Chapter 371
Chapter 371: See You Soon. (1)
A man emerged from the open castle gate, riding a black horse and holding a spear.
Behind him followed 400 figures, each carrying a wooden box on their backs.
Seeing this, Howard sneered.
“So, you finally couldn’t hold out any longer. You’ve lasted quite a while, but you must have eaten everything you could….”
As Howard spoke, he suddenly realized something was off and his expression stiffened.
“Are there still horses left?”
It had been nearly two months since they had besieged the enemies holed up in the foodless fortress. Naturally, the horses should have been consumed by now.
No matter how frugally they ate, with 400 men to feed, they should have run out of horses in about half a month.
Yet everyone was still mounted. What on earth could they be eating to last this long without eating the horses?
“What’s going on? Why do they all look fine?”
The aura and atmosphere they exuded did not resemble those of starving people. Even from a distance, Howard could see that the enemies didn’t look worn out.
The horses also appeared to be in good condition. They seemed a bit lean, but they were still energetic enough to kick up their hooves.
As Howard observed, the Knights of Penris did not seem fatigued at all.
Their nerves were just extremely sharp.
“Ah… that damn powder must have caused muscle loss,” muttered Gordon, who had lost a bit of weight and was now looking more slender, nodding along with Lucas next to him.
“Let’s take out our frustration on those bastards. Anyway, I’m not feeling great,” Gordon and Lucas complained, both having tasted battle food during the wager with Claude and Ghislaine. Not just them, but other knights felt the same.
They had sustained themselves with Ghislaine’s combat food for the last two months. Since they always carried a few containers of powder each, enduring was not a problem.
It was just that the time spent was excruciatingly boring and frustrating.
While they hadn’t physically weakened much, the constant craving for real food had become an obsession in their minds.
Ghislaine looked back at those knights and smiled.
“Today, let’s push those guys aside and take their food for ourselves.”
At those words, the knights licked their lips. They remembered how much they had enjoyed the good food while raiding other castles.
No matter how small the territory, it was a wealthy one from the West. There must be quite a bit of food to feed that many people, including meat.
Ghislaine slowly led her horse forward.
“Alright, while those guys are still dazed, let’s get started quickly. When I give the signal, charge.”
“Understood!”
The knights shouted robustly and threw their wooden boxes to the ground.
As the boxes shattered, spears poured out like rain.
Gwoooohhh…
As Ghislaine steadily rode past, the spears began to rise one by one.
The Black King’s running speed increased. Before long, hundreds of spears were rising, following him like an army.
Howard and the Roderick Army were aghast at the sight.
“W-what is that?!”
“The spears are flying after him!”
“Is he really a mage?”
It’s logically deduced that the one controlling the spears was Count Penris. Before they could deal with him, there was no way to stop those spears.
But he was rumored to be a master. Killing him wouldn’t be easy.
As he spotted the approaching Ghislaine, Howard shouted loudly.
“Don’t be afraid! No matter how much of a master he is, he must be weakened after nearly two months without food! Form battle lines!”
The infantry at the front readied their spears, and the cavalry on either side slowly moved their horses to charge at any moment.
Meanwhile, the archers drew their bows towards Ghislaine’s approaching figure.
It was a 1 vs 20,000 situation.
This was an unprecedented sight in the history of the kingdom. Despite thinking it was absurd, the people remained tense.
“Fire!”
Paaaah!
As the commanders gauged the distance, thousands of arrows showered toward Ghislaine.
But as Ghislaine shook the reins once—
Dududududu!
The Black King picked up speed, bypassing the rain of arrows in an instant.
Seeing this, Howard shouted with a stiff expression.
“Block them!”
“Waaahhh!”
The infantry surged forward with cries. The cavalry on the sides did the same.
At the same time, the spears trailing behind Ghislaine spread out quickly like rays of light above her head.
Papapapapapack!
“Uaaaahhh!”
Hundreds of spears pierced through the approaching soldiers.
That wasn’t the end.
“Wh-What? The spears are moving!”
Like ghosts, the spears began to attack the soldiers on their own.
As Ghislaine’s mana increased, the number of moving spears grew, and their duration extended.
