Chapter 845 Thirty thousand or three hundred thousand?
When Djeshka crossed the bridge over the Tinsmiths’ Ferry, there were many more wounded among the Wolf Brothers than three days ago.

They were wrapped in bandages, lying on stretchers, with blood staining the corners of their clothes.

The residents of Tinsmith Ferry stood on the roadside, pointing at the wounded soldiers, showing expressions of worry and curiosity.

Following the marching column were dozens of horse-drawn carriages driven by orderlies.

Some were loaded with wounded soldiers who could not walk, some were loaded with prisoners and spoils of war on the battlefield, and there were even a dozen devil horses.

The most eye-catching thing in the marching column was the Red Knight prisoners loaded into special iron-barrier prison cars.

Their teeth were knocked out, their limbs were broken, and their scapulas were pierced by iron hooks.

It’s not that the Wolf Monks are abusing the prisoners of war, but that these Red Knights are inhumane, truly inhumane.

Not only did it bite the person who delivered the food, but it also kept bumping into the cage. So don’t blame the wild wolf monks for being rude.

Forget about your teeth. Even if I knock out your basket, you will still bite it.

I have to say, these red knights all looked like they had drunk too much dragon potion and were still stupid and dazed.

At the end of the ferry, Das, with his arm hanging around his neck, was smiling and greeting Jeshka.

“Uncle Jieshka, in the battle at Redwayne, we killed more than 3,000 enemy soldiers. I received the battle report in the rear.”

Jessica dismounted, grabbed Das’s good arm, and dragged him aside, ignoring his cries of pain.

“What’s going on? What’s the latest news? There are more than 30,000 people chasing after me this time.”

After hearing what Jeshka said, Das smiled bitterly: “You don’t know, the Franks just sent news that the illegal pope in the Holy See City launched a rebellion against us.”

“Didn’t it start before?”

“Before was before, and now is now. Before, it was just a title given to King Gigi so that he could divide the land, but now the Pope is personally involved.”

“What do you mean by personally taking action?”

Das’s expression became serious. “Last month, Northern Pope Priano mobilized the Border Knights and the Apostolic Guard of the Temple Knights to formally launch a personal expedition against the Thousand River Valley.”

The Pope’s personal expedition?

Jessica was stunned. This word should have been common before the Hundred Years’ War, right?
Since the Hundred Years’ War, the Pope has almost never left his station, let alone fought in person.

What conditions did King Gigi offer to make the new Pope leave his throne?

“Not only that, the Pope also publicly displayed the miracle priest kidnapped from our territory and slandered our miracles as sorcery…”

As Das spoke, Jeshka’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper, almost as if both eyebrows were joined together.

“…Therefore, they slandered the Holy Grandson as a spy of the Flesh and Blood Court and gave him the name Krasov…”

“…Originally this should have been a heresy dispute and an imperial uprising. If the church dragged the order into it, it would break the imperial oath…”

“…But many scholars at the Heshangyu Seminary, through research and redefinition, defined the Thousand River Valley Holy Alliance as a vassal state of the Flesh and Blood King’s Court…”

“…Because she is a country founded by spies of the Flesh and Blood Court, to deal with her is to attack the Flesh and Blood Court…”

After a series of complicated arguments, Das took a deep breath and said, “They used the jihad treasury.”

Jieshka was stunned at first, then he recalled for a while before his eyes suddenly widened: “The Holy War Treasury, aren’t you afraid that the Flesh and Blood King Court will take the opportunity to invade?”

The so-called holy war treasury means that this money is the remaining counterattack funds left over from the Hundred Years’ War by the victorious Pope Paul I.

Some devout nobles and bishops would donate part of their inheritance to the Holy War Treasury after their death, and the value would continue to increase through the Holy See Bank. Even the old pope, who had used up all his money in the Battle of Windmill Land, did not dare to use this money.

This is because there are a large number of Frannones in the Church who are hindering it.

And now that the church is divided, Priano is actually able to use this money.

“The Flesh and Blood Court is not much better than the Empire.” Bernardo walked out from behind the two of them, “The old generation of vampires are reluctant to leave, and the new generation of vampires are constantly making trouble.

The blood slave traders were stirring up trouble, and the ogre warlords were unwilling to follow orders.

If the Flesh and Blood Court’s main subjects were not just skeleton zombies, and the living population was small, a rebellion would have broken out long ago.”

Compared to the clean politics of the Thousand River Valley Holy Alliance, the Empire and the Royal Court are almost as rotten.

It is probably based on this judgment that Pope Priano dared to take this gamble.

“Are there any specific data?” Jeshka’s eyebrows were furrowed more than ever before.

Das was silent for a long time before he whispered, “According to the Central Intelligence Agency and the intelligence from the Franks, the number of soldiers in the Thousand River Valley and the combat troops will reach 80,000, and the number of civilian auxiliary soldiers may reach 200,000.”

Jessica was speechless for a moment. Even Bernardo beside him was dumbfounded for a long time before he spoke: “This scale… is almost as big as the Hundred Years’ War.”

During the Hundred Years’ War, the Franks, Laeans, and Norns played all their cards, but only managed to muster a total of 140,000 soldiers.

At present, there are 80,000 combat soldiers in the Thousand River Valley, of which only 50,000 are from the Leia people and 30,000 are from the Pope.

“Are they crazy? Is that illegal pope crazy?” Jessica cried out.

It’s no wonder that Jessica found it hard to accept. The Pope mobilized 30,000 people, including a large number of Temple Knights and Border Knights.

You know, the Knights Templar are responsible for suppressing rebellions and heretics within the diocese, and the Border Knights are responsible for fighting against the Flesh and Blood Court at the border.

Now, among the three major knightly orders, all the existing armed forces have arrived, except for the Demon Hunters of the Holy Sword Knights in the south who fight against paganism.

Moreover, unlike the vassal armies which were filled with a bunch of peasant soldiers, these church armed forces were truly elite forces.

This wave has drained 60 to 70 percent of the existing strength of the church and the order to support King Gigi.

What happened to the Holy Alliance of the Thousand Valleys?
From a standpoint, it was Grandiva who drew away the greatest hatred from Priano.

When it comes to the Pope’s crown, Grandivar is more threatening than Horn.

Horn’s becoming the Pope of the Holy League should only affect the perceptions of the nobles.

Grandiva’s attitude towards Horn is just a verbal battle, and his main target is still Priano.

No matter whether he wins or loses, with these armed forces, Pugliano can get a good result.

But now he is like the world’s richest man selling his company to invest in stocks and investing his most fundamental capital.

There is no reason, it doesn’t make sense!
Das had already gone through the stage of disbelief that Jeshka was experiencing, and he just smiled bitterly: “The Privy Monk and His Majesty have been thinking about it for a day and a night, but they still can’t figure out the illegal pope’s actions.”

After the initial shock, Jeshka gradually recovered.

He thought for a moment, but was helpless: “This is really shocking. With this wave of support, I am afraid that the war that could be ended within this year will be delayed until who knows how long.”

“This King Jiji is really quite resourceful.” Das turned his head to look at the small town of Tinsmith Ferry where troops were gathered. “I say, Uncle Jeshka, since we are here, there are still 20,000 enemy troops. Otherwise…”

As if they were in sync, Jessica responded, “Let’s get him?”

(End of this chapter)