Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 416 The Scale of Army Expansion and the Tech Tree - Combat Priest

The Black Forest army's strength has certainly increased for far more than just the Vengeful Sun Half-Griffin Knights.

In fact, the improvement of this knightly order was far from the greatest. The greatest improvement belonged to the Black Forest Guard Knights.

Since Su Li was unable to appoint a lord, many knights opted for the more prestigious and powerful Black Forest Guard Knights. Joining this order required relinquishing secular lands and titles, making them highly valuable and fulfilling the aspirations of many knights for honor.

This situation in the Hessian territory has caused the army to expand rapidly, and its size has now exceeded 200 people!
These are Su Li's direct subordinates; he personally serves as the marshal of the Black Forest Guard Knights.

Furthermore, they were all provided with the finest armor, with nearly half already equipped with perfect-grade vibranium rune armor, and the other half with at least superb-grade armor.

According to rank, the lowest rank in this unit is silver armor and silver shields, while half of them are equipped with gold swords, gold armor, and gold shields. This is the highest level of equipment for a fully-fledged unit.

More importantly, the Hessian Guard Knights are all battle-hardened veterans, distinguished soldiers with outstanding honors and achievements. There are no reserves; every Hessian Guard Knight is at least an elite-level soldier. Moreover, there are more than eight champion knights among them.

All I can say is that the Black Forest region has a large number of champion knights and is incredibly strong.

In addition, this unit's strength is improving the fastest. Unlike the Half-Griffin Knights, whose size is limited by the number of griffins, the only thing limiting the strength of the Black Forest Guard Knights is the number of perfect-grade armor.

However, his progress in this area was also rapid. Not only could he quickly smelt the spoils of war from Blue Mirror Territory, but the two and a half giant iron mines also provided him with a constant supply of vibranium. Every month, enough vibranium was transported to Blackwood Territory to be forged into new vibranium rune armor.

Unfortunately, Blue Mirror Territory does not have such a giant iron ore mine.

There wasn't a single one. This made Su Li clearly realize just how precious these giant iron mines were. He was able to own two and a half mines entirely because of his advantageous geographical location: one at the foot of the Black Forest Mountains, and the other within the vast Blood Pine Forest. Both were on the edge of the empire, deep in the mountains and forests, which is why they had such rich mineral deposits. The remaining half was shared with the Gray Rock Tribe; it was completely inside the Gray Mountain Province, in the absolute core of the mountain range.

The Blue Mirror Territory is located on a plain, so it is naturally difficult to find such superior and abundant mineral resources.

Fortunately, Blue Mirror Territory has a unique advantage: a batch of Lightscale Fish gathers in Blue Mirror Lake every month. The timing is unpredictable, so Baron Grant can't consistently harvest any. But with the guidance of the intelligence system, Su Li can harvest a dozen or so each month.

This can greatly improve the aptitude of the knights in the Black Forest Territory. With the support of such abundant resources, more than twenty knights in the Black Forest Territory will advance in each cycle, among which three or four will advance to the level of elite knights.

Every few months, one or two champion knights will be promoted. This is achieved by investing heavily in resources, creating a positive cycle within the territory.

Moreover, after these people advanced to the rank of elite knights, their greatest dream was to join Su Li's army. After all, as a tool of violence for the ruling class, joining the army of the Black Forest Territory could indeed bring them enormous benefits.

The enormous casualties and mortality rate did not deter true warriors; on the contrary, it had a kind of beauty in the process of natural selection. Some cowards retired voluntarily, some weak people died in battle, and what remained were battle-hardened soldiers and brave knights.

These elite soldiers' greatest dream was undoubtedly to join the Vengeful Sun Half-Griffin Knights and the Black Forest Guard Knights.

If these two goals proved too difficult to achieve, some knights opted for a less desirable path: becoming high-ranking squires. This meant they would have to fight alongside many non-knights.

This was unacceptable to many knights. Many members of the Imperial Knights joined the Orders precisely because they were unwilling to live and fight alongside the peasants of the provincial legions.

Su Li's high-ranking personal attendants have expanded from 500 to 800, and a considerable number of them are not knights, or at least not all of them are elite knights.

Taking the Bloodpine Forest Beast Slayers, the main force of high-ranking direct attendants, as an example, many of them are armed attendants, and only the captains and platoon leaders are knights and elite knights.

This is also to give ordinary citizens more opportunities to improve themselves, while increasing their sense of belonging to the territory and their enthusiasm for defending it.

