The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 202 Time is tight and the task is heavy
Edgar hoped that Eric could cut off the demons' timber transport route, but he didn't set high expectations for how far he could go—the transport route was far from Lutia, and the farther away it was, the more dangerous it would be for Eric's cavalry.

Edgar's expectations for this rare elite cavalry were to strike when the opportunity presented itself, deliver a precise blow, and then retreat swiftly using their high mobility, with the ability to repeat the process.

He believed that Eric could find the best balance between completing the mission and protecting himself, so he did not arrange specific tactics, but provided him with as many resources as possible. For example, he assigned him four winged people to scout in the sky, one of whom was a druid who could descend from the sky and transform into a beast to assist them in the battle when necessary.

"Go back and make preparations first."

Edgar patted him on the shoulder, then gestured for the messenger waiting outside the tent to come in.

"A demon cavalry unit attempted to break through the south gate..."

Eric crawled out of the tent and looked up at the sky.

It was already afternoon, and the knights were resting and making some preparations. It would be dark soon after they left the city, and the limited visibility at night would hinder their movements.

However, the demons' vision will also be greatly limited.

Eric pondered for a moment, then realized he had come on horseback as he left the camp. He went back, mounted his horse, and rode back to the cathedral.

He first summoned the Knights Commander Edward, told him about his uncle's arrangements, and asked him what he thought.

He was experienced in individual combat, and when it came to planning the actions of the entire Knights, he was very willing to consult Edward's advice.

After discussing it for a while, the two decided to set off the next day. Edward went to inform the other knights, while Eric stared at the map for a long time.

Half an hour after he returned, the winged people that Edgar had specially arranged for him also landed in the cathedral and reported to him.

Eric pointed to several key routes on the map and sent them to investigate.

"I heard from my uncle... from the Grand Marshal that there is a druid among you?"

“It is I, Your Highness.” A winged being with brown wings stepped forward and bowed to him. “Does Your Highness have any other plans?”

"Not yet."

Eric glanced at him, then gestured for the other winged people to act first, before asking, "I heard that when we implemented the scorched-earth policy, especially the clearing of the forests around Lutia, your Nature Cult strongly opposed it."

“There are some dissenting voices, Your Highness,” the druid winged man said, bowing his head. “However, I believe that temporary destruction is for a longer future, so I am determined to serve the Imperial Army and resist the demons.”

Eric nodded. "I'm glad to hear you share this view. I've always paid attention to your natural religion, and I have a few followers..."

While exchanging empty pleasantries, Eric suddenly remembered that he actually did have a friend from the naturalist sect.

"I have a druid friend from the natural religion who works as a forest ranger in some forest in Guradil. His name is Kasha. I wonder if you know him?"

"I've heard of this name before. Is it from the forest near Ina City?"

Eric wasn't sure.

“I’ve never met her, but I have heard the name from other followers of the Nature Church,” the druid winged man said.

Eric didn't ask any further questions. He pointed to the northern pass on the map that had already fallen and said, "Go and investigate here. It would be best to land down and take a close look to see if any demons are lying in ambush there. If the situation becomes unfavorable, we may have to retreat from here to temporarily avoid the demons' encirclement."

"I understand, Your Highness. I will transform into a bird to investigate."

"be careful."

"Yes."

Eric saw her off at the door, watching the winged man fly into the sky until he was out of sight before lowering his gaze, and then he noticed that Molly had come over.

"You came to see me?"

"Hmm." Molly walked over. "It's my day off today, so I came to see you."

Like Eileen, she also joined the mage corps outside the city to resist the demons, even though he didn't want them to risk their lives on the battlefield.

"It's really not easy to see you during the day."

Eric gave a brief laugh. "I just got back from outside the city not long ago. Come in."

The two arrived at a room that had been reassigned to Eric. Time was short and the task was urgent, so they barely took off their clothes and quickly made love.

"Summer is so hot..."

Molly slumped into the chair, wiped her belly, and looked at it.

"It's so thick and smelly... Looks like you haven't had time to spend with them these past few days."

"I'm afraid it will affect my performance, so I've been busy killing people these past few days."

Eric thought the most inconvenient thing in the world was the lack of tissues. He searched around the study and found only a clean cloth. Just as he was about to give it to Molly, he noticed that she was twirling a ball of water the size of an apple between her fingertips and rolling it around her belly and even her lower body, cleaning herself up completely.

"How about it? The new spell I learned from Eileen is especially convenient for cleaning."

“…Very convenient.” Eric watched the ball of water fly out the window, then heard it hit the ground with a thud.

After tidying up, Molly opened the door to the room again and sat separately from him, because she knew that someone could come looking for him at any time. She was very lucky that she hadn't been disturbed at all.

Of course, there's a thrill to disturbing someone... She couldn't help but squeeze her thighs together.

Did you see Eileen today?

"I saw her; she wasn't far from me. There's a group of mages under my command."

“Impressive.” Eric laughed. “You may be lacking in theory, but when it comes to real-world experience, there are very few people in the academy who can match you.”

