Chapter 113: Iron Bones Clash, Passion Ablaze (12)
Boom—
In the split second when the ice wall shattered, I executed a Moon Step and leapt back over twenty meters. A rolling inferno erupted before me like a towering wave, accompanied by the sizzling sound of vapor evaporating. Countless ice shards and thick fog surged skyward, whooshing past my ears. The fierce wind stung my earlobes, and I hurriedly shielded my face with my hands. Bending my knees, I pushed off the ground hard, soaring high into the air.
Nothing was visible…
But that fireball was coming from over there!
Blue light erupted in my eyes again. In mid-air, my petite figure was like a vivid blue sun. The Power of Order surged within me like an ocean. I took a deep breath, compressing and gathering my immense strength into my palms.
Crack, crack, crack, crack—
The Frost Order coalesced around me as if it had substance, the sound of ice breaking reverberated around me. My gaze fixed on the trajectory of the fireball, and I inferred it was likely coming from the distant high wall. Isaac had confirmed that there were no knights from our side remaining on that wall.
In that case, I could unleash my powers without worry—
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!!!
As I thrust my palms forward, icy frost energy surged like a tidal wave into the thick fog, tearing a massive opening. The mist swirled around countless shards of ice, pushing forward with an unparalleled crushing force.
In an instant, I heard countless screams from a hundred meters away. The freezing air seemed to hit the wall with pinpoint accuracy, and the brittle sounds of ice spreading echoed in my ears. The next moment, a hazy firelight lit up the distance.
Boom, boom, boom, boom…
The air trembled, and the thicker fog mixed with steam rushed in, lowering visibility even further. In the haze ahead, a blazing fireball came howling back, and the temperature suddenly rose. I stepped onto an ice platform mid-air, used a Moon Step to dodge the fireball’s impact, and landed.
Boom—!!!
The fireball exploded behind me, creating a violent gust in the fog that sent my black hair flying wildly. The view ahead was still a sea of white mist; I couldn’t confirm if my previous attack had succeeded in killing any heretics. But clearly, the frosty air didn’t seem to have harmed the one who released the fireball. He could still counterattack against me.
If I couldn’t even pinpoint the enemy’s location, fighting was out of the question…
Time to fall back.
Since I had made up my mind, wasting more time was futile. In the thick fog, the third fireball flew toward me again. I executed a rapid Moon Step to retreat, quickly reaching the fog’s edge. The massive Horned Horse was waiting quietly there. I leaped onto its back, ignoring the shockwave from the explosions behind me, and turned its head toward Isaac’s direction, galloping away.
Hooves thundering against the ground, I charged through the darkness until I reached the elite cavalry’s front line. The Bald Deputy Commander rode down the slope on his beast, approaching, “I heard intense explosions. What? You’ve been playing with the rats?”
“Something like that.”
I nodded and replied, “I can disperse the fog. But the range isn’t ideal… perhaps about, two hundred… no, three hundred meters. Diameter of three hundred meters at most. Any further, it’s not impossible, but the temperature is too much for the knights to handle.”
I stumbled over my words, but I hoped I was clear. Roughly speaking, if I managed things well, my Frost Order could disperse fog within a three hundred meter diameter. Beyond that would require the Frost World, and that temperature was unbearable for these knights.
The ferocious-looking bald giant fell into thought, “Three hundred meters… on the battlefield, that’s too narrow… If the elite cavalry spreads out in front, the remaining thousand knights following behind… no, it would be too cramped. And this way, we’d lose the mobility advantage of the elite cavalry, turning us into live targets…”
“What if… we took just these six hundred and pushed into the city first?” I tilted my head and asked. “Isaac, we go in, locate the one with the Fog Order, k*ll him, and we can still disperse the thick fog.”
“No way, that’s too risky.”
Isaac immediately shook his head, dismissing my idea, “Let’s not even discuss how to find the guy; even if we do find him, we’ll face the fiercest ambush from the heretics. We are unaware of the enemy’s strength, and even if the two of us teamed up, whether we can quickly eliminate a powerful heretic under a multi-pronged attack remains uncertain. If we delay, the knights inside the city will be in a very passive position, and it could lead to utter annihilation.”
“Then let’s go, the two of us.”
If I went alone, my odds weren’t great. But adding Isaac to the mix might tip the scales in our favor.
“You little runt, why are your ideas so extreme?”
The bald giant chastised me, “I understand your eagerness to save people, but this is a battlefield. You cannot afford to gamble or walk a tightrope here; one misstep, and it’s not just you and me that d*e, it’s also hundreds or thousands of warriors behind us, and tens of thousands of civilians in the city. Your actions were already reckless. What if the heretics have other tricks and you get caught in the fog? What do we do then? Every individual must be responsible for their actions.”
With a stern tone and a fearsome expression, he made his point clear. I pressed my lips together, remaining silent. I felt angry, but I understood he was correct; I had been too hasty.
“Commander Isaac, please be gentler with the lady.”
The young bishop spoke up beside us, offering me a comforting smile. “Miss Silvya is still young and has never encountered the battlefield; it’s understandable she would think that way. Her willingness to risk herself to save trapped warriors and civilians shows her compassionate heart, doesn’t it?”
