When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 836 - 787: Demon Hunter Potion Detoxification and Situation Analysis

"Your Grace, Haimodin mentioned a minor issue, adjustments are still needed," Duvalon climbed the tower steps.

"How long will it take?"

"At most a quarter of an hour."

"Alright, let's wait a bit longer then."

The cold wind swept dry grass around his ankles. Standing on the 10-meter high wooden tower, Horn picked up a withered blade of grass from the railing.

Time really flies. It felt like a blink of an eye, and it was already December, moving from mid-1444 to the end of 1448.

As December came, everything turned cold, and frost began to form on the grasslands.

The surface of the distant Ibe River finally entered the dry season of winter.

If it weren't for the remnants left by the riverbanks, no one would have thought that just three months ago, a flood had broken out.

Since the flood regulation was completely finished half a month ago, the soaked lands of Shangruifo County finally revealed their black fertile soil.

On the one hand, the spring plowing next year won't be delayed, and on the other, it means Horn has more troops and builders.

Horn still remembered the conversation with Mr. Senius that day.

"... The sluice gates of the flood relief channel are linked with clockwork gears and are currently operating well, but that doesn't mean all issues are resolved..."

"... The Innocent Dam has little effect on the lower Nao'an River, but the impact on the Thousand River Valley Region is substantial..."

"... The Thousand River Valley has many mountains and rivers. This year's rainfall wasn't ample, so the flood was contained. If stormy rains come any other year, this channel might not suffice..."

According to Senius, the sooner the Innocent Dam is built, the better, and the faster it's completed, the better.

But what about the time for a counter-attack?

It might have to wait until spring, and the current situation in Xia Lvcheng doesn't look promising.

The siege battle has lasted for two months now, with the Leia people making no significant progress, but most of the outposts surrounding Xia Lvcheng have been cleared.

In Lvwa Village, the two sides fell into a tug-of-war.

From the battle lines, it was the Leia people pulling towards Lvwa Village.

Although the Mountain Knights had a terrain and logistical advantage, they couldn't withstand the overwhelming numbers of the Leia people, who also had decree-linked assaults.

If not for the Thousand River Valley War, where Prince Kongdai, Leia's most excellent cavalry commander, was killed, the battle lines at Lvwa Village may have looked even worse.

It's puzzling why, up to now, after King Ginijis's brazen invasion of the Thousand River Valley, he hasn't made any move.

He first sent the remaining dozen or so decree-linked troops to garrison in the border areas and then proceeded to Golden Horn Bay Holy Throne City for activities.

According to the information from the Falan, the King Leia was supposed to personally lead an expedition before November.

Horn had everything prepared, but where the hell is King Jiji?

Some cardinals believed King Ginijis was distracted by all sorts of trivial matters, just like those two treasures during the alpine march.

However, other cardinals thought there was something fishy going on.

"Master Wan, it's cold, you should put on your cloak," Duvalon placed a woolen cloak over Horn.

The cloak, preheated by the wizards, kept the cold wind outside and was warmer than a stove inside.

Horn turned around, looked at Duvalon, who was nearly as tall as himself, and reached out to touch his head: "You've grown up too, kid."

Compared to that mischievous boy during the Gulag times, Horn could barely recognize him.

From the scrawny arms, muscles knotted, and a fine layer of fuzz covered his lip.

After the establishment of Joan of Arc Castle, the Holy Junior Generals of the Child Soldiers gradually faded from the political stage.

The younger ones went back for reformation, while the older ones entered the Cheka, yet specific matters were still managed by professionals.

Though Duvalon was the leader of the Night Watchers, specific matters were handled by Chap, one of the original Forty Ten Households Leaders.

Beneath him were many recruited retired Demon Hunters and Night Guards helping to maintain law and order.

Demon Hunters and Night Guards might not be great at warfare, but they were quite experienced in maintaining order.

This kind of experience wasn't something that could be taught merely through Horn's guidance or a book.

Thus, the term "Child Soldiers" has gradually faded with time, replaced by "Pope's Sons" or "Zhongsi."

Within the Holy Alliance Government, this term had subtly shifted to a term representing a political faction.

Specifically referring to the "absolute royalists," especially the Zhongsi consisting of wise orphans and fallen soldiers' children from the flood wars.

Their influence mainly spans Cheka, Military Police, and the Night Watchers.

You could say within the party, there's no faction, just oddities.

As long as it doesn't turn into a malignant party struggle, Horn wouldn't stop it too much.

Seeing that the experimental weaponry in the distance hadn't begun, Horn started chatting idly with Duvalon.

"How's the detoxification research for the Demon Hunter potion going?"

Duvalon tidied his hair, "Chap, the deputy leader of the Night Watchers, says they're conducting a double-blind experiment."

"Are the folks at the Scales Hermitage easy to work with?"

"Uh..." Duvalon's face showed a difficult expression, "They're dedicated, really dedicated, often working overtime in the labs.

I visited several times, and lights were blazing all night.

But they're kind of weird, always being secretive, claiming Eternal Master Lilith and Saint Master Miseria are sisters.

And they say things like blood magic is sacred magic, and sacred magic is Divine Art, which are strange statements.

In times past, if there were still an Inquisition, they'd have been arrested long ago.

Their methods are extremely radical, often jumping to conclusions, frequently leading to incidents where someone's eyes and ears would bleed, yet in a couple of days, they'd act like nothing happened..."

It's evident that in the cooperation with the Scales Hermitage, Duvalon had accumulated quite some grievances, endless as he spoke.

"You all should endure for the country's sake," Horn, however, was resigned. After all, except for the Scales Hermitage, no other secret faction had experience with the Demon Hunter potion.

The Scales Hermitage has years on end dissecting Demon Hunters and studying Divine Art and blood magic, making them experts in this field.

Horn's research reward in Long Embankment City for "Demon Hunter Potion Detoxification" was only dared to be accepted by the Scales Hermitage.

As wizards gradually emerged from secluded mountains into the civilized world, the problem of wizard crime followed.

The ry Court Barracks and Joan of Arc Castle were better off, but in a bustling transit hub like Rapids City, wizard secret faction crime was rampant.

Horn couldn't expect every secret faction to be as high-caliber as the Ruo'an Faction and the Witch Council.

Last year's anti-crime operation resulted in a large number of criminal magical secret faction remnants fleeing to the Thousand River Valley.

Considering the future, once the Demon-Loving Fungus vaccine was rolled out, it would inevitably lead to a significant increase in magical crime.

To suppress these people, one must have their own sufficient team of Demon Hunters.

The first step was to reduce the high mortality rate of Demon Hunter promotion.

In this matter, ironically, the Scales Hermitage was most skilled.

From the recent intelligence, in just half a year, these lunatics drastically reduced the toxicity.

Though it diminished the potion's overall efficacy, Horn thought many of the Demon Hunter promotion potion's features were grotesquely abnormal.

Especially like the Snake Faction, strangely requiring the human body to secrete toxins.

And the Lion Faction demanded people be towering and innately powerful, which lacked universal applicability.

Currently, Horn only required the Wolf Faction and Eagle Faction potions be thoroughly developed, projecting completion next year at the current pace.

When the time comes, Night Watchers will take the Wolf Faction potion, Cheka the Eagle Faction potion, and everyone will have a bright future.

After discussing potion choices and the current internal trends among the Pope's sons with Duvalon for a while, an attendant came to report.

"Your Grace, Mechanic Priest Haimodin says the grenade launchers are ready."