Chapter 570
Don't Let a Single One Escape. (1)
“Uwaaaah!”
Hiiiiiing!
“Stop them! Move now!”
“Hold the formation!”
The Atrodean Army fell into chaos due to the sudden intrusion of Ghislain.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
As soon as he broke through their frontlines, Ghislain mercilessly swung his spear, striking everything around him. Even his mana-infused spears flew in all directions.
Horses reared and collapsed in a frenzy. Because of just one man, the formation of the Atrodean Army was crumbling at an alarming rate.
Count Zyrus broke out in a cold sweat.
“This... this lunatic…!”
He had heard rumors about his recklessness, but for him to actually charge into enemy lines alone…
The Fenris Mobile Corps had yet to arrive. Before they did, they needed to maintain their formation and advance, but that was impossible now.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaaang!
Like a complete madman, the Duke of Fenris swung his spear, obliterating everything around him. He continuously tore through the ranks of the soldiers as he advanced.
And to make matters worse, there was that crazy horse, shrouded in mana.
Hiiiiiing!
With each kick of its hind legs, allied soldiers' chests caved in, sending them flying. The horse and its master didn’t seem to be coordinating, yet their synergy was frighteningly perfect.
In truth, Black King was even stronger than before.
Though it couldn’t perform Mana Refinement, the consistent infusion of mana from Ghislain had allowed it to accumulate small amounts of mana with every breath.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
As Ghislain and Black King rampaged, Count Zyrus screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Regroup the formation immediately! Spread out! What are the priests doing?!”
Infantry could attempt tactical maneuvers even amidst chaotic combat. But cavalry, unable to charge, couldn’t execute any tactics at all.
They had to spread out somehow, but the Duke of Fenris was making that impossible.
Eventually, the priests who had advanced ahead decided to unleash their energy, even at the cost of their own allies.
Kwoooooooom!
The priests blasted out their power, sending both their enemies and nearby allies flying. But at last, they managed to encircle Ghislain.
Pausing for a moment, Ghislain retracted his spear and looked at the priests with a grin.
“Oh? You’re finally here? Took you long enough.”
Before the priests could even respond, the Fenris Mobile Corps stormed in.
Kwoooooooom!
“Uwaaaah!”
With their formation already in disarray and their cavalry unable to charge, the Atrodean Army couldn’t withstand the overwhelming impact.
In an instant, their frontlines were obliterated. Yet, the Fenris Mobile Corps did not stop they continued their relentless assault.
Leading the charge were the Fenris Knights, most of whom had now reached mid-to-high levels of proficiency.
“Alright, let’s go in!”
Gordon, the Paladin who was completely incapable of using divine power, roared with excitement. Alongside him, Lucas, a fellow senior knight, showcased his remarkable progress.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Atrodean forces crumbled far too easily it was almost laughable. It was hard to believe they were the elite army that had conquered the Kingdom of Grimwell.
This was all because Ghislain had drawn their attention, disrupting their formation.
The priests panicked. At this rate, they would be utterly annihilated.
“You bastard!”
“We must kill the Duke of Fenris at once!”
Kwaaaang!
Four priests engaged Ghislain in battle. The Mobile Corps instinctively moved aside, pressing the enemy further.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
The priests, growing desperate, unleashed their energy without restraint. However, as soon as Ghislain swung his crimson spear, the dark energy was effortlessly deflected.
“Oh… not bad?”
Ghislain raised an eyebrow. These priests were stronger than the ones he had faced before. Their Coordinated Strike Technique was no joke.
At this level, even an ordinary superhuman wouldn’t stand a chance.
‘I didn’t expect them to have mastered the Coordinated Strike Technique.‘
It seemed they had found a way to handle strong opponents. However, Ghislain had long since surpassed conventional power levels.
Paaaaah!
Activating his Third-Stage Core, his spear burned an even deeper shade of crimson.
The sheer force imbued in the weapon was many times that of an ordinary superhuman.
Kwaang!
“Keheok!”
In an instant, one of the priests had his heart pierced. It was an attack of lightning speed and overwhelming destructive power.
But the priests were superhumans as well. They didn’t waste the opening and attempted a counterattack.
Kwa-kwa-kwaang!
“Hup!”
