Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence.

Chapter 174: Brutal Victory and Massive Breakthroughs (Two-in-One Chapter)

Amidst Hildur's shouts, the coalition forces were almost in despair.

Before the war, the coalition forces greatly underestimated the powerful strength of the God's Chosen Class.

Its powerful physique, heavy armor, and iron-like defense make it almost impossible for ordinary soldiers to launch melee attacks against it.

Even if several squadrons surrounded it, they would only be defeated by it and suffer heavy losses.

The key point is that the monster now has activated the Blood Rage skill, which is a powerful ability of the God-chosen level. Every soldier who attacks it in close combat will be killed by its instant counterattack.

This means that even if the coalition forces use human lives at all costs, it will be ineffective against the powerful God-chosen units.

No one could have imagined that a single demonic chosen being could cause such a huge threat to the massive coalition of dwarves and humans! Its terrifying combat power was nearly unstoppable.

What's even more terrifying is that if it successfully chops off 999 heads, it will have a second life after this battle.

It is an impossible paradox to stop it at the moment without using siege.

At this time, an atmosphere of despair had enveloped the coalition forces.

The coalition forces are still not strong enough. If there is a chosen one in the coalition forces, then the chosen one can stop this demon and buy time for their side.

If there is no Chosen One, it doesn't matter if the army is large enough. With an army of tens of thousands of people, even if the devil chops off 1998 of its heads, it can still kill two of its lives with human lives.

But right now, the coalition had nothing! The strongest member of the coalition was only a champion-level existence, and the coalition was only two thousand strong. Skaven Bloodfury's wanton slaughter might just be the perfect opportunity to complete his feat of sealing the demon with blood and forming an army of one man.

Therefore, an atmosphere of despair enveloped everyone's heart. How could they stop this terrible demon?!

But it is precisely in these moments of despair that heroes emerge. It is precisely because of their courage, fearlessness, heroism, and justice that a person is distinguished from ordinary people and is called a hero.

The dwarf commander Muradin raised his battle axe with his right arm, roared loudly, left the army formation, and rushed towards the Demon Chosen One.

"Damn monster, do you think your brutality can scare the glorious dwarves? No! Dwarves will never surrender! Even in the face of a powerful enemy, we will fight to the death!"

As he roared, two shield bearers carried him with shields on their shoulders and charged directly at the monster with a brave and fearless attitude.

Muradin's battle axe gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and two shield bearers walked with their stout short legs, leaving a trail of dust on the battlefield.

As they approached the demon, Muradin roared and swung his axe, striking the demon's leg. Sparks flew as metal clashed with the demon's scaled thigh with a deafening sound, leaving a massive bloody mark on the demon's leg.

The demon god chosen Skaven Bloodfury let out a deafening roar, and raised his feet to crush the dwarves who dared to challenge him with his huge paws.

Compared to its huge size, these dwarves are just a group of iron-footed soldiers.

The dwarf shield bearers displayed an agility that was inconsistent with their iron-like bodies. They moved quickly with their short legs and narrowly avoided the huge feet as big as Skaven houses with Muradin.

Their special rule [Captain, Beware!] allows them to observe every attack of the monster in 360 degrees.

While they were dodging nimbly, the Dwarf's Giant Crossbows of Resentment and Thundering Musketeers were also firing at full force. Just one huge crossbow was enough to make the monsters be riddled with arrows like a hedgehog!

From a distance, Su Li could not see clearly how many huge crossbow arrows were stuck in the monster's body. Some crossbows even pierced its broad chest.

These were just the arrows fired from the crossbow carts. Hundreds of dwarf thunder gunners fired continuously, and the smoke produced by the gunpowder filled the entire hill. Countless bullets and lead bullets riddled the monster's body with holes.

The terrible injuries and constant bleeding finally angered the monster, and it was no longer interested in playing cat and mouse with Muradin.

A terrible bloody light suddenly appeared on its huge paw.