“But she is an honorable knight bearing responsibility.”
Isaac scratched his head and glanced over at me, “Now is not the time for idle chatter. The urgent matter is how we can more effectively dispel the fog… Does the Faith Organization have no solutions?”
“No better ideas.”
The young bishop frowned while gazing at the distant fog, “The fog is too thick. In this weather, if we conjure a divine miracle to bring snow, it would consume a significant amount of time. Even then, whether the low temperature would suffice to disperse the fog is still an unknown. The snow approach is far slower than Miss Silvya’s Frost Order. Throughout this process, the heretics’ reactions are unpredictable, and the people in the city can’t afford to wait.”
“What if we combined our efforts with the Frost Order? Is that a possibility?”
“That might work. However, the Faith Organization would likely be unable to provide effective assistance to the knights for a while, and we can’t participate in the charge—everything would depend on you.”
Isaac fell into thought as those words sank in.
Meanwhile, at the boundary of the distant forest, a thousand knights led by Angel appeared quietly in the night. The golden armor shimmered orange in the flickering firelight, approaching the direction of the elite cavalry along the slope. Captain Safiros rode up front, exchanging a few words with a messenger knight before loudly shouting to the crowd behind him, “Up the slope, quickly gather—”
At the rear of the formation, Pope Angel rode atop a giant beast draped in golden armor. He gazed into the distance where the city was shrouded in fog and illuminated by roaring firelight, his eyes flickering with an indescribable emotion.
“Ha, they’re coming!”
In the wilderness, Isaac watched the shadowy figures of over a thousand knights in the night, his brow lifting as he laughed heartily, instructing the knights behind him, “Immediately inform the Pope of the situation here!”
Under the night sky, the vast wilderness remained silent, the only sounds coming from the clanging of armor. The golden stream of knights formed an orderly assembly in the wind, all gazing solemnly at the massive city to the south, with fierce battle intent shining in each knight’s eyes.
…………
On the distant city walls enveloped in thick fog, a figure in black observed the gathering knights through the mist, his eyes glowing faintly blue. After a moment, a ghostly smile crept across his lips as he turned to the person beside him and said, “It seems the troops are assembled.”
“Yes.”
The other person nodded.
“Inform the troops, in fifteen minutes, I will disperse the fog. Everything follows the plan we discussed; the flesh wall can proceed now.”
The other person nodded again, a cruel grin spreading across his face draped in fog.
“The First Knights Order… haha.”
“This time, I want to play something fun with you, so don’t cry when you get excited…”
…………
“Pope.”
In the wilderness, the knights’ formation spread out and aligned on the slope. Isaac and his elite cavalry rode at the front, and behind the crowd, Pope Angel dismounted from his beast. Isaac, the young bishop, and I stepped forward together. The bald giant thumped his chest in salute, speaking rapidly, “The Fog Order is among the enemies; if we can’t eliminate it promptly, we will struggle to advance.”
“Alectine City is already in critical condition. We can’t ascertain the Third Knights Order’s situation due to the fog. The enemy’s movements and possible trap settings have become too hard to predict. We can’t recklessly charge, but we also can’t just stall. Pope, please make a decision.”
After reporting, I updated him about the fog dispersal. Angel rubbed his head, showing a thoughtful expression, “The Fog Order… ah, I have an unpleasant feeling about a particular character.”
His words were cryptic. Isaac and I exchanged confused glances, unsure who he was referring to, but clearly, Angel didn’t mind. He waved his hand casually, “Relay my orders: infantry shielded at the front, elite cavalry armed with poles behind, the Faith Organization in the middle. We advance in a herringbone formation, thin in the middle and thick on the sides. Miss Silvya stands at the center of formation, ensuring the knights aren’t frozen while using low temperatures to disperse the surrounding fog and open up visibility. I will cast the Wind of Freedom from the back, expanding the cold air to maximum range. All clerics of the Faith Organization should unleash their arc-shaped Sin Barriers with full force to assist the Judgment Fist as we breach into Alectine City!”
Not long after, fifteen hundred knights in the wilderness began to move.
It was the darkest part of the night; apart from the distant firelight, the sky was devoid of stars and moonlight. A gentle breeze wafted across the plains, carrying a slightly pungent scent. In the bl**d-stained mud, the tiny grass swayed defiantly against the bloody wind.
Beneath the city walls, murmurings broke out, mixed with occasional cries and the clinking of drawn swords, creating a chaotic buzz in the fog. Two kilometers to the north, a tightly knit formation of knights had formed on the slope, the golden wave appeared like a dagger. I stood in the center of the formation, flanked by dozens of Faith Organization members, with Isaac and the familiar young bishop beside me.
In the night, a chilling and murderous atmosphere gradually spread from the outside of the city.
Just as the knights were preparing to advance, my ears subtly twitched as I heard faint sounds coming from the fog ahead.
Was that…
It seemed to be voices, mixed with footsteps and something else—before I could even comprehend what the sounds signified, the knights at the front of the formation began to stir.
“What’s going on…”
“Why is the fog… dispersing…”
In a blink, the thick fog shrouding Alectine City dissipated.
