Chapter 104: Bones Clash, Passion Ignites (3)
A gentle breeze brushed through the air, flags blocking out the sun.
As the daylight began to turn a golden hue, on one side of the rugged mountains beyond the ruins, a fierce cavalry surged through the muck, pushing forward along the ochre dirt paths—one horse, two horses, growing to dozens, then hundreds. Led by Isaac, the Elite Cavalry flowed like a tidal wave from the village towards the west, with the end of the gentle breeze marked by the banks of the canal near Alectine City.
Within the woods to the north of the banks, Pope Angel led over a thousand foot knights weaving through the towering trees—knights riding Horned Horses spread out in a fan formation a kilometer ahead, serving as the vanguard unit, alert for any strange sounds. If one were to look from above, the golden armor of the elite would appear to coalesce into one body, a tremendous sight. Occasionally, flashes of fire erupted unexpectedly at the front as clashing weapons and shouts echoed continually.
As part of the mobile vanguard, I rode a massive Horned Horse, carrying a deep black leather case, alongside Safiros and over twenty knights, maintaining a slow pace while weaving through the woods, keeping a distance of three to five meters. Towering trees brushed slowly past us, and the woods ahead were as quiet as a still pond, with only the whispering of wind through leaves and the occasional muffled explosions ringing in my ears.
Boom… Boom…
Boom——
“Watch out for mice in the woods, everyone stay alert!”
Safiros shouted from ten meters to my left, his voice clear in my ears.
“Did you hear that noise? Sounds like the right flank has engaged with the heretics!”
“There’re sounds on the left too…”
The knights on both sides chatted idly, expressions somewhat relaxed, yet without Safiros’s reminder, their gazes flitted to every corner of the woods, never slacking for a single second.
These battle-hardened knights had all faced heretics head-on, many having killed some themselves. They were fearless but knew well what sort of unhinged maniacs awaited them.
The behavior of madmen can’t be judged by common sense, as they are not afraid of d*ath.
At this point, if the two armies faced each other, the enemy would certainly have picked up on the First Knights Order’s presence, realizing we were advancing on Alectine City. Sending small groups to scout against a fully prepared knight unit would be an exceedingly foolish tactic. Common logic suggested such a situation typically indicated a breakdown in the enemy’s command structure—unless they were the Gate of Truth.
“Do the heretics want to drag out our pace with this nonsensical s*icide charge?” someone mused.
“Very possible…”
“It seems the situation Alectine City faces might be worse than we imagined… Inform the rear units, we need to ramp up our advance.”
“Yes—”
Someone turned their beast away, while the rest continued galloping. I frowned tightly, straining to listen to the sounds around me, while gently spurring the beast beneath me. It picked up a bit of speed, the refreshing breeze brushing through the treetops, the branches making a rustling sound overhead.
“Caw—”
Suddenly, above, a raven cried out.
It’s the goat cheese…
That goofy bird had long been set up in the sky as a warning signal. I told it to scream if anything happened, though I truly had no idea if it understood… It was just supposed to act as a safety net. But up to this point, it had circled above the woods without making a sound…
I paused briefly, then quickly shouted, “Watch out! There might be—”
Whoosh——
Before I could finish, a scarlet fireball suddenly erupted from the woods to my right, a searing blast roaring towards us. It struck the bushes not far away with a ‘boom’, sending a tremendous explosion that overturned dirt, infernal flames leaping meters high. Two knights nearby didn’t utter a word and were immediately consumed by the fierce fire. A heat wave surged towards us, and my Horned Horse reared, letting out a long whinny as I bent down, squinting against the force of the wind.
d*mn…
Loud shouts rang out around me: “Heretics—!”
“Ewas has been hit…”
“Spot the enemy!”
“I see them! Behind the steep slope on the right! At least seven or eight mice—”
I saw them too!
“Charge!”
The huge Horned Horse’s hooves hit the ground as I spurred it hard, racing towards the gleam of fire. In the distance, I could vaguely hear Safiros roar, “Lady Silvya, freeze the slope with frost—”
“Leave it to me!”
“Lamson, Arthur! Divine Miracle cover—”
Whoosh——
Another searing fireball whizzed towards us, the hot air crashing into me. This time, the enemy had me in their sights. In an instant, I heard a buzzing from behind, followed by a faint shield appearing in my vision. The incoming fireball collided with it, unleashing a brilliant flash of light, flames consuming grass and trees, but the wave was fully blocked by the shield. I maneuvered my Horned Horse around, its iron hooves racing past the inferno, my eyes glowing blue.
Ka-ka-ka-ka——
Frost gathered around the steep slope a few dozen meters ahead, forming countless irregular shapes of solid ice, encircling the low hill while dozens of sharp ice spikes rained down from above, embedding into the ground.
“Ughhhhh…”
“It’s the Pope Knights!”
Crying out in agony, their screams echoed from that direction, followed by a deranged laughter.
“Ah ha ha ha—”
“Look at that little girl, only sixteen!”
“Talk about luck!”
…Luck?
Heh.
You’re certainly lucky.
Figures wrapped in flames suddenly dashed out from the swirling frost, emitting excited shrieks as they flew toward me. One of them raised a hand and tossed a fireball, the scarlet flames carving a path through the woods, heading straight for me.