【Blood Rage·War Steps! 】

As the monster suddenly stepped down, a blood-red shock wave swept across the battlefield in an instant. With the battlefield where it was standing as the center, the ground within a radius of hundreds of meters around it collapsed at the same time, and countless flames, blood and magma splashed out from the cracks.

The huge shock wave caused great impact on Muradin and the shield bearer under him at the same time. The two shield bearers scratched their fingers and bled, and they gritted their teeth to steady the shields on their shoulders.

Muradin, who was facing the huge impact, felt dizzy. The flying sand and rocks brought by the shock wave made it impossible for him to open his eyes.

Under this attack, the dwarf was controlled for more than two seconds. More importantly, the battlefield overflowing with magma made it difficult for the dwarf shield bearer to move.

Skaven Bloodfury seized the opportunity decisively. Even though it was still some distance away from Muradin, it immediately threw out its chain axe and hit Muradin with its huge axe blade in an instant.

Its huge battle axe was taller than a hill, and this blow was no less than a huge hill falling down!

Muradin's perfect rune armor couldn't withstand it at all. One of his arms was chopped off in an instant, and the huge shield under him was smashed to pieces.

However, before the dwarf could react, Skaven Bloodfury swung his right arm, and the chain behind the chain axe had already entangled Muradin. He grinned cruelly and pulled hard, directly pulling Muradin into the air, then reached out and grabbed the dwarf general who was bleeding and roaring.

This scene made countless dwarves' eyes red with anger. They no longer cared about the consequences. The mountain shield formation was deployed in full force, and countless dwarves raised their battle axes and chopped at the monster.

The Ballistae of Resentment and the Thundering Musketeers opened fire at full power, and the dwarves let out furious war cries, venting their anger towards Skaven Bloodfury at all costs.

But it was too late. Skaven Bloodfury grabbed the dwarf's head and cruelly tore it into two pieces, enjoying the beauty of the dwarf's blood spurting from the broken neck.

"Ah! Bastard! I want you dead!"

"Bastard! The dwarf will fight you."

"We have a deep blood feud, and we will fight you to the death!"

As they roared, all humans were shocked to find that the dwarves were shrouded in a black and red blood energy. When this blood energy gathered above the entire army formation, it looked like a thick and unchanging scene.

As they shouted slogans of revenge, the rich blood energy gradually transformed into the portrait of a dwarf king!

This means that this feud has been included in the King's Book of Great Hatred.

Hirud said in shock, "It's [Deep Hatred]! Muradin's death has activated the deep hatred trait in the dwarfs' bloodline. They will become extremely violent and bloodthirsty before the war ends."

The levels of hatred among dwarves are divided into [Personal Vendetta], [Deep Hatred], and [Blood Vengeance].

Deep hatred is already the second level of the dwarf's revenge characteristics. Muradin's glorious death activated the glory of the dwarves.

They launched madly wave after wave of attacks against the Chosen One of Khorne!
Skaven Bloodfury was even unable to keep his footing under this violent attack and was forced to retreat again and again.

What does it mean when ants bite an elephant to death? These dwarves used hammers and axes to chop off the Skaven's huge paws in half.

The bloody wounds made Skaven's anger accumulate even more, but he had no way to deal with it. Even if he erupted in blood rage again and chopped all the dwarves within a hundred meters around him into pieces, he still could not repel these fearless dwarves who kept coming forward.

After this try, Hildur didn't have time to think too much.

Hesitation will only lead to defeat. Sometimes carefully planned strategies may not be as good as improvisation on the battlefield.

At this moment, we must fight quickly, leaving this Chosen One of Khorne no time to think and forcing him to make hasty decisions based on instinct.

So Hildurd also took heart and shouted, "Blow the horn, and attack with all your strength! May the Sun Goddess bless us and let us die a worthy death."

