286 – I’m Not Alone Here. (4)
Harold looked rather haggard. He had been on edge these days because of Gillian.
But his gaze burned more intensely than ever.
“Ghislaine… Ghislaine… That damned punk finally appears before me.”
Harold’s feelings towards Ghislaine were no different. They both wanted to meet each other that badly.
To take each other’s heads off.
Clap. Clap.
A Knight of Penris approached the Desmond army, waving a white flag.
He quickly threw something and made a swift getaway.
The Desmond soldiers freaked out when they saw that ‘something’ rolling on the ground and immediately took it to Harold.
Harold squinted as he looked at what the soldier had brought.
“Baron Hutton…”
What the Knight of Penris had thrown was none other than the severed head of Baron Hutton. Even in his dying moment, he seemed lost in pure confusion.
Harold had already received word about Baron Hutton’s death from the soldiers chasing after him.
He had mentally prepared himself, but seeing his death directly stirred his rage anew.
“Ugh… Ghislaine! You bastard!”
The one who always disturbed his plans had appeared again and killed one of their top forces.
Although there were outstanding knights under Harold’s command, Baron Hutton was special among them. With his death, the Crown Prince Faction’s battles would become even more difficult.
He had made a mistake. He shouldn’t have sent the injured man to the pursuit team. He should have had him fight under the safe escort of allies.
Holding his head in frustration, Harold spoke with bloodshot eyes.
“Make sure that guy doesn’t escape, form the ranks properly.”
Stay calm. After all, the one he’s wanted to kill was right in front of him.
It’s a much better situation than attacking a castle. They just had to win this battle.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
As Desmond’s vast army surrounded the Penris army and slowly closed the distance, Gillian spoke urgently.
“My Lord! Get to safety first! You must escape now!”
“It’s going to be tough, isn’t it? If I get caught while running away, the damage will be worse!”
“I’ll hold them back! Please go back and prepare for defense! You, follow me! Just 100 of you!”
Gillian turned to his knights. However, all the knights looked indifferent.
“What are you all doing! Quickly escort the Lord…”
“Enough, Gillian. You want me to run away while others sacrifice themselves? Do you think we’re going to lose? I’m here now!”
“My Lord!”
Gillian shouted out of frustration. The Penris army is definitely strong. With Ghislaine leading 300 knights and the cavalry armed with Galbarium, they would unleash tremendous destructive power.
But they also had a clear weakness: their sustainability was poor. The more the knights drew from their armor’s strength, the faster their mana would exhaust.
“We know how strong we are. I’ve fought against that massive army myself. But after taking out about half of them, we will all be exhausted. You know that the biggest advantage of a large army is!”
“I can fight longer. Until that guy is dead.”
“But what good is it if you, My Lord, fight alone? Even if we win, we will suffer catastrophic losses!”
“Hmm, that’s a valid point.”
“So hurry and shield yourself and prepare for the defense! I will hold them back again!”
Gillian desperately realized why Belinda always nagged Ghislaine. He knew the Lord was fearless, but this was just too reckless.
However, Ghislaine still responded with an indifferent face.
“What does that even mean?”
“What?”
“I’m asking what it means to sacrifice Gillian and others so that I survive.”
“The Lord must live! You are not alone!”
“Hey, don’t say things that could be misunderstood. I’m still single.”
“My Lord! That’s not what I mean! You have more people to be responsible for and lead….”
Ghislaine cut off Gillian’s words.
“I don’t want to lose Gillian. Not just Gillian, but everyone else too.”
At those words, Gillian bit his lip, his eyes welling up.
That was truly a gracious statement. It was the highest praise one could hear from a loyal lord.
But this was not how it should be. Why were they trying to sacrifice themselves? Were they not stalling for time to save more people?
A leader of many must be cold-hearted. They need to take when necessary and let go when it’s required. That was the virtue of a ruler who leads people.
But Ghislaine continued as if she had no interest in such things.
“I always do my best to avoid losing my people.”
“My Lord….”
“There’s nothing to gain by losing someone, and there’s nothing I want by losing someone.”