“You don’t have to say the first half of the sentence.” Molly glared at him, but judging from her expression, she was still very happy.

Just then, a nun came to inform him that Archbishop Dorian was looking for him.

“Let him come here,” Eric said, getting up to open the window wider.

"Yes, Your Highness."

As the nun left, Molly scoffed, "What's the big deal? That old virgin archbishop can't smell it anyway."

"Just because someone hasn't slept with a woman doesn't mean they didn't do manual labor in their youth. You should get some fresh air... It's too windy, you fool!"

When Dorian arrived, Eric was picking up the various letters that had been blown around by the wind.

"Oh, Your Highness, let me do it."

Dorian bent down to help, but the movement was too big, and all three people in the room heard a clear cracking sound. Then Dorian froze.

"..."

Eric was speechless for a few seconds, then quickly helped the old man to a chair next to him to sit down and let him rest for a while.

"I'll do it. What does the archbishop want with me?"

"The Vatican has replied..."

As Dorian spoke, he glanced at Molly, who was sitting on the other side trying not to laugh.

"It's alright, go ahead and speak. I trust her far more than the Vatican does."

Dorian wiped the sweat from his brow. "In his letter, the Pope highly praised His Highness's resolute will and decisive action in resisting the demons. He stated that the Vatican would not stand idly by and is currently working diligently to formulate countermeasures against the demons."

Eric's eyes darted around. "That's it?"

"That's all." Dorian kept wiping away sweat, also feeling incredibly hot today.

"Well, a response is better than no response, even though a response is the same as no response at all."

"..."

“I understand.” Eric tossed the last letter he had picked up onto the table. “When the archbishop replies to the pope, he should also convey my message.”

"No problem. What would Your Highness like to say?"

"Hmm? I understand."

"……All right."

With his evasive response, Dorian wiped his sweat and left.

"When the Pope saw the sheer size of the demon army blocking the city of Lutia, he was terrified... Hmph."

Eric sniffed and closed the window again. Molly took out her staff and cast a cloud of icy mist over their heads.

"You can do this too? Why didn't you use it earlier?" "What if you made that old man comfortable and he doesn't want to leave?" Molly put away her staff and tilted her head back to feel the slowly descending, icy air.

Eric looked up for a moment, "Magic is so convenient... The Holy Flame Priests of the Church shouldn't be with you, right?"

"You mean those people who carelessly threw away the Olympic torch?"

Molly shook her head. "They're not together, but I can see them. If you ask me, Holy Flame Priests and us mages are completely different things. The Holy Flame they wield just happens to have some fire-elemental properties, don't you think?"

"Can I understand what you're saying?"

"Anyway, they definitely can't send down a mist of ice when you're sweating from the heat!"

Eric smiled. "Of course not."

"Why are you suddenly bringing this up?" Molly asked.

“I was just thinking that my cavalry might be lacking a magic-based professional who can cause massive destruction… especially since we need to cause some big destruction right now,” Eric said, then noticed Molly staring at him expectantly.

He quickly shook his head, "You can't do it."

She snorted, "Then let your sister come."

Eric still shook his head. "Eileen plays a greater role on the front lines, or rather, at this stage, every mage plays a significant role, which is why I've shifted my focus to the Holy Flame Priests."

He thought for a moment, then got up and went outside, calling out to a nun, "Betty!"

"Your Highness?" The nun jogged over.

“I remember that the Holy Flame Priests are under the jurisdiction of Bishop Lockhart. Go and say hello to him, and tell him that I need a Holy Flame Priest with excellent riding skills, at least at the seventh rank. Ask him to recommend a few people to me and have them come to me before this evening.”

"Yes, Your Highness."

When he returned to his room, Molly asked, "Aren't you going out this afternoon?"

"Well, I have an important mission coming up, so I probably won't be back for the next few days."

Eric sat back down behind his desk. "If we're unlucky, it could take ten days to half a month."

"Is there any danger?" Molly asked immediately.

Eric shrugged.

She wouldn't let her look away, so he had no choice but to say, "There are no missions that aren't dangerous these days."

Molly sighed deeply, "I just don't want you to die out there and I won't be able to mourn for you as your woman."

Eric laughed, "Say something auspicious."

“You should have stayed inside,” she said, touching her lower abdomen. “Or maybe we could have done it again.”

"...It's even more unlucky."

"Why does your uncle always send you to do such dangerous things?" Molly complained.

“Because he trusts me, and he trusts my abilities,” Eric said.

Eric stayed in the cathedral in the afternoon. Molly didn't leave, and Elise and Sophie also came to see him one after another, but they were all busy with their own things and didn't stay for long.

Before evening, Bishop Lockhart brought several qualified priests of the Holy Flame to the church for him to choose from.

Eric had them mount their horses and follow him at full speed, riding around the city twice before he had a pretty good idea of ​​what to expect.

"I can tell you ride horses often, and your riding skills are quite good. You can stay."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Eric had Edward take his men to familiarize them with all aspects of their cavalry unit. After the winged men who had been sent out to scout the situation returned, Eric and Edward made some adjustments to tomorrow's action plan.

