Chapter 291
Chapter 291 – It Seems This Will End Now. (1)
A mage knight wielding mana exhibits a power that is of an entirely different dimension compared to regular cavalry. Especially if they are an elite knight serving a grand lord.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
From the rapidly advancing 50 royal guards, a momentum akin to a storm surged forth.
Desmond’s soldiers quickly dodged out of the way as the royal guards charged in. It seemed like they were already trained for such scenarios.
“Lord!”
“Captain!”
The knights of Penris were equally startled by the enemy’s momentum and attempted to charge forward. But Ghislaine shouted while lowering his spear.
“Don’t worry about me and keep pushing forward!”
Aside from Ghislaine’s immediate vicinity, the battlefield was still brimming with Desmond’s soldiers. They needed to kill just one more to make advancing easier.
His resolute tone made the Penris army focus solely on the enemies directly in front of them, disregarding Ghislaine.
Drudrudrudru!
The knights of Penris felt the burden of fatigue weighing down on them as the battle continued. There was no room to divide their attention now.
In times like this, they just needed to trust their lord and concentrate on their fight.
And that was grating on the nerves of the royal guards. Their leader, Rones, shouted with a face twisted with displeasure.
“How arrogant!”
They considered themselves Desmond’s elite knights. No matter how high-bar the Baron of Penris was, he couldn’t handle 50 warriors alone.
Yet, the thought of fighting alone seemed to them the epitome of arrogance.
Voom!
The royal guards began to vigorously draw up their mana. They intended to trample over Ghislaine.
Ghislaine rushed forward, kicking off from the Black King’s back.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Charging alone at 50 elite knights looked utterly reckless. All of Desmond’s soldiers were convinced Ghislaine wouldn’t last long.
However, that thought changed with the first strike.
Boom!
Rones at the front swung his halberd fiercely. Ghislaine lowered his head, dodging without losing speed, and charged forward.
Two other knights following Rones simultaneously swung their halberds at Ghislaine.
Bang!
The halberd they swung bounced off into the air. Ghislaine ignored them and continued moving forward.
Bang! Bang!
The royal guards trailing Rones swung their weapons one after another, but all failed to hit Ghislaine.
Ghislaine was too busy deflecting their halberds and advancing.
‘Just a little more.’
In mounted combat, missing an attack once makes it hard to attack again. When they had to turn their horses’ heads, the more pursuing opponents there were, the further they had to advance.
So, by the time the royal guards turned their horse heads, Ghislaine had already broken through and advanced further.
Seeing this, Rones’ face turned pale as he shouted.
“Block him!”
Hundreds of heavy infantry hurriedly split left and right to clear the path for the majestically appearing royal guards.
The soldiers that had been blocking the center in layers had already moved aside, trusting the royal guards and shifting position to attack the remaining Penris soldiers.
But with the royal guards unable to deal with Ghislaine, Desmond’s forces had essentially opened the path for Ghislaine themselves.
The soldiers realized this fact and hurriedly attempted to regroup, but Ghislaine was faster in arriving.
Bang!
“Ugh!”
With red eyes shining and teeth bared, Ghislaine once again unleashed his incredible strength.
The enemies, stacked in layers, could not stop him in such a disordered situation.
As the royal guards turned their horses’ heads to quickly pursue Ghislaine, they found themselves entangled with soldiers rushing in from the sides.
“Move aside! I said move!”
The soldiers, hearing Rones’ shout, tried to retreat, but with soldiers coming in from behind colliding with those trying to escape, the formation became even more chaotic.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Uwaaaaah!”
While the soldiers were in disarray, Ghislaine sent enemies flying in every direction as he pressed forward.
‘Just a little more.’
Bang! Bang!
Thud, thud, thud!
Ghislaine felt his bones twist. Now the core’s third stage had reached its limit.
He swallowed the blood boiling in his stomach and gritted his teeth.
‘Just a little more.’
The enemy’s defenses were thinning, and the royal guards were hastily following from behind. There would be no further opportunity like this.
Disregarding all but the enemies that rushed at him, he steadily moved forward.
Bang!
When he pierced through the last layer blocking the center,
Ghislaine finally laid eyes on his intended target.
“I found you.”
Not far away, an unusual formation of soldiers surrounded by heavy infantry and knights came into view.
Willow was looking up at the sky, grasping the rising mana from afar.
The energies that spiraled in the air, red and blue like mirages, grew heavy and dissipated repeatedly.
They seemed like energies that should not exist in this world, tearing through the space itself.
Willow chased the alien sensation that defied the world’s laws and waved his hands. This was magic, the world viewed by mages.
Though every wizard had a slightly different way of doing it, they all perceived mana by objectifying it.
By perceiving every change in mana and returning the warped laws to their original state, the world would find stability. Left unchecked, those strange energies would take shape.
Vanessa and Willow were each focusing on restraining the other.
‘It seems Vanessa is doing well.’
Seeing Willow concentrating solely on blocking magic and unable to pay attention to himself, Ghislaine wore a devilish grin.
