Chapter 592: Act 337 – Glory I
“Williams! The final account after forty years—”
“Today I come to collect what those people owed back then!”
The voice of the young man echoed across the battlefield, and aside from his voice, the battlefield was eerily silent. He stood atop the mountains and forests, facing everyone like he was confronting the world itself.
The army of the Temple of Fire was still present.
Yet that moment was destined to be forever etched in everyone’s memory. As time passed and the years faded, both enemies and allies would inevitably recall everything that transpired at that moment.
It was a door to memories that had been opened, behind which time flowed like a river. Though quiet, it possessed a penetrating power—old veterans present finally remembered that centuries ago, their ancestors had faced this same enemy with integrity and had triumphed.
For Elruin had lost not only honor but also courage. But today, someone stood once again at this position, sword in hand, with the shadow of another person faintly upon him.
That person stood upon the Saintly White cliffs, a smile shimmering in his eyes, gazing at the kingdom. His vision was so profound, as if reaching to the horizon.
In Princess Grifian’s eyes, history oddly overlapped; the dry, yellowed lines seemed to outline an old painting. But the brilliant image within was fading, leaving only the silhouette of this young man before her.
The sound on the battlefield seemed to be sucked away.
“Unaware of the dangers.” The cold light in Williams’ eyes deepened slightly.
He raised the flame-shaped sword in his hand at an angle, about to utter the word ‘attack’. But before he could, a turbulent vortex of air rushed towards him. Williams quickly grasped the wind vortex, tearing it apart, instantly realizing it was merely an ordinary wind bullet.
Did they dare to attack him with such a trivial tactic? A chill of murderous intent surged within him, yet at that moment, Brendel’s voice cut in first with the order: “Attack.”
Williams was finally provoked; Brendel was openly disrespecting the authority of the Temple. Not even the most fanatical cultist would dare to behave so frivolously. The authority of the Temple was maintained by its overwhelming presence over the mortal realm; as the deputy commander of the Temple Knights, he would never allow these vermin from Elruin to undermine the Temple’s foundations.
“Kill all these heretics, leave none alive!”
He coldly issued the command.
The great battle was on the verge of breaking out.
The troops in the sky immediately dispersed, and the monks of the Temple, clad in flaming wings, seemed to glide down like a meteor shower from the dark clouds, or like molten gold-red steel pouring down from above, a sea of crimson.
And the eleven Temple Knights also descended directly towards Ankle Mountain.
Eleven formidable beings of elemental enlightenment; this was a force that Elruin could hardly withstand. Each of these proud knights had reason to believe that as long as they made their move, victory would follow like a fallen tree.
But a flag blazing with golden flames suddenly emerged within their line of sight.
The golden banner of war, entering the fray.
In an instant, dazzling light enveloped the entire river valley, and within this brilliance, the long dress of the vampire princess, Andrigraphis, seemed to ignite with a layer of abyssal flames. Following the conflagration, her dress was adorned with a gleaming black battle armor.
Everyone beside her witnessed the vampire princess transform into a liquid state, like blood, as the warriors of the Temple moved. She then slowly seeped into the ground. But in the next instant, a drop of blood appeared mid-air, transforming into a blood orb, from which Andrigraphis stepped forward to block the path of the Temple Knights.
Her eyes were one red and one blue, her soulfire burning fiercely. She waved the blood-formed scimitar in her hand towards the sky, red droplets of blood forming a massive crimson moon amidst the rain.
The red moon surged forward, and the first Temple Knight in its path fell disasterously. A secondary flame element holder, whose abilities related to purification, instinctively wrapped his hands in a pure white flame to counter Andrigraphis’s blood moon’s edge.
But in the next moment, he let out a horrific scream; while his purification law initially negated the soul damage of the blood moon—that being a common element of most undead creatures—Andrigraphis was not merely a wielder of soul attributes; she was a rare double-elemental bearer. In a heartbeat, her other significant element, blood, drained the flesh and blood from his arm.
“This is impossible!” That Temple Knight recoiled violently, feeling as if he had been electrocuted. Though it was just a brief contact, he looked at his left hand to find it reduced to ghastly bone.
The remaining Temple Knights were startled. They had initially thought Andrigraphis was merely showing elemental manifestation and had underestimated her. But they realized that the gap between a double-elemental and a single-elemental was not merely a matter of one plus one equaling two; the combat power was exponentially increased.
Elemental enlightenment was inherently stronger than elemental manifestation, but that didn’t mean absolute suppression of combat power. Absolute power and combat power are two different matters—just like Brendel often challenging higher levels due to his traveling mage system.
But just as they began to separate, a silver-white figure entered their sight.
If possible, at that moment, all the Temple Knights of the Temple of Fire would probably have shouted ‘What the hell!’ as the silver elf princess appeared, riding a pure white unicorn dragon. The lance in her hand resembled a sharp sword, draped in a pure white holy robe, showing glimmers of chainmail beneath.
