Chapter 855: Act 33 – The Final Strike
In an instant, the brilliance of magic once again illuminated the blood staff’s position. This time, the tide had turned; the necromancers had depleted their mana, and the exchanges shifted to a one-sided display by Erluin’s Mage Guild. Under the cover of magical barrages, the White Lion infantry once more surged into the ranks of the undead army that had been torn apart. However, this time they did not advance as easily as before, with a thick concentration of undead forces in the center, almost gathering the strength of three to four regiments. The White Lion Guard began to progress rapidly but soon slowed down, as both sides fell into a fierce melee, with no clear victor in sight for the time being.
The Blood Staff continually reinforced the center with troops from the flanks, guarding against the possibility of a breakthrough by the White Lion Guard. At this moment, the White Lion Guard, bolstered by various spells, had nearly reached the strength of a Tier 4 army. Among their opponents, only a small portion were Tier 3 arachnid swordsmen; most skeleton warriors found it hard to contend with the young White Lions and could only rely on their numbers to impede their steps.
At this point, however, the Blood Staff’s flanks were emptier than ever.
It had no other options and could not afford to neglect this aspect. If it didn’t fortify the center, the White Lion Guard’s breakthrough would mean inevitable defeat. As for the wind archers on the side, let them harass as they wished. Yet, it did not understand that Brendel was waiting for this very opportunity. At Brendel’s command, the wind archers stopped once more, but this time, when they raised their longbows, the arrows nocked on their bow arms were replaced with gleaming holy silver arrows. The archers ignited holy white flames on the arrowheads with their nails.
With a synchronized volley, the skeleton army pursuing them was immediately thrown into disarray. They again switched to heavy arrows topped with rock spikes for another round, and the skeleton warrior regiment could hardly find any units still standing. Brendel observed the battlefield results and nodded. In the drizzling rain, he raised the Earth Sword and was the first to charge forward, followed by twelve vanguards of White City, including Husher—thirteen knights formed a charging formation.
“Medisa!” Brendel shouted through the rain.
“I understand, my lord,” Medisa declared, raising her longbow. At her command, the shooting line of the wind archers extended forward, aimed directly at the Blood Staff’s flank.
Brendel spurred his mount onward, with Husher and Flour following him on either side, and behind them were the other knights. This small cavalry unit gradually crossed a distance of a couple hundred feet and then began to accelerate, facing the Blood Staff’s flank. The Blood Staff certainly noticed the presence of this cavalry, but the problem was that the front lines were locked in a fierce battle; these ten-odd riders did not raise its alarm too much, as it presumed they might be Erluin’s royal guards, dispatching a squad of black knights to block that direction.
As Brendel and Husher began to jog, Medisa finally issued the final command: “Arrow three!”
She did not announce the wind direction; the wind on the battlefield was usually the most troublesome enemy for most archers, but not for wind archers. Wind was their ally, and regardless of which direction it blew, it would not affect the arrows shot by wind archers. This was one of the unique abilities of wind archers, making them one of the few all-weather ranged troops in the world. The archer girls quietly nocked their holy silver arrows, activated their enchantment, and with a release, another wave of light rained down directly upon the Blood Staff’s flank. The skeleton archers and skeleton warriors in that area instantly cleared a significant space, as if creating a gap for Brendel and the others to charge through.
At this moment, Brendel had entered the final sprint distance. He looked up and could even see the black knight troops moving through Madara’s army, but he was still not in a hurry to give commands, instructing everyone to maintain a jog.
He was still waiting.
The wind archers shot their last volley of arrows and then hurriedly dropped their longbows to return to their steeds. They grabbed the saddles, swung up onto their horses, and simultaneously drew gleaming curved swords from beneath their cloaks, as if in an instant, this archer unit had transformed into a well-equipped cavalry. Medisa also switched to a silver lance, feeling as if she had returned to the era of the Saints’ War, as if behind her stood that invincible Lin Song Legion.
She steadied her lance amid the rain; the unicorn beneath her shifted restlessly, and this little princess of the silver elves took a deep breath before giving the command: “Lin Song Legion, follow me!”
The army began to advance.
“The Toniger people are charging with archers as cavalry!” Count Zilin could hardly believe his eyes, tugging at his hair in disbelief. “Have they gone mad?”
But this time, Earl Jack did not respond to his foolish question. The lord’s face remained cold as he turned to everyone and said, “Preparation for battle. We are ready to strike; the final battle has come!”
He did not say much, but a clear thought had formed in his mind.
In some legend, he had once heard of such an army.
