When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

Chapter 1211 Until the Day It Comes

"Hey-ha-"

Accompanied by the sound of stomping feet, rows of spears thrust forward in unison, the sound of the spear tips piercing the air almost like a shriek.

As for the spearhead, it was made of refined iron, which is steel.

Because of the extraordinary martial arts skills used, the spear could pierce even steel armor, leaving a hole the size of a little fingernail.

Of course, this is on the premise that you don't stab the thickest part of the breastplate from the front.

Guillermo del Toro stood on the tower at the edge of the drill ground, peering down through his binoculars.

On the firm, green grass, the soldiers of the Black Legion lined up to practice their formations, while on the other side, the sound of swords slicing through the air could be heard.

Without a doubt, anyone selected for the Black Legion must be at least a second-stage breathing technique user.

Because of its short history, many of the Black Legion's soldiers were recruited from mercenaries, wandering soldiers, and knights.

However, Giel also received a large number of priests and officers from the Holy Alliance and the Dawn Federation.

Many of these young officers, united by the common ideals of the Holy Path Sect, had given up promising futures in their hometowns.

For soldiers with bad habits or backward thinking, there are officers to discipline them militarily, and chaplains to guide them ideologically.

Physical and mental, mixed doubles.

But Guillermo del Toro also knew that much of the rotten wood was beyond carving.

Therefore, all newly recruited soldiers are screened in the recruit camp.

No matter how promising a talent is, if they have ideological problems, they will not be used.

Giyel didn't waste these discarded recruits; he had them form another army to be responsible for tasks such as escorting, sentry duty, and city defense.

“Your training level here is quite good.” Armand put down his binoculars. “Ever since the massacre in Gough and the assassination of the governor by Lemington, everyone has been holding back a lot of energy.”

Giel looked at Armand, who had rushed over from the Dawn Federation, and tried to smile, but couldn't: "I also have to thank you for the training methods you provided."

The extraordinary martial arts skills that were once confined to castle towers eventually found their way to the common people.

In Francois, things were better. In regions like Leia, several wars had occurred, and with the spread of printing, extraordinary martial arts skills were no longer uncommon.

To make a living, many knights either married merchants or sold their extraordinary martial arts skills.

As a result, various extraordinary martial arts techniques flooded the market, were reprinted, and the overall level of extraordinary martial arts in the empire was improved.

As early as after the founding of the Holy Alliance, these extraordinary martial arts were categorized and tested.

As it turns out, most extraordinary martial arts techniques are repetitive and flashy, and are not adapted to the new era.

It looks mysterious, but it's actually just one trick.

For example, a supernatural martial art known as the "Shadowless Sword" involves throwing poisoned thorns while swinging the sword.

Many of the remaining effective extraordinary martial arts require the use of large amounts of expensive potions and more than ten years of arduous training, making them too cost-effective.

However, since the Holy Alliance captured a large number of sword masters and high-ranking knights, they were tasked with refining and eliminating the dross from these extraordinary martial arts manuals.

In the end, I acquired more than a dozen reliable and usable extraordinary martial arts techniques, including charging, thrusting, and deflecting force.

Finally, two comprehensive and extraordinary martial arts were derived: "Standard Military Swordsmanship of the Holy Alliance" and "Standard Military Stabbing Technique of the Holy Alliance".

These two comprehensive and extraordinary martial arts techniques have been gradually perfected through the grand competitions within the Holy Alliance over the years.

Ultimately, this led to the two extraordinary martial arts that the Black Legion is currently practicing.

However, nowadays, both "Swordsmanship" and "Piercing Techniques" are being revised and amended.

With the advent of the telescopic bayonet, swordsmanship training became less important, and thrusting techniques had to be modified accordingly.

"How is things going in Brand City these days?"

"Those speculators and El merchants have been killed or punished, and they're much more obedient now, even donating money and food to us on their own initiative."

"Do you rely on these businessmen, speculators, and gentry for more than half of your current income?"

"Yes, squeezing them dry will give the farmers a break."

Armand slowly turned his head: "That's not good. Your army keeps eating their food, and it's easy for them to become theirs."

I'm not telling you you can't ask for money or grain, but rather that you need to establish a stable tax system, instead of exploiting wealthy households like slaughtering pigs at the end of the year.

"is it so serious?"

“You can go and investigate,” Armand said with a half-smile. “Empty caves don’t let in any wind.”