As the majestic and uplifting trumpet sounds rang out from all directions of the battlefield, the human knights had already made a desperate attempt. If they did not fight hard, they would only die. Only by attacking with all their strength could they have a last chance of survival.

Humans and dwarves never lack the courage to fight bloody battles for victory.

The army's commander, Knight Orstein, activated the glorious relic bestowed upon him by the Sun Goddess: the Radiance of the Blazing Sun. While the relic lost its ability to block ranged attacks, it transformed the shields of every knight in the army into magical weapons, radiating a dazzling light.

And this brilliant golden light finally made Skaven Bloodfury feel fear.

It has already cast Blood Rage multiple times in a short period of time. Even for a chosen warrior, the ability to use chaos power is not unlimited.

Khorne can allow it to chop more freely with the help of the power of Chaos, but he will not allow it to become a waste that can only rely on the power of Chaos to barely protect itself.

The dwarf's crossbow pierced its body, the musket broke its defense, the golden shield blinded its eyes, and more importantly, the humans' successive charges made it stumble back and get further and further away from the giant crossbow of resentment!
This means that it has no hope of victory. If it cannot destroy these four crossbow carts, it will surely die here.

Its rapidly declining health and increasingly weakened body made it doubt whether it could kill 999 enemies before dying.

What’s more important is that the other party seems to be crazy and will not stop until death!

Even if it kills 999 enemies and gains a second life, the remaining enemies will use continuous casualties to fight for its second life.

This means that it will definitely die in this battle today!

The enemy had deliberately chosen this battlefield to cause its army to be completely decimated, precisely to eliminate the support provided by its Chaos servants, which had a disastrous impact on it.

It no longer had the resolve to fight to the death, because even if it chopped off two lives, it would be meaningless. How could it please the Blood God if it couldn't cut down the huge Jingguan towering above the mountains?
So, amid the coalition's rapid attack, the dazed demon finally made a wrong decision: a strategic retreat. It decided to leave the enemy's pre-selected battlefield, climb over the ruins created by the landslide, and reunite with the demon army's well-organized troops on the other side, which had not yet entered the battlefield. It would then return to defeat these enemies, ensuring its final victory and the right to clean up the battlefield, thus offering a blood sacrifice to the Blood God and its head to the Skull Throne.

But it forgot one crucial thing: this was something the other followers of Khorne could do without issue. Khorne wasn't a mindless, chopping and slashing god. Even when things weren't going his way, it allowed its followers to regroup and chop to their heart's content. They weren't left helpless before the human cavalry, being carried away like pigs by wave after wave of cavalry charges.

But Skaven Bloodfury was the only one who couldn't do this. He was a servant blessed by the Blood God! The Chaos Gods' favor always came with a condition: if Skaven ever humiliated Khorne by fleeing without a fight, he would be transformed into a Chaos Spawn. The moment Skaven decided to retreat and turned to flee, a horrific transformation suddenly occurred within him.

Its flesh began to twist violently, muscles and skin were torn apart by invisible forces, blood, flesh and tissue splattered everywhere, and its body began to disintegrate under the influence of chaotic energy.

As the flesh crumbled, the Skaven's bones began to crack with harsh sounds. They were rewoven by the power of chaos, forming a huge, deformed egg-shaped structure. The surface of this structure was covered with spikes and tumors, which looked extremely hideous.

Then its beginning faded into obscurity, its screams and roars swallowed by the power of Chaos, until only the fear of Khorne remained and despair at the endless suffering to come.

When all the flesh and bones were completely reshaped by the power of Chaos, Skaven Bloodfury no longer existed. Instead, a huge Chaos Egg with only two legs left was replaced, still wreaking havoc on the battlefield.

But just like the collapse of the chain axe on the hill, the Skaven lost their God-chosen power, and the remaining Chaos Egg was no longer enough to pose much threat to the turbulent coalition forces.

Even elite soldiers can boldly attack it.

