Chapter 372
Chapter 372: See You Again Soon. (2)
Roderick’s army completely forgot about the Penris army waiting at the castle gate, overwhelmed by Ghislaine’s momentum.
They had already thrown off their robes, spurring their horses and raising their spears.
Dudududududu!
Howard, who had been focused solely on Ghislaine, suddenly spotted them and shouted in a rush.
“Mounted troops, charge! Soldiers, hold them back!”
Four hundred cavalry prepared to charge with tremendous destructive power. Howard knew this well, which is why he yelled in urgency.
The soldiers, who had merely surrounded them and couldn’t interfere in Ghislaine’s battle, turned to face the threat.
However, they were already out of formation due to Ghislaine’s relentless attacks. The remnants of broken spears were still swirling around, making it hard to concentrate on one thing.
Zing!
The armor of the Penris knights sparkled, and blue mana began to envelop the spears they held.
They came barreling in before Roderick’s army could properly regain their formation.
Boom!
“Uwaaaah!”
In an instant, soldiers were cleaved apart, and a path was opened.
The Penris knights did not hold back their mana at all.
If the opposing numbers had been fewer, they might have distributed their strength and aimed for a prolonged battle, but the situation did not allow for such tactics.
To fight against overwhelming numbers, they needed to kill as many as possible at the outset.
Dudududududu!
Only after breaking halfway into the enemy ranks did the charge stop. Immediately, the Penris knights formed a circle and began to fight the surrounded soldiers.
Roderick’s soldiers gritted their teeth and tried to attack back.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
This was different from their fight against Ghislaine. While the knights were strong, there were instances where their weapons clashed against armor.
“Attacks are landing!”
“Gather quickly! Stab them!”
“Surround them! Tighter!”
The more the commanders shouted, the more soldiers rushed in.
The Penris knights killed countless soldiers in an instant. However, as soon as there was an opening, new soldiers filled the gaps.
“Wow, there’s really a lot of them.”
“I thought it would be fun to fight these past few days.”
“Stop the nonsense and focus already.”
Facing the endless tide of soldiers, the Penris knights were starting to feel overwhelmed. It was clear that if this continued, they’d tire out and collapse.
As the pressure increased, Gillian jumped off his horse, gripping the massive battle axe slung over his back with both hands.
Boom!
“Uwaaaah!”
With a single swing of the axe, several soldiers were cleaved in half. Gillian used all his mana to sweep a wide area clean.
“Tch, we can’t lose.”
Kaor also drew his twin swords and jumped off his horse.
Slash! Slash!
With precise strikes targeting vital spots, soldiers collapsed rapidly. But still, he felt slower than Gillian.
‘I should have brought something big.’
Kaor regretfully clicked his tongue for not bringing along a greatsword.
Still, thanks to the efforts of Gillian and Kaor, the attacks coming at the knights were significantly reduced.
They had been trained under Ghislaine and had countless life-and-death battles.
Their skills could now be considered on par with upper-echelon knights.
After observing the Penris knights fighting in the center of the enemy lines, Ghislaine tightened her grip on the reins of the Black King.
“Alright, I can hold out quite well. Let’s go!”
Boom!
The crimson mana from Ghislaine’s spear burned brighter and fiercer.
In an instant, one knight’s head flew off. Another knight, who swung his weapon to help a comrade, was easily dodged and blocked by Ghislaine.
Howard pointed at Ghislaine and shouted.
“Surround her properly!”
The knights gritted their teeth and tried hard, but they simply could not encircle her. The skill of Count Penris was formidable, but the movements of that black horse exceeded all expectations.
They needed to hold the reins with one hand to guide it, which caused them to respond a moment too late.
However, that insane horse was different. It seemed to know how to move just from its owner pressing down on its belly with a leg.
Boom! Boom!
Ghislaine and the Black King moved about the battlefield ceaselessly. Evasion and blocking attacks while throwing aside any soldiers that became a nuisance around her.
Pshh! Pshh! Pshh!
Roderick’s knights were forced to contend with the remains of flying spears even as they chased after Ghislaine.
She methodically began to sever the throats of her opponents.
Howard, who was chasing after her, could no longer contain his boiling rage and shouted.
“Uwaaaah! You son of a bitch! Fight me fair! I’m saying get in here! Can you still call yourself the Greatest Sword of the North!”
