Chapter 573
I Have Not Forgotten You. (2)
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaaang!
A massive barrage of fireballs struck the charging Atrodean cavalry head-on.
They had no time to react to the sudden onslaught.
Under normal circumstances, skilled soldiers might have dodged or blocked the attacks.
But right now, they were focusing all their energy on riding, and within the formation, there was no room to evade.
Besides, who would have expected such an attack in a cavalry battle?
“Uwaaaaagh!”
Hiiiiiing!
The attack showed no discrimination between horse and rider. The cavalrymen collapsed in a tangled mess with their mounts.
The Fenris Mobile Corps had been spread out as broadly as the Atrodean army, and so the fireballs rained down over a wide area.
Most of the Atrodean frontlines were wiped out. The cavalrymen charging right behind them couldn’t slow down in time and tripped over their fallen comrades.
Seeing their allies collapsing one after another, those in the middle ranks desperately tried to rein in their horses.
But the attack wasn’t over yet.
Paaaaaah!
More fireballs erupted from the rear ranks of the Fenris Mobile Corps.
They weren’t precisely aimed at any individual; they simply rained down indiscriminately, once again engulfing the Atrodean forces.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Explosions of fire tore through their ranks once more. Some soldiers managed to dodge or block the incoming attacks, but if their horses were hit, they had no choice but to go down with them.
“G-Get out of the way!”
“No! I can't—!”
Crash!
The cavalrymen trailing further behind also failed to slow down and crashed into their own forces.
Screaming as they fell, they became entangled with each other. Having toppled alongside their horses, most of them were too badly injured to even get back up.
Just like that, the Atrodean formation completely collapsed.
And yet, the sound of pounding hooves still thundered across the battlefield.
Dudududududu!
No more fireballs were flying. But now, the utterly shattered Atrodean ranks had to face the Fenris Mobile Corps charging straight toward them.
Their speed only increased, and they exuded an overwhelming, unstoppable momentum.
“G-Get up!”
“Hurry and reform the ranks!”
“Hold the line! We have to hold the line!”
Atrodean officers shouted from all directions.
If they allowed the charge to hit them in this state, they would be completely overrun. They had to get back on their feet, form ranks, and stop the enemy at all costs.
Those who could stand abandoned their fallen horses and grabbed their weapons. Some frantically mounted any horse that was still intact.
But they had no time.
Just as they barely got back up, before they could even form proper ranks—
Kwaaaaaang!
“Uwaaagh!”
The Fenris Mobile Corps crashed into them like a spear through flesh.
The unit that Ghislain had poured the most effort into training since the very beginning.
They had grown remarkably through war, just as Ghislain had hoped. The extreme training and real combat experience had forged them into warriors stronger than anyone else.
Kwaaang!
The rear ranks of the Fenris Mobile Corps surged forward, filling the gaps in the frontlines.
It was a tactic designed to inflict even greater damage through a double charge. If not executed precisely, even their own forces could suffer losses, yet the Fenris Mobile Corps had pulled it off as if it were second nature.
Aiden snapped back to his senses and shouted,
“Magicians! What are the magicians doing?!”
He couldn’t comprehend how such an overwhelming attack was possible. But one thing was certain it was magic.
They had been ordered to put their lives on the line to block enemy spells, so why was something like that getting through?!
Aiden turned to look at the magicians, his face contorted in frustration, but when he finally took in their condition, he was at a loss for words.
“Kuh, kkeuuugh….”
Every allied magician up to the 6th Circle was bleeding from their noses as they struggled to block the enemy's spells.
Some even had their hair turn completely white a clear sign that they had exhausted their mana and were now drawing upon their own life force.
In the sky above both armies, red and blue lights flared and flickered, vanishing just as quickly as they appeared.
It was a sign of magic being cast and then forcibly dispelled. They truly were putting their lives on the line to counter the enemy’s spells.
And yet, the Mobile Corps still used magic.
Aiden gritted his lips in frustration, confusion clouding his thoughts.
“How… How the hell are they doing this?”
It wasn’t as if the Atrodean Army’s magicians had given up. They had indeed managed to dispel some of the enemy’s spells.
As long as the enemy’s magic fell within the range of their mana fields, neutralizing it wasn’t difficult. The problem was that there were simply too many spells.
They were already struggling against Fenris' magicians. On top of that, an overwhelming number of Fireballs had erupted from the enemy’s side, forcing the Atrodean magicians to barely manage blocking a mere few hundred of them.
As the Atrodean forces were instantly pushed back, Ghislain smirked.
“They never could have imagined an attack like this.”
Even with Vanessa absent, the Fenris magicians were capable of sealing off the enemy's spells.