Right now, Ghislaine was fighting with hundreds of spear-wielding soldiers. And those were immortal soldiers who would not get injured as long as her mana allowed.
Pachak! Pachak! Pachak!
“Uaaagh! What do we do about this?!”
The soldiers struggling against the spears began to panic. Even if they tried to counter-attack, they had no target, so they could only barely defend or dodge.
Experienced soldiers and knights deflected or shattered some spears, but most of the ordinary soldiers were unable to do so.
While the entire formation fell into chaos—
The Black King arrived right in front of them.
“Let’s have some fun this time.”
Hiiiiiing!
Ghislaine grinned, her red eyes shining, as the Black King responded with a long whinny.
In an instant, the distance closed as the Black King lunged into the soldiers.
Kwaaaang!
“Uaaahhh!”
As the Black King leaped among the soldiers, Ghislaine swung her spear around.
It looked like a wild swing without any rules, but each time her spear swept, dozens of heads would roll.
Peurgh! Peurgh! Peurperperpuhk!
Ghislaine’s spear grew faster. The soldiers couldn’t even attempt to block it.
The number of soldiers approaching Ghislaine dwindled rapidly. Everyone was too busy retreating.
Though they outnumbered her, the Roderick Army had no real combat experience and their training was mediocre, making them no different from armed civilians.
Howard, watching Ghislaine fight, was left in shock, muttering.
“This… this is unbelievable… She must have been starving for so long…”
Seeing such wondrous skill after being starved for so long, he found it hard to believe. Was this truly the power of a superhuman?
In truth, Howard didn’t know that the Knights of Penris hadn’t actually gone hungry, which is why he couldn’t comprehend the situation.
Flustered, he finally regained his senses and began shouting.
“Don’t dodge! The more you dodge, the worse it gets! Knights, quickly deal with those spears first!”
The soldiers could not contend with those flying spears. Even though it was merely a simple thrust, it probably felt like fighting a ghost for the ordinary soldiers.
Following Howard’s shout, knights began to emerge from everywhere to attack the spears first.
The soldiers gritted their teeth and attempted to encircle Ghislaine again, but they were devastated as they tried to regroup.
Kwaang! Kwaaaang!
Just brushing against a spear filled with crimson mana would tear their bodies apart or smash their heads.
Sometimes, the blades didn’t even need to reach them before their heads were severed.
At that moment, the soldiers finally understood the fear behind the name of a master.
“A monster!”
“We can’t even get close!”
“We need the knights!”
Fear gripped the soldiers. The one glaring with glowing red eyes while slaying their allies was just too terrifying.
A few soldiers even tried to prostrate themselves to take down a horse, but that proved futile as well.
Peurgh! Peurgh!
“Uuugh!”
Hiiiiiing!
The horse wasn’t just any ordinary steed. It was wildly thrashing about, making accurate attacks impossible.
Even if they succeeded in attacking, it would only barely graze by. That wasn’t enough to injure that solid muscle.
In fact, the soldiers getting too close to the horse were the first to perish.
“This… this is the strongest in the North… Count Penris…”
Someone murmured as they stepped back.
Fear spreads like a disease. While the knights were caught up with hundreds of spears, the ordinary soldiers were completely overwhelmed by Ghislaine, unable to summon the courage to charge.
Seeing this, Howard held his head in despair and shouted.
“Attack! You fools! Can you still call yourselves the strongest army in the West?”
To be overwhelmed by one person with 20,000 soldiers was an absurd phenomenon.
As the soldiers close to Ghislaine hurriedly retreated, those behind them dared not move forward.
“Keep charging! If you keep charging and draining his energy, we can win!”
A master isn’t invincible. If everyone rushed him together, they could tire him out.
No, they could surely kill him.
To do that, they had to continuously charge forward and drain his strength. But the soldiers lacked the resolve and determination to do so.
Most were already far from loyal and felt no sense of mission about fighting.
Moreover, there was no one to lead the soldiers or boost their morale from the front.
“Ugh… I should have brought more heavy infantry…”
He should have wrapped them up with shields and gradually drained the enemy’s strength.
