After chatting with Stella and Natasha for a while longer, Nalant and the others returned to their rooms to rest.
What he did not know was that he had thought his intelligence had arrived quickly enough.
But in truth, by the time Princess Isabella received the news, the Holy Church had already launched its war at the edge of the desert.
The reason was simple: the Holy Church wanted to catch the Onyx Principality off guard.
As for the nobles and soldiers conscripted by the Northern Principality, they would serve as the main force against the Onyx Principality's soldiers who came to resist later on—and as cannon fodder.
At Baron Dingwo's Castle on the desert's edge, the former stronghold of Baron Dingwo's family had already fallen, and flames soared into the sky throughout the castle.
"Lord Bishop, the castle has been set ablaze!" Several miles away, an army of over thirty thousand had gathered. The most eye-catching among them were the three thousand Holy Knights clad in uniform silver armor.
A cavalryman who had just returned from Dingwo's Castle reported to the bishop at the front.
"Very good!" The bishop nodded, greatly satisfied with the result.
Yet a commander from the Northern Principality standing beside the bishop found it somewhat regrettable. He immediately asked in confusion, "Lord Bishop, we have completely captured this castle. Why burn it down? Isn't that too much of a waste?"
"The Onyx Principality is not weak. Although it certainly cannot withstand the combined armies of our Holy Church and your Northern Principality, to guard against any contingency, destroying all their castles is necessary. Even if something unexpected happens later, they will no longer be able to reclaim their lost territory."
"And the more land the Onyx Principality loses, the weaker it will become in the