Raising a Flag

It was clear at a glance that Lina had no interest in such things, as she had fallen fast asleep while listening.

Watching her lie there on the bed, drooling, I truly felt this little girl had been protected far too well.

Had Scott never considered whether this guileless Saintess could live out the rest of her life in peace once he passed away?

But then again... it probably didn't matter. After all, she had the Holy Church as her backing, and her own strength was formidable enough. Even if a monarch feared her, they wouldn't dare move against her easily.

Of course, that was assuming she didn't get too deeply involved in political matters.

Otherwise, no monarch would allow another powerful force to exist within their political circle.

Seeing me turn to look at Lina, Ligeia hesitated for a moment before asking, "Your Highness, did you ever speak with King Scott of the Kingdom of the Highlands about the Saintess of War going on this expedition?"

I shook my head.

"No. It's not that I didn't want to, but that I didn't dare. If I had, she wouldn't have been able to come with the army, and I would likely have failed this time."

I gently brushed a stray lock of hair from the girl's forehead.

The little girl seemed to sense something, muttering something unintelligible in her sleep before rolling over to face away from me and continuing her nap.

Seeing this, I couldn't help but smile.

"That is true. I have been to the Kingdom of the Highlands before and met Scott. He was very young then."

"Oh? What was your impression of him?"

I was quite curious at the mention of Scott.

In fact, I was curious about all of the Eight Nations of the Holy Church.

After all, as a transmigrator, even though it was a soul possession, the original owner knew far too little about the outside world.

Because of that, I was almost entirely ignorant of things outside, and everything was very fresh to me.

"Deeply calculating, remains unruffled by favor or humiliation, and oh... there's that poker face that makes it impossible to tell what he's thinking."

"A poker face? But I remember when we spoke via video call last time, he wasn't expressionless?"

On the contrary, he was laughing and talking. How could such a person have a poker face?

Ligeia smiled.

"Your Highness, the last time I saw him was seventy or eighty years ago. At that time, he was exactly as I described. His face was devoid of any expression, his words were as precious as gold, and it seemed as though nothing could make his expression change."

As she spoke, Ligeia seemed to fall into a memory.

"Mhm... I remember the Kingdom of the Highlands was in a period of power transition back then. The internal state was very chaotic, and the council members were divided into four factions, but he didn't belong to any of them."

"Oh? Why?"

I pressed for more, and Ligeia pondered for a moment before continuing.

"Because at that time, he was just an unfavored prince. He held no power, had no soldiers, and was not close to the monarch of that time. In fact, because of his poor health, he had lived in the War Temple since he was a child."

"During that time, I was traveling the continent. Having no place to stay in the Kingdom of the Highlands, I stayed at the War Temple, and that's where I met him."

An unfavored prince, raised in the War Temple for years, who suddenly emerged during a power transition, defeated all his political rivals, and seized the throne!

A script like that could easily be turned into a standalone novel.

As expected, anyone who can reach the top has a hidden story behind them.

People only see the surface brilliance. Aside from the person themselves, who knows what is hidden behind it?

"What happened later?"

"Later... for some reason, the old monarch died suddenly one night. Overnight, even the doors to the War Temple were completely shut. That night, the streets were filled with the sounds of battle, and by the time dawn broke the next day, he was sitting on that throne."

It was truly hard to imagine how such an unfavored youth achieved such a shocking reversal.

But then again, that was a historical story from seventy or eighty years ago.

Ligeia recalled the situation at the time, her gaze slightly dazed.

"You have no idea how shocked I was when I heard the news. At least in my impression, he was the one with absolutely no chance of becoming the King of the Highlands, and he wasn't even feared by any of the other princes."

To be honest, I was shocked just hearing the news now.

Let alone Ligeia, who had been there at the time.

A prince who seemed to have no chance at all ascended to the throne overnight.

The only possibility was... he had been hiding his true self all along.

There must be a story there.

However, Ligeia's knowledge of him ended there.

After that, we talked about other things, various sights and experiences that made me yearn for travel.

