Ch.175Brutal Bloodbath.

“Long live Amurtat!”

BOOM!

The sound of cannons roared alongside the cheers.

Soon, large cracks appeared in the magic shield constructed by the mages, and after several more bombardments, the shield shattered with a thunderous sound.

“The shield has fallen!”

“It doesn’t matter now! Pour on the attack spells! Focus on area-of-effect!”

“We’ll make you regret forming your front line before mages!”

As Amurtat’s front-line infantry charged forward, foaming at the mouth, Fahrenheit’s mages began casting fire magic, their eyes gleaming.

To be a mage meant to be a wielder of spells. Forming a front line before them was tantamount to mass suicide.

“Storm of flames! Ignite!”

“The blazing inferno shall be my will!”

Soon, storms of flame began drawing lines as they moved from point to point, and the infantry caught directly in those lines were instantly roasted alive, completely annihilated.

However…

Rat-tat-tat!

“Argh!”

“Damn it! They’re hitting us even from this distance!”

“Deploy the magic shield again! If we die, we’re truly finished!”

But with both sides mobilizing over a million troops, retreating after losing just tens of thousands was unthinkable.

The Amurtat forces, pleased that firing angles had opened up, mercilessly poured lead bullets forward while steadily advancing their gunners. Meanwhile, Fahrenheit’s soldiers, primarily pre-modern close-combat troops, were being reduced to bloody pulp while protecting their mages.

“Block them!! Block them I say!”

“Prepare to charge once more! We must stop their gunfire!”

As the infantry prepared to charge, Fahrenheit’s mages gritted their teeth and began chanting spells to destroy the cannons hidden behind the enemy infantry.

“Let the power of thunder and lightning pour down upon this place…”

“Born from clouds, grant us now the power that cleaves the air…!”

As the incantations were completed, thousands of lightning bolts suddenly struck from the sky, blasting the established artillery positions. Naturally, the cannons and gunpowder barrels on those positions triggered chain explosions from the tremendous electrical current and voltage, taking nearby infantry with them as companions in death.

BOOM!!!

At the sound of exploding cannons and the sight of rear infantry being launched skyward in the distance, Fahrenheit’s infantry momentarily hesitated at the tremendous power, but soon gritted their teeth and began charging.

“Charge! Charge forward! The mages have opened a path! If not now, we cannot win!”

“Summon every ounce of strength and run! Even if you die, die with your blade embedded in the enemy!”

“UWAAAAAH!!!”

Soon, hundreds of thousands of infantry began charging all at once, and the Amurtat infantry who had to stop them aimed their loaded rifles while gritting their teeth.

The rear artillery had already been completely annihilated. Even if they scraped together the surviving cannons and gunpowder, they would barely have a few hundred pieces.

But they still had guns and swords, so they waited for their commander’s order to fire.

“Fire!”

Rat-tat-tat!

Pabak!

The sound of gunfire and impact rang out simultaneously, and in the distance, infantry began to fall.

“Reload! Reload quickly!”

“Don’t panic! Anyone who breaks formation will be cut down!”

Following their commanders and non-commissioned officers, the front-line infantry hurriedly began the lengthy reloading process.

Most veteran soldiers had already been ground away during the four years of attrition warfare, leaving only regular troops.

It was a situation where a morale collapse and retreat wouldn’t have been surprising, but the fear that there was no turning back from defeat kept the front line firmly united.

Ironically, sometimes despair granted humans greater strength than hope.

“Commence firing!”

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

Another volley of fire killed even more infantry than before, blood spilling as they fell.

The remaining distance was now barely 100 meters.

The commanders and non-commissioned officers debated whether to fire again or prepare for close combat, but ultimately ordered one more reload to pour out maximum firepower.

“Fire immediately after reloading! Finish within 30 seconds!”

“30…29…28…!”

A 30-second time limit, and the enemy main force drawing ever closer.

“9…8…7…”

“Reloading complete!”

“FIRE!!!”

With just over 10 seconds remaining on the time limit, Amurtat’s front-line infantry succeeded in delivering their third volley.

