Throne of the North.

Chapter 578 Knight's Blitz (Part Six)

Blood-red eagles soar through the sky and sea of ​​clouds; their world is forever vast and boundless, their sharp eyes always watching the fleeing prey below.

However, the Blood Eagles dared not venture into the battlefield below. The sheer number of tens of thousands fighting there meant that each of them could potentially drag them down from the sky. They could only hover in the sky, shrieking like those damned vultures, their cries mingling with the bloody battle cries from the ground.

The fine iron longsword was incredibly sharp. Back in the Frozen Territory, Basil had admired the knight's longsword forged by the craftsmanship of Brok. He carried this sword with him through many battlefields, slaying dragons and charging at gods.

But here, facing the enemies of the Dawn Church, this invincible sword has developed one flaw after another.

Before the Holy Light, mortal weapons decayed, and when the divine magic arrived, Basil knew that his all-out slashes would have no effect as he had imagined.

But so what?
He had followed Lord Ryan in challenging dragons, and had charged with Lord Ryan against great beings. These knights, who prayed for holy light, were fighting for their lord.

Will their lord answer them? No, but Lord Ryan is right beside them, right in front of them.

Basil swung his longsword, and when the crisp snapping sound rang out, he knew his time was up.

He gave a bitter laugh, his body covered in blood, as he watched the enraged Holy Knight thrust his longsword, born of the dawn, toward his chest. The sword was equally sharp, and Basil tried to raise his broken sword to fight back, but it was too late.

The sharp longsword landed on Basil's body, but he did not die, because he also wore armor as powerful as the Holy Knight opposite him. The weapons and equipment from the Frozen Territory would never disappoint any knight, even under the cover of divine magic.

"Die!!!"

Basil suddenly roared, his voice booming like a wild beast. He threw away the longsword that had broken in two, and with a flick of his wrist, he took the longbow off his back. The knights' squires, blessed by Lord Ryan, were all-rounders. They were skilled in cavalry charges and infantry combat. They could draw a bow and wield a spear.

This versatility doesn't refer to the versatility of a particular unit, but rather their ability to perfectly utilize any weapon.

Longbows are ranged weapons, but that doesn't mean they lack melee capabilities. Basil knew one thing very well: the moment his longsword broke, he would die, just like his fallen comrades on this battlefield.

All he could do was kill another enemy.

Lord Ryan said that the enemy outnumbers them by two.

So each of them has to kill at least two enemies, and he has already killed two Holy Knights; he wants to kill a third.

It's this guy right in front of me.

Seeing Basil's crazed gaze, even Barry, the fearless and devout Holy Knight of the Church, was afraid. He didn't know why the other party would show such a crazy look. Shouldn't he be fleeing in a sorry state in front of his powerful self?
He could understand it. In less than an hour, too many Dawn Believers and too many Holy Light Knights had fallen. From the battle to the desperate struggle to death, those Holy Light Knights hadn't even been able to walk five meters before they fell in front of these elite Imperial Knights.

Admittedly, they also killed many Imperial Knights, but the distinctive armor made Barry realize that the number of Holy Knights who died was much greater than that of their opponents.

This terrified him, and the fear fueled his anger. He was a servant of the Lord; how could he show fear when facing an enemy?

"No matter who you are, you will be purified by the holy light!!!"

The Holy Knight roared, his entire body bathed in holy light, and his weapon became even sharper. The sword pierced through the armor of the crazed Imperial Knight opposite him. The sound of the cold weapon piercing flesh and scraping against bone made Barry understand.

He won; the Imperial Knight who killed two Holy Knights will die by his own hand.

However, in the next instant, Barry's pupils widened as he saw the crazed Imperial Knight take a step forward with a roar, allowing the longsword to pierce his body even faster, and at the same time, tie the bowstring of the longbow to his own neck.

"Damn..."

He was speechless. His armor did indeed provide strong protection, but armor is still armor, and some gaps are unavoidable. This damned imperial man in front of him was trying to strangle him with a bowstring.

The problem was that he succeeded. In a split second, the broken bowstring wrapped around his neck, and its cold, sharp edge terrified Barry. He felt that his neck must be bleeding.

