After the meeting in the square, there were various tedious and meaningless religious ceremonies and hymn singing. It was not until four hours later that Soshyan really started meaningful work - after talking nonsense in St. Dalton, he took To the state religion, the command of the holy war army.
The State Church mobilized troops from three Sisters for this revenge holy war, but only the Sister of the Ebony Holy Grail came in person, and the others were commanded by guidance sisters. The three Orders combined have 5,000 battle sisters, plus the attached Their various vehicles and armed servitors are also a considerable force. As for the Battle Sisters' fleet, it consists of six cruisers and a dozen frigates, which is not very powerful.
In addition to the battle nuns, the state church has also recruited 200,000 crusaders and more than one million "mercenaries", as well as more than 30 million "fanatic believers".
Although the state religion cannot have a "standing" "male" armed organization due to the taming decree, no matter how strict the regulations are, there will always be loopholes to exploit. For example, the Crusaders, their identities are "bodyguards" - these militant ascetics They come from the most mysterious of all sects, the Order of the Cardinals, and it is said that no more devout warriors can be found anywhere in the Empire except the Sisters of Battle.
As an armed force of the state religion, the equipment of the Crusaders is as luxurious as that of the Battle Sisters (from a mortal perspective). They wear carapace armor, hold powerful storm cards, wear robes, and wave crackling weapons. The long sword of the energy field formed a physically and mentally indestructible shield wall on the battlefield.
However, in order to avoid accusations from other factions in the empire, the state church does use the Crusaders as bodyguards most of the time. These warriors often form a circular formation around their commander. Any alien who dares to approach this sacred officer will be Heretics and traitors would be massacred by the Crusaders, and incoming bullets would simply bounce off their elaborately decorated storm shields without causing any damage.
Therefore, for many Astra Militarum soldiers serving under such a commander are blessed, for the battles involving the Crusaders can be assured to be truly holy wars.
As for the large number of mercenaries, this is naturally due to the immeasurable wealth of the state religion. They come from different star regions. Some of them fight for their beliefs, but more of them fight for rewards. No matter what, they are all Although it is difficult for veterans on the battlefield to engage in brutal battlefields like the regular army, they can often play an unexpected role in certain special battlefields, such as urban street fighting.
The fanatic believers who make up the majority of the state religion's jihad originate from one of the largest factions in the state religion and the most militant faction - the Redemption Sect.
The Redemption Sect preaches the doctrine that everyone is guilty and can only sacrifice. The believers are all ascetics with an extremely poor lifestyle. From the beginning of its establishment, they have strongly demanded the cleansing of all aliens, mutants and heretics. They are also extremely hostile to psykers.
Therefore, the sect has developed an extremely strict code of conduct for believers. Those who violate these codes will be expelled from the sect and face brutal pursuit. The sect also prohibits believers from exposing themselves in public, so salvation Members of the sect often wear hooded coats and complex, heavy masks to conceal their appearance, and these masks are often grotesque and disturbing in design.
For Redemptorists, the path to righteousness comes from purity, which is often accompanied by open witch hunts and the burning of heretics and mutants.
Although there are many imperial factions who accuse these fanatics of being too extreme and disturbing, the Redemption Sect, as the most powerful "thug" of the state religion, will never give up. Therefore, this sect has always been flourishing in the empire. With the development, now the cultists can be found in almost all the star systems of the empire, especially the hive worlds, and the "illegal" holy wars they "privately" launch often plunge the entire world into turmoil.
Of course, for professional soldiers, such "soldiers" can hardly be called combat effectiveness. Fanatic believers themselves are famous for being uncontrollable. It is impossible to ask them to obey any tactical and strategic instructions, so it is absolutely impossible. Most Imperial commanders looked down upon these "informal" forces, but that was not the case for Soshyan.
In fact, he has already thought of a battlefield suitable for these fanatical believers, and he must use all the power at hand in this war.
In addition, although the state religion does not have a huge navy, it does have a huge pilgrim fleet, and those pilgrim ships are not only strong, but also very huge. They are comparable to the space-class transport ships in the imperial fleet. Each one can easily accommodate a population of 500,000 to 800,000. , which is also equipped with a large number of living facilities, which is very suitable for use as a troop transport ship.
Therefore, after friendly negotiations with the patriarch, Soshyan was able to commandeer almost all the pilgrim ships in the Maelstrom area, a total of 211 ships.
Of course, receiving the support of the state church does not come without a price. Soshyan then received the battle blessing of the state church at the patron saint's summit. Grand Sister Velez, representing the state church headquarters, personally put on him the laurel crown awarded to him by Terra and made a public announcement. This expedition will be a holy war against all heretics and aliens, and all adherents of the Ecclesiarchy should be engaged in this war.
As for why the patriarch asked Soshyan to come out and call for jihad, the most critical point is that he is going to start selling "jihad coupons" in the maelstrom and needs "official support". Of course, he has very good reasons for doing so. The state religion is entirely responsible for the logistical supplies of these holy warriors, and it is really unaffordable without some increase in income.
Soshiyang knew that the other party must be talking nonsense. With the financial resources of the state religion, let alone tens of millions, hundreds of millions would not be a problem. However, since the other party had its own logistics, he could not say anything. After all, the state religion had already used this kind of The model has been used to make money for ten thousand years, and he alone cannot change it. Some things can only be turned a blind eye.
But in fact, it is not a problem. The real problem is that when Velez put the laurel crown on Soshyan, a bunch of cameras around him captured it, and it quickly spread among the expeditionary force. I don’t know if it was because of the angle or something, but the faces of the two people It looks very close——
So when Soshyan refused the invitation to stay one night on the surface of the planet and returned to the flagship, and just opened the door to the room, Veronica immediately pounced on her like an enraged female cat. No matter how Soshyan explained, It was useless. After several hours of tossing, the other party's anger was temporarily extinguished, and Soshyan promised countless times that he would not be alone with Velez in private, so Veronica let him go.
After officially incorporating the state religion forces into the expeditionary force, Soshyan did not return to the Sagan system, but went straight to the Galen system because the time he agreed to meet with the great sage Angstrom was coming soon. .
