The Villain Saint is my secondary account

On the other side, Augustus was probably experiencing for the first time that the enemy's battle plan was completely transparent to him, and any changes would be updated in real time. He sighed that he had never seen such a strange battle in his life.

"...This is the current deployment plan for each department. Does anyone have any further comments?"

Here, Galahad uses a sand table to complete the troop deployment and make a final summary.

Regarding the "opinion," he only asked a token question.

Without a doubt, he possessed the most extensive military knowledge as the commander of the Knights, and everyone tacitly accepted him as the leader.

"I have an opinion."

But unsurprisingly, the blue-haired girl who left Galahad speechless seemed about to make some more puzzling remarks.

"Our chaplaincy is positioned in the rear. If the enemy manages to break through, wouldn't we be easily wiped out?"

Ella pointed with her finger, "At least spread them out on the flanks to reduce the risk of being attacked."

"The Fourth Knights are primarily composed of heavy cavalry, putting them under significant defensive pressure as infantry on the front lines. Deploying them to the flanks would dilute healing efforts,"

Galahad frowned slightly and replied somewhat impatiently, "That place isn't within the range of the city's magic cannons either. Unless they break through the front, how can they possibly reach the rear of the priests?"

"Oh, yes."

Ella nodded as if she understood, but secretly chuckled to herself—she might not have had the ability to get in before, but she did now.

Chapter 127 The Prelude to the War

Northern part of the holy city.

As smoke signals rose from towers across the city walls and soared into the sky, the muffled twang of the golden bell atop the white tower echoed through the deserted streets. All the citizens were nervously waiting in their residences, for this meant that the prelude to war had begun.

The snow continued to fall, and eagles soared across the vast plains as the army stationed below the towering castle of the Boromeo family gradually unfolded.

On the Holy City side, Augustus stood atop the high wall, sword in hand, with rows of dark magic cannons mounted on the wall beside him, aiming into the distance.

The deadline set by the saint for the final ultimatum has passed, and there is no need for further words from either side. The rift in the faith of the church must be resolved in this war.

Based on the number of registered personnel recorded in the White Tower, Augustus initially estimated that the private army gathered by the Boromeo family numbered approximately 100,000, of which about 13,000 were elite knights, which was roughly the same as the information Ella had transmitted through the raven familiar.

The Fourth Knights Order, plus the Holy City's garrison, numbered only around 30,000, with the elite Templar Knights numbering 5,000.

On the plains, large armies can easily spread out their formations, making it virtually impossible for a small force to defeat a large one. Therefore, it is not difficult to see that the best strategy for the Holy City in theory is to wait for the enemy to attack the city, take advantage of their fatigue, and then counterattack based on their fortifications.

However, although the Holy City's army has a small population, this is not a major problem tactically.

As long as the two sides remain in an awkward standoff, with the First Knights controlling the port leading to the outside world, and the Holy City having ample supplies, while the three major families have to maintain such a large army and waste their time, they will eventually have to bite the bullet and attack the city.

Therefore, from a practical point of view, the offensive pressure actually lies with the Boromeo family. The First Knights, originally planned by Ella, control the main transportation routes, and the Fourth Knights' strategy of defending the city can be described as quite cowardly—instead of sending a large number of troops to the port to deal with the First Knights and open up the main transportation routes, they will eventually be forced to attack the city due to supply shortages. But if they dare to send troops there, the Fourth Knights will be able to sneak out of the city to raid the city.

However, there is a problem with this strategy. The Holy Maiden was previously arrogant and issued an ultimatum to the three major families. Now that the battle has actually started, she is hiding in the city like a turtle to defend herself when she sees that the other side has more people. This will inevitably cause her morale and reputation to drop a bit, making everyone feel that the Holy Maiden is somewhat blustering but cowardly.

If it were the real Saintess Ella, she wouldn't care about this, but for the fake Saintess, it was a perfect excuse to force Augustus to go out and fight.

This was the original plan of the Rossia family. However, now that Ella is in the opposing camp, she has revealed their formation and plans completely, and Augustus knows exactly where the weak points are and where they are easy to break through.

When the battle begins, as long as Ella coordinates her haphazard troop movements and causes some trouble, the experienced Augustus is still very confident that he can severely damage the enemy at a low cost.

Therefore, Augustus was now full of anticipation, waiting for the false saintess to give him instructions to go out of the city and meet the enemy.

He could even picture Galahad watching his 100,000-strong army being riddled with holes by less than 10,000 men.

He waited on the city wall for a short while, and his subordinates reported that the fake saintess had returned to the city, but the order to go out of the city to meet the enemy was delayed.

Augustus, wearing heavy armor, was a little stiff from the cold wind. After observing the enemy's formation for a while with his binoculars, he finally couldn't help but send his men to inquire about the situation on the side of the fake saintess at the White Tower.

