Chapter 1104 - 167: Army Expansion Scale and Tech Tree · Combat Priest_3

Chapter 1104: Chapter 167: Army Expansion Scale and Tech Tree · Combat Priest_3

In the Empire’s northern lands, life is harsh; winters are extremely cold, the land is barren, and goblins and half-beastmen roam the forests. Yurik is the nation’s guardian god because he is as harsh as the land itself, expecting strength and independence from his followers, making the people of the northern provinces live more resiliently.

Yurik’s combat priests reflect these qualities. All of Yurik’s priests are fierce warriors because the weak are not allowed into the Yurik Church. The reason is that Yurik was first a warrior, and he hopes his followers will face problems with force whenever possible. In battle, Yurik’s priests embody their god, wielding axes and swords, proving their vows with the Wolf God’s own ferocity to their enemies. The warriors around them are filled with courage, the faith and strength of Yurik’s warriors being indomitable. Priests can draw strength from their god’s divine wrath, summon the cold of winter, or enter a frenzy to slaughter their enemies.

Mole’s combat priests are—followers of death. Most people in the Empire fear Mole’s priests—for most people are afraid of the unknown and death, no matter how pious, it’s an unknown fate no one can escape, and Mole’s priests remind everyone of their mortality. This reminder makes most people prefer not to think about death. However, despite this prejudice, Mole’s priests are indispensable in their services. Loved ones must be taken care of after death, and those unloved must also be cared for appropriately. Everyone recognizes the importance of burial rituals. Because, more often than anyone wants to remember, the dead—the forgotten dead—rise to haunt the living. And while swords and hammers can destroy the resurrected dead, only Mole’s priests can ensure they rest forever.

Though not strictly combat priests, Mole’s followers are often forced to defend themselves. They are staunch opponents of the undead, wearing black robes symbolizing their faith, seeking to ensure the souls of the deceased pass safely, most importantly, to ensure the dead rest eternally.

Since Mole’s priests seldom engage in military actions, they are usually only armed with ritual daggers and scythes as weapons. Scythes are tools commonly used by farmers in the fields, thus rarely seen as weapons of war. However, the scythe also represents the image of death. It is the symbol of the harvester, representing famine, hunger, and diseases resulting from a lack of harvested food. Therefore, Mole’s priests can carry a scythe as a weapon when necessary, designed heavy to harvest warriors’ bodies rather than wheat. Because the long-handled scythe is cumbersome, it must be wielded with both hands and cannot be used with other weapons and shields.

Many elite knights of the Mole Knight Order are warriors attached to prominent figures of the Mole Church, providing protection and adding to the ominous atmosphere of the priests.

Lastly, the most prevalent combat priests in the Hesse Territory—are the Light of Violet.

The Sun Goddess is the goddess of glorious war, civilization, military strategy, warriors, and officers. Hence, her combat priests are dedicated to learning and exploring the various extremes of the art of war, cultivating the most strategic military talents in the Old World and training the finest soldiers. Moreover, the Order is committed to collecting military strategy texts from around the world and uncovering those that explain ancient or foreign war modes, tactical skills, and lost battle records. Every discovered lost military book is treated no less than a holy relic, being fully transcribed and translated. They are not only defenders of faith but practitioners and disseminators of the art of war, serving as tactical cores and morale pillars on the battlefield. They represent the divinity of Violet’s wisdom, discipline, strategy, and precision strike.

Simultaneously, her priestly class are all exceptionally skilled warriors, believing battle itself to be a form of prayer. They practice and perfect combat techniques, learning and researching combat strategies. This is both for themselves and in honor of Mirmidia, because in this demon-ridden dark age, war is inevitable, and gaining the initiative on the battlefield is to grasp one’s own life.

Violet’s followers are obsessed with all physical and psychological training related to combat, viewing it as a gift from the goddess and possessing the moral obligation to use it for righteous causes. Priests cast aside their fear of death, preparing diligently for war. Thus, even if death eventually comes, it is not a failure but the goddess’s final tithe.

Violet’s priests control their emotions with discipline during combat, fighting with anger and passion exposes their weaknesses, which contradicts the purpose of Mirmidia’s military training, while other military sects in the Empire advocate indulging or even embracing these emotions. For this reason, Violet’s combat priests are often seen as calm, indifferent, or even cold-blooded.

Their postures are always upright, actions precise and efficient, with relentless discipline engraved into their bones. Their armor is always polished brightly, equipment arranged orderly, embodying the goddess’s doctrine of "order triumphs over chaos."

Additionally, they often carry a subtle scholar or engineer aura, with a profound understanding of maps, sand tables, and engineering devices. But beneath this knowledge lies a warrior’s edge; once engaged in battle, they are precise and lethal.

They are the moving advisors in the military, with a core responsibility not to charge into the fray (although they are fully capable) but to observe the entire field, analyze enemy situations, and identify weaknesses from a strategic point on the rear or flank. They provide real-time tactical advice to commanders, even directly commanding local battles.

Through clear, loud, rationally powerful speeches, they inspire soldiers. They do not preach bloodthirsty fervor but discipline, courage, trust in comrades, and rational belief in victory. They effectively counter fear magic and morale collapse.

When forced or needed to personally intervene in combat, their fighting style is efficient, precise, and deadly. No unnecessary flashy moves, every strike aimed at joints, armor gaps, or command nodes, like a precise war machine. Their warhammers smash armor and shields, and thrusting swords penetrate critical points accurately.

Moreover, they excel at identifying and thwarting enemy ambushes, ploys, and chaos witchcraft. Their wisdom and goddess’s blessing help troops resist magic that disturbs morale, such as confusion and illusions.

Even in the bloodiest melees, they maintain an almost cold rational judgment. Soldiers within a certain perimeter feel the effect of "clarity of will," mitigating the impact of fear, enhancing focus, and improving efficiency in executing commands.

The sect’s symbol is spear and shield, also the goddess’s most favored weapons during her lifetime, but many priests are equally skilled with longswords. They believe a well-forged longsword is a noble weapon worthy of their devotion and mastery. Many generals and mercenary warlords hire Violet’s combat priests as strategic advisors.

These three sects of combat priests are basically the most existent in the Hesse Territory’s army, while there are priests of Tal and Redema, they rarely penetrate into the military.

As the commander-in-chief, Oerstein also prefers to pack more Sun Goddess combat priests into the troops unless the squadron is indeed composed of many pagans.

For instance, among several knight battle groups, there are those composed entirely of Yurik’s White Wolf Knights, or infantry phalanxes composed of Yurik followers, where the squadron’s combat priests are Yurik combat priests.

The existence of these combat priests can consolidate and defend their faith, helping followers resist the corruption of chaos.

It can also boost the soldiers’ morale and will, the most significant and direct effect. On the battlefield, when the green skin’s war cry is deafening, chaos whispers attempt to erode minds, or facing mountain-like charges, ordinary soldiers’ fear is inevitable. The presence of combat priests is like the Sea-Stabilizing Needle, Violet’s priests can inspire soldiers, discipline serious. Yurik’s priests’ roar filled with primal power can ignite the warriors’ berserk fighting spirit, and Mole’s followers can enable soldiers to face death fearlessly. All these are force multipliers.