The Holy Knight was terrified, but fortunately, no matter how corrupt the Dawn Church was, the knight's fighting instincts had not lost their original function. Barry released one hand from the longsword and tightly gripped Basil's wrist, preventing the other from pulling on his neck with all his might.

He will win, because this imperial knight has been pierced through the chest by a longsword; he won't live, just a little while, just a little while...

"Cough cough!"

The Holy Knight kicked the Imperial Knight in front of him to the ground, panting heavily. He reached out to pull the bowstring off his neck.

He survived, and looking at the Imperial Knight in front of him whose chest was still heaving, he couldn't help but curse.

"damn it……"

He couldn't finish speaking because another knight's longsword appeared at his neck. Before Barry could finish his sentence, this knight's longsword, also riddled with nicks, slashed his neck open.

In that instant, he forgot that this was a battlefield, a battlefield where tens of thousands of knights were mixed together, with no more than three meters between each other, and that they were always surrounded by a large number of their comrades.

One's own, or the enemy's.

The light in Barry's eyes gradually dimmed; he was unwilling to die like this.

"Basil!"

Enraged, Keke shoved the Holy Knight aside, ignoring the knight's now-dead eyes, and went to Basil's side. He didn't crouch down, because this was a battlefield, a battlefield where even if your weapon breaks, you don't have the chance to crouch down and pick up a new one.

Crouching down signifies death, just like those who fell with their warhorses in the initial charge and could never get up again.

"Damn it! Basil, get up, get up!!!"

Blood gushed from Basil's mouth, choking him and rendering him speechless. He knew why Keck was furious; if he died here, Keck wouldn't be able to face his sister. In the stone house in the Frozen Territory, he would surely be beaten mercilessly, head bowed. Let him be beaten a few more times…

As Basil's raised hand fell to the ground, Keke's eyes turned bloodshot. He angrily swung his sword and cleaved the two men behind him. He had been a servant for a longer time, and the Deer Spirit Blessing bestowed by Lord Ryan gave him a life force that was unimaginable to ordinary Bronze Knights. He alone could overpower three Holy Light Knights.

But precisely because of this, he didn't have the extra strength to take care of his brother-in-law who had just died. When he had just finished killing two enemies, he discovered that his brother-in-law had killed two Holy Knights faster than him. But because of this, he didn't have enough strength to deal with the third Holy Knight who quickly came to his rescue.

The blessing from the stag gave them even more robust health, but they couldn't withstand the life-or-death battles on this battlefield where every second was a critical moment. These Holy Knights of the Holy Light were unlike any of the enemies they had ever encountered.

Keck didn't have the same problem as Basil had imagined, not knowing how to explain things when he got back. To be precise, on this battlefield, he simply didn't have time to think about such distant things; he was just angry because of Basil's death.

This rage made Keck's heart pound wildly. Deep within his soul, a proud stag raised its head and let out a deafening roar. The stag charged and trampled, causing Keck's blood to surge violently through his limbs and chest. As if he had lost his mind, the immense strength allowed him to grab the longsword that a Holy Knight had ambushed him with.

Blood flowed down his arm armor, and the sword was stained with iron filings and blood. Keck didn't know if any of it was his own. He simply thrust his sword out with a backhand. The sharpness of the Heroic Spirit Spear tore through the opponent's armor, and cracks appeared in the dented Dawn Armor. Then the sharp sword pierced through.

Enraged, Keck swung his longsword. The Holy Knight before him showed despair and fear of death, but his powerful life force did not kill him. The healing spell from the priest gave this knight, whose heart and lungs were torn apart, a terrifying power to rise again before death.

The Holy Knight discarded his weapon, gripped Keck's longsword tightly with both hands, then opened his mouth, revealing a row of bright red teeth, and roared:

"Nicholson, kill him!"

The Holy Knight went mad. He knew he wouldn't survive, but with the Lord's witness, he was determined to help his comrade kill this enemy of the Dawn.

On the other side, Nicholson, who was being called out, didn't even have a chance to turn around. He was fighting a powerful fire dragon knight who could breathe fire, and only divine magic could counter him.

He didn't have time, but the Holy Knight, whose heart and lungs had been pierced from behind, couldn't wait any longer, and he roared again.