The priests were shocked. Before their attacks could even reach him, Ghislain’s spear had already cut through their dark energy.
His strikes were impossibly fast and precise.
Even before they could launch another attack, Ghislain moved first.
Kwaang!
A thunderous impact followed as Ghislain’s spear pierced through a priest’s neck. Unable to withstand the sheer force, his head burst apart.
Puhak!
From behind, the Black King delivered a powerful kick to the chest of another priest who had attempted a sneak attack.
“Kuugh!”
The struck priest staggered backward.
That damn horse kicked like a knight!
Both the horse and its master fought like madmen.
The two remaining priests bit their lips in frustration.
“What kind of horse is this savage?!”
“And the Duke of Fenris… to think he’s this strong…”
They had heard he was powerful, but not to this extent.
Even with their Coordinated Strike Technique, he had already slain two of them.
At this rate, they were going to die.
They couldn’t match him in skill, so they needed to attack faster and stronger.
Goooooooh…
The priests began burning their own life force. They had no other choice.
“Oh?”
Ghislain widened his eyes in admiration. He had fought many priests before, but few had ever burned their own life force.
As expected, they were priests belonging to the main force of the Atrodean Army.
“Duke of Fenris!”
“You will die here with us today!”
Kwaaaang!
The priests’ power, unleashed at the cost of their very life force, was overwhelming. Yet, even so, Ghislain did not dismount from his horse.
He simply continued to fight while protecting the Black King.
To him, even this situation was just another part of his training.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-quang!
Watching Ghislain and the priests move at incredible speeds, Count Zyrus was at a loss.
The situation was dire. Cavalry alone could not turn the tide of battle. Somehow, the priests had to kill the Duke of Fenris and provide support.
But Count Zyrus knew all too well that such a thing would never happen.
The Duke of Fenris was fighting against superhumans without even dismounting. He had already killed two priests in an instant there was no way he would lose to the remaining ones.
In the end, there was only one option left.
“Hold out! No matter what, we must endure! The Second Legion will come for us!”
The Fourth Legion’s forces numbered thirty thousand. Even with that many, it would take considerable time to be wiped out.
Even with their formation in shambles, the Atrodean Army continued to resist.
Surely, the Second Legion must have heard the news and set out. If they could hold on until then, there was at least a sliver of hope for survival.
By now, the enemy’s breakthrough force had also weakened considerably.
If they could get word to the Second Legion, they would hurry to their aid.
“Send word to the Second Legion immediately! Run at once!”
At Count Zyrus’s command, his escort knights moved. However, they never made it out of the battlefield.
Kwaaaang!
A pillar of fire erupted behind the Atrodean Army, engulfing the escaping escort knights.
It was a spell cast by Vanessa, who had followed the Fenris Mobile Corps. She had refrained from joining the battle and instead focused solely on preventing anyone from escaping.
Count Zyrus’s expression went blank with shock.
“Why…? Magic…? How?”
They had a significant number of mages deploying mana barriers. And yet, magic was still being cast. This meant that the enemy had at least a 7th-Circle Mage among them.
For some reason, that mage had not participated in the battle until now, making it impossible for them to realize such a powerful figure was present.
“This can’t be…”
Now, there were no other options. The only thing left to do was hold out until the Second Legion arrived.
By this point, the cavalry from both sides had become entangled in fierce combat.
“Arghhh!”
“Push forward! Don’t stop!”
“Hold the line! Just hold on!”
Shouts rang ceaselessly across the battlefield from both sides.
The lances and axes of the Fenris Mobile Corps relentlessly struck down the Atrodean soldiers at close range.
Though their initial momentum had waned, they had already broken through nearly half of the enemy formation. Their morale and discipline were unparalleled.
The Atrodean Army, its formation completely shattered, was being utterly overwhelmed.
More than anything, the biggest difference was in individual skill and equipment.
Kwaaaang!
Lucas' spear moved dazzlingly, slicing off the head of an enemy blocking his path.
Gordon, flaunting his massive muscles, wielded both an axe and a spear in his hands, swinging them fiercely.
"Hey, piss pants. You've improved a lot, haven't you?"
"Shut up! Before I kill you first! I am a holy knight personally appointed by the Saintess!"
"Sounds more like a filthy knight."
