Ch.128Barcella Battle (3)

Order in battle was the most crucial element.

Only by maintaining formation without faltering could one claim victory against the enemy. Even a unit composed of the strongest warriors would ultimately be conquered by ordinary men with weapons if they swung their swords in chaos.

The footsteps of those rushing toward defeat raised dust from the earth.

“Your Excellency. As ordered, we have occupied all the high ground around the main road.”

“They will be drawn away from the road suitable for large-scale battle and into our battlefield. When I give the signal, be ready to charge.”

“I will follow your orders!”

Durahann withdrew. The Regent turned his attention back to the front. He could feel the rage of the holy knights swarming like a pack of dogs. The tingling holy power occasionally swept through the demons.

“Hmm.”

“Rather bland, isn’t it? No better than barbarians.”

The legion did not yield to their momentum. They overcame the enemy’s anger with strict military discipline. Instead, they mocked them, looking down with contempt at those who thrashed about wildly after having their father insulted.

“There are benefits to having lost our god.”

“Those fools will soon be orphans too. But first, they should present their father’s corpse to him.”

A vile laugh escaped. It was a pleasing scene just to imagine. Death would embrace them.

“Legion. Prepare to charge.”

“Sound the horn!”

Bwooooooo-

The familiar pulsing sound inspired the legion. Flags fluttered on firmly gripped spear shafts. The proud banner of the Demon King watched over them. Their king was watching from beyond dimensions.

“The god is with us.”

As the Regent drew his sword and raised it, black death poured forth. Their vanished mother had returned to this land. Though they could not feel her warmth, the weight of the pain she had endured flowed out as sorrow.

The legion was warriors carrying on her will.

Just as their ancestors had willingly shouldered their duty and sacrificed themselves in the human realm, they too pledged to serve. They had risked their lives to hide sacred artifacts for this day, and they would fight in answer to that devotion.

“It is time to fulfill our duty.”

“All forces, chaaaaarge!”

Durin spurred his demonic warhorse. The beast let out a roar. Lizardman monster infantry led the army at the vanguard.

The holy knight order wrapped in sacred power and the legion’s vanguard aimed for each other’s throats. It was a battle between sons seeking to restore defiled honor and warriors trying to complete their duty through death. Military discipline against primal emotions.

The intense trembling of the ground drew out their fighting spirit.

“Die!”

The voices of both sides overlapped. Clear killing intent toward each other was revealed. The distance between them grew shorter. Eyes glaring at opponents burned fiercely. Hoping that fate would smile upon them, they sharpened their spear tips even more.

Aaaaargh!

Cheers turned to shouts, and shouts turned to screams. As weapons crossed and aimed for hearts, fountains of blood erupted. Broken weapons scattered in all directions as corpses rolled on the ground. Neither holy knights nor demons were spared. Dozens of lives vanished in an instant.

“That’s him! That’s the Regent!”

“Kill the one who defiled our god!”

All eyes of the holy knight order focused on Durin. The moment he crushed a skull with his great sword like a club at the front line, five swords aimed for his neck. The Regent didn’t bother blocking the swords. He gripped the reins tightly and raised a great death. He chose breakthrough over combat.

In a battlefield where allies and enemies were entangled, it was difficult to summon explosive power. He neutralized all the knights in front with the power of the sacred artifact and broke through their formation.

Kwang!!

A knight who tried to catch him was thrown back and rolled on the ground. An open plain appeared. Durin wheeled around. From the breach he had created, an enraged son of god rushed out with his sword.

The formation had been split in two.

Holy knights facing demons at the front line, and angels rushing to cut down the demon Durin.

The battlefield had formed exactly as Durin wanted.

“Hup!”

Crack!

The moment he gained freedom of movement became the Regent’s stage. He swung his sword horizontally from atop his warhorse. An angel who had rushed in was cut in two. Amidst the spurting fountain of blood, Durin stretched out his hand.

Kwaaaa!

Death spread out like branches. Though not as refined as red fighting spirit, the power that opposed life choked the angels’ throats. Those who had ridden in on white-maned warhorses began to fall one after another.

