Chapter 614: Agatha’s Prediction
“Have you recalled anything?” Roland asked when they returned to the castle.
Agatha shook her head. “Most likely the God’s Punishment Army wasn’t successfully developed until after Taquila fell completely. I don’t fully understand the process.” She paused. “But what the priest described can’t be the whole story. It doesn’t explain the most fundamental question: how does a newly-crowned pope assume control of the God’s Punishment Army from his predecessor?”
Roland said nothing, turning that over.
“And there’s something else that troubles me,” she continued. “A God’s Punishment Warrior who loses all his commanders and then walks voluntarily toward Barbarian Land—that’s not explained by instinct or programming. The Barbarian Land you people know is the Fertile Plains of four hundred years ago. Nothing is there but ruins of the old holy city. And the idea that demons could have drawn them across that distance is too convenient to take seriously.”
“Who knows,” Roland said, though without dismissal. The blue blood alone marked these warriors as something no longer entirely human in the conventional sense. He was more interested, at present, in how to use their structural weaknesses against them. The spear throw that had almost killed Danny had exposed the gap between a sniper and the fortifications required to protect one. “If they’re genuinely vulnerable to disrupted command—to noise at the wrong moment—then perhaps Echo’s ability could—”
“I don’t approve of that direction,” Agatha said.
“I was thinking about disrupting the ceremony itself, not necessarily—”
“I’m not talking about Echo.” She looked at him directly. “I’m talking about you.”
“Me?”
“If Echo approaches a commander, she needs Nightingale’s Mist for cover. Which leaves you exposed. The church only needs to deploy a single pure witch with the right ability to end this.” She said it plainly, without drama. “You are an ordinary person with no power of your own. But right now, you are necessary. We cannot defeat the demons without you—not at this stage, not with what we know. That means protecting you overrides any tactical gain we might achieve through that approach.”
“The God’s Stone of Retaliation—”
“Is insurance against magic. It is not a complete barrier.” She didn’t soften it. “Even Nightingale is not infallible. But we have no better solution, and we make do with imperfect ones.”
Nightingale’s outline flickered briefly into visibility. “As long as I’m alive, His Majesty won’t come to any harm.”
Her tone said she hadn’t enjoyed being discussed as an insufficient safeguard.
“I hope so,” Agatha said, not unkindly, and let the matter rest.
She started toward the door, then stopped at the threshold.
“What is it?” Roland asked.
The pause stretched for several seconds before she answered.
“Lady Alice became Queen of Starfall City and Head of the Three Chairs not by power alone. Her thinking was exceptional—sharper and faster than almost anyone in the Union. Several times, her decisions kept us from collapse. Without her, Taquila wouldn’t have endured as long as it did.” She was quiet again. “Many believed that if she had been born before the first Battle of Divine Will, she would have ended the war early.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Agatha turned her head, a slight furrow in her brow. “The warriors in whom she placed her hope of saving the witches shouldn’t have become this.”
“You think the God’s Punishment Army today isn’t what she intended?”
“They don’t fear magic. They don’t panic. Their strength is real.” She shook her head. “But they require a commander at all times. They have no capacity for ranged attack. In practice, they’re an extraordinarily expensive close-quarters infantry. That doesn’t match what Alice paid for them—each conversion requires witch blood, which is irreplaceable—and it doesn’t match her standard of thinking. She wouldn’t have spent that much to produce something this limited.” She exhaled. “Of course, these are only my guesses. Only the church knows what happened after Taquila fell.”
Roland watched her leave.
Long after the door had closed, he was still sitting with it.
What Agatha had said carried a weight that went beyond military analysis. If the God’s Punishment Army was a corrupted or incomplete version of what Alice had designed—if something fundamental had been altered or lost across four centuries of church stewardship—then what exactly had Alice intended? What had those warriors been supposed to be?
He was still working through the question when the Sigil of Listening on Nightingale’s wrist rang.
“This is Lightning. I’m in the northwest, above Coldwind Ridge. The enemy is retreating. I repeat—the enemy is retreating!”
Roland came to his feet. “All of them?”
“All heading for Holy City, coo!” Maggie added.
“I see.” He turned to the door and called for the guard. “Summon Iron Axe, Edith, Duke Calvin, and all members of the Adviser Department to the reception room. Now.”
