Chapter 822 Oppression (7)
Gaham took a step toward the silhouette, and as he did, a powerful gust of wind blew around him and cleared the remaining cloud of smoke.
The few people nearby were forced back a few steps from the intensity of the wind. They dug their heels into the ground to stop getting pushed back by the wind, leaving more than an inch-deep mark as they went.
Gaham raised his morning star after sensing something amiss. He failed to notice it earlier because he was concerned for the princess's well-being, but now that he saw the supposed site of the explosion, apart from the earlier shockwaves, there was no indication of it on the ground. There were traces of the arrows on the ground, but they were too few compared to the multitude released earlier. Thinking back on it, the explosions at that time were a little strange. They were too few. No matter how many arrows collided that could reduce the number of explosions or residues on the ground, it still did not tally.
"Knights on my lead!" Gaham shouted a command, taking advantage of his position as a Commander to take authority.
All knights that heard his plea gripped their Divine Armaments and stood at a ready.
"Secure the Princess and take down the enemy-!"
Bam!
"Ack!"
Gaham had yet to finish what he was saying when a shadow fleeted before him. It was followed by something solid slamming his stomach, which strength hoisted him off his feet.
Bam!
"Gah!"
Before Gaham could even register what had happened or reach the highest point at which his body was hoisted up, his head hit something solid again. He slammed into the ground face-first and was knocked out cold.
"Arms forward- gah!"
Hohen tried to resume command when he saw Gaham getting plummeted but got thrown back several meters. Due to the momentum of the hit, he rolled and skidded on the ground before he managed to stop. But by then, he was already unconscious. Other knights with a higher rank tried to resume command,, but even before Hohen fell unconscious, more of them got thrown back or up one after another. Some even got slammed on the spot. In any case, they all went out cold with just one hit.
The remaining knights were shocked beyond belief. Not only were they unable to retaliate, but they also failed to get a proper look at their perpetrator.
The cloud of smoke had cleared by then, and they could see Princess Kesiah standing in the middle of the explosion. But she remained unmoving, and the enemy was nowhere in sight. One thing they noticed, though, was that her red crystal armor had strangely turned purple. Evidently, the enemy did something to her.
In any case, they already guessed that the unseen perpetrator was the enemy. Thus, they had to detain him no matter what and have him undo whatever he did to their princess.
After the enemy took down around twenty knights and officers alike, the rest had already adjusted to the situation. Some of the knights did not take long to get used to the enemy's speed and start their counterattack.
Since the enemy seemed to go after the knight who would bark a command, the remaining high-ranked knights no longer shouted. Using eye contact, these knights commanded their team at ease, and they successfully regrouped.
One after another, the knights launched their counter. They surrounded the enemy and had their range members attack first and bait him to a suitable position for their melees to attack.
Soon, the enemy's speed in taking down their comrade was reduced, and they could now see his movements much better.
Some melee attacks managed to connect. But the enemy's defense was too strong their attacks were rendered ineffective. It felt like they were hitting steel rather than a body with flesh.
The expressions of some knights fighting a melee against the enemy changed dramatically. Only then did they realize that the enemy was fighting without armor. He wore a dark blue with purple gantlets, but that was it.
They could not help but rack their brains to recall if the enemy had been that way right from the start.
No!
The knight, leading the melee attack, stared at the enemy with wide eyes as he recalled the color of the enemy's armor was dark purple. The shade was lighter, and the design was different, but he could not shake the feeling that the 'Princess in red-turned-purple crystal armor' standing motionless at the center of the explosion was no longer the Princess.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw the few knights stealthily making their way to the Princess to save her and sensed a looming threat.
"Stop! Don't go anywhere near that-!"
Bam!
The knight could not even utter a grunt when he lost consciousness after taking a direct hit on his temple.
Kyran watched the knight fall to the ground and inwardly sighed in admiration. He knew his trick would be discovered sooner or later. After all, the color of their Princess's armor differed significantly from the previous one. Besides that, he himself was no longer wearing one. If they connected the color of his armor to the Princess's current one, it would only be a matter of time before one of them realized that the one standing there was not their princess but something else.
Still, he had expected to lessen their number before that happened, but apparently, he underestimated them.
Kyran was not annoyed, though. He was even impressed because at least he was not dealing with stupid people. He really found the Armakean knights remarkable. Not only did they not falter after losing their leader, but another one immediately took over. When Kyran targeted those knights who assumed leadership, the next ones to assume leadership immediately stopped cascading verbal orders to prevent him from targeting the next one.
The system in which these knights were working was simple but very effective. And all of them adapted to the situation quickly and efficiently.
Their combat skills were also good. Those with range Divine Armaments were not limited to attacking at range. They also stepped in every now and then to assist those with melee Divine Armaments, allowing them to coordinate strategies and force Kyran to make a mistake.
So far, Kyran had yet to make a real mistake, but because of their coordination, they managed to land a hit every now and then.
The more he fought them, the more he wanted to have them as subordinates.
[Void Halfling! Void Halfling! They are getting scarily close to me now! Should I move? Rather, can I move? I'm getting a little itchy standing motionless here!]
True Void's warning forced Kyran out of his reverie and refocused his attention on the task at hand. He looked over at the knights True Void warned him about and immediately went after them.
The knights on the verge of realizing the truth about the princess noticed his movement and stopped him. Contrary to the knight Kyran took down just now, most were convinced that their princess's armor changed color because the enemy put her under a restraining spell.
Several knights tried to intercept Kyran but ended up getting beaten out cold. Nevertheless, the few times they got in his way bought a few seconds for the knights approaching True Void.
[Ack! They are getting eerily close, Void Halfling! And I am really getting very, very itchy!]
Despite the situation's urgency, Kyran could not help but twitch at True Void's hysterics. Frankly, the only reason he wanted everyone to think their princess was still there and in dire need of saving was to stop them from retreating.
While having them retreat could be good for them because they could easily conquer the border, it also meant the King would be made aware of their failure to protect the border and Kesiah. There was also the matter of Achim.
Kyran had yet to confirm what happened to them. He was not worried that something terrible happened to them per se because he could sense them nearby. He wanted to know how the situation on their side unfolded that allowed Hohen to win over Achim's knights.
"Don't falter! He is only one man! We'll wear him out eventually!"
Someone among the crowd shouted, encouraging the knights and officers to continue their attack.
However, as if those words were spoken to curse them, cries of pain resounded from different locations on the battlefield.
Some of the knights and officers chose to fight the Comodo and the Dryad. But their situation was more or less in a stalemate, and neither the magical beasts nor the Armakeans could land an effective hit against each other.
The leading knight, hidden amongst the ones up front, realized that the cries came at the periphery of their ranks, and his expression turned dark.
Hearing the recent commotion at the back, Kyran could not help but smile.
"You guys took your time."
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