289 – Charge Through! (3)
“UAAAAAGH!”
With a charge like a beam of light, Ghislaine’s assault sent Desmond’s spearmen tumbling down.
KWA-BOOM!
The subsequent charge from the knights and cavalry was no less fierce than Ghislaine’s assault.
The disarrayed formation couldn’t hold back the cavalry charge at all. Desmond’s formation collapsed in an instant.
When the formation breaks, the command structure crumbles as well. Desmond’s army was thrown into confusion and couldn’t even respond properly.
Shouts from commanders echoed everywhere.
“Block them!”
“Attack the enemies right in front of you first!”
“There are more of us!”
Years of trained movements were instinctive. Even though the formation was broken, Desmond’s army instinctively gathered and attacked the enemies in front of them.
“That guy is the lord! The one on the black horse!”
As someone shouted, Desmond’s soldiers rushed to pull Ghislaine down. But it was futile.
With every swing of Ghislaine’s spear and his gleaming red eyes, the approaching soldiers of Desmond had their heads severed.
A few soldiers tried to attack the horse, but they witnessed an unthinkable sight for the first time.
Brrrr!
The Black King, with a fierce gaze, began to thrash about wildly.
When weapons flew, he would jump to dodge, and when an enemy approached, he would kick them away with his hind legs. He fought madly without caring whether his rider was on him or not.
Then Ghislaine also loosened the reins on the Black King and swung his spear. Both were eager to kill the enemies first.
It was a match made in chaos with both rider and horse acting on their own!
PUUACK! PUACK! THUD!
“UAAAAAGH! What the heck is this horse?!”
“It’s too fast! I can’t even see the spear!”
“Dodge! Don’t get close!”
Desmond’s army was disoriented. The erratic movements of the horse and its rider made it impossible to gauge their actions.
If they thought they saw an opening and lunged in, their heads would go flying in an instant.
PUUACK! THUD! THUD!
Every thud echoed as the heads of Desmond’s soldiers flew in all directions.
The knights following Ghislaine also unleashed their mana without holding back.
Once the power of the armor activated, fighting from atop the horse was a disadvantage. The knights began to leap off their mounts.
Especially Gordon, who voiced loudly as he dismounted.
“Today, we’re going for lower bodies!”
KWA-BOOM!
Mana coursed through his legs as they stretched out. Other knights pulled out their weapons and pressed into Desmond’s ranks.
“It’s those guys in black armor!”
“There are more of them than before!”
“We can’t give them a chance!”
Seeing the knights in black armor, Desmond’s army screamed as if they had entered a battle.
After all, they had been shaken to their core by Gillian and the knights, experiencing their power firsthand.
KWA-BOOM! KWA-BOOM! KWA-BOOM!
The power unleashed by the fully activated knights’ armor was truly awe-inspiring. In an instant, hundreds of Desmond’s soldiers fell.
Heavy infantry, finally snapping back to reality, rushed in to push back the Penris army.
Even Desmond’s elite knights began to intervene, trying to block the Penris knights.
Although the Penris army had broken through the front line in a short time, their lesser numbers meant their explosive power was starting to wane.
At that moment, Ghislaine gripped the reins of the Black King tightly and shouted.
“Move aside!”
As soon as the command was heard, the knights and soldiers of Penris moved aside without looking back.
SWISH!
In an instant, a path like the splitting of the sea was created.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The Black King, carrying Ghislaine, charged forward without hesitation.
Ghislaine lowered his spear and opened the third stage of his core again.
He opened the third stage of the core again.
Dudududud!
His eyes grew even redder.
The soldiers of Desmond’s Army, facing the fierce gaze of the Black King and the even fiercer gaze of Ghislaine, hesitated without even realizing it.
“Block it!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The huge shields of the heavy infantry slammed into the ground, forming a wall of defense. The soldiers who had just witnessed how strong Ghislaine’s charge was gritted their teeth and mustered their strength.
But Ghislaine had no intention of colliding directly with them.
Fwaat!
“Huh?”
The soldiers of Desmond’s Army all looked up.
The Black King leaped high, soaring over the wall of shields.
Boom!
As Ghislaine dove into the center of Desmond’s formation and struck the ground with her spear, a powerful shockwave radiated outwards.
“Grrk!”
The soldiers closest to Ghislaine vomited blood and collapsed, while those further away stumbled, unable to regain their footing.
But their hesitation was brief. They couldn’t just stand by as an enemy lord had jumped right into their midst.