Losing someone precious was Ghislaine’s greatest trauma. She had gone through enough in her previous life and felt enough pain.
That’s why she swore never to endure such things again and was fighting against the Duke faction.
“My sense of responsibility isn’t like that.”
It’s not about sacrificing someone to save many.
It’s about burning one’s own life force to protect and save more people.
That was the responsibility Ghislaine believed in.
“And I have no intention of being annihilated. Just like always, I will win with minimal damage.”
After finishing her words, Ghislaine mounted the Black King and raised her hand. She made it clear there would be no more debate.
“All troops, combat preparation.”
Clank! Clank! Clank!
The Knights of Penris and all the cavalry donned their helmets. They showed no fear even in front of Desmond’s vast army.
To be with their Lord was like a guarantee of victory for them now.
Gillian clenched his teeth and said, “Then I’ll fight again as well. Bring me my weapon! An axe or a spear, I don’t care!”
Then Gordon, standing next to him, poked Gillian in the chest.
“Ugh!”
“Hey, what do you think you can fight with that body? You’ll lose even to me. No, you’d lose to the chatterbox Chief Officer too!”
“Hahaha!”
The other knights laughed, holding their bellies. Seeing the fearsome Gillian in a weakened state was just too amusing for everyone.
“You guys! Cough, cough!”
Gillian got worked up and coughed up a mouthful of blood. He had truly reached his limit after fighting recklessly for so long.
Gordon, seeing him, panicked.
“Oh no! Our instructor is going to die at this rate. Take good care of him!”
In the end, Gillian was restrained by the medics, unable to move. Even if he wanted to shake them off, he had no strength left.
He could only stare blankly at Ghislaine, who had mounted the Black King.
Ghislaine could only stare.
As she watched Gillian, she smiled brightly and then issued her orders again.
“Everyone, get into formation and stand by.”
The back was empty, but if they fled that way, Desmond’s entire army would chase after them. Then they wouldn’t be able to win even the battles they could win.
Ghislaine had no intention of running away in the first place. She planned to end it all right here.
Calmly, she was waiting for the opportunity to come.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Desmond’s army came to a halt at a reasonable distance.
In situations like this, there’s usually one thing. It means they intend to inflict damage first with a ranged attack.
Indeed, powerful magic began gathering in front of Desmond’s formation.
Crackle!
The very fabric of space shook violently and twisted, soon bursting with light as small bolts of lightning began to leak out.
It was Willow, a 6th Circle Mage in Desmond’s army, casting the spell.
Seeing Ghislaine leading the charge, he decided to ambush her with magic. Knowing that area spells could weaken the guys in black armor, he prepared a quick and powerful spell targeting a single target.
“Cough, stupid fool. Looks like you don’t even know what’s about to happen.”
Willow wore a confident smile. His magic was now ready to pierce the enemy.
“Lightning Road.”
As he uttered the incantation, light exploded. Countless bolts of lightning crossed and shot out toward Ghislaine in an instant.
At that moment, a quiet voice rang from behind the Penris army.
“Reflect Shield.”
Simultaneously, a massive magic circle formed right in front of Ghislaine.
Boom!
The lightning was reflected straight back toward Desmond’s army.
The mage who had cast the spell, Willow, shouted in panic.
“Wh-what is this!”
Reflect Shield, while a 6th Circle spell, consumed an enormous amount of magic power.
To reflect a spell, you need far more magic power than what was cast, so one doesn’t use it lightly unless they’re overflowing with magic.
But that spell had been cast from Penris’s formation.
Willow frantically waved his remaining arm to dispel the magic. He could feel his magic power rushing out in a torrent.
‘A mage above me has arrived.’
Cold sweat trickled down his back. The fact that his magic was brushed aside so easily meant that it was someone who had reached at least 6th Circle Master level.
‘There’s such a mage in Penris? All the 6th Circle mages in this North have been accounted for!’
As far as he knew, there were no 6th Circle mages in Penris. It was widely known that Alfoy, the heir of the Tower of the Bloody Flame, was staying in Penris, but he was only 4th Circle.
