The priest whose arms had been shattered screamed as he was flung backward. The priest beside him couldn’t hide his shock. Before he could even process the situation, the massive mace approached with undiminished speed, as if nothing had happened.
The second priest, realizing the futility of blocking, tried to dodge instead. However, his panic caused him to react just a moment too late.
CRUNCH!
“Urghhh!”
CRACK!
Struck in the side by the mace, his ribs shattered, and he was sent flying.
Parniel, the Saintess of War, stopped herself from delivering further blows. The cavalry were now charging forward at full speed.
Foll𝑜w current novℯls on ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Seeing them advance, Parniel leapt toward them.
If the transcendent warriors of the Salvation Order had been breaking Allied formations, then she, too, could tear through the Atrode forces.
“Hup!”
Veins bulged on Parniel’s forearms as she pushed her power to its limits. An overwhelming aura surged from the mace, illuminating it with blinding light.
Then, she slammed the massive weapon into the ground with all her might.
BOOOOM!
The earth shook and cracked. Even those who witnessed it firsthand could hardly believe the sheer force of the blow.
“Hiiiieee!”
“Waaaaah!”
The charging cavalry and their horses collapsed, tripping over the shattered ground.
The front ranks fell, and the riders behind them tumbled in a chaotic mess.
Count Deproden stared at the scene, his jaw hanging open in disbelief.
“The... Saintess of War? Why is she here?!”
The Saintess was supposed to be with the Ruthania main force. How could she possibly appear here?!
Count Deproden turned his head frantically. The priests of the 10th Corps had to succeed in their attack.
The priests of the 10th Corps, who had started slightly ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) later, gritted their teeth and pushed forward. They, too, could see that the situation at the front had taken a turn for the worse.
Fwoosh!
However, from the flank, another figure emerged.
“The One-Armed?”
It was the masked warrior with a single arm. The priests scrambled to recall what they knew of him.
Despite the mask, the man’s identity was unmistakable because of his missing arm.
He was the man who wore the mask out of shame for failing to protect his lord and for the atrocities he had once committed.
“That must be Tenant!”
Fwoosh!
Blue mana erupted fiercely from Tenant’s sword. Thanks to Ghislain, he had reached transcendent status, and through countless battles, he had only grown stronger.
BOOOM!
“Ugh!”
A priest who raised his arm to block Tenant’s strike was forced back. Another priest seized the opening to attack, but Tenant parried it effortlessly.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The fight between Tenant and the two priests began in earnest.
Tenant, with his exceptional talent and honed skill, couldn’t overwhelm them as quickly as Parniel, but it was more than enough to hold his ground against two half-baked priests.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
In the distance, the cavalry of the 10th Corps advanced. Tenant, however, paid them no mind.
The Allied cavalry positioned on both flanks suddenly reached for their belts and drew bows.
They were Ruthania’s elite mounted archers.
The elf Lumina assessed the distance and gave a simple command.
“Fire.”
SWOOSH!
An overwhelming barrage of arrows descended upon the charging cavalry.
Ordinary arrow fire posed little threat to cavalry—they could either dodge by speeding up or deflect them with their armor.
The Atrode cavalry attempted to knock the arrows aside as usual.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
That was until the arrows pierced their shields and armor.
“Hiiiieee!”
“Arghhh!”
The cavalry began to fall, horses and riders entangled in a chaotic mess. Many died before they understood what was happening.
While they knew their light armor was a vulnerability, they hadn’t expected arrows with such devastating force.
It felt as if every shot had been loosed from heavy crossbows at close range.
“Don’t stop! Keep riding! Move!”
The cavalry in the rear tried desperately to advance by leaping over their fallen comrades, hoping to close the distance before another volley.
But before the first barrage had even ended, a second wave of arrows darkened the sky.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
“What... What is this?!”
The rate of fire was incomprehensible.
The Atrode army had heard rumors of the Ruthania mounted archers’ prowess, but they dismissed them as exaggeration—merely “competent archers” at best.
They had no idea of the destructive power and speed of the new bows that Ghislain had commissioned at great cost. He had almost lost Gillian to Count Desmond while securing their production.
Now perfected, these bows had turned the Ruthania archers into harbingers of terror on the battlefield.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
The arrows rained down relentlessly, tearing through the cavalry ranks. They couldn’t even approach before being swept away.
And the assault didn’t stop there.
A 6th-Circle mage of Ruthania was present on the battlefield, along with numerous 5th- and 4th-Circle mages.
The Atrode forces had brought mages of their own to counter enemy spells, but their role was limited to suppressing magic.
Even then, they couldn’t suppress all of Ruthania’s overwhelming magical might.
BOOOM!
Pillars of fire erupted where the cavalry had fallen. The Ruthania mages had managed to bypass the enemy’s magical interference, unleashing their spells.
BOOM! BOOOM!
Though not many spells hit, those that did were devastating.
Meanwhile, Parniel had returned to battle, taking on the Salvation Order priests. Despite being transcendent warriors, the priests could barely endure her relentless onslaught.
The cavalry lay scattered, most of them dead or dying.
Tenant, still fighting the priests, bellowed a single command.
“Attack!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Soldiers armed with spears and shields advanced in an orderly fashion. They bypassed the struggling priests and surged forward to finish off the fallen cavalry.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
The Atrode cavalry were helpless, slaughtered where they lay.
Meanwhile, the mounted archers spread out, encircling the remaining enemies and raining down arrows.
The few cavalry who survived were utterly defenseless.
Count Deproden watched the massacre in horror.
“That... That army...”
