Blood tax

Chapter 601: Echoes of Doom
The vast spiritual energy and powerful fighting spirit obscured the sky. The rolled-up dust gathered into dark clouds that even the sun could not penetrate. The color between the entire sky and earth became dark and gloomy.

"Hail, Alicia!"

The heavy infantrymen who were attacking head-on shouted like a tsunami. Their armor and helmets were covered with the pale golden light of the eagle flag, as if they were shrouded by the dawn that had broken through the darkness. The power of the holy light, under the prayer of the saint, blessed them with the blessing of "protection", comprehensively improving their physical strength, self-healing and marching speed.

The heavy infantry arrived at the area near the Sun Fortress and immediately held down the main force of Canaan's army like an anvil.

The battle entered a critical stage. The Grand Republican Army's 10 cavalry reserve, under the command of Griffith, was deployed on the battlefield, hitting Canaan's flank like a hammer. 500 cavalry squadrons led by commanders such as Griffith, Lana, Ophelia, Medemaeus, Murat, Russell and Warren Hayden were deployed in two huge squares.

The cavalry corps, composed of cuirassiers, cavalry grenadiers, hussars and dragoons, was a combination of the former Bayerland Corps and the Confederate cavalry. Many experienced cavalry had been lost in the previous battles in Bayerland, and many regular cavalry that had not been killed had already been involved in earlier battles. Many of the cavalry units under Griffith's command had even been infantry units a few months ago and had never participated in a cavalry attack in a battle.

Pasch was also in the 80 squadrons, leading a cavalry grenadier squad. They rode tall warhorses, their breastplates and weapons gleaming. If this squad was asked to confront Canaan's super-heavy cavalry and rangers, Pasch was sure that they would not be able to execute orders and would turn around and run away meters in front of the elf cavalry. However, Griffith and Murat gathered everyone together, and the newly formed cavalry followed the experienced lancers and armored cavalry, forming a tide-like wall.

The elves, having discovered the huge enemy, immediately tried their best to intercept the army. The magical attack from the White Tower crossed the battlefield, farther than the catapults, weaving a dense web of fire in the air.

"Look up, those are shells and arrows, not shit!"

The Grand Republican Cavalry Corps gave the battle cry, and 10 cavalrymen marched across the battlefield under a hail of arrows and artillery fire.

Looking down from the sky, this huge cavalry group bypassed the infantry formation and rushed into Canaan's right wing from the west of the battlefield!

The organized cavalry charged, and the sharp and fierce force that came towards them was like a vast ocean tide, and the pressure was overwhelming! Even if the extraordinary faced the charge directly, they would have to feel a kind of despair of resisting thousands of cavalry on their own! At the forefront of this army, the Hybrid Destroyer who escaped from the Multifaceted Fortress collided head-on with a sharp blade formed by the hot blood. The boiling murderous intent and the dense fence gathered in the blood thorn spear blade that was swung in the air, whistling down towards the Hybrid and the Withered.

The moment the purple-red spear blade chopped down, a bone-chilling chill and a solemn silence suddenly took over the world. A moment later, a roar and a violent wind broke out.

The blow dispersed the air and smoke.

Griffith stabbed the Hybrid with a single shot, and the armored cavalry that followed him trampled over the head of the Withered. The entire right wing of Canaan was cut down like a wheat field, and it made a crackling sound under the iron hooves.

This is the "Po Jun" cast by Griffith, who defeated Salorian and possessed a complete wishing device. It comes with four extremely powerful negative suppression effects against the enemy: "Shattering Barrier", "Catastrophe", "Morale Strike", and "Psychic Weakness", which stirs up a bloody storm!
This fierce attack was unstoppable, with morale and fighting spirit comparable to the rising sun, determined to break through all the cages standing in their way and even change the color of the mountains and rivers!
Canaan’s right wing is collapsing, almost like paper!
Seeing this indescribable power, the elven commanders at all levels below Paulus felt bad, and even had a feeling that a disaster was about to happen - the cavalry group would defeat the elves' right wing troops, drive them to retreat to the center, and even cut off the retreat of the front-line army, surrounding them in the area from the Sun Fortress to the banks of the Tyrne River.

"He wants to recreate the Battle of Boulogne-Prachin! I knew it," Paulus on the White Tower immediately issued an order to dispatch the reserve troops, "All-out attack, defeat Bayerland's cavalry before they drive our people into the river!"