‘A high-tier mage we don’t know about has appeared.’
Willow immediately reported to Harold. The large-scale magical attack Harold had been preparing made his eyebrows twitch.
If Willow’s words were true, their magical forces should be withdrawing to contain the opponent’s attack.
They were unaware that Vanessa had reached the 6th Circle. And that beside her, a mage was collapsing, foaming at the mouth due to drained magic power.
She had intentionally showcased powerful magic to throw the enemies into chaos. Thanks to that, Desmond’s mages were now restricted in their actions.
Without knowing the exact magical power of the opponent, they had no choice but to conserve their magic.
Grinding his teeth, Harold said, “Cease magical attacks for now. Approach slowly and tighten the encirclement. Make those guys tire out under the pressure.”
Desmond’s army started to shift little by little. Their movements resembled a hunter’s careful maneuvering to corner a beast.
It was like a group of hunters cautiously driving a wild beast.
This was one of the advantages that the army could take. An enemy outnumbered would immediately be unsure of which side to face.
If that tension lasted long, tremendous fatigue would build up in the body, even without fighting. In fact, when hunters capture a wild beast, they slowly drive it this way to achieve that effect.
Harold was an exceptional commander. Even though he led a grand army, he intended to kill Ghislaine slowly and surely.
“Archers, close the distance. Mages, prepare to attack again.”
The archers, hidden behind the spear soldiers, moved a little closer to the Penris Army. The mages, waiting in the main camp, slowly followed the soldiers and began to gather their magic power.
Once the order was given, they would endlessly bombard the Penris Army with arrows and magic until they were exhausted.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The gradually approaching Desmond’s Army and the waiting Penris Army exchanged tense glares.
Desmond’s Army knew all too well, from experiencing Gillian’s prowess firsthand, that the Penris Army could exhibit tremendous strength, so they couldn’t afford to be careless despite their numerical advantage.
The Penris Army trusted their lord, but having never faced such a grand army before, they found themselves increasingly weighed down by pressure.
Then, suddenly, Ghislaine opened his mouth as if he had just remembered something.
“Oh, I forgot to mention something to Gillian.”
Thud thud thud thud.
The sound of galloping hooves began to echo from afar.
Desmond’s Army glanced around at the sudden noise.
Thud thud thud thud!
The sound grew louder and louder. It was only then that Desmond’s Army spotted the approaching army on their right.
Bwooow!
The sound of a trumpet blared, capturing everyone’s attention. Harold, seeing it, muttered unintentionally.
“Kingdom Army?”
At the forefront was the royal flag fluttering — it was the Third Legion led by Viscount Clifton.
And trailing behind the Third Legion was a dazzling array of flags held by nobles.
It was the army of the noble alliance, led by Viscount Etherian, the victims of investment… no, the noble coalition.
Before Harold could even issue a command, a huge cheer erupted from somewhere.
“Waaah!”
He quickly turned his head toward the source of the sound. An army was charging in from the left as well.
“Is that… Perdium?”
Above that army, a flag with a white wolf was waving. The Perdium Army had appeared in tandem with the Kingdom Army.
Seeing the suddenly appearing armies, Ghislaine grinned.
“I didn’t come alone.”
In the rear, Gillian’s eyes widened as he alternated glancing at the newly arrived troops.
He had forgotten. Ghislaine wasn’t alone like before.
Now, there were people helping him.
Gillian had been with Ghislaine since he was ignored and had nothing. Suddenly, he felt a swell in his chest and his eyes reddened.
While Desmond’s Army was flustered, both sides surrounded Desmond.
Ghislaine looked at the scene, lowering his spear and said, “Let’s go.”
Clop, clop.
The Black King arrogantly lifted his head and walked slowly forward. In front of him, Desmond’s grand army stood majestically in formation.
Ghislaine grinned at them.
“From today onwards…”
No, perhaps even before the day ends.
“We shall be called the strongest of the North.”
It was a brief statement, but no further words were needed.
Hiiiiiing!
Letting out a long cry, the Black King began to charge toward the enemy.
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