Chapter 361: Chapter 358: Mixing In
The moon was bright and the stars were few. The past few days had been perfect weather for a battle.
"Ninja Xia" traveled without rest until he was just outside Andorrella, within the borders of the Holy Kingdom. Since he didn’t need to eat normal food, he could cut straight through uninhabited lands, adhering to the principle that "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line."
Rorschach didn’t know the specific location of the battlefield. He had no professional military knowledge to make an educated guess, and this clone didn’t have Balan’s Pearl for a simple Divination. So, he thought of the simplest method:
"I’m here to fight the Empireists. Do you know where the Holy Army is camped?"
By asking this question in the nearby villages and towns, he was bound to find an answer. When he imitated the accent he had learned in Valuva, the more knowledgeable gentry would show him solemn respect. Some even gifted him a short dagger and an old flintlock pistol that could occasionally be fired.
This "young hero dedicating himself to the Kingdom" was successfully guided by the enthusiastic commonfolk to the main camp of the Holy Knight Order. It was actually quite easy to find. When Rorschach arrived, a temporary mass was being held in an open area. The Holy Knights were receiving Holy Oil, while the Servant Army and the crowds that had rushed over from nearby were all moved to tears.
The army’s composition was complex. The Holy Knights camped separately, only interacting with Priests and vetted military attendants. Within the Servant Army, combatants with clean backgrounds all carried identification papers issued by their respective Churches or Monasteries, and they were organized and encamped in squads based on their home regions.
As for the criminals, bandits, and others who had joined hoping to make a quick profit, they were called the "Penitent Army" by the Church. They were kept isolated from the other camps and were the most chaotic. Joining the Penitent Army required no identification, only that you brought your own weapon. They received almost no supplies, and a rotating guard of Holy Knights watched over the camp’s perimeter.
After learning this, Rorschach had an idea. ’Instead of just watching, I should go straight to the battlefield and experience it myself.’ So, he slipped into the rowdy camp of the Penitent Army, found a tent with an empty spot, and lay down inside.
The next day, the men in the tent discovered an extra pretty boy among them. The most vicious-looking one, likely their leader, immediately questioned Rorschach, "Hey! Where’d you come from, kid?"
"Valuva. A village on the outskirts." Rorschach brandished the antique gun, making the bald, burly man questioning him take a step back. He continued, "I heard the Church was going to save the Kingdom, so I ran all the way here under the moon and through the cold wind."
"Cut the crap. Who here would believe that?" The others burst out laughing. "Spit it out. What’d you do?" They guessed the kid’s trouble had something to do with a woman, like becoming the lover of a noble lady and then getting caught by her powerful husband...
Rorschach started sharpening the blade of his dagger on a hard stone and lowered his voice. "Everyone in my family deserved to die, so I ended them with my own hands, except for my foolish little brother... The other villagers just didn’t understand me. I was doing it all for their own good..."
Except for the scraping of the blade, the tent fell silent. The burly man rubbed his bald head and took a few more steps away from the young man. ’Whether he’s telling the truth or not, this kid’s definitely got a screw loose!’
Rorschach finally got some peace and quiet, which lasted until the army set out.
The Holy Songs never stopped while they were on the move. There were even bands and choirs riding in open-air carriages, patrolling the front and rear of the column. There was also a mobile bell tower, similar to a siege engine, that insisted on chiming on the hour.
This ostentatious setup should have normally slowed the army’s advance, but Rorschach noticed that both horses and men maintained a constant pace, as if they never tired.
Through his [Arcane Vision], he saw that while the Endogenous Magic Power of most individuals was faint, it was currently active in every one of them, stimulating their muscles. Rorschach remembered seeing a Magic version with a similar principle on a Sub-plane—[Hasty Retreat].
At the same time, he constantly observed the composition of the army. The Holy Knight Order, naturally, was mounted on tall steeds. All the horses were draped in light armor and sacred white cloth. The Holy Knights themselves didn’t wear Full Armor, but rather gleaming breastplates. Their most common primary weapon was a hollow Knight Lance, with a saber at their waist.
Among the Clergy, aside from the administrative staff in charge of preaching and singing, there were also the Knights’ personal attendants and the Defender Army. They were highly disciplined and guarded the important supplies. The Defender Army seemed to be the main infantry force, with each soldier shouldering a long-barreled flintlock rifle with a bayonet.
Among the believers who had voluntarily joined the army, there were surprisingly some cavalry. They appeared to be noble Knights, surrounded by large retinues. The rest were a disorderly mob, some even heading into battle with just pitchforks and scythes.
Although his own unit was full of ruffians and bandits, their average level of equipment was actually better than the believers’, as was their combat experience. After all, these men made their living by their weapons, and they weren’t shy about it now. Some carried guns, others wielded axes and blades. Shoving and brawling were common occurrences, requiring the supervising Holy Knights to shout at them to maintain order.
’Can this "Penitent Army" even be useful?’
Rorschach’s question was soon answered.
Scouts from the front reported that the Empire Army had taken the initiative, crossed the border, and arrayed themselves for battle on the plains before Andorrella. Logically, the Empire should have used its fortress city to wait for the enemy to exhaust themselves. Such a confident, proactive attack raised suspicions in the mind of the Church Army’s commander.
But regardless, everything had to proceed. All the brothers of the Holy Knight Order who were well-versed in history and the Church’s annals of war believed that, based on the experience of the "Holy Crusades," the Holy Army could only advance, never retreat.
The plains surrounding Andorrella were a flat expanse, which was why the Empire had needed to build an artificial strategic chokepoint there, one that would also serve as a logistics hub in a future war. At this moment, their grand army was marching out from the fortress gates and deploying their ranks.
Although both sides had committed tens of thousands of soldiers, the battlefield was quiet and solemn. The cold silence was finally broken by songs of Blessing for the Warriors and prayers for victory. Unlike usual, the Holy Songs were now accompanied by drumbeats, alternating with horns to urge the columns to deploy into horizontal lines.
The Knights had no pleasantries for the criminals and bandits, cracking their whips to direct them into a barely passable formation.
"Faster!" Rorschach suddenly felt a jab in his lower back. This body felt no pain, but he could still sense the pressure. He turned to see a member of the Defender Army using his bayonet to prod the members of the Penitent Army to the front.
In front of Rorschach and his companions, there was nothing but the battlefield. The answer was clear—they were the cannon fodder at the very front of the infantry line.
The Servant Army received Holy Water—a large, gleaming gold cup was passed around, from which everyone took a sip of the sweet wine inside. The Penitent Army didn’t get such good treatment. All they received was a slip of paper:
A Priest, holding a large basket of parchment scraps, handed one to each member of the Penitent Army and explained, "Hold this tight, you lost sinners! If you survive, you will become the Lord’s Warriors and receive a single absolution!"
Rorschach tugged at the crudely made slip. Each one was a different shape, clearly made from scraps. The words on it were not handwritten by Monks, but were a blurry stamp of text and the Church’s symbol. The text was more or less what the Priest had said, but there was a line of fine print: This certificate is effective only after being signed by a Priest at the end of the campaign. It does not grant absolution for the sin of blasphemy... etc.
’Handing out Absolution Certificates before the battle, but only validating them after it’s over? Is this to prevent people from taking the certificate and running away?’ Rorschach thought the Church was quite creative. ’And it even has terms and conditions? How orderly!’
Inspired by the pre-battle sermon and their Absolution Certificates, the sinners didn’t seem to care that they were cannon fodder. They raised their weapons, their spirits high. ’Now that’s what I call morale!’