The legend was so famous—
That even the Blood Staff reacted. The Saints’ War was such a vivid memory for this world, the tales of the Four Sages defeating the dark powers that ruled the world, thereby establishing the four most brilliant empires in Vaunte, and the Four Great Temples dominating Vaunte for nearly a thousand years had long formed a deep-rooted impression in the minds of the people under their rule. The undead of Madara had never been created out of thin air; memory was a torment and a torture for them, yet they could never escape it. Those stories they had heard from who-knows-when now surged back into the thoughts of the Blood Staff.
It saw the elf archers who had put away their longbows and were mounting up to charge and suddenly realized it had heard of such an army at some point.
This legion had a beautiful name.
Called Lin Song.
“Silver Elf.” Earl Jack suddenly recalled some rumors about Brendel, including some regarding his connection with the silver elves. He never expected that the silver elves would lend him this legendary guard. Such a person existing in the small nation of Erluin—was it a blessing or a curse? It remained a mystery.
In fact, everyone’s speculations were somewhat off.
Although the wind elf archers had inherited the name of Lin Song, which had disappeared for a millennium, they were not the legendary legion from history. The tree elf archers and wind archers had received training in melee combat, but charging on horseback was somewhat beyond their capabilities. Nevertheless, when Medisa gave the command, these archer girls still charged forward without hesitation, displaying courage that was not lacking compared to men.
Brendel turned to watch this scene, finally satisfied, and then turned to Husher beside him, saying, “Now let us create a gap for the girls.”
“As you wish, my lord,” Husher replied.
“Charge!”
The thirteen knights suddenly accelerated, commencing their final sprint. Ahead of them lay the Blood Staff’s flank, where nearly a hundred black knights were already waiting for their arrival. The black knights under the Blood Staff were at least of silver upstream strength, with notable peak silver experts among them. Most were skilled warriors, seasoned from countless battles; in the Blood Staff’s view, even facing Erluin’s noble guard seemed easy. Generally, that was indeed the case. However, this time, they were not facing ordinary enemies.
Brendel led the charge, the first to penetrate the enemy lines. When the Vieiro tribesmen erupted from the forest, what they saw was this scene. Knights leading their retainers in a charge was already a common sight on the Vaunte continent, but a true lord earl of a kingdom personally leading dozens of royal guards into battle was incredibly rare since the Saifah dynasty. The Vieiro nobles almost thought they were witnessing a madman; what they did not expect was that even more madness lay ahead.
The thirteen knights lined up in formation, forming a forward arrowhead, and Brendel was at the tip of this arrow. He raised the Earth Sword in his hand and casually swung it at a black knight charging towards him. That black knight hurriedly raised its sword to block, but the blade slid past it, cleaving the knight and its skeletal warhorse into six segments amidst a blaze of soul fire, vanishing into the rain. Another black knight behind witnessed its comrade disintegrate before its eyes, but before it could react, the Earth Sword’s blade had already pierced through the previous black knight’s body and was now facing it. It could only let out a hollow scream before the sword’s edge hit its chest armor with immense force, wrenching it off its steed and sending it flying far away, crashing onto a black knight behind.
At that moment, the piercing striking power unleashed, with the black knight’s body as the center, forming a fan-shaped shockwave behind it. With a loud thud, black knights in that direction fell in disarray.
It seemed that in just two moves, Brendel had effortlessly taken down nearly a quarter of the black knights, shattering the previously tightly-knit formation of the black knights and creating a passage through which Brendel could charge.
What kind of strength was this?
The Vieiro nobles seemed to realize that this young lord was not only of high rank but also an outstanding swordsman—there were even rumors that he had reached the level of a Sword Saint. While the credibility of such claims was minimal, this scene before them at least proved that the methods of this lord earl were several tiers above those so-called gold-tier masters.
Could it be that after King Gilt of Flames, another twenty-year-old genius of elemental evolution had arisen? This thought occupied the minds of the Vieiro nobles at that moment.
Compared to the mixed emotions of surprise and jealousy among the Vieiro people, the Blood Staff was at a loss for words. It finally realized that not only was the opposing young commander a being of elemental evolution, but the twelve knights beside him were also no ordinary foes. Each of those twelve knights had at least silver downstream strength, and facing such a lord’s royal guard, it nearly groaned in despair.
What kind of army was it encountering? Now, even if someone told it that this army was the royal reserve of Erluin, it couldn’t help but believe it. But what frustrated it the most was that this formidable army seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
Toniger.
