The Holy War(2)
Franz’s POV
The sun reflected off the ivory-white tiles of Lion’s Street in Ampere Seale. Charles Mann, a former archbishop of Ampere Seale, once described it as: “ A street that shines as bright as the snow and is like a ladder leading to the clouds.”
Four hundred and sixty-five years ago, the White Lion Legion was a.s.sembled by King Erik on this street – and now they once again had appeared here.
Their spears shone, and their armor was covered with snow.
“Never rest until the enemy is dead.”
Sir Franz stood at their temporary base, gazing at the rows of silver spears visible on the other end of Lion’s Street. The corners of his mouth dropped slightly and a cold stare appeared in his eyes.
Why do we need to fight the White Lion Battalion? he thought, suddenly remembering Callun’s failure. He slowly raised his right hand, and formed a fist.
Callun was nothing more than a useless p.r.i.c.k.
“Never rest until the enemy is dead”; this was always the White Lion’s motto in war. “No matter who your opponents are, victory shall be ours! ”
Sir Franz looked up at the White Lion’s battle flag. This was a fortress built upon the blood of their enemies as well as their own. How could any young man understand this?
There will never be an army in this Kingdom that’s strong enough to take on the White Lion Legion. And not just this kingdom; no other kingdom’s armies are strong enough either. Nor were the armies of our predecessors. To deny that is to betray our history. Sir Franz thought, remembering about the faces of his comrades who died back in the November War.
Their deaths must not have been in vain.
He wanted to prove that the White Lion Legion would always stand up against any enemy for this land. That people’s fates would not be decided by the past.
Not everyone has to live a life for their beliefs. It’s a proud thing to be alive. And in history, only those who were strong enough could speak for themselves, he thought.
“On your mark…” The wind brought along a northern accent.
The White Lion Legion’s infantry took a step forward. One by one, they raised their longbows that gleamed brightly under the sun, forming a blinding panel of light.
The commander squinted his eyes to estimate the distance of their enemies.
The archers of the White Lion Legion controlled their breathing, adjusting their heartbeats to a specific rhythm.
Finally, the commander nodded his head.
“A hundred steps. No wind-”
Sir Franz raised his hand high like a flag, and swiped down fiercely. “Fire!”
Three hundred archers of the White Lion Legion released their arrows at the same time. Then, they slowly turned sideways, pulling out another arrow from their quiver.
Just an instant later,
Arrows flew like locusts in the sky.
Brendel’s POV
The young knights from Royal Cavalry Academy tracked the arrows as they flew, and began to shift their positions in the formation.
Brendel stood at the sidelines, and with his experience, he knew that such an attack would not cause many casualties but could definitely test the capabilities of the army.
In many instances, when an army was faced with a large-scale long-ranged attack, their morale would drop. They would try to escape, shiver in fear, or even break down. Such actions would cause disruptions in their formations.
But war was the process to overcome such situations.
“Keep it up!”
“Maintain your speed!”
Mok, Bennett, and Rouka were screaming hoa.r.s.ely while the knights raised their shields.
Canmel took a deep breath, staring at the arrows that rose higher and higher into the sky.
Although he had experienced several battles before, this was his first time being at the frontlines. All those previous times, there had been no need to deploy any tactics; just relying on battle spirit was enough.
This time, their enemy was no longer the weak Coast Guards. It was the White Lion Legion they were facing – the one with greyish-white armor, solemn looks, and uniform movements.
They were the best legion in the kingdom.
‘Swish–’
The knights leaned back slightly when the hail of arrows came raining down upon them. Surprisingly, the arrows deformed before they even reached the targets.
A layer of golden light extended in the direction of the arrows. When they pa.s.sed through the layer of light, their force was greatly diminished.
White Lion Legion’s POV
“It’s Magic!”
“It’s the Colliding Halo! They have a Holy Knight with them!” the knights from the White Lion Legion shouted.
Canmel’s mind went blank the moment he was. .h.i.t by an arrow. Still, he shook his head and looked up before realizing that the rain of arrows was still pouring down. And then he looked forwards, seeing the White Lion Legion’s soldiers in front of him detaching from their posts.
They sucked up all the damage they could. Canmel swallowed hard, and his throat felt dry.
Brendel’s POV
Brendel fixed his eyes firmly on the northern n.o.ble’s base. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Suddenly, he raised his sword, using all his strength to issue a command. “White Lion Battalion! Listen to my orders! Crush your enemy with no mercy!”
“You were born in glory, so spread your wings now and fight for victory!”
