Chapter 322: Flying Head Barbarian
Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy
"We lost?"
Within the Holy City, the Holy One listened to the news brought by his men in disbelief.
"Faceless One was actually defeated?" The Holy One angrily slapped the armrest of the white stone holy seat. A wave of shock rapidly spread, shaking the whole hall.
In the face of the legendary level Holy One’s wrath, his men sweat like rain, yet they insisted on the factuality of the news.
"Yes. In the presence of all, Faceless One was a.s.sa.s.sinated by a mysterious girl using the weapon that is suspected to be the artifact sword of Brettonia, Caliburn."
"Caliburn?" Holy One was surprised for a moment, and then somewhat bewilderedly and confusedly said, "How could it be Caliburn? It’s clearly… forget it, just report the news to the Holy One Prophet, and be sure to seek his advice."
"No need. I already know about it."
With that, another person in golden red robe walked into the hall. As his footstep fell, the tremor in the hall also stabilized.
"No need to panic. The failure of Faceless One is not a bad thing for us."
The holy one who came was admired by the whole church for his prophecy, his ability to discern the future. He was the most revered among the five legendary level holy ones. Upon seeing him come, the master of the place hastened to get up and salute.
"Is there any advice for us, prophet?"
The Holy One Prophet said, "The failure of Faceless One lies in the variables. When I sent him, I thought his opponent would only be Bedivere. Even if Rowan and Marina defected, he would still be able to suppress them. However, in Dragon City suddenly appeared variables. Whether it’s the girl that holds the Caliburn, or the Nine Regions people by her side, all of them are unforeseen variables. But, the appearance of these variables actually makes my dream clearer, and I was also able to determine the ident.i.ty of that black dragon."
The Holy One Prophet’s dream of Doomsday Dragon has been circulating in the high-level circle of Holy Light Religion for centuries. At this time, upon hearing that the prophet was able to identify the black dragon, everyone immediately became ecstatic.
"Have been determined? Then…"
"It’s the girl who killed Faceless One and claimed to be the daughter of the Knight King."
"It’s her? Humph, that’s good, we can deal with them all in one fell swoop. This matter is of utmost importance, so how about we get rid of them together? We can’t let them have the opportunity to take a breath."
Holy One Prophet said, "I came here exactly because I have the same intention as you. Other than us, there’s also…"
Before he could continue, a subordinate ran in from outside the hall. He has a hasty panicky look, greatly losing his bearing.
The master of the place angrily said, "What is the meaning of this?"
That subordinate flopped down on his knees. "Apologies, Your Holiness, but I just got an urgent message. The eastern front line is in great danger, a group of Nine Regions people has formed an alliance with the eastern city-states and marched on Holy City!"
"What!"
For the Holy Light Religion, the eastern city-states have always been the thorn in their side. With the increasing exchange between the East and West (continents), the development in the eastern part of the continent has become increasingly rapid. Towards this, the Holy Light Religion had deliberately used saboteurs to create a wedge between the two continents. Unexpectedly to them, the result of this was contrary to what they expected. The two sides united and made them their common enemy.
The Holy One Prophet was also greatly shocked. Among the five legendary level holy ones, he was the strongest supporter of the incitement of the Nine Regions and the Eastern City States because, in his prophecy, there was no possibility of union between the two sides. It was impossible to unite the two sides and fight the Holy City!
"Prophet…" The master of the place was stunned.
The prophet closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. "The Holy City is the foundation of the church. We can’t go and deal with the dragon yet. We first need to solve the immediate crisis, but we can’t let things take their course either. I think we should summon the Holy Knights regiment that is stationed to guard the western border, then we launch the local rulers in Brettonia to attack together. After the battle, Dragon City would no longer have the opportunity to narrowly escape again. By that time, even if we can’t destroy the Knight King and his Caliburn, we would’ve destroyed his foundation, turning him into a stray dog, and he no longer would be a threat to us."
"But, if that is the genuine Caliburn…"
"Humph, you mean about the Savage Lord disaster one hundred and fifty years ago? At that time, the ten times as many forces of the Savage Lord was defeated and he was killed, becoming the stepping stones for the Knight King towards the peak. But, the number of troops that we are going to send out is twenty times as many. Currently, the available soldiers in Dragon City are around two thousand to three thousand troops. From our group, there will be the western regiment holy knights plus the surrounding local forces, a total of one hundred thousand professions as the core army. That’s enough to crush Dragon City. No matter how sharp that Caliburn is, could it utterly destroy a one hundred thousand strong army?"
"Okay. I understand."
