"Faster, faster! If the Saint's Carriage catches up, you know the consequences!!"
Lina urged the Black Armored Knights, even though she knew such a forced march would take a heavy toll on the army's stamina.
But at this moment, she could no longer worry about that.
She had a general idea of why the Saint's Carriage had suddenly charged out from the crowd.
From the moment that red signal flare lit up, she could clearly feel the fighting spirit of those Snow Country knights plummeting.
Some were even constantly scanning their surroundings, obviously looking for a way to retreat.
In such a situation, having the Saint's Carriage lead the way was indeed a drastic move to cut off any chance of retreat.
However... it was certainly not the most rational move.
Lina could not help but recall Grandfather Scott.
If her Grandfather Scott were here, what would he do?
It was simple; Grandfather Scott would definitely do nothing at all.
Because Grandfather Scott knew her strength.
Grandfather Scott believed in her strength and the strength of the Black Armored Knights, believing they could sweep away anything in their path.
Once they crossed this strait, there would be plenty of ways to stabilize morale.
There was absolutely no need for such an exaggerated and risky move.
In fact, Grandfather Scott might only need a few words to stabilize the army's spirit.
After all... one does not become a sovereign for seventy or eighty years for nothing!
Whether it was eloquence or the manipulation of people's hearts, Scott's skill was masterful.
Grandfather Scott might even choose an even simpler method: money!
Although the Kingdom of the Highlands was poor, the soldiers' treatment when facing the dwarves was quite generous, which allowed the Kingdom of the Highlands' combat power to remain at the forefront of the Eight Nations of the Holy Church!
And money often exerted immense power.
Although the knights came from wealthy backgrounds, as long as the pay was high enough, there would inevitably be those willing to risk their lives, even if only ten out of a hundred were tempted and only one acted.
That alone would be enough to stabilize morale.
However, these methods did not seem to suit the current Luo Li.
So, while Lina understood why Luo Li was doing this, she still did not quite approve.
That was the Saint's Carriage, the banner of the central command for this expedition!
If the Saint's Carriage sustained any damage, the impact on morale would be catastrophic!
Because of this, Lina was determined not to let the Saint's Carriage catch up to her Black Armored Knights; otherwise, if they truly clashed with the enemy, she would have no time to look after what was happening behind her.
A single mistake could lead to the Saint's Carriage being damaged.
The Black Armored Knights advanced at full speed, moving much faster than ordinary knights.
In just over a minute, the vanguard camp was already visible in the distance.
Seeing that nearly ten thousand knights were already on high alert, facing the direction of the distant cliff...
Lina instantly assessed the situation ahead.
This signal flare was likely fired because the scouts had discovered the enemy and engaged in a skirmish.
"Black Armored Knights, hear my command! Follow me!!"
Knowing their destination, Lina did not hesitate for a second, galloping to the very front of the Black Armored Knights.
As Lina accelerated, the Black Armored Knights behind her followed suit.
Their mounts had been carefully selected; these ten thousand Black Armored Knights could be called the strongest fighting force of the Kingdom of the Highlands.
They were chosen for the Black Armored Knights because of their great strength.
Even the black horses beneath them were extraordinary.
The army's charging speed had even reached over seventy kilometers per hour!!
The black armor moved like a dark tide as Lina took the lead, finally stepping onto the demon island.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of hooves converged into a thunderous roar, making the ground tremble constantly.
The knights ahead gazed at the Black Armored Knights in astonishment; it was their first time seeing such an elite force.
Even while charging at near-maximum speed, the formation of the entire knight regiment showed not the slightest bit of disorder.
It was as if a massive black square was moving in a perfect line.
The Black Armored Knights swept past the vanguard in an instant.
At the same time, a sharp command from the Saintess of War echoed through the air.
"Vanguard, remain on high alert! Protect the Saint's Carriage!!"
Before the words could even fade, the Black Armored Knights were already far away.
Kiran was left standing dazed on the spot.
He muttered to himself, "The Saint's Carriage? What is she talking about?"
While he was still stunned, a knight behind him suddenly pointed at the massive bridge formed from tree roots and shouted:
"Look! It's the Saint's Carriage!"
Instinctively, Kieran turned his head and froze.
He had never expected that the Saint's Carriage would dare to leave the central command and charge directly into the vanguard.
Was this Saintess of the Moon's head screwed up?
Wasn't this the same as seeking death?
However, Kieran had no time to think about that.
"Quick!! Stop the Saint's Carriage! We cannot let the Saint's Carriage continue forward!"
After speaking, Kieran paused for a moment and instinctively looked back at his vanguard.
At this moment, the nine thousand plus knights of the vanguard were all standing dazed on the spot.
None of them had expected that the Saintess of the Moon would personally come to the front, and they were all stunned for a moment.
"What are you all standing there for! Didn't you hear my command!! Intercept the Saint's Carriage immediately!! Move!"
With that, Kieran was the first to turn his horse around and head straight for the Saint's Carriage.
...