Hundreds of thousands of bullets struck the infantry who had now advanced to just 30 meters away, and the bullets, designed to maximize impact force, tore through the densely packed formations with a horrifying sound, claiming lives.

“Everyone draw swords!”

“Close combat!!!”

And soon, as guns were dropped and the sound of swords being drawn from scabbards rang out, 870,000 Fahrenheit infantry and 760,000 Amurtat infantry collided head-on.

*

“Follow the Standard-Bearer! Strike at Fahrenheit’s command post!”

“Death to Fahrenheit!”

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

Having confirmed that a total of 1.51 million troops were engaged in fierce battle at the center, the 10,000 knights under the Standard-Bearer continued charging forward, smashing through everything in their path.

They pressed on despite being pierced by ballistas, struck by catapult stones and dismounted, suffering massive casualties from determined infantry with halberds and pikes, and stakes set by archers and crossbowmen.

“Those madmen!! They’re breaking through everything!”

“Run for it, damn it! How can we stop a Sword Master?!”

Against the knights’ rampage—like spirits mixed with opium—the common soldiers were helplessly swept away.

Nothing could stop the knights who advanced over corpses, and none could tarnish the overwhelming majesty of the Sword Master who emitted white flashes ahead, turning knights into mere pawns.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

“KIYOOOH!!”

The knights, already half-crazed, urged on their foaming horses, and the equally maddened warhorses charged even more violently with snorting sounds, as if about to wear out their horseshoes.

The tips of their swords and spears were aimed directly at Fahrenheit’s command post, and finally, the knights succeeded in reaching it.

“We will strike the command post! Surround it!”

“Yes, sir!”

Slash!

Ignatz used his aura-wrapped sword to destroy the steel gate and invaded the command post, where dozens of mages were preparing binding magic circles.

“Now! Bind him!”

“Where do you think—!”

Whoosh!

But Ignatz, already informed about this, easily sidestepped the magic circle’s light with a scornful step, and before the astonished mages’ eyes could fully widen, he severed their necks.

“Just as His Majesty said, they really did prepare magic circles. And next…”

Swoosh!

Before he could finish speaking, massive arrows flew from dozens of ballistas that had been hidden by concealment magic circles.

The arrows were enchanted with acceleration formulas to increase speed and shattering formulas on their tips to enhance penetration—a dangerous trap that could instantly send even a Sword Master to the angels’ court if hit directly. However, this was ineffective against Ignatz, who had been forewarned.

Tiberius was a veteran of Polistory, which meant he knew very well how to deal with Sword Masters.

And that meant he could see through all the strategies the enemy might employ, so Fahrenheit’s plan to use their own command post as a trap to take the Master’s head ended in failure.

Afterward, all manner of extraordinary traps were sprung in the command post, but to Ignatz, who had anticipated everything, it was nothing more than a circus. Inwardly impressed by his lord’s wisdom, he manifested a white aura and rushed to attack Fahrenheit’s command staff who were trying to escape through shallow tricks.

BOOM!

The tightly sealed door shattered in a flash of white light, and the high-ranking Fahrenheit commanders inside trembled in fear as they watched Ignatz slowly approach.

“W-we surrender!”

“Not needed.”

With those words, everyone inside was beheaded, and when the Amurtat Standard-Bearer emerged outside, he issued orders to the 5,487 knights still alive.

“You are to raid their rear as you are. I will strike the enemy infantry formation.”

“Understood, sir.”

As the knights departed, the Standard-Bearer fired a red signal flare indicating that the enemy command had been slaughtered, and then began moving to massacre the enemy infantry formation.

The command post was annihilated, the supply lines in the rear would soon be cut, and the remaining hundreds of thousands of troops would soon become mountains of corpses—this battle was Amurtat’s victory.

Offering sincere condolences to the countless soldiers who had died over the past four years, Amurtat’s Standard-Bearer emitted what might be his final aura to strike the enemy’s rear.

Hours later, the battle ended, and all surviving Fahrenheit personnel were disarmed.