Chapter 278 Battle Plan
Geralt woke up from his slumber and saw the orange-red firelight filling the room, and a graceful silhouette reflected on the wall.
There was a scent of gooseberries and cloves on the bedding. There was no doubt that this was Yennefer's room.
He suddenly felt at ease and half-closed his eyes to adjust to the dancing light.
When his eyes had fully adjusted to the light, he turned over and looked sideways at his companion.
The tumbling movement attracted the attention of the owner of the room. Yennefer tilted her face slightly, revealing a pair of dimples:
"Are you awake? How do you feel now?"
The demon hunter had been sleeping for two days and one night, obviously exhausted from the battle.
Not only the demon hunter, her condition was also very bad at the end of the battle. Her magic power was completely consumed and her physical strength was almost overdrawn.
It was still a bit difficult for the two of them to deal with the two-headed Chimaera. If the monster's magic power had not been consumed at that time, the battle would have had a different outcome.
"My whole body aches, and I feel a bit tired."
Geralt stretched and sat up. "How long have I slept? How's the airship?"
At this moment, there was no sound of the airship, which meant that they were still in the Andes Mountains. This was not good news.
"It's been two days. Two of the four airbags on the airship have leaked. The mechanics are working hard to repair them."
Yennefer was in a low mood. These ordinary people suffered two mental attacks from the two-headed chimera in succession, and more than twenty people died, including seven or eight mechanics from the Rare Object Manufacturing Association. Only four or five maintenance personnel were left.
Ordinary people will be completely useless when facing these advanced creatures at close range.
Geralt was silent for a moment, then asked, "Can the airship be repaired?"
If there was a problem with the airship, they would probably have to wait for a rescue force.
It was snowing hard outside, and it was unclear where the airship had crashed. If there had been no rescue, perhaps he and Yennefer could have held on for a while, but the other people on the airship simply could not withstand the severe cold in the mountains, and would soon freeze to death here.
The mission of the airship is reconnaissance. It does not carry much supplies and does not have enough fuel, which is a desperate situation for ordinary people.
Yennefer nodded slightly and said:
"The lead mechanic said there was no problem. The airship was specially made, and the crash did not cause fatal damage. It was mainly because there were too few maintenance personnel, which delayed the progress of the work."
"That's good."
The demon hunter was relieved, this was good news.
While the airship was being repaired, a church airship carrying the Pope's attendants and several bishops went deep into the Andes Mountains to scout out the assembled cultists.
Unfortunately, after the airship was discovered, it was besieged by two Chimeras and also crashed in the mountains.
. . . .
St. Peter's Basilica.
In the spacious room, the fireplace was filled with firewood, and the burning firewood made a crackling sound.
Sitting cross-legged beside the fire, Crown finished his visualization and summoned a wall of gold.
[Golden Light Mantra: 40932/150000; Level 3]
After coming to the Vatican, he did not use the Fire Cube to devour the metal essence, as doing so might cause unnecessary trouble.
Although he had obtained the fourth stage training method of Fire Breath, he did not have the corresponding potion and his progress was slow. He simply spent all his time visualizing the Golden Light Mantra and using the Golden Light Seal.
The Golden Light Mantra also improves the essence of life. When the proficiency is improved, it can also lead to the improvement of fire breath. Killing two birds with one stone is the most pleasing thing.
The fourth stage potion of Flame Breath is called the Soul Tempering Potion, and the main ingredient required is the Flame Heart Grass that lives in volcanic magma.
In the past, the spiritual concentration in the material world was insufficient, and the medicinal properties of herbs were not strong enough to reach the level of tempering a fourth-order transcendent.
The spirituality of the world has grown a lot now, but the growth of Flame Heart Grass takes time. It will take at least another year and a half for its medicinal properties to reach the minimum requirements for use.
Another point is that there is currently no pharmacist who can refine fourth-level potions, so he may need to find a way to refine the Soul Tempering Potion himself.
A large amount of Sunfire Liquid and Moon Dew have been accumulated these days, with more than 300 drops of Sun Essence and Moon Essence each, so the materials are very abundant.
In addition, all the metal essences have been smudged with the golden seal. The defense of the metal essences after smudged has increased by about 30%, which is really an unexpected surprise.
"Meow"
Buster lay down beside his master, closed his eyes, curled up, and seemed to be falling asleep.
