When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Sasha held his breath, using a stick to part the wet reeds, and looked towards the village. Although he was prepared, when he really saw everything before him, his teeth still bit through his lip, and a layer of blood clouded his vision.

Thick smoke swirled and lingered over the western outskirts of Qila Fort, charred wooden beams jutting out from the dark earthen walls.

One hundred and thirty-seven corpses lay scattered like spokes around the edge of the threshing ground, the oldest woman still frozen in a posture of protecting her grandson.

"These beasts!" Sasha's fingers instinctively dug deep into the humus, almost ready to rush out and fight.

But his younger brother desperately grabbed Sasha's shoulder from behind: "Are you crazy? We barely survived, now is not the time for revenge."

"Those damned plainsmen, if it weren't for them, Ninoqi wouldn't have died, Aunt Lashaya wouldn't have died, Uncle Valais wouldn't have died…"

His gaze swept over the plainsmen who were fawning before the knights, and Sasha trembled all over.

"I, I will kill all the plainsmen sooner or later!"

As soon as Sasha finished speaking, he felt someone slap the back of his head.

Turning around, he saw his father glaring at him: "Father Julien is a plainsman, and he risked his life to hide us. Would you kill him too?"

Sasha fell silent, continuing to stare at the devastation of the village, as if trying to memorize the face of every Leia soldier and every looting plainsman.

But as he watched, the blood-red haze in his eyes faded, and everything became blurred.

To be honest, compared to the towns, this small military village was quite simple.

Wooden houses surrounded by fences, with a patch of fertile soil in the yard for growing ginger and thyme.

They kept a dog, three sheep, and two fat pigs. His parents squeezed onto one bed, while his younger brother, sister, and he squeezed onto another.

Every morning, he had to braid his sister's hair and play the game of 'bride getting married' with her.

Now, all he saw was a pile of indistinguishable heads.

Which one was his mother? Which one was his sister?

Mother, sister, the grandfather next door, the lame veteran uncle at the entrance of the village… everyone who stayed in the village was dead.

All that remained was a pile of charred corpses. He couldn't find his sister, only the iridescent oil slick floating on the puddles.

Didn't Her Highness Melia say that going down the mountain was to live a better life?

Where exactly is this better life? After enduring the hardships of the Blueblood Monastery, now they have to endure the hardships of the Leia invasion.

Why do the Leia people always cling to them? Why do the plainsmen betray them?

Sasha felt someone pat his head. Turning around, he saw Father Julien looking at him with compassion.

The boy could no longer hold back his tears. He pressed his face against Julien's bony chest, stifling his sobs in his chest.

Watching his son's shoulders heave silently, Pavel, this rough and burly man, felt his eyes gradually redden.

"Let's go, let's go, don't be discovered."

"Lord Raoul, what's wrong?"

Raoul faced the reeds, hesitated for half a second, and then shook his head: "It's nothing."

The indiscriminate killing of innocents violated his creed. Let those few who escaped get away.

It was ridiculous that he had issued the order himself, but now he had to violate it himself.

Turning his gaze back to the scene before him, Raoul's face was devoid of any joy of victory.

The Holy Father could no longer forgive him, but at least Leia had a chance to continue.

The plains nobles who led the way sometimes laughed and chattered, and sometimes quarreled and fought over these 'new fields' like beggars fighting for food.

Beside the road at the edge of the village, several Leia knights kicked the severed heads rolling across the scorched earth, as if playing a game.

When a knight with silver-inlaid greaves prepared to volley a head, Grand Knight Raoul's horsewhip cracked through the air, striking the joint of his neck armor: "Desecrating corpses! Do you want to go to hell? Go back to camp!"

Only then did the knights repeatedly beg for mercy and leave. Behind Raoul, several masked ascetics walked out.

They wore hooded robes, with only their eyes exposed.

Six masked ascetics took bags of lime from the pack baskets on their packhorses, and silently pieced the remains into a barely recognizable human form.

Their coarse linen hoods rose and fell with their movements, revealing the dark red bluebee brands on their necks.

When the Eternal Army knights escorted the corpse carts past, the squire knights unconsciously reined their horses back half a step—the droplets dripping from the armored faces were as viscous as grease.

"Knight Commander Raoul," Squire Knight Jurgen couldn't help but ask, "Where are these Eternal Army knights taking these corpses?"

"To be buried or cremated," Raoul said, looking at the Eternal Army knights escorting the corpse carts, his eyes revealing a hint of undisguised disgust, "To prevent plague, you don't need to worry about it."

Watching the Eternal Army knights leave, he turned his head to look at Qila Fort before him, and gave a self-deprecating smile.

According to Ginigis's plan, Thousand River Valley was a must-fight link.

He knew that, logically speaking, the Leia Kingdom's next target should be Windmill Land or Thorn Garden.

But Ginigis was going to use this information gap to refuse to disband the troops and advance on Thousand River Valley in advance.

He would rely on selling territories and manors, which would consume the legitimacy of the crown, to obtain enough money.

Since they were going to turn against each other sooner or later, they might as well exchange it for some money to spend in advance.

Therefore, King Gigi first sent spies disguised as ascetics to enter Thousand River Valley to draw maps and distribute troops, while also contacting local nobles.

Secondly, he wooed Duke Wing Nest, excavated the Innosent Dam, and forced internal chaos in Thousand River Valley.

Then, he took the opportunity to instigate riots, and then let Raoul lead elite soldiers to attack suddenly.

With the maps and troop deployment maps drawn by the ascetics pretending to be pilgrims, and a surprise attack.

Not to mention Melia, even if the Holy Grandson was sitting in Emerald City, there would be no difference.

Soon, several border fortresses fell into the hands of the Leia, and the strategy of defending against the enemy outside the country that had been prepared earlier could not be implemented.

The most critical next step, they had already done it.

Leading the plainsmen, they launched a massacre against the mountain people and ordinary mountain people in the military reclamation area, provoking the relationship between the two sides.

Originally, Melia's repayment of mountain people's bonds, but not plainsmen's bonds, and bloody suppression had already accumulated enough public resentment.

Of course, the "people" here specifically refer to citizens, craftsmen, hooligans, and landlords who have the ability to make trouble.

Like the real plains farmers, they can't even afford two dinars, let alone buy expensive bonds, and they don't care about this.

This public resentment exploded at the instigation of Sanpoli and other plains nobles.

So, can Melia's army, which is mainly composed of mountain people, still fight normally in the plains area?

Raoul didn't think so.

Although the vassal army of Xianshidian sent thousands of people to Komita Town, it didn't affect the overall situation.

Every step of Ginigis's plan was successful.

Even Raoul had to admit that this new king did have some of his father's youthful demeanor.

It's just that his father, when he was young, still had a bottom line, although he was vicious, he wouldn't use any means.

But this new king—

"Is really too vicious and cruel…"

After sighing, Raoul looked towards Emerald City. After that, there was Rapid Current City.

And after Rapid Current City, it was the end point of their attack on Thousand River Valley—the Holy See of Machinery.

Hopefully this war will end sooner!