“No matter who your opponents are, victory shall be ours!”
His sword, thrust skywards, was like a flag waving proudly in the wind.. As the White Lion Battalion roared in response, the land trembled and the color on their enemy’s faces was drained away.
Franz’s POV
Within ten seconds, the archers from White Lion Legion had fired four rounds of arrows towards their enemy, and like a storm their bombardment swept over every inch of land within 100 meters. Slowly, however, they realized that their long-distance attacks weren’t dealing any damage.
Sir Franz could only watch with shock as the enemy’s knights kept charging at them, unhurt, along with their White Lion battle flag as it continued moving forward under the hail of fire.
Even with all of their firepower concentrated on the enemy, not even the sharpest and swiftest of their arrows made contact as a cyan barrier bounced them away before they could even come close.
Their archers even changed their arrow’s type several times to no avail, as the knights remained unharmed.
Instead, the knights from the Royal Cavalry Academy were gradually accelerating.
Sir Franz froze on the spot, dreadful memories of the war in Kirrlutz and Sanorso suddenly flooding his mind.
The amount of bloodshed during that war was so ridiculous that it could have dyed the whole world red.
“Call the mages!” Sir Franz grittily shouted, as a layer of cold sweat formed on his forehead.
“Sir, the mages are still at the back!”
Franz was leading Jude’s first swordsman squad, and their mission was to cut off the princess’s retreat route from behind.
He had led the archer and infantry teams to their designated locations and built their base without rest. I thought it would be easy to defeat their 200 men with 500 of mine! .
He could only regret having underestimated their enemy now. He closed his eyes, “Order Nicoloma to come forward to a.s.sist us. Ask the Holy Cathedral to support us too!”
“d.a.m.n it, how did they manage to find a Holy Knight?! Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from Kirrlutz… How dare they betray us!”
He turned around, thinking, I have to stop them, or at least buy some time for reinforcements to arrive. No matter what!
“Archers, fall back and switch to your swords! infantry teams, move forward!”
Suddenly, the place where his soldiers stood looked like a forest of spears. But it was too late, as the White Lion Battalion had already arrived at their base.
As if spreading their wings to embrace victory, the cyan lines surrounding their armor seemed to come alive, extending out from behind them.
In an instant, pairs of wings ten meters long stretched out of every knight in the White Lion Battalion.
“ Ah!”
The infantry who had just set up their spears could only watch when the knights lifted off the ground. They were not flying- in fact,it was more terrifying than that.
The knights leaped high with their horses, jumping almost 20 meters from the ground, before zeroing in on the White Lion Legion knights.
Isn’t this the battle technique of Wind Elves’ Secret Army ? Sir Franz looked up, his mind completely blank.
From the skies, spears dropped like rain. And just so happened that one of the spears penetrated Sir Franz’s heart. To his very last moments he still wore a face of shock and disbelief.
Unwillingness.
Ignorance.
The White Lion Legion abandoned their fallen comrades and retreated to rebuild their formation. A lower rank knight took the commanding position. Although their morale had been greatly damaged, they still had to complete their mission.
“The White Lion Legion will never rest until the enemy is dead!”
Carglise was having a headache. The White Lion Legion may not be the strongest army in the kingdom, but it was definitely a difficult opponent to beat.
The White Lion Legion’s pride did not allow them to retreat, but Carglise was desperate too – and he only had one shot at removing all his enemies.
They were trapped between 3 of Jude’s swordsman squads, and one wrong move would throw them down from heaven straight to h.e.l.l.
As soon as Carglise and his knights landed, they immediately charged forward, trying to break their enemy’s formation.
The young men from Trentheim charged mercilessly after all they were fighting against dauntless opponents with incredible swordsmanship. Slowly, they realized that the speed they were charging at was not fast enough.
Carglise drew out his blade angrily, “Push them away! Knock them off their mounts if you can! Listen carefully, we only have one way, and that is forward – never retreat!”
“Yeah!” everyone shouted.
The White Lion Battalion completely gave up on defending, focused only on charging forward at their opponents. Although the White Lion Legion could hardly cause any harm to them, they were more than good enough at hindering their movements.
Carglise was exhausted from pushing back ten knights by himself. He gasped heavily, a layer of fog forming underneath his helmet.
Finally, the White Lion Battalion began to have casualties. Someone was stabbed to the ground with a sword after his helmet was forcibly ripped away.
But they had not died in vain.
Their enemies began to crumble.