After all, if you give no hope to ordinary people, then don't blame some of the best among them for becoming rebels and bandits.

These Bloodpine Forest Beast Assassins were certainly not as well-equipped as the knights, but as Su Li's high-ranking personal attendants, their equipment was by no means inferior. All four squadrons of beast assassin attendants were well-equipped and fully armed. Each of them had a set of fine plate armor forged by a dwarven master, a fine halberd, and a sharp longsword hanging at their waist.

With their equipment, a well-trained armed servant could easily defeat 3 to 4 inferior beastmen, kobolds, and dryads.

They truly live up to their reputation as killers of the Bloodpine Forest beasts.

In addition to these four squadrons of beast killers, Su Li's high-ranking personal attendants also include a squadron of dwarven thunder musketeers, a squadron of crossbowmen, and a warband of foot knights (80 men), totaling 800 men.

There are approximately 200 elite-level high-ranking personal attendants among them.

Finally, the Hessian Territory also had a large provincial army. After Marshal Erstein reorganized and expanded the army, he personally reported to Su Li.

The provincial legion, serving as the basic defensive force and main force in field battles of the Black Forest Territory, has expanded to a full two thousand men. This army is not composed of noble knights; its main body consists of conscripted citizens, free men serving in the military, and armed squires aspiring to promotion.

Marshal Erstein, well aware of the army's role and value, reported in a pragmatic and detailed manner: "My lord, the provincial legion has been reorganized into a standard legion, with full manpower. It includes 6 halberd companies, 3 crossbow companies, 2 infantry companies, 4 shock knight companies, 2 dwarf warrior companies, and 1 thunder musketeer company. The remaining troops are dwarven artillery units, which, after reorganization and repair, now have a total of 14 cannons and 3 supply wagons."

"Thanks to our powerful armory and numerous dwarven blacksmiths, heavy plate armor and excellent weapons are currently in ample supply. The equipment level of the provincial legions has exceeded the standard of the imperial provincial legions, making them capable of carrying out tasks such as suppressing bandits, patrolling the borders, maintaining order, and serving as the backbone of the main battlefront. In terms of morale, it is currently maintained well due to rigorous training and a clear promotion path (which allows entry into the high-ranking direct attendant sequence).

"The main problem now is that due to the heavy losses in previous battles and the addition of a large number of new recruits, it will still take time to accumulate combat experience."

"However, there is a positive side, thanks to the reform of our academy. Each squadron has basically added [Combat Priests], [Standard Bearers], [Junior Officers], and [Medical Officers]. The Knight Squadron has even added [Improved Warhorses]."

kindness?
Hearing what Erstein said, Su Li was quite interested. It was normal for new recruits to accumulate combat experience. He didn't have much to say. There were so many veterans in the army. All he had to do was give them rigorous training.

However, he was very interested in the legion reorganization and the research tree of the Hessen Noble Military Academy. He immediately said, "I remember that the academy previously researched [Provincial Standard Bearer], [Rationed Infantry Armor], [Improved Heavy Weapons], and [Warhorse Breeding], right? What new research achievements have they made in the past six months?"

Erstein replied in detail, "The results are numerous, including the [Improved Cavalry Armor], which equips our cavalry with thicker plate armor and our mounts with thicker horse armor. In the next battle, the survivability of our knights will significantly increase, allowing them to be deployed in subsequent charges. Furthermore, the dwarves in our territory have crafted a large number of superior-grade horse armors based on the [Sunfire Horse Armor]. While they don't possess the powerful fire-burning effect and charge bonus of perfect-grade horse armor, the defensive capabilities they provide are immense."

"There's also [endurance training]. They've developed a set of equipment and gear that allows our troops to march with full gear for extended periods, significantly increasing their endurance and preparing them for real combat. This also significantly reduces the rate of fatigue for all knightly units (shock knights)."

"The other two are the result of close cooperation between the academy and the church. The academy recruited and trained a group of priests of the Church of the Sun Goddess who have a deep understanding of the art of war, are steadfast in their faith, and possess basic divine magic and the ability to inspire. As you know, the priests of the Sun Goddess are all highly skilled and physically strong knights. They will provide soldiers with multiple encouragements in terms of morale, faith, and life, and will lead the charge in battle, boosting morale and wielding their warhammers to crush the fiercest enemies."

Su Li couldn't help but smile. Wasn't this the state church pastor and political commissar of the war of national defense?

Of course, despite his chuckle, combat priests are still quite common in this world.