But Vanessa had deliberately inserted herself into the battle, pressuring the Atrodean magicians. This forced them to push their mana reserves to the absolute limit, as if resigning themselves to death.
And in the midst of that, it was as if 20,000 newly arrived low-circle magicians had simultaneously begun casting spells.
The sheer volume of mana that erupted in an instant was staggering. At this scale, even a superhuman could barely protect themselves, let alone dispel all of the magic.
Faced with such an absurd situation, Aiden felt like he was going insane.
“How the hell did they do this?! The entire Mobile Corps can’t possibly be made up of magicians!”
A nearby mage gasped as he spoke.
“A-Apparently, they used an artifact.”
“How does that make sense? That many troops using artifacts? Does Fenris have money rotting away somewhere? Just how many runestones do they—”
Aiden abruptly shut his mouth as he realized something.
Runestones.
The reason the Duke of Fenris made a name for himself was precisely because of runestones.
He had pioneered the Forest of Beasts and amassed immense wealth using the resources he obtained there.
And at the core of that wealth was, without a doubt, runestones. The Duke of Fenris had accomplished many things using them.
But not long after, the sale of runestones from Fenris Territory had gradually decreased.
‘Right, ever since the drought… They replaced everything with food. They’ve just been stockpiling those countless runestones.’
That made sense now. There were certainly enough runestones to craft artifacts.
Moreover, the Duke of Fenris had consistently captured and recruited mages during wartime. Recently, even an 8th-circle mage had joined the Ritania army.
In other words, Fenris had both the funds and manpower to mass-produce lower-circle artifacts.
‘So they’ve really… been making things like that all this time? Just to use them against me?’
It wasn’t necessarily intended just for Aiden, but it was true that they had been crafted for crucial battles.
However, self-centered as he was, Aiden could only assume they had been made specifically for him.
Regardless of the intention, the Fenris forces had once again armed themselves with monstrous equipment. At this rate, they would truly face defeat.
Aiden turned to the Order of the White Hawk and shouted.
“Attack them! Now! At once!”
He had been holding onto his trump card, but there was no choice now. The Duke of Fenris and the 7th-circle mage could be handled by the priests.
Kwaaang!
The Order of the White Hawk exploded with mana as they all surged forward.
They had already dismounted. This was no battle to be fought on horseback.
The Order of the White Hawk was undeniably one of the continent’s strongest knight orders. Each knight possessed at least intermediate-level skills, and there were a hundred of them.
With this level of force, even a superhuman could be brought down through coordinated attacks.
Their charge alone would halt the Mobile Corps’ advance. Even thousands of soldiers would be instantly swept away by the Order of the White Hawk.
In that time, Aiden could gather the remaining forces and reorganize.
Watching how Aiden would act, Ghislain saw the Order of the White Hawk move and lightly waved his hand.
“Go now. Two of you take down one. Let’s show them which is truly the strongest knight order on the continent.”
“Time to put in some full-body exercise today!”
“Yeeaaah! Let’s gooooo!”
Paladin Gordon and Lucas let out a loud battle cry as they charged forward, with 200 Fenris Knights following closely behind.
Now, their strength was on par with the Order of the White Hawk. Every single one of them had surpassed the intermediate level.
Gordon had become an advanced knight, and Lucas was nearing the peak level.
On top of that, they had the numbers.
Watching them charge ahead, Ghislain smiled in satisfaction.
"I really got the short end of the stick in my past life."
Back then, after losing his troops and sustaining injuries, Ghislain had been surrounded by the Order of the White Hawk. He managed to kill every last one of them, but in the end, he was drained of strength and was defeated by Aiden without a fight.
That memory made him grind his teeth as he trained his knights. Knowing the level of the Order of the White Hawk, he had raised all of his knights to at least the intermediate level.
He had even taught them the secret Mana Refinement Technique.
Through painstaking effort, he had trained a force of 400 knights. He had only brought half of them today, but even that was enough to annihilate the Order of the White Hawk.
"Run faster!"
Kwaaang!
Lucas surged forward at the very front, unleashing his mana. The other knights, unwilling to be outdone, exploded with mana as they charged.
The Order of the White Hawk had to weave through their fallen allies as they advanced. But the Mobile Corps, as if following a predetermined plan, spread out to create a path for the knights to pass through.
Because of this, the Fenris Knights were able to intercept the Order of the White Hawk before they could strike at the Mobile Corps.
Seeing the enemy spread out toward the Mobile Corps, the Fenris Knights also widened their formation.
"Hey, hey, hey! You guys are supposed to be playing with us!"