Every time Ghislaine noticed their direction change, she would attack immediately. Whenever Howard tried to capitalize on the openings to catch her, she would flee as if she hadn’t done anything.
After chasing her for a long time, just when it seemed he was about to catch her, something would come flying in from nowhere, disrupting his attack timing.
The blatant and cowardly attacks were driving him mad.
“What’s fair in war?”
With a sneer, Ghislaine once again severed the neck of the knight who had failed to properly redirect his path.
The soldiers approaching to surround her instinctively widened their distance the moment she moved.
One single person was ravaging and dominating all these soldiers. Howard’s urgency only grew stronger.
“Press harder!”
All of his knights stayed glued to Count Penris. Thanks to that, the soldiers’ losses weren’t too heavy, but the issue lay with the other soldiers fighting against the remaining Penris army.
“Uwaaaaah!”
“Why the hell are these guys so strong!”
“Don’t fall back! Keep pressing in!”
The soldiers’ screams and the commanders’ shouts echoed from all around.
With a single charge, the Penris knights had slain hundreds. They were still indiscriminately killing soldiers with their impressive skills.
Howard continually glanced from the Penris knights to Count Penris.
“I have to catch that bastard quickly…”
The casualties among the soldiers were growing. While they fought, they’d eventually tire out, but if the losses kept escalating, it would all be meaningless.
He thought about ignoring Count Penris and attacking the others first, but he couldn’t do that either. Leaving the master alone would lead to worse consequences. It didn’t make sense to ignore him.
Howard clenched his teeth. After all, the most important thing was the neck of Count Penris. Even if the sacrifices grew larger, just taking that neck would solve everything.
“Uwaaaah!kill that bastard quickly!”
Howard shouted with bloodshot eyes.
Currently, nearly a hundred of Roderick’s knights had gathered at this place. They had sent support from the House of Marquis and scraped together knights from surrounding territories.
The weight of the title of “master” was substantial.
“No matter how much of a master you are, you can’t kill this many by yourself! Keep pressing!”
Howard’s words were right. However, the opponent wasn’t moving as he wished.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Boom!
Ghislaine did not simply accept the knights’ attacks. Wisely dodging, she picked off one soldier at a time and then retreated. If the soldiers blocked her retreat, she sliced them down in a flash to carve out space.
Hiss!
Before he knew it, Ghislaine’s body was drenched in blood, and red steam wafted into the air.
‘Monster.’
That was the only thought that lingered in Howard’s mind.
Even as she fought like that, Count Penris was smiling, revealing his teeth. It was as if he was enjoying this battle.
‘So this is the power of a master…’
Count Penris was bending the battlefield to his whim. Roderick’s army, although they had a numerical advantage, was still being led around by their opponent.
Even when they wanted to finish it, the opponent wouldn’t fight them directly.
With every soldier that fell, the fear began to seep into everyone’s hearts like rain dampening clothes.
‘Now I understand why a master needs to be restrained.’
A powerful figure capable of holding back the master is necessary. Only then could the rest of the army move strategically.
However, that was also Howard’s delusion. If this army had belonged to Count Desmond, they would not have been so helplessly defeated.
And Ghislaine had yet to demonstrate the full extent of her master-level power.
Boom!
“Uwaaaaah!”
The battlefield was filled with the screams of Roderick’s army. The Penris knights quietly continued to slay their enemies.
Of course, they had not shown it, but they too were starting to grow weary. The number of opposing troops was far too great.
Gurgle.
Some knights forced back the bitter liquid and blood rising in their throats.
Having unleashed all their mana from the start granted them overwhelming power, but it also shortened its duration.
‘Is it still not time?’
The Penris knights swung their swords while anxiously suppressing their unease as they awaited news.
However, Howard, who did not know the situation of the Penris knights, made a decision under the weight of pressure.
“Everyone, spread out! Create space! Knights gather next to me and form ranks!”
Shhhhhh!
The soldiers, already reluctant to fight Ghislaine, happily took the chance to widen their formation.
Roderick’s knights also gathered next to Howard, resetting their stances.
“Go! You all encircle and capture her!”
Although Ghislaine had already killed over twenty knights in a short time, the surviving knights far outnumbered those lost.
