Chapter 405: The last two days, arriving at Rapid City!
"Wait a minute, I am the chief knight of Countess Marika! You can't..."

The knight in the white brocade robe was struck on the head by a bolt of lightning before he could finish his words.

The electric current roasted the brain along the forehead, and then slid into the ground along the spine. The hairs of several soldiers passing by suddenly stood up.

Walking beside the Chief Knight who had been straightened in this life, Jeanna's iron boots stepped on the huge stone steps, making a crisp sound.

This town of Tissen is the only way to Rapid City. There are not many townspeople, only about six or seven hundred, and they mainly rely on receiving passing cargo ships to make a living.

Jeanne was standing on the stone platform beside the dock in Tissen Town. A cool breeze blew from the Nauan River, ruffling Jeanne's black hair with a hint of light gold.

Amid the howling of the wind, she heard a strange horn sound.

On the dock and in the houses on both sides of the river, the townspeople held their breath and watched the river through the cracks in their windows.

The setting sun dyed half of the Nauan River into glowing red satin. The cedar bow of the boat split the white waves in the red silk like a long knife, rolling up splashing foam.

Cool water vapor rose into the sky following the foam, and the bow of the boat swayed up and down as it slowly approached from the distance.

Cargo ship...cargo ship...and more cargo ship!
The oars turned like centipedes, and nearly a hundred boats were like a giant beast crawling in the river.

The white sails were close together, driving the monsoon from the south, and an invisible hand pushed the ship forward until it docked at the pier of Tissen Town.

"Hi hi hi hi!"

Amid shouts, seven or eight anchors were pulled into the water by the sailors from Xiaochi City. They swam and pulled the anchors forward.

He climbed up to the dock and stuck the iron anchor, which was as thick as a human hand, on the anchor frame, and then wrapped the chain around it in circles.

The chain first made a rattling sound, followed by a sharp creaking sound.

The sails were folded and the longboat gradually moved closer to the dock until it gently hit the wooden piles under the water, and the boat finally came to a stable stop.

A long board extended from the bow and rested on the dock.

Wearing a simple black half-shawl priest's uniform, Horn walked out leisurely. He looked no different from an ordinary young priest.

If he wasn't surrounded by halberdmen and holy lancers.

"How is it?" Looking at the sparsely populated town, Horn looked around and asked, "Is there anything wrong?"

"No, they didn't expect us to come at all." Jeanna put her hands behind her back and talked to Horn about the battle. "All twelve knights were killed, and all thirty guards were captured."

"Are there any spies nearby?"

"The main roads are blocked by Hussars and Norse Knights. Even if we escape through the small roads, the news will definitely not spread as fast as we can."

After asking a few more detailed questions, Jeanna made sure everything was done perfectly.

Horn had to sigh that when he asked Jeanne to do a math problem, she would miss a number here and a condition there, but when she led the troops in a battle, she learned everything without any instruction.

Who would have thought that the daughter of a militia captain could have such a talent for war, as if she was born for war.

After asking someone to arrange accommodation, Horn stood on the dock and watched the war monks who had been marching for a day get off the ship.

One group after another, as if they would never end.

But there are only more than 6,000 people here, and there is a fleet stationed downstream behind them.

Tissen Town certainly could not handle more than 10,000 people, and 6,000 people would be enough, so the fleet was divided into two groups, moving forward and backward.

This time, Horn's army reached the largest level in the history of the Papal States.

In terms of infantry, there are eight Black Hat Legions with 4250 people, four Guards Legions with 2100 people, the Crusaders with 2000 people, and the Xiaochi City Army with 1200 people, totaling 9550 people.

In terms of cavalry, there were 240 Holy Gun Cavalry, 350 Hussars, 180 Norse Knights, 206 Kush Knights, and 120 cavalry recruited from Xiaochi City, totaling 1096 people.

Horn's entire army, including the sailors, actually numbered over 11000 people. It could be said that the Salvation Army of Longsander County and the Juano faction of Cassia County had come out in full force.

Back then, the battle of Xiaonigou was just a fight between a few hundred people, but now it is more than ten or a hundred times the original size.

If this huge army were to travel entirely by water, it would require 180 small cargo ships or 65 large cargo ships.

