In the bright Holy Hall, the young officer strode towards the figure kneeling in earnest prayer before the holy image.

"Knight Commander John, I hope you can send a telegram back home to call in more Holy Knights, or simply let the London airship come over and use the purifying fire to directly wipe out those darkness creatures’ nests.

Please believe me, as a front-line officer who has long dealt with the Texans, just the power of a single Knight Order division is absolutely insufficient."

The young officer in his crisp military uniform, with a serious expression, saw the figure kneeling before the holy image seemingly ignore his words, and couldn’t help but grow impatient: "Earlier, a Great Knight fell silently, unable even to convey any message, which is clear evidence!"

Knight Commander John finished the last line of prayer before unhurriedly standing up: "Every Holy Knight, from the moment they join the Knight Order, is ready to devote themselves to God."

Colonel Arthur hurriedly said: "Knight Commander, we must win this war, and do so cleanly and thoroughly, like autumn leaves swept away by the wind. However, with our current strength, even if we can win, it would only be a pyrrhic victory, which is definitely not what the gentlemen in London would accept."

This officer named Arthur MacArthur had been promoted to lieutenant colonel at the age of nineteen for his meritorious service in quelling revolts and was now the commanding officer of the Louisiana militia.

Though called commanding officer, the official state militia under him was only five hundred men, not even meeting the minimum quota for a standard infantry regiment, and they were using traditional line tactics with old-style smoothbore guns.

However, the cuirassier regiment transferred from Massachusetts was fully equipped with post-loading firearms, and they were Dragoon cavalry using specially made white crystal ammunition. Upon nearing the enemy, they would adopt skirmish line tactics.

"Colonel Arthur, reinforcements will arrive soon; I don’t understand why you are so anxious."

"Why so anxious?"

Arthur retorted angrily: "The Holy Knights have already appeared, and our reconnaissance unit has been discovered by those wolf cubs. I know those beasts; their leader is a cunning old wolf who can surely guess what this means.

Even if they can’t guess, their spies can see the clues in the various military deployments."

He raised two fingers: "And now, on the border between the two countries, there’s only one under-strength infantry regiment, one cavalry regiment that just arrived and is still resting, and nothing else. Don’t you think, in this situation, they wouldn’t want to attack and burn Shreveport to the ground?"

Knight Commander frowned: "How dare they?"

"Why wouldn’t they dare?"

Arthur replied icily: "The blade is practically at their throats. Do you still expect those unruly wolf cubs to just lie there and wait to die because they fear the name of the Sun Never Sets Empire?"

He was strictly opposed to letting the Holy Knights accompany the reconnaissance camp deep into enemy territory, but unfortunately, as a mere colonial officer, he had no real say. If transferred back home, his colonel rank would be compressed to a captain, and that’s only because his family had some connections back home.

Knight Commander seemed somewhat swayed, pondered for a while, and then said: "The London airship and purifying fire cannot be used; nobody can authorize it. Sending more Holy Knights... is also difficult. To eradicate the Dark Power in Texas, the Knight Order has deployed twenty-four Great Knights and one hundred fifty Apprentice Knights, which is already half the military strength of the Knight Order."

Arthur felt bitter at heart, realizing his previous words were all in vain.

If the Texas Wolf Race truly launched a surprise attack on the border, Knight Commander John would definitely be fine, but he himself would be the one in trouble!

For a moment, Arthur even speculated that the Knight Commander sent people along with the reconnaissance camp deep into enemy territory to force the Texans to initiate hostilities, creating a perfect pretext for war.

And he, himself, was the sacrificial pawn.

Yet he heard the Knight Commander’s tone shift:

"But since you have proposed that those dark creatures might launch an attack on us in advance, I will send twelve Great Knights and one hundred ten Apprentice Knights under my command to station at each border outpost."

Arthur was overjoyed: "Praise God. I represent all the people of Louisiana, thank you for your help." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Knight Commander John looked at Arthur’s joyful face and sighed slightly in his heart. Not only Arthur, but even the knights under his command did not know the true objective of this battle.

"Eliminating evil"? How could it be so simple? If they really intended to eliminate evil, they would have acted against the Wolf Race entrenched in the Apennine Peninsula for hundreds of years and the Blood Royal Court on the Balkan Peninsula long ago.

The real goal was nothing more than white crystal and magic stone veins.

If they truly used the "purifying fire" to bombard Wolf Castle, the entire mountain and even a large part of Texas would be reduced to a wasteland.

"No need to thank me, Colonel Arthur. Protecting the people is not your duty alone."

...

Inside Wolf Castle.

Venezia was awkwardly admiring a portrait hanging on the wall of the narrow corridor—a "senior version" of himself. This feeling was truly unsettling. Clearly, he hadn’t even married, yet he already had a son and granddaughter?

"Father... Mr. Venezia."

Clan Leader Juliano seemed a little uneasy. He really didn’t know how to address this "father" of his, who looked even younger than he did.

Venezia quickly waved his hand: "You are the Clan Leader. No need to be so respectful to me. When I was summoned by the captain, I hadn’t married yet. I’ve heard about your deeds, and they aren’t bad. At least the Basilicata Family wasn’t as prosperous before as it is now, and didn’t have the courage to defy the Wolf Lord, that old thing."

"Courage..."

Juliano sighed lightly: "It was also out of desperation, Father... Mr. Venezia, you know, our Wolf Race always puts family interest first. Over the years, we’ve gradually lost our fervor."

"Although I disapprove of your previous actions, I must admit you make a rather qualified Clan Leader. If it were me..."

Venezia’s expression paused slightly. If it were him, he might not have dared to lead the entire clan against the Yakxi Family either, as the Basilicata Family, despite having over a thousand members, was still too weak compared to the Yakxi Family.

Being alone, he dared to defy the Yakxi Family precisely because he was alone.

"In any case, well done, but Clan Leader Juliano, are you truly planning to faithfully guard Wolf Castle rather than launch a preemptive strike before the enemy invades, to disrupt their stance?"

Juliano’s expression was somewhat stiff. He had indeed considered this, but by then, he would be bearing the blame for starting the war first.

The Texas Wolf Race already had a bad reputation, and being further vilified by the British would truly make them international outcasts. By then, even if the French wanted to extend an olive branch, they might not dare under the pressure of public opinion.

Juliano had heard about the power of the French populace.

Venezia couldn’t help but get annoyed: "Maybe what you’re doing is right, but seeing you so constrained, afraid of this and that, just makes me angry!"

Juliano gave a wry smile: "The British are after the white crystal vein beneath us. Huddling in the Wolf Castle, though somewhat humiliating, ensures the British dare not recklessly use heavy firepower."

"With only light weapons, I believe that with the current defense of Wolf Castle and New Basilicata City, we should be able to withstand the attack of two hundred thousand British troops without much problem."