When the latest batch of envoys sent by the North to request troops from the Piña Forest was severely rejected by Al,
It had been five months—nearly half a year—since Al entered the enemy camp as an avatar, met the Great Warlord, reached a tacit ceasefire agreement, and the Greenskins subsequently marched north.
As the first city and first checkpoint blocking the Greenskins' advance, the siege of Demontrei had ended and settled two months ago.
As one of only two cities in central-western Estalia with sea access—the other being Magus, which had long fallen and was now the Greenskin forward base—
Demontrei's daily routine involved making modest profits from the north-south land trade routes while finding ways to compete with Magus to the south.
Both hoped to crush the other to monopolize the middle section of the Kingdom of Estalia's long coastline.
Whether now or before the Great War, Demontrei had never been developed or valued for its military role.
Perhaps only during the Era of Kings, when nations constantly warred, did it hold such importance.
After the Battle of the Guadaz River, it was a foregone conclusion that the northern portion of Estalia lacked the strength to march south and offer relief.
The Greenskin Great Warlord used his main force to besiege Magritta while scattering units across various regions.
Through destruction and slaughter, he achieved a deterrent effect; the fear and the "herd effect" caused the southern regions to submit after Magritta opened its gates.
But despite this, the Great Warlord never ignored the fact that half of the Kingdom of Estalia in the North was still resisting.
After the Battle of the Guadaz River, Greenskin forces pursued the routing troops, crossed the river north, and were suddenly ambushed and pounded by Al at the walls of Veling.
The plan to occupy Magus was also disrupted—it was only half successful; the city was taken, but the people had fled.
Later, Cerebrio was destroyed, and before subsequent reinforcements arrived, the Greenskin offensive in the North stalled briefly.
The Northern Council used this time to frantically reinforce frontline defenses, conscript, train, and hire mercenaries...
But the Greenskins still didn't give them much time.
The vanguard siege forces soon arrived at Demontrei and began probing attacks.
Although the intensity weakened briefly due to the attack on the Piña Forest, it quickly increased again with the arrival of the Greenskin main force led by the Great Warlord.
In this situation, Demontrei's hastily reinforced defenses could only buy the North as much time as possible.
Fortunately, the Estalians weren't naive enough to rely on a small, unremarkable city to block the ferocious Greenskin grand army after just a few months of hammering—especially with the total loss of naval supremacy, where pirate and Greenskin artillery could pour fire onto Magus's port with impunity, and the threat of a landing was like a dagger constantly pressed against the defenders' belly.
Instead, the "Bulwark of Saint Monna," not far from Sahagan, was a massive, sturdy fortress built almost from scratch.
It employed the best human and Dwarf engineers and mobilized over two hundred thousand laborers.
The Estalians equipped it with massive amounts of artillery and stockpiled ample supplies.
As long as the defenders' will remained firm, they could hold out for at least half a year of grueling combat.
The name "Saint Monna" originated from a legendary battle in the neighboring Kingdom of Tilea: the Siege of Monte Castello.
At that time, the city's defenders numbered only 500, yet they were surrounded by allegedly over a hundred thousand Greenskins.
The Greenskin Warlord attempted to take the city as a forward base to strike Tilea.
With their maritime supply lines cut off by pirates or a more sinister, despicable race... the Skaven, the defenders still held out for a year in starvation.
Until their commander received a fatal wound in battle.
His daughter, Monna Lisa, stepped forward.
She donned her father's armor and impersonated him, commanding the defenders to repel the enemy's attacks several times.
After her identity was exposed, the truth of the commander's death caused the defenders' morale to collapse, and they decided to risk fleeing back to Tilea.
But ultimately, inspired by the woman, they chose to keep fighting.
The defenders were enraged and swore to fight the Greenskins to the bloody end, dying before the city fell.
Ultimately, they decided to hold out.
When reinforcements arrived three months later, Monte Castello still had not fallen.
Only 25 pikemen remained of the entire city's defenders, and Greenskin corpses filled the moat, allowing siege towers to move across them.
Monna Lisa herself was struck by a stray arrow and unfortunately died.
After this truly legendary battle, the name Monna Lisa became a symbol of good luck and victory throughout the Southern Kingdoms.
So much so that in many places, many traits of the Goddess of War, Myrmidia, were combined with the image of Monna Lisa.
Given that the twin Southern Kingdoms shared similar traditional cultures and common faiths, the Estalians naturally felt no resistance to venerating a holy saint from a neighboring country who now possessed divine qualities.
If the saint—who had disguised herself as her father, commanded a few hundred men through a year of siege, and withstood massive Greenskin attacks—could bless this city, the Estalians wouldn't hesitate for a second to build ten grand temples for her across the country.
Choosing this name also carried a sacred implication due to its history of resisting Greenskins.
Five hundred men had held out against a siege of a hundred thousand Greenskins (this number was likely greatly exaggerated, but a massive disparity was certain) for a year and several months until reinforcements arrived.
Even if Saint Monna could only hold out and buy Bilbali half a year, the situation should undergo a reversing change, such as...
The Citizens' Council of the High Elven Phoenix Court finally submitting the issue of "a human peninsular nation in the east being attacked by Greenskins and in imminent peril" to the assembly.
After a series of complex disputes, debates, political maneuvering, and infighting, it might barely enter the agenda of: "Should we send a fleet to save these drowning mon... (strike that) humans?"
Of course, the Estalians' main effort was still hoping that the former Kingdom of Chivalry, now the United Commonwealth of Bretonnia, could, like in the past, form a massive, devout, and powerful Chivalric Army.
They hoped Bretonnia would raise the banner of justice and march south to save their imperiled neighbor.
During nearly a year of preparation, they sent one or more high-profile diplomatic missions almost every month.
With sea routes no longer safe, they traveled by land or risked taking civilian ships to lobby various Bretonnian states—whether noble councils, merchant city-states, tyrannies, or peasant republics.
The Round Table Council of Carcassonne was the absolute highest priority.