The two bickered endlessly as they slaughtered their enemies.
The Fenris Knights, who had endured hellish training and countless battles, demonstrated overwhelming strength.
Even though only half of their force was present, they numbered as many as 200. With just their knights alone, they could kill thousands of enemies.
There was no need to even mention the strength of the Mobile Corps. As Fenris' finest elite, they relentlessly pushed the enemy back with their superior skill.
The Atrodean Army felt nothing but despair as they fought.
Clang! Clang!
"Damn it! Our weapons aren't working properly!"
"Aim for the gaps! At least take down their horses!"
"How the hell are they moving like that in full plate armor?!"
The Galvaniium equipment boasted overwhelming defensive power. Ordinary soldiers couldn't even pierce the armor.
And since the material was lightweight, the Mobile Corps moved as swiftly as if they were wearing light armor.
The only way to deal with them was to exhaust them and bring them down. But to do that, it would take multiple soldiers ganging up on a single knight.
The battle ratio itself was completely off. And in the current situation, even attempting such a tactic was impossible. The Atrodean Army felt as though they had crashed into an insurmountable wall.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
More and more soldiers fell, bleeding out under the relentless assault of the knights and Mobile Corps. The enemy knights who tried to block the Fenris Knights were completely overwhelmed by sheer numbers and were all slaughtered.
The battle was beginning to turn into a massacre.
"Urghhh...!"
Yet, the Atrodean Army still fought on. They tried their best to block and evade the Fenris Mobile Corps' attacks, attempting to inflict at least some damage.
Their accumulated pride and experience kept them fighting, despite being at a disadvantage.
They were truly the elite of the Atrodean Army.
"Hmm."
Even while fighting against the priests, Ghislain observed the battlefield.
He had deliberately created this situation to gauge the average skill level of the Atrodean main force that they would face in future battles.
Without the Galvaniium equipment, their side would have suffered significant casualties. Even in a disadvantaged melee, the enemy was fighting persistently.
"It's time to end this."
Having assessed the Atrodean Army's level, Ghislain clenched his jaw and drew upon his mana.
Boom!
"Ugh!"
One of the priests, who had been fighting evenly against him, was struck by the shaft of his spear and sent flying.
Ghislain immediately thrust his spear at the remaining priest.
Clang!
The priest, drawing on his very life force, barely managed to block the attack. But that wasn't the end of it.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
His spear moved at an incredible speed. The priest desperately tried to block, but it was impossible to fend off an assault that felt like hundreds of spears attacking simultaneously.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each time he failed to block, a spear pierced through his body. His shoulder, abdomen, neck, and thighs were all mercilessly impaled.
"Guh..."
It all happened in an instant. He had fought with all his might, but he couldn't block everything.
As the priest, riddled with holes, collapsed, another priest lunged at Ghislain.
"You bastard!"
He was both enraged and panicked. He knew he couldn't win alone.
The skill gap was already immense, and with his shaken composure, he couldn't even launch a proper attack.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Smack!
In the end, the remaining priest flailed his limbs in desperation, failing to even block a few attacks before his head was pierced through.
"Haa..."
Ghislain let out a breath. To others, it might have seemed like an easy victory, but it hadn't been effortless.
Third-stage amplification consumed a significant amount of mana. While he had reached a level close to his past life's peak and could maintain it for much longer now, it still placed a strain on his body.
Besides, the four priests he had just fought were stronger than ordinary priests.
Ghislain turned to look behind him and gestured toward Vanessa and the waiting mages.
It was time to end this.
Upon receiving the signal, Vanessa bypassed the enemy's mana barrier and began casting magic.
Boom! BOOOOM!
Pillars of fire erupted behind the Atrodean Army. Though the spell's power was somewhat weakened by the mana barrier, it was more than enough to wipe out the already crumbling enemy.
"AAARGHH!"
The Atrodean Army, already on the verge of collapse, was helpless against the magic assault.
Even the enemy mages maintaining the mana barrier were engulfed in flames, reduced to ashes.
"R-Run! Everyone, run! At least one of us someone must escape and spread the word!"
Count Zyrus screamed in despair, his eyes brimming with tears of blood.
At the same time, Ghislain extended his spear and spoke coldly.
"Let none escape."