Chapter 204 Chapter 203 The Crushing of the Beetle
Since Duke Kasong had chosen to hold back the Mother of Beasts and her army with his life,
Jima’s opinion of him improved slightly; she was no longer so resentful. She also abandoned her plan for future vengeance against his family, which involved spreading a curse of hair loss.
To ensure that Duke Kasong’s life would have the greatest effect, Jima planned to do her utmost to command the breakout troops.
But a problem arose: even if George agreed for Jima to command, could she truly lead the army? Perhaps only a few dozen sheltered farmers would be mesmerized by her beauty and willing to do anything for her.
She briefly discussed with George and formulated a plan.
Jima would fly overhead, using signal flares to guide the attack direction, and George would simply lead the charge.
To rein in the brave yet undisciplined knights, George held up Duke Kasong’s sword in front of all the knights and declared:
“By the command of Duke Kasong, all knights must heed my call; where the tip of the sword points is where we shall charge. Do you all agree?”
Though curious about why George would go this extra mile to ask for agreement, the knights responded in unison:
“We agree!”
As the words left their lips, an invisible yet binding order—or rather, discipline—fell upon them.
Only the Black Knight remained defiant. George rode his celestial warhorse up to him, asking, “Why do you not agree?”
The Black Knight was puzzled as to why George had noticed he hadn’t said yes among hundreds of knights, unlike the others who removed their helmets or lifted their visors as a basic courtesy; he hadn’t done either.
The Black Knight responded, “Stop stalling and fight me to see who can slay more giants! Are you afraid?”
George pointed his sword at the Black Knight’s face and asked, “Do you wish to defy discipline? To abandon the courageous charge?”
An undeniable sense of authority struck the Black Knight’s face, leaving him momentarily blank before he lifted his visor and said, “I agree.”
George nodded, “Good.”
He then urged his horse onward.
The Black Knight came to his senses, pulling off his visor in frustration. He didn’t understand why he had yielded to George’s will, clenching his fists unhappily.
This small incident was, as usual, outside the concern of Jima and George.
Afterward, George ordered some knights to dismount and fight. The escape route chosen by Jima was not only steep but also narrow, necessitating that some knights dismount to engage in battle; any knight present would instinctively deny this escape route.
However, Jima, soaring in the sky, recognized at a glance that this was indeed the best breakout route.
Once prepared, as George raised his sword, the knights, on their warhorses, began the grueling ascent, facing the boulders thrown by the Cyclopes as they charged.
There stood at least five Cyclopes at the exit. The exhausted horned beasts quickly gathered at their feet to block the knights’ charge.
Old farmers first drew their bows, arrows raining down on the horned beast pack, embedding in their tough fur or clattering off their iron armor.
To the Cyclopes, this barrage of arrows was merely harmless drizzle.
These large, horned monsters bent down, their fingers like magnets drawing dirt and stones into their palms, compacting them into rocks the size of carts, which they hoisted on their shoulders and hurled viciously.
Five whistling boulders crashed down upon the charging knights, and those unlucky enough to be struck were crushed, horses and riders alike, emitting terrifying shuddering sounds. The boulders then rolled down the slope, crashing through the crowd and creating five pathways, with fallen riders blocking the other knights behind them.
The troops faltered momentarily, but fortunately, the knights’ desire for battle was strong, and they did not pause for long before continuing their advance.
The second and third rounds of stone-throwing followed.
Some knights who were knocked down by the boulders got back up, while others fell and would never rise again, sleeping forever on the battlefield with their beloved steeds. The worst fate was for those half-alive knights, with their armor dented and broken, compressing their flesh and organs, unable to die or move.
Under the impact of the boulders, the knights’ formation had become considerably loose, leading to doubts about the effectiveness of the charge.
The knights finally charged up the slope, colliding with the throng of horned beasts.
Jima, soaring in the sky, observed everything clearly; the knights’ impact was like the punch of a sickly person landing in a mud pit.
The lines of horned beasts merely trembled slightly, becoming even more chaotic, and driven by their bloodthirst, they engaged the knights in battle.
The foot knights also rushed up, crashing into the horned beasts’ line. Although shorter than the beasts, the knights were better armored and far stronger, with several possessing extraordinary power, forcing the horned beasts to retreat step by step.
However, behind the horned beasts stood five Cyclopes, and as the battle raged on, they became a jumble.
One side was brown with fur, the other shining silver with plate armor, as heads surged. The Cyclopes were having a blast, holding giant rocks tightly and smashing down with great force, as if crushing beetles with stones, accompanied by the sound of contorted bodies underneath.
Despite the knights chanting, “For the Goddess!”
They soon filled in the gaps and continued their battle charge forward.
But the casualties were enormous, and the offensive weakened. With every step forward, dozens of bodies were crushed by falling stones.
Even though George had dismounted and was fighting his way through the ranks against the Cyclopes in lethal combat, the Cyclopes themselves were fearsome foes, compounded by the strength of the beastmen and numerous beastmen guards.