In the distance, the sounds of chaotic footsteps and shouts began to approach us. I exchanged glances with Isaac and turned back to the Pope. Suddenly, golden radiance erupted from Angel’s formation, accompanied by the buzzing of the divine miracle. Blinding holy light filled the night sky, its golden rays streaming from the horizon, instantly forming a sphere of light that resembled a sun. The illumination dispelled the darkness in an instant, turning the wilderness into broad daylight. I couldn’t help but squint my eyes slightly.
Under the holy light, my gaze ahead revealed the silhouettes of countless heretics emerging from the dissipating mist.
My heart sank in alarm.
What trick are they playing…
For a moment, I couldn’t wrap my head around why the heretics would disperse the fog, abandon the city walls, and choose to confront us outside. This was clearly disadvantageous for them. I didn’t understand their motives and took deep breaths as my heartbeat quickened. Regardless, my grip tightened around the dark scythe in my hand, and I readied myself for a fight, just waiting for Isaac to give the order.
However, the next moment, I heard the bald giant’s enraged shout, “d*mn you! Those filthy beasts—”
What’s happening…
I stood in the formation, blocked by the unrest of countless knights around me. My vision was nearly obscured, and with no options left, I drew upon the Power of Order, summoning an ice pillar half a meter high beneath my feet. Standing atop it, I looked further ahead.
Then, my heart squeezed tight.
In the wilderness illuminated by holy light, a throng of shadowy figures slowly advanced toward us. A rough glance revealed at least five thousand, if not more.
That was a horde of heretics.
And at the forefront of their ranks were hundreds of n*ked, battered captives.
Between the heretics and the knights, stars ignited in the wilderness as flames blazed, accompanied by flashes of blades and whips and cries that echoed, as the captives trembled in the wind, huddled together, forced to move forward. They looked utterly weak, some collapsing mid-stride, unable to rise again.
Hanging from flagpoles were a few bodies that had been brutally beaten, their heads drooping without knowing if they were alive or dead. Dark red bl**d dripped from beneath them, and Isaac seemed to recognize one of the one-armed bodies.
“That’s… Nick Williams…”
The commander of the Third Knights Order…
In a moment, my heart felt as if it had plunged into an icy abyss.
“Get up! Move, all of you—”
Whips lashed out behind the captives, driving them forward. On the far slope, the figures of knights spread out, the chaotic sounds fading into silence as they all watched.
A young knight named Todd, battered and bruised, walked among the captives, stifling a sob.
He was a newer knight from the Third Knights Order, only sixteen years old, having participated in this battle after barely six months of training. Throughout his time, the terrifying heretics had assaulted the city walls like a torrent, with comrades falling one after another, faces changing until only strangers remained.
Many had thrown their lives into the defense, but ultimately, they had failed.
Tonight’s defeat came too swiftly; by the time his squad reacted, the enemy was already all around them. He and his comrades desperately resisted but still lost. Many died, and the survivors were pushed to exhaustion. They were prepared to d*e, believing they might still strike back as the heretics grew complacent.
Shivering in the night wind, they remained silent, waiting for an opportunity. But soon, they saw the commander of the Third Knights Order.
That one-armed figure was like a hero to Todd, having had his armor brutally stripped away, tied up with rope, dragged behind a Horned Horse. When he fell, leaving a trail of bl**d, it was clear he was on the brink of d*ath, dragged to the flagpole.
At that moment, Todd realized they had no more chances.
Todd contemplated d*ath, but not everyone has the courage to d*e in such a pitiful manner, especially not him; he wanted to d*e heroically, with value.
Not long after, the heretics unleashed the fog and drove them out of the city. Many were grievously injured, unable to walk, leaning on one another as they passed beneath the flagpoles and saw Commander Nick hanging there. Someone broke down in tears.
That once-mighty body was now a desolate sight, battered from head to toe by the heretics. Despite still clinging to life, it was clear he was not far from d*ath, and Todd couldn’t bear to look any longer.
The night wind howled, sweeping over the vast open land.
On the muddy ground, thousands of heretics advanced slowly, standing face-to-face with the eerily quiet knights, the tension in the air thick enough to slice with a kn*fe. The distance between them continued to decrease as the captives moved forward. In front of the heretic formation, figures in black and towering giants awaited the knights’ response.
On the slope, I, along with Isaac and the young bishop, watched this unfold, and the penetrating chill in our hearts melted away, replaced by an overpowering sense of defeat mixed with raging fury.
“We miscalculated…” the young bishop breathed heavily beside me, “The brothers of the Third Knights… they couldn’t hold… we arrived too late…”
“Isaac…”
My lips felt like they were bleeding.
Calling out Isaac’s name almost felt like forcing the words through my clenched teeth. My anger threatened to ignite my reason, yet I understood I couldn’t act recklessly.
The bald giant’s expression remained emotionless.
He merely glanced at me before slowly raising his right hand high.
“Draw! Your! Swords—!!!”
Clang—
A resounding clang echoed from the slope as knights stood and raised their swords, pointing them forward, though their faces wore expressions of hesitation.