For example, Hogel Kass, the First Halberdier of the Imperial Army, witnessed such a scene during the Second Battle of Black Mountain Pass: "We were surrounded, all around us Greenskins. They knew we were done for. Then the priest raised his hammer and prayed loudly to the sky. As those words echoed across the silent battlefield, lightning struck. I swear to Regmar we were all unharmed. But the Greenskins were all done for."

This is the Battle Priest, the defender of the Imperial faith.

While all priests are required to carry weapons to defend their temples and faith, and most are at least skilled in combat, only a few fight alongside their cult members and the Imperial army. These battle priests have a triple responsibility: to serve the loyalists in the army, to provide spiritual and tactical advice to the army's leadership, and to fight disloyal heretics on the battlefield. When war comes upon a temple, a sect's battle priests will be responsible for defending the temple and rallying other church members to repel the attackers. Battle priests are usually members of a church, such as the Silverhammer Order of the Church of Regmar. Most battle priests come from the sects of Regmar, Yurik, Violet, Tal, and Mor, though other sects also have their own symbolic battle priests to defend their faith.

The image and temperament of the combat priests of each sect are different.

Yurik's battle priests are—snow wolf followers, also known as wolf priests or Yurik warriors. Yurik is the god of wolves, war, and winter. In some northern provinces, he is even more revered by peasants and nobles than Rigmar. Those who enter his priesthood are brave and unyielding, embodying their divine, primal nature. These priests become ruthless warriors by their own abilities, able to convey Yurik's chilling howl to their comrades, inspiring their courage and savage nature.

Life was harsh in the north of the empire; winters were bitterly cold, the land barren, and the forests teeming with orcs and goblins. Yurik was the patron saint of the land, for he was as harsh as the land itself, and he hoped that the strength and independence he received from his followers would enable the people of the northern provinces to live more resiliently.

The battle priests of Ulric embody this quality. All Ulric priests are fierce warriors, for the weak are not permitted to enter the Church of Ulric. This is because Ulric is first and foremost a warrior, and he expects his followers to confront problems head-on with force whenever possible. In battle, the priests of Ulric are the embodiment of their god, wielding their axes and swords, proving their oaths to their enemies with the ferocity of the wolf god himself. The warriors around them are filled with courage, and the faith and strength of Ulric's warriors are unyielding. The priests can draw power from the divine wrath of their god, summoning the chill of winter or unleashing a raging fury to slaughter their foes.

The battle priests of Mor were—followers of death. Most of the Empire feared Mor's priests—because most feared the unknown and death, an unknown fate for all, no matter how devout, from which no one could escape. Mor's priests reminded everyone of their own mortality. This reminded most that they would rather not die. Yet, despite this prejudice, Mor's priests were indispensable in the services they provided. The dead, loved ones, had to be properly cared for, as did those who were not loved. Everyone recognized the importance of funeral rites. For more often than anyone wanted to remember, the dead—the uncared-for dead—rose to haunt the living. And while swords and hammers could destroy the resurrected dead, only Mor's priests could grant them eternal rest.

While not strictly combat priests, the followers of Mor are often forced to defend themselves, as they are staunch adversaries of the undead. They wear black robes that represent their faith and seek to ensure the safe passage of the souls of the deceased, and more importantly, to ensure their eternal rest.

Because the priests of More rarely engaged in military activities, they were typically equipped only with ceremonial daggers and sickles as weapons. Sickles were usually tools used by farmers in the fields, and therefore rarely used as weapons of war. However, the sickle also represented death. It was a symbol of the harvester, representing famine, hunger, and disease caused by a lack of harvested food. Therefore, the priests of More could carry a sickle as a weapon when necessary. These sickles were made relatively heavy, intended for harvesting the bodies of warriors rather than wheat. Because the long-handled scythe was cumbersome, it had to be wielded with both hands and could not be used in conjunction with other weapons and shields.

Many of the elite knights of the Order of Mor were warriors who were affiliated with prominent figures in the Church of Mor, providing protection for these priests and adding to their ominous aura.

Finally, there is Violet's Light, the most numerous battle priest in the Black Forest Territory.

