Alexei turned to look, somewhat surprised.
"Ash?"
Ash stood clad in full heavy armor, his expression as cold as frost. One hand was raised before him, holding a thick parchment scroll.
"According to the letter of appointment issued by the lord before the battle and the Castel Sacred Charter, I hold supreme decision-making authority in this battle. There will be no retreat in the fighting ahead. We will hold fast by relying on the fortress. This is an order, Archbishop Alexei. Carry it out."
The command room instantly fell silent. The technical priests stared in shock at the letter of appointment in Ash's hand, then all turned to look at Alexei.
Alexei glanced at the letter in Ash's hand. It bore not only Theus's signature, but his own as well.
Before the battle, Theus had handed supreme command to Ash. Alexei had known about that.
Theus generally did not personally command battles. The Banshees' battles were usually entrusted to Ash, while the Faithguard Army and its attached forces were commanded by Empire Truth.
This time, Theus had personally brought all the Banshees to the front lines, so there was nothing inappropriate about entrusting command to Ash.
But what puzzled Alexei was—
He glanced at Nini beside him. The same shock showed on her face.
Alexei took a deep breath and spoke.
"Is this the lord's intention?"
"No comment."
"I understand. Are you taking over command?"
"No. You will still handle the specific deployments and command. I am merely changing the direction of our decision. The battle ahead will be fought from the fortress, not through evacuation."
"Fine."
Seeing the two quickly reach an agreement, the priests in the command room finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This was the first time they had seen Archbishop Alexei clash with Ash, the