Canmel suddenly heard cheering and when he looked around, he realized that the Royal Cavalry Academy’s knights had extended forth on two sides, forming a thinner and wider formation.
They’re preparing their a.s.sault! he suddenly thought. And sure enough, they raised their banner and charged at the White Lion Legion.
Canmel’s POV
Canmel managed to recognize a few of the knights from the White Lion Battalion, such as the Silver Elf Knight, Medissa, and the red-haired demon, Scarlet. Locals believed that red-haired people had the blood of demons, and Canmel agreed with the statement too. Her fighting style looked fairly gresome and was notably brutal in combat.
After that, there were the three knights from Count Yanbao. Canmel could not help but look at the female knight a little longer before looking at Bennett, Braggs, Rouka, and Mok.
The knights formed a crescent-shaped formation and gradually accelerated on their horses. The ground shook with the thundering hooves.
Canmel could hear someone screaming in his ears, “Speed up! Speed up!”
“We have entered the opponents shooting range!”
“Do not stop if you want to stay alive!”
“Speed up and stay in formation!”
Before Canmel could even react, his head was. .h.i.t by someone. He turned his head and saw a black figure run past him.
And then he saw it: a rider clad in a black cape on a horse, the sword in his hands held high.
Halran Gaia.
Canmel suddenly realized, He is the Commander!
At least, that was what the soldiers called him.
Canmel could not help but stare, Is he joining in on the offense? From what he could remember, Brendel was only a commander, not a knight who charged on the frontlines.
But he opened his mouth in shock when he spotted another slender figure riding alongside the commander. It was Oberwei, the Wolf Baron.
Why is he fighting alongside the Commander? Canmel thought.
What a honor, for the Commander to have an opportunity to fight alongside Oberwei! Canmel thought.
But it was unsure who truly held the glory.
Before Canmel had time to make a sound, other knights rode past him to Brendel’s side. The Mercenaries of Lopez gathered around the Commander, and he looked like a true king.
Actions spoke louder than words and Brendel’s answer satisfied Canmel’s questions.
Finally, the White Lion Legion fell.
Brendel glanced from left to right. On his left were Oberwei and Maynild, while Ciel, Raban, Andrea, and Morpheus were to his right.
These people are my allies right now! Brendelt thought.
Some of them experienced the same suffering he did in another world, while others were his comrades back then.
Two different timelines, but the goals were the same.
The whistling wind pa.s.sed through his ears. It sounds like a flute…
Back in that world, when they faced Madara’s army, they launched a final strike at their enemies just as they were doing now.
What awaited them back then was countless cold and pitiless deaths. In the present, in this pivotal moment – history and reality overlapped.
Charge! Brendel cried out mentally.
He raised his sword high,and his cape fluttered like a black flame. What happened in Bucce, Fortress Riedon, and Madara is in the past. The future ahead is endless. We can change history!
The knights roared behind him, and formed a triangular formation
They were the students from Royal Cavalry Academy, they were the Kingdom’s White Lion Battalion, and they… were Aouine’s future.
The moment they charged at the enemy’s formation, the so-called indestructible legion finally collapsed. The roars of the academy’s knights and the battalion’s soldiers grew louder as victory drew closer and closer.
The White Lion Legion’s formation broke apart just as the Great Knight, Nicoloma, and his reinforcements arrived. He paled at the sight. It was something he had never seen before in his lifetime.
Suddenly, he saw a black flame sweeping out from the crowds. Beneath the blaze lay the eyes of a young man and the sword he was holding. Nicoloma unsheathed his sword, and a layer of yellow light spread over him.
He was a Holy Knight just like Brendel.
Canmel saw how the commander and the Holy Cathedral’s knight crossed paths and recognized Nicoloma, a Gold ranked knight from Ampere Seale’s Holy Cathedral.
Before he could warn them about the Holy Knight, Nicoloma’s head was sent flying in the air.
“Ah!”
He could not even make a sound, all of the knights from Royal Cavalry Academy were completely shocked. What kind of swordsmanship is that?
The White Lion Legion collapsed. Nicoloma’s subordinates were crushed by the knights too.
Brendel was still charging forward, wiping out the remaining enemies still lingering on the field. In the end, Conn was killed and Owen was seriously injured.
Balta’s POV
Marquis Balta looked blankly at the message in his report, “Her Majesty and her knights from Royal Cavalry Academy won the battle.”
He looked up stiffly at the two old men beside him.
Archbishop Wood coldly stated, “We underestimated the young ones. It seems like we old geezers will have to make our own move.”
Leider nodded at him and left the room.