The White Tower was immediately enveloped by arcs of magic. This fortress was not only the fulcrum of the front line, but also a sealed object. Once the enemy entered the attack range of the White Tower, the preset magic network could be activated to charge all nearby Canaan psychic units!
A large group of elf cavalrymen directly below the White Tower suddenly shone with a magnificent blue light. The endless magic power can simulate the extraordinary power of various mysterious paths. The mysteries displayed at this time are "Wind" and "Wind Grace", and they are effective for the entire army! Under the effect of this double mystery, the elves' attacks will be more accurate and faster, and riders and horses can lightly cross obstacles and traps. Even if they are injured and fall to the ground, the damage is much lighter than normal.

A large horn made of a giant conch shell sounded from the White Tower, and Griffith immediately noticed a silver ribbon appearing on his left. Canaan's iconic super-heavy cavalry roared forward as the vanguard, and thousands of elite cavalrymen were wearing dazzling halos and raised their lances.

Soon after, hundreds of horns responded to the sound of the big horn of the White Tower. The battlefield was filled with a mysterious atmosphere. Although it was far away, it almost suffocated people's heartbeat and breathing!
Paulus's offensive was to flank the exposed left wing of the Bayerland Cavalry, or force them to stop and fight, and then defeat them with the unparalleled quality advantage of the elves. This move alone made it impossible for Griffith's deadly 10,000-cavalry charge to proceed.

But this is all calculated.

"The cuirassiers, concentrate on me," Griffith stopped the charge, "and the rest of the troops, dismount and fight on foot as planned."

Upon receiving the order, the cavalry grenadiers and dragoons immediately dismounted. They bypassed the battle line, like a wedge nailed at the junction of the Canaan front line and the reserve, relying on the battlefield terrain to form a hollow square facing the enemy on all sides. The most elite Plagueis Guard Flag, Storm Cavalry Battalion, Bayerlan Heavy Cavalry Battalion and other cuirassier cavalry followed the flag and looked for opportunities to join the battle.

"We will hold here," Griffith said to his lieutenants, "to buy time for Christa's infantry and Roland to repel the Canaan center."

There was a loud rumbling sound in the air, and the dark clouds in the sky were stirred by two repulsive forces and slowly dissipated. The two indescribable existences began to be clearly perceived by all living things!

To the north of the White Tower, through the forest and swamp, in the center of the Kingdom of God on Earth, the Nebula Temple burst into an incredible and strange light, as if the light of the stars in the sky were gathered on it. The light blue magic mist that originally shrouded the spire of the temple also showed a gyroscope-like upward trajectory. It can be seen that it is spinning at high speed and rushing towards an invisible gap in the sky! It seems that something is there, absorbing the spiritual energy of this world, and spitting out mysterious and unpredictable tides to penetrate reality. The spiritual energy coming and going intertwined, building a bridge between mystery and reality with unparalleled power.

“This… could this be!?”

Seeing this scene, Roland was so shocked that he was almost incoherent! The scene that flashed through countless nightmares was now appearing in the world - Canaan opened the wishing device and asked for endless spiritual energy from the virtual world. "The virtual world shows the saint!"

In the darkness, Roland heard some voices. Some existence was warning him that the indescribable echo of doomsday was counting down. With every second, the threat invading the world became more terrifying. His aura even strengthened all creatures that obeyed him, and the elves became more powerful!
"That thing is charging, and a steady stream of magical creatures and sealed objects will soon impact our defenses!" Roland pointed to the strange vision above the Nebula Temple and said to his companions, "Send someone to inform Griffith that his artifact will surely grant new powers and that he must support our army in time. However, the elves' artifacts will definitely charge faster than ours, so we must destroy them before they are fully activated!"

Both sides have already mobilized their reserves, but the Great Republic Army still has some strength left, with tens of thousands of troops rushing in along the waterways, while Canaan's main force has already arrived. The focus of the battle is whether they can hold on to or drive the other side out of the battlefield and threaten the deployed artifacts.

Paulus observed the battle line. The Bayerland cavalry actually stopped from the unstoppable charge, and most of the cavalry dismounted and entered several villages on the battlefield that had long been reduced to ruins. The infantry and grenadiers wearing cuirass and holding flintlock rifles were much more flexible than the traditional phalanx, and they were deployed in a blink of an eye with the support of a small number of light artillery. Their formation was not thick enough and could be bypassed by the Canaanite cavalry, but the cuirassiers commanded by Griffith himself were watching closely, threatening the Canaanite reserve army's counterattack at any time.

"How come humans can change their formations so quickly?" Paulus sighed.