The tightly packed heavy infantry spun around to apply pressure on Ghislaine. The knights of Desmond also changed their target and advanced towards her.
In that moment, something they could never have imagined happened.
Dududududud.
The spears dropped by the fallen soldiers rose up all around. The soldiers of Desmond’s Army looked on, as if possessed by ghosts.
While they were still trying to understand the situation, hundreds of spears poured down on the soldiers surrounding Ghislaine.
Pufferpufferpuff!
“Uwaaaah!”
With spears moving in the air all on their own, everyone was understandably terrified. The knights easily swatted away the indiscriminate barrage of spears, but the foot soldiers were in a different predicament.
Each spear carried a different force, so while some soldiers managed to deflect them with their armor and shields, others were pierced through and fell dead.
“W-What? Are the spears flying around?”
“It’s magic! Count Penris is using magic!”
“What are our mages doing?”
It wasn’t magic, but no one here had the skill to recognize the technique Ghislaine was using.
Not only Desmond’s army but also the knights and soldiers of Penris were momentarily stunned.
Except for a few knights who had been dispatched to the Shadow Mountain Range, most were seeing this technique for the first time today, leaving them no choice but to be astonished.
“So that’s the technique I’ve only heard about.”
“I told you, that’s a truly insane technique.”
“If that exists, can’t she just fight alone?”
However, their admiration didn’t last long. Ghislaine, who had entered first and disrupted their formation, shouted loudly.
“Get a grip!”
Dudududud!
The third stage of the opening wouldn’t last long. Ghislaine’s eyes were bloodshot, and tendons started to bulge all over her body.
The senior knight of Penris, Gordon, who was taken aback by her shout, gestured widely and exclaimed.
“Let’s hurry and get back in!”
No matter how much they relied on the power of their armor, breaking through the thick line of heavy infantry was no easy task.
However, thanks to Ghislaine’s prior disruption, breaching the formation was now much easier than before.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The knights and soldiers of Penris dove back into the fray, swinging their weapons.
Caught in this outlandish and reckless tactic, Desmond’s army was completely at their mercy.
Although Desmond’s side still had the numbers advantage and maintained a strong rear guard, at this rate, all the soldiers in the rear would collapse as well.
Fear finally began to seep into the eyes of Desmond’s soldiers.
But Ghislaine wasn’t at ease either.
‘I have to get in faster.’
The main force of Penris Army had a limited time to exert their strength. With so many enemies, if they continued like this, their strength would wane before they could eliminate the foes.
My strength will run out before I can kill all the enemies.
‘Those disgusting bastards.’
Ghislaine and the Penris Army were cutting through Desmond’s Army in a straight line. They were killing everyone who stood in their way, but reinforcements continued to pour in from the left and right.
This is why large armies are terrifying. No matter how many you kill, their combat power doesn’t decrease.
Even the individual abilities of Desmond’s soldiers were no joke. Despite Ghislaine and the Penris Knights holding the upper hand, their speed in breaking through the ranks was gradually slowing down.
Ghislaine’s eyes quickly scanned the battlefield.
Emerson’s cavalry, who were engaged with the Kingdom Army, began targeting the archer cavalry. The allied archers, who had been harassing the rear lines of Desmond’s Army, were now too busy dodging incoming enemies.
‘We need to take out the mages first.’
For the Penris Army to secure their advantage, they had to capture Desmond’s mages. Only then could their own mages attack the remaining enemies.
There was no need to worry about the mages positioned on both sides. They needed to take out the high circle mage well protected at the back of the formation.
Boom! Bam!
Ghislaine poured out his mana without holding back and continuously pounded the center of the enemy formation.
The Penris Army, having received prior orders, was busy following him forward.
Thanks to the sheer force of the Penris Army, furiously advancing at a single point, Desmond’s Army began to split to the left and right.
And Harold, who had been watching this from a distance, exhaled heavily.
“Is that guy…… really that strong?”
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t believe it. This was beyond rumor. He had highly regarded Ghislaine because of what they had suffered, but he had underestimated his true strength.
Just the preparations Ghislaine had made were enough to leave him shocked, and now he was exhibiting combat power that rivaled that of the top-tier knights!
At this level, calling him the North’s Greatest Sword wouldn’t be an exaggeration. He had the ability to handle thousands of soldiers on his own.
“But why…… is he moving like that?”
His movements were strange. He was advancing mindlessly. With that level of skill, using other tactics would surely be more effective.