—
In the western part of the continent, at the entrance of the wildlands stood a fortified fortress. The prestigious and ill.u.s.trious Bloodl.u.s.t Holy Knight regiment was stationed here. The core army consisted of thirty thousand people of at least middle order profession. They kept off all the creatures from the wildlands isolated from the rest of the continent. It could be said that they were the patron saint of the western civilization. It was also because of this merit that the Holy Light Religion consolidated its status as the number one religion in the continent.
Because the duty of guarding the border was too important, the Bloodl.u.s.t Holy Knight regiment has almost never been transferred. For many generations, the knight regiment grew and took deep root here. Using the Cold Wind Fort as their core, they gradually spread out to the nearby small cities. Many people who once lived in the nearby villages chose to be more closely attached to the protection of the knights, and in exchange, they would provide additional supplies for the knights. At the same time, there were also some naturalized barbarian tribes that settled there, which the knights didn’t block.
In recent decades, the fighting task of the Bloodl.u.s.t Holy Knight regiment was not much, and the life on the towns surrounding the fort has also seemed easy. The training and actual combat of the core of the knights were concentrated in the western part of the fort and in the border, so common people could not see it and only thought that these dozens of years of peace seemed to be eternal.
However, early in the morning, people were suddenly awakened from their deep sleep. They felt that the ground was s.h.i.+vering gently and there was a successive metal collision sound. Sometimes, it was mixed with the stout billowing commanding voice. A layer of shady haze enveloped the peaceful town.
No one living here was completely unfamiliar with the war, and this familiar atmosphere awakened them: The war is coming?
The center of the small town was a s.p.a.cious road, which was the interior path for the Cold Wind Fortress Army. Although for several decades, it was rarely walked by the Bloodl.u.s.t Holy Knights, usually no one dared to occupy that road, and it has also always been maintained clean. However, at this time, people were amazed to find that the s.p.a.cious road has been filled with dense crowds. Ranks of heavily armed Bloodl.u.s.t Holy Knights came out of the fort and neatly marched towards the east. When taking a broad view of them, it actually was more than a thousand people! The follow-up troops were endless!
For decades, it was not uncommon for the small mobilization of the Bloodl.u.s.t Holy Knights. However, to mobilize thousands upon thousands of troops at one time, this large-scale operation was something that has never been done before.
East? Exactly what happened there?
"General, isn’t it too hasty to mobilize twenty thousand troops and over five thousand people with professions overnight?"
In the midst of the army, two knights with exceptionally bright armors spoke in whispers. One of them was the commander of the Expeditionary Force, one of the deputy heads of the Bloodl.u.s.t Holy Knight Regiment, and the other one was the deputy commander of this trip.
"The urgent call order from the Holy City asked us, the knights, to arrive in Brettonia in five days at all cost and siege the Dragon City along with the other local forces. So, even if there’s an accident in our rush, it can’t be helped."
"Local forces? Those group of rabbles would just drag us down. I’m afraid we still have to get into action ourselves. Dragon City is a powerful enemy."
"Don’t worry too much about it, Dragon City has just experienced a holy war, with casualties more than half of their total army, leaving behind a remnant group. Moreover, although those local forces are just mottle crew, they still have the quant.i.tative advantage. The intelligence from the church said that the church can dispatch around one hundred thousand troops with professions. Although the majority of them are just lower order, but if correctly used, they can be a force that can’t be ignored."
"Humph, unfortunately, the number of Bright Archons is not proportional to the number of troops. Otherwise, if there’re one thousand Archons to control them, we don’t even need to exert ourselves."
"Don’t indulge in fantasy, when the time comes, maybe we’ll have to rush to the front. But, if our opponent is a weary division, a shock should destroy their front. By then, we can let the rabble sweep from behind, and we can end the whole situation."
"But one hundred and fifty years ago, Knight King’s solo rush managed to decapitate the eight great shamans as well as the savage lord, making their army a leaderless group of people. We should not make the same mistake."
"Rest a.s.sured, no one will be stupid enough to challenge them head-on alone.
The two deputy commanders continued to talk as they march forward and began to outline their next tactical framework. They were full of confidence in this next fight.
Compared to the so-called Dragon Guards that were ‘castrated’ by Holy Light Religion for over a hundred years, they in the western border, with their countless battle experience, have become battle-hardened and could likely go one against ten.
—
After the fifth day, with incredible speed, the Bloodl.u.s.t Holy Knight crossed the great distance and arrived in Brettonia.
During the march, the Holy Knights were able to feel clearly that there was an unusually depressing atmosphere in Brettonia, as if a storm was brewing.
The Holy Knights deputy commander pinched his nose and impatiently said, "A peculiar stench of lizards… humph, sure enough, insects are really sensitive to a disaster. After this war, Brettonia has to undergo great purification. I don’t know how many people would die because of that."
