You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 346 Who exactly is the traitor?

“I have returned victorious,” Princess White Steel said to Io III. Seeing that he still looked gloomy, she frowned and said, “But you look unhappy.”

“My son, you briefly dispelled the dark clouds that shrouded Black Castle like a white seagull, but I see more shadows, like dark clouds, riding the winds of war from the Sinnoh Peninsula. Do you think I can be happy?”

Tashina said coldly, "Now that the enemies have come, they're not leaving."

The Black Iron King sighed, “Alas, Tana, my Tana, how excellent and outstanding you are, but you were born in the wrong era. You are too young. You were born into the Conqueror’s family, and there is no stage for you to show your talents. You do not know what kind of opponents you are facing. I used the war to defeat the Holy War Army twice, but those were just ordinary troops. Now their main force has come.”

Iotashina replied, “My father, and you too, look overwhelmed, weary, and weak. You are not like a king of kings at all, but rather like an old farmer toiling in the countryside. I advise you to take off that crown so that you may have a moment to catch your breath, lest the heavy burdens that follow crush you.”

The king gave a wry smile: "Do you think I don't want to? But someone has to carry it; it's the foundation of our people."

Tahithina said, "Then give it to me. Since you are unable to bear it, pass the crown and the throne to me."

"I can't give it to you now. This is a life-or-death moment. Let's wait until we get through this... but I don't know if I'll ever have that chance again."

Princess White Steel said, “Father, my father, you are truly pathetic. I know you very well. You yearn to be like the kings of old, noble, dignified, generous, kind, and wise. This may be suitable for a ruler who maintains the status quo. But in times of crisis, your weak nature is utterly useless, and will only lead to the destruction of the magnificent palace built by Ionus and the defilement of the Iron Throne by treacherous men.”

She said, “Your Majesty, when will you understand that force is everything? The Black Iron King should not be passively retaliating. You should act before everyone else and immediately suppress any troublemakers you see. Instead, you hope to use tolerance and mercy to influence the enemy. If Blackburg falls, the only thing that will die is your weakness.”

The Iron King remained seated on his black iron throne, his face clouded with worry. His cause had failed, enemy forces were at the gates, and his daughter was mocking him.

But he had to bear it all in silence.

"I must bear this weight." Éolien chewed on the bitter word. "My Tana, my proud and confident Tana, I love you so much, more than any child. Do you know how much I cherish you? I consider you another life of mine. How could I possibly push you into the abyss? I would rather it be your child who succeeds me than you."

Do you know the price of becoming the King of the Black Iron? It's a true curse; you'll be constantly dealing with another dark, dead, and cold world.

Iolion saw the endless, rising shadow, and before that shadow, he saw another shadow from the Papacy.

Those shadows coalesced into phantoms and warhorses in an invisible dimension, like reflections of the real universe. They strode in, suffocating like a nightmare.

He could see it, of course he could see it; the curse of Ionus bound their fates together.

Ionus hated the papacy more than the gods.

But a century after he left, this land was filled with churches and monasteries.

The ancient beliefs in those nameless and faceless gods have long been thoroughly spread.

“Since you refuse to pass the throne to me, then let the ‘Black Knight’ accompany me to fight the enemy,” said Princess White Steel.

The Black Knights were the royal guards; they were also known as the 'Black Irons'.

When the conquerors conquered this land, they relied on the unparalleled Black Iron Army, and the kingdom was named after it, with Black Iron being the highest honor.

Their armor was made of magic steel, mithril, and adamantite, and was jet black, like an abyss. When people saw the black iron standing together on the ground, they were shocked to find that even the sun in the sky would dim. The armor could absorb light and was extremely resistant to magic. It was the legendary black metal.

Although they called themselves knights, they were not all cavalry, but rather infantry units.

The conqueror's expedition took all the 'Black Iron' with him, but his Black Iron army also perished. The Black Iron Kingdom later forged a thousand more suits of armor, some of which were lost in the Valley of Silence. Now, only about five hundred men remain capable of fighting.

Some of these imperial guards were in their seventies or eighties, their physical strength failing, and they lived a secluded life. Others were still vigorous and in their prime, serving in the palace.

Black Iron is responsible for guarding the inner city and protecting the king's safety.

The Iron Guards are responsible for guarding the outer city and ensuring the safety of Blackburg.

But Iron Guard can't even be considered a low-end version of Black Iron.

Even a thousand Iron Guards cannot be a match for a hundred Black Irons—concentrating most resources on a few is the law of war in this era.

Five hundred Black Iron soldiers are enough to sweep aside fifty thousand conscripts. A fully armed Black Iron soldier can kill a hundred mortals with his bare hands.