Heavy infantry were suited for battling strong foes. Their class naturally specializes in defense and they had undergone rigorous training, thus having a mental fortitude stronger than that of average infantry.
However, he hadn’t brought proper heavy infantry since they were in a hurry to gather the army.
“All knights, focus on Count Penris!”
Howard ground his teeth and shouted. Fortunately, most of the knights had already halved their spears and had charged towards Ghislaine in haste.
Vwoom!
As the knights approached, Ghislaine’s demeanor changed.
“Should I exert a little more effort?”
Given that the enemy numbered 20,000, she had been conserving her strength during the battle. She couldn’t afford to fall in a fight.
But when facing knights, the story was different. Ghislaine smiled and drew more mana. She was curious to see what the western knights could do.
Ka-gagagag!
“Oh, fair enough?”
Some lost their heads immediately, but a few managed to block Ghislaine’s spear.
Although they had a lack of real combat experience, knights who had been well-fed and well-supported were indeed exceptional.
“Having money is really great.”
Some had to endure hellish training while others could simply resolve everything with money. Where else could you find such unfairness?
Yet Ghislaine simply chuckled and swayed. After all, all that money from the West would eventually end up in her hands.
Peurgh! Peurgh! Peurgh!
“Ugggh! What the hell!”
The knights who had clung to Ghislaine jumped back in surprise, widening the distance.
This was because the remnants of the spears they had just halved began to rise again and attack in all directions.
The knights were mistaken, not realizing Ghislaine’s true abilities.
Although it appeared as though the spears were moving of their own accord, it was merely Ghislaine using her mana to manipulate them.
Even severing them would only change their length; as long as there was enough mana, they could continue to move.
Thus, the remnants of the spears swept the area again. While their lethality decreased significantly, it prevented the enemies from focusing properly on Ghislaine.
Peurgh! Peurgh! Peurgh!
Ghislaine led the melee, creating chaos around her. This was necessary for her to steer the flow of battle in her desired direction.
Howard gritted his teeth at the sight.
“What a monster.”
He had never seen anyone reach the level of a master before. He had heard of how impressive masters were, but witnessing their movements and strength was beyond imagination.
Moreover, because of that strange technique, neither the soldiers nor the knights could properly concentrate.
“It’s as if she’s a one-person army.”
That’s why knights existed to counter such beings. The strong must face the strong.
In the end, as the commander of this army and its best fighter, he had no choice but to step forward.
“Clear the way!”
Howard spurred his mount and charged forward alongside the guard knights.
As he approached Ghislaine, he shouted loudly, swinging his spear fiercely.
“Count Penris!”
Kaaang!
The clash of mana sent powerful waves rippling out.
The eyes of the two met. Ghislaine smiled slightly and asked,
“Are you the overall commander?”
“That’s right. I’m going to—”
Pachak!
Before Howard could finish, Ghislaine swiftly sliced through his spear. Then she immediately aimed her spear down at his head.
Instinctively realizing that he couldn’t block the second attack after being thrown off balance by the first, Howard was fortunate that the guard knights flanking him quickly raised their halberds. The two halberds crossed over to block Ghislaine’s spear.
Paaaah!
The halberds shattered instantly, but the knights promptly pulled out spare spears from their saddles.
Taking advantage of that moment, other knights targeted the Black King’s legs this time.
“Not bad?”
Ghislaine had no choice but to grab the reins of the Black King and pull back.
Seeing this, Howard shouted.
“Knights, aim for the horse! Guard knights, engage with Count Penris!”
Every knight on the battlefield charged towards Ghislaine and the Black King.
No matter how exceptional the Black King was, it could not fend off the combined assault of the knights.
Ghislaine smirked, batting down the knights’ attacks as she slowly retreated. The soldiers couldn’t even muster the courage to intrude and were too busy dodging.
While retreating, Ghislaine tapped the Black King’s neck playfully and said,
“Beans, you really need to learn a mana circulation method or something later.”
Prrr…
The Black King didn’t understand what Ghislaine was saying and just snorted. He appeared to be excited, galloping on the battlefield.
Ghislaine chuckled loudly.
“Attack!”
Her thunderous shout reverberated across the battlefield.