"He's having a better life than me," Crown stood up and walked to the window.
After being away from Hamers City for so long, he missed that land and the star creature in the alienated land.
It is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. His proficiency in the Golden Light Mantra improved like a rocket there. If he had not come to the Holy See, his proficiency in the Golden Light Mantra might have been close to 60,000 points.
Now the Golden Light Mantra can only be improved through normal visualization, and the speed of acquiring proficiency is much slower.
The two pets followed him and won without doing anything, which made him jealous. These two pets were treated as the protagonists. He turned on his spiritual vision and felt that the lines on Buster's skeleton were denser. The most complete one had outlined most of the outline of the Taiyin Thunder Seal.
Outside the window, heavy snow flakes were flying in the howling wind.
He put his hands behind his back, with a hint of depression between his brows.
The attendant who went to Rhine City to investigate the gathering of cultists has been on the road for twelve days, and no news has been sent back yet.
Normally, seven days would be enough for a round trip. It was impossible for the personnel sent on such an important matter to delay their trip. He had a bad feeling.
"Could something have happened in Rhine City?!"
As his thoughts were drifting, there was a hurried knock on the door.
"Your Excellency, His Holiness the Pope invites you."
The voice was familiar. It was Theo.
Crown opened the door and asked, "Do you know what it is?"
The Pope has never summoned him alone, so if it is not an urgent matter, he can prepare a plan in advance.
"Moon Kagra has returned from Rhine City, bringing urgent military intelligence.
Your Excellency can go to the reception hall first. I will also notify the other Silver Bishops."
Theo bowed his head and left in a hurry.
. . . .
In the underground sanctuary, gray-haired Moon recounted what happened during the investigation:
“We are heading to the Andes Mountains in an airship, and the pilot has already flown more than a dozen reconnaissance missions.
Including me, there are a total of six third-level extraordinary people in the group.
Due to the wind and snow, visibility was extremely low and we could only conduct close reconnaissance.
We found that there were many tall stone towers in the camp, which was about 300 kilometers away from Rhine City.
There was a red halo above the entire camp, like a giant upside-down bowl.
It's somewhat similar to the defensive aura of Sanctuary, but it doesn't have the ability to defend against attacks, it can only block wind and snow."
Moon paused and swallowed hard. Facing so many silver-level warriors, he felt a lot of psychological pressure and his voice was a little distorted.
It's like the feeling of a herbivore facing a group of carnivores, naturally suppressed by its bloodline.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, calmed his breathing, and continued, “On one of the relatively tall stone towers, there was a monster covered with eyeballs. When it discovered the airship, two two-headed chimeras flew out of the camp.
The enemy had air units, so we had to retreat first, but the Chimeras were chasing us relentlessly. Later, the airship was caught up by two Chimeras and had to make an emergency landing.
Among the six third-level transcendents, two were seriously injured, one was killed in battle, and I and two other bishops were slightly injured. We paid such a huge price to kill the two-headed Chimera, but the airship was severely damaged and we could only wait for rescue.
The weather was so bad that we had to wait five days before the search airship found us.
After Moon stated all the facts, Osman waved his hand gently:
"You've worked hard. Go down and have a rest first."
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
"Your Majesty, fellow archbishops, I will take my leave."
Moon saluted and walked away. The stone door of the sanctuary opened and then slowly closed.
The Pope frowned slightly, looked around and asked, "What do you think?"
The two-headed chimera is an extremely powerful alchemical creation of flesh and blood. As soon as it appears, it has the strength of a third-order transcendent and has the potential to advance to the silver level.
Two of them were found in the cultists' camp, which is not a good sign.
Flanders stroked his beard and said in a deep voice:
“When I was investigating, I only found a dozen or so stone towers scattered around, and I found no trace of the two-headed chimera. Third-level cultists are rare.
That monster covered with eyeballs should be the Eye Demon, a follower of the evil god with strong reconnaissance capabilities.
More importantly, the evil god that the Eye Demon depends on is not the same evil god as the evil god in the city of R'lyeh in the ocean.
The enemy is getting stronger and stronger. If we continue like this, we will face a powerful army of cultists. The power of the Rhine Diocese is not enough to resist the enemy's attack."
Archbishop Ah said, "Moon has already said that the cult's camp is three hundred kilometers away from Rhine City. The mountain road is rugged. Maybe their target is not Rhine City at all."