They too realized that they could not catch her with ordinary means any longer.
Dudududududu!
Roderick’s knights poured forth their mana and kicked their horses forward. They were determined to encircle and capture her properly this time.
Ghislaine also smiled, twirling her spear as she moved forward to meet them. It was time to push herself even more.
Boom!
In the first clash, two knights were sliced in half along with their armor as they died.
Simultaneously, spears from other knights were hurled at Ghislaine.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ghislaine deflected every attack. However, the knights attempting to attack her passed by without landing a blow, and those following were quick to follow up with their own attacks.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ghislaine managed to block the attacks again. Seizing the momentary opening, she swiftly cut off the last knight’s head. In the meantime, the following knights fired their spears at her once more.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The knights attempted to engage her in this manner, continuously trying to attack as they passed by.
Since their cavalry skills were significantly inferior to Ghislaine’s, they relied on a more basic method of attack rather than maneuvering their horses while fighting.
“Not bad at all.”
Ghislaine smiled again. After all, even a lackadaisical army still had capable knights.
They were encircling her while simultaneously attempting attacks. This was a tactic knights used when facing numerous strong foes.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ghislaine, surrounded by knights, swung her spear without pause, parrying strikes and systematically cutting them down one by one.
Seeing this, Howard clenched his fists and shouted.
“Yes! Keep it up! You’ll tire out soon enough! The master is still human!”
Although they had been hurriedly summoned, the knights were still knights. There seemed to be an unusually better coordination among them today.
When facing such a superior being, the soldiers were mostly useless aside from taking roles where they couldn’t exhaust themselves. They should have taken that step long ago.
As Roderick’s knights circled around Ghislaine and attacked, a sudden, thunderous cheer erupted from all directions.
“Waaaaaaah!”
Howard was startled, looking around in confusion. He had been so focused on fighting with Count Penris that he had failed to grasp the battlefield properly.
“What, what is that army!”
An army bearing the Penris banner had them surrounded.
“I thought only a small raiding party from Penris had come…”
At a glance, there seemed to be thousands. There was no way such a number could arrive here without leaving a trace.
Howard scrutinized the attire of the Penris reinforcements. While they all rode horses, their clothing and weapons varied widely. They were anything but a regular army.
“No way…”
He had heard rumors about hundreds of mercenaries following Count Penris in search of wealth from various territories. However, capturing Count Penris had been his priority, so he hadn’t bothered to address the mercenaries.
Now that he thought about it, there hadn’t been any troops to stop those mercenaries from moving in their routes.
“Are, are all the mercenaries gathering together? Have they come in such numbers? How did they make it here…”
Having abandoned territories stripped by Ghislaine, they could hardly have gathered proper intelligence. Ultimately, it was the arrogance of the House of Marquis Roderick and the lords of the west that had brought about this result, but Howard had no way of knowing.
While he was taken aback, Dominic, who was leading the mercenaries, shouted loudly.
“Let’s go! Save the captain!”
“Waaaaaaah!”
The mercenaries cheered as they spurred their horses forward. To them, Ghislaine was not a lord; she was the captain.
Hearing the mercenaries’ shouts, the Penris knights laughed.
“They’ve finally arrived.”
A feeling of relief washed over them. They were already wearing down from having to face so many enemies.
Ghislaine, who had been fighting Roderick’s knights alongside the Black King, also smiled.
“Shall we start using our full strength now?”
Snap!
Ghislaine’s eyes gleamed as she blocked an incoming knight’s attack.
Gwooooooo!
Crimson magical energy began to materialize like threads flowing out from her body.
The mana encompassing Ghislaine soon enveloped even the Black King.
“What, what is that…”
Howard swallowed hard as instinctual terror gripped him. It felt as though the energy controlling the surroundings made it hard to even breathe.
Count Penris and the horse were wrapped in undulating crimson energy, appearing like shadows. Only their eyes emanated a red glow.
In the face of such an intimidating sight, Roderick’s knights froze momentarily, ceasing their attacks.
Howard realized that his previous contemplation was fundamentally mistaken. This was beyond simply monstrous.
“A demon…”
Count Penris was the very embodiment of a demon appearing on the battlefield.
As if pronouncing death upon everyone, that demon spoke.
“Let’s begin.”
Boom!