Silver Elf Dragon Knights.
The unicorn dragon ridden by Medisa was said to be a descendant of the Silver Dragon King, Lodian, renowned for being the bloodline closest to pureblooded dragons, known for its high intelligence. They coexisted with silver elves, being one of their closest companions.
Moreover, the lance in her hand had a storied origin; in the ancient elvish language, it was called ‘Uiro’, meaning immortal. Legend has it that this lance was a replica of the one used by the Azure Knight to pierce the heavens, of which only one hundred thirty existed, never increasing or decreasing.
Therefore, the Silver Elf Dragon Knights originally had only one hundred thirty members.
That was a level fourteen elite army.
In that instant, the eleven Temple Knights almost wanted to turn and flee. The Silver Elf Dragon Knights had always been just a legend. In ancient times, they took part in the last war against the Duskgazer Dragon—albeit as cannon fodder. But that was a legendary age; later, this mythical army had even absented themselves from the war against the Dark Dragon. Yet today, they reappeared before them, evoking suspicions that the Duskgazer Dragon had returned.
Fortunately, someone reacted quickly and shouted, “Don’t worry, she is just a spirit!”
“Only the strength of elemental manifestation!”
Yet even the elemental manifestation was unnerving, the key was that many strong beings at the elemental tier seemed to have suddenly appeared in their midst. It should be noted that elemental tier strongholdists were never nameless figures in any place, and the crucial part was that in their memories, Elruin had no such figures present.
In a breath’s time.
Charles and Repal also materialized on the battlefield. At that moment, Charles had donned a silver robe. He looked more like a craftsman wizard from Bud than a Highland Mage, maturing significantly, holding a thick tome, making it obvious what his profession was.
Bud’s Archive Wizard.
However, what surprised Brendel was that Charles wielded the element of time. This was also among the top tier elements and complemented his ‘space’ perfectly. This guy had an exceptional look.
Among the crowd, only Repal showed the least change, merely gaining some battle marks on his lizardfolk skin, his elements naturally relating to fire.
As the four appeared, Brendel promptly issued a mental command: “Hold these Temple Knights back, buy me some time.”
At the same moment, the eleven Temple Knights understood they couldn’t break through the enemy’s line immediately. Though Andrigraphis, Medisa, Charles, and the fireclaw lizard lord Repal were only at the elemental manifestation strength, the gap between elemental manifestation and elemental enlightenment was less than one tier, and the key was that these other’s abilities were horrifically bizarre.
A double-elemental was needless to say, a Silver Elf Dragon Knight, whose race was combat-oriented. Dragon Knights were beings of legend that, although appeared to have massively reduced power as spirits, as long as their battle skills remained intact, no one would dare to underestimate them.
On the other hand, Bud’s Archive Wizard was also a tricky opponent; those Archive Wizards were seasoned librarians—though not scholars employed by noble libraries, rather, they managed the magical tomes of Bud’s wizards, each Archive Wizard’s brain crammed with various knowledge and some rare, unheard-of spells.
However, these Archive Wizards, engrossed in the world of words, rarely appeared outside of libraries, and it was a mystery how they came to join this war.
Lastly, that fireclaw lizard lord seemed to be the easiest to handle, but in the realm of elements, whether elemental beings or half-element beings, none were easy to provoke; this was a universally accepted truth.
Seeing these figures, not only the Temple Knights below but even Williams, watching from above, furrowed his brow momentarily. Charles’s appearance caused him a twinge of unease; if the People of Silver also involved themselves in this war, it could very well drag the Temple into a protracted diplomatic quagmire.
But the Bud people shouldn’t be that reckless.
He could only hope that Charles’s appearance was merely a personal action.
Williams pressed down on the hilt of his sword and returned to calmness. Though there were some variables, the balance on the battlefield still inclined heavily towards his side. Since the princess’s side was unaware of the dangers, he didn’t mind teaching them a lesson with facts.
It was precisely so.
Brendel ordered his summoned beings to temporarily obstruct the highest powers of the Temple of Fire, but this was still not enough to change the overall situation on the battlefield.
Coupled with the offense of the Temple of Fire, the northern allied forces also sounded their ominous horns, a mass of troops overcame various difficulties and began to regroup and advance again. However, the soldiers were not that enthusiastic, as the people of Elruin finally realized they were reluctant to fight alongside Cruz and slaughter their own kin.
Nobles found themselves cursing and prodding their soldiers forward. Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded on the battlefield, as noble lords formed rows of supervisory teams under the command of themselves and their knights to oversee the advancement of their troops—it almost resembled Cruz herding their slave army.
Yet even so, the pressure of the advancing army still felt suffocating. The noble soldiers under Ouding looked skyward at the golden meteors shooting down toward Ankle Mountain. On the ground, a wave of dark clouds in the mass of troops advanced, creating a scene reminiscent of doom.
