Chapter 144
"The Holy Blood Legion's combat strength has increased again."
Inside the castle.
Ryan, who had been observing the battle, smiled with satisfaction. Two thousand Holy Blood Army faced a force of six thousand on the other side, yet the situation was surprisingly one-sided.
In terms of combat power alone, the Holy Blood Legion has surpassed the Iron Blood Army.
However, creating Holy Blood Soldiers is very troublesome. In addition to expensive weapons and equipment, it also requires people who can adapt to the influence of the 'war' will.
"It's still worth it."
There are plenty of people who want to join the Holy Blood Legion.
'Shally' will not force those people to join, but will give most people a chance to 'be reborn', since many of these people do not even have basic living security.
As for those who live in the city and have stable jobs and incomes, they generally wouldn't consider joining the army.
Looking at 'Shally's' Advancement Quest, there are still more than 6,000 people needed to meet the advancement requirements. Ryan is really looking forward to seeing what skills Fourth Tier Blood Knight can learn.
About an hour.
Amabena came to find him, but Angiya had already returned with her people.
"Your Majesty, thanks to your help this time, I thank you on behalf of all the people of Ast for your generosity and kindness."
Angiya was still wearing her armor when she returned to the castle and immediately went to find Amabena.
Amabena blinked; she had no idea what was going on.
But it seems like a good thing, so Ryan Ryan's firepower wiped out Augustus's army, huh?
Seeing that Ryan had no intention of speaking, Amabena coughed lightly. "I will treat every loyal subject generously. Angiya, I will make amends to the people of Ast for the mistakes my father made back then."
Angiya was taken aback, not expecting that the new king still remembered.
She quickly said, "Your Majesty need not worry. The late king must have had other more important matters to attend to at that time."
Amabena thought to herself, "That's true. My father was busy enjoying himself with the ministers in the palace. He didn't pay any attention to the battle report and just kept playing music and dancing."
"Yes, he did have something important to do at the time."
Amabena spared her father some face.
The two chatted for a few minutes, with Ryan standing aside without saying a word. He felt that Amabena wasn't beyond redemption; at least she handled interpersonal relationships quite well. In short, she wasn't very bright, but her emotional intelligence was pretty good. It seemed that Da Nai wasn't completely brainless after all.
Just then, the castle steward rushed in.
"Your Excellency, this is a message from the capital."
The butler handed the letter to Angiya and then left.
The latter opened the letter, glanced at it, and frowned.
"Your Majesty, Duke Frank knows you are here. He... he asked me to leave you here and will send someone to fetch you back."
"What?! Frank's coming?! Waaaaah, what am I going to do? He's definitely sent a lot of people. If he catches me, I'm doomed!"
Angiya: "..."
"Your Majesty, rest assured, don't you still have a secret weapon?" Ryan waved his hand. "That mere Frank will surely be a death sentence."
"Really? But that guy has 50,000 people."
"Then there's no chance of them coming back."
Having witnessed the Holy Blood Legion's latest combat strength, Ryan didn't take this noble private army seriously at all. They claimed to have 50,000 men, but how many of them were actually capable of fighting? And how high was their combat strength?
His side has a genuine force of two thousand Holy Blood Army, and they are the first generation, well-equipped.
"Your Majesty, please do not be alarmed. Lord Ryan is right. Although Frank is powerful, part of his army remains in his territory and the rest is stationed in the capital. I estimate that he can only send about 15,000 men at most. With Ast's city defenses and Your Majesty's army, defending the city should be no problem," Angiya said.
Frank's letter told her to keep Angiya or face the consequences, which was clearly intended to harm Amabena.
In the past, Angiya would have hesitated, but now that Amabena had saved the entire Ast, she naturally had to stand firmly on the King's side.
Amabena: Fifteen thousand! Σ(⊙▽⊙"a
"Viscountess Angiya, I'll need your help in procuring some military supplies," Ryan said.
"Of course, how many people do you need? Is ten thousand enough?"
"No need for that. We'll prepare supplies for 2,000 people, but we may need to continue supplying them and even gradually increase the amount."
"Two thousand people?" Angiya was taken aback. "Is that so few?"
Ryan chuckled, "That's enough. Those are His Your Majesty's secret weapons. You don't need to worry about the specifics, just do as he says. With them around, no matter how many men Frank sends, they'll all die."
"Is that so... Okay, I'll go prepare it right away."
Angiya had no doubts, because the Holy Blood Legion was indeed terrifying. She even thought that if they could win this time, Amabena would soon be able to return to the royal city and sit on the throne again.
After Angiya left, Amabena murmured, "Father, can we win?"
"First, don't call me father. Second," Ryan said confidently, "We will win."
