The night in Grey Robe Valley was quiet.

The campfires were languid, and the military police patrolled in groups of three or five, but dared not be lax.

Having just experienced a night raid by the Leia Knights on the Shadow Crow Army, they really didn't dare to mess around this time.

Near the silent, dimly-lit camp, there was a small village, filled with continuous wailing and sounds of movement.

Even standing at the entrance, one could smell the overpowering scent of blood and herbs.

After checking on the wounded soldiers, Horn stood at the village entrance, waiting for Petier to come over.

Arriving late under the cover of night, Petier had hurriedly collected the data.

"This field hospital seems to have taken over all the houses, right?" Horn's first question wasn't about the Leia people, but about the village in front of him, "Where are the villagers?"

Petier shook his head without speaking. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He had just learned this information from the prisoners of war.

The village in front of them wasn't far from the battlefield. During the previous surprise attack by Alaric and others, Raffel had permitted the knights to slaughter several surrounding villages.

Although they were Leia people, they were under the rule of the Thousand River Valley rebels, making the presence of rebel spies a possibility.

Of course, Raffel originally didn't want this, because it would affect his noble dignity and good reputation.

But he had no choice for the sake of victory; civilians had to be sacrificed, and he would bear the infamy.

Understanding Petier's intention, Horn sighed softly and did not question further. He only asked the physician Yerlin, in charge of the field hospital: "Roughly how many are dead or injured?"

"We haven't fully assessed the injuries yet, but we can give a rough estimate—about 4,000 lightly wounded, and roughly 700 seriously wounded or dead."

Horn nodded slightly. Given that they were generally equipped with gear like clockwork cannons, if they had injuries and deaths similar to the nearly 1,500 at the Battle of Cheese Bay, the Exorcism Court would really need to investigate.

In fact, this number only accounted for the casualties in the Battle of Grey Robe Valley, not including the Shadow Crow Army's earlier losses.

Otherwise, the number of seriously wounded and dead could be a couple of hundred more.

The formation adopted by the Holy Alliance, with its front, left, center, and right components, allowed for convenient troop rotations in relay.

Any mortal wounds would be rushed to the rear for emergency treatment, whereas lightly wounded would be treated and sent back to the field, preventing them from turning into seriously wounded.

Ironically, the Leia Army had this imposing air of fighting valiantly for their king, with fervent loyalty, but they almost all fell before cannons and Holy guns.

The engagements in front of Three Earth Hill inflicted only minimal damage on the troop monks due to the knights, and the losses were not significant.

The real heavy losses were caused by the Blood Knights and Imperial Knights.

In the battles of Pavia, Cheese Bay, and Grey Robe Valley, the proportion of artillery and Holy guns increased, while the casualty proportion of the total forces kept decreasing.

"And the exact death toll?"

"About 200 dead, with around 500 seriously injured."

"After tonight, will the death toll rise above 300?"

Yerlin gave a bitter smile: "Our doctors and monks have pulled out all the stops and guarantee it won't exceed 400."

To some extent, Divine Art has a tremendous advantage in dealing with such injuries.

Though Divine Art isn't particularly effective for a fundamental cure, it's highly adept at symptomatic treatment, even saving lives.

The death toll would have been much higher if not for the Chongxin Battle Group and captured monks who managed to keep the severely wounded alive.

"It's a good thing they've been equipped with the new Mithril armor made by the Dwarves, otherwise half of these minor wounds would have turned to serious injuries." Even though the battle was long over, Petier still felt waves of lingering fear.

Due to the deliberate information blackout by the Church and Empire about the Great Knights, the Holy Alliance never had a clear understanding of its true strength.

The propaganda by the Military Chaplains also posed a significant problem—they exaggerated the capabilities of clockwork guns on one hand while continually belittling the Great Knights on the other.

As a result, the troop monks always regarded Raffel as a degraded version of Prince Kongdai, even looking down on him.

When Raffel charged, the Black Champion Army and Imperial Guard held okay, but several other groups immediately turned from victory to defeat.

Guns and plasma bombs proved ineffective; even Horn's battle standard was broken. Clearly not at the collapse point, yet it still collapsed.

In their eyes, these guns were an unbeatable totem.

In their perspective, they viewed the guns not merely as tools of war, but akin to how the Leia people regarded Great Knights, with superstition and blind belief.

Thinking this, Horn couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had initially relied on superstition to rally the people, and now he continued to wage war with it.

The military expansion happened too fast. Yet, older groups like the Imperial Guard and Black Champion Army performed admirably.

