Chapter 016: Unexpected Turnings

The Crown Prince raised his brows slightly and said, “Redcliffe has rebelled? How many men does he have with him?”
Doxes whispered, “If I’m right, it should be those twenty thousand men who were supposed to guard the palace gates… By now, the gates might already be wide open. Your Majesty, if we don’t act soon… I’m afraid…”
The Crown Prince shook his head slightly. “Is it just Redcliffe? What kind of trouble can he cause? I didn’t know what was going on earlier, but now I’m going to be afraid?”
As he spoke, the Crown Prince suddenly turned to a general beside him and said, “General Hekks, it’s time for your men to act!”
The general named Hekks removed his helmet slightly, revealed a cold smile, and said calmly, “Your Majesty, how could Hekks dare not obey?”
With that, General Hekks raised his spear and pointed it toward the sky. A stream of black combat energy shot upward like a flame. As this energy exploded, shouts of battle could be heard. Behind Redcliffe’s men, a group of knights in black armor suddenly appeared. It seemed they had been hiding somewhere, charging out on horseback. Though their numbers were less than a thousand, cavalry were always several times more powerful than infantry, so this charge instantly sent Redcliffe’s men into chaos.
Although Redcliffe’s men were numerous, they became disordered after this attack!
The already chaotic situation became even more chaotic with the arrival of these black-armored knights.
General Hekks bowed slightly to the Crown Prince and said calmly, “Your Majesty, I’ll be back soon!”
With that, he grabbed his spear and flew into the sky.
Doxes watched in astonishment and couldn’t help but ask, “Your Majesty, why…”
The Crown Prince gave Doxes a cold look and said, “This is just a contingency plan… If I hadn’t prepared in advance, wouldn’t we have been utterly defeated today?”
Doxes trembled inwardly. He had no idea about this plan. He had originally intended to suggest that the royal guards launch an attack, but it seemed unnecessary now.
Seeing the Crown Prince’s stern expression, Doxes didn’t dare say another word and simply stood there, gritting his teeth.

The Crown Prince glanced carefully at the battle outside several more times. Seeing that the black-armored cavalry had arrived and the tide of battle was turning in his favor, he finally showed a slight smile. Nodding at Dax, he said, “Commander Dax, you’ve worked hard. Go and rest for now… There are still important tasks for you to handle later!”
After saying that, the Crown Prince let out cold sneers.
Dax didn’t dare refuse. Gritting his teeth, he stepped back behind the Crown Prince. Immediately, several military doctors came over to treat his wounds. But given the severity of his injuries, it seemed unlikely he could continue fighting.
“It seems my elder brother did leave some backups behind…” Prince Fischer watched the newly arrived cavalry with interest, seemingly unimpressed at all. “With these cavalry here, if I don’t have any other plans, Redcliffe’s forces probably won’t last long… After all, on this battlefield, infantry has no way to resist cavalry charges… I wonder how much effort my elder brother put in to hide such an army inside the palace… But… he surely doesn’t think this means I’m helpless, right?”
Du Fan was now filled with admiration for Prince Fischer’s plans and couldn’t help asking, “Who exactly are these cavalry?”
Prince Fischer smiled faintly and replied, “If I’m not mistaken, these are Hekks’ black-armored troops… Hekks is the only general in the southern army with real skills. Yet his abilities have always been suppressed by the southern nobles and warlords… I originally planned to promote him after the coup succeeded, but I never expected him to side with my elder brother… It seems my elder brother has prepared thoroughly for today’s battle! What other tricks does he have up his sleeve? I’m really looking forward to finding out.”
Du Fan felt a slight chill run down his spine. It seemed to him that in Prince Fischer’s eyes, everything was just a game—those lives lost were merely part of the game!
Prince Fischer was truly calm! Astonishingly calm!
Everything that was happening seemed to be within his calculations. No matter what astonishing tactics the Crown Prince used, he would never show the slightest panic. Was everything within his expectations?
Or perhaps, to deal with such a situation, Prince Fischer had already made other preparations?
And judging from his gaze, it seemed… he still had more tricks up his sleeve!
Thinking this way, it seemed he and his family hadn’t chosen the wrong side this time…

Otherwise…
“Your Highness,” Du Fan couldn’t help but speak up, “do you have any other plans? From the impact of those Black Armored soldiers, it seems Redcliffe’s forces are already in disarray!”
“Of course,” Prince Fischer smiled. “I’m not foolish enough to think my elder brother only has such limited tactics… To deal with this situation, I certainly have backups… And this time, the person involved is someone you’re quite familiar with… Du Fan, how about guessing who it is?”
Du Fan was momentarily stunned. Given his status, the people he knew might be from the Northern Army, but judging from his father’s expression, that was definitely not the case… So that meant… the Holy Church!? The Templars?
Thinking it through, it made sense. After all, Prince Fischer was the “Son of God,” and it was only natural for the Holy Church to intervene for him… But right now, the imperial city was likely already blocked by the elder prince’s forces. So what about the Templars? Did they plan to drop in by air?
Seeing Du Fan’s expression, Prince Fischer smiled faintly and said, “Enough, Du Fan. Stop guessing. Redcliffe was originally in charge of guarding the imperial city gates for my elder brother. If even he has defected, isn’t it easy to let a few people in? Moreover, to handle this situation, only… something unexpected can achieve the best results!”
With that, Prince Fischer suddenly glanced at a court mage beside him and said calmly, “Archbishop Aaron… It seems it’s time for us from the Holy Church to step in!”
A court mage who had been standing beside Prince Fischer nodded abruptly. He slightly lifted his hood, untied his mage robes, revealing a red priest’s robe underneath. Then he nodded at Prince Fischer and Du Fan and said, “Your Highness, Du Fan… Leave the rest to me!”
As Du Fan looked at Archbishop Aaron, his heart skipped a beat. He had seen this cardinal before; he seemed to be Anthony’s confidant… He naturally knew this man didn’t possess any divine magic… So if he had been standing here the whole time, what about what he had done just now…?
At that thought, Du Fan immediately felt cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

Fortunately, Bishop Aaron didn’t pursue further. He simply walked slowly to the platform, suddenly raised his hands high, and declared loudly, “God says that the glory I bestow can be taken back, and those who rebel against Me can be punished… Child… I hereby declare you guilty!”
With these words, a burst of holy light appeared instantly, filling the entire training ground with blinding radiance that caused severe pain in the eyes!
At that moment, Du Fan heard the sound of horse hooves approaching from behind him, so dense it sounded like thunder, and soon the entire ground began to shake…
But behind him was the palace hall of the imperial city. Could it be…
Du Fan turned around abruptly and saw the doors of the hall wide open, with hundreds of cavalry charging out. At the forefront was a man in silver armor on a white horse, his divine combat energy flashing constantly—none other than Grand Knight Joshua of the Holy Church!
Behind him were, of course, the Temple Knights!
Although Du Fan had expected the Holy Church to intervene, he never imagined it would be in such a manner…
Could it be that they had been hiding inside the hall all along?
While Du Fan was pondering, the hundreds of Temple Knights already broke through the defenses surrounding the platform. The soldiers around them didn’t have time to react and were scattered instantly!
Though only a few hundred Temple Knights appeared, Du Fan knew well that these knights were all full-fledged warriors with combat energy—each one equal to dozens of soldiers. United as they were, they formed an unstoppable force…
It seemed that from the moment these cavalry appeared, the prince’s defeat was already destined…
But was things really that simple?