As he drew up all the remaining mana, his spear was enveloped in a flickering red light.
Boom!
The soldiers who had been closely guarding Willow raised their shields forward.
Ghislaine charged forward while fending off the remaining assailants around him.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
As the Black King approached the formation, the shields suddenly parted, and dozens of spears shot out from within.
At that moment, Ghislaine grasped the reins tightly and turned his body sideways. The Black King mirrored his movements.
Thud, thud, thud!
As he shifted sideways, the Black King left long traces of hooves on the ground and stopped. Simultaneously, Ghislaine leaped off the saddle.
Swoosh!
The soldiers tracked him with their gazes, unconsciously lifting their heads. Before they could even react, Ghislaine did not hesitate to throw the spear, filled with mana, at Willow.
Wheeew!
The spear sliced through the air with a deafening sound at astonishing speed.
Willow was shocked when someone suddenly jumped into his line of sight, blocking his view.
‘What the!’
Willow had known all along that an enemy was drawing near with the intent to target him. Still, he had been focused solely on restraining the opposing wizard, trusting his allies.
But an enemy appearing so close meant he could no longer place his faith in his comrades.
He could not afford to use mana elsewhere. He didn’t know who the enemy wizard was, but their ability to control mana exceeded his own.
He was barely holding on when he should have been defeated long ago. Whether due to his allies or some other issue with the enemy side, the fluctuation in the enemy wizard’s mana had helped him endure.
If Willow released his concentration while barely holding on, the enemy wizard’s attack would surely follow.
But that was the same for Willow’s life.
“Shield!”
In the end, Willow diverted his mana to protect himself.
A solid orb of mana formed tightly around him.
Zing!
Bang!
In an instant, a tremendous explosion shook the surrounding ground. A cloud of dust rose around Willow, obscuring everyone’s sight.
Swoosh…
Once the dust cleared, everyone was left agape, unable to contain their shock.
“W-Willow is….”
“How did a 6th Circle Mage die all at once…?”
“This can’t be…”
With Willow’s head exploded and his body shaking a few times before collapsing, Ghislaine landed on the ground and slowly straightened his back, spitting out blood he had been holding inside.
By that point, the nearby enemies hadn’t made a single move. They simply could not believe what had just occurred.
Hiiiing!
Swoosh!
Taking advantage of the stunned enemies, the Black King leaped over them and landed before Ghislaine.
Ghislaine instantly mounted the Black King, grasping the reins, and used strands of mana to pick up the spear that had fallen to the ground.
“Phew…”
Ghislaine lowered the core opening stage to the second level. Maintaining the third stage any longer would risk his life.
The mana that had filled him was rapidly depleting, but he still wore a confident grin.
“It seems this will end now.”
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
While the royal guards closed the distance again, they rushed toward Ghislaine. Rones at the front, filled with rage, shouted.
“You coward! Do you still claim noble status?”
“I don’t care about that.”
“A valiant man wouldn’t act like this!”
“Is it honorable for 50 of you to rush one person?”
“You!”
Rones couldn’t contain his fury at Ghislaine’s taunting and swung his halberd with force.
Clang!
Ghislaine deflected the halberd and pierced the spear into the body of another royal guard who had come too close.
Thwack!
“Guh!”
Boom!
Then he swung the spear again, taking another royal guard’s head clean off.
Dancing alongside the Black King, Ghislaine laughed.
“You want to play, huh? Then I’ll indulge you. I’ll kill you all and head to Harold.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just as Ghislaine began his battle with the royal guards, Vanessa, who was restraining Willow, sensed a change in mana and her eyes lit up.
“The lord has succeeded.”
Though dozens of wizards remained nearby to restrain her, with Willow gone, their restraint held little significance.
Just as she was about to cast area magic again, Vanessa changed her mind. A large-scale area spell could deal great damage to Desmond’s army, but it could also harm her allies.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
She set her sights on Emerson’s cavalry, chasing after Penris’ archer cavalry.
“Fire Lance.”
As Vanessa softly incanted and waved her hands, dozens of blazing spears materialized in mid-air.
The flame spears struck Emerson’s cavalry.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The cavalry, who had just made a directional turn to fend off the archer cavalry, couldn’t evade the sudden attack and fell one after another. Horses and riders became entangled, and the previously orderly formation became a complete mess.
Thanks to Vanessa’s magic, the archer cavalry that had driven away Emerson returned to support Perdium and the kingdom army.
Vanessa then turned to Kaor and shouted.
“The lord has succeeded! We must move now!”
“Got it, let’s go! But hey, are you okay?”
The area under her nose was covered in blood. But Vanessa shouted as if it didn’t matter.
“Hurry!”
“Alright, alright. No need to be so harsh. You’re quite the fiery one, huh?”
Kaor quickly mounted his horse and had her climb on behind him. A few hunters also helped the remaining wizards onto their horses and moved out.
The rest of the hunters moved to deal with Emerson’s cavalry. Only about ten hunters remained to shift the fallen wizards to the rear.
