Compared to Arthur's command headquarters, where "stars among generals gathered in clouds," Lin Qi's central command tent was utterly empty. Inside the vast tent stood only the most ordinary magical sand table. A few sets of swords and sabers hung on either side as decoration, and there was nothing else one would expect for marching to war.
There was not even a single general present to put on a show. Instead, the people Arthur had brought occupied much of the tent.
Hearing Arthur's blunt demand, Lin Qi looked at him in "astonishment." He cried out in shock, stammering, "Did I hear that correctly? Your Highness the Prince, you command tens of thousands of powerful knights, more than ten thousand powerful temple priests, and several hundred fully organized legions—yet you want my tiny, pitiable little army to serve as the vanguard?"
Counting on his fingers, Lin Qi began to ramble through his grievances.
"Look, I have only the two Holy Magicians, Esco and Farland, whom I hired from the Vias Commercial Federation. Among their disciples, only a dozen or so possess Saint-level strength. But among the temple priests at your side, there must be at least several hundred Saint-level mages, no?"
"The generals under my command are merely a few mercenary captains from the Vias Mercenary Guild. Though they possess Saint-level martial power, they have never been tempered by large-scale warfare! And how many Punishment Knights do you have at your side? Ten thousand? Twenty thousand? Thirty thousand? They are all elite knights cultivated by the temples!"
"My soldiers—oh, have pity on them! A little over thirty thousand mercenaries; they only know how to coordinate in small-unit combat, and they have never even fought in a battle involving more than a thousand people! Ten thousand dwarf warriors—they barely have some fighting