Even with the synergy between George and Eve Frostleaf, as they battled for over ten minutes and managed to open several bleeding wounds on the Cyclopes with their massive sword,
they could only watch helplessly as the gravely injured Cyclopes retreated without looking back, casually trampling a few beastmen who failed to dodge in time.
They retreated, continuing to hurl stones.
At this moment, Jima dropped a green signal flare symbolizing the knight’s retreat, and George commanded the mounted knights to fall back and regroup, waiting for the right time to strike.
The foot knights began to show signs of collapse; it was much harder than they had anticipated. With every falling boulder landing nearby, the sound of crunching bones could be heard clearly, even with helmets on, despite the clamor of battle, and even if they shouted “For the Goddess!” with all their might.
The knights who were pinned under boulders, unable to die but not dead either, cried out desperately, tugging at their comrades’ legs, calling for help or pleading for their lives to be ended.
The surviving knights pretended not to hear, busy fighting the beastmen, hoping to ignore their comrades’ desperate cries.
But fear began to surge in their hearts. Would the next to be crushed by a boulder be themselves? Would they end up half-alive, suffering unbearable pain, begging others for help, yet no one would extend a hand?
They began to doubt.
Doubting the commander, believing the breakout direction had been miscalculated. Doubting themselves, they felt their previous victories were merely fortunate, leading them to doubt whether they would ever experience victory again.
Jima continued to soar in the sky, her branch spear now stained with blood. She observed the battlefield time and time again; the situation on the front was dire, the knights surrounded by beastmen were like ice and snow melting under the sun, and the Mother of Beasts was locked in a decisive battle with Duke Kasong, albeit suffering some injuries herself.
The Cyclopes were converging toward the breakout direction; those Barito infantry who were supposed to obstruct their advance had long since crumbled, now being chased like headless flies. However, Jima had no hopes they could withstand for long.
The Barito army’s operational space was shrinking; once the Cyclopes closed in and hurled boulders at the knights, it would be enough to shatter the offensive.
The mounted knights, led by George, prepared for a surprise attack.
Yet Jima withheld the signal flare for an attack, her expression cold as she watched the faltering foot knights.
From those knights, wisps of white, painful power continually emerged, merging into her body.
A beam of light shot up from below, landing on her eyes.
Jima looked down and saw George, waving his hand, pointing his sword at another gravely wounded Cyclops, signaling her to try finishing it off.
Jima shook her head, refusing to strike.
“Duke Kasong is dead!”
“Duke Kasong is dead!”
“Surrender, knights!”
The Mother of Beasts roared, her voice drowning out all others on the battlefield. Jima looked over to see Duke Kasong and his flying steed lying beneath the bulk of the Mother of Beasts, with the riders of the flying steeds frantically fleeing.
Many had heard it, instinctively looking, noticing that the commander’s banner had fallen.
The crowd wavered; the Barito infantry began to crumble, and the Cyclopes quickened their consolidation, almost ready to crush the hope of breakout with boulders.
Yet Jima still did not issue the order to attack.
George looked up anxiously at Jima soaring above, while trying to prevent knights intent on charging recklessly.
Finally, the signal Jima had been waiting for appeared on the battlefield.
Under the influence of Jima’s “Mass Provocation,” amid the blood and death, the beastmen rampaged, roaring to shred the knights to pieces with their weapons, charging forward one after another, seeking to tear the foot knights apart.
Chaos was imminent.
Jima dove down, tossing two glowing signal flares into the throng of beasts, shouting to the foot knights: “Retreat! Retreat! Make way for the cavalry!”
The foot knights, already on the brink of collapse, promptly began to withdraw—or rather, to flee.
The beastmen pursued, but their formation broke apart.
George yelled, “Charge!!”
“For the Goddess!”
This was the last opportunity for a charge, as the wedge formation clashed with the loosely pursuing horned beasts.
Jima swept over the charging knights, gliding past the horns of the beasts, throwing the “Potion of Light” from her hand into the ever-advancing horde at the top of the slope.
Inside were valuable military spells from Jena; the seemingly mundane ceramic pot shattered, and a massive, intense light appeared, moving slowly and scorching the beastmen.
They burned, they shrieked, some tried to flee, others charged, colliding with one another, creating chaos, and thus, no one could escape the light.
The light severed the horned beasts in half, isolating the vanguard from the rear.
The knights’ charge easily annihilated the frontline of horned beasts, clashing urgently into the chaotic ranks of the horned beasts.
The Cyclopes lifted stones, attempting to repeat their previous tactic to obstruct the knights and provide the horned beasts time to regroup.
Jima downed the dark liquid from the “Explosive Potion,” a surge of power filling her body, addressing the Cyclopes, “Your good days are over.”
She infused painful energy into her axe spear, in an instant, its tip pierced the scalp of a Cyclops.
The Cyclops trembled, and its flesh and blood began to crumble…
