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Chapter 357: Ten Saints to Wage a War
🕑 Added 2025-04-02 16:07:01 +0000 UTCAnnie had initially been filled with worry, fearing that her brother would reprimand Charlot. However, when she heard Antonio’s proposal, though her cheeks turned crimson with embarrassment, her heart soared with joy. She thought to herself, "My brother Antonio is still the best!"
Antonio had no idea what Charlot and Annie were truly thinking. He meant no hidden implications with his words. While Fars was not exactly a conservative place, having a child before marriage was still considered dishonorable and would invite the ridicule of nobles. Antonio simply wanted to protect his sister.
After all, Annie had come all the way to Dubrovnik, a situation ripe for “accidents.”
The Bretagne family had strict rules. Annie wasn’t even allowed to dine out alone, so how could such indiscretions be tolerated?
Charlot, on the other hand, was grappling with his own guilty conscience, while Annie worried about Charlot’s possible entanglements with Princess May Guillaume, Senior Menielman Soumet, or the infamous Rose of Strasbourg...
The thought of where such scenarios might lead was certainly not fitting for a lady’s imagination.
Charlot arranged lodgings for Antonio’s knightly retinue in a courtyard with a training ground, a property that had once belonged to a wealthy merchant whose family had since vanished.
Charlot deliberately tried to ingratiate himself with the Bretagne knights. Upon learning their identities, he was inwardly shocked. The Bretagne family had spared no expense in rescuing Annie; the group consisted almost entirely of transcendents, including five Saints. Beyond Antonio, the remaining four Saints were no weaker than Tumisan.
Charlot had never imagined he would one day have the ability to mobilize ten Saints for a war!
Such a luxurious lineup nearly rivaled the might of Ferranden in its heyday.
Although six of the ten Saints came from the Bretagne family—including five knights and Grandma Saint Karen—two were from Senior Menielman Soumet’s side, namely Sabastine and Tumisan. Only the Black Dragon and the Golden Ram Herolf were truly under Charlot’s command. Even so, Charlot’s heart swelled with ambition.
Not even an emperor would frequently have the chance to command ten Saints.
After all, Saints were the cornerstone of a nation’s power!
Charlot took the matter seriously, aiming to seize this rare opportunity to address the orc threat.
History was a core subject in most nations’ general education. Charlot, coming from a historically rich homeland, had absorbed a significant amount of historical knowledge. The war between Fars and Byron had dragged on for nearly a year, and it was evident that Fars’ economy was nearing its breaking point.
As the conflict continued, Fars’ plight would only worsen. The orc encampment north of the Red Dragon Strait posed a looming threat that could one day become Fars’ undoing.
Although Charlot was a transmigrant, his feelings toward Fars were complex. Most of his relatives, friends, and acquaintances lived there, and he didn’t wish to see the nation meet a grim end.
Thus, with the chance to help Fars solve its predicament, Charlot harbored little personal ambition. He was not one to covet fame or fortune.
Charlot convened nine of the Saints for seven or eight days of intense war councils.
Antonio, a seasoned veteran, led four Saints who were military elites. Tumisan, the old Leopardman, was well-versed in orc affairs and had traveled extensively across both the Old and New Continents, bringing invaluable knowledge.
Sabastine, a former pirate queen, rivaled Herolf the Golden Ram as one of the top ten pirates. She excelled in melee and ranged combat, leadership, and naval warfare, with no glaring weaknesses.
Grandma Saint Karen and Herolf abstained from speaking. Karen was gentle and averse to combat, while Herolf, maintaining his aloof persona, feigned disinterest. Nevertheless, their presence was impossible to ignore.
Charlot, though inexperienced in military affairs, contributed bold and unconventional ideas. Over time, his insights earned the trust of the Bretagne knights, granting him partial command.
Together, they devised a plan. Its core concept came from Charlot.
The strategy hinged on the Black Dragon’s role as an inside agent within the orc camp. The aim was to lure out the silverback gorilla Choudrou, with Tumisan using Beast God Transformation to impersonate Choudrou. This would create an opportunity to “curse” the enemy.
Poison was scarce on the Old Continent, with few natural toxins capable of harming transcendents, let alone Saints. The Bretagne family had no such stock. However, the Old Continent’s expertise in curses was well-developed. Though curses potent enough to affect Saints were rare, Annie had coincidentally brought along an extraordinary cursed artifact called the Eye of Fate.
The artifact resembled an amber eye. When it came into contact with living beings, countless tendrils would emerge, burrowing into the host’s body to drain their life force and transfer the consciousness hidden within the artifact to the host.
Because of its sinister nature, the Eye of Fate was typically stored in a gold case to prevent accidental exposure.
The Eye of Fate was exceedingly rare, often found alongside other minerals. Over thousands of years, only a few dozen had been discovered, most of which were destroyed. Only a handful remained, passed down as dangerous collectibles among the aristocracy.
Its origin was shrouded in mystery. Many speculated it to be the relic of an ancient evil god, but no definitive proof existed.
Once the plan was set, Tumisan departed. The old Leopardman was crucial to its success, being the only one capable of seamlessly infiltrating the orc camp using his expertise in Beast God Transformation and assassination.
After Tumisan’s departure, Charlot led the remaining eight Saints toward the orc camp, preparing to rendezvous with the Black Dragon and Tumisan for an ambush on Choudrou.
Annie was deeply worried about Charlot, but knowing she couldn’t stop him, she tearfully begged her brother to take care of “her Mecklenburg gentleman,” leaving Antonio exasperated.
Although all participants aside from Charlot were Saints, they refrained from flying to conserve their energy for combat. The Bretagne family had brought dozens of magic spirit horses for the rescue mission. Charlot, despite being capable of summoning a Demonflame Horse, opted to borrow a magic spirit horse to avoid showing off among the Saints.
The group quickly traveled from Dubrovnik to the orc camp. The area had once been a thriving city but was now reduced to ruins by the orc army. Tens of thousands of orcs resided there, their stench polluting the wind for miles.
Along the way, Charlot noticed piles of bleached bones by the roadside, filling him with sorrow. He silently vowed, “I will eradicate slavery and the consumption of living beings in Fars!”
“I will make the flower of civilization bloom, and the soil of barbarism vanish.”
“May the Serpent of Fate bless me in fulfilling this vow.”
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