But even if I wanted to go, I couldn't. This identity as the Saintess of the Moon restricted my range of movement to the Kingdom of the Moon.

And even if I could leave the Kingdom of the Moon, now was not the time.

The army continued its advance. Since the entire force consisted of cavalry regiments, they moved very quickly.

It only took half a day to reach the Four-Ring Mountains.

Then came the forced march.

In the northeast region outside the Four-Ring Mountains, the roads were clear due to years of warfare. The entire army moved at almost full speed, and in just two days, we arrived beneath the first Great Wall.

I only caught a fleeting glimpse of the incredibly majestic complex of buildings as the army rested there for a single night.

The forced march continued the next day. The speed of the entire army had reached nearly fifty kilometers per hour, almost a charging pace.

If these men weren't Temple knights, ordinary people would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.

I hadn't slept well these past two days either, advancing without a moment's delay.

If the Kingdom of the Sun were to fall, this entire plan would basically be declared a failure.

Information from that side couldn't be transmitted in real-time, and it wasn't until we reached the third Great Wall that the carriage slowly came to a halt.

At the same time, four voices came from outside the carriage.

"Guardian Knight, Robert Norman!"

"Guardian Knight, Kariel Lancaster."

"Guardian Knight, Klo Follis."

"Greetings, Your Highness the Saintess! We pray for your sacred well-being."

I walked to the front of the carriage and lifted the curtain. The four men kneeling on one knee before me were the knights I hadn't seen since my transmigration.

"I am well. My knights, please rise."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" the four replied in unison.

"My orders should have been relayed to you by Bishop Lola. I presume you already know the specific details. Is the army ready?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, the army has been assembled. Twenty thousand members of the Temple knight regiment await your review!!"

"Very good. Knight Klo, Knight Tristan is currently recuperating at the Moon Temple, so please do not worry about him anymore."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I have already heard the news."

Klo bowed his head slightly.

"Mhm. Among the three of you, you are the most steady. Therefore, from this moment on, you will take full command of the defense of the Great Wall. As for the other two, Knight Robert and Knight Kariel, each of you will lead ten thousand knights and accompany the expedition."

"As you command!"

Robert and Kariel knelt on one knee and responded loudly.

"Very well. Knight Robert, receive your orders!"

"Your servant is here!"

"I order you to lead ten thousand knights to guard the right wing of the central command."

"As you command!"

"Knight Kariel, receive your orders."

"Your servant is here!"

"I order you to lead ten thousand knights to guard the left wing of the central command!"

"I accept the order!"

"Lina, gather your Black Armored Knights to serve as light cavalry to penetrate the lines and the battlefield. When the critical moment comes, I will be counting on you."

Lina nodded.

"As you command!"

I looked up at the twenty thousand additional knights before me.

The army's numbers had now reached eighty thousand!

This included:

Thirty thousand knights from the Snow Country as the central command.

Commanded by the Snow Country's Guardian Knights, Andre and Boris.

Ten thousand knights from the Kingdom of Flame as the vanguard.

Commanded by the Kingdom of Flame's Guardian Knights, Amir and Kiran.

Ten thousand knights from the Kingdom of the Sea as the rear guard.

Commanded by the Kingdom of the Sea's Guardian Knights, Norman and Maren.

Twenty thousand knights from the Kingdom of the Moon on both flanks, commanded separately by Kariel and Robert.

The remaining ten thousand Black Armored Knights followed the central command, directly commanded by Lina.

I was responsible for central coordination.

The formation was a standard battle array.

After resting for half a day, we traveled through the night.

In total, it took four days to cover fifteen hundred kilometers.

Finally, in the early hours of the fifth day, under a night sky with a bright moon and few stars, we arrived at the coast.

I had no idea what the situation was like in the Kingdom of the Sun, and I had no time to worry about it.

"Order the vanguard to cross the sea and set up defenses immediately."

Soon, the flag signals were raised.

With the help of magic stones, the speed of information exchange between the two sides was very fast.

