When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist
Chapter 70 - 69: Ruthlessly Exploding Gold Coins

Chapter 70: Chapter 69: Ruthlessly Exploding Gold Coins

After confirming the identity of Qianqian as an undercover agent for the Secret Faction, Horn swiftly led the Holy Grail Knight Order and a brigade of Imperial Guard down the slope to explode gold coins.

By the time Horn reached the bottom of the slope, apart from a few of Qianqian’s guards, the rest of the armored soldiers had all vanished.

It seems they saw our army decisively defeated and fled directly.

Peering over the guards’ shoulders, Horn gazed ahead.

On the narrow path wrapped by shrubs and small woods, sunlight filtering through the leaves painted interwoven patterns of shadows and algae on the ground.

On this barely two Falan-seeking narrow dirt road, ten sturdy wagons were forcibly squeezed in.

All the harnesses of the wagons were removed, originally designed to prevent bandits from pulling the wagons away, which ended up benefiting Horn entirely.

About twenty nag horses were leisurely resting on a nearby grassy patch, munching on lettuce and saw-leaved vegetables, their soft horse lips quivering with a gentle blub-blub.

These draft horses weren’t particularly good ones; according to Qianqian, these draft horses weigh between 700 and 900 pounds, with a draft force of about 1200 pounds, requiring two to three nag horses to pull each wagon.

Seeing these nag horses, Horn could feel the excitement of the people around him, as if they could already see the establishment of the Pope Country’s First Cavalry Division.

"All right, go bring the horses over, be careful."

After advising a few Imperial Guards, Horn proceeded towards the ten wagons under Jeanne’s protection.

These ten farm cargo wagons varied in appearance but shared a similar overall design.

Each wagon was about 8 feet high, 12 feet long, and 6 feet wide, made from sturdy oak on all sides, with thick leather covering the joints of the car body and flashing metallic luster at the junctions of the corners and wooden boards—that was rows of rust-stained nails.

Unlike the Chinese carriage in Horn’s impression, these wagons had no compartments; behind the shafts was a box-like wagon bed, uncovered and topped with canvas.

Below every wagon bed, the car wheels were roughly four fingers wide, with rotten burlap hanging from the spokes, presumably for waterproofing or something.

Each wagon was equipped with two to three strong nag horses, their hair tangled with greasy odor, their hooves nervously pawing.

More attention-grabbing was a flag stuck in the corner of the wagon, depicting a white goose printed on a red cloth, likely the mark of Meigedi Commerce Association.

Horn had already seen Archbishop Banifus’s flag—a figure praying with a black cross in its mouth, nothing extraordinary.

Approaching one of the wagons, Qianqian smiled at Horn and introduced, "These goods were meant to be sent to the black market. During this period, Black Snake Bay must be lacking everything, it’s a great opportunity to make a fortune, giving me a chance to escape."

"Escape?"

"Yes, the flood’s impact isn’t only on you; even I have to run. I’ll explain in detail tomorrow."

Saying so, Qianqian lifted the waterproof tarp covering the wagon, revealing the goods beneath.

"These ten wagons carry about 1660 gallons of grains, 700 yards of coarse woolen fabric, 400 yards of fine woolen fabric, 400 pounds of salt, 400 pounds of iron ingots, 50 pounds of refined iron, and fifty pounds of each color dye.

There’s also 10 pounds of sweet root, 20 pounds of milk medicine, 8 pounds of safflower, 12 ounces of magical beast meat... a total of 100 pounds of materials.

Plus miscellaneous tools and goods weighing around 200 pounds, totaling approximately 17,000 pounds of goods."

Calling over the accompanying coachman, Horn repaired the axle and shafts, and with the nags whinnying, Horn led the convoy Quincy sent, filled with deliveries, back home.

Riding atop a large horse, Horn called for the guards ahead to lead the horse, feeling an unprecedented elevation of spirit.