Just as Ryan predicted, Angiya quickly took sides. This lord was benevolent, loyal, and capable—a dream subject for anyone who wanted to serve her.
The Holy Blood Legion's biggest problem right now is supply. That's why Ryan needs Aster City as a base. As long as the supply can keep up, they can fight their way back without any problem.
However, before that, 'Shally' needs to expand the Holy Blood Army again. With 5,000 men, the entire Kingdom of Lotte will be able to move about with impunity.
Fifty thousand people?
Heh~
Ryan didn't believe that a duke of a kingdom could raise 50,000 soldiers. It wasn't a kingdom in its heyday. Given the current Kingdom of Lotte, Frank would be lucky to have 30,000 soldiers that could be deployed for war.
Ryan was confident, but Amabena wasn't.
This cheap king only knows two thousand vs. fifty thousand. How can he win when he's being Dragon Riding Face?
"Father, you must be hiding some treasure, right? Take it out and let me see!"
"Lord Ryan, you are my most trusted confidant and my greatest threat... Bah! My trusted minister, I'm counting on you, so you can't abandon me!"
"I don't care, I'll go wherever you go!"
His Majesty the King feels insecure!
The next day, Angiya prepared the supplies, and Ryan asked her to send them directly out of the city to 'Shally'.
The Holy Blood Legion will not enter the city. It is essential for this 'Demon Legion' to maintain its mystery, not only to put pressure on the enemy but also to instill fear in allies.
Once Frank's army arrives, 'Shally' will launch a surprise attack on them en route. Whether it's 10,000 or 15,000, they won't be able to reach Yaste City.
After arranging things here, Ryan opened the game and switched to the character interface of 'Lin Qi'.
This morning Caslathdi and Haino arrived in Baron. The Old Emperor immediately invited Caslathdi to lunch and also introduced his second and fourth sons, truly a scene of paternal love and filial piety.
The Old Emperor wanted to talk about family ties, and Hainuo didn't attend. Ryan took this opportunity to have 'Lin Qi' send her an invitation.
The ostensible purpose was to discuss the specifics of this operation, and since it was an invitation from the Saintess, Haino had to give her face.
At this time.
In a detached house in the Imperial Capital.
Hainuo walked into the house out of curiosity and saw 'Lin Qi' sitting in the living room, and she was the only one in the house.
"Your Excellency the Saintess," Haino asked, puzzled, "What is it that needs to be discussed here?"
Their identities aren't anything to be ashamed of; they can just talk things out at their place. Why go through all this trouble?
"Please sit down."
Ryan took direct control of 'Lin Qi' without explanation, and simply poured Hainuo a cup of tea.
This action puzzled Haino even more. As far as she knew, the Your Excellency the Saintess was aloof and rarely interacted with people, so why would she pour tea for her? She wasn't the Pope.
That's really strange.
"Your Excellency the Saintess, please speak frankly. After all, I am half a member of the Gate of Janus, so there's no need to be so polite."
"Since you put it that way," Lin Qi put down her teacup, her red eyes fixed on Haino, "Dean Haino, I want you to follow my orders. I have other plans regarding the competition for the Augustus throne."
Haino was taken aback, then laughed angrily, "Your Excellency the Saintess, are you joking? Even if my position in the Gate of Janus is not as high as yours, I am still Honorary Bishop and Seventh Tier Transcendent. Do you think I will just listen to you because you say so?"
Putting aside other matters, as for the competition for the throne, who doesn't know that Haino supports Caslathdi now?
"If it were anything else, I might consider it, but this is absolutely impossible! Even if the Pope came, it wouldn't work!"
"Is that so?" 'Lin Qi' nodded slightly. "What if I told you that I have some dirt on you, Vice Dean?"
Haino shook his head in disappointment. "I didn't expect that this year's Saintess of the Gate of Janus would be someone like you, trying to threaten me with your weakness? You underestimate me, Haino. No matter what you have, I will never compromise."
Is this the quality of the Saintess of Gate of Janus? Humph.
If it weren't for her identity as 'Lin Qi', she would have wanted to kill this guy who insulted her right now.
Are you sure?
"Boring! If you only came to me for this matter, then I'm afraid I can't keep you company."
Haino snorted coldly, turned around and walked towards the door.
Suddenly.
It felt like her body had been violently slapped.
A powerful desire suddenly erupted from within, catching everyone off guard, like a volcano exploding with a 'bang!'!
Ah~~~~~
Haino let out a trembling gasp.
He lost his balance and stumbled, falling to the ground.
The intense, overwhelming desire nearly drove her mad; she struggled to control it, her mind reeling with shock.
This feeling is—
She turned around abruptly and saw 'Lin Qi' holding the Pot of Greed, looking down at her!
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