Ch.166166. The Final War (4)

The sky, split open.

It was neither a metaphor nor anything else.

Lines suddenly appeared in the sky with its thin layer of clouds, as if cracks were forming, and soon these lines gradually thickened, completing themselves in the form of fissures—

And from the gaps in the split sky, a vivid red light leaked through, drawing the attention of everyone on the battlefield to this alien sight.

That light, that luminous body, possessed something strange that pulled at human gazes.

Thus, everyone momentarily forgot they were fighting, and just stared blankly at the sky, and at that very moment.

From the split sky where red light the color of vivid blood was seeping through, red beings with beautiful white wings on their backs slowly began to descend.

Despite being at a distance too far for the naked eye to properly see, those who gazed at the sky felt the presence of these beings etched into their vision.

They were holy.

Wearing elaborate and beautiful crimson armor adorned with gold, equipped with weapons that looked more like works of art than practical combat gear.

From their backs sprouted a pair of white wings with a sacred atmosphere about them, their faintly but beautifully shimmering wings were purely white.

Also, from behind their heads radiated a beautifully shining light, which had the power to make even the most ignorant believe that they were sacred beings.

Thus, the angels who began to slowly descend as the sky opened started to fly in formation at some point and began to aim their weapons toward the ground.

“Ma-Mages!!”

“Block them!! We must block them!!!”

And now, finally realizing something was terribly wrong, the commanders berated their subordinates, trying somehow to shoot down the beings before them, but—

[—Judge them!!!]

One step ahead, the holy magic cast by the angels pierced down toward the ground.

Pillars of light, sacred weapons, flames, and lightning struck the soldiers.

In an instant, thousands of soldiers evaporated from the magic, and some fell into panic, unable to understand why the angels were attacking them.

“Charge!!”

But at least those who somewhat knew the truth that not all angels were allies—military officers of middle rank and above—responded nimbly, sending the reorganized Pegasus cavalry.

Thanks to them, an elegant aerial battle began between them and the angels, at least reducing the possibility of the army being completely annihilated.

But that wasn’t what was important.

“The angels have come!! He has sent down angels to us!!!”

“Great Bleeding God of Vengeance!! Great Red Lord!!!”

The fact that the Bleeding God of Vengeance had sent down his angels naturally raised the morale of the Army of Vengeance to its peak in an instant.

The auxiliary forces and engineers in the rear went wild with joy, and in the Black Sun Legion, not only the new recruits but even the veterans were swept up in the wave of fanaticism.

Even the priests who had joined the army as political and military chaplains, who should have been restraining such excessive excitement, were going wild.

Even the Avenger Legion, which was quite restricted in emotional aspects during battle, was trembling with excitement they couldn’t hide…

“…Advance!!”

[[Advance!!!]]

[[[[Advance!!!]]]]

Under the judgment that they would surely regret missing this golden opportunity, the entire army slowly began to advance following Bjorn’s order.

And watching this scene while mounted on Ben who had flown into the sky, Bjorn soon turned his head to look at the Angels of Vengeance battling in the high heavens.

No, more precisely, among what appeared to be dozens of Angels of Vengeance, he couldn’t take his eyes off the angel who seemed to be the leader, particularly splendidly dressed.

An Angel of Vengeance, presumably female judging by the armor’s form, with a laurel wreath decoration made of gold—or more precisely, orichalcum—on her helmet.

The voice that this angel had just uttered while freely wielding a spear surrounded by a holy atmosphere and slaughtering enemies, resonated throughout the battlefield.

‘…Could it really be you?’

Ironically, that voice belonged to someone who was dearer and more beloved to Bjorn than anyone else.

Of course, since she had died even before Bjorn accepted the faith of vengeance, logically speaking, it made no sense that she would have become an angel.

But… the fact that things in the world don’t always follow logic was something Bjorn knew better than anyone.

Harboring a ray of hope in his heart, Bjorn couldn’t just stand by, and whispered quietly to the dragon Ben Gaitenpeng he was riding.

“Just for a moment, let me go up there for a bit.”

[…Now?]

Naturally, in such a critical situation, the highest commander leaving was something that should be stopped no matter how one thought about it.

But the desperation in Bjorn’s voice contained something that shook the heart of Ben, who considered reason and rationality to be the highest virtues.

[Haah… I’ll take command in the meantime.]

“…Thank you, Ben.”

As Ben, who had spoken thus out of special consideration for his recently made friend, took over command and began directing.

Bjorn, without a word, spread shadow wings from his back and quickly flew up toward the sky beyond, attempting to enter the battlefield where an aerial battle was in full swing.

※ ※ ※

Turning time back briefly, to the sky before Bjorn’s intrusion.

In the airspace high above the battlefield, where the clouds were almost closer than the ground, two forces were engaged in a fierce yet elegant aerial battle.

On one side was the Empire’s finest cavalry and the strongest cavalry of the current era, the Pegasus Cavalry that was originally led by Helena Valerinus.

With a total of 100 members.

More than 100 mid-tier warriors, which normally appear at a rate of 1 per 1,000 warriors, all mounted on 5th-grade monsters—Pegasi—considered sacred beasts.

Furthermore, all were equipped with mythril armor decorated with orichalcum, and each was given a 2LV magical weapon, a holy spear, among other things.

They were human weapons who had once repelled an army of 10,000 orcs with a cavalry charge, making them the Empire’s strongest force in name and reality.

Of course, there was the secret that all of them were created by grinding through humans in human farms, but such dishonorable and shameful pasts didn’t particularly affect their combat ability.

On the other side were the angels sent down by the King in Red.

Formally known as ‘Angels of Avenge’.

These servants who followed the will of the God of Vengeance and led his armies were originally mortals who died after arduous trials and were newly molded.

The Angels of Avenge were powerful warriors who used aura, and at the same time priests who served the God of Vengeance and conveyed his will.

As such, even though they were mid-tier in rank, they overwhelmed others of the same tier, and having been directly summoned by the hand of their god in optimal condition.

Despite numbering only 42 in total, they were able to match the 100 cavalry.

Wielding all manner of weapons from axes to swords, spears, hammers, shields, and more, the 40 angels faced the Pegasus Cavalry with fast yet delicate flying techniques.

Especially for the Pegasus Cavalry, this kind of dogfight-centered, close-quarters aerial battle was not particularly familiar.

Thanks to this, even against a force five times their number including the Pegasi, they were not only holding their ground but actually dominating the battlefield.

Meanwhile, besides those 40, there were two particularly noticeable angels, one of whom was an angel holding a large military banner with both hands.

With a flagpole made of orichalcum and a patterned flag attached, it was more of a symbol than an actual combat item, but…

In this ancient era, a military banner symbolized the honor of that army, so in terms of symbolism, the banner was literally the heart of the unit.

As such, the angel who held the banner without any weapon was praised for his courage, and even the hostile Pegasus Cavalry secretly admired that courage.

And their leader, also called the ‘Archangel’, the supreme commander of the Blood Warrior Battalion, actively hunted with a spear.

‘Spear of Avenge’

This weapon, made by taking a fragment of divinity from the God of Vengeance, was not only an excellent weapon in itself but also a symbol of military authority.

“—!!!”

Crack!!

Demonstrating prowess at the level of taking down a cavalryman with a single javelin throw, she faced the enemies at the frontline like a true commander of this era.

Thus, while the angels generally had the advantage, the situation continued without being completely overwhelming—

[—Die.]

Slash!!!

At that moment, Bjorn suddenly intruded.