Chapter 571: Assemble the Army

"Oh?.... they set up camp?" I said, watching through the eyes of my pet raven Nox.

After they crossed the swamp and emerged on the other side, the Gray Knight army was battered, but not broken. They had lost about two thousand men across all three armies, but they were still a formidable fighting force.

Leonardo didn't waste any time. He immediately ordered his men to set up a camp, using the wreckage of their battle-wagons and the few trees available to build a makeshift fortress.

He didn't risk marching south into the unknown at night, especially not with his men wounded and weakened. He chose a defensible position, a small hill overlooking the plains, and set up a perimeter.

Now that three days had passed since the battle, Leonardo's army was recovering. The wounded were being tended to, the armor was being repaired, and the supplies were being rationed. The morale was low, but not broken. The knights were hardened veterans, and they had faced worse. They had hope, especially after seeing their Chapter Master's display of divine power.

They thought it was a miracle. A sign that Uriel had not abandoned them. That she was still with them.

But I knew better.

I knew the truth.

Leonardo was alone.

However, none of that mattered to me at the moment. My focus was on what a group of Gray Knights was building.

In the center of the camp, a team of ten Gray Knights was building something. It was a massive round stone structure, a platform with intricate carvings and sigils etched into its surface.

"What is that?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

The entire focus of the Gray Knights was on that structure. They were working day and night, their movements precise and practiced, their faces grim with determination.

"Could it be something to contact their goddess?" Vicky, who was sitting next to me, was enjoying a cup of tea. I shared my vision with her.

"Maybe," I said, my eyes narrowed. "But it doesn't feel like a simple altar. The carvings... they are too complex, too... geometric. It feels more like a... a device."

"A device for what?" Vicky asked.

"Hmm?" I took a moment to think. "It could be a long-range communication device. Or a weapon. Or even a... beacon."

The Kingdom of Vandor has declared a holy crusade against me. A kingdom with millions of people. I know they are coming.

In a long campaign, the most important thing is supplies. A marching army needs a constant flow of food, weapons, and other materials to function.

The Gray Knights are just the tip of the spear. The main army will follow.

And that means they need a way to transport supplies across the continent.

That thing they are building...

"That's it," I muttered, a slow smile spreading across my face. "I know what it is."

"What?" Vicky asked, leaning forward.

"It's a teleportation portal," I said, my voice filled with certainty. "A permanent, one-way portal. A supply line. Once it's activated, they can send supplies directly from the capital to their forward base. They won't have to worry about long supply trains or enemy raids. They can just... pop them into existence."

I had to admit, it was a brilliant move. A very smart strategic move.

But also very dangerous.

If, let's say... someone like me were to 'hijack' that portal... they could send their own 'supplies' through it. Or even an army.

"Who told you that?" Vicky asked, finishing her tea.

"I'm just guessing, but I'm almost certain," I said, my mind racing.

"The sigils, the layout... it all fits. I've seen schematics for similar devices in the Nexus forms that Herma used to repair the teleportation device on Augusta's world," I explained. "This one is cruder, more primitive, but the underlying principle is the same. They are trying to fold space, to create a stable bridge between two points."

"So... they're not just marching blindly into our lands," Vicky said, a thoughtful look on her face. "They are planning to establish a permanent foothold. A beachhead for their invasion."

"Exactly," I said. "They are not just a crusading army. They are colonizers. And that portal is their key to victory."

I looked at the illusionary window, at the Gray Knights working tirelessly on the platform. They were so focused, so dedicated. They had no idea that their greatest strength could also be their greatest weakness.

"Should we destroy it?" my twin sister asked, a hint of bloodthirst in her red eyes.

I considered it for a moment. It would be easy. I could just drop a meteor on them, or have Sylvana send another wave of her 'pets'. The portal would be destroyed, and their invasion would stall.

But that would be... wasteful.

"No," I said, a predatory glint in my eyes. "We let them finish it. We let them activate it. And then..."

"...then we hijack it," Vicky finished, a wide, hungry grin spreading across her face. "We turn their supply line into our own personal highway into their heartlands."

"Exactly," I said, my smile widening. "My goal is to conquer the human kingdom, but the distance was a major issue... But with that portal? I can send my armies, my monsters, my children... I can send them directly to their doorstep. They won't even know what hit them."

"Hehehe." Vicky giggled, a sound that sent shivers down the spine of anyone who heard it. "This is going to be fun."

"It will," I said, my attention turning back to Leonardo.

He was standing near the platform, overseeing the work. He looked... troubled. His golden eyes were clouded with doubt, and he kept rubbing his neck, right where my V had marked him before.

I knew what was bothering him. The prayer. The 'Tempest Spear'. He knew, deep down, that the power he wielded was not from Uriel. It was something else. Something... darker. More powerful. More... personal.

He was a man of faith. A paladin. And for the first time in his life, he was beginning to question the very foundation of his beliefs.

"He's close to breaking," I said, my voice a low purr. "The power he tasted, the desperation he felt... It's planting seeds of doubt in his mind. And those seeds will grow into beautiful, poisonous flowers."

"Are you trying to break him, or to corrupt him?" Vicky asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Both," I said, a dark smile playing on my lips. "I want to break his faith in that useless goddess, and then I want to corrupt him with my own power."

I shifted my position, leaning forward.

"The human race here is extremely zealous and xenophobic. I cannot reason with them. The best way to subdue them is to conquer them and break their spirits."

I paused.

"And what better way to break their spirits than to turn their greatest hero, their most devoted paladin, into my champion? To use my own superior human warriors to conquer the kingdom..."

Vicky's eyes lit up with understanding.

"Indeed, if they saw their hero fighting on our side, their morale would shatter," she said. "They would lose hope. They would give up."

"Exactly," I said, my gaze fixed on Leonardo's troubled face. "We can also shatter their faith by exposing that the one they worship is not Uriel."

"Are you certain?" Vicky's red eyes narrowed. "She may not be Uriel, but she is still her subordinate."

"I know that, you know that, but they don't," I countered, my mind racing. "And I have a little plan for that bird brain as well."

I reached out and brushed my fingers against the surface of the shimmering window, tracing the outline of Leonardo's face.

"The kingdom's entire religious system is built on a lie. They worship a goddess who is silent, who never answers their prayers, who never shows them any sign of her existence. And yet, they fight and die in her name. They are blind, ignorant sheep being led to the slaughter by a shepherd who doesn't even know they exist."

"It's pathetic," Vicky said, her voice dripping with contempt. "It's disgusting."

"It is," I agreed. "And it's also... an opportunity. An opportunity to show them what a real god looks like. A god who listens. A god who acts. A god who rewards faith with power."

I leaned back, a confident smile on my face.

"And I'm going to be that god," I said, my voice filled with a cold, hard certainty. "I will be the one who answers their prayers. I will be the one who guides them. I will be the one who saves them. And in return, they will worship me."

"So, what's the plan?" Vicky asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"The plan has already begun," I said, my gaze returning to the illusionary window. "Assemble the army."

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