Chapter 585
Chapter 585: Destroy the Enemy (2)
With an explosive sound, arrows began ruthlessly piercing through the Army of Atrode. Anyone in the path of the arrows was torn apart and met their demise.
“Uwaaaah!”
“What the heck! Who’s that?”
“Behind! An enemy has appeared from behind!”
Everyone was startled and turned around.
One arrow showcased an unbelievable power. The Army of Atrode, already awestruck by Jerome’s magic, was left disoriented by the continuous bizarre phenomena.
Even Ghislaine, who displayed such power, wasn’t doing so well. He clutched his forehead, staggering, and blood was trickling from his nose.
“Ugh, I’m struggling. I’m so dizzy.”
After just two attacks, he was exhausted. The newly acquired power was still difficult to handle.
He was already in a battered and tired state from fighting Aiden. It wasn’t a situation where he could muster the strength of will.
But to divert the enemy’s attention towards himself, he had no choice but to push himself.
Count Bifenbelt turned around and furrowed his brow.
“Duke of Penris.”
It wasn’t clear, but it was obvious. There were very few people who could display such power.
It was even harder to identify him since he was riding a black horse.
“Really fearless, aren’t you?”
The corners of Count Bifenbelt’s mouth twisted. What kind of place did he think this was, showing up alone like that? He must have hurried here, knowing the fortress was in danger.
He immediately reached out towards the rear.
“Kill that one first!”
Killing the Duke of Penris would mean victory in the war. This was the opportunity with him alone showing up.
Slash!
The Army of Atrode, rushing towards the fortress, quickly turned their bodies. The same went for the high-ranking knights.
“Kill him!”
“Killing that one would mean the war is practically over!”
“Waaaaah!”
Almost half of the Army of Atrode moved. This was how important Ghislaine was as prey.
Seeing the approaching Army of Atrode, Ghislaine laughed.
No matter how skilled he was, he couldn’t take on that number of people with the little strength he had left. But he didn’t concern himself much.
“Everyone needs to train more. You should be running faster. Tsk tsk.”
Ghislaine clicked his tongue and looked back. A cloud of dust was beginning to rise gradually.
The Army of Atrode, charging towards Ghislaine, soon had to pause.
Dududududu!
A long line of troops stretched across the horizon.
It was easy to tell what kind of army that was.
At the forefront stood the Knights of Penris clad in black armor. Behind them appeared an army nearing twenty thousand.
The momentum of the cavalry, exuding a fierce aura, was overwhelming. The sound of hooves thundered like a storm, and the ground seemed to tremble in response.
Ghislaine smiled as he looked back. The sight unfolding behind him was enough to crush the enemy’s morale.
The Army of Atrode began to feel a surge of tension from the suddenly appearing masses.
“The Ruthania Army.”
“It’s the Duke of Penris’s Mobile Army.”
“They’ve already arrived…!”
The Mobile Army of Penris was well-renowned. No matter how elite Atrode’s army was, facing them head-on was not guaranteed to be a victory.
Moreover, the priests were currently drained, and the fortress still had troops left. The Army of Atrode could absolutely not withstand the combined force from both sides.
The tide of battle turned instantly. Those who had been fiercely attacking the fortress had now found themselves surrounded from the front and back.
The troops of the fortress responded differently from the Army of Atrode.
Marquis Gideon lowered his sword with trembling eyes.
“They’re here… The Ruthania Army has arrived.”
Simultaneously, a tremendous roar erupted from the fortress.
“Waaaaaah!”
“It’s the Mobile Army of Penris!”
“His Grace has arrived!”
Every soldier shouted madly, unable to contain themselves. It was understandable, having risen from the brink of death.
Tears of joy streamed down the faces of soldiers who saw hope at the edge of despair.
Marquis Gideon seized this opportunity.
“Shout louder! More! Shout even louder!”
“Waaaaah!”
“We’ve won!”
“The Goddess’s blessing is with us!”
