Chapter 881 - 108: Announcing the Expedition and Father Nurgle_2
It can be said that within the apprentice knight group and even the official knight group, just one successful heavy strike is often enough to directly determine the outcome.
With such a powerful weapon, they can participate in the holy expedition, easily slaying several monsters and adding a splash of glory to their resumes.
For an ordinary knight, let alone a great battle, even being able to kill a few horned beasts or beastman lads in their lifetime is worth boasting about in the tavern all night long.
So how could they not cheer fervently?
Su Li looked at the excited crowd, also feeling heroic and impassioned, exploding with champion-level power, his voice echoing throughout the venue: "Finally, allow me to end today’s declaration with a maxim from the Fiery Sun Canon—May the Fiery Sun scorch cowardice, may light forever reside in hearts, may our mortal bodies become the cornerstone of the Divine Kingdom!"
Amid thunderous cheers, the flag symbolizing the Sun Goddess’s divinity rose slowly, fluttering behind him alongside the Bauhinia Clan’s emblem.
"Glory to the Sun Goddess! Glory to the Hesse Territory! Glory to every warrior fighting for faith!"
"For glory!"
"For the Goddess!"
"Glory! Glory!"
Accompanying the tidal wave of shouting, the entire arena, whether the hysterical gamblers or the divinely fervent knights, whether the numb and ignorant civilians or the impassioned adventurers, all raised their arms and cheered wildly, with the expedition and glory completely enveloping their minds under a divine atmosphere, each person felt personally involved in the vast war of the empire. Never before has anyone felt such a noble sense of belonging to the empire, realizing profoundly how the vast empire is intricately connected with each small human.
With the passionate cheers, the crowd had completely lost their rationality, their pursuit of the holy expedition filling all their emotions and thoughts.
On the spot, there were thousands of knights signing up to join the expedition knights of Hesse Territory!
These were thousands of knights! Moreover, nearly half of them came from outside Hesse Territory, which greatly expanded the size of the Bauhinia expedition army.
Su Li was unsure how many troops the Bauhinia Castle family would deploy to participate in the expeditionary army, but at least the Hesse Territory wouldn’t dispatch fewer troops than the family.
The Commander-in-Chief of the family will surely be astonished by the scale of the Hesse Territory’s expedition army, knowing that this was just a family branch, an apprentice knight lord’s corps. They absolutely didn’t expect that last year he was a down-and-out youth forced to leave the family, and this year he could single-handedly assemble an army that is in no way weaker than the whole family’s scale.
Of course, Su Li harbors no deep hatred against the family. His animosity lies entirely with Sulande Province, where it’s necessary to unite all forces and offer great support to Sulande Elector Philis Grand Prince.
Looking at the objectives of initiating the holy expedition, the commander-in-chief of this large expedition is very likely to be the Duke of Sulande Province. After all, they truly fought and won against a Green Tide of hundreds of thousands last year, defeating a super-large waaaggh of Green Skin against the Human Empire.
The combined scale of the Bauhinia Clan’s two expeditionary corps is already nearing ten thousand infantry and cavalry. Following the unanimous pledge to support Philis Grand Prince, it will undoubtedly greatly enhance Philis Grand Prince’s prestige and influence.
Let everyone know that behind this Female Prince is the support from her husband’s line. She will not be devoured by other territories and dukes; those nobles coveting the Female Prince’s territory will certainly hold back considerably.
Moreover, Philis, as a prince, isn’t a mere leader without any backing; she has strength. First of all, she has the allegiance of the Eternal Light Grand Knight Order. Aside from the headquarters housing over a thousand knights, the total number of knights in various fortresses, stations, and castles wouldn’t be less than 3000, even after war deductions.
Additionally, as the lawful heir of the Libowitz family, she possesses nearly 30,000 high-level directly affiliated attendants of the family, and since the family bloodline is almost completely severed, if she can carry out reasonable division and recruitment, she can gradually win the allegiance of these over 30,000 high-level attendants by installing trusted confidants and supporting loyal leaders.
In fact, even if she were weak as the Sulande Province’s Elector, she would still have nearly 40,000 troops loyal to her.
The only issue potentially restraining her now would be finances, because no matter how proficient she is in politics, no matter how adept she is at maneuvering, even though in just over half a year she has incredulously won the unswerving support of the 40,000 troops, ultimately salaries must be paid to the army. You can’t have these knights paying to work, can you? Even if the 40,000 knights are utterly loyal, their families still need salaries to live.
Moreover, Su Li sincerely believes that Philis doesn’t possess that much charm; she’s not an Eastern-style Enchanting Demon, her charms lie entirely in her beauty. Perhaps at some point her desperate act was stunning, but ultimately, her strategies and plans for entering Avalon Palace were all planned by Su Li.
In terms of strategy and wisdom, she only has average capabilities. A young maiden, how could she possibly manipulate a group of old foxes? To truly improve the situation, strong power must push forward. At least, at least, financial issues must not hold her back.