It was somewhat similar to Morse code; when the magic stone on this side flashed a few times, the one on the other side would flash accordingly.

In this way, the two sides could communicate with almost no obstacles.

There was absolutely no need for words or flag signals for command.

However, while flag signals weren't usually needed, once a battle began, the mana elements in the air would become turbulent, making the magic stones useless.

And the only thing that could be used then was, naturally, the command flags.

Magic stones were used for regular communication, but once the war phase was entered, flag signals would be used to avoid failing to receive accurate messages.

Therefore, the information sent from this side was done simultaneously.

The magic stones lit up to convey the message, and the flag signals were sent out at the same time.

Soon, the vanguard, located about fifty kilometers away, began to cross the sea.

"The whole army is to cross the sea! Be quick! Faster!!"

The current situation of the vanguard was a bit dire.

These reefs remained hidden beneath the sea for at least eleven months of the year, and as a result, this path was filled with seabed mud.

Although this mud and sand weren't very heavy, the impact on the horses was immense.

The vanguard consisted of fully armed knights, and the combined weight of a man and his horse was nearly a ton.

With every step, the horses' hooves would sink deep into the mire.

Because of this, the advance of the entire army became sluggish.

Andre and Boris stood in the center, urging the army forward.

Everyone had dismounted. Although their armor was heavy and they also sank into the mud, with their strength as knights, helping the horses through the mire was something they had to do.

Otherwise, the entire army wouldn't be able to cross the sea.

Unlike the tall and sturdy demon race, the average height of humans was around one meter sixty.

The physical fitness of the knights was much better than that of normal people, often ranging from one meter seventy to one meter eighty, with few exceeding one meter ninety.

Because of this, with every step they took, they sank nearly knee-deep into the mud.

They could only move forward one agonizing step at a time.

When the central command arrived, I used the long-range vision enabled by Ligeia's help and saw this scene.

I couldn't help but frown deeply.

At this rate, the demon army would easily react. Once they did and struck while we were half-crossed, let alone crossing the sea, these ten thousand knights might all end up buried here.

"Ligeia, I'm counting on you."

I gave the instruction. I didn't know what Ligeia could do, but I believed she would have a way.

Hearing me say this, a bitter smile appeared on the corner of Ligeia's mouth.

"Your Highness really knows how to put people to work~ Leave it to me."

With that, she flicked her staff, and her body instantly took flight, heading straight for the front.

Under the night sky, she floated in mid-air. I could see her close her eyes as if chanting.

Her emerald hair fluttered in the breeze, and then, her staff suddenly pointed toward the sky.

A beam of green light shot into the heavens, instantly transforming into countless green specks that fell upon the mud.

In the next second... a miracle occurred!

Under the stunned gaze of everyone, sprouts suddenly shot out from the mud-filled ground.

Then, countless tender green sprouts rose from the ground, transforming into large trees in the blink of an eye. The roots of the trees intertwined, paving a road made of wooden roots.

Ligeia floated back, but this time, the ease from before was gone from her face, replaced by a look of exhaustion.

"Mission accomplished."

Pride showed in her eyes, which comforted me.

"Thank you for your hard work."

"It was nothing~ But Your Highness, for this kind of exhausting work, please try to find someone else next time. My mana is completely overdrawn~"

She raised her hand and shook the ancient artifact on her wrist. The emerald light that had been within it had vanished, as if it had been entirely emptied.

"Mhm, I'll try."

I couldn't promise her anything, so I could only say I'd try to appease her.

She also seemed to understand what I meant. A bitter smile hung on her lips as she shook her head and went into the carriage to rest.

I continued to stand on the carriage, watching the situation in the distance.

The situation had improved greatly. The horses' hooves no longer sank into the mud, allowing the vanguard's speed to increase by more than a level instantly.

However, I was still worried.

After all, the distance across this sea area was about a hundred kilometers. If the demon race discovered us at such a distance, the situation would become very bad.

Please... don't let us be discovered!

Wait! Should I have thought that?

Isn't this just raising a flag?