Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 451 Shadow of the Evil God
Augustus raised his eyebrows and said in a cold voice, "What do you mean, Marshal?"

Rexar ignored the sharp edge released by his deputy commander and smiled faintly: "Although you are all from aristocratic families, you young people are not as rotten and smelly as the old guys in the holy land. It is not surprising to meet a heroic and vigorous leader like His Majesty and worship him."

"But I still want to ask, how many battles have we won since the Dragon Lord's Northern Expedition?"

"Three months ago, we firmly believed that he would go north through the Sol portal, but he crossed the Sea of ​​Death overnight and defeated the Eastern Warband in a few days. Two months ago, we thought he would rush north to join Borelius and deployed heavy troops at the North Pass, but he suddenly led his troops to attack and almost scared the elders to death in the Holy City. One month ago, we were full of confidence and thought that His Majesty would personally lead an army of 200,000 to the south and activate the Jedi Seal. Together with the Southern Warband, which no longer had any worries, it would be easier to crush those 10,000 people than to step on an ant. But what was the result?"

"Amodia and Mocero were both seriously injured, and our army is still chasing after the Southern Expedition Army. Do you dare to pat your chest and guarantee me that we can win this time and cut off Lucia Sanx's head after losing countless battles?"

Augustus stiffened his neck and said, "Our army's defeat is only a tactical defeat on a local battlefield, but strategically, the remaining soldiers under Lucia have been forced into a dead end by your majesty, and he himself is also seriously injured. Maybe his head is on the way to various places at this moment. This is a complete victory!"

"You're not wrong, but it's a fact that you and I can both see clearly. Could it be that Lucia is completely unaware of it?"

Rexar turned his head and looked southwest, his expression bleak as he said, "No matter how much you don't want to admit it, up to now, the new dragon king has indeed surpassed us in every aspect. The reason why the royal court can still retain some strategic initiative is only because of the completely unequal military strength and fire power."

"Perhaps the Jedi Seal was beyond his expectations, but such an opponent, even if he is forced into a theoretical death trap, must be thinking of a desperate counterattack. Even if we unite as one and use the power of the entire country to fight against him, we dare not guarantee victory, let alone now."

After hearing these words, Augustus' anger became even stronger.

He could accept that Rexxar was conserving his strength and sitting on the fence. After all, he was not the only one in the royal court who had this idea.

But what he could not accept was that these fence-sitters, in order to justify their cowardly actions, did not hesitate to exaggerate their opponents and belittle their own kings. These self-deceiving statements could be chewed over in private, but speaking them out loud was simply polluting his ears.

"Marshal, do you think that His Majesty will lose to Lucia?" His voice was enunciated word by word, as if it was carved by a knife.

Rexar took a deep breath, took two more steps toward the edge of the observation deck, put his arms on the railing and said, "I just feel that before Your Majesty wins, the Central Battle Group will collapse first."

"After deducting the troops that followed His Majesty south and the casualties in recent days, our force is only 40,000, less than half of the total force of Sol City and the frozen lake. According to their attack today, you and I will be buried here in ten days at most."

Augustus said angrily, "In that case, you should just lead your troops to retreat. I will lead my personal guards to cover the rear, so that I won't be called a deserter in the future!"

"Also, Marshal, rest assured, you have fought hard in the past three months and have made great contributions. When His Majesty rewards you for your contributions after the war, you will still be the leader of the Central Battle Group. I will never criticize you for what you did today!"

Rexar closed his eyes tiredly, unwilling to say more. "Report—"

A hurried report broke the solemn atmosphere between the two marshals. Augustus looked back in surprise, expecting the good news from the south to nip his commander's dangerous idea in the bud. However, the news that followed was like a thunderbolt in his ears!

"Your Majesty personally led the First, Eighth, and Ninth Legions to encounter the enemy 530 miles southeast of the Sacred Tree Forest. The enemy's starry sky god Esti, who is suspected to have fallen, killed and injured a large number of our high-ranking generals and suddenly detonated the origin of the gods. Your Majesty was seriously injured, and the Eighth Ancestor, the First Leoponis, and the First Volarres fell. Our army was defeated and is retreating under the protection of the ancestors Amodia and Vikia!"

At the same time, an old roar suddenly came from the Thor Storm Army outside the city: "Giant King Karelius is dead! All soldiers listen to my orders! Follow me to break the city, destroy the central war group, and kill Rexar!"

"Destroy the Central Regiment and kill Rexar!"

Among the thousands of troops, wave after wave of thunderous applause rang out. The giant defenders on the front line were unaware of the situation and their momentum weakened. They immediately fell into a disadvantage in this struggle between life and death!

On the east side of the battlefield, an icy and bone-chilling storm suddenly hit the battlefield. An ancient and deep dragon roar was heard in the overwhelming snow fog. Many giant soldiers did not even have time to see the enemy's appearance clearly before they were frozen into large ice sculptures by the sudden cold!

Thousands of Samir Ice Knights wearing leather armor and iron masks rushed out. Their attacking postures were like a strange dance. They waved their scimitars to smash the defenseless ice sculptures one by one, just like crushing thin-skinned walnuts, exploding dark red ice chips!

"Retreat!" Rexar roared in shock and anger.

"But." Augustus woke up from his dream, "The enemy is strong, so why don't we hold on to the city and wait for rescue——"

"Wait for your mother's rescue!" Rexar grabbed his neck and cursed angrily: "No matter how strong the city is, without the support of the country's power in the rear and the support of friendly forces, it will be dead in the face of a siege by the army! While they are still heading west to rescue Lucia, there is still a glimmer of hope if they escape to the south into the Snow Valley. If you delay any longer, these 40,000 troops will be buried with you, a stupid pig! Now I'm going to cover the retreat, gather your personal guards and lead the army to retreat. If you dare to slow down, I will return to the Holy Land and kill your whole family!"

Rexar swung his long arms and threw Augustus straight off the city wall. He understood the ability of his deputy general. Except for being a little impulsive due to his youth, he had no problem leading the troops in daily battles. When Augustus came to his senses and led the troops to retreat, he would still be able to preserve the troops as much as possible.

What he had to do was to delay Neo and Pollux during this period when the enemy's momentum was at its strongest and his own army's morale was low. Neither of those two old guys was an easy target. Even if the basic strategy was to move westward, they would not hesitate or show mercy if they had a chance to destroy the Central Battle Group.

Rexar took out the long sword, his hair and beard dancing wildly in the wind. His body turned into a giant. At the same time, a red demon shadow that looked similar to him but had two heads and six arms rose from the ground behind him and grew to three hundred meters away in an instant. The divine power condensed into six different weapons, which together with the long sword faced the approaching storm in the distance!

Amid the roar of thunder came a heroic voice: "Seventh Forbidden Spell. Shadow of the Evil God—hahaha, I am here to learn from you and see if you, a fake evil god, can withstand a beating!"

(End of this chapter)