Chapter 472: Palpable
The battlefield was suddenly thrust into an unseemly situation.
Camelot and the Demon Empire faced off against The Empire, but now there was White City who had suddenly inserted themselves into the mix.
Arthur, Mordred and Noah could immediately tell with absolute certainty that this army of White City"s was much different than it had been in the past. Its aura was more oppressive, its momentum much more frightening, and the commander at its helm was on a completely different level.
Noah"s sharp gaze swept toward City Lord White"s direction. They were still over a kilometer away, but by the time they broke out into a charge, it wouldn"t even take a few minutes for them to cross over the final distance.
"Meralda!"
"Yes, Empress?"
The moment Mordred called out, a succubus demon stepped forward.
"Take Aina to the back line. Take some help with you to carry her things."
Meralda blinked in slight confusion. Did she really need help for this?
But, her expression changed when Mordred pa.s.sed over Aina"s unconscious body.
Succubi were known for their strong Spirit Pressure. But, as demons, they also had bodies stronger than the average human knight. And, Meralda in particular, was a hand picked protector for the Demon Empress, so it wouldn"t be a surprise if she was many times stronger than the average succubus. Yet, even she nearly collapsed.
Without a choice, Meralda listened to her Empress" words and quickly shuttled Aina away with the help of several others.
Aina"s breathing continued to grow more erratic, her body becoming almost scolding to the touch. Despite the fact the temperature of Camelot was quite mild, her body billowed with steam as though she might erupt at any moment.
Meralda wasn"t sure what she could do about this. She wasn"t a healer. All she could do was move Aina to the backline and hope the medical professionals could do something for her.
Noah and Nile watched as Aina was being taken away, but they didn"t say a word. This already wasn"t a situation where they could continue to push their luck.
Arthur"s gaze narrowed.
Their armies were currently facing Noah"s. To face City Lord White, they would have to maneuver and s.h.i.+ft their vanguard around, but doing such a thing was easier said than done. At the very least, Camelot didn"t have such good military structure. In such a situation, even a well disciplined army would face issues.
To make matters worse, they had all just come out of a long, hard fought battle. The battlefield itself hadn"t even been properly cleared yet.
This was completely unlike White City"s previous pattern. Usually they would only levy one attack a day. It was clear in hindsight now that they had done this on purpose.
The good was that this army seemed to only be built of 500 or so men and women. The bad news, however, was that not only were all their ground units riding mounts, but they also had an aerial unit of more than 50 men and winged beasts.
The combined army of Camelot, the Demon Empire and The Empire numbered almost 3000. But, White City wasn"t made up of fools.
Though it could be argued that the appearance of The Empire on this battlefield should be an unknown variable for White City, there was no way White City didn"t have forward scouts, and, as such, it was equally impossible that they wouldn"t already be aware of The Empire"s presence. Yet, they chose to charge forward regardless.
Arthur unsheathed his sword, causing a s.h.i.+mmering blade to dance beneath the high sun.
"KNIGHTS! ON ME!"
His roar shook the battlefield.
"[Holy Road]!"
Arthur"s Spirit Pressure surged as his knees bent. The land beneath his feet cracked as he rocketed forward, a road of golden light following him as he arched across the skies.
In a single leap, he crossed into the no-man"s land between Camelot"s armies and White City"s.
His actions spoke louder than words ever could. If The Empire still chose to attack them in situation, Camelot was all but finished.
Noah watched this in silence, his gaze slowly s.h.i.+fting toward Mordred. But, it seemed as though Mordred didn"t have any intention of taking the same actions as her father. She continued to face Noah, waiting for him to make a decision.
Noah remained silent as though he couldn"t feel the rumbling ground and the growing oppressive aura.
Without a word, his slow charge toward Mordred s.h.i.+fted directions, cutting an angle across the battlefield and toward White City"s charging presence.
At that same moment, the remaining six Knights of the Round Table reacted to Arthur"s call. They had to give the demon army and Camelot"s army enough time to change face.
"Empress!"
Mordred s.h.i.+fted her gaze away, looking toward Meralda who had come rus.h.i.+ng back.
"What is it? Is the little girl alright?"
"Yes, yes. I"ve already pa.s.sed her along to the medical units."
"Then what is the problem?"
"This… I." Meralda sighed. "White City is also attacking for Perveaux Barony as well. I just received a voice transmission report, we"re under siege."
Mordred"s jaw clenched. In truth, she didn"t need to hear this report to know that this would happen. The moment The Empire came here, she knew that her Empire was in danger.
Though Mordred had returned home and regained a semblance of family, she couldn"t just abandon the demons that had allowed her into their fold. The Demon Empire might not be her home anymore, but it was definitely theirs.
A flicker of rage pa.s.sed through Mordred"s pupils. Did they really take her, the Demon Empress, so lightly?
"What"s the situation?"
"Your Majesty left Crakos in charge. He predicts that he can last about half a day before they have to retreat into the mountains once again. According to the report, there are at least ten White Knights on that battlefield."
"Ten?" Mordred"s brow furrowed deeper.
According to what they knew, there were only 16 to begin with. One of them had been killed by Leonel, so there was only 15. For ten to be on that battlefield, it was clear that this was all planned out from the very beginning.
The worst part of all of this was that it couldn"t be forgotten that this moon was a sphere. If White City conquered The Demon Empire, it would be as good as gaining two footholds to demolish Camelot with.
A dark aura surged around Mordred, causing Meralda to s.h.i.+ver.
At that moment, Meralda"s talisman glowed once again.
"Leave it to me, Em."
Mordred"s rage suddenly dissipated with the wind. That voice, wasn"t that Leonel? He was on the Perveaux battlefield? Why was he there? Did he already predict this?
"Don"t worry, I"ll send them packing soon."
Mordred could almost see Leonel"s grin through the talisman, his air of confidence hanging palpably in the air.