With Armand's support, Horn stood on the hillside of Pavia.

He struggled to take off his helmet, a smile tugging at his lips, and a dry laugh escaped his throat.

At the bottom of the hill, the Imperial Knights who had their hands and big toes cut off, wore heavy slave iron collars around their necks, lined up fearfully marching forward.

Farther across the fields, Holy Gun Cavalry and War Monks were chasing the fleeing Night Guard and Extraordinary Knights.

Horn had anticipated somewhat before the battle about Bo Ao Lie's plan to hold the castle after defeat.

The Salvation Army did fairly well in defensive and field battles, but their only weakness was siege warfare.

Without explosives or siege cannons, dealing with the Joan of Arc Castle could only rely on digging and wall climbing tactics.

If really employing such siege methods, it would take more than a year to win.

By that time, the nobles on Tbe Plain would react and send Extraordinary Knights and Imperial Knights for joint attacks inside and out, and that would be the end.

So there were two key points in this battle:

Firstly, wipe out the Imperial Knights or break their structure;

Secondly, seize the Joan of Arc Castle and the fortress.

Horn's tactical plan for this was simple.

Conduct a surprise attack on Joan of Arc Castle while facing the Imperial Knights.

The Salvation Army would first move near Joan of Arc Castle, deliberately be discovered, then Horn would lead the troops to lure the enemy, while Jeanne and two of her corps hide in the nearby villages.

This meticulous setup was because a direct attack from Gray Furnace Town would easily be noticed by sentinels and Rangers.

So it was necessary to hide the traces and divert Joan of Arc Castle's main forces.

Horn went the opposite way by deliberately exposing the movements of the six corps to hide Jeanne's two corps.

Once discovered and driven away by the Salvation Army, people would subconsciously assume that area was safe.

This way, Jeanne could launch a surprise attack from a very close distance to Joan of Arc Castle, otherwise, she'd be spotted by patrolling Knights halfway.

Horn engaged Bo Ao Lie head-on with six corps, while Jeanne took two corps to attack Joan of Arc Castle, completing the maneuvers and then assaulted from the rear to annihilate them.

During this, Horn used six corps to lure the enemy, feigning a skirmish, drawing the Imperial Knights into a pre-set position from a few days before.

There was a creek slope, Horn had set a web of hurdles, it was drizzling, perfect terrain and weather.

His only miscalculation was the stamina and combat prowess of the Imperial Knights, and the time it took Jeanne to seize Joan of Arc Castle and return.

But these were trivial, as they ultimately accomplished their strategic goals.

"Brother!" Jumping off the horse, Jeanne swung her braid and rushed toward Horn.

Her usually cheerful and playful tone turned into a sob upon seeing Horn, "You… you…"

"What happened to me? I'm telling you, I killed an Imperial Knight myself."

Rain drummed on Horn, washing the blood on his body into streaks.

A piece of metal lodged in the center of his left eyebrow, blood soaking through the left side of his face.

He couldn't open his left eye, unsure if it was temporary or permanent scarring.

His right hand hung weakly, his thumb broken, a short axe stuck into his shoulder pad, the armor full of sword and dagger cuts.

In the gaps of his leg armor, blood bubbles occasionally oozed out, his left shoulder resting on Armand, barely able to stand.

"Brother, how did you…"

"What are you saying?" Horn waved her over, "Come to the right side to speak, I can't hear on the left... That Knight's assistant weapon was a bludgeon spear, smashed my left face, not playing fair, good thing I had a helmet on."

"Brother, I'm sorry... I arrived too late..."

"You've done everything you can." Horn coughed, "Don't worry, this is likely a ruptured eardrum, but with my breathing technique and Witch constitution, there's a good chance of recovery."

Jeanne didn't respond to Horn, wiping tears, she reached out to touch Horn's bloodstained face.

She barely recognized the face now, it was once a farmer's face, then a scholar's face, now, like a warrior's face.

Hands cupped Horn's face, Jeanne suddenly leaned in, her chest pressing against his breastplate.

Warm air enveloped them, foreheads touching, eyes locking, lips accidentally met.

The soft touch of camomile fragrance on Horn's nose tip, his lips tasted of sweet and metallic blood.

Enemy blood was the best lipstick for a Valkyrie.

"Oooh!"

"Hey!"

Sudden sounds of cheering erupted nearby, even those lying on stretchers sat up.

"Smooch—"

Jeanne quickly released Horn's neck, saying nothing, she was already flushed.

"Do it again!" Victor called, lying immobile on the ground, side-eyeing.

With a swift spin of his cane, Kolman arrived on one foot: "Ah? Did they kiss? Oh dear, I missed it."

"Kiss! Kiss!"

"Woohoo!"

Listening to the cheers, the Valkyrie who had rampaged the battlefield transformed into a young girl, glaring angrily, covered her face, and quickly fled.

"Alright, cut it out! Cut it out!"

Standing on the hillside, Horn shouted amid laughter and tears, finally quieting down the War Monks' antics after the battle.

With Armand's help, Horn held the gear-shaped sun flag, limping to the front of the slope.

From the flat ground to the slope, nearly a thousand War Monks laid down, the ranks reduced by nearly a quarter.

Similarly, more than 60 Imperial Knights, dozens of Square Banner Knights, and hundreds of Squire Knights lay here.

Adding over 20 captured Imperial Knights, those who've successfully fled must be few.

Prince Kongdai's 1 out of 9 Imperial Knights units nearly perished here.

Of the initial 550 Extraordinary Knights sent, less than 150 escaped; the entire Kush Territory's Extraordinary Knights and nobles were swept away twice by Horn.

Captured Night Guard and Armored Soldiers totaled over 1200.

As for those Falan Royal Knights, knowing Joan of Arc Castle fell, they didn't bother avenging the hundred Royal Knights left there, fleeing swiftly.

In other words, nearly 8000 square kilometers of Kush Territory land is now in Salvation Army's hands.

"Oh?"

Horn looked up into the sky.

The rain finally stopped, clouds scattered, and a partial sunset appeared between the clouds and mountains.

Patchy sunset rays decorated the stream in the grassland with colorful scales.

Scales shimmered like ripples on a lake.

The green hills elongated the sunlight, like an oil painting pulling out clear and distinct bright and dark dividing lines on earth.

Horn stood at the convergence of light and dark lines.

The air quieted, everyone's gaze war Monks, Defensive Army, Military Chaplains and even those captives focused on Horn.

Everyone looked at Horn, at this energetic Pope who charged forward, leading them to victory.

They waited for him to say that final word, the word they've all anticipated, they wanted to hear Horn say it himself.

"Friends! Monks! Believers!" Raising the gear-shaped sun flag high with his left hand, Horn declared tearfully, "We won!"

"We won!"

"We won!"

The cheers erupted like an explosion.

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