When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 809 - 760: Utterly Numb

"Where's my Griffin Cannon? Washed away by the flood?!"

"And Moliat? Missing?! Still missing at this moment?"

"What's the situation with the flood? You don't know, and you tell me you don't know?! Go check immediately."

Horn spat all over Bernardo's face, yet Bernardo only squinted and took it without daring to move.

Madlan, however, with a stiff expression said, "Your Majesty, after the flood erupted, the front at the Shattered Stone Plain has been a complete mess; it's normal for communication to be disrupted. We've tried our best to investigate, and we'll soon have news."

Horn paced back and forth behind the desk several times before forcing a smile and patting Bernardo on the shoulder: "Apologies, that was inappropriate of me; you're doing well."

"No, it's our work that's inadequate," Bernardo quickly corrected.

Horn didn't say much, just shook his head: "Cardinal Monks and Chief Monk of the Imperial Court, all non-urgent matters gather here."

During the waiting, sitting on a cushioned chair in the Stag Chamber, he gazed at the Blood Covering Cloud hanging on the wall, his face struggling to hide his worries.

He had imagined that Moliat might win big, win small, or barely win, but never did he expect her to suffer such a crushing defeat.

A total of more than twenty thousand people, including at least ten thousand from the new army, were utterly defeated.

After all, Horn never expected that the Broken Stone Primordial People would dare to dig up the dam.

The Innocent Dam is the economic lifeline of Thousand River Valley and the lifeline of the Shattered Stone Plain as well.

If they dig up the dam, the flood will also sweep through their territories and manors.

According to previous investigations, not all the lords were absolutely opposed to Moliat.

In other words, some lords were actually undecided.

Unlike Horn, who's constantly tearing titles and fields with grand inquisitions of holy war; Moliat declared warfare.

For those lords, losing means replacing the upper lords and a few confidants, which has no bearing on them.

They just want to be vassals; who's the lord doesn't matter to them.

If the Duke of Wing Nest insists on tearing down the dam, then there'll soon be vassal uprisings.

What exactly happened among them?

No matter the situation in the Shattered Stone Plain, the present chaos in Shangruifo County and North Mangde County is undeniably turbulent, with rumors everywhere.

Some say Moliat's dead; some say the Holy Father has sent a flood to destroy the world.

Others say Horn is a Church spy who caused Moliat's death.

The reason being Horn broke into North Mangde County while Moliat was away, shattering the Female Grand Duke's hope.

Regardless, this wave has completely disrupted Horn's war preparations.

Thinking about possibly having to manage the flood and fight Leia people simultaneously, Horn felt his scalp tingle.

"Jia Li, oh Jia Li, your defeat came at such the wrong time." Horn slammed his fist onto the table, causing the teacup to jump in the air.

Watching the cup tumble and roll, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, then walked to the door: "Is everyone here?"

"Everyone's here."

"Bring the fruits, coffee, and tea, let Madlan preside over the meeting, and report the situation while I go and wash my face first."

A ceramic basin filled with ice-cold water from the well, Horn submerged his face directly in the cold water, suppressing his impatience.

By his estimation, after four years of preparation, things should look like this by 1449.

In terms of the army, Horn controlled three battle groups along with a cavalry corps totaling over 18,000 soldiers, all in the Gallar Array mode.

Moliat commanded five battle groups with two cavalry corps totaling 30,000 soldiers, adopting the Gallar Square Formation mode.

Such an army of nearly fifty thousand should have been able to contend with the invading Leia army and the Chao Character Army.

Economically, establishing a unified grain market and simple industrial market within the Holy Alliance reduces transaction costs and pursues specialized division of labor.

Additionally, via price signals and Horn's strong intervention, resource allocation efficiency could be greatly improved.

At the same time, there needed to be a reserve of at least 100,000 gold pounds to weather wartime cash flow.

Politically, establishing a centralized and deeply grassroots government system and building efficient taxation and human resources systems.

In this way, Horn can ensure every command in wartime is truly executed, not just for show.

But now with this defeat, at least ten thousand soldiers are lost, and the public's confidence in war bonds is drained.

Politically, the balance between the Holy Alliance faction and the Kush faction is disrupted, thrusting the Kush faction into a leaderless predicament.

Fortunately, there's some room to recover; at least there's six to nine months left.

Horn lifted his head from the cold water, and the Secret Monk immediately handed him a towel.

Drying his face, he pushed the door open, walked down the corridor, and the meeting room was beside the Stag Chamber.

"Currently, there are three crises: the Grand Duke army's crushing defeat, the impending re-flooding, and the restoration of bond credit to avoid massive bankruptcies..."

His glance caught Horn arriving, so Madlan immediately vacated the main seat, and "devout" voices filled the meeting room.

"Please continue," Horn randomly dragged a chair.

Madlan didn't shirk, as in the past four years through learning and working, he's long transformed from that clumsy baker to the unemotional Grand Cardinal.

Despite baking still a major hobby in his life, Truth Elder is undoubtedly his real vocation.

"Currently, there's no news from the Grand Duke, we should send someone to search and receive..."

"Do not block news of the defeat, but report it positively, otherwise rumors will spiral out of control..."

"We must choose flood discharge areas, Toxic Witch Swamp is fine; open the gate and release some water..."

"As for the bond issue..." Madlan looked at Qianqian, "I'm indeed at a loss; Qianqian, do we have enough reserve funds?"

"Enough for the expected Leia invasion, but maybe not enough with flood control added." Qianqian then looked at Bernardo: "Do you think the Leia people will seize the opportunity to do something?"

Bernardo shook his head: "Large-scale invasion is impossible, but small-scale harassment will undoubtedly occur."

"About the trade routes..."

"There's no issue with the South Nao'an River and Ibe River trade routes, but Lower Nao'an River is likely to be tightly sealed again." Horn interjected.

The Lower Nao'an River leads to the Leia Kingdom and ultimately exits the sea at Windmill Land.

Earlier, the border aristocrats loosened restrictions, allowing small-scale commercial trade to proceed.

Now with Moliat's devastating defeat, that King Jinijis won't just sit idly by.

"By next spring, we must stabilize the situation; the Leia people are expected to arrive as early as June next year, which is ten months from now."

"Your Majesty, there's actually one piece of news I haven't told you," Bernardo scratched his head, "We just received word; two weeks ago, King Jinijis officially broke Duke Nedbach's final fortress, capturing the duke's wife, daughter, and son, while he himself fled; we might not have ten months..."

Bernardo's new information silenced the entire meeting room for a moment.

Then, monks and cardinals, those big and small among them started whispering.

Horn wasn't particularly shocked; he was already numbed by shock: "About how much time might we have left?"

"We expect they'll let soldiers return home for the winter, reunite after the New Year Festival, and start gathering; by February next year, they'll begin the war at the latest."

In other words, Horn and they only had about half a year left.

Only half a year.

"War is coming..."

Someone suddenly uttered these words, making it shockingly abrupt in the still somewhat quiet meeting room.