As the guard moved, he stood a moment at the window.
This changes the plan.
He had designed the entire campaign on the assumption he would eventually cede Coldwind Ridge. But the church retreating unprompted—pulling its entire force back to the plateau without being chased—meant the advance contingent had been exactly what it appeared: a last-minute force, cobbled together, now broken and retreating. Which meant the church could not reinforce on short notice.
Which meant he had time.
Time to evacuate every resident of Coldwind Ridge before the church could regroup and come back.
The relevant people gathered in the reception room quickly. Roland summarized Lightning’s report and scanned the faces.
Duke Calvin leaned forward. “Your Majesty, why not hold Coldwind Ridge ourselves? It controls the only road to the plateau. Wouldn’t the high ground serve us better?”
“It looks that way.” Roland shrugged. “But it’s surrounded by mountains on three sides and the slopes run directly over the defensive line. Anyone with a rope and patience can bypass any fortification we build there. We covered this in Neverwinter—ask Edith for the full analysis.” He looked around. “Any other questions?”
Silence.
“Then here are the orders. The First Army carries out the evacuation. Leave the grain and gold. The residents are what matter—every one of them, by persuasion first and compulsion if necessary. I want no one left behind.” He met Edith’s gaze. “The local nobility has more persuasive reach than soldiers do. I’m looking at you in particular, Pearl of the Northern Region.” He nodded toward Iron Axe. “The two of you are in charge.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“As you wish.”
“Adviser Department—” He turned to Earl Eltek and the others. “You assist Duke Calvin. Count the evacuees, register their identities, arrange food and lodging. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the room answered in unison.
Roland brought his palm flat on the table. “Then start immediately.”
Chapter 614: Agatha’s Prediction
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
When they returned to the castle, Roland turned towards Agatha and asked, “Have you recalled anything?”
“Most likely, the God’s Punishment Army was only successfully researched after Taquila fell completely. I don’t understand it much,” she replied, shaking her head. “But… it’s definitely not as simple as what the church priest said. At least, it doesn’t explain how a newly-crowned pope is able to take over control of the God’s Punishment Army from the previous pope.”
“Also, it’s very odd that a runaway God’s Punishment Army would actively advance towards the Barbarian Land.” Agatha continued after a brief pause, “The Barbarian Land that you people speak of should be the Fertile Plains of 400 years ago. There’s nothing there apart from the ruins of the holy city. And it’s too far-fetched to say that they were enticed by the demons.”
“Who knows.” Roland casually commented. “You’ve also seen that their blood is blue in color. They can’t be considered the same species as us.” He was not highly interested in what exactly attracted the God’s Punishment Army. What he most wanted to know at present was their Achilles’ heel, and how to effectively guard against an assault on his lines. As could be seen from the previous wave of spear throwing, the lack of fortifications made the God’s Punishment Army quite threatening. “If they’re truly vulnerable to noise, maybe Echo’s ability can…”
“I don’t approve of doing this.” The ancient witch rejected his idea. “There are a lot of risks that way.”
“Indeed, it’s quite risky to sneak close to their commander, but we can…”
“No, I’m not talking about Echo.” Agatha interrupted his words. “I’m talking about you.”
“Me?” Roland was surprised.
“If Echo is to sneak up to the commander, she would need Nightingale’s Mist. When so, you would be left without protection. The church would only need to send forth a pure witch with special abilities to claim your life easily,” she replied unhesitatingly. “Although you’re a normal person who’s weak and powerless, we can’t do without you at present if we’re to defeat the demons. So, protecting you is still the most important thing to do. We can’t take any kind of risk with that.”
“I really can’t tell if you’re praising or insulting me.” Roland laughed bitterly. “When that time comes, I’ll put on the God’s Stone of Retaliation.”
“The God’s Stone of Retaliation is only a means of insurance. It’s not a completely secure barrier.” Agatha stated bluntly. “Even Nightingale isn’t completely failsafe, but we don’t have a better way.”
“As long as I’m still alive, His Majesty won’t come under any harm.” Nightingale could not restrain herself from revealing her figure. It was apparent that she did not take kindly to Agatha’s words.
“I hope so.” The ancient witch did not dispute this point further. She turned to leave the study but stopped when she reached the door.
“What’s the matter?” Roland asked.