By just charging forward recklessly, it naturally appeared that they would be surrounded more and more by their own allies. If the Penris Knights dragged it out until they got tired, they could trample them instead.
“What the hell is he after?”
Harold didn’t realize that the more Ghislaine and the Penris Knights exerted themselves, the faster they would tire, and that there was a time limit to their efforts.
But looking at the direction they were moving, his objective soon became clear.
Following Ghislaine’s movements with keen eyes, Harold bit his lip.
“He’s targeting the mages.”
In Ghislaine’s path was Willow. She was a being who could contain the 6th Circle Mage of Penris, so Ghislaine would find her a thorn in his side.
The allies were also steadily forming a surrounding formation, but given Ghislaine’s overwhelming force, it was certain that Willow would be captured before the formation was complete.
Yet they couldn’t pull Willow back any further. Whether restraining the enemy’s magic or using magic against enemy troops, they needed to maintain a certain distance.
Fortunately, being a mage who had reached the 6th Circle, she could manage to restrain opponents from this distance.
In the end, Harold took out the trump card that he had been unable to use up until now.
“Lenos.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Lead the entire escort to block him. Emerson will strike the enemy’s cavalry and mages.”
“……Our mission is to protect you, my lord.”
“If Willow dies, we’ll be at a disadvantage. It doesn’t seem like they have any hidden cards left, so it’s fine. Block that guy first.”
“……Understood.”
As a great lord like Count Desmond, he commanded numerous knights. Among them, those particularly skilled were appointed as Guard Knights to protect the lord.
The Guard Knights serving a great lord are referred to as the Royal Guard, and Count Desmond had as many as 50 of them.
It wasn’t just a few. Their commander, Lenos, was a veteran knight, and the other knights were all elite warriors, each at least of intermediate rank.
Harold moved these knights, who would typically never act recklessly, solely to stop Ghislaine.
Lenos opened his mouth with a serious expression.
“Let’s go.”
Dressed in dazzling armor, they rode out on their horses.
Due to their nature, they had mastered tactics excellent for blocking enemies and protecting others.
With 50 Royal Guards, they could easily subdue even a competent individual like Baron Hutton without killing him.
Thus, Harold believed that no matter how skilled Ghislaine was, she wouldn’t be able to approach Willow with them around.
Thud thud thud thud!
It wasn’t just them galloping on horseback with energy. Emerson, having completely evaded the Kingdom Army’s pursuit, began to chase after Penris’s Archer Cavalry.
Knowing this, the archers began to harass Desmond’s rear while gradually pulling back.
Observing the situation on the battlefield, Emerson issued a new order to his deputy.
“I’ll send 1,000. Crush the mages at the enemy’s rear.”
“Understood.”
The deputy immediately led 1,000 cavalry toward the mages of Penris.
Currently, the mages at the rear of the Penris army had around 300 guards.
They all wore tattered gray robes and wielded massive greatswords. Those swords were not of ordinary appearance but were specifically crafted for cutting down opponents from horseback with their long handles.
As the guards surrounding the mages saw Desmond’s cavalry approach, they slowly stepped forward.
Thud thud thud thud!
Desmond’s cavalry gripped their spears tightly and accelerated. They intended to trample those who stepped up to protect the mages.
“What a bunch of pathetic losers blocking the way.”
The deputy of the cavalry sneered. With that number, they could easily push through and strike down the mages.
One of the robed figures swiftly stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the approaching cavalry.
He gradually quickened his pace, and as he got closer, the cavalry’s deputy shouted loudly and thrust his spear.
“Die, you reckless fool!”
Boom!
The robed man swung his massive greatsword at the charging horse.
Crash!
The deputy’s spear didn’t reach the man. Rather, he was sent flying along with his horse.
The robed man then swung his greatsword several times at the following cavalry.
Crash! Crash!
As the lead cavalrymen fell, the remaining guards waiting behind charged into the battlefield.
They also swung their greatswords vigorously, mercilessly slaughtering the enemy cavalry.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
“Uuuaaaaargh!”
“What the heck are these guys!”
“Get out of the way!”
Desmond’s cavalry were cut down one after another by the robed figures. Many couldn’t stop in time and tripped over their fallen comrades.
As a moment of respite arrived, the man who had been the first to charge disdainfully flipped back his hood.
Brushing aside his tangled red hair, the arrogant Kaor, the Ogre Slayer, chuckled.
“Behold my entrance.”
The robed figures were none other than Kaor and the hunters who had been hunting monsters in the Shadow Mountain Range.
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