[Vol. 8] Chapter 271: The Goddess Must Have Done This for a Reason…
When she asked a certain Saintess about this question, the Saintess could only respond with a helpless expression. She explained that the [Hand of Judgment] Holy Knight Corps was indeed a bit unusual, because the original commander of this corps had actually been herself, Frederica. She had also been the only female commander among the four great Holy Knight Corps of the Holy Capital at that time, and the only corps commander who also served as a Saintess.
As the famous and respected “Judgment Saintess,” many female Holy Knights admired her and actively chose to join her corps when filling in their service preferences. The Church did not interfere much, and over time, the number of female Holy Knights in the [Hand of Judgment] naturally grew.
During the Fourth Demon War, the [Hand of Judgment] was one of the first corps to take the front lines, enduring huge pressure and suffering heavy losses. However, they also made a name for themselves, proving that female Holy Knights were just as strong as male ones.
Later, when the “God’s Knight” Edwina Cecilia suddenly rose to fame, she inspired many new young women to follow in her footsteps and become Holy Knights. These female Holy Knights often chose to join the [Hand of Judgment], further widening the gender gap in the corps. Eventually… it became what it is today.
Now, the [Hand of Judgment] is truly one of a kind among all the Holy Knight Corps in the Holy Empire.
Although Frederica had stepped down as commander to take charge of the entire Eastern Front, managing more than 100,000 troops. Her successor, Fienne, was a trusted aide. So in reality, not much had changed.
As Violet and the others had seen, even though the Saintess no longer officially managed the [Hand of Judgment], its officers and soldiers still respected her greatly, following her almost blindly. This showed just how powerful Frederica Cecilia’s personal charm and influence were.
In a way, even Edwina, the current “God’s Knight,” had been her elder sister’s little fan at the start. Influenced by her, she chose to become a Holy Knight, only later growing strong enough to step out of her shadow and soar even higher.
Of course, the Saintess herself would never explain it this plainly, but except for a certain high-intelligence, low-emotional-awareness fool in the group, everyone else understood the hidden meaning behind her words.
Talking as they walked, they still kept a fast pace. Soon, under the guidance of the officer leading them, they reached the edge of a large open-air training ground deep inside the military camp.
“Ha! Ha! Ha!”
The place was already full of noise. Shouts shook the air. At least several thousand figures, all in spotless white Holy Knight armor, were wielding blunted training weapons. Some fought one-on-one, others two-on-two, and some in formations of dozens or even hundreds, clashing in mock battles. The sight was truly grand.
Bathed in the invisible wave of energy and momentum that came with the shouts, the Sword Saint, whose skill in swordsmanship was already near its peak, seemed the most moved, showing a rare look of admiration.
“What a fine army! Just a few thousand training together creates a power and presence that even armies of tens of thousands elsewhere cannot match. I once thought the Austre Empire’s troops were among the finest in the world, but now I see I was wrong.”
The Saintess turned her head to quietly look at this man from an enemy nation. A man who, oddly enough, did not seem to treat himself as an outsider.
In truth, if Bevis had not been personally brought here by a certain priestess and seemed to have a good relationship with her, then no matter what he had said before or how great his Saint-level strength was, Frederica would never have let him freely enter such a sensitive military zone.
The Sword Saint might be powerful, but she herself had already surpassed the ordinary limits. With the power of her holy artifact, she might well be able to fight him on equal terms. After all, you can never truly know someone’s heart, caution is always necessary. Who could say for sure whether this man was really as free of ambition as he appeared?
But everything She does always has a reason. Even the smallest thing, which might look simple, must hide some deeper meaning. This time is probably the same.
The goddess purposely let the Sword Saint from the Austre Empire see this scene. Could it be that…
As these thoughts flashed through her mind, Frederica felt like she had caught on to something, but she didn’t say it out loud. Instead, she quickly turned back and told the officer leading them to go call the deputy commander of the legion. Then she looked far out toward the soldiers in the training field and, in a tone that sounded like casual chatting, said,
“Speaking of which, do you all know how many troops the Holy Empire and Austre Empire each have on the main battlefield right now?”
Everyone paused for a moment, especially Bevis. Even though he had a very high position in the Austre Empire, so high that even the Emperor had to treat him with respect, he had never cared much about everyday matters. He only focused on training and teaching his students, so at this moment, he honestly didn’t know these war details.
“I would like to hear the details.”
The Saint smiled slightly. “This war is very important to our Holy Church. We have sent more than ten full Holy Knight legions and special units. But just like in the case of the Purple Mist City, as a precaution, almost half of our main forces are still guarding the border and haven’t entered the buffer zone. Counting everything, the troops actually fighting at the front lines right now are fewer than 100,000.”
“Austre Empire, however, has already sent out all four of its main army groups, along with huge numbers of soldiers. Even without counting the [Graeme] forces they control or the armies from their allied countries, they still have at least over one million troops.”
“Even so, their attacks have been completely blocked by our army inside the buffer zone. To this day, they have not stepped even half an inch into Holy Empire territory. Tell me, Mr. Bevis, without the strength to fight ten enemies at once, how could our soldiers have achieved such a great feat?”
“One million… against less than a hundred thousand?”
Hearing this, everyone was a bit shocked. They knew that the Holy Empire had always used an ‘elite soldier’ strategy, and they had met priests and holy warriors before. They understood that compared to ordinary soldiers, such fighters were overwhelmingly powerful. But still, the Austre Empire’s army… shouldn’t it be far stronger than most countries?
Miss Ayla looked puzzled.
“As far as I know, the Empire’s army is different from most other countries. They have widely equipped their soldiers with magic-powered armor that greatly boosts strength and defense. More than one-third of them carry a powerful weapon called the Magic Mirror. They also have the [Graeme] forces and all kinds of magic machines to help them. That should make up for most of the difference in individual strength, so why would they still…”
“It’s about formation and momentum,” the Sword Saint answered before the Saintess could speak.
“Ten soldiers can form a formation. A hundred soldiers can create momentum. A million soldiers become a great army. War is not like street fights or small skirmishes. Individual strength is important, yes, but even more important is how to fully use the power of every soldier and bring them together into a force that can advance and retreat as one.”