Agatha remained silent for a while before she replied, “I don’t know whether to talk about these things… Her immense power aside, the reason why Lady Alice was able to become Queen of Starfall City and also the Head of the Three Chairs was that her intelligence and methods were superior to most witches. On a few occasions, her decisions saved the Union from the verge of collapse. Without her, Taquila wouldn’t have survived until then. Many people believed that if she was born before the first Battle of Divine Will, she would have ended this hopeless war early on.”
“What’re you trying to say?”
She turned her head back and frowned slightly. “What I mean is, the powerful warriors in whom she placed her hopes of saving the witches shouldn’t have turned out this way.”
“You feel that the present God’s Punishment Army may not have been the same as the one 400 years ago?” Roland asked in surprise.
“The God’s Punishment Warriors aren’t afraid of magic power, never panic, and are extremely powerful. They indeed seem to possess a great advantage over the demons. But… they won’t be able to make the decisive difference. Furthermore, they need a commander wherever they go, and don’t have the ability to perform long-distance attacks. I feel that Lady Alice shouldn’t place high hopes on this kind of warriors.” Agatha sighed. “Of course, these are just my predictions. Only the church knows what exactly happened to the Union after Taquila fell.”
A long time after she left the room, Roland was still stuck in his thoughts.
Agatha’s words were indeed reasonable. Was it really possible that the God’s Punishment Army project, which required the Queen of Starfall City to pay such a huge price to carry out, was only intended to produce an expensive yet cumbersome killing machine?
Just as he was about to head out of the castle to get some fresh air, the Sigil of Listening that Nightingale was wearing suddenly rang.
“This is Lightning here. My position is in the northwest, in the sky above Coldwind Ridge! I’ve just observed that the enemy is now retreating. I repeat, the enemy is retreating!”
“Retreating?”
“They’re all running towards the holy city, coo!” Maggie added.
“I see.” Roland immediately summoned a guard from outside. “Inform Iron Axe, Edith, Duke Calvin and all members of the Adviser Department to
report here for a meeting.”
“This is undoubtedly good news,” Roland thought excitedly. He had not thought that the church’s army would abandon Coldwind Ridge and retreat directly to the highland of Hermes. In this way, he would have a chance to evacuate all of the townspeople before the holy city recaptured Coldwind Ridge.
“They’re afraid.” Nightingale laughed.
“Perhaps so. But their retreat suggests that the church is unable to send out reinforcements on short notice.” Roland surmised while stroking his chin. “Our earlier predictions weren’t wrong. This contingent of more than 1,000 people was probably an advance force which the church came up with lastminute. If they don’t take the initiative to attack our lines, I really don’t know what to do with the church.”
When he decided to use this tactic, he had already in a sense decided to give up Coldwind Ridge. After all, it was much closer to Hermes. Now that he had the chance to prevent the townspeople from becoming victims of the Pill of Madness, he felt considerably relieved.
The relevant members quickly gathered in the reception room. Roland retold Lightning’s intelligence report to them and looked around at everyone present. “Are there any questions?”
“Your Majesty, why don’t you guard Coldwind Ridge directly?” Duke Calvin asked in puzzlement. “It’s strategically located, and there’s only one route that leads to the holy city. Isn’t it more advantageous than guarding the foot of the mountain?”
“It only appears so. In reality, it’s surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the slopes pass directly over its top. The enemy only needs to use a rope to infiltrate our line of defense.” Roland shrugged his shoulders. “We’ve discussed this in detail in City of Neverwinter. You can ask Edith for more specifics. Anyone else?”
Seeing that no one responded, he issued his order. “If so, the evacuation campaign will be carried out by the First Army. The grain reserves and gold royals can be left behind. Our concern is regarding the residents—whether by coercion or force, I don’t want a single person to be left behind in Coldwind Ridge. In addition, the local nobles may have a better persuasive effect. I’m referring particularly to the famous Pearl of the Northern Region.” He paused at this. “Iron Axe and Edith, you two will be in charge of this matter.”
“Yes!”
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
“As for the Adviser Department.” He glanced towards Earl Eltek and the others. “Your task is to assist the Duke of the Northern Region to make arrangements for the evacuated people. This will include computing the number of people, registering their identities, and finding food and lodging for them. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the crowd replied in unison.
“Excellent, let’s begin immediately!” Roland thumped the table and exclaimed.