When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist
Chapter 74 - 73: Routing

Chapter 74: Chapter 73: Routing

What should we do? Surrender?

Now, with two witches lying in his bed and having annihilated so many church soldiers, he himself has become a witch’s kin. To whom would he surrender?

Those are 2,700 Extraordinary Knights. Just think about Barnett; what kind of power level was that?

Here there are 900 top-tier Barnetts, 900 high-tier Barnetts, and 900 regular Barnetts.

And even 5,000 infantry, not to mention that they’re basically the most formidable seasoned veterans.

It’s not that the Leia Royal Family doesn’t want to mobilize all decrees under their name, it’s just that they can’t afford the military expenses.

The dog head hanging in the Stag Chamber glared with round eyes, silently observing everything in front of it.

There were seven or eight people present, all high-ranking members of the Pope Country, yet they stood there like clay statues and puppets.

Unable to utter a word.

After a terrifying silence of five minutes, Horn’s gloomy voice sounded again.

"Are you telling us this to say you’re here to accompany us to death? You must have another way, don’t hide it anymore."

Qianqian smiled gently but didn’t speak. He just pushed the map in front of Horn, drawing a line on it with a charcoal pencil.

"What does this mean?"

"We can’t escape to Black Snake Bay, but we can flee to Joan of Arc Castle where Duke Kush Danai resides. Duke Kush has a special status, and Prince Kongdai wouldn’t dare act rashly with his protection."

"Why would he protect us?"

"Ahem, Duke Kush is not only a major client of our White Mountain Hermitage and the Ruo’an Faction but also a financial supporter of Mr. Juanuo...

You should know, Duke Kush’s title comes from the ancestral land of the Thousand River Valley people—the Kush River."

Horn tapped the table with his knuckles and said slowly, "Is Duke Kush willing to take such a big risk to shelter us?"

Qianqian drew a large circle on the map at the location of the Thousand River Valley: "Your Holiness, the events in the Thousand River Valley are both a crisis and an opportunity.

The Great Monarchs of the Burning Castle Territory have long coveted this place. If Duke Kush were to revolt amidst the chaos and declare himself a Norn and join the Norn Kingdom, what would happen?"

"Is he really a Norn?" Grampwen asked.

"He can be, and perhaps he already was."

Horn nodded slightly: "I understand."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Madlan’s eyes lit up when he heard it was related to Dean Juanuo, "Let’s go quickly."

"No, if we take the normal route, Prince Kongdai will likely catch up and slaughter us halfway." Qianqian refused.

"The line you drew on the map, is that the path we should take?" Horn asked, pointing heavily on the map with his finger.

Hearing this, a few bishops around immediately stood up, gathered around Horn, and craned their necks to look.

But when they saw the route, they all gasped in shock.

"Mr. Qianqian, are you serious?" Even Chervis, who was always composed, couldn’t hold it together when he picked up the map.

The route Qianqian drew was to go through two deadly places: the Wild Spider Forest and the Black Bone Swamp.

"I know a small path, about five hundred miles long. It was traversed successfully by someone ten years ago.

However, it won’t work with just a few of us. We need a substantial number of guards."

A bad premonition rose in Horn’s heart: "How many do we need?"

Qianqian held up five fingers.

"Fifty?"

"Five hundred."

"Five hundred? You mean five hundred!" Horn shot up from his chair, "You want me to bring all the villagers along?"

"Not all the villagers, preferably the young and strong. The dangers along the way can’t be overcome merely by numbers; the old, weak, and sick are liabilities.

Too few won’t work, and too many are unnecessary. The last recorded time this path was taken was by the Homer Mercenary Corps; 514 entered, 114 exited."

"In other words, you want me to abandon some of the old and weak."

Facing Horn’s gaze, Qianqian stood straight and replied frankly, "This is an unavoidable sacrifice."

"How can you say something like that?" Madlan slammed the table and stood up, "Do you know what will happen to those left behind?"

Tens of thousands of rebels, and only a few dozen heads taken, seems a bit indefensible.

Especially for Prince Kongdai, known as Leia’s First Knight, a victory with just dozens of heads is a loss.

"I know, but we have no choice." Qianqian turned his head, staring at the floor tiles, "Perhaps you could phrase it differently to deceive them, some special event, at least they’d be happy before they died."

"You goat of the day!" Madlan charged over, trying to grab Qianqian’s collar, but was stopped by those around him.

"Silence!" Horn ordered, striking the table with the Pope’s Staff once more.

Everyone’s burning gaze focused on Horn.

"Your Holiness, what is your opinion?"

Leading five hundred meat shields to flee, Horn wasn’t cruel enough not to consider this.

But there’s an unignorable key point: those left behind would surely be the same kin and friends of these meat shields.

Horn’s golden status was confirmed as Miseria’s son’s choice, which means following him wouldn’t lead to failure.

These villagers have always followed whoever wins, obedient to Horn because he’s the unbeatable choice endorsed by the Holy Father and Saint Master.

If he exposed this emperor’s new clothes, leaving some villagers to die means Horn isn’t infallible, leaving a flaw in the lie.

Once the lie is exposed, bursting the illusion of Miseria’s son being invincible, the angry villagers could tear Horn to pieces.

So, either Horn goes alone or they all go together, there’s no second option!

"What if everyone goes together?"

"Are you saying everyone should go? I don’t understand why you want to do this."

"Just tell me, can we?"

"Yes, we can, but forgive me for saying this won’t increase the survival rate. I must remind you, if Duke Kush sees too many..."

"Alright, that’s settled then."

"But..."

"I said, we’ll do it as I decide!"

A heavy slap on the table, Horn’s veins bulged, and the water cup on the table trembled and toppled.

The cup spun around the table, with clear water flowing down the edges.

"I don’t want you to think; I want myself to think, understand?" Suppressing inexplicable anger, Horn coldly stared into Qianqian’s eyes.

After a moment of deathly silence.

Qianqian took half a step back, facing the gaze of others present, expressionless, he performed a curtsy: "Very well, if you insist."

After the meeting, the bishops and high-ranking members left with deep concerns, and Grampwen walked alongside Qianqian to meet his wife, Diya.

As Grampwen walked, he noticed Qianqian’s expression growing pensive, eyes unfocused, seemingly lost in thought.

"Mr. Qianqian, has His Holiness the Pope said anything like this before?" Grampwen asked, puzzled.

"What do you mean by ’always been like this?’ " Grampwen asked, not understanding, "How is he?"

Qianqian looked up: "The Holy Grandson Pope is kind and wise, no doubt."

But he continued, muttering to himself as he rubbed his brow while walking: "Yet he gives me this strange feeling, like a déjà vu... but what exactly is that feeling?"

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