Even though the outcome of the battle had yet to be determined, they reveled in the victory as if they had already claimed it.
Their shouts echoed across the battlefield, boosting the morale of their allies.
As the cheers of the fortress troops grew louder, the morale of the Army of Atrode rapidly diminished. Their once confident strides began to slow.
In an instant, the atmosphere of the battlefield had shifted.
“Raise the flag!”
The fortress troops held aloft the flags of victory in response to Marquis Gideon’s command. Their spirit already engulfed the battlefield.
The advancing Army of Atrode found themselves retreating towards their formation.
Count Bifenbelt withdrew his forces.
He narrowed his eyes, grinding his teeth.
“What are these fools…”
Was the Duke of Penris this significant?
Despite having not yet clashed steel, the direction of victory seemed to have already been decided.
Morale in battle is incredibly important. And yet, the atmosphere shifted before even the fighting began.
The cheers of the fortress troops became an intangible weapon that pierced the hearts of the Army of Atrode.
The certainty of victory they displayed gradually chipped away at the fighting spirit of the Army of Atrode.
Tap, tap.
Ghislaine and the Mobile Army did not charge forward as they usually did.
Upon arrival, they slowed down and then halted their march.
Now the Army of Atrode was completely surrounded. If they tried to face the Mobile Army, the fortress troops would rush out.
Gathros grabbed Count Bifenbelt in a panic.
“W-what should we do?”
“……”
“Speak, quickly!”
If they fought like this, they would surely lose. The priests had all but exhausted their strength.
If there was any hope left, it was that the Duke of Penris, known for his boldness, had yet to move.
He felt like he understood what the other side was targeting.
Count Bifenbelt slowly opened his mouth.
“You must wait.”
“Wait for what?”
“I’ve already sent a messenger to another corps. If they stop their operation and rush here, we can surround them in turn.”
“What if they attack before that?”
“They seem to be waiting for their allies as well, so we will wait together.”
Both sides glaring at each other maintained a taut tension in the air.
The Duke of Penris was undoubtedly waiting for his allies, wanting to minimize losses. The outcome depended on which side arrived first.
Gathros exploded in frustration.
“Jerome! That guy ruined everything! How can we be this unlucky!”
If it hadn’t been for Jerome, they would have arrived and captured the fortress long ago.
Even if they couldn’t capture the fortress right now, it wouldn’t have mattered. They could have pooled the priests’ strength to face the Duke of Penris.
But thanks to Jerome, they couldn’t capture the fortress, and they had used up all their trump cards.
Count Bifenbelt shook his head.
“It’s not about luck.”
“What?”
“That mage has been continuously obstructing us from the start. That was the strategy all along.”
And that strategy was likely devised by the Duke of Penris.
Speed was crucial in war. The Duke of Penris was moving quickly while simultaneously entangling their own feet.
As a result, they had fallen behind by a narrow margin.
“There’s still a chance. The fact that the Duke of Penris has shown up means he has been dealing with the Third Corps alone. The Second and Fourth Corps are still remaining. If they arrive first, we will claim victory.”
“Hmmmm……”
“You must recover the priests’ energy as quickly as possible. Only the final showdown remains.”
“Understood.”
Gathros nodded. Though it wouldn’t be easy to recover quickly, he needed to rest even just a little.
Gathros and the priests struggled to create a small magic circle. They aimed to absorb the energy of those who had died here.
But the absorbed energy was less than they had hoped. The energy from the dead was almost non-existent because they relied on the energy produced from killing the living.
Still, they had to recover their energy, so they flailed about in desperation.
As Count Bifenbelt had guessed, Ghislaine did not move. He merely stood heavy-footed, pressing the Army of Atrode.
However, he did send Dark off with Vanessa to keep an eye on Jerome.
As Dark flew off carrying Vanessa, he asked,
“Isn’t the real master super annoying?”
“……”
“Always making me do chores. Can’t I be asked to do something more great?”
