Chương 186: Dinas, Capital of the Realm

Over half an hour later, Gob-Eagle returned to Li Qinwu's side after investigating the crash site.

"Boss," he reported, "we found out what went wrong. Due to sheer panic during the fall, the soldier pulled both his main and reserve ripcords at the same time. The two canopies got tangled in mid-air, and... well, that was it." Li Qinwu pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a massive headache coming on.

"How is troop morale? Has this shaken their resolve? Do they still have the guts to jump?"

"Yes, Boss! We can do it!" Gob-Eagle's expression was resolute. For the sake of his career, he had to be able to do it whether he was shaken or not. Li Qinwu nodded slowly.

"Take two days to rest and conduct proper political work with the men. Give them whatever supplies they need to keep morale high. Next time, we move on to armed combat drops.

"Once the armed drop tests are complete, we expand—first into a full Airborne Battalion. Officers will be promoted directly from the current drop infantry. Furthermore, anyone who completes ten successful jumps will be awarded the bronze Paratrooper Medal." Gob-Eagle breathed a sigh of relief. He had genuinely feared the Boss might scrap the airborne initiative over this fatal incident.

But seeing Li Qinwu's absolute commitment to developing paratrooper capabilities, he knew his position was secure so long as he avoided critical mistakes. Glancing around to ensure no one was within earshot, Gob-Eagle lowered his voice carefully: "Boss... about the deputy company commander... how should we handle him?" The soldier had shown extreme panic before the jump, and the deputy commander had dragged him to the bay door and thrown him out. How should that action be officially classified?

Li Qinwu found himself in a tough spot. Developing novel military branches always came with gray areas where defining right from wrong was tricky. Who knew if the dead soldier had suffered from severe acrophobia? Being literally paralyzed by fear on the spot sounded like a physiological limitation. There was no easy way to screen for that beforehand.

Meanwhile, the deputy commander had acted on the military tradition of pushing through no matter what, throwing the man out assuming he would snap out of it and pull his chute in mid-air. The chute was pulled—except he opened two of them at once. Sighing, Li Qinwu weighed the options before speaking: "From now on, we add a clear protocol to airborne training: the first live jump is strictly voluntary. Anyone who opts out is simply transferred out of the airborne corps—no punishment.

"And for every successful jump moving forward, each trooper gets a bottle of spirits as a reward.

"As for the deputy commander... tsk." Li Qinwu paused for a moment.

"Posthumously honor the fallen soldier as a martyr and bury him with full honors at White Mountain. As for the deputy commander, issue a lateral transfer and move him to a standard ground unit. Go to the Military Police and recruit a new deputy company commander for the paratroopers. The officers up in the sky need to be more detail-oriented." Through this series of measures, Li Qinwu managed to minimize the fallout of the tragedy, keeping the paratrooper program moving forward—even if the path was steep.

Li Qinwu didn't possess extensive knowledge of airborne doctrine. Back in his past life, he had been friends with a veteran who ran a barbecue joint—a former paratrooper who loved to brag about his jump days after a few drinks. Sorting through those drunk stories, Li Qinwu had actually gathered quite a few practical insights. One key rule: drop spacing is critical. If jumpers exit too close together, their canopies risk entangling in mid-air—which meant guaranteed death, often taking down two men at once.

However, if the drop spacing was too wide, troops would scatter across miles of hostile terrain upon landing. How could a squad assemble efficiently when dispersed across two or three kilometers deep behind enemy lines? Furthermore, how should heavy weaponry be dropped? What was the optimal method? All of these questions required systematic testing.

Following his usual routine, Li Qinwu organized his thoughts into a manual, handed it off to Gob-Eagle for further study, and returned to mixing concrete for the Penal Corps monument. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Meanwhile, in the human realm—the Kingdom of Sarthos, in the Royal Capital of Dinas. The Grand Cathedral of the Goddess of Life stood directly opposite the Royal Palace.

In terms of architectural scale, compound area, and sheer luxury, it outshone the palace by several orders of magnitude. Any foreigner visiting the capital for the first time would easily mistake the Grand Cathedral for the true seat of royalty. Sprawling across more than 800 mu, the cathedral complex possessed its own defensive perimeter, barracks, training grounds, and stables, housing a permanent garrison of 3, 000 elite Paladins.

It was almost surreal that the monarch of a sovereign nation allowed an independent organization to maintain a heavily armed, elite standing force right next to his own throne room. The absurdity did not end there. The capital's cathedral housed the largest statue of the Goddess of Life in all of Sarthos—standing over 70 meters tall atop a massive circular basin. Every single day, tens of thousands of devotees gathered beneath its shadow to offer prayers.

Under such conditions, if the Church of the Goddess of Life ever chose to march, they could effortlessly stage a regime change. Even a Stellaris player with 2, 000 hours of grand strategy experience couldn't save the Royal House of Sarthos from this state of affairs. Inside the High Sanctum, top officials of the Church gathered in a closed council to address the growing goblin threat within the Monster Forest and determine how to recover the Purity Pendant.