The battle for the Fortress of the Burning Sun became increasingly fierce, and the main forces of the two armies were entangled and difficult to separate. Paulus's chance to flank Griffith's left wing disappeared in the blink of an eye, and continuing to make a detour would expose his flank to the powerful cuirassiers' guns. The skills of the commanders of the two armies were constantly exchanged in the game, and now it was just a matter of whose soldiers were braver!
Ajax Salamandis, from one of the seven great families of the elves, led a part of the reserve army into the ruins of a village. His family was as ancient and glorious as the Villanoi, Sylph, Undine, Norman, Hades, and Amon. Ajax wore a full set of super-heavy knight's equipment and rode a noble unicorn into the battlefield. His direct elf troops and half-elf entourage split into two groups in front of a small village, one group rushed into the ruins, and the other was led by Ajax himself.

These abandoned villages were a threat to the army's back, not only hindering the army's movement, but also blocking the view. The houses in the village had long been blown into ruins, and hundreds of cavalry grenadiers used the ruins as fortifications. Elf archers rode past the front fifty steps away, firing their horse bows quickly, covering the dismounted half-elf dragon cavalry fighting for the ruins. Dense armor-piercing arrows fell like a rainstorm, and the Bayerlan infantry screamed in pain.

Then they also launched a round of musket fire. After two rounds of volleys, the flintlock soldiers began to fire freely. The small ruins were like a rock standing in the tide, constantly spewing flames in all directions. The swarming half-elf heavy infantry made the shooting hit rate amazingly high, and the piled up corpses of people and horses increased.

Ajax and his troops had been wandering outside the threatening range. He could see a group of human cuirassiers running nearby, threatening his troops. However, the battle in the village became more and more intense, and the half-elves never occupied the position. He became anxious and sent several of his own super-heavy cavalry to break the formation.

As soon as they saw the majestic heavy cavalry, the Bayerland infantry gathered in a circle. They were not good at riding, but they were very experienced in infantry combat. They formed a dense formation of bayonets, and rows of sharp white blades flashed coldly.

The elven officer leading the team was a close confidant of Ajax. The half-elven soldiers were repelled several times, but her own super-heavy armor could not be shaken by a bayonet. When she saw that the humans dared to form a formation for hand-to-hand combat, she immediately rushed in.

The miracle bestowed upon her amazing blessings, and unprecedented power, pleasure, and satisfaction filled her body and mind.

"God's followers, bring out your shining blades and embrace the glory of battle!"

With a loud bang, the super-heavy cavalry smashed through the bayonet bushes, and the elven officer, holding a light knife in each hand, killed the crowd, causing blood and flesh to fly everywhere. In a blink of an eye, this stubborn position was wiped out by her.

It's not difficult, half-elves are just bugs that are on par with humans... The elven officer immediately looked for the next base. With the blessing of magic, her keen perception immediately made her notice the movement in a corner.

"over there!"

She turned around and instinctively raised her hand to throw. The flying blade of light pierced a rain of blood. Before the blood had landed on the ground, she saw two teams of humans in the ruins pushing two bronze cannons, with the muzzles leveled. The elf officer's blood instantly cooled, and he pulled his horse's head to the right. Just as the mount was about to turn, he heard a deafening roar.

"boom--!"

Ajax, who was outside the village, shuddered at the loud noise. He watched with his own eyes as his favorite subordinates rushed into the crowd and were blown to pieces by the cannonballs.

Ajax was furious, his eyes were red, and he kicked the unicorn in the ribs and rushed into the ruins. The halberd in his hand was blessed with three mysterious special effects, and it was like thunder when he swung it. Seeing the commander charging, the elf cavalry also rushed forward.

The artillerymen in the ruins were killed in an instant. A second before Ajax chopped them into pieces, the gunners didn't even look at him, but just quickly reloaded the guns. With the addition of the regular elven cavalry, the half-elves immediately overwhelmed the human cavalry grenadiers, dragoons and horse artillery.

Suddenly, a burst of rapid horse hoofbeats sounded from the west. Ajax turned his head and saw the cavalry formation nearby. The dense and flat battle line was the mark of a human cavalry group. The elf military department looked down on this kind of group combat with poor combat skills, but when it came to them, it was like a thunderbolt that shook the sky and the earth.

"Come with me quickly!"

Ajax shouted to fight, but the elite soldiers around him were scattered everywhere in the ruins. In a blink of an eye, the Bayerlan cavalry rushed to the front, and the scattered half-elf infantry and elven cavalry were rushed into pieces from the side and rear.

Ajax's command system was completely broken. The echo crystal had long since lost its ability to hear anything, and the flags were gone, so he could only shout to rally his troops.

The Bayerlan cavalry rushed to the front and scattered Ajax's troops in an instant. The densely packed cuirassiers surrounded the super-heavy knight and attacked him with pistols, lances and sabers.