“Kuhek!”

“Kugh!”

In an instant, an entire squad was annihilated. Death covered the angels.

Kaaaaang!!

Sharp metallic sounds rang out continuously. The remaining angels who reached the demon using their comrades’ sacrifices as stepping stones began an intense battle with Durin. As he rode his horse across the plain, dozens of tails followed behind him.

“Duriiiiin!!”

A holy knight approached, chanting the blasphemous name, and thrust his spear. It grazed Durin’s shoulder plate, sending sparks flying. He crudely blocked the attack and counterattacked. With a light swing of his great sword, a knight who had followed alongside fell.

Other knights tumbled together, colliding with the red corpse rolling on the ground. Durin spurred his warhorse, changed direction, and hunted the fallen ones. Though it was a battle between angels and demons, there was a clear difference in caliber.

Despite the holy knights’ rage, Durin showed only light movements. The clash of holy power and demonic energy depicted in myths was nowhere to be seen. Only corpses of knights with crushed heads were strewn about.

It had been just a moment, but already twenty had fallen. The number of knights who had broken from the main force and rushed in was about five hundred. They were being thoroughly defeated by Durin and his elite soldiers.

“Kraaak!”

“Oh God!”

Bang! Kwaaaang!!

The monsters were also a problem. Being larger than the mounted holy knights, their physical charges frequently halted the knights’ advances. It was fortunate if a collision resulted in mutual destruction, but there were no casualties among the demons. Instead, they grabbed the penetrating spear shafts and crushed the knights’ bodies with their other hands.

They were like leaves fluttering in the wind. Though the secretary had carefully selected these holy knights, without order they lacked discipline. They were simply driven by instinct and could not block the approaching death.

“Wh-why?!”

“Why can’t we punish them!”

Some expressed their anguish out of frustration. But their choices had led to their destruction. If they had advanced with Rupiel, they could have faced the demons on a glorious battlefield, but a moment’s emotion had broken their formation.

The sight that the remaining reinforcements, rushing in belatedly, would see would be the price of foolishness.

“Oh God.”

The knight who had rushed out first, unable to control his anger, muttered. He had led everyone to wipe away the insult, but the result was a meaningless end. He had not seen the secretary’s light.

Looking up at the sky, there were only dark clouds. No glory.

“Why are we…”

There was no time to leave last words. Having lost his senses on the battlefield, he had to pay the price. Durahann’s spear, breaking through the collapsed battle line, pierced his chest.

“Kuhek!”

He finally lost his life. The knight fell from his horse and rolled on the ground. The corpse’s eyes were empty. The pupils fixed on the dirty ground could not find their way and finally lost their color.

“Your Excellency! The enemy is beginning to retreat!”

“Some are still resisting fiercely, but it seems they’ve only now grasped the situation.”

Durahann did not listen to the dead. He rode his horse straight to Durin. Blood was splattered all around the Regent. Without time to wipe the dripping blood from his armor, he reported the breathless developments.

“They will call for more troops again.”

“The war is just beginning.”

Red eyes began to burn. They had not even started yet. They had only crushed a piece of the holy army. They had yet to capture the core of the holy army, which still numbered seven thousand.

“From now on, we slowly retreat toward the fortress. At the same time, defile their god.”

“You seem to need more blood.”

“Anger is a force needed to kill enemies, but on the battlefield, it is like death that ruins everything.”

“To protect the priest corps by maintaining formation, and to prevent giving time to pressure our numerically inferior forces.”

“A clever secretary would see through it. But when demons defile their god, they won’t be able to stop themselves. They must avenge the insult their father suffered.”

“The years we had to endure without a god feel sweet today.”

Durin smiled faintly at Durahann’s jest.

“Having nothing to lose means having nothing to be angry about, nothing to fear.”

The pain their mother had endured finally returned as ecstasy. Though in a twisted form, if it brought victory, it didn’t matter.

It was like the demon’s way, which made them glad.

What means could there be to counter the knife fight of orphans?

This was the homework Durin had given to Rupiel.