Book 7, Chapter 80 (1/2)
Deadly Battle
The imperial army had already surrounded all of Richard’s troops, screaming murder as they charged. The defenders looked like a small blot in a sea of black that was constantly crashing into them, leaving behind a trail of blood.
A humanoid warrior suddenly rushed past the battle lines towards one of the commanding generals, body and horse inundated with wounds in only a few seconds amidst his charge. Still, he seemed to feel no pain as he charged forward with full force, eventually dragging his weapon forward and plunging it into the general’s chest. All sorts of weapons cleaved away slabs of flesh from his body, but he didn’t even notice as he focused on twirling his weapon to enlarge the wound.
Similar scenes played out everywhere, both sides killing a substantial amount of the opposing forces. The short spurt seemed to drain all stamina, the battle devolving into a war of attrition that tested the soldiers’ training. This situation showcased the Crimson Dukedom’s advantage in equipment; even an ordinary bordier soldier’s equipment was worth more than a hundred gold, whereas the imperial elites only measured up to a third of that. The infantry had to use all their might to pierce through the armour of the border guard, and even so the wounds weren’t deep. It would take three or four attacks to bring someone down, with their blades starting to bend in that time. On the other hand, the border guard could take out a soldier with every full power attack, and their weapons lasted much longer as well.
Blue flames inundated the imperial army, lighting up everyone within ten metres before disappearing. Each appearance was targeted at the points of greatest pressure, greatly relieving the defending forces. Standing in the midst of the army, Richard tilted his head back and gulped down a mana potion, feeling his drying mana pool starting to recover. More than 2,000 soldiers had already died to his spells, but the amount was almost negligible compared to the 50,000 total.
The army’s attacks grew more layered as time passed, placing tremendous pressure upon him. More than 5,000 of his own soldiers had already died, and every loss cemented Salwyn’s advantage further. The only reason they were still in it was his own magic; it was much more powerful in such a large-scale battle, and despite Salwyn’s best attempts he always managed to find perfect wedges to tear the formations apart.
Still, there were simply far too many imperial soldiers. Richard could theoretically whittle away at all 50,000 soldiers, but that would require nearly a day of battle where his army held them back. As it was, he could only fight to delay how quickly his troops would be wiped out. Taking a short breather to wait for the potion to kick in, he picked up the Twin of Destiny and shot two streaks of blue towards critical regions to set dozens of imperial cavalrymen on fire.
Salwyn truly was showing stellar control of the battlefield, his rhythmic attacks greatly tiring out the border guard. The prince had grown more composed in the time since they had last met, now understanding how to build upon small tactical advantages to become more deadly.
And yet, the gap between the two planes couldn’t be bridged so simply. Richard eventually shook his head and shouted, “Nasia!”
Normal heavenly guardians were connected to their masters by the soul, but Richard could barely ever feel that sort of connection with the faceless knight. Without any way to send orders through his mind, he could only yell out his commands. Still, a golden glow covered his body the moment he called her name, the effects of War Fanatic beginning to show.
“Guard the battlefront!” he screamed before shooting out. While he had no idea where she was, she certainly could hear him. The momentary distraction proved to be a flaw, however, as a grey arrow shot into his back. He groaned softly, a golden glint popping the shaft out and patching up his flesh, but he didn’t even care about the sub-legend that had shot him as he zoomed in the direction of Salwyn.
Several spells and sharp arrows landed on Richard’s body, but they bounced off the golden armour without exception. Seeing his lone grade 9 spell ricochet off the glowing barrier, a grand mage cried out in shock, “LEGEND!”
The word rendered almost the entire battlefield silent for a moment; in Faelor, the word legend was extremely sacred.
Richard didn’t even try to dodge as he made his way towards his target; now at grade 10, his barriers treated any attack from the Faelorians as a joke. Anyone foolish enough to block his path was instantly reduced to ashes by the blue flames.