They were outmatched in both numbers and equipment. Such overwhelming might was not something any ordinary army could display.
Only Ruthania’s forces possessed such power on this continent.
“Why is the Ruthania army here? Was this... a trap?”
Two possibilities ran through his mind.
Either their planted traitor had betrayed them, or Duke Fenris had discovered the traitor and turned him into a double agent.
The first seemed implausible—the traitor was a devout follower of the Salvation Order. If betrayal had been his intent, he would have acted long before this.
That meant Duke Fenris had identified the traitor and exploited him to launch this counterattack.
“We... We must report this!”
Count Deproden turned his horse sharply. The 9th and 10th Corps were finished. The infantry remaining behind could do nothing.
The Salvation Order priests fighting on the front lines couldn’t hope to turn the tide.
“Move! Inform the other corps of this!”
Count Deproden and his escorts began their retreat.
The mounted archers pursued immediately. Though the distance was significant, the Ruthania cavalry’s skill was second to none.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
The gap steadily closed. Lumina, bow in hand, narrowed her eyes.
“I dislike causing animals pain, but...”
She knew what was at stake.
THWACK!
An arrow streaked through the air and struck Count Deproden’s horse in the flank.
“Hiiiiiieee!”
The horse screamed, stumbling and collapsing. Count Deproden was thrown to the ground, rolling painfully across the dirt.
“Ugh!”
“Commander!”
His escort knights dismounted to help him. But by then, the Ruthania archers had already caught up.
“Protect the commander!”
The knights turned to face the archers, desperate to buy time. They deflected arrow after arrow with their mana-infused weapons.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
But there were too many arrows, and the knights were not transcendent warriors.
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
One by one, they fell, bristling with arrows.
Even the knights carrying Count Deproden faltered and fell.
Finally, an arrow struck Count Deproden’s leg, forcing him to the ground. The archers had spared his life—for now.
“Damn... Damn you...”
Count Deproden bit his lip in frustration.
He had been so certain of victory, only to fall into a trap. He had never imagined Duke Fenris would identify the traitor so quickly and respond so decisively.
But it won’t be easy for him. Some corps remain inactive to counter unexpected developments.
Count Deproden clenched his jaw.
The Atrode army had prepared corps that remained vigilant, monitoring the situation. If communications ceased, they would quickly understand what had happened.
BOOOM! BOOOM!
By the time Count Deproden was captured, the two priests fighting Parniel had been reduced to bloodied rags.
Despite their transcendent strength, they had finally reached their limit.
One priest, broken and battered, staggered to his feet and raised a trembling hand.
“I... I surrender...”
Parniel’s expression remained cold.
“Will you repent for your sins against the goddess?”
“I... I will. Please, just...”
“Cleanse your sins through death.”
BOOOM!
Parniel’s mace crushed his head, killing him instantly.
The remaining enemies stared at her in terror. She had beaten two transcendent priests to death with sheer brute force.
Meanwhile, Tenant’s sword found its mark, cutting down the last priest who had been distracted by Parniel’s arrival.
“Thank you,” Tenant said, nodding slightly.
Parniel returned the gesture with a calm smile.
“Think nothing of it.”
“Waaaaaaah!”
The soldiers erupted into cheers. Parniel’s overwhelming power ignited a fire in their hearts.
With their victory secured, Tenant mounted his horse and addressed the troops.
“No need to clean up the battlefield. We move to the next target immediately.”
With that, the victorious Ruthania forces began their march toward their next destination.
***
Count Srouke, commander of the 6th Corps of the Atrode Army, was looting a city when he received new information.
“Hm? Is that so? The new position has been confirmed?”
The Allied forces had already suffered under his hand once. Determining that their information had leaked, they had established a new strategy.
This time, two corps had positioned themselves closer together for mutual support. It was a similar tactic to their own.
Of course, the Atrode Army was on the offensive while the Allied forces were taking a defensive stance.
“Hmm...”
Count Srouke fell into thought. Excluding the Ruthania Army, the Allied forces consisted of four corps in total.
One of those corps contained the traitor. Two others had already been annihilated and scattered. That left only one remaining corps.
“That’s not in my sector.”
The Allied forces currently on the move would likely be handled by the 9th and 10th Corps. Even without direct communication, commanders like him were expected to judge situations and act independently.
He had his own task to accomplish.
“It’s about time to cut off their supply lines and intercept the reinforcements.”
If reinforcements gathered, the situation would become troublesome. The scattered Allied soldiers who fled would also regroup.
His goal, as always, was to sever the supply lines and eliminate any incoming reinforcements, just as initially planned.
“We’re ahead of schedule. We’ve managed to reduce the Allied forces much faster than expected.”
The Atrode Army’s goal was to deplete the Allied forces as much as possible and secure strategic locations. If successful, the Ruthania Army would be left isolated and surrounded.
After all, Duke Fenris had left those supply routes open, likely with minimal or no forces stationed there.
The key now was to ensure that no further reinforcements accumulated.
“Since Duke Fenris and the Prince of Turian are on the move, we’ll leave this area swiftly. Contact the 5th Corps as well.”
He already knew which routes the reinforcements would take. Since they were traveling separately, it wouldn’t be difficult to eliminate them one by one.
Thus, the 6th Corps of the Atrode Army began to move once again.
But Count Srouke failed to notice something.
High in the sky, a lone raven circled silently.
The raven soon took flight, gliding toward a distant location. After flying for some time, it arrived at a site where a large group of soldiers was gathered.
The raven landed on the shoulder of the man leading the force.
“They’re found. They’re moving exactly as expected.”
The man, Julien, nodded coldly, his expression unwavering.