Chapter 1030: Chapter 448: Battle of La-Mesnil Abbey (Part 2)
Both sides’ attention was drawn to the power of the artillery as Kemler’s voice screamed hoarsely, "Celestial Ghosts! My Fear Beast! Go deal with those cannons! Destroy them!"
Two Fear Beasts and a squad of Bloodthirsty Celestial Ghosts responded, flapping their wings, intending to strike the walls of the monastery from the sky and destroy the distant artillery.
"Brothers of the Swift Celestial Spear Association! The Lady needs your lances and swords!" Pierre the Saint, the Holy Grail Knight in charge of guarding the monastery, sat atop a Pegasus. Behind him were eighty Pegasus Knights: "Tell me, what will you do?"
"For the Lady! Defend the land the Lady has bestowed upon us!" The Swift Celestial Spear Association, led by Fastrick the Ghoul Slayer, replied loudly, as the Pegasus Knights took flight from the walls, engaging the Undead Air Force head-on. In the first round of combat, five Celestial Ghosts and three Pegasus Knights fell, plummeting from the sky.
No mercy, no compassion.
The aerial battle continued. On the defenders’ right wing, four legions of Undead Knights and a squad of Blood Knights led by Mathew Bade joined the battlefield. The Undead Warhorses and Nightmare Warhorses spewed sulphur flames, chaos reigned across the battlefield. Many formations of the Undead Army stood in front of Mathew Bade and the Undead Knights, and the Duke of Musillon’s orders were to grind anything obstructing the Knights’ charge into dust.
Arrows and cannonballs flying sideways shattered Mathew Bade’s Undead Knights into bits of bone. Lacking long-range support, the Undead Knights faced heavy firepower before engaging, slowing the cavalry lance array’s pace. But Mathew Bade had no intention of stopping, he raised his black banner with golden serpents, ready to unleash his vengeance.
Count Kuileu Antelme, with a stern expression, also raised his cavalry lance. The Knights of Winford tightly united, prepared to confront the Undead Knight Legions head-on.
The clash of steel began.
At the center of the battle, the first line of defense led by Francois had collapsed, leaving only the seasoned veterans of the Winford Escapee Group clinging on. Francois keenly realized the need for a second line of defense, issuing orders swiftly as the Duke commanded the elite Walking Knights of the Duke of Winford’s Clan and their Escorts to push forward from behind. Clad in gleaming armor, the Walking Knights and Foot Combat Attendants wielded two-handed greatswords, advancing in the name of the Lady amidst the undead tide. Those who initially breached the center, the Desolate Tomb Guards, Tomb Evil Ghosts, and Tomb Ghouls, quickly found themselves facing far more formidable foes than they had imagined. The La-Mesnil Holy Watchers wielding swords blessed by the Lake God Prophet and wooden shields charged into the fray, retreating not an inch, engaging in a bloody battle with the Undead in fervor.
The second line of defense was temporarily stabilized.
And Kemler’s answer was also straightforward. The Undead Grand Mage joined the battle atop his black chariot, accompanied by the Undead Chaos Chosen Warriors under his command. Kemler raised the Chaos Tomb Digger Sword he wielded, chanting magic: "Curse of Time!"
More than a hundred peasant soldiers and several knights enveloped by magic turned grey and withered as their hair turned white, their skin dried, and their bodies shriveled. Within a minute, they lived their entire lives, becoming mummified corpses. With the Undead Chaos Chosen Warriors joining the fray, the battle turned in favor of Kemler.
The battle escalated as the ancient Elf ruins of La-Mesnil Abbey bore witness to this bloody fight. The human, Dwarf, and Wood Elf Alliance Army defending the monastery were forced to retreat as the frontline began deforming under Kemler’s assault. Despite attempts to counterattack aided by long-range firepower, the Undead Army’s numbers seemed endless. As the battle tipped in his favor, Guer stood on a boulder, holding up his black giant axe with one hand, unabashedly expressing his thirst and satisfaction for blood and skulls. Under his command, a new round of destruction and slaughter was imminent.
Then, the Champion of the Four Chaos Gods would personally enter the fray.
War raged from ground to sky, as the situation on the left wing saw the Desolate Tomb Guards and Tomb Evil Ghosts remaining entangled with the Dwarfs, while the Wood Elf’s Eternal Guard and Long Halberdiers showed signs of defeat. Guer felt furious as his army rapidly dwindled.
The bandits, brigands, and Beastmen, what were they doing? Guer turned his gaze behind his army formation, what he saw made his undead form boil with rage.
The bandits and brigands had long been scared senseless by the battle’s uproar, while the Beastman Tribe had feasted upon the corpses of human soldiers, seizing the moment when none were watching to slip away from the battlefield. These ragtag forces did not wish to face Kemler’s retribution afterward.
In the midst of the battleline, a Flaming Skull swept across the Undead Array, vaporizing everything in its wake. The Undead formation was shredded into disarray, halting the continuity of their attack and granting precious time for the defenders to reorganize. Just as Guer was about to command his troops to reshape their ranks, an ominous sense of danger enveloped him, prompting him to leap from the boulder unhesitatingly.
"Meteorite Technique!" The charming shout of Laine Lady-in-Waiting Veronica, followed by soldiers’ cheers, rang out consecutively. A storm gathered in the sky, unleashing fiery meteors that rained upon the undead array, reaping Guer’s army in swathes. Behind Guer, a Bloodthirsty Bat Wolf’s head was struck by a molten rock, melting in fire and magma. The giant beast howled a few cries before its headless body toppled aside.
