Chapter 326 – Knowing Doesn’t Make It Easier (Part 2)
Swoosh!
Belinda skewered a Grex rushing toward her and spoke in an exhausted tone.
“Young Lord, can we really make it to the fortress?”
“Of course, don’t worry. We can make it. Thanks to the two of you showing up, our odds have improved a lot. Oh, although I could have managed on my own, having you two here certainly makes things easier.”
Ghislain’s innocent reply made Belinda’s temper flare.
“Seriously! Why are you always so overconfident? We can barely move forward right now!”
Both she and Gillian were significantly drained of energy. The number of Grexes seemed to have grown compared to earlier. There was no clear way to break through.
Even so, Ghislain smiled as he swung his sword.
“Just a little more effort. We’re almost there, aren’t we?”
“I’m telling you, we’re completely out of strength! We haven’t advanced an inch for ages! I’ll find a way to clear a path, so at least you go ahead!”
“No, we’ve come this far together. Piote will help us.”
“What did you say?”
Belinda froze mid-swing, her dagger momentarily forgotten as she turned to him. Even Gillian was startled enough to gasp.
Piote was a priest. He was undoubtedly tending to the wounded elsewhere. He neither had the skills nor the ability to assist in a fight at a place like this.
Yet Ghislain still smiled and spoke confidently.
“Trust your allies in moments like these. He’s not called a Saint for no reason. Or is it a Holy One?”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Their conversation couldn’t continue. The three gritted their teeth and resumed fighting the Grexes. By now, even wasting breath on idle chatter felt like a luxury, given how exhausted they were.
In the fortress, aside from Piote, ten priests were stationed.
These priests had followed the troops of displaced victims during the last war but were captured by Ghislain and couldn’t return.
Ghislain had arranged temporary appointment letters for them through correspondence with Porisco.
Dragged to the Forest of Beasts against their will, these priests were diligently using their divine power to support the soldiers from behind.
Piote, who was bustling about with them, noticed the knights preparing to go into battle.
‘I have to help.’
Though Ghislain had given him combat training, he still wasn’t much help in direct combat.
Piote scanned the battlefield again.
“Hold your ground! If we retreat, it’s over!”
“Push them back quickly! Knock off the ones clinging to you!”
“The Lord is on his way! Provide cover, now!”
The scene was chaotic, with everyone fighting furiously. The sheer number of monsters rushing at them was dizzying to behold.
He had never witnessed such carnage before. The nauseating sensation in his stomach threatened to overwhelm him.
But he couldn’t avert his gaze. Fighting these corrupted beings was a duty bestowed upon him by the Goddess. Scriptures classified monsters as alien entities of the world.
The mages stood firm with determined expressions, unmoving from their positions. They weren’t using magic, which meant they were preparing something.
And Piote realized it was something that required the Lord’s presence.
While surveying his surroundings, his eyes landed on Alfoi, lying on the ground and gasping for air.
‘…That guy’s not dead yet.’
Startled by the stray thought, Piote shook his head violently.
For a priest devoted to the divine, holding such a petty grudge was unthinkable. Though Alfoi was infuriating, Piote had resolved to forgive him. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes.
‘Oh, Goddess…’
Since receiving a revelation, Piote’s body had undergone mysterious changes. His divine power flowed more smoothly, and the amount of divine energy he could wield grew rapidly with each use.
At first, he was bewildered, but he soon realized it was a blessing from the Goddess. He also came to believe that such power carried a corresponding responsibility.
Divine energy began to surge from Piote’s body.
Wuuuuuuuuum!
He didn’t know much about war or the intricacies of combat. He didn’t understand when or how to fight.
But the Lord was isolated, and the mages were biding their time for an opportunity. The knights were trying to carve a path.
Before the operation began, the Lord had called him aside to speak.
“This mission is extremely dangerous. The capture team may not arrive in time. That’s when your strength will be crucial.”
“Me? What am I supposed to do?”
“There will be a moment when either the capture team or the fortress’s forces are in grave danger. That’s when you’ll need to step in. When I’m not there, you’ll have to make decisions on your own.”
“B-but I don’t know how to judge such situations! Please, tell me exactly what I need to do!”
Ghislain had simply shaken his head at his plea.