On a snowy day, both sides were nervously waiting for that guy to give the order, but for some reason, things started to drag on.

But after his subordinates sent a magical message to the White Tower, the reply they received was, "The Holy Maiden has been staying in her room and has forbidden anyone from entering."

Upon hearing this news, Augustus scratched his head, somewhat bewildered, unsure of what was going on.

However, if the Holy Maiden didn't give instructions, it seemed too abstract for him to take the initiative to lead his men out to fight against overwhelming odds. After thinking for a long time, he could only helplessly order his subordinates to continue to closely monitor the movements of the fake Holy Maiden.

Unbeknownst to him, in the bishop's study at the White Tower, the fake saintess was burying her face in her hands on the table, her mind still preoccupied with the negotiations that morning.

At this moment, even her hair color changed back to its original jet black, and her pupils turned azure blue.

She had no desire to control her divine power to maintain Ella's appearance anymore; the image of Ye Xiao before his death kept replaying in her mind.

"As long as you go back... there is still hope for the Holy City..."

"What has already happened cannot be changed... but you still have a choice about the future..."

As soon as she closed her eyes, she could almost see the guy lying in a pool of blood, forcing a smile and speaking to her in his last moments.

She felt quite agitated and confused. Her slender, fair fingers were tucked into her messy hair, just like her chaotic thoughts.

From Ye Xiao's last words, she vaguely sensed that the other party seemed to have realized that she was not the real saintess.

"What has already happened" is undoubtedly an implication of her past actions, after all, what "past" does a true saint need to let go of?

Every time the fake saintess thought of this, she became more and more convinced that Ye Xiao had seen through her true identity.

She recalled the details of her time with Ye Xiao a day earlier, and how her actions, which were somewhat speechless just to think about, hadn't revealed her identity.

The real saintess and Ye Xiao are lovers, how could she possibly act as nervous as I do when we're alone!

"But if that's really the case, why did you do all those unnecessary things..."

The fake saint rubbed her head, seemingly muttering to herself.

She couldn't figure it out.

He said that sinners don't need to ask for forgiveness, yet he casually handed her the bouquet of flowers...

She had already decided to just let herself sink into despair, yet she still left behind those incomprehensible words...

Clearly... clearly he didn't need to block that ice spear for her...

The fake saintess knew very well that if Ye Xiao didn't deliberately stop her, the ice spear would eventually pierce through both of them.

She was protected by powerful holy light magic and could not die, but Ye Xiao was unaware of this.

Even though the man saw through her identity, he still selflessly shielded her from the deadly divine spell.

Now that things have come to this, Ye Xiao is indeed dead according to the company's plan, and everything is going smoothly, but the fake saintess feels more and more pain in her heart.

Is this... really what I want?

My goal is to send these people who are willing to give me hope and happiness to hell.

That was the only ray of light I've ever encountered in my life, yet I extinguished it with my own hands.

And how many other people's light will I have to extinguish next?

The fake saintess tremblingly pulled a hand out of her hair and held it out in front of her eyes.

A few golden rays floated out from the palm of his hand, reflected in his numb, azure pupils, drifting aimlessly.

Chapter 128 Cunning Villain

People say that the Holy Light will guide lost souls, which is ridiculous. As the possessor of the Holy Light's power, she has never seen any so-called guidance.

Thinking this, the fake saintess released the few specks of light in her palm, letting them drift freely and fly to various corners of the room.

But the next moment, she seemed to see something that surprised her, and she suddenly raised her head and widened her eyes.

It was an expensive and exquisite vase, with a bunch of purple orchids in it. And a wisp of holy light, as if summoned by some unseen force, lingered on the purple petals.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, reflecting off the purple orchids in her eyes.

For a fleeting moment, she felt as if she were back in that warm carriage, seeing the disheveled man smiling as he held the not-so-exquisite bouquet of flowers and placed it in her arms.

"Fortunately, as a member of this suffering world, I can still pass on this precious happiness to you."

"Waaah..."

At this moment, the fake saintess could no longer control herself, grabbed the lonely vase, and burst into tears.

……

"No, what exactly is she... what is our respected Saintess doing?"

On the high walls of the holy city, Augustus was almost frozen solid by the cold wind.

He thought that if he just waited a little longer, the fake saintess would naturally come out and give the order.

It's been almost half a day since the signal fires were lit, but there's still no movement from the White Pagoda.

The answer is always the same: "The Holy Maiden is still in her room."

Could it be that their plan has been exposed? Augustus couldn't help but wonder.

But when he raised his binoculars and saw the Boromeo knights across the plain, almost buried in snow, he knew it wasn't their problem.

Even the True Saintess's familiar sent a message asking why they hadn't attacked yet.

Augustus naturally told the crow the truth, and with the help of the familiar, Ella and Augustus discussed it and finally decided to ignore the fake saintess and take the initiative.