If previously they had confidence in fighting the northern allied forces, now they were filled with confusion.
Can they still fight? On the other side were the Temple of Fire and the northern allied forces, appearing somewhat invincible in their eyes, let alone combined.
Earl Ouding tried to reinvigorate the morale of his soldiers, but to little avail. The noble doused a sigh of frustration. At this moment, the northern allied forces had crossed the creek that had begun to swell in the downpour, preparing to enter the forest.
Everyone suddenly felt a pang of despair.
“Mr. Brendel,” Princess Grifian softly inquired, “Should we consider retreating a little?”
Brendel then withdrew his gaze from the sky. He looked up at the main battlefield—where the enemies were so numerous that the ocean would be a fitting metaphor—but he shook his head: “Give me a little more time.”
He was waiting for an opportunity.
But at that very moment, a mournful sound suddenly filled the battlefield. It was a horn, not the northern allied forces’ cowhorn, but a deeper, more sonorous sound.
New enemies? Or reinforcements?
Everyone within felt a shudder, then looked up. They saw, amidst the relentless rain, the ranks of the northern allied forces to the south suddenly erupt into chaos, a gaping hole appearing nearly instantaneously.
It was reinforcements!
Hearts raced with a flicker of hope.
But where could reinforcements have come from? Could it be that the princess’s army had arrived? Impossible; everyone shook their heads in their hearts. Even the Royal First Fleet had not yet entered; how could the princess’s army arrive first?
“It’s Lantonrand’s army!”
Earl Ouding suddenly set down the single-tube telescope in his hand, exclamations trembled slightly in his voice.
“It’s the Royalists!” The cadets from the Royal Knight Academy were immediately stirred, “This is impossible! Didn’t they already leave?”
But it was indeed the army of the Royalists.
The insignia of Lantonrand, Makarolo’s personal banner, Count Violet’s personal flag, one after another shone over the battlefield, slicing into the main positions of the northern allied forces like blades.
Princess Grifian bit her lip and clenched her fists.
They have returned? But how could that be?
No one knew those people better than her.
A cavalry of black and red appeared on the battlefield, cutting in from the side of Ankle Mountain, directly confronting the advancing infantry of the northern allied forces, blocking the massive army of northern nobles right in front of the princess’s main position.
Then a knight charged forth from the ranks.
The knight halted amidst the rain, turning back from horseback.
Then he lifted his visor.
Revealing a youthful face.
It was Aike.
The young man raised his sword to Brendel and called out loudly, “Noble Knight! I have come as promised!”
“Back in the Eternalwood Forest, I heard you speak of that knight’s ideal, swearing to pursue the vow of our predecessors, and so today I’ve come!”
“For Elruin!”
His voice resonated throughout the battlefield.
Brendel had not anticipated Aike appearing at such a moment, under these circumstances—this guy made him unable to suppress a slight smile within. He could easily imagine what the other had experienced; Makarolo must have been furious by now.
But he turned to glance at Princess Grifian beside him, and it was at this moment that his heart suddenly quieted. It turned out that here he was not fighting alone.
It wasn’t just him and the princess.
Many were fighting alongside him.
Just like in the past during games, he closed his eyes, surrounded by like-minded comrades. Yet this time, they had the ability to grasp their own destiny.
So what was there to be dissatisfied with?
He smiled slightly, drawing out the well-prepared card from his deck.
…
Above, Williams finally furrowed his brow. The appearance of Lantonrand’s army was entirely unexpected; in fact, the northern nobles from Elruin had once firmly assured him that no third-party forces would appear on this battlefield.
“Those damned bastards.” He couldn’t help but curse softly, but thankfully, they were just some noble private soldiers, of little consequence.
However, if the enemy disrupted the northern allied forces, that would be a headache. He immediately raised the flame-shaped sword in his hand and issued orders to the Cruz floating fleet to intercept Lantonrand’s army on the ground.
The flagship of the Cruz, ‘Peran,’ immediately began to adjust its position, the grim cannon ports aiming at the flank of the northern allied forces, the direction from which Lantonrand’s army emerged.
But even before the mages on the three warships could test the first shot of the magical artillery, numerous scales-like fluctuations suddenly appeared in front of the fleet.
Spatial turbulence!
“Commander on the ‘Tyler’!” a mage screamed, “Portal reaction, new enemies! Fire! Quick, fire!”
The three Cruz warships instinctively opened fire, a brilliant flash bursting forth amidst the rain. However, it was still too late; four cyan light circles suddenly opened in the transparent space, behind which loomed four immense black square towers slowly materializing.
“Floating towers!”
“High tower mages!”
“It’s the high tower mages! Why have they come!”
…
(PS: Sorry for taking some time to check some things. To make up for it, here’s a 5000-word chapter~ I’ll hold off on any explosive updates for now and consider it at a more suitable time.) (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your votes; your support is my greatest motivation.)
