The Urgency of a Codex

Lothar had obtained a method of meditation from the Knightly Order—but it was no different from what Jeanne had taught him. In many places, it was even more obscure and difficult to understand, far less plain and accessible than Jeanne's teachings.

After all, the Holy Church Knightly Order Jeanne belonged to had once been the foremost Knightly Order in Europe. It had risen upon the corpse of the Knights Templar, which had been purged by the King of France. It was understandable that its meditation method was more advanced.

So the reason his soldiers could not learn Holy Radiance definitely did not lie in the meditation method.

After leaving the Knightly Order's camp, Lothar went straight to the camps of the Flemish Pikemen and Swiss Halberdiers on the outskirts of the city to inspect them.

Both were equipped with breastplates, elbow guards, knee guards, and kettle helmets common in the Renaissance era, along with short swords and daggers for close combat.

The weapons used by the Swiss Halberdiers were the most distinctive: halberds combining axe and spear, hence their other name, axe-spears.

There was also a hook on the back of the axe. The blade was used for chopping, the spearhead for thrusting, and the back of the axe for dragging noble knights from their mounts. They were remarkably versatile.

The Flemish Pikemen, meanwhile, used extra-long pikes four to six meters in length. There was little to say about them: a forest of pikes was enough to make any noble knight think twice.

As for the reputation of Swiss mercenaries, there was no need to elaborate. Composed of fierce Swiss mountain folk, they were rare elite infantry capable of fulfilling battlefield duties beyond merely holding the line.

When Lothar had played Charles VII's grandnephew, Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy