Lord: I can see loyalty.

Chapter 248 Knightly Duel, The Great Knight of the Golden Saddle

On the battlefield, rivers of blood flowed, but the battle was far from over.

Russell's solid swordsmanship fundamentals, along with his mastery of the advanced Serpent Eagle sword technique, were enough to allow him to fight to the death in a crowd without falling.

The elite lion knights couldn't even get close to him before their shields were cleaved open by the power of the Serpent Eagle Sword Technique, forcing them to retreat repeatedly to avoid the next attack.

But when Russell turned to look at his side, he couldn't help but frown.

In the center of the battlefield, the situation has already shown signs of becoming one-sided.

Although the Knights of the Azure Peak were a collection of elite troops, their numbers were no match for the enemy's army of ten thousand, and they could only defend around the Anvil Fortress.

The Blue-Crested Knights, who stormed into the castle with Russell to fight the Golden Saddle Knights, were already exhausted and were surrounded.

Russell narrowed his eyes slightly, gripped the armed sword in his hand, took a deep breath, and rushed forward like an arrow. In just one breath, he arrived in front of a surrounded Azure Knight.

Although this poor young knight was already at the intermediate level of the Serpent Eagle Sword Technique, he was not an experienced swordsman. He had rushed into the main battlefield in a moment of passion and was now surrounded by the Golden Saddle Knights, covered in wounds and panting heavily.

call--!

Russell bent down, and his sword slashed forward, bringing with it the power of his snake sword technique, drawing a semi-circular arc of blood in the air!

"what!"

"Damn it! It's that Southern Knight Captain—"

The Golden Saddle Knights were generally at the beginner level of Golden Horse Swordsmanship, and were powerless against Russell, whose superior Serpent Eagle Swordsmanship overwhelmed them with sheer strength.

A knight with his hands severed retreated while screaming in agony, blood still gushing from the cuts in his hands. His gruesome sight undoubtedly caused the other knights with golden saddles to take a step back.

Russell also took the opportunity to shout to the Knights of the Azure Peak: "Gentlemen! Our main force is almost here!"

"Everyone, retreat westward and rejoin the main army!"

As if they had heard the word of victory, the Azure-Clad Knights roared and, taking advantage of the Golden-Saddled Knights' momentary lapse in concentration, desperately broke through the encirclement to the west.

At the same time, just as the Azure Peak Knights created some distance, before the Golden Saddle Knights could prepare to continue their pursuit, a "black cloud" suddenly appeared in the western sky!

"What—what is that?!"

"That's a rain of arrows! Quick! Defend!"

The golden-saddled knights reacted quickly, but the arrows fell even faster!

Some of the Golden Saddle Knights who didn't have time to raise their shields or find cover were instantly riddled with arrows.

Arrows rained down like locusts, obscuring the sun.

Russell and his companions did not turn back, but galloped away on their horses, their longswords dripping with blood, with the Azure-Crowned Knights following closely behind.

Horse hooves trampled the dry grass, dust billowed, and the shouts of battle behind them gradually faded into the distance, but everyone knew that this was only a temporary respite.

Meanwhile, on the plains to the west, towards Grey Wolf Castle, the main force of the Southern Territory had already formed ranks.

Jimmy stood on horseback at the front of the formation, his longsword drawn, his eyes beneath his visor fixed intently on the front.

Behind him, the infantry phalanxes of the Giant Whale and Azure Peak knight orders stood like a forest of spears and shields, forming an impenetrable wall of steel.

Further behind were the banners of the Grey Wolf family. Leon stood on the flank with his personal guard, Ellie beside him, her hand on her sword hilt, her gaze calm.

"It's Captain Russell!" a knight shouted.

Jimmy looked up and saw Russell leading the remaining troops out of the smoke and dust.

Their armor was stained with blood, their warhorses were panting heavily, but everyone's eyes were shining. They were not defeated, they were just retreating.

"Return to the team!" Jimmy shouted sternly.

Russell reined in his horse and quickly led his men back into the ranks. He stopped beside Jimmy, panting heavily.

"Chief Jimmy, the main force of the Jin An Ma family still has at least nine thousand men. Their commander is cunning and has not committed all his troops."

Jimmy nodded. "I know, the Earl is already behind us."

Russell turned his head and looked behind him.

There, Vio stood on a high slope on horseback, with Alec standing beside him. Their gazes swept across the battlefield and landed on the golden camp to the north.

Vio didn't speak, but slowly raised his hand.

"Uncle Valentine." His voice was very soft.

Valentine stood beside him, leaning on his staff. "How so?"

"There's no need to hold back."

Valentine grinned, revealing a few missing old teeth. "That's what I've been waiting for you to say."

He turned around and waved to the group of militiamen behind him.

The militiamen pushed forward several flatbed carts covered with tarpaulins. When the tarpaulins were lifted, neatly stacked iron balls were revealed underneath—thirty magic bombs.

The surface of the iron ball was covered with intricate runes, which gleamed with a faint blue light in the sunlight.

"Ready—fire!"

At Valentine's command, the magic apprentices picked up the iron ball, infused it with magic, and hurled it with all their might.

The iron ball traced arcs in the air, accelerating as it flew across the southern front and landed towards the rear of the Golden Saddle Knights after activating magic.

The knights with golden saddles looked up as the black dots grew larger and larger as they approached.

Someone recognized what it was: the Northern Allied Knights army was utterly routed by this very thing during the Battle of Blackwood!

"Scatter! Scatter now!" the knight captain roared hoarsely.

But it was too late.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosion was like thunder, flames shot into the sky, and debris flew everywhere.

The moment the iron ball hit the ground, a dark blue light exploded, and the shockwave knocked the surrounding knights and their horses to the ground, their armor shattered, and blood and flesh flying everywhere.

Several iron balls landed in the militia formation, and those soldiers who hadn't even had time to raise their shields were blown to pieces, their screams echoing everywhere.

The Golden Saddle Knights' formation began to break up, and the soldiers stared in horror at the still-smoking craters; some even turned and ran.

Their elite cavalry were still in the front lines confronting the southern border, while the knights and militia in the rear had already been torn apart by magical bombs.

"Hold on! Hold on!" Renault's voice rang out from the rear of the battlefield, but his orders could not reach the front ranks.

When the knights looked back and saw the chaos in their rear, their resolve began to waver.

"Azure Peak Knights, charge!" Jimmy seized the opportunity, raised his longsword high, and the black-armored cavalry charged towards the Golden Saddle Knights' line like arrows released from a bow.

Alec also drew his greatsword, his platinum armor gleaming in the sunlight.

He charged ahead, plunging into the enemy ranks. Wherever his sword flashed, golden-saddled knights fell from their horses.

The power of a fourth-tier Grand Knight is terrifying; each sword strike is enough to cleave a shield, and each blow takes a life.

The Golden Saddle Knights retreated in terror, but they had nowhere to go. Behind them lay the still-smoking crater from the explosion, and ahead of them stretched the steel torrent of the Southern Territory.

The situation on the battlefield has taken a turn for the worse.

The Golden Saddle Knights' formation was torn open, and the Southern Army poured in through the gap, dividing, surrounding, and annihilating the golden tide.

On the high slope behind, Vio looked at the battlefield, his brows furrowed slightly.

His gaze swept across the chaotic battle zone and landed deep within the Golden Saddle Horse family's camp.

There, a figure clad in golden armor stood quietly, motionless.

The distance was too great to see faces clearly, but Vio could feel the oppressive aura emanating from him. It wasn't murderous intent or hostility, but rather the inherent sense of crisis that Vio, a fourth-tier Grand Knight, possessed.

It's like standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking an abyss, or gazing up at a towering mountain peak.

He must be better than Jimmy and Gina.