Not only had they repelled the Church’s forces, but they had also connected with the Secret Faction.

Next, they just needed to escape to Black Snake Bay, settle for two years, and they could rise again.

Yet Horn was unwilling to give up his dream of holding territory under the sunlight.

Don’t be fooled by how vast Secret Faction’s influence seems in Black Snake Bay and Thousand River Valley; it’s because of the special situations of these two regions.

Within the vast Empire, it’s merely the tip of the iceberg.

The Empire has ten provinces in name, and Thousand River Valley and Black Snake Bay are just two domains under the jurisdiction of Armored Wood Province.

Beyond these domains, Secret Faction is nothing but an answering faction.

Even within these domains, Secret Faction must constantly hide and shift.

If there was another way, Horn really wouldn’t want to collaborate with them.

Trailing behind Horn, Qianqian walked with others on foot, she gave Horn a deep glance and began conversing with Jeanne and others.

Indeed, one of her objectives on this journey was to recruit this newly aligned magical Witch.

"...I see." After asking several questions related to lightning abilities, Jeanne recalled the scripture recitation divine technique Boned had used earlier, "Qianqian, uh, ma’am, I have a question for you?"

"Just call me Sister Qianqian; among us, men usually call each other brothers and women, sisters." Qianqian alluringly twisted her hair, "What do you want to ask?"

"What was the divine art that monk used earlier?"

"That’s a usual method low-level monks use against magical creatures, the scripture recitation technique; it’s mostly for interference." Qianqian’s leather boots stepped on the filthy ground, yet she showed no trace of the delicacy and disdain matching his noblewoman exterior.

"That interference seems too strong. Does every monk have it? Isn’t the Church too powerful then?"

Facing Jeanne’s question, Qianqian elegantly covered her mouth and chuckled, making the surrounding guards’ eyes fixed.

"You found it effective simply because it’s your first encounter, and your mana is too weak, requiring time to grow.

Next time you encounter it, even if hundreds of monks chant together, it’ll only feel like a small mosquito buzzing around you."

Talking about this, Qianqian hesitated for half a second but continued, "Let me remind you, I’m familiar with what those Witches and Wizards used to say.

When mana grows strong enough to suppress the soul, illusions can be much more terrifying than patterned designs; it’s best to adapt now."

Seeing Qianqian discussing a topic of interest, Horn promptly dismounted, signaling the company commanders of Imperial Guards to step aside, preparing to talk in-depth with Qianqian.

"Actually, I’ve always wanted to ask, how do Wizards cast spells?" Horn inquired softly nearby, "Do you think I have this chance?"

"Are you Jeanne’s Witch’s kin, from which generation?" Qianqian countered.

"First generation."

"Your semblance magic ability, let me see."

"I don’t have it."

Qianqian furrowed her pretty brows, "I’m not a Demon Hunter, just be honest; it’s okay to have it."

Grampwen, smiling from the side, chimed in, "This truly doesn’t exist; His Majesty Horn is a first-generation kin, but he not only lacks semblance magic ability, he doesn’t even have side effects."

Without even side effects, Qianqian sized up the seemingly honest young man in front of her.

After contemplating for a moment, she spoke uncertainly, "This requires a specialized Pharmacist or Wizard for diagnosis. Personally, I think it might be because Jeanne is relatively young, her awakening period brief, so the mana’s impact on you isn’t significant."

"Do you mean that the side effects of Witch Disease are actually caused by mana?" Horn swiftly grasped the logic in her words.

"You can say that." Qianqian nodded, "According to the Mana School’s theory, Witch Disease’s abnormality on the human body is actually soul-induced.

Mana suppresses the soul, the soul suppresses the brain, and the brain suppresses the flesh—a layer upon layer—resulting in abnormalities.

It’s possible your mana is too weak, hence not experiencing such abnormalities."

"Sister Qianqian, you keep mentioning mana mana, what exactly is mana?" Jeanne questioned beside.