“I can’t predict when it will happen either. The battlefield is always changing. But you’ll feel it. If you carefully observe the flow of battle, you’ll know when it’s your time to act.”
Piote realized that now was the very moment the Lord had spoken about. This was when he needed to use his power.
Closing his eyes, he raised his hands toward the heavens, and brilliant light began radiating from his palms.
From his lips came verses from the scripture, his voice resonating beautifully:
“Behold, in the Goddess, you shall find strength. Clad yourself in the full armor granted to oppose the corrupt.”
Flash!
The radiant light spread outward, expanding to envelop the entire area surrounding the fortress.
“The Goddess declares, ‘I have given you authority to trample the foes and to subdue all powers of the enemy. None shall harm you.’ ”
“Goddess… please protect them,” Piote murmured.
The moment he opened his closed eyes:
Clang!
The light that had been spreading suddenly condensed into a dazzling flash before vanishing completely.
And immediately after, the battlefield erupted in chaos.
“W-what is this!”
“I feel so strong!”
“My wounds are healed!”
The soldiers, previously locked in combat, began shouting in astonishment as they noticed the changes in their bodies.
They were brimming with energy, their minor injuries completely healed. Even the wounded lying in the rear sprang to their feet.
But this wasn’t just a simple restoration of stamina.
Thunk!
“Wha? What’s happening?”
A soldier who had speared a leaping Grex’s head gaped in shock at his own action.
For a moment, he felt as if he had become a Sword Master. The Grex’s head had shattered far too easily under his strike.
This phenomenon spread to everyone in the fortress. Soldiers’ spears pierced stronger, their arrows tore through multiple enemies at once, and an ethereal light glowed faintly around their bodies.
Screech!
Clang!
A soldier hit by a Grex’s claws while stationed atop a wooden palisade stared in confusion.
Under normal circumstances, those claws, powerful enough to dig through earth, would have ripped through his flesh. Others had already sustained severe injuries from similar attacks.
But the soldier emerged unscathed, the light emanating from his body blocking the blow.
“Haha! Hahaha!”
The soldier laughed heartily and decapitated the Grex with a swift thrust of his spear. The tables had turned no longer did the overwhelming number of Grexes seem intimidating.
With newfound energy, their attack speed naturally increased.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Screeeeeeech!
Emboldened by their newfound power, the soldiers fought with reckless abandon, their arrows now flying faster and thicker across the battlefield.
At first, confusion reigned. But it didn’t take long for them to realize who had performed this miracle.
“The Holy One has blessed us again!”
“The Goddess watches over us!”
“Kill them all!”
The soldiers’ morale soared sky-high.
Watching this unfold, Piote smiled faintly before staggering. Blood streamed from his nose, but he paid it no mind.
“It’s enough… Now, the Lord can be saved.”
Muttering to himself, Piote closed his eyes and collapsed.
After expending such immense power, there was no way his body could remain intact. He had poured out everything he had, leaving himself utterly defenseless.
Witnessing this, the priests dispatched by Juana trembled uncontrollably.
“What… what is this…?”
“How could a lowly priest wield such power…?”
“Could the rumors… actually be true?”
The rumors about Piote being a Holy One had circulated widely. However, since Piote was male, the priests dismissed the gossip with derision, assuming it was just the ignorance of the northern folk overly impressed by divine power.
Even they, who were forced to work under Ghislain, had been revered by the uneducated northerners as if they were deities.
But now, they could no longer dismiss the truth.
“W-we must report this…”
“Will they believe it? They probably won’t…”
“I have no idea…”
Piote’s power surpassed what any ordinary priest could achieve. Though they had never seen the true Holy One themselves, they assumed such extraordinary abilities could only belong to someone of that caliber.
Their expressions grew complicated. The thought that this previously insignificant priest had risen to such heights filled them with jealousy and despair.
“As unfair as divine power is… isn’t this too unfair?!”
While the priests wallowed in their envy, Piote’s miraculous act briefly turned the tide of battle.
Screeeeeeeech!
The relentless assault of the Grexes faltered. Their numbers in the open spaces dwindled more quickly than they could be replenished.
And Kaor seized the opportunity without hesitation.
“Now is the time.”