Gordon shouted as he leaped in, and in an instant, over a hundred knights clashed. Their battle was on a completely different level from that of the soldiers.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaaang!
Mana flared as both sides tried to kill each other. Naturally, the soldiers instinctively backed away from the knights.
At first, the fight seemed evenly matched, as knights of similar skill clashed. But then, the Fenris Knights started fighting in pairs.
Kaaang!
The moment their swords collided, the remaining Fenris Knight slashed through the enemy knight’s body.
Most of the Fenris Knights had lived through the brutal world of mercenaries. They still had not a shred of chivalry in them.
They did whatever it took to win.
"Hey, hey, hey! Look at this!"
One knight, in the middle of a fight, suddenly spoke to his opponent before flinging a handful of sand into his eyes. Meanwhile, another, waiting for the right moment to assist, suddenly tackled the enemy to the ground.
When one attack was blocked, another knight even spat into his opponent’s eyes.
The knights of the Order of the White Hawk were thrown into disarray. They felt like they weren’t fighting knights, but absolute madmen.
"You disgraceful bastards! How dare you call yourselves knights?! Have you thrown away all your honor?!"
"We don’t give a damn about that, you bastard! Here, have this!"
Pwak!
Someone even sprinkled Belinda’s special spicy seasoning powder. It was something Kaor had found quite useful in the past.
Two men clung to one opponent, fighting in an incredibly dirty manner. Since their skills were evenly matched, it made them even harder to deal with.
On top of that, the Fenris Knights displayed an almost uncanny level of coordination. It was all thanks to Ghislain’s hellish training.
“Kuhek!”
All around, White Hawk Knights began to collapse, coughing up blood.
The White Hawk Knights had never fought such a filthy and dishonorable battle before. Overwhelmed by confusion, they died one after another.
The Mobile Corps, who were fighting nearby, glanced at them.
‘Wow, thank god they’re not our enemies.’
‘They’re on our side, but damn, they fight dirty.’
‘They might actually be the strongest knight order on the continent. The strongest… and the dirtiest.’
Unaware of such opinions, the Fenris Knights were simply elated. Overwhelming victory was always exhilarating.
“Ahaha! These bastards are weak! All dressed up in fancy armor just for show!”
“The creatures in the Forest of Beasts would put up a better fight!”
“We are, what? The strongest in the North! What? The strongest in the kingdom! What? No matter what, we’re the strongest on the continent now!”
Puk! Puk! Puk!
They made sure to finish off the fallen knights. At this point, the war was completely tilting in Fenris’s favor.
Aiden’s face turned pale.
“M-My knights…”
The very knight order he had proudly declared the strongest on the continent was crumbling far too easily.
They couldn't just die like this. They had to fight and die for his victory.
At the very least, they should have weakened the Duke of Fenris before dying! How could they die so pitifully, without even putting up a decent fight?
“N-No! Get out there and stop them! Kill those bastards!”
Aiden, now utterly frantic, shouted at the priests. Any semblance of dignity had long been discarded.
The priests, too, understood the gravity of the situation. They couldn’t just stand by and wait to ambush the Duke of Fenris anymore.
They had to step in to cut down the Fenris Knights and the Mobile Corps.
But before they could act, Ghislain had already drawn his sword and was charging toward them.
Kwaaaaa!
His speed after dismounting was nothing short of lightning-fast.
Seeing the crimson glow closing in, Aiden shifted his target.
“Kill that bastard first!”
There was still time before all his forces were wiped out. If they could just kill the Duke of Fenris, they could still turn the tide.
If he and the priests worked together, they could sweep away the remaining Fenris Knights and Mobile Corps.
Kwaaaang!
The priests ignored everything else and charged straight for Ghislain. After a brief hesitation, Aiden also moved.
There was no room left for cunning tricks.
‘We have to take him down while he’s charging in on his own!’
He could have left the Duke of Fenris to the priests and focused on thinning the Fenris forces instead, but Aiden didn’t want to waste his strength.
If the priests died, he would end up completely isolated in the middle of enemy lines.
By now, Ghislain had leaped into the battlefield and shouted in a thunderous voice.
“Everyone, fall back!”
There were still enemies left, but none strong enough to be a real obstacle. If they remained, they would only get caught up in the fight and suffer unnecessary casualties.
The Fenris Knights and the Mobile Corps immediately spread out and retreated.
At the same time, Ghislain’s sword clashed with the priests' power.
Kwaaaaaaang!
The force released by the four priests was formidable. However, it was still within Ghislain’s ability to withstand.
The real threat was not the priests.
Kwaaaaa!
Behind the priests, a brilliant blue sword appeared.
Slicing through space itself, it descended directly above Ghislain’s head.