NOVEL WEB Chapter 58: Demonstrating Miracles That Are Not Gods
[You led an army of 18,000—nobles, knights, retainers, soldiers, and militia—marching grandly out of Orléans Castle]
[The local garrison joined your forces as well. The French commander who had defended Orléans for nearly half a year, Jean de Dunois, proposed the army head toward Normandy or Paris. If either northern city fell, it would greatly boost morale and shift strategic momentum in France's favor]
[But Jeanne rejected his proposal. She admitted it was logical and wise, but she said—]
["What we can think of, the enemy can think of too."]
[She seemed to recall the blitz campaign you had previously devised. Battle, after all, is won by surprise]
[One war had taught her what many generals never learn in a lifetime—and she was already applying it. You couldn't help but admire that]
[If only she had such talent for reading and writing too]
[Jeanne ultimately chose to follow the Loire River, stretching east to west across central France. Controlling this line would secure vast territory south of the river]
[As the army's physician and strategic advisor, you attended the war council]
[Afterward, in Jeanne's personal tent, you offered a proposal: to split the army]
[Jeanne would lead the main force along the Loire to draw English attention, while you would lead a small detachment north—straight toward Paris]
[She agreed, offering you a force of 6,000 elite troops]
[Her trust in you had grown markedly]
[But you refused]
[You only asked for 300 men]
[You told her—]
["Next, I shall manifest a miracle—not of God."]
...
The miracle of the not-god—neither divine nor supernatural, but the peak of human military art.
With 300 elite soldiers, you hunted across mountains and rivers.
You blocked English reinforcements from reaching the Loire front, allowing Jeanne to take the river with minimal losses.
Even more astonishingly—
With 300 men, you launched multiple assaults on Paris.
Following the blitzkrieg strategy that would become legend,
you introduced the concept of "special forces" to medieval Europe.
—World History of Warfare: The Hundred Years' War
...
Strictly speaking, 300 men—regardless of Jeanne's distractions—should never have allowed you to roam so freely across English-occupied northern France.
But that's assuming these 300 were ordinary men.
That's what made your real plan so terrifying.
You used these 300 as a prototype force to test your breakthrough: the pseudo-Origin Core magecraft.
You were going to train—or rather, create—a unit of 300 superhumans.
A knight corps in truth, if not in name.
In this age, knights inherited mystic powers from old noble lines. Yet few of these families possessed true magic crests—they had magical circuits, but knew little actual magecraft. Their skill was mostly raw mana release. As such, they fought without concern for the secrecy of the magical world.
Gilles de Rais had been such a knight.
The knightly class, while noble, was limited—more so than even magus lineages. Lacking stable crests, their bloodlines easily failed. Some of their houses eventually fully joined the magical world.
Like Gilles' own sister, Isabelle de Rais.
But now—you would forge new "knights" from nothing.
[No matter the art or power, once theory is complete, it must be tested. That is your belief]
[Though your pseudo-Origin Core remains immature—not enough to match a divine age body—it suffices to birth a "knight" corps]
[One day, you chose 300 soldiers—farmers, with no background or political ties. Loyal, simple, free of influence]
[That night, you left with them in secret]
[No one knew]
[You tested their loyalty]
[Then you began to train—by day, marching; by night, practicing]
[Using magecraft, you engraved pseudo-Origin Core matrices into their bodies through physical drills]
[Winter came—but your army did not slow. They marched faster]
[You received regular news from the south: Jeanne's conquests, one after another]
[She wrote to you often—]
"May this letter find you well, Mr. Victoire—I've received your last message. Do proceed at your own pace. All is well here. The Lord's guidance shines above us, leading us toward victory. We shall reunite soon."
"Also—I've learned to write. At least, simple letters. I wrote this one myself—no need for Anna, our field medic."
[You looked at the crooked handwriting, delivered by a raven in winter, and began marking grammar mistakes with a pen]
[You could just picture her, proud and frustrated in her tent, finishing the letter with glowing cheeks]
[You replied: "Well written. Don't write again."]
["Don't think I can't tell—only the mistakes are yours, the rest was written by Gilles."]
["Study properly. No shortcuts."]
["When I return, you're in for it."]
[You summoned a raven and sent the message back]
[Despite the separation, your bond with her grew no weaker]
[Winter ended. A new year began]
[You turned 25]
[Your 300 had completed the pseudo-Origin Core foundation]
[Snow melted, grass returned—and you heard the English had mustered a massive army in the north, aiming to strike southward to stop Jeanne]
[You advanced north, encountered an English scouting party]
[You wiped them out, then struck swiftly along their trail]
[You crushed a 1,000-man English force]
[Then another 800]
[You reached the edge of the Seine, where 10,000 English troops gathered across the river]
[You crossed, struck, withdrew]
[Two days later, struck again]
[Three days after—]
[You routed them. Most fled. Only 3,000 could regroup. The rest scattered]
[Your 300 were now each capable of defeating a hundred]
[You decided—it was time to strike Paris]
[The high city would be the ultimate test of your success]
[A "knight" must be as mighty as a Gundam, or what's the point?]
...
The first magi emerged around the start of the Common Era—bounty hunters using mystery to survive.
But the rise of magecraft as a professional path truly began with Victoire Tourelle.
When his 300 "Holy Knights" were complete.
And with just those 300, he conquered Paris.
That campaign stunned the world—and decades later, led to the Mage's Association deciding that even non-magus users of mana would fall under the secrecy laws.
—Mystic Professions of the Mage World
...
[You led 300 Holy Knights and took Paris, breaching its walls from the days of Charles V. Thousands of defenders were defeated—at the cost of only a few injuries. No deaths]
[Though still far from matching the true knights of the Age of Gods, or the Round Table of old Britain, your army's prowess shocked the world]
[Your fame spread beyond academia into the secular world]
[They called you a "Saint," a "Miracle Worker"]
[Your knights were hailed as "Holy Knights"]
[At least, by the French]
[To the English...]
[You were "The Wild Hunt"]