Not to mention their weapons were black iron broadswords, with blades 20 centimeters wide and a length of 1.5 meters including the hilt. They were true two-handed broadswords, weighing about 200 kilograms, but they could lift them with one hand.

Some of them joined the Imperial Guard by achieving results in martial arts tournaments, while others were descendants of old Imperial Guards members or children of the conquerors' followers. They were all loyal and virtuous men.

But their enemies are no ordinary people either.

Iolion agreed.

He sat alone on the throne, watching the Black Iron Guards, carrying broadswords on their backs, file out, leaving the entire palace empty.

Princess White Steel's raid on the camp dealt a heavy blow to the Holy War Army, rendering them incapable of siege warfare for several days.

The Tianma Plain became the base of the Jihad Army. The labor force of all the villages and towns were raising supplies for the Jihad Army and rebuilding their camps.

Princess White Steel was extremely annoyed watching from the city wall.

How did they all become traitors in the blink of an eye?!
Who exactly is the traitor?

Once my loyalist army arrives, I will slaughter you all!
……

A few days later.

Before the loyalist army arrived, the enemy arrived as scheduled.

The hymns floated in the air, melodious and sacred, purifying the soul.

They appeared and disappeared amidst the swirling dust.

Demon hunters who hunt down heretics, judges of the Inquisition, and Templars who protect the temple.

The banners of the Thirty-Three Divine Thrones fluttered in the wind, the three major Papal Knights led the way, 333 hymn nuns sang hymns, and the Divine Nobles and tens of thousands of believers followed, forming the main force of the Papal Court.

Princess White Steel watched this scene from afar.

Blackburg was built during the time of the Conquerors and expanded over a century. Backed by the southern mountains, its three walls are high and sturdy, making it extremely difficult to conquer. With five hundred Black Iron soldiers stationed there, it is undoubtedly a pipe dream to break through.

However, simply defending the city is not a foolproof strategy—Blackburg is densely populated and under immense pressure. If the Holy War army besieges the city for a long time, Blackburg will fall on its own.

And it is.

The Jihadist army did not rush to attack the city, but instead set up camp on the spot.

Ordinary soldiers camped in the open air, knights set up tents, while some lords' tents were as large as houses, especially the main tent, which was conspicuous and spacious.

Princess White Steel suppressed the urge to launch a second raid on the camp.

She was extremely perceptive of the war's developments and vaguely sensed that the Jihad Army was fishing for her.

A surprise attack tactic can only be used once; it won't work the second time. If the enemy is prepared and launches a rash attack, they will get trapped.

There are seven or eight hundred knights in the three major knightly orders alone, nearly a thousand qualified combat knights, and four or five thousand ordinary riders.

The Papacy has mobilized its entire military force in Sinnoh.

What's even more terrifying is that she encountered the Sinnoh Shield Guard, numbering about one or two hundred. The main battlefield of the Sinnoh Kingdom was far away in Crimson Moon, so apart from the Shield Guard, only a symbolic number of troops were sent to provide assistance.

But is that all?

Princess White Steel thought to herself, "Clearly, that's not all."

She gazed into the distance from the city wall…

The River Valley Army was the first loyalist army to set foot on the Tianma Plain.

The Vatican's spies are everywhere here.

“Clearly, Lord Fury Tide couldn’t stop them,” Cardinal Eric said.

“That’s an army of blasphemers, it’s terrifying,” someone said.

The Holy War Army clashed with the blasphemers twice, but suffered crushing defeats both times, with the army being wiped out in two battles and very few escaping.

"Eat them up!" After a high-level meeting, the Vatican unanimously made this choice.

The Papacy and Romans have a long-standing feud. Even Éo III didn't dare to carry out large-scale massacres of believers. How dare you do this?

Blasphemers have been a key target of the Vatican for the past two years, second only to the Black Iron King.

Now it seems we've run into each other on a narrow road.

They acted decisively, assembled a large army, and began to surge towards the river valley army.

The plains offered no natural defenses, and the place they were in was originally farmland—but now no one farmed it anymore; they had all rebelled.

Having observed the enemy's movements, Jet immediately used the supply wagons to form a square defensive fortification. He deployed his armored guards in the gaps between the wagons, and positioned the heavy infantry in the weakest points of the defense. He then ordered the rest of the army to take up their bows and arrows and prepare to fire.

The holy war army surrounded the river valley army's wagons like a tide, but they were in a difficult situation.

After a brief discussion, the generals and marshals decided to launch an attack in batches.

Deploy 50,000 men and attack for an hour first.

The first batch consisted of 10,000 unarmored holy warriors. Since the exact number could not be calculated, a rough estimate would suffice.

Compared to the River Valley Army, they were smaller in scale, but their offensive capabilities were much simpler.