The commander said, "It doesn’t matter how many of these heretics die. The Holy Light Religion has established itself in this place for over a hundred years, yet it hasn’t developed many reverent believers. Instead, it has to move believers from other places. What a joke. I think the whole land has basically been polluted with heresy. Instead of developing believers here, it may as well be transformed into a barren wasteland, like a wilderness."
"Unfortunately, Brettonia is located in the center of the continent, so it’s not realistic to do a large-scale purification. But, as long as the last insurgent force is wiped out, we could trample this land as we please, even though it’s vast."
The commander nodded. "That’s right, the purpose of our trip is also this… look, not far ahead is Dragon City, but, how come there are so many people outside the city?"
The deputy head of the holy knight, the commander of the expeditionary force, was a high order profession with very amazing vision. From afar, he could see the situation outside Dragon City. The city, which had just suffered a holy war, at this time was crowded with several hundred thousand troops which consisted of local forces from around Dragon City, each with their own distinct banner. Although there has yet to be a fight between the two sides, but facing each other, the chill atmosphere created by the two forces was actually suffocating.
The deputy commander’s strength was almost the same. Soon, he was also able to see the situation. He could not help but laugh in spite of trying not to. "This group of lackeys is really diligent. In just five days, there are so many people that responded the call to partic.i.p.ate in the fight to destroy Dragon City from the Holy City. It seems that in the last one hundred years, the Knight King’s influence has actually vanished."
"Humph, of course, it’s impossible for it to vanis.h.!.+ If this place is still not haunted by the Knight King, how could the faith of our Holy Light Religion not be able to freely spread? But, every person with a working brain ought to understand what would be their end if right now they follow the strange little girl and become the enemy of the Holy Light Religion! Survival is a biological instinct!
The deputy commander laughed. "That’s right, general."
The several hundred thousand strong armies that gathered here were not all elite troops. Most were just groups of jackals. Although they had surrounded the city, these several hundred thousand people didn’t dare to launch an attack. They actually wanted to wait for the arrival of Bloodl.u.s.t Holy Knights Regiment. In the eyes of the Holy Knight commander, this motley crew was like the sludge on the sole of a shoe.
However, even if he inwardly held contempt towards them, but in the war, these hundreds and thousands of people were still an indispensable help. Especially the number of people with professions, which reached one hundred thousand people. Although most of them could barely be called as people with professions, with that high of a number, with proper use, they could work wonders.
And according to the news from the Holy City, there were three main forces that led these several hundred thousand people, which were the three largest cities that surrounded Dragon City. They were also the three cities where Holy Light Religion spread the most. Now, after receiving the order from the Holy City, the three city masters personally led their army into battle. Also according to the news from the Holy City, as long as the Holy Knights pacified these three forces, the remaining few hundred thousand people would move accordingly.
When the Bloodl.u.s.t Holy Knight Regiment was close to Dragon City, sure enough, three teams separated themselves from the forces that surrounded the city and welcomed the Holy Knight Regiment. Although the number of people in each team was not many, their momentum was significantly better than the motley crew around them. Obviously, they were the three cities’ main guardian.
The two bloodl.u.s.t holy knight deputy leaders looked at each other with a bitter wry smile. Even though inwardly they looked down upon them, since they have to use other people’s strength, they have to give others face. Three city masters came forward to meet them. Naturally, the deputy leaders have to greet them.
For the sake of prudence, the two of them took their fifty finest men, left their large army, and stood on an open hill. The three city masters’ team took a detour and soon went up the hill.
On top of the hill, the two deputy leaders stood side by side, looking cold and exceptionally hard to approach. Then they put on a sickening smile to the incoming three city masters.
One of the city masters, who was in the middle, has obviously slightly better status than the other two. He took a step forward and said with a smile, "Generals, we have been waiting for you for a long time."
That city master was tall and muscular, with a bushy beard and a mighty look. However, the obviously deliberate rigid smile made him seem funny.
"It’s a privilege to see the two generals with my own eyes!"
With that, he held out his hand, seemingly wanting to shake hands with the holy knights.
However, the bloodl.u.s.t holy knights regiment commander was so disgusted with these jackals, so how could he be willing to accept the handshake? He just sneered as if he didn’t see the flattering gesture from the opposite party.
Why should he give much face to these wild dogs? For him to meet them in person, it was already a gracious gift from the Holy Light. It was already a sin for this mixed blood creatures to live!
However, the next moment, that stiff and sluggish smile suddenly flashed out a sharp gaze, and from his stretched out hand, an initially transparent sword slowly appeared. The next moment, a golden light flashed by, and that commander’s whole world plunged into the darkness.
At the same time, upon noticing that the head of their commander flew into the air, the present holy knights ware panic-stricken, and their eyes were filled with disbelief!