Chapter 693: Chapter 190: The Allied Forces Gather_3
The Pope raised his hand to stop Ah Dai from continuing, he looked around at the heads of various powers and said: "I will not change what I’ve just said. Ah Dai’s suggestion is very reasonable, my thoughts are the same as the sect leader Xi Wen. This matter is settled as such, we’ll discuss everything else once we arrive at the Death Mountain Range. Does anyone have any different opinions?"
Feng Wen stepped forward and said: "Your Holiness, there are currently over 300,000 troops gathered around the Divine Mountain of the Holy Church. Including the forces from the church, we have about 400,000 people. Ancient military texts say that at the beginning of a war, logistics must be prepared first. Currently, we only have 50,000 logistics and supply troops, which I think is not enough. We don’t know how long the battle against the Church of the Dark Saint will last, I think we should pay extra attention to logistics." As a veteran in military strategy, no one has more say in such a large-scale war than Feng Wen, the commander-in-chief of the entire army of the Empire of Huasheng.
The Pope nodded in agreement and asked, "Marshal Feng Wen, do you have any good suggestions?"
Without hesitation, Feng Wen said: "I think our main force could proceed first. The supplies we have prepared now can support all the troops for a month. I will contact the quartermaster of the Empire of Huasheng to dispatch an additional 50,000 men, to collect food and various supplies from all over our country for rear support, forming a good supply line. This way, we can focus all our energy on the confrontation with the Church of the Dark Saint. Your Holiness, what do you think?"
The Pope sighed and said: "What other opinions can I have? I never expected that the Empire of Huasheng could reach such an extent. Let’s do as the marshal suggests, the Holy Church, and all of humanity will be forever grateful for your contributions. Oh, Priest Xuan Ye, send the ten million gold coins donated by the Empire of Sunset City to the marshal later. We can’t let the Empire of Huasheng bear the weight of this war against the Dark Forces alone."
Before Xuan Ye could respond, Feng Wen quickly said: "Your Holiness, there’s no need for that. Our Empire of Huasheng has a considerable supply of goods stored, we disdain to use the money from the Dark Forces." Feng Wen’s righteousness radiated from him and all present could not help but show signs of respect.
The Pope smiled a little and said: "Marshal Feng Wen is right. Priest Xuan Ye, you can refund all the money from the Empire of Sunset City. From now on, the Holy Church will no longer accept any donations from the Empire of Sunset City. Let’s settle on this for now. As soon as all the troops have rested, we will set out for the Death Mountain Range."
After ten days of rest, on the fifteenth day of the third month of the year 999 in the holy calendar, under the leadership of the Pope, the troops of various powers, combined with the 50,000 Holy Knights of the Holy Church, a total of 430,000 troops departed from the Holy Mountain of the Holy Church. Accompanying them were 5,000 senior priests from the Holy Church and over 600 senior mages from the two Mage Guilds. The massive forces headed in the direction of the Death Mountain Range. Due to the large number of people, the speed of advancement was inevitably slow, it took them over a month, until the twentieth day of the fourth month, to cross the vast grasslands of the Yalieza and enter the territory of the Tian Yuan Clan. To avoid unnecessary damage to the Elf Forest, the Pope ordered the army to camp and rest next to the woods on the edge of the Tian Yuan territory. To ensure that the Dark Saint Church had not withdrawn from the Death Mountain Range, he ordered the forces to send numerous reconnaissance troops to investigate the situation around the Death Mountain Range.
Standing on a hill only a dozen meters high, the Pope looked in the direction of the Death Mountain Range. Beside him were the three Sword Saints, and Ah Dai with Xuan Yue.
"Grandfather Pope, let me go to the Elves to see Aunt Elfin Queen," Ah Dai said.
The Pope nodded and said: "I think you are the most suitable candidate, you should go now. Once you’ve established contact with the Elves, we are ready to enter the Death Mountain Range. Ah Dai, haven’t you felt that our journey here has been too peaceful? We have not been disturbed by the Dark Saint Church at all, it makes me feel a bit uneasy. If we march with such a grand momentum, they could not possibly be unaware."
Ah Dai pondered on it then said: "Perhaps the Dark Saint Church does not dare to take any risks as our lineup is too strong."
The Pope shook his head and said: "It’s not that simple. From what we’ve seen in the past, the head of the Dark Saint Church is definitely a cunning man. I originally thought he would send the Dark Alien Races to harass us along the way to slow down our advancement, yet he didn’t do so. Now, all we can do is to launch an attack on the Death Mountain Range as soon as possible."
Eastern Sword Saint Yun Yi, who was standing next to him, smiled and said: "Your Holiness, you don’t need to worry too much. Since the Blood Sun and Blood Rain you mentioned haven’t appeared yet, we still have a chance."
Goshawk, intoxicated, said: "Right! Brother, you don’t have to worry. We are here too." The Pope’s thousand-year-old wine had completely won over Goshawk. Even though these millennium old wines were extremely well sealed, there was still some evaporation, so each jar only had about a third of the amount remaining. For these exquisite wines that had been aged for centuries, even Goshawk, who loves to drink, treasured them and only drank a little bit each day. Now, he considered the Pope as someone he was indebted to, and they had a very harmonious relationship.