Until now, the wizards had been too far apart due to mutual suppression on the battlefield. They needed to get closer to protect their allies more delicately while attacking their enemies.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Kaor and Vanessa raced toward Desmond’s main force. As she moved, the tide of battle began to turn completely.
As they closed the distance, she cast her spell toward where Desmond’s wizards were gathered.
“Explosion.”
Bang!
Fire magic of the 6th Circle exploded in various parts of Desmond’s formation. The wizards and soldiers caught at the center of the blast burst apart without even a scream.
A few wizards attempted to switch their target to Vanessa but to no avail. Some targeted Penris, while others aimed at Vanessa, causing their efforts to be disjointed.
Those at a lower circle than Vanessa could hardly hope to nullify her magic with only one or two of them.
Bang! Bang!
“Ugh!”
“Save me!”
“The enemy mage is approaching!”
Vanessa unleashed her magic without restraint. Despite vomiting blood from the lack of mana, she pressed on, replenishing her mana with the following wizards and continuing without rest.
Thanks to that, the rear line of Desmond’s wizards quickly crumbled.
The high-level knights were engaged with Ghislaine, and with Willow dead, no one could withstand the attack of a 6th Circle mage.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As spells detonated from all directions, Desmond’s forces, distracted and disoriented, struggled to fight back. The number of soldiers dodging increased.
As a result, the Penris army could easily push back the enemies.
Rones, fighting Ghislaine, sensed the situation and felt urgency grow within him.
“You bastard! Die!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
No matter how fierce the attacks were, the opponent did not die. This guy had already allowed several attacks, covered in blood. He should be able to kill him, but he couldn’t.
Instead, every time they showed an opening, Ghislaine kept taking one life after another. From the original 50 attackers, only about 30 remained.
Piying!
“Ugh!”
Just when it seemed an attack would succeed, a spear flew in from who-knows-where. The power behind the throw was insignificant, but it was enough to disrupt his concentration.
Ghislaine had repeatedly interrupted their attacks with this strange trick.
Clang!
As Ghislaine deflected the incoming halberd, he recognized the skills of the royal guards. Indeed, they weren’t opponents he could defeat with just the second stage core.
On top of that, Ghislaine was exhausted and drained from pushing through too forcefully. His only limit now was to avoid deadly blows and endure.
He was wounded all over. Had the impressive Black King not been around, he would have suffered even more.
Though he was steadily picking off enemies one by one, their combined techniques were formidable enough not to be dismissed.
At this rate, he might die before he could kill all the royal guards.
Yet he didn’t lose his smile.
“I’m not alone.”
Thwack!
As Ghislaine blocked another enemy attack.
Thwack!
“Gah!”
The rear guard of the royal guards that was attacking him began to collapse.
Just like Ghislaine, the battered knights of Penris arrived.
“Lord! Are you alright!”
“We’ll handle the rest!”
“Kill those bastards!”
They quickly mounted the horses ridden by the royal guards and swung their swords. The royal guards who had let their guard down because of Ghislaine fell, their necks severed or bodies pierced.
As the Penris knights surged in, Desmond’s royal guards had no choice but to face them.
Now, the tactical superiority had reversed. Though the Penris knights were worn-out, their numbers far surpassed the royal guards.
Rones ground his teeth and surveyed the area. Soldiers were continuously falling, and even the royal guards were entangled.
“Now it’s just you left.”
Ghislaine grinned as he brandished his spear. Rones no longer spoke, lunging his horse forward.
“Yah!”
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Rones raised his halberd high. He poured all his mana into the attack, even burning through his own life force.
He had to kill the opponent with this strike. Although the opponent was stronger, they were both wounded and exhausted. An attack that would usually fail might just succeed now.
If he could just kill him here, everything would end. Hence, he poured every last ounce of strength into this blow.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Ghislaine met his gaze and charged forward. The Black King also pursued with intensity.
As Ghislaine entered the attack zone, Rones shouted loudly while swinging his halberd.
“Die!”
Boom!
A fierce blow cut through the air towards Ghislaine. He instantly activated the third stage core.
Crack!
Suddenly, the explosion of mana twisted flesh and bone. Ghislaine gritted his teeth to endure the pain.
Lowering his posture, he thrust his spear forward.
Thwack!
Rones’ halberd narrowly missed Ghislaine’s head. Ghislaine’s spear pierced through Rones’ neck.
“Gurgle…”
Their horses brushed past each other in opposite directions.
Rones spat blood, slowly turning his head. He glared at Ghislaine with a pained expression.
If only he had a little more time.
If only the Penris mage had arrived just a moment later.
He could have killed that bastard and ended the war.
That was his last regret.
Thud.
Rones’ lifeless body slumped over his horse. Ghislaine turned and watched for a moment before lifting his head.
In the distance, at the rear command post, Harold sat.
Desmond’s remaining forces were occupied with Perdium and the kingdom army.
Now, there was no one left to stand in his way.
In this life, as in the last,
it was time to kill Harold.
“Harold—!”
Ghislaine’s shout resounded across the battlefield like thunder.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
The Black King began to gallop towards Count Harold Desmond.