He was of course well aware that the feud between the church and the cultists could only be cleansed with blood, and there was no possibility of reconciling the conflict.
However, knowing is one thing, and doing it is another.
He is here today just to stir up trouble, so he said this on purpose. Of course, the Pope will be the final good guy.
Cavendish sneered, "Are those cultists building a new home? Your idea is ridiculous!
Our church has been hunting down the cultists for so many years, and with the appearance of the evil god's followers, we must be the first target of these barbaric tribes."
Martin Hodges said:
"These tribes are good at taming animals, and many of them have flying pets. If the cultists want to attack us, they can find the city in just a few days.
If you don't prepare in advance, it will be too late when the enemy starts attacking.
Archbishop Flanders said that the proportion of extraordinary people among the cultists far exceeds ours, and I agree to send more troops to Rhine City."
"I agree."
“Second.”
"Second." Ah's face looked a little ugly, and he argued: "If Rhine City is attacked, I certainly agree to send more troops there, but it is still in the hypothetical stage now. Isn't it too hasty to send more troops?
After all, when a large army is mobilized, the cost is extremely high.”
He felt that his expression was very accurate and he couldn't help but admire his acting skills.
Now six people from Flanders agree to send more troops to the Rhine Diocese. His and Drag's opinions are no longer important. Even the Pope does not have the power to change them. Sending more troops is a foregone conclusion.
In the meetings of the College of Cardinals, the Pope is no longer a figure with absolute power.
He glanced at the Pope carefully. Although his boss had expected this result, he must be feeling bad at the moment, right?
Osman did not show any displeasure on his face. Instead, he nodded slightly and said in a deep voice:
"I also think we need to send more troops to Rhine City. The Rhine City Diocese is also responsible for the defense of Lorente Town. If something unexpected happens, two evil gods' troops will enter the Farouk Kingdom at the same time.
It was only in the last few years of the last holy war that the evil god's troops set foot on the land of our church. If we are facing the threat of the evil god now, wouldn't it make me, the Pope, appear too incompetent?"
The Pope stood up, opened the map hanging behind him, picked up a white wooden stick as thick as a finger and drew a circle on the map: "This is the Rhine Diocese, bordering it are the Branden Diocese, the Kagulia Diocese, and the Kronburg Diocese.
Branden and Kronborg are both large and densely populated dioceses, and each of them has formed an elite force. I require that the force must consist of at least four third-level extraordinary people, two hundred second-level extraordinary people, and two thousand first-level extraordinary people.
I will give the order. The troops of Kaguria Diocese will include two third-level transcendents, one hundred and fifty second-level transcendents, and one thousand first-level transcendents. Other dioceses will prepare a force of the same size as Kaguria Diocese and be on standby at all times.
I will also select from St. Peter's Basilica a force three times the size of the Cagullia Diocese to reinforce the Rhine City.
This is only the first phase of the battle plan. If the enemy's number exceeds expectations, each diocese will provide support on the same scale, but the Holy See will not participate in the second battle."
Osman leaned forward slightly, leaning on the pole with his hand: "What do you think?"
This is a battle plan full of sincerity, and no one can find fault with it.
After Moon's news came back, he judged that if war broke out, most of the troops might be lost there.
The enemy has a strong attainment in alchemy of flesh and blood, and can completely use fighting to support the enemy.
Apart from anything else, the Rhine Diocese would inevitably suffer a huge blow, after all, the war broke out there.
Drago immediately responded: "Your Majesty is wise, I agree."
Ah He also said, "Second the motion."
Flanders and others also had no reason to object. This plan was indeed a normal combat plan, and it would also be in line with the needs to send more troops to the suburbs that were nearby.
"Second." Osman's serious expression eased a little, and he continued: "All parishes should begin preparations. Now that we have entered a long winter, the possibility of an enemy attack is low.
If a small-scale battle occurs, we will need to rely on the Rhine City Diocese itself, is that okay? "
Flanders nodded: "No problem."
If a small-scale battle occurs, it will definitely be a competition between elite troops. The Rhine Diocese has three silver-level warriors, and its top combat power can be said to be the strongest suburb of the church.
"Very good," Osman said as he sat back down.
"Now, let's discuss the allocation of supplies. In a state of war, the consumption of food and weapons is very high, so we must establish a smooth and powerful logistics system."
(End of this chapter)
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