When Hildurd leaped up from his warhorse, the blazing sword light pierced through the Chaos Egg's head and cut off the Dwarf King's horn. The huge monster finally fell to the ground like a landslide.

As the last monster was wiped out, the thunderous cheers of the soldiers were finally heard on the battlefield.

"we won!"

"Win? Did we really win? Defeat that bloody monster?"

"Praise the Sun Goddess! We have won! Praise the Lord, we will be rewarded in victory!"

"Long live victory!"

Countless soldiers cried with joy, their eyes filled with tears. They praised the protection of the gods and prayed for their dead comrades.

They cry not because they are cowardly, but because they value and love life.

When Hildurde handed the rare horn to Su Li, Su Li recovered a little strength with the help of the endurance potion.

He held the horn and asked Hirud, "How are the dwarves?"

Hirud's face was tinged with sorrow as he spoke softly, "They are gathering the remains of their fallen comrades. Their losses were horrific. Many were hacked to pieces, leaving no trace of a single body. This included the dwarven leader, Muradin. The dwarves had a hard time finding his head amidst the blood and flesh, but it was utterly mangled."

"Alas!" Su Li couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat after hearing the tragic situation described by Hildreth. This battle was really too tragic.

Before the war, he never thought that even Muradin, the dwarf commander, would die in battle.

To be honest, the dwarf Muradin is not very likable.

He has a bad temper, is stubborn, and is arrogant.

It was his leadership of the dwarves and his stubborn opposition to Su Li's tactics that led to such a tragic outcome of this battle.

It can be said that if the commander of the dwarves was Dogrin, he would be willing to listen to Su Li's advice, and the casualties of the dwarves in this battle would be greatly reduced.

Su Li also didn't like Muradin, the traditional dwarf, very much. He thought he was stubborn and rude and not an outstanding partner.

But no one can deny that the dwarf commander is sincerely concerned about the interests of the dwarves and fights bloody battles to defend the peace of the Grey Mountains.

At the critical moment when demons were rampant and no one could stop them, he bravely moved forward with the fearless spirit of "even if there are thousands of people, I will go forward", holding back the demons and buying time for the dwarf ranged troops to attack.

It was his bloody battles and unyielding spirit that inspired the morale of the entire coalition forces, enabling them to launch an attack with overwhelming cheers and drive out the God-chosen demons.

So you can say that he has a bad temper and is stubborn, but no one can deny his loyalty to the dwarves and his contribution to this battle. He deserves his honor both during his lifetime and after his death!
Su Li sighed and said, "The death of the dwarf general Muradin is a huge loss to us and Redbeard Keep. When they leave, our territory will send a foreign minister to Redbeard Keep to offer condolences."

With the demons of the largest force in the north being wiped out and a large number of monsters in the west of the Gray Mountains being killed, the road from the Hessen Territory to the Gray Mountains became unblocked.

After that, the territory really needed a person with outstanding diplomatic skills to serve as Foreign Minister.

Su Li thought Hatsklin was a good choice. This old halfling always held a pipe and was very amiable.

She was also flexible and knew how to soothe the irritability of all parties. Crucially, she was a halfling, naturally endowed with a close relationship with people. Traveling in the Grey Mountains, she might be able to establish good relations with dwarves, ogres, and mountain tribes.

Hildurd nodded and said, "I will arrange this matter later and send a caravan to Redbeard Castle at the same time."

After arranging this matter, Su Li asked with concern: "How are our casualties? Have you figured it out?"

Hildurde slowly replied, "We've tallied the numbers. Not many of our knights were killed in battle, less than forty in total, including eight elite knights. However, the losses among our squires were extremely severe. Facing Khorne's powerful warriors and those bloodthirsty demons head-on with their mortal bodies, the casualties among our squires approached two hundred. Even with the full efforts of the Hospitallers and Sisters of the Church of the Dawn, the losses would still exceed a hundred!"

Su Li was so heartbroken that he was twitching!