It repeatedly recalled this remote southeastern corner of Erluin, never quite understanding how such a fierce army could emerge from that place. However, it did not hesitate long. For its army, the crucial moment had arrived; it needed to hold the flanks against a potential breakthrough, or else all previous efforts would go to waste. The Blood Staff hesitated only a moment before deciding to personally lead a regiment of skeleton warriors to reinforce the crumbling flank. Since the enemy had dispatched an elemental-tier expert, it could no longer hold back.
On this battlefield, the only one capable of matching Brendel was it.
While the Blood Staff was still rallying troops, Medisa and her wind archers finally collided with Madara’s flank. Brendel felt his elemental pool surge and glanced over to see Medisa raising her lance among the soldiers, shouting, “May the holy spirits descend from the heavens and bless the righteous in war! All who fight for justice shall receive the inspiration of justice!” A white beam of light seemed to part the shadows, descending straight from the sky, striking down upon the wind archers, with countless angels falling from the white beam to protect each wind archer. Under their protection, Medisa’s archers experienced a tremendous increase in power. Their original abilities, which were merely at the silver mid-tier level, skyrocketed to the peak of silver, with hints of advancing into the gold realm.
Inspiration
Eternal Song V
Light 5
[Spell]
Pay half the mana (Knight); the Franc Knight inspires all allies, granting them a power boost (current level +5).
Duration, the inspiration will last until the next reset.
“My glory is your glory—”
At this moment, Brendel truly witnessed the terror of the Franc Knight. Wind archers, initially at silver mid-tier level, had limited melee experience and skills, at most reaching peak black iron. Meanwhile, their preference for agility put them at a disadvantage compared to the infantry armor of skeleton warriors in close combat. Thus, a Tier 4 wind archer’s combat prowess in melee was barely on par with a Tier 2 skeleton warrior. But after the inspiration reached peak silver, the maidens’ combat prowess surged to silver downstream, and the difference in levels allowed them to completely crush the skeletons of a lower realm.
And it wasn’t over; Medisa immediately showcased her second card:
Group Charge
Eternal Song IV
Earth 2
[Spell]
Pay 1 glory; the Franc Knight grants his followers the “Group” ability.
Duration, the group charge will remain until the next reset.
“I have seen, the Sabrians shriek as they charged, their tens of thousands of troops crumbling in their wake—Baron Vasaran Kardin”
(Group ability; when biological entities possessing this ability are within a certain range, they gain a 1% damage boost. Each entity with this ability increases damage further.)
With this card in play, the wind archers beside Medisa instantly rallied, and after their damage increased by one to two times, they distinguished themselves from regular knights, immediately becoming the ready-made elite guards of the general. The knight army formed an arrowhead, and the undead defense crumbled in an instant. The Blood Staff had initially expected its flanks to hold out for a moment longer; however, with the boost of Medisa’s two card powers, its plans shattered like bubbles.
When the Blood Staff finally led a regiment of skeleton warriors to reinforce the collapsing flank, it saw its side melting away like snow under the sun, while the wind archers continued to advance, apparently intending to breach its entire flank and meet the White Lion Guard in the center of the battlefield. Upon witnessing such a scene, the Blood Staff understood it was all over. Its army was done for, and those dark nobles from the Abyssal Moon Sea were also doomed. As for Count Rendener, that would-be informant from the Kingdom of Erluin, he was now inconsequential to the Blood Staff. It had initially come to personally block Brendel’s advance, but in that moment, it turned and fled without a second thought. Its only hope for survival was to rally the remaining skeleton cavalry and retreat from the battlefield.
It still had one advantage—undead creatures would never tire nor be completely defeated. However, humans could not chase endlessly.
It could no longer hope for a fanciful victory; merely escaping back to Madara would be fortunate.
Cheers could be faintly heard from the humans on the battlefield.
Most of these cheers came from the Vieiro people, a sense of relief after the calamity, especially among the lower-ranking soldiers who could barely believe the undead army had been defeated so easily. Although there were still countless skeleton bodies on the battlefield, they all saw that the army of Count Toniger had completely segmented the forces of Madara, with patches of necromancers falling beneath their swords. Victory was nothing more than a matter of time.
Not just the soldiers, the nobles of Vieiro also gradually slowed their steps. They realized they didn’t even need to charge; the skeletal remains before them were transforming into ashes, one after another. The undead army was in retreat, and Earl Jack could even confirm that the Blood Staff had faltered. Otherwise, the undead army would not be withdrawing. They were merely stalling for time; the outcome was already determined, with only the extent of the loss left in question.
Yet what left the Vieiro people feeling somewhat flushed was that this victory seemed to have little to do with them.
In their line of sight, Count Toniger finally came to a slow stop in the midst of the chaotic battlefield.
The undead army was collapsing around him—
