When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1179 The Situation of the Royal Court

The axle groaned shrilly, and bundles of silk, overflowing from under the loose tarpaulin, spilled out in a dazzling golden-red hue—clearly the finest brocade from Franco.

The carriage behind was covered with a canvas, but the edges of the enamel-inlaid Holy Grail could still be seen through the gaps.

Two ragged Norn prisoners were tied to the back of the wagon with ropes and trudged along.

As he rode past the caravan, when the eyes of two slaves swept toward Lacunio, he could only awkwardly turn his head away.

These are caravans transporting Norn treasures, which will be packaged and sold off like other Norn treasures, turning into gold pounds and iron ore.

Although being a traitor is wrong, Lacuño was saved by the king, which shows his loyalty to the king, and there is nothing to criticize about him.

As he rode his horse toward the camp, Lacunio couldn't help but think of the woman with her hair in a bun.

High Priest Sefaye, the de facto emperor of the Flesh and Blood Court.

Lacunio fought vampires his whole life, only to find out in his old age, after siding with a vampire, that if it weren't for Serfaye's appearance, the royal court would have slowly died.

Vampire offspring born from the birth of superior vampires or through the infusion of primal blood during the Embrace almost universally adhere to a dualistic system of loyalty.

They were loyal to their respective families and the royal court.

When a family clashes with the royal court, the royal court should take precedence over the family.

However, since the royal court itself was a figurehead, especially after the Hundred Year War, Lilith had been asleep for nearly a hundred years and had not issued any divine pronouncements.

This led to the vampire clans' Council of Immortals, a temporary wartime institution, completely replacing the high priest system left by Lilith.

So now, in the eyes of most vampires, the royal court is equivalent to a clan.

However, the situation changed with the rise of the new High Priest, Serfaye.

The volcanic eruption, the cleansing of the City of No Light, the rebuilding of the Immortal Army... Since Serfaye came to power, he has won victory after victory, moving from one victory to another.

First, they swept through the area around Lightless City with overwhelming force, then the Immortal Army expanded its forces to suppress the surrounding cannibalistic warlords, and then expanded its forces again.

At an extremely rapid pace, within just one or two years, this High Priest Serfaye swept across the northern part of the Western Continent.

Then came the North-South War of the Royal Court a few years ago, the surprise attack on Moonlight Bay, the siege of Black Tower Port, and finally, he personally led his troops to conquer Nightsend Castle.

The southern clans had no choice but to negotiate and submit.

In just a few years, the royal court went from unity to division and then back to unity, and all of this was accomplished by that high priest.

Every time he thinks of this, Lacunio feels a surge of envy and a sense of familiarity.

As he gazed at the military camp that was becoming clearer in the distance, he couldn't help but sigh, "What kind of era is this? Heroes, a once-in-a-century phenomenon, are as numerous as carp crossing a river."

This speed of rise is probably only comparable to that of the grandson of the Holy Alliance of Thousand River Valley.

Even the weapons they used were quite similar.

Despite his reluctance, ten years have passed, and no matter how stubborn Lacunio is, he has to face the power of the Blood Pact Gun and the Clockwork Gun.

“The knight’s sword has ultimately been defeated by the gun.” Lacunio stroked his gray beard. “Then my northern army will have to adapt as well.”

Although the royal court has reached a truce, it is not a monolithic entity, or rather, it is impossible for it to be a monolithic entity.

Currently, the royal court can be basically divided into three major factions.

The first faction, naturally, is Serfaye's own faction, composed of low-level vampires, ogres, and clanless long-lived high priests.

The second group consisted of small clans that voluntarily submitted to Serfaye during the conquest.

The third faction, naturally, consisted of the southern clans.

Within the royal court's army, there were also distinctions, but these were between the old and new units.

The old-style legions are those that still follow the Royal Court's past combat methods, mainly composed of conservatives from the first and second factions, and do not undergo major reforms.

The new army is a new army that completely imitates the Holy Alliance's organization, combining undead melee soldiers with vampire gunners.

Serfaye's repeated victories owe much to the contributions of these new-style armies. For example, the northern army led by Lacunio was a mix of old-style legions with a small number of blood-bound musketeers. Of course, he also captured many clockwork cannons, which he used as the legion's direct artillery unit.

He had no idea what this army was.

The high priest divided the royal army into three routes: the northern route for the northern offensive and the central route for the central offensive at Golden Horn Bay.

Then there was the Southern Route Army, which attacked the coastal areas. Their main force consisted of those sea monsters.

Many witches can tame monsters, but almost no one has ever tamed sea monsters, except for Mysera (Lilith) who persuaded the sea monsters on the eastward journey to leave.

Thinking back to the match reports from a few days ago, Lacuño did find some of the points to be valid.

Serfaye, this high priest who appeared out of nowhere, actually knows this strange magic.

Simply put special blood into beef and throw it at the sea monsters, and they will obey your commands.

As for where the blood came from...

The memory of that enormous, blood-red cocoon, as tall as a person and pulsating like a heart, constantly pumping out blood, made him feel uneasy.

I shook my head and came back to reality.

After confirming their identities, the soldiers guarding the city gate immediately opened the gate, moved aside the barricades, and went into the inner room.

Even sitting on his horse, Lacunio couldn't help but think about it.

What he didn't understand was that if Serfaye could gradually reorganize the entire royal army into a new type of legion, the invasion of the empire would be much smoother.

But Serfaye was determined to go his own way and refused to spend five or six years training a new army. Instead, he wanted to train while fighting.

Is there pressure within the royal court?

It was true that they were a monolithic entity, but as Serfaye broke up the rigid political groups, the previously chaotic political struggles became clear.

The intensity of a struggle based on self-interest is greatly reduced while Serfaye is still alive and can scavenge for scraps from the corpses of the great clans.

Is the royal court under external pressure?

Still nothing. Fran and the Holy Alliance are locked in a power struggle, Leia is internally disobedient, and Norn is in complete disarray internally while trying to sit back and watch the two sides fight.

In a short period of time, no one paid any attention to Wang Ting.

There's no internal or external pressure on the royal court, so why the rush?

As he stroked his beard, Lacunio suddenly froze, looking down at the few white whiskers in his palm.

He stared at the white beard for three to five seconds before shaking his head and smiling. No matter how powerful Serfaye was, he was already in his twilight years among vampires.

This is a problem that no matter what kind of flesh-and-blood furnace it is, it cannot solve.

Having discarded the beard from his palm, Lacunio looked up and realized with a daze that he had arrived at the entrance of the military tent.

He dismounted, tossed the reins to the soldier at the door, and strode inside.

A long table with candles was set up behind a black curtain, this was to accommodate the vampire generals in the Northern Route Army.

As he walked in through the door, the vampires and cannibals dressed in various military uniforms and silk dresses all turned their heads and stared at him.

"Your Excellency Lacunio."

Good morning, Your Excellency.

Such treatment is extremely rare in a country where vampires are the majority.

Despite being human, the recent battles had silenced the royal generals present.

Before he could even sit down, he began to speak as he walked: "Gentlemen, we are here today to discuss the matter of encircling and annihilating the Shooting Army."

(End of this chapter)