When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

After confirming Cici's identity as a spy for the Secret Party, Horn swiftly led the Knights of the Holy Grail and a regiment of the Guards to the bottom of the slope to collect the spoils.

When Horn arrived at the bottom, apart from Cici's few guards, the remaining armored soldiers had all disappeared.

It was likely that they had seen our army's defeat and fled directly.

Looking past the guard's shoulder, Horn peered ahead.

On the narrow path surrounded by bushes and small trees, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, painting dappled shadows on the ground.

On this narrow dirt road, barely two fathoms wide, ten sturdy wagons had been crammed.

The wagon reins had all been removed, originally designed to prevent robbers from pulling the wagons away, but now all benefited Horn.

Twenty or so worn-out horses were leisurely grazing on the grass to the side, munching on lettuce and serrated greens, their soft lips twitching.

These draft horses weren't the best; according to Cici, they weighed between 700 and 900 pounds, with a pulling force of about 1200 pounds, requiring two to three horses to pull each wagon.

Seeing these worn-out horses, Horn could feel the excitement around him; they seemed to envision the establishment of the Papal State's First Cavalry Division.

"Alright, go and fetch the horses, and be careful."

After instructing a few of the Guards, Horn, protected by Jeanne, approached the ten wagons.

These ten farm cargo wagons varied in appearance, but their overall design was similar.

Each wagon was about 8 feet tall, 12 feet long, and 6 feet wide, made of sturdy oak, with thick leather covering the joints, and the corners and board intersections gleamed with metal—rows of rusty iron nails.

Unlike the Chinese carriages Horn remembered, these wagons had no carriage; behind the drawbar was a large box-like cart, open at the top and covered with canvas.

The wagon wheels under the cart were about four fingers wide, with tattered linen hanging from the spokes, for waterproofing or something.

Each wagon was equipped with two to three sturdy worn-out horses, their fur matted, exuding a greasy stench, their hooves pawing restlessly.

Particularly noticeable was a flag planted in the corner of each wagon, featuring a white goose printed on red cloth, presumably the emblem of the Megede Merchant Guild.

Horn had already seen Archbishop Barneyfoose's banner, a person praying with a black Chi-shaped cross in their mouth, nothing new.

Walking to one of the wagons, Cici smiled and introduced it to Horn: "These goods were originally intended to be sent to the black market. Black Snake Bay must be lacking everything these days, making it a great opportunity to make a profit, which I can take advantage of to escape."

"Escape?"

"Yes, the impact of this flood affects not only you but also me. I have to run. I'll tell you the details tomorrow."

With that, Cici lifted the waterproof tarpaulin covering the wagon, revealing the goods underneath.

"These ten wagons carry approximately 1660 gallons of grain, 700 yards of coarse woolen fabric, 400 yards of fine woolen fabric, 400 pounds of salt, 400 pounds of iron ingots, 50 pounds of refined iron, and 50 pounds each of various colored dyes.

There are also 10 pounds of Gangen, 20 pounds of emulsion, 8 pounds of safflower, 12 ounces of magic beast meat… These materials total 100 pounds.

There are also miscellaneous tools and general merchandise, around 200 pounds, adding up to about 17,000 pounds of goods."

Summoning the accompanying coachman to repair the axles and drawbars, the horses neighed, and Horn returned fully loaded with the delivery from Quincy.

Riding on a large horse, Horn, with the front guard leading the horse, felt his spirits higher than ever before.

Not only had he repelled the Church's army, but he had also made contact with the Secret Party.

Next, as long as he escaped to Black Snake Bay and laid low for two years, he could make a comeback.

Horn was still unwilling to give up his dream of a territory under the sun.

Despite the Secret Party seeming to have a large influence in Black Snake Bay and Thousand River Valley, it was because of the special circumstances of these two places.

For the vast empire, it was just the tip of the iceberg.

The entire empire nominally had ten provinces, and Thousand River Valley and Black Snake Bay were just two territories under the jurisdiction of the Armored Wood Province.

Outside of these two territories, the Secret Party was just a pile of crap.

Even in these two territories, the Secret Party had to hide everywhere.

If there were no other way, Horn really wouldn't want to cooperate with them.

Falling behind Horn, Cici walked with the others, taking a deep look at Horn before starting to communicate with Jeanne and the others.

After all, one of the purposes of her trip was to win over this new elementalist witch.

"...I see." After asking several questions related to lightning abilities, Jeanne remembered the chanting spell that Bonner had used earlier. "Cici, uh, sir, I have a question to ask you?"

"Just call me Sister Cici. Among us, men address each other as brothers, and women address each other as sisters." Cici gracefully tossed her hair. "What do you want to ask?"

"What was the divine spell that the monk used earlier?"

"That's a common method used by low-level monks to deal with magical creatures, a chanting spell, which only has an interference effect." Cici's leather boots stepped on the dirty ground, but without any of the delicacy and disgust that matched her noble appearance.

"That interference was too great. Do all monks know it? Then wouldn't the Church be too powerful?"

Faced with Jeanne's question, Cici elegantly covered her mouth and giggled, making the eyes of the surrounding guards light up.

"You think it's effective only because it's your first time encountering it, and your magical power is too weak, requiring time to grow.

When you encounter it again in the future, even if hundreds of monks chant together, it will only feel like a small mosquito buzzing."

Speaking of this, Cici hesitated for half a second, but continued: "I have to remind you, I'm familiar with what those witches and wizards once said.

When your magic power is strong enough to suppress the soul in the future, illusions will be much more terrifying than any patterned designs. You'd better get used to it now."

Seeing Cici talk about a topic that interested him, Horn immediately got off his horse. He asked the Guards' company commanders to step aside a bit, preparing to discuss it with Cici in detail.

"Actually, I've always wanted to ask, how do wizards cast spells?" Horn whispered to the side. "Do I still have this opportunity?"

"Are you, Sister Jeanne's witch familiar, what generation?" Cici asked back.

"First generation."

"Let me see your quasi-spell ability."

"I don't have one."

Cici frowned her beautiful eyebrows: "I'm not a demon hunter. Just tell me the truth. It's okay to have it."

Grampwen interjected with a smile: "He really doesn't have one. His Majesty Horn is a first-generation familiar, but not only does he not have quasi-spell abilities, he doesn't even have any aftereffects."

Not even any aftereffects. Cici sized up the seemingly simple and honest youth.

After pondering for a moment, she said in an uncertain tone: "This requires a specialized pharmacist or wizard to diagnose. I personally think it may be because Jeanne is relatively young, the awakening time is relatively short, and the magic power doesn't have much impact on you."

"You mean, the aftereffects of witch disease are actually caused by magic power?" Horn quickly grasped the logic in her words.

"You could say that." Cici nodded. "According to the magic power school, the distortions caused by witch disease to the human body are actually caused by the soul.

Magic power suppresses the soul, the soul suppresses the brain, the brain suppresses the body, layer upon layer, that's why there are distortions.

You may be too weak in magic power, so you won't have this kind of distortion."

"Sister Cici, you keep talking about this magic power, what exactly is magic power?" Jeanne asked from the side.