Chapter 1418 - 1330: Taking a Seat at the Table

Chapter 1418: Chapter 1330: Taking a Seat at the Table

In early October, the Royal Court’s army again showed signs of mobilization.

This news, relayed through the signal tower, took less than two hours to reach Joan of Arc Castle, into the hands of Horn, who happened to be passing by.

It must be said, after this trip to Black Snake Bay, Horn had faintly glimpsed the resolve behind Serafe, or rather Lilith.

She practically abandoned her homeland, diverting almost all controllable ships for transporting troops.

As for the provisions and materials used for the expedition, they were directly requisitioned locally from the Eastern Continent, freeing up the fleet for transport.

Not only from sea routes but also from land routes, large numbers of Royal Court elites were on the move.

The Royal Court’s preparation this time can be said to far surpass the past, even beyond what it should be capable of.

In this state, without Lilith’s presence, the Royal Court would have faltered long ago.

It was precisely through the cooperation of Lilith and Konyaz that created a short period of high-efficiency operation for the Royal Court.

But this was essentially a campaign-style governance, a desperate move relying on two vampires forcing the system to function.

Similar to the Great Demonic Disintegration Method, it is a state putting the future at stake in exchange.

If Horn adopted a purely defensive posture, he could drag the Royal Court into complacency, wearing Serafe down.

However, after this trip to Black Snake Bay, he knew not only should he not defend, but he must attack.

If Serafe did not perish within the Holy Tree’s domain, it would spell disaster for the whole world.

Whenever he thought of this, Horn couldn’t help but feel relieved that the trip to Black Snake Bay was a covert operation.

Initially, it was merely to reduce the chance of the Wolf Woman being attacked, but it also concealed the fact that Horn and the Wolf Woman went to Black Snake Bay.

In outward messages, Horn and Hilov were still accompanying Jia Li during her postpartum confinement in the mountain villa.

This way, the Royal Court was unaware that the Holy Alliance was also very intent on ambushing the enemy leader.

This strategic misjudgment suited Horn perfectly for setting a trap.

His only fear was that Serafe would stay behind the lines and not move out.

Therefore, the first thing Horn did upon receiving the news was immediately order Cheka to control the information, and have René personally handle it.

When Horn returned to the Holy Alliance, he first took a carriage back to the mountain villa, took a bath, and then went to the Holy Seat Mansion.

Inside the Holy Seat Mansion, with its light blue glass, bustling personnel came and went, important street corners and entrances were guarded by soldiers in chest armor.

Seeing Horn approaching, the Secret Monks and Staff Monks smoking in groups of three to five under the porch stood at attention immediately.

"Mind your manners, don’t smoke if you can, and if you do, don’t flick ash everywhere." Horn reminded, then continued to inquire, "Who’s on duty today, notify those advisors and prepare for a meeting."

"Yes, Your Eminence."

The monks hurried away, and Horn thought he’d have to wait until the afternoon but was surprised that everyone was gathered by around nine o’clock.

This wasn’t because the Holy Alliance was so efficient—before telephones and such, there was a limit to how fast things could be done.

It’s just that various departments, along with many monks, voluntarily worked overtime or prepared very early.

Even though Horn hadn’t emphasized anything specific, this national system he had carefully constructed had already sprung into action.

The Holy Alliance, this giant beast, was hatched and nurtured by Horn from an egg.

Horn, as the Pope, was the rider, but that didn’t mean he could control all its thoughts and behaviors.

In fact, the Holy Alliance had long started issuing warnings and hissing in response to the Royal Court’s moves, like a reflexive action.

In its memory and wisdom, this war that started in 1459 and continued to 1463 had lasted a full four years.

If the years from 1459 to 1462 were the Royal Court’s rapid expansion period, entering a positive cycle.

Against the Norn Kingdom, whose internal divisions were grave, and with Lakunio as a collaborator, the northern army could easily defeat the enemy.

Against the Leia Kingdom, it’s without a doubt—after several wars with the Holy Alliance, the Leia Kingdom had exhausted all its national strength and resources.

Taking advantage of the resources snowballed during the invasion, the Royal Court continued its southern attacks, boldly invading as the Falan navy collapsed.

From start to finish, apart from suffering minor setbacks from the Holy Alliance, no major obstacles were encountered.

This is different from when the Holy Alliance often played a losing game, the Royal Court played a winning game from the start and grew more confident with each victory.

In fact, Horn’s current pursuit of a pre-battle victory strategy stems from his subconscious fear of losing after experiencing too many losing campaigns.

So from the end of 1462 war up to now, the Imperial People had gradually become familiar with the Royal Court’s tactics, and under the Holy Alliance’s help, they also adopted new tactics and extraordinary systems.

It’s no longer possible for the Royal Court to achieve the perfect timing, advantage, and unity it once did.

However, relying on the resources gained from previous invasions and the northern depth, the Royal Court still held a significant advantage.

Because as long as the Royal Court’s northern army was in the Roaring Corridor area, the northern Holy Alliance had to deploy large forces.

Due to the traffic and logistical constraints in the area, there would be considerable troop and resource losses.

To resolve this, the northern battle at the end of 1462 took place, stretching from the Roaring Corridor to the Thorn Garden and back to the Roaring Corridor.

The result was the Royal Court’s forces in the Roaring Corridor area were uprooted, removing any threat to the Holy Alliance’s rear.

At this stage, the standoff along the coastal regions was already evident.

As the Royal Court began to gamble everything, the Holy Alliance keenly realized the Royal Court was serious about going all out.

Even though the Holy Alliance was an entity, in this moment, it acted like a living giant beast, striving for its survival.

It understood that the Royal Court was an equal adversary, and if it truly went to war, it might indeed harm the Holy Alliance.

The Royal Court was not lacking in talent, nor was it short of manpower, and although there was a technological gap, it was not enough to form a vast disparity.

If the Royal Court redeployed its forces, girded itself, and concentrated all its troops, deploying twenty thousand vampires against the Holy Alliance.

For the Holy Alliance, this numerical advantage could suppress any other advantage previously acquired.

If the Royal Court went berserk and relentlessly targeted the Holy Alliance, even if it couldn’t annihilate it, the outcome would be mutually damaging.

By then, the other Eastern Continent countries would undoubtedly turn hostile.

Defeating a weakened Holy Alliance might be unlikely, but gradually catching up with its development momentum is very possible.

The wounds of war on the economy require a tremendous amount of time to heal.

To take a simple example, the war bonds heavily issued by the Holy Alliance can only function optimally under the condition of victory.

If it loses or ends in mutual destruction, the Holy Alliance will immediately enter a depression.

After all, to a certain extent, Horn is using military victories to fast-track development.

Without Horn needing to say much, the Holy Alliance had already become vigilant.

So when Horn spoke, he didn’t need to articulate the spirit or importance; they automatically understood and took it seriously.

"This is a battle that must be fought no matter what." Seated at the head, Horn declared bluntly, "Gentlemen, you’d best be prepared, the Royal Court is gambling, and so must we!"