The High Priest who had previously attempted to negotiate with Li Qinwu stood in the center of the hall, recounting his humiliating ordeal with explosive rage, drawing furious shouts from the assembled clergy. At the head of the circular chamber sat an elderly man clad in ornate green robes, quietly listening to the heated arguments. He was the Grand Pontiff of the Church of the Goddess of Life—one of the few mortals considered closest to the divine.

No one knew his exact age; members of the high clergy possessed strangely extended lifespans. He cleared his throat softly, and all seventy-plus officials instantly fell silent.

"Gentlemen, how shall we address this matter? Present a structured plan." His frail, aged voice carried an inexplicable pressure. The clergy selected a representative to outline their strategy. A High Priest stepped forward: "Your Holiness, we must refuse any further negotiations with these monsters! Foul beasts deserve nothing short of total annihilation!" Another High Priest joined in: "Agreed! I propose mobilizing a crusade to cleanse the Monster Forest.

That vile horde has grown to an alarming scale—we can no longer afford to leave them unchecked!" A third official stepped up: "I concur. Furthermore, I suggest dispatching an elite strike team into the Monster Forest to retrieve both the Purity Pendant and the Sword of Purity, while assassinating the monster chieftain. Given typical goblin behavior, eliminating their leader will cause their forces to shatter and scatter on their own."

"Agreed. I recommend deploying the Ten Apostles. Their faith in the Goddess is absolute, and their small footprint allows them to penetrate deep into hostile territory without detection.

"Besides, aren't there fallen humans operating within their ranks? A small infiltration unit could disguise themselves as fallen humans to approach the monster chieftain and execute the assassination!"

"Yet the Ten Apostles are still mortal men. That monster chieftain managed to slay a consecrated Hero—can ten men truly succeed where a Hero failed?"

"It is entirely feasible. Hero Leon was far too young and rash; he had not yet reached his full potential. He undoubtedly confronted the monster chief head-on and was overwhelmed by sheer numbers. A tragic loss, but avoidable.

"The Ten Apostles are seasoned veterans with extensive combat experience. While their individual martial power may not equal a Hero's, executing a stealth recovery and targeted assassination is well within their capabilities." Hearing this, the Grand Pontiff gave a slow nod.

"So be it. Deploy the Ten Apostles. Their primary objective is the recovery of the Purity Pendant and the Sword of Purity; the secondary objective is the elimination of the monster chieftain. Let it be done.

"Now... let us discuss our primary initiative: transforming the Kingdom of Sarthos into a Holy Kingdom on Earth." With the topic shifted, the chamber instantly erupted into excited chatter.

"Ah! If we can fully transition Sarthos into a Holy Kingdom, imagine the divine blessings the Goddess will bestow upon us!"

"Hmph! Had that foolish First Prince not caught wind of our preparations and raised his futile rebellion, this would have been finalized long ago!"

"What did his rebellion accomplish anyway? He was executed by his own father in the end! Heheheh... I was present in the throne room when that doomed prince dared accuse us of usurping the realm—only for the King to order his immediate suicide on the spot. The sheer despair in his eyes was truly fitting for a defeated dog."

"Indeed! Did the First Prince truly not realize? Without the Church's divine drops of Life Water, his 120-year-old royal father would have turned to dust decades ago! That old king is terrified of death. To buy himself a few more years of life, he willingly allows us to station a standing army inside his capital!"

"Still, we must proceed with caution. We cannot trigger the transition immediately. Sarthos is currently locked in intense dual-front warfare—the Kingdom of Donovan is fighting three human nations simultaneously and still holding the upper hand with overwhelming military force, while the Southern Orcs have breached the Clalan Province.

"If we launch our coup now, Sarthos might collapse under external pressure. If our territory is lost to foreign invaders, the loss ultimately falls on the Goddess's earthly kingdom." After a prolonged discussion, the council reached a consensus. The Grand Pontiff summarized their stance: "Then we shall defer the grand launch for now, finalizing our move once the regional conflicts reach a conclusion. You are dismissed—return to your duties in service of the Goddess!"

The heavy doors swung open, and the clergy bowed to the Grand Pontiff before filing out of the chamber. A high-ranking priestess stepped up to the Pontiff's side and whispered: "Your Holiness... His Majesty the King has been kneeling before the statue of the Goddess for two full hours today. Shall I grant him permission to see you?"

"Oh? Kneeling for two hours already?" A flash of disdain crossed the Pontiff's face. Preserving that decrepit old man's life required consuming precious drops of Life Water every time—a resource he himself lacked in abundance, yet had to waste on a dying monarch. Had the old fool not been so easy to manipulate, the Pontiff would have happily let him kneel himself to death.

"Hmph! Let him kneel for another two hours. Only then bring him to see me."