“Alright, I understand.” Guillermo del Toro’s expression hardened. Armand was no one to make empty promises. He had built the Holy Path Sect organization around Windmill Village from scratch and had close ties with the Cheka; his information channels were unlikely to be unreliable.

"How do you plan to publicize the Lemingston affair?" Armand spoke again, but the topic he brought up was more serious. "The Court of Truth will cooperate with you on our side."

At this point, Giulietta's expression darkened.

To be honest, Lemingston and Gier did have differing political views.

Lemington believed that Windmill Country should be independent so that people could feel proud and truly stand up.

Kegier has consistently criticized Lemingston in the newspapers, arguing that he is a local protectionist.

The happiness of the believers is the future direction of Windmill Land.

Clearly, whether Windmill Land is independent or not has no necessary connection to whether its believers can achieve happiness.

Besides, the believers in Windmill Land are human beings, but the believers outside Windmill Land are not human beings?

Believers should live in one large family without ethnic distinctions, just like the Holy Alliance.

Although Guillaume is currently fighting for the independence of the Windmill Landers, his goal has always been the well-being of the Windmill Landers.

If joining the Holy Alliance after independence can bring a better life to the people of Windmill Land, then why not?
Therefore, Lemington was actually only fighting for the interests of his own middle class and for his shallow national pride.

He was surprised, but not astonished, by Lemington's defection to the vampires.

What surprised him, and even seemed unbelievable, was Lemington's assassination of Governor Akadera.

How could that priest, who only knew how to talk big, actually do such a feat?
Such a big thing couldn't be kept secret even from vampires.

Lemington and Akadera are both well-known figures, and their sudden disappearance essentially confirms the rumors.

The assassination occurred at a banquet in full view of many local elites, making it impossible to suppress the news.

The addition of Lemingston's suicide note and the assassination attempt makes the logic exceptionally complete and clear.

Except for those who are pretending to be asleep, the rest have no way to deny it.

“We will publish a tribute to Father Lemington in the Free Press and erect his statue in the Windmill Place Cathedral in Branding City.”

“Alright, I will write an article entitled ‘In Memory of Mr. Lemingston,’ and the Brotherhood of the Holy Path will cooperate with you in spreading the word in the countryside, ensuring that the massacre of Gurney and the assassination of Lemingston are widely known.”

After speaking, Armand noticed Guillers's somber expression and reached out to squeeze his shoulder: "How is your brother? Didn't he say he was coming over?"

With a wry smile, Gier did not answer.

He simply turned to the side and handed Armand the latest issue of the Windmill Independent from his back pocket.

Armand glanced down and saw that the front page of the newspaper featured the latest article, "Why are speculators the enemy of all the windmill people?"

As for the editor-in-chief's name... it was actually Mattis.

“He plans to stay in Dam City, take over the Lemingston newspaper, and keep it running.” Guillaume steadied himself against the tower’s battlements.

Dam City is actually the vampires' stronghold in Windmill Country, and it's quite dangerous.

Reading the article, Armand remained noncommittal: "Or are we preparing for a newspaper battle?"

Gier continued, "He asked me to allocate some veterans and instructors to him, and he could buy them if there were any seeds of divine favor or clockwork guns."

"Oh?" Armand looked up. "That's no small sum. Where did he get it?"

"Donations from citizens all over Windmill Country, as well as anonymously sent money orders, amounted to a considerable sum."

Armand nodded, letting the autumn wind blow gently before sighing, "Lemingston's goal has been achieved."

“Yes.” Setting aside prejudice and arguments, Guillaume actually admired Remington’s behavior.

How can people see the bloody reality if the wounds are not torn open?

Moreover, Lemingston's move gave the Windmill Land residents a huge boost, especially those with relatives in Greenwood.

Due to multiple factors, the previously stable rule of vampires in Windmill Country may be somewhat shaken.

“They’re all brothers from the Holy Path Sect, why give them money? Just send them a batch.” Armand thought for a moment and then simply said.

Gilles shook his head: "That's what I said too. He said even brothers should keep clear accounts, and besides, we can't let the Holy Alliance suffer a loss."

Armand was taken aback at first, then smiled with relief: "Still that dream of independence?"

“Yes, but it’s not just his dream.” Guillaume nodded. “These dreams will continue until they come true.”

(End of this chapter)