After returning, the first group to undergo retraining would be the Military Chaplains.

Fortunately, after the banner broke, the Imperial Guard stood firm against the Great Knights and Imperial Knights' charge, inflicting heavy casualties on many Imperial Knights using Holy guns, clockwork cannons, and other firearms.

Dass redeemed himself by rallying a large number of routed troops to regroup.

Additionally, a group of troop monks forcibly raised the Holy Alliance banner, reigniting the courage of the superstitious soldiers.

Horn had personally gone to see the flag that afternoon.

Repeatedly damaged by arrows and stray bullets, it was even stained with mud, making it hard to tell it was the Pope's Holy Banner anymore.

Horn understood that it didn't matter even if there was no flag atop the pole.

Even a wooden stick would do because it was the flag in their hearts that they truly raised.

War is the best tool for strengthening national character; after this battle, factions inclined to descend or surrender like the Eighteenth Day coup advocates would likely diminish significantly.

"At least after this battle, the blind faith in firearms, myself, the Saintesses, and the Miseria Church could be greatly reduced."

In this regard, Horn was quite gratified.

Internally, the Holy Alliance already showed signs of veering towards idolizing Horn and the Saintesses.

Idolatry in itself wasn't problematic, but if someone leveraged it to secretly foster cults, commit fraud, or even as a "political weapon," then trouble would indeed ensue.

Turning his head, Horn softly asked Yerlin, "How is Jeanne doing?"

"She nearly became paralyzed. If not for immediate surgery on the spot, Her Highness Jeanne would have been bound to a wheelchair in the future," Yerlin handed a medical record to Horn.

"That's a relief." Horn let out a long sigh, relieved that Jeanne was out of danger, "For now, she should go to Joan of Arc Castle Girls' School for her education."

Petier, taken by surprise, asked, "Does Her Highness Jeanne also need re-education?"

Horn gave Petier a curious look, "Re-education for what? She just doesn't want to go to school and always finds excuses, claiming to be busy with work.

She needs to catch up on academics and be on par with middle school students, or else what happens if I assign her to an important department later on?

It's not just her; many in our government and military need to go back to school."

"Do you intend to replace the Exorcist Leader?"

"Indeed, Jeanne can't just hold a position without filling the role, right?" Horn found a tree stump to sit down on, "I'm planning to appoint Hakuto as the Exorcist Leader."

"Lord Hakuto is resolute and decisive, well-versed in military affairs, and sure to make an excellent Exorcist Leader."

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Horn became serious, "What about the movements of the Leia Army and our forces?"

"The majority of the Leia Army has fled, with a small part surrendering; around ten thousand have been captured, with more camp followers uncounted." Clearly prepared, Petier produced a stack of battle reports from his bosom, handing them to Horn one by one.

"...The Black Crown Battle Group and the Wild Wolf Battle Group have encircled Onk Village, where King Ginijis of the Leia is located.

The garrison is less than a thousand, but includes Great Knight Bodeman and several Imperial Knights, so we haven't dared to attack rashly.

However, according to feedback from Lord Jeska, it seems Bodeman has eclipsed Ginijis.

Bodeman seeks to negotiate with our forces, offering to exchange Ginijis for his personal safety and the withdrawal of the remaining Imperial Knights from Thousand River Valley."

"Does he think he still has bargaining power?" Horn couldn't help but find it amusing.

Petier, however, leaned in seriously, whispering something to Horn's ear.

After a pause, Horn spoke again: "Then let's talk, aim to capture a live Ginijis, but those monks producing Blood Knights and knights slaughtering civilians must stay behind."

"Understood," Petier immediately began noting it down in his pocket notebook.

Horn then looked down and continued flipping through the battle reports.

"...Mira's Holy Alliance cavalry hurried overnight to Kenke Town to reclaim the lost land, preparing to intercept reinforcements from Xia Lvcheng.

Rudilo believes there is no longer any risk of Adan Castle being raided; he 'tearfully' pleads for permission to go to battle."

"That Rudilo, usually the most eager to charge into battle, being stuck at Adan Castle must have frustrated him." Horn chuckled, shaking his head. "If he wants to battle, let him. Leave a unit to guard Adan Castle, while the rest advance to Xia Lvcheng."

"Then what about our Imperial Guard and Black Champion?"

"Grit your teeth and keep fighting. Pursuit must be swift after battle." Lifting his head from the battle reports, Horn declared, "The entire army will march to Xia Lvcheng, capture the unlawful Pope Puliano alive!"