"The demons have set up camp here; they're clearly on guard against us. Let's take this place out tomorrow."

"Your Highness, won't this alert the enemy and encourage the demons to send more troops?"

"No matter what, the demons will be on high alert for this transport route, but we can't leave such a big hidden danger behind us, otherwise we'll be surrounded and have no choice but to flee to the north."

"I understand."

As darkness approached, Eric climbed the city wall of the east gate, stroked the brand-new stone bricks, and looked out at the battlefield not far away.

"The demons now have far more troops gathered in Lutia than we have deployed outside the city. Why don't we just swarm them?"

Elise stood beside him. "At least get us back to the city first."

“This is also a question my uncle is pondering,” Eric said. “The answer might be that the demons are still reorganizing their long-distance-trooped army, perhaps conserving their strength and avoiding excessive depletion in preparation for the arrival of imperial reinforcements at any time. Or perhaps the Demon King is not at the front lines, and the demon general who led this army here is hesitating about something…”

Thinking of something, he smiled at her, "It seems our operation in Lutia last year wasn't entirely fruitless. Luca has a profound influence on the Demon King's decisions. I dare say that if he were still alive, he would have personally gone to the front lines, and we would have been driven into the city long ago."

“…It was mainly your actions, Your Highness.” Elise glanced at him, then looked ahead. “I was terrified at the time and just stayed at home.”

Eric smiled again, but didn't say anything more about it.

"Our greatest advantage is that all the winged people are on the side of humanity, and we can see clearly any movement of the demon race."

He looked at the twilight sky. "Kinetic energy can control stillness, and stillness can also control movement. Anyway, with Lutia behind us, we always have a way out... even if it's just a temporary one."

Elise said softly, "Only an ignorant and foolish race would choose to side with the demons."

“Or maybe they’re desperate and want to take a gamble,” Eric added, squeezing her hand. “Alright, I’m going to see my uncle.”

Eric met Edgar at the military camp and pointed to the map, explaining his harassment plan. Edgar had no objections, only telling him to be flexible and not to be greedy for spoils.

The next morning, after receiving updated intelligence from the winged people, Eric led a group of knights and enough rations to survive in the wild for a while, and filed out from the drawbridge lowered at the north gate.

Lutia is situated on the Breeze Plains. After a large-scale and effective scorched-earth policy, the nearest place to harvest timber is the mountain range on both sides of the northeast of Lutia's northern pass. According to the winged people's reconnaissance, the demons chose the east.

The distance is far, and the demons need to travel a long way to get there and back. Eric and his group have to start from the north of the city and take a long detour to reach the foot of or near the eastern mountains.

This was equivalent to directly circling around to the rear of the demon army. If the demons ever considered splitting up to encircle them, their few dozen cavalrymen would have no choice but to flee north. Once they were driven past the northern pass, the demons could easily hold it with a few troops, making it difficult for them to break through again.

Therefore, the intelligence provided by the winged people in the sky above is very important, and their choice of route is even more important.

The first step of the operation is to destroy a newly built demon camp between Lutia and the northern pass, so as to avoid being attacked from both sides if we go deeper.

The sound of hooves echoed. Eric glanced at the sky; the winged man made no comment for the time being. He then looked back at the Holy Flame Priest who had just joined the team yesterday. The latter rode his horse steadily and did not fall behind at all. Eric had indeed made the right choice in him.

After running for more than half an hour, Eric could already see the fenced-off camp.

He raised his hand high and made a gesture, and the knights behind him automatically split into two groups, one following him and the other following Edward.

The two cavalry units suddenly accelerated, galloped to the front of the camp, each forming a side, and surrounded the entire camp. They began fighting as soon as they landed.

Eric twisted to dodge a flying axe thrown at him, and heard a thud as the axe landed on the wooden fence behind him, embedding itself deeply.

He quickly pulled out his throwing axe and threw it back at the demon axe thrower, but faster and with greater force, and it appeared in the center of the demon's forehead in the blink of an eye.

"kill!"

The knights rushed into the camp from all directions, and more demons quickly poured out of the makeshift houses. Eric was not surprised; this was all intelligence that the winged people had already seen.

A ball of holy flame landed on the roof of one of the houses. It was only the size of a fist at first, but the moment it touched the roof, it burst into flames and ignited the other houses.

They had an overwhelming advantage in strength, and the battle did not last long. When fighting demons, there was no need to worry about prisoners, as the entire camp was filled with demon corpses.

The Holy Flame Priests also used them as fuel to burn the camp, and the raging fire quickly engulfed the entire camp.

"Evacuate!"

Eric ordered everyone to return to their horses and continue eastward for a short while, at a relatively slow pace.

Eric looked up at the sky, wondering about the demons' reaction—several demon cavalrymen who were approaching the camp had quickly turned and fled when they attacked.

The winged people raised and waved red flags, pointing in the direction of the army; there were two flags in total.

This indicates that a considerable number of demons are attacking them.

Eric swung the reins. "Run! Let's shake them off first."

(End of this chapter)