a mix of Norn, Leia, and even some Ancient Aier languages.

Horn had to ask Jia Li the meaning of Norn words, struggling to understand what the Beastman was saying.

Horn closed his book and quietly observed the Beastman in front of him.

"I am Mudishawus, the envoy of the Beastmen Kingdom of Hidon, sent by King Amazon to arrange a prisoner exchange."

"An envoy of the Kingdom? What Kingdom are you from?" Horn frowned. In this little basin, where did a Kingdom come from?

He’d never heard of the Beastmen founding a Kingdom. Could it be that the Black Bone Marsh had silently unified its tribes and formed a small Kingdom?

Horn couldn’t help but feel a bit grave between his brows.

"State my Kingdom, and it will surprise you!" the Beastman in the toga declared proudly, "Our Kingdom of Hidon has fifty-three citizens, in alliance with the brotherly Yala Kingdom and Basha Kingdom, all three countries’ total population is a mere twenty or so, with fifteen divisions in the army!

Today’s invasion was just a part of it. Together with our allied nations, covenant nations, and Axis powers, our nine-nation coalition has fifty-five divisions.

If you have even a shred of intelligence, I advise you to surrender early and hand over the prisoners, or else don’t blame us for taking it out on you."

"Huh?" Horn poked his head out, stretching his ears, almost thinking he misheard or misunderstood.

He turned to look at Jia Li, and she nodded back at him, confirming his thoughts.

Horn couldn’t hold it in anymore.

You’re a small village of thirty to fifty people. What are you thinking of founding a Kingdom?

He founded the Pope Country out of necessity, for it was a helpless move to unite people’s hearts - a lie like the Holy Father’s descent.

Beastmen, what exactly are you doing, oh Beastmen?

Horn remained speechless, not knowing how to reply when the old minister Busak jumped out.

"Oh?" Busak walked out with his hands folded behind him, "How many people per division do you have?"

Mudishawus snorted coldly, raising a fist and shaking it.

"Ten?"

"One!"

"Ha!" Busak snorted coldly, "Our Pope Country has a population of a mere twenty or so, with a military of four hundred and ten companies, barely amounting to six or seven divisions.

Your total population is only two hundred, with just one person per division. Don’t you find it ridiculous?

Enough is enough. Our nation, led by just one elder, equals your entire Kingdom."

"A mere twenty or so, don’t boast, a mere twenty or so... wait, wait, you have elders? You’re an Empire?" The Beastman envoy widened his eyes.

"Indeed." Busak took large strides to Horn’s side, "This is our El Third Empire, the Great Pope Country, the true grandson of the Holy Father, the Eye of God, the possessor of the Holy Father, the inheritor of the El Empire, the True Pope of Wanpiao, His Majesty Horn!"