The jihadist soldiers in the front row, holding large shields, began to charge forward to break through the enemy lines.

"All on the south side, please!" Nathan shouted. At this moment, the vanguard also dismounted.

The soldiers guarding the convoy on the south side nocked their arrows.

Archer training is extremely difficult, and mastering the standard longbow is far more challenging than using ordinary hunting bows or shortbows.

However, if you shoot thirty times each morning, noon and evening, and train like this for two or three months, you will strengthen your muscles and bones. Even the dumbest person can master shooting skills, though their accuracy will be lacking.

However, Roman's large-scale training of archers never expected them to become sharpshooters like the sniper brigade.

His only requirements were that the range met the standard and the firing direction was correct.

By this standard, even those auxiliary troops could be considered qualified archers.

"Release!" Nathan ordered immediately after seeing the enemy approach within a hundred meters.

The garrison on the south side numbered about two thousand men. Two thousand arrows, while not enough to blot out the sky, certainly rained down like arrows.

In the current era, heavily armored cavalry are the main fighting force on the battlefield, infantry are an inefficient auxiliary force, and archers are difficult to train and thus difficult to form a large force; even crossbowmen are relatively scarce.

Therefore, the first wave of holy warriors suffered heavy losses because they underestimated the power of archers.

Although they had shields, not everyone did; most of them were farmers who had spent their entire lives tilling the land.

They were first hit by arrows, then screamed in agony, and finally collapsed to the ground.

The barrage of arrows, covering the entire area, lasted for three rounds. In less than half a minute, the entire southern front was a scene of carnage, a truly horrific sight. Many knights and priests gaped in shock.

Ultimately, the attack quickly collapsed.

"This is the devil's weapon!" After their initial shock, the generals became extremely indignant.

Damn it! This is outrageous! How could you possess weapons of mass destruction?!

"Attack! Attack! We must destroy them, destroy the minions of this evil king!"

The second wave of attacking troops numbered approximately 20,000.

If it weren't a flat plain, it would be difficult to deploy the troops on any other terrain, as they swarmed over in droves.

"For the gods!" they roared, rallying their morale.

The people in the front row were being pushed and shoved by those in the back. They were excited and scared. They couldn't see the specific situation in front of them. They could only hear screams coming from all directions. Their bodies went limp. They instinctively wanted to run away, but they were surrounded by a dense army and had no direction to run. They were swept up and rushed forward.

Some people did not die from arrows falling from the sky, but were tripped over by their own corpses and trampled to death by their own men.

But they actually charged up.

Ragged clothes, emaciated, and filthy faces make them highly susceptible to hallucinations of a zombie horde.

"Guards Battalion! Step forward!"

The river valley army's swordsmen and spearmen marched over the wagons and quickly formed a battle formation. Their super-long spears instantly killed the hundred or so men at the very front who were charging forward.

"Stay calm!" Kao shouted, but in the current noisy environment, the chances were extremely slim.

The swordsmen and spearmen's defensive line was almost breached, the formation was severely disrupted, and they were nearly pushed back behind the wagons. They held on thanks to their excellent skills and the instincts they had developed during training.

Arrows rained down from the rear, but a brutal battle raged on the front lines.

The attack from this group of believers came down in a barrage, consisting of short spears, long lances, knives, and axes. These weapons did little damage to plate armor and were difficult to break through.

The Imperial Guards' combat awareness and physical fitness far surpassed those of ordinary troops. They were well-equipped, armed with swords and shields, and capable of spear thrusts; no matter how many came, they would die.

No matter how many enemy troops came, they could not break through these three ranks.

They fought for about twenty minutes, with the Valley Army changing its troops three times to engage the enemy. The Believers' Army came like a tide and retreated like a tide, leaving behind only corpses everywhere. The corpses on the front lines of the battle were piled up to almost half a meter high.

The third offensive launched by the Jihad Army came up in the blink of an eye.

The first wave of more than 8,000 defeated soldiers were gathered together, and with the addition of the third wave of more than 20,000, there were more than 30,000 people in total, which was really no different from a zombie horde.

"The vanguard retreats, the rearguard advances!"

Jet figured it out. The Holy War Army was launching a fierce attack on the southern defense line, prepared to break through the enemy lines regardless of casualties.

The southern army really couldn't hold out.

The swordsmen and shieldmen's stamina dropped drastically after only three to five minutes of fighting, and they were barely holding on by sheer willpower, even managing to chip the steel blades.

At first, he could kill someone with one slash, but later he couldn't kill a person even after four or five slashes.

Fortunately, the comrades in the rear rotated and replaced the teammates who were physically exhausted in time.

Two chapters combined, and another long chapter this afternoon.
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(End of this chapter)