Chapter 1620: Chapter 190 The Allied Forces Gather_3
The Pope raised his hand to stop Ah Dai, preventing him from speaking further, and glanced around at the leaders of various forces, saying, "What I said earlier will not change. Ah Dai’s proposal is very reasonable, my thoughts align with Sect Leader Xi Wen, so this matter is decided upon, everything will be discussed when we reach the Death Mountain Range. Are there any other opinions?"
Feng Wen stepped forward and said, "Pope, currently there are over 300,000 troops gathered around the Divine Mountain of the Church, plus the troops from the Church itself, amounting to around 400,000. The art of war states that logistics should precede the onset of war. Now we have only 50,000 logistic support troops, which I feel is insufficient. This confrontation with the Church of the Dark Saint is of unknown duration, so I think focusing on provisioning is advisable." As the grand strategist, no one is more authoritative in large-scale warfare than Feng Wen, the commander of the entire military of the Empire of Huasheng.
The Pope nodded in agreement and said, "Marshal Feng Wen is right, do you have any good suggestions?"
Feng Wen had a plan in mind and said without hesitation, "I believe our army can advance first, the supplies prepared now are enough to support all the troops for a month. I will contact the chief quartermaster of the Empire of Huasheng, instruct him to dispatch an additional 50,000 personnel to gather food and various materials nationwide for rear support, forming a well-established supply line so that we can focus all our efforts on confronting the Church of the Dark Saint. Pope, what do you think?"
The Pope sighed and said, "What more can I say? The Empire of Huasheng achieving such a step is far beyond my earlier expectation. Let things proceed as Marshal said, both the Church and humanity will be forever grateful to you. Also, Xuan Ye, send the ten million gold coins from the Empire of Sunset to Marshal afterwards, we must not let the Empire of Huasheng bear the brunt of against the Dark Forces."
Before Xuan Ye could respond, Feng Wen interjected, "Pope, no need. Our Empire of Huasheng still has certain material reserves, we disdain using money from dark sources." His lofty and righteous demeanor radiated from Feng Wen, earning the respect of everyone present.
The Pope smiled slightly and said, "Marshal Feng Wen is right. Xuan Ye, then return all the money from the Empire of Sunset. From now on, the Church will not accept any donations from the Empire of Sunset. Let’s settle this for now, after the troops from all sides have rested, we will immediately set off to the Death Mountain Range."
After ten days of rest, on March 15th, 999 of the holy calendar, under the leadership of the Pope, a total army of 430,000, comprising 380,000 troops from various forces plus 50,000 Holy Knights from the Holy Church set out from the divine mountain of the Church. Along with them were 5,000 high-ranking priests of the Church and over 600 senior mages from the Mage Guilds, proceeding mightily toward the Death Mountain Range. Due to the large number of people, their speed was inevitably slow, and it was not until April 20th, taking more than a month, that the army crossed the vast grasslands of the Asian Lian Clan and entered the Tian Yuan Clan’s territory. Due to the large number of people, to avoid causing unnecessary damage to the Elf Forest, the Pope ordered the army to camp beside the surrounding woods of the Tian Yuan Clan for rest. To ensure the Church of the Dark Saint hadn’t withdrawn from the Death Mountain Range, he ordered various forces to dispatch large reconnaissance teams to explore the situation surrounding the Death Mountain Range.
Standing on a dirt slope just over ten meters high, the Pope gazed towards the Death Mountain Range, beside him were three Sword Saints, along with Ah Dai and Xuan Yue.
"Grandfather Pope, let me go to the Elf Clan to meet the Elf Queen Aunt," Ah Dai said.
The Pope nodded and said, "I think you are indeed the most suitable candidate, then you should go now. Once you have contacted the Elf Clan, we will be ready to enter the Death Mountain Range. Ah Dai, have you felt that our journey here has been a little too quiet? We’ve encountered no disturbances from the Church of the Dark Saint, which leaves me feeling a bit uneasy. They couldn’t possibly be unaware of our formidable arrival."
Ah Dai thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps the Church of the Dark Saint refrains from risking recklessness because our formation is too strong."
The Pope shook his head and said, "It’s not that simple. From all previous actions, the Sect Hierarch is undoubtedly a cunning strategist, I initially thought he would certainly send his Dark alien races to harass us along the way, slowing our progress, yet he hasn’t done so. Now, all we can do is quickly initiate the attack on the Death Mountain Range."
On the side, Eastern Sword Saint Yun Ying smiled and said, "Pope, you need not worry too much, since the blood sun and blood rain you mentioned have not yet appeared, we still have opportunities."
Goshawk said drunkenly, "Indeed! Brother, you don’t have to worry. We are here too." The Pope’s three jars of millennium celestial wine have certainly won over Goshawk completely. Although the fine wines sealed for thousands of years were excellently preserved, they have slightly evaporated, with less than one-third in each jar, even Goshawk, who loves a drink, cherishes these exceptional brews, drinking only a little every day, using common celestial wine to indulge himself, now the Pope can be said to be his provider, their relationship extremely harmonious.