"Nicholson, hurry up!!!"

He roared, and the Holy Knight behind him finally gritted his teeth, ignoring the Flame Dragon Knight's swinging sword, and turned to slash at Keke, who was unable to pull his weapon back.

The knights of the Dawn Church were naturally no strangers to knightly combat skills. The snow-white radiance, carrying a sharp edge, struck Keke's armor. The heavy armor was torn apart in that instant, and Keke coughed up blood and flew backward, knocking down two or three people.

Nicholson, forced to slash, fared no better. The weapon of the Flame Dragon Knight behind him fell onto his back, and the back armor that had been fighting alongside him for an hour shattered. Blood and the burning heat caused Nicholson to howl in pain as he crashed into the Holy Knight who had called him.

"At the critical moment, a hand pushed Nicholson away, and the Holy Knight, whose heart and lungs were still pierced by the weapon of the Keck, blocked the fatal sword of the Flame Dragon Knight."

"Langley!"

Nicholson roared, ignoring his own pain, and rushed to save his companion of nearly forty years. The latter gave him a bitter smile and said:

“Nicholson, I am about to depart for the eternal kingdom of heaven ahead of schedule, but I do not wish for you to join me in serving my Lord so soon.”

"Live."

Before he could finish speaking, Langley's eyes widened. He struggled violently to get to Nicholson's side, trying to warn him of the threat behind him!

But it was too late. A powerful kick came, and the Flame Dragon Knight kicked aside the Holy Light Knight who was blocking his way, then charged towards Nicholson, who had been pushed aside.

The latter had already reacted, turning around and raising his longsword to block a blazing sword light, but it was useless. He blocked the attack in front, but he didn't have time to turn around and block the attack from behind. His back was also stripped of the armor that protected him.

Two Flame Dragon Knights thrust their longswords out simultaneously, one in front and one behind. The Holy Light Knight's eyes widened in terror, and the longsword in his hand fell to the ground as his arm lost its strength.

The two Flame Dragon Knights withdrew their weapons, their cleaved blades stained with blood. They exchanged a glance, then simultaneously slashed to the left and right.

"Yulan, don't die."

One of them said this, his voice a little hoarse, seemingly due to the extreme dehydration he had experienced during the battle.

“You’re a cowardly Strauss too.”

The two Flame Dragon Knights exchanged a brief conversation, one of the few moments they could catch their breath in this battle.

At their feet lay the corpses of warhorses and knights, their clothes soaked with blood and sweat beneath their armor, but they had no time to stop and cleanse themselves of the filth.

On the battlefield, people are constantly lying down, roaring, howling, and gushing. Each of them has a name, just like the fallen Basil and the still-living Yulan. Every knight on this battlefield is highly respected elsewhere. They are objects of awe for countless commoners and slaves, and the goal that many children aspire to. Wherever they advance, people automatically part to make way. Wherever they stop, people will voluntarily leave space.

But not here. Every person, every name representing glory, as soon as they lay down, were piled up like fish out of the water. "Dying with eyes wide open" describes those fish that cannot close their eyes, and also the knights whose corpses fell on the battlefield and were trampled.

The battle continued from the bright midday sun until dusk and nightfall.

Initially, the knights would use combat skills to amplify their gains, but that became impossible later on. They didn't have enough battle aura or unlimited health to sustain them. They could only wield weapons and shields like ordinary soldiers. Their only extraordinary ability was that in every battle, they could shatter the stones beneath their feet or kick up soil, proving that their terrifying power was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Armor shattered, longswords broke, and daggers and short swords became the final mainstays of the war. The noble knights falling from the sky did not add to the bloodshed of the war; rather, it was the blood flowing into the distance and converging into a muddy river that inspired terror.

As night fell, the Moon Lady seemed to be watching the battle that had continued into the night. Her radiance was exceptionally bright, and the moonlight illuminated the battlefield. The flickering flames and the holy light kept the knights from completely losing sight of the battlefield. With the chanting of the priests in the distance, the Holy Knights' eyes lost focus, leaving only their devout faith in the Lord of Dawn.

Until the moonlit night, a rumbling sound came from the ground, along with Brand's furious roar.

"charge!!!"

(End of this chapter)