Delay could lead to unforeseen changes. We don't know what's going on with that fake saintess. If things get out of hand, Boromeo's army might think there's a traitor within their own ranks, which would be a huge problem.

Upon receiving Ella's order, Augustus immediately led his troops out to the area below the city gate, where they lined up along the top of the wall. He then selected three hundred cavalrymen to lead the main army.

These people seem few in number, a drop in the ocean compared to the massive army of 100,000 on the other side.

But Augustus's words were not intended to lead them to a decisive battle, but rather to use the mobility of the cavalry to cause trouble for the enemy.

To avoid the false saint suddenly appearing and issuing some abstract military orders after he left, Augustus specifically ordered his deputy commander of the knights to stay behind with two thousand city guards to ensure that the defensive fortifications left in the city could coordinate with his own troops outside.

On the other side of the plain, on a command platform hastily erected using rock magic, Galahad, numb from the cold wind, finally saw the city gate of the Holy City's north wall slowly rise.

"Phew... We're finally out. Augustus was quite cautious. He probably had to argue with that saintess for a long time before he had to send troops."

He gripped the binoculars in one hand, raised the other high, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "All troops, listen up! Prepare to engage the enemy!"

The messenger gradually relayed his orders to the entire army. The spearmen, spread out in a straight line, raised their heavy shields in unison, followed by a dense array of crossbowmen who drew their bows and nocked their arrows.

As a fellow Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Galahad was quite familiar with Augustus's fighting style. The various knightly orders had also conducted military exercises together before, so they had some understanding of each other.

Therefore, he was well aware that, in Augustus's style, using heavy cavalry to break through in offensive battles was his consistent tactic, and seeing the enemy leading a troop of cavalry into battle only strengthened his belief in this.

However, the number of cavalrymen was rather small. As far as he knew, the Fourth Knights Order had at least two thousand heavy cavalrymen, but judging from the observation from the high platform, it seemed that the enemy had only sent out a few hundred men.

Could there be some backup plan? Or is Augustus just arrogantly believing that breaking through his lines only requires sending a few hundred knights?

Galahad frowned slightly, holding up his binoculars. Then, he saw the troop of knights slowly approaching across the plain, spreading out at a very ambiguous distance, and taking several large crossbows off their backs.

He was taken aback at first, then he was astonished to see the cavalrymen launching themselves into the air.

"Swish"

Hundreds of crossbow bolts swarmed into the sky like locusts, then exploded in mid-air, scattering large swaths of black raindrops into the dense crowd like countless blooming fireworks.

What the hell is this?

Galahad, on the high platform behind, didn't understand for a moment what the hundreds of knights were shooting at him. Then, a few moments later, several shrill screams came from the army. He was shocked to see the soldiers in the front row, their bodies covered in mud, roaring and clutching their heads, their bodies cracking and covered with fine tentacles.

No, what kind of evil god's corrupted arrow is this?!

Galahad was furious. How could a group of Templar Knights, shrouded in holy light, fire such a blasphemous weapon?

The soldiers in the front ranks, their bodies stained with mud, rushed at their comrades like madmen, and the situation instantly became extremely chaotic.

Initially, in order to counter the heavy cavalry charge, Galahad deliberately arranged the infantry squares in front of him to be very dense. As a result, after being splashed with the contaminated mud over a large area, the soldiers fought each other quite fiercely.

"It's so shameless!"

Galahad's forehead veins bulged. There weren't actually that many corrupted soldiers in the front row. They were backed by a cleric order, and immediate purification would be enough to quickly eliminate the corrupted soldiers.

The problem is that, unlike arrows, which can be blocked by shields and enchanted armor, mud droplets immediately contaminate everything they come into contact with, meaning they don't have any particularly good defenses against them.

Seeing that the cavalry had once again nocked those black arrows, which were covered in mud, onto their crossbows, Galahad quickly shouted for the front to disperse their formation. He then ordered the crossbowmen who had been stationed at the rear to immediately move forward and launch a counterattack against the several hundred-strong, strange cavalry.

However, maneuvering the formation under turmoil is no easy task. By the time the crossbowmen phalanx cut in front and fired back, the cavalry in the distance had already retreated beyond their firing range.

They were few in number to begin with, and they were cavalry. After they dispersed and retreated, thousands of crossbowmen fired a volley but couldn't even touch a hair on the enemy's head.

When the cavalry saw that crossbowmen had been deployed, they immediately turned around and ran to the flank, where they began to fire black mud arrows from a great distance.

Crossbowmen are far less agile than cavalry when it comes to changing lines. By the time they reach the flank amidst the chaotic formation spawned by the corrupted, the cavalry have already moved back to the front.

"This is so disgusting!"

Galahad's side lacked troops skilled in mounted archery, making it impossible for them to pursue the distant cavalry squad.