The Goddess of the Sun is the goddess of glorious war, civilization, military strategy, warriors, and officers. Therefore, her battle priests dedicate themselves to learning and exploring the ultimate art of war, cultivating the most strategically astute military talents of the Old World and training the most militarily skilled soldiers. Furthermore, the order is committed to collecting military strategy texts from around the world and excavating texts that elucidate ancient or exotic war patterns, tactical techniques, and lost battle records. Every rediscovered lost military book is treated no less than a sacred relic, receiving complete transcription and careful translation. They are not only defenders of faith but also practitioners and disseminators of the art of war, the tactical core and morale pillar on the battlefield. They represent Violet's divinity in wisdom, discipline, strategy, and precision strikes.

At the same time, her priestly class consisted entirely of highly skilled warriors; for them, battle itself was a form of prayer. They practiced and perfected their combat skills, and studied and researched battle strategies. This was both for themselves and in memory of Milmidia, for in this dark age overrun by demons, war was inevitable, and seizing the initiative on the battlefield meant seizing one's own life.

Violet's followers are obsessed with all physical and mental training involving combat, viewing it as a gift from the goddess and feeling a moral obligation to use it for righteous causes. The priests cast aside their fear of death, diligently preparing for war. In this way, even if death ultimately comes, it will not be a defeat, but a final offering to the goddess.

Violet's priests use discipline to control their emotions during battle. Fighting with anger and passion is tantamount to exposing one's weaknesses, which contradicts the purpose of Milmidian military training. Other military cults in the Empire encourage their followers to indulge or even embrace these emotions. For this reason, Violet's battle priests are often perceived as calm, indifferent, and even cold-blooded.

Their posture was always upright, their actions precise and efficient, and their meticulous discipline was ingrained in their very being. Their armor was always polished to a gleaming shine, and their equipment was always neatly arranged, which was the best interpretation of the goddess's doctrine of "order triumphs over chaos."

Furthermore, they often possess a scholarly or engineerly air, with a profound understanding of maps, sand tables, and engineering machinery. But beneath this knowledge lies the sharp edge of a warrior; once engaged in battle, they are precise and deadly.

They are mobile staff officers in the military. Their core responsibility is not to charge into battle (although they are perfectly capable of doing so), but to observe the overall situation, analyze the enemy situation, and identify weaknesses from key points behind the lines or on the flanks. They provide real-time tactical advice to commanders and may even directly command local battles.

They inspired soldiers through clear, resonant, and rationally powerful speeches. They preached not bloodthirsty fanaticism, but discipline, courage, trust in comrades, and a rational belief in victory. They effectively combated the magic of fear and the collapse of morale.

When forced or required to intervene in combat, their fighting style is efficient, precise, and deadly. There are no superfluous fancy movements; every strike targets joints, gaps in armor, or command points, like a sophisticated war machine. Their warhammers can shatter armor and shields, and their rapiers can precisely pierce vital organs.

Furthermore, they are particularly adept at identifying and thwarting enemy ambushes, tricks, and chaos magic. Their wisdom and the blessings of the goddess help the troops resist spells that affect morale, such as illusions and deception.

Even in the bloodiest melee, they maintain an almost ruthless level of rational judgment. Soldiers within a certain radius experience a "clear will" effect, reducing the impact of fear and increasing focus and efficiency in executing orders.

The sect's symbols are the spear and shield, the weapons most favored by the goddess in her lifetime, but many priests are also skilled with longswords. They consider well-forged longswords to be noble weapons worthy of their dedication and mastery. Many generals and mercenary warlords also employ Violet's battle priests as strategic advisors.

These three sects' combat priests are basically the most numerous in the Blacksene army. Other sects like the priests of Tal and Ridmar do exist, but they rarely manage to infiltrate the army.

As the commander of the army, Orstein also preferred to fill his troops with more Sun Goddess Battle Priests, unless the squadron was indeed composed of many heretics.

For example, some knightly chapters consist entirely of Yurik's White Wolf Knights, or infantry phalanxes composed of Yurik's followers; in such cases, the combat priests of the squadron are Yurik combat priests.

The existence of these battle priests strengthens and defends their faith, helping believers resist the corruption of chaos.

At the same time, it can boost the morale and will of soldiers, which is the most significant and direct effect. On the battlefield, when the greenskins' battle cries are deafening, the chaotic whispers try to erode the mind, or when facing a charge like an avalanche, the fear of ordinary soldiers is unavoidable. The presence of battle priests is like a stabilizing force. Violet's priests can inspire soldiers and maintain discipline. Yurik's priestly roar, full of primal power, can ignite the ferocious fighting spirit in the blood of warriors, while Mor's can make soldiers fearless of death. All of these are multipliers of combat power.

(End of this chapter)