The knights were already prepared for the charge. Though briefly startled by Piote’s miraculous power, the situation had turned in their favor.
Divine light coursed through the knights’ bodies as well, allowing them to focus all the mana they would normally use for defense into their legs.
“Let’s go!”
Kaor and over 400 knights leaped from the fortress.
The Fenris Knights’ charge was infamous for breaking through formations of thousands.
Though they lacked horses, the explosive mana emanating from their legs was more than enough to compensate.
Boom!
Screeeeech!
There was nothing capable of stopping them. The Grexes rushing toward them were obliterated, their bodies bursting apart as the knights advanced with their greatswords.
The knights did not look to the sides. Their sole focus was piercing through the red wall before them.
On the other side of the battlefield, Ghislain, Belinda, and Gillian found themselves in a similar situation to those at the fortress.
Ghislain’s eyes glowed a deeper crimson as he laughed.
“See? I told you Piote would pull it off.”
Belinda and Gillian, gripping their weapons tightly, chuckled as well.
“As expected, Young Lord, you had a plan all along.”
“I’ll take the lead, my Lord.”
The three had fully recovered their stamina, and though their mana had not replenished, they felt a strength beyond what they normally possessed.
Even the Grexes’ attacks couldn’t harm Belinda and Gillian. All they had to do was charge forward.
“Let’s move. This power won’t last forever,” Ghislain urged.
Boom!
Ghislain swung his sword, cutting through the wall of Grexes. Belinda and Gillian abandoned all defense, focusing solely on their offense, and joined him in breaking through.
Krrrrrshhh!
Screeeech!
It was as if the Grexes were surrounded, caught between Kaor’s knights advancing from the fortress and Ghislain’s group charging from the opposite direction.
The Grexes caught in the middle were ripped apart like paper. Even with reinforcements pouring into the battlefield, the relentless support from the fortress allowed the knights and Ghislain’s group to push steadily forward.
Finally, the two forces met.
Boom!
Ghislain launched the Grexes blocking his way into the air and grinned menacingly.
“These bastards! I told them to stay and defend the fortress!”
Kaor and the knights chuckled, their laughter tinged with mockery.
“We’re just like you, my Lord. We don’t follow orders very well.”
“Fine, but thanks to you, we’ll get through this faster. Let’s move!”
Ghislain, Gillian, and Kaor led the charge while the knights followed close behind. Belinda slipped into the middle of the group and sighed.
“Ugh, finally, a chance to rest.”
Boom!
The charge led by Ghislain and the Fenris Knights was nothing short of legendary, demonstrating power worthy of their reputation as the strongest in the north.
The Grexes couldn’t even cling to the knights properly, let alone halt their advance, as they were mercilessly cut down.
Meanwhile, the aggressive support fire from the fortress further eased their breakthrough.
“Stop the ones approaching from behind!”
Galbarik’s commanding voice echoed from the fortress walls as he directed the repositioning of catapults.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Boulders launched from the catapults targeted the Grexes trailing the knights, smashing them into oblivion. From the fortress’s watchtowers, a rain of arrows poured down, flanking the knights as they charged.
Thanks to this coordinated effort, Ghislain and the knights reached the fortress unharmed.
Cheers erupted from within the fortress, shaking the very air.
“The Lord is here!”
“Just a bit more, everyone!”
“Waaaaah!”
Amid the soldiers’ jubilant cries, Ghislain and the knights scaled the fortress walls. Using ropes that had been prepared in advance, they quickly climbed up with only a few steps of momentum.
Covered in blood and sweat, Ghislain beheaded a pursuing Grex as he yelled, “Anyone left behind?”
“None, my Lord!”
The knights responded robustly, spreading out to assist the soldiers without needing further instruction.
Ghislain’s return boosted the soldiers’ morale to its peak.
But the Grexes still swarmed the battlefield. Despite the relentless fighting, the red tide that shook the forest and ground showed no sign of abating.
The divine blessing Piote had invoked seemed to be fading, the light surrounding the soldiers growing dim and flickering weakly.
It was now time to unleash their prepared trump card.
“Vanessa!”
At Ghislain’s call, Vanessa, who had been conserving her energy, stepped forward.
Wuuuuuum!
An immense surge of mana began to press down on the area surrounding the fortress.