Chapter 71: Preparing for Battle
Four days flew by!
That evening, while I was having dinner with Grandma Claire, the knights sent by Angel arrived to pick me up. After saying my goodbyes and reassuring her that I’d be careful and would return soon, I hopped onto the Holy Church’s War Chariot, heading to the knight camp south of the village.
The camp was set up in a vibrant green meadow north of Woodward Forest, just a short twenty-minute chariot ride from the village.
There were over fifteen hundred knights stationed here. As night fell, the blazing torches lit up the night sky, turning the countless white tents into shades of crimson. Knights in golden armor with their blades held high rode the towering horned horses, patrolling the forest’s edge with solemn expressions, their flickering lights stretching far into the night.
I only stayed the night. The next morning, along with Angel and the bald Isaac, we set off, wrapping around the towering ancient trees of Woodward Forest for the next four days. We reached the east camp and southeast camp established by the First Knights Order at the forest’s edge, and also the heavily fortified camp, filled with watchtowers, built south of the forest.
During this time, each stop turned into a lightning-speed meeting. Angel summoned the archbishop, the captain of knights, and various other officials lounging around the camp, asking about the defense progress and search results. He arranged the next crucial tasks, instructing them to ramp up inspections in nearby villages, ensuring no heretics slipped through unnoticed while also keeping the villagers calm to prevent panic.
Furthermore, he organized search teams for the forest at each camp, requesting knights to search day and night for the location of the Land of Dragons and to tighten security on discovering it immediately. However, the feedback showed that the knights had started this task a whole ten days prior, and so far, no camp had reported anything.
No one knew what the entrance to the mythical Land of Dragons actually looked like.
A mysterious cave? The bottom of an unknown lake?
Or perhaps the ruins of some ancient relic?
Nobody knew.
Even Angel himself wasn’t sure.
But he was aware that I’d seen the White Dragon before—Carlos had spilled the beans to him quite early on—so he instructed the knights to watch for dragon tracks. On my advice, he also told them that if they spotted the giant, to lower all defenses and avoid unnecessary fights or sacrifices and to try and communicate with the White Dragon, as that big guy meant no harm to humans.
On two nights, Isaac, Angel, and I, along with dozens of knights, ventured into the forest while I shouted out the name of “Big White,” hoping for a stroke of luck that it would remember me and come out on its own.
But all we summoned were a pack of hungry wild wolves—no dragon hair whatsoever.
That reality made me a bit sad.
Big White… probably doesn’t remember me anymore…
But I quickly reassured myself that maybe it just couldn’t hear me…
During these hasty four days, I felt just how much importance the Holy Church—or rather, Angel—was placing on this operation. Setting aside the elite First Knights Order that had rushed in from the Holy City, merely the construction of watchtowers along the forest highlands in such a remote and desolate environment required massive manpower and financial resources, all to be completed in such a short time, along with meticulous organization and execution. I could somewhat understand.
But honestly, I wasn’t in much of a mood to contemplate all that.
After all, from what I’ve seen, despite the First Knights Order having four camps set up on the northern, eastern, southeastern, and due south areas of the forest, with five thousand of the church’s most elite warriors on standby, plus dozens of priests, clerics, and even four archbishops, reputedly the finest clerics of the church, along with the foolish bald Isaac, me, and the Pope himself, this line-up was unprecedentedly powerful.
However, Woodward Forest was massive, resource-rich, surrounded by countless small towns and villages. The villagers there, much like Grandma Claire’s village, depended heavily on the forest for their livelihood; they gathered herbs and hunted, with myriad paths leading to the outside world…
Even with countless watchtowers monitoring from above and knights patrolling day and night, preventing a massive attack from heretics was one thing—if a few mischievous little cats or dogs really wanted to sneak into the forest, they’d find it quite easy.
So… the preparations Angel had put in place at the camps on the forest’s border and the numerous checkpoints set up on all major roads and towns were all aimed at one thing: how to react swiftly once something happened.
Most crucially, they needed to locate the Land of Dragons before the heretics did.
Only by doing that could they truly gain the upper hand.
Angel told me that everything I was seeing was the extent of the resources he could muster under the current limited circumstances.
Even so, the entire western part of the forest remained unguarded—he explained that it was surrounded by mountains, with the coastline beyond. Due to the scarcity of water and treacherous terrain, it was nearly uninhabited, and the heretics were unlikely to come from that direction, whether as a few individuals or a large group, as human beings just couldn’t last ten days without food and water while scaling mountains to reach the forest’s plains.
Even if they made it to the plains, an even scarier obstacle awaited them—the chasm stretching across half the plains, along with the divine protections the church had set up beyond the chasm to prevent the spread of Abyss Mud.