“……”
“Is it real that the master uses me like this? Wouldn’t it be better to just pour all the master’s mana into me, and I could grow really huge and just sweep everything away? The master could just lay around easy, while I’d be smashing everything. Why isn’t that happening? It’s really stingy. So stingy……”
Dark gazed at the now-massive Gathros with admiration. If he monopolized Ghislaine’s mana, it seemed he could grow fairly large, if not to that extent.
Of course, his battle sense was a mess, and he wouldn’t be able to unleash half of that power, but he just wanted to grow.
“……”
Vanessa remained silent. Her experiences had taught her not to engage recklessly with Dark.
“Wanna run away together? With your skills, you could probably help me get my consciousness away from the master, right?”
“……”
“Ugh, should I ask Yulien instead?”
“……”
“Why do women always refuse to answer? Why do they always say they’re busy? All women seem to be like that. Is it embarrassment?”
Vanessa wanted to speak the truth but held back with superhuman patience.
The Army of Atrode also saw Vanessa flying across the sky but didn’t interfere. They didn’t want to provoke a battle at this moment.
Thus, the battle entered a lull. Both sides were clearly waiting for reinforcements.
It was a brief moment to regroup. The troops of the fortress took a breather and focused on healing Jerome together with Vanessa.
The Mobile Army of Penris, which had persisted so far, was finally granted an uncomfortable respite.
The Army of Atrode rested too, but they couldn’t do so comfortably. With enemies on both sides, it was a situation where a battle could break out at any moment.
Both sides remained tense, and a day passed. The priests, having restored some energy, anxiously awaited their allies.
And finally.
From one side, a troop appeared.
“Waaaaaaah!”
The fortress troops cheered loudly. The newcomers were the Ruthania Army led by Gillian.
Beside them, Kaor was shouting.
“Shivaah! I’m a superhuman now!”
Belinda shyly covered her face, distancing herself slightly from Kaor.
The Army of Atrode wore expressions of utter shock. The enemies had actually increased.
Now it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that their chances of winning were entirely gone. Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, tense.
Gathros asked Count Bifenbelt.
“W-what should we do? Isn’t there more enemies now?”
The edges of Count Bifenbelt’s eyes twitched. In this situation, no matter how cunning the tactic, they wouldn’t be able to win.
Yet, the Duke of Penris did not move. The newly arrived troops also remained on standby.
‘Are they planning to completely stomp us out?’
They intended to wipe them out while pinning them on all sides. It was overtly obvious.
Creak.
Count Bifenbelt chewed his teeth, pondering whether to escape through their breached side.
‘Impossible.’
It was pointless. The enemies were those who would compete for speed on the continent. Moreover, they had taken a rest.
Even if they tried to flee, most of them would be captured and die.
There was only one remaining hope.
That while the enemies were still waiting, their allies would arrive.
Count Bifenbelt held onto that hope and patiently waited.
But.
“Waaaaaah!”
The cheers grew even louder. From the opposite side of the army led by Gillian, the Ruthania Army led by Tenant and Parniel appeared.
With that, the Army of Atrode had been completely surrounded.
Boom!
Parniel grinned menacingly as she stepped forward.
“Looks like there are many to kill today.”
Bright light began to emanate from her mace. At the same time, the Ruthania Army led by Tenant took combat readiness.
As if the light of the Saint was the signal, the Ruthania Army led by Gillian also prepared to charge.
The troops of the fortress gathered in front of the castle gate. Without anyone saying a word, they all knew what they had to do.
Ghislaine slowly brandished his spear. All eyes were glued to his movement.
“All troops…”
Heeeeee!
With a sharp cry, the Black King began to charge.
Red light blossomed from the tip of Ghislaine’s spear, quickly enveloping the entire spear.
Ghislaine’s voice resonated low and deep enough for everyone on the battlefield to hear clearly.
“Annihilate the enemy.”
With that one command, the vibrations that shook the very earth began.