“Humph…”
I charged forward on my Horned Horse, not dodging—truth be told, I hadn’t learned how to steer the beast in such a tight spot yet, and I feared I might take a tumble if I tried to turn awkwardly—so I waved my hand, creating an arc-shaped ice wall at a forty-five-degree angle. The fireball sizzled as it brushed by the ice wall, changing trajectory and flying off to the side while the explosion erupted. My Horned Horse sprinted past the ice wall, just as a figure jumped down from above.
“sc*m!”
A shout came from behind me, a Holy Lance whizzed by, narrowly missing my shoulder with the force of thunder, its deafening wind stinging my ears. At the same moment, the lance struck the airborne heretic, piercing through his chest and sending him flying far away. I felt footsteps approach beside me.
“Ah ha!”
Safiros chuckled lightly, diving beside me on his Horned Horse, then swiftly turned to give me a signal. Ahead, several flaming figures rushed in, and he glowed with golden light, leaping off the beast, pouncing on one of them like a hungry tiger, rolling him into the mud and shouting, “You’re not going back after coming here, Grandpa’s gonna teach you a lesson—”
The heretic struggled desperately, flames licking at his golden armor, but the man, like a solid rock, didn’t give an inch. His iron-hard fists smashed down repeatedly into the figure’s face.
Meanwhile, I collided with one, the sharp point on my beast’s head piercing through his chest and brain. Perhaps the heat of the flames shocked him, for my beast suddenly shook its head, flinging the body off, as two others lunged at me. I kicked one away, then launched an ice spike that turned the other into a pin cushion, then jumped down; as my foot touched the ground, I executed a Moon Step, flying forward.
Whoosh——
A wild wind roared in my ears, and my petite figure had already reached the stunned heretic. Before Captain Gray could react, I drew the Dragon Claw from my waist and thrust it towards his neck. At the same time, my left hand enveloped in white mist, with the ice sickle forming with a sharp cracking sound, I hurled it at another enemy four to five meters away.
Pah! Pah! Pah——
The gleaming white blade stabbed into the heretic’s neck twice, the final thrust landing squarely on his forehead, splattering burning bl**d onto my face as he twitched and collapsed. However, the ice sickle I threw was deflected by another who blocked it with his blade, getting embedded deep into the ground with a clank, the frost radiating outward. I was momentarily stunned, then noticed the dying heretic’s body starting to swell.
“Watch out, my lady!”
Safiros’s warning came from behind, but I had faced these heretics before and didn’t need prompting. Withdrawing the Dragon Claw from his forehead, bl**d surged upward as I turned and kicked him over ten meters away, crashing him into a tree, causing a loud explosion as infernal flames spread through the woods, wreaking havoc in my sight.
Amid the whinnies of the Horned Horses, a few knights rushed up from behind, swords swinging as they clashed with more heretics. The air filled with the sounds of shouting and the crackling of flames as I turned to the one who had blocked my ice sickle. He smirked and raised an eyebrow, sneering.
“Silvya?”
He was a man in black, around thirty, with brown hair and a rat-like face. He tilted his head in the midst of the flames, seemingly unhurried even amid the chaos, his blade poised in hand, watching me with unusual interest, exuding a strange confidence.
“You… really have a charming face, turning sixteen now?”
“Heh.”
I smirked, shaking my arm, tightening my grip on the Dragon Claw. I activated my Moon Step and suddenly appeared behind the man, swinging my sword towards his head—
Clang!
Without turning his head, he struck my blade aside, spinning around; he leaned in close, opening his mouth as if about to say something, when suddenly, a dull sound echoed, the icy mist expanding from around me, enveloping the black-clad heretic within.
“Lord Weithermill—”
Amidst the mist, I heard a petulant taunt from a heretic nearby.
Weithermill!
“It’s you…”
I gritted my teeth.
Within the icy fog, scarlet flames roared before me as his long sword swung downwards. I sidestepped, kicking at his calf, causing him to kneel. I summoned another ice sickle with my left hand as it formed, aiming for his head—
Clang!
He deflected it with his sword.
He raised his head within the mist, a half-frosted face cracking a cruel smile.
“You seem very angry… I guess you must’ve had a bad time at Silent Fortress, right? I should let you know, that was all my doing—”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The icy sickle clashed against his long sword three times before snapping it cleanly in two. He threw away the hilt and retreated rapidly, his deranged laughter echoing from outside the mist.
“That noblewoman from the Western Continent, her skin is even better cared for than the most famous courtesan from our side—smooth and tender to the touch… It’s nice there, all slick and tight. Did you know? That noble girl was still a virgin, her crying voice, tsk tsk, like the most wonderful melody in the world… Delightful… Too bad she won’t be able to scream anymore… She’s the same age as you.”
The icy mist slowly dissipated.
The man’s detestable smirk gradually cleared before me.
“But you’re even prettier… You’re prettier than her, prettier than any woman I’ve toyed with, ha ha ha—”
As he spoke, he stepped toward me.
“I can barely wait to hear your screams.”
“That will surely be, the most exquisite sound in the world…”