Yup, that’s where I had woken up.
Four days of intense action left everyone weary.
On the evening of the fourth day, Angel, bald Isaac, and I, with over a hundred accompanying knights, arrived at the fourth camp in the south of Woodward Forest, the one with the most personnel and also the intelligence hub of the whole battle line. Without taking a breather, Angel swiftly summoned the captain of knights and clergy for another deployment meeting.
Inside the white command tent, people either in robes or clad in armor wore serious expressions, gathered around a flickering candlelit table. One captain was sifting through the existing intel while Angel, legs crossed and calm as a cucumber, listened.
“…Half a month ago, I dispatched two teams of twenty south of Silgaya to gather intel. These forty were elite warriors from the First Knights Order’s ‘Fist of Judgment,’ who have engaged heretics before. I tried to have them reconnect with Captain Williams, at least to inform him of our location… but to date, there’s been no news.”
“Given normal travel speed, they should be nearing the Mosley Coast by now… If there’s still no news, then let’s think positively—perhaps the Mosley Coast hasn’t fallen, and the southern edge of Silgaya hasn’t yet been affected by the conflict. If that’s the case… that would be excellent.”
“Once the ‘Fist of Judgment’ reaches the coast, we can discuss the next steps for support.”
“But if things are worse than we expected…”
“We must plan for the worst-case scenario…”
“Archbishop Ansiel remains unaccounted for, and we can’t ascertain the exact location of the relics… Our defenses are already strained, and if we act rashly and let the heretics slip through, it could end in disaster…”
I sat in a corner chair, chin resting in my hand, my furrowed brow never relaxing for even a moment.
These past few days had been nothing short of torturous.
I desperately wanted to rescue Barry, but I didn’t even know where he was, fully aware that his situation might be dire… I had made a promise at Aili’s grave, wanting her to see me… But four days had passed, and each day I was consumed with anxiety and worry, feeling utterly helpless; it was a dreadful feeling.
But now, all I could do was wait for updates.
My mood was already terrible, and on top of that, there was an annoyingly energetic bald guy trailing behind me, incessantly challenging me to a fight during breaks—it was driving me nuts! I originally thought of teaching him a lesson, but since leaving the village, I had lost that motivation.
I didn’t want to pay him any attention, yet he was steadfast in his pursuit. Only after Angel had a talk with him did he ease up a bit, though his eyes still radiated fire as he looked at me. If someone had no clue, they’d think a creepy lolicon was leering at a little girl.
…Wait, I’m not a little girl.
In short, even though my mood was in the pits, I had to endure it, digest it, and ignore that face with its stupid crest. I didn’t really want to get into a fight; if he got hurt, it would definitely complicate things.
Just then, sitting at the meeting table, not even glancing at the bald guy beside me.
He occasionally shot glances my way.
Before long, the sky outside the tent darkened, and the interminable meeting was drawing to a close. The knights sent out for exploration likely wouldn’t return with news for three to five days. Angel ordered everyone to prepare for battle while also shifting some focus to searching for the Land of Dragons.
I felt a bit tired.
Another fruitless meeting…
We still couldn’t grasp the situation down south, were clueless about Barry and the location of the Third Knights Order, nor knew if the battle at the Mosley Coast was still ongoing. Angel wouldn’t issue orders to head south just yet, and while I was burning with impatience, I wouldn’t foolishly rush ahead of the main group. That would only waste more time, and I didn’t even know where to go. The best course was to stick around here where I could get updates immediately.
Besides, I wasn’t just sitting around idly.
I had alternative intel sources already en route to the south—Beiyard that rascal! The night he arrived at the village, he had a long discussion with Angel, and left the camp the very next morning, taking some merchants and guards with him, bound for Alectine City, the largest city closest to the Mosley Coast.
That city was originally a transfer station for the Williams Chamber of Commerce to deliver supplies to the coast, and many of the reports Beiyard acquired in the royal city came from Alectine City. Four days ago, Beiyard volunteered to represent the church and the Currency Exchange, risking his neck to thoroughly investigate the situation and ensure smooth transport routes.
I had sent some goat cheese with him for the journey.
……….
After the meeting concluded, several captains and clergy began to filter out. Angel shut his eyes at the table, his fingers tapping out a rhythm on the wood, as if contemplating something. The incessant “thud thud” of his nails against the tabletop annoyed me, so I simply stepped out of the tent, making my way out of the camp.
“Hey, short stuff! Where are you off to?” Isaac called out as I left, “Got nothing to do? Let’s workout—”
Ah…
Not this again.
I spun around, ready to unleash a verbal barrage.
Just then, a ruckus erupted from the nearby tents on the left.
