Without question, for an island whose total population might not even reach ten million, tens of thousands of troops gathering to face off across a city was unprecedented.
Never mind tens of thousands—even wars involving a thousand people had never broken out before.
At most, there had been armed clashes involving one or two hundred people between villages and towns.
Their purpose had either been to seize a mine that could bring economic benefits or to secure a water source for irrigating farmland.
In short, even thirty or forty deaths had counted as "heavy casualties."
Now, however, both the Western Lands, unified through an administrative system, and the Southern Lands, allied through religious faith, possessed military potential far beyond that of any previous city or regime.
In just a few short weeks, the two sides had gathered more than eighty thousand troops near the Holy City.
These were not hastily conscripted militia, but genuine professional armies freed from all other work.
The army of the Western Lands was clearly the more professional of the two, with unified command and logistical supply systems.
With its elite Knight Order, whose members wielded life energy, and its top-tier combatants made up of defected Claymore Warriors, it could probably hold its own even against the two nations on the continent across the sea.
By comparison, although the Southern Alliance was somewhat weaker in command and logistics, its soldiers and officers were also professionals drawn from its constituent towns and villages, no longer required to farm.
Beyond that, it had the Holy Light Church to fully unite them, along with the healing and enhancement spells cast by Paladins and Priests. Its overall fighting strength was equally impressive.
Most importantly, bolstered by spiritual strength and faith, this army would possess iron resolve in battle, allowing it