Because Jeanna defeated the noble coalition forces in advance, Xiaochi City gained four precious days to mobilize ships and resources. It is about 230 kilometers from Xiaochi City to Rapids City.

Since it is an inland river cruise, the boat's speed is about 5 knots, equivalent to 9 kilometers per hour, and it can travel for 10 or even 12 hours a day.

If all goes well, the Salvation Army will arrive in Bicester on the eighth day after departing from Longsand County, two days earlier than scheduled.

But it was impossible for nothing to happen unexpectedly. In the first incident of being thrown into the cellar, in order to prevent the Imperial Order Company from attacking by water, a large number of ships were burned or drilled through in Koike Castle.

After receiving Jeanne's order, the citizens of Xiaochi City abandoned their homes and mobilized ships from all directions.

But after all, the time was too short. They tried every possible means to get 36 large cargo ships and 70 small cargo ships. Among them, 3 large ships and 10 small boats had to wait until they set off before they could arrive.

Horn calculated that if the speed was slowed down, excluding sailors, rowers and baggage, the maximum capacity could accommodate about 8000 people.

Excluding the 1000 cavalrymen, the remaining 3000 people had to take turns following the ship with their mules and horses.

This seriously slowed down Horn's speed. The journey that originally took two and a half days now took a full four days, or even four and a half days.

Although this was much faster than walking, it only offset the time advantage brought by Jeanna's surprise attack.

If it weren't for Jeanne's unexpected surprise attack that broke the army, Horn's strategy would have failed.

"Have you figured out the distribution of the armor?" Horn turned and asked Jeshka, who was vomiting all over.

As a northern Norn, Jeshka has never been good at swimming and almost fainted while riding on an inland boat.

Defending himself to stand up with the help of the railing, Jeshka raised his pale face and said, "Everything has been sorted out. The four hundred suits of armor have been distributed, and everyone is basically satisfied."

Before Horn set off, the people of Xiaochi City not only mobilized ships and manpower, but also a large amount of armor.

There are a total of four hundred sets of Milanese half-armor!

This half-body armor designed by the armor master Milan became popular in the empire within fifty years of its launch because of its strength and lightness.

This wave of armor assistance from Xiaochi City raised the armor coverage rate of the Savior Army’s infantry to a terrifying 55%.

In other words, among the 12 main troops of the Salvation Army's 6000 legions, a total of 3300 people had at least one breastplate, chain mail or half-body armor.

The Salvation Army itself obtained a large number of armors by liquidating churches, monasteries and nobles, totaling more than 1000 sets.

A large amount of armor was captured in major battles and combats with the Imperial Order Company. They traveled thousands of miles, worked tirelessly, shed blood and sweat, and transported nearly 1200 sets of armor to Horn.

After the subsequent Huilu Town Armory was put into operation, three batches of 500 sets of armor were produced in half a year.

The old grandmother of Jinhe Township provided Horn with 350 sets of armor, and finally, with the 400 sets of armor provided by Xiaochi City, a total of 3580 sets of armor.

Among them, 3300 pairs were distributed to the infantry, 240 pairs were distributed to the Holy Musketeers to ensure that the Holy Musketeers were fully armored, and the remaining 40 pairs fell on the heads of the Hussars.

This 55% armor rate of the infantry is even after the addition of new recruits. You should know that the two newly expanded Black Hat Legions, each with 1000 men, are pure spearmen, and only an estimated of them are armored.

Horn simply gave this new army money, trained it for a week on discipline and five days on marches, and replaced the original officers.

If these 1000 people were really put on the battlefield, they would most likely only be able to play a supporting role on the edge and serve as a filler.

The real main force are still the old Black Hat Army and the old Guards.

However, even though their strength has increased, the strength of the enemies they face has also increased.

There are two full imperial command companies.

At that time, they relied on various plans and the help of the weather, and only then did they defeat an imperial company by chance.

They now have more than twice the number they had before. Can they defeat two command companies?
After standing on the dock for a long time, until the lights gradually came up, Horn spoke again.

"How long will it take us to get to Bicester?"

"Tomorrow." Jeanne said confidently, "We will be there by tomorrow evening at the latest!"

“明天到毕奇堡，那就是7月22日到急流市。”霍恩喃喃地念道，“7月22日……7月22日……7月22日！”

(End of this chapter)