No wonder war has been the most costly endeavor since ancient times. Feudal dynasties avoided war whenever possible.

After a war, the proceeds from the spoils could not cover the huge expenses of the war.

How many troops did Su Li have now? After a bloody battle, the loss of knights, horses, and equipment alone amounted to nearly 10000 gold crowns!

Especially the loss of Rune Armor and Star Iron Armor, the wealth lost is no less than that of the knights.

But Su Li had never obtained the wealth of even 2000 gold crowns in any war.

Obviously, compared to this extremely risky war, Su Li would rather live in seclusion and farm.

So Su Li showed his oriental peasant mentality at this moment. He hugged Hildurde and said sadly: "This battle almost destroyed our family's wealth!"

At this moment, Su Li finally understood why all 300 of Ling Tong's men died in the Battle of Xiaoyaojin. This tall and strong man and fierce general of Jiangdong was so sad that he burst into tears.

This is truly the wealth of a general!
There were only more than a hundred knights directly under Su Li, and with the knights of the Knights Templar, there were only about three hundred knights. As a result, more than 40 of them died in one battle.

It cannot be replenished in such a short time.

You have to know that such a large army was built up after he worked hard for half a year!

And will the Green Dragon give him another half year?
Stop dreaming, there are only less than two months left until the green dragon wakes up.

Hildurde gently held Su Li's head in his arms and comforted him, "Lord, think positively. We have gained a lot from this battle."

"I have successfully broken through to the Champion level, and Knight Orstein has also broken through to the High Champion level. Defeating such a powerful enemy has brought God's grace to each of us. Perhaps before the Green Dragon War arrives, we will have two God-chosen Knights."

Hearing Hildreth's gentle comfort, Su Li finally cheered up and his mood improved.

While the Sun Goddess wasn't the most generous of deities, in this battle, her followers illuminated the sun and moon, awe-inspiring the mountains and rivers, charging fearlessly and even defeating the mighty Chosen of Khorne. In such circumstances, she was bound to bestow divine favor. If the territory worshipped Ulric, the White Wolf God, this divine favor would be particularly strong.

Therefore, after the blessing of God, although the number of knights decreased, their strength became more powerful.

Su Li asked: "How many people have been promoted?"

Hildre shook his head slightly and said, "The exact number hasn't been counted yet, but what is certain is that we have two more champion knights in this battle."

"Two more champion knights?" Su Li asked with concern, "Who else are there besides you?"

"And Roland the Lionheart."

"Lionheart Roland?" Su Li laughed excitedly and said, "Doesn't that mean the territory finally has its first champion-level Demi-Griffin Knight?"

Although there were champion knights in the territory before, none of them had griffin mounts.

It would be fine if foot knights didn't rely on mounts, but nearly half of the combat power of those shock knights came from mounts!

The combat effectiveness of a champion knight riding a warhorse and a champion monster cavalryman riding a half-griffin is worlds apart.

If Su Li had a team of half-griffin knights under his command, he would dare to directly surround and kill the green dragon!

As one of the most powerful cavalry in the empire, the Demi-Griffin Cavalry is the symbol of human military power.

Roland was the knight who wielded his eight-meter-long halberd and pierced the Skaven's thigh. This strike not only severely damaged the Skaven but also granted Roland immense divine grace, enabling him to stand out and be promoted to Champion Knight. Even the demi-griffon at his saddle benefited from it, becoming even larger, more powerful, and fiercer.

It was a pity that in this battle, the humans played a supporting role, with the main force being the Gray Mountain Dwarves' mountain shield formation. Otherwise, perhaps the Sun Goddess would have directly bestowed her rich grace and granted Hessen a new holy relic of glory.

　Successfully completed the achievement of a daily cycle of 10,000.

　　Take a short break, save some drafts and then continue.

　　All future chapters will be two-in-one chapters, changed from two chapters of 3000 words to one chapter of 6000 words, with an increase in the average subscription.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)