Looking at the white horse galloping toward us, although I didn't have a strong impression of these Guardian Knights, I at least recognized him.
Kieran, the Guardian Knight of the Kingdom of Flame.
He was unharmed, but I didn't see Amir.
It seemed that Amir was the one in trouble.
I just didn't understand why Amir, as the commander of the vanguard, would leave the main force.
What was he doing?
What had happened?
Why did he fire the signal flare?
Didn't he know the impact this would have on the army's morale?
While my mind was filled with questions, Kieran arrived before the Saint's Carriage.
Dominica knew she could not continue forward; it was too dangerous.
Bringing her Saintess into such a perilous situation would likely result in a harsh lecture or even punishment from Hilda upon their return.
But Dominica was suffering in silence.
How could a mere knight like her stop the Saintess's orders?
"Who goes there?"
Although she had some memory of him, Dominica didn't remember this Kieran and could only ask.
Upon hearing this, Kieran instinctively looked up at Dominica. The moment his gaze met hers, he froze.
"Your Maj—"
Then, Kieran seemed to remember something. His expression changed as he glanced at Dominica, said nothing more, and leapt off his horse, stepping forward to kneel on one knee.
"Foreign subject Kieran, Guardian Knight of the Kingdom of Flame and deputy commander of the vanguard, greets the Saintess of the Moon."
The Saint's Carriage slowly came to a halt. The eight white horses were panting heavily, clearly exhausted.
I looked down at Kieran, my brow furrowing.
"Why are you the only one here? Where is the commander, Amir?"
"In... in response to the Saintess, Amir has gone ahead to scout the path."
Just as I thought.
"...From now on, Kieran, you are promoted to commander of the vanguard. Amir is demoted to deputy commander. Everything in the vanguard is under your command."
"Yes!"
Kieran nodded, seemingly unsurprised by my decision.
In fact, at this stage, the commander should not have left the main force, yet Amir had already gone.
No matter how one looked at it, Amir was no longer fit to be the primary commander.
"Good. Report exactly what happened."
I looked down at Kieran. He hesitated for a moment before responding:
"In response to the Saintess, Deputy Commander Amir felt that the cliffs ahead were a likely place for an ambush and that it would significantly affect our army's concealment. Therefore, he led a force to investigate."
"And then?"
"About fifteen minutes later, a signal flare appeared above the cliff. Amir... has not sent any word since."
"Kieran, let me ask you, what is the responsibility of a commander!?"
I slowly lowered my head, staring at Kieran.
With a grim expression, he lowered his head further.
"In response to the Saintess, the commander's responsibility is to stabilize the army, direct the soldiers, and achieve victory."
"Then what should be Amir's punishment?"
"Abandoning his post and the army... he should be demoted by one rank and docked six months' pay."
"Very well. Dominica, record a major demerit for Amir. We will hold off on the punishment for now; let him atone for his failure through service and see how he performs!"
Regardless of whether Amir could return alive, as the commander of the vanguard, he should not have led a small force away from the main army alone.
Changing commanders before a battle was a taboo in military strategy.
But at a time like this, when he had made such a massive mistake, he had to be punished!
For now, this was all that could be done.
"Has the Black Armored Knights already passed through?"
"The Black Armored Knights passed by not long ago. Saintess Lina instructed us to protect the Saint's Carriage."
Kieran responded with his head down, but I waved my hand.
"Enough. I don't need your protection here. Continue your alert and ensure the safety of the central command's flanks and the rear guard."
"As you command!"
He nodded in agreement. After rising, he returned directly to his troops.
Although he had agreed verbally, he still chose a 4-3-3 formation.
He used forty percent of his strength to sandwich the Saint's Carriage in the middle.
On one hand, he might have been afraid I would run off again.
On the other hand, it allowed him to protect the Saint's Carriage.
If anything went wrong, the 3-3 formation in the front would be the first to face the enemy, while the 4 in the rear could provide support or split off to assist my retreat.
This Kieran had a much better grasp of the overall situation than Amir.
Regardless, at this point, my favorability toward Amir had plummeted into the negatives.
If an ordinary person was a five, he was already at negative five hundred.
If it weren't for him causing trouble like this, I wouldn't have had to take such a big risk by separating the Saint's Carriage from the central command.
He was nothing but a troublemaker.
Taking a deep breath, I looked toward the distant cliff. In the distance, I could vaguely see some massive black figures constantly waving their weapons.
From where I was, that cliff was at least several miles away. If I could see their shadows so clearly from here, just how large were those things up close?
The thought alone sent a chill down my spine.
Meanwhile, the Black Armored Knights finally reached the cliff.
The moment she turned the corner, Lina, taking the lead, saw mangled corpses scattered everywhere. There was only one remaining knight, struggling to hold on under the coordinated attacks of the demonized giants.
Seeing this, Lina gave a sharp cry!
"Black Armored Knights!"
Ten thousand knights shouted in unison:
"Invincible with me!!"
"Charge!!!"
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