Chapter 269 Chapter 267 Matchstick (Part 1)
Jima had just flown a short distance when she slapped the back of her head and said:
“Where’s Frostleaf?”
“She can’t fly, she can only float.”
Isn’t that better?
“I can fly! I’ll go get her.” With that, Jima turned around and dove into the mist behind her, “Remember to emit red light.”
Ahead, the “Air Force” led by King Richard the Lionheart was disappearing into the fog.
George knew they were off to deal with the Mother of Beasts.
Since they had dealt with the troublesome Cyclopes, the only thing left was the Mother of Beasts.
But below, the roars of beasts echoed. In his memory, they should have reached deep into the righteous army’s stronghold. George couldn’t help but worry; if the rear was breached, their efforts would be in vain.
“Here they come! Here they come! The aerial artillery is here!”
Jima’s cheerful voice came from behind.
Jima was seen tightly hugging Eve Frostleaf’s waist, flapping her wings energetically, grinning widely, contrasting sharply with the unhappy expression of Eve Frostleaf.
“You’re so light, Frostleaf! Lighter than a feather.”
Eve Frostleaf remained silent, drawing back her bow with great effort in the air, her arrow piercing through the skull of a large horned beast. Eve Frostleaf could only rely on the wind element to ride the winds, flying slowly, but Jima could help her fly.
“You’re so accurate!” Jima chirped in her ear like a yellow canary, leaning her head against Eve Frostleaf’s silver hair.
George’s anxious mood eased considerably.
Ahead, the dim figures of King Richard the Lionheart and the airmen suddenly lost a head.
A flying knight complained, “There must be an unexpected battle; we’re lagging and have fallen behind.”
Jima hugged Eve Frostleaf’s waist tightly and said, “Sharpening the knife doesn’t delay the woodcutter. Gather as much strength as we can.”
George suddenly said, “It seems like there’s something by the sea.”
Jima looked toward the sea and could faintly make out the blurry outlines of several warships.
“Probably nothing.”
Just as those words fell,
George shouted, “Watch out! Demon-Transformed Scorpion Tail Lion!”
A scorpion-tailed lion pounced.
Moments later, it was killed by the three of them.
Ten minutes later, the four flew over a fierce battlefield, returning to a camp that felt both familiar and unfamiliar. It was unfamiliar because the earthen walls had mostly collapsed, and corpses were everywhere; the ditches were almost filled with bodies, while fanatics holding shields and flails guarded below.
In the camp’s clearing, the griffon knights and flying knights dismounted to rest. The Cupbearer Maidens, holding golden holy cups, were cleaning the wounds of the injured knights.
Jima felt a bit uneasy, as this camp was somewhat distant from the land polluted by the Overlord’s extraordinary material.
Could it be that the mid-route camp had fallen?
Standing on the wooden wall, King Richard the Lionheart announced, “I have some very bad news; our right flank camp has been completely breached, and that pack of beastmen is charging towards the mid-route camp.”
So, the mid-route camp hasn’t fallen yet?
As Jima pondered this, her head leaned against Eve Frostleaf’s silver hair.
Eve Frostleaf whispered, “Let go.”
But Jima wasn’t paying attention at all, her focus entirely on King Richard the Lionheart on the wooden wall.
“The good news is that our knights, adhering to the knightly code, have barely withstood the impact of the Mother of Beasts, holding the land polluted by the Overlord’s extraordinary material.”
It was clearly good news, yet Jima’s palm felt itchy.
“The situation is very difficult now, the enemy outnumbers us several times…”
Eve Frostleaf was trying her best to remind Jima politely not to cling to her waist like a child.
“Jima.”
“Shh, I’m listening to the king speak.”
Eve Frostleaf took a deep breath; is this the position of a mistress?
“We have an opportunity; the Mother of Beasts and her monstrous offspring have already deeply infiltrated our defensive system. As long as our knights on the left flank can encircle and attack from behind, it will surely cause them to panic and lead to their annihilation here.”
This was too unstable; however, it seemed that dealing with the Cyclopes had taken so much time and cost so many lives. Now to lead troops directly to fight the Mother of Beasts, even if they drove her back, it would only be a small victory.
King Richard the Lionheart wanted a one-time solution to the beastmen problem.
A perpetual victor could never refuse such a risk, could he?
“Some knights will go to support the mid-route.”
“I volunteer!”
George eagerly stood up, and King Richard the Lionheart nodded at him.
Jima finally understood the source of her unease.
Holding back most of the enemy forces with a small number of troops, concentrating their strength to outnumber the enemies and magnify their advantages.
Now, George was stepping out of the wolf’s den and volunteering for the tiger’s den expedition.
Just as King Richard the Lionheart finished speaking, Jima felt something poke at her side, and when she looked down, it was Eve Frostleaf’s elbow.
“Jima.” Eve Frostleaf said coldly, “Let go.”
“I almost forgot.” As Jima let go, her fingers brushed past Eve Frostleaf’s silver hair, grazing her blue satin hairpin.
“Alright, we must go support the mid-route.” George walked over, his last piece of arm armor falling to the ground.
“Wait a minute.” Jima said, “Quickly change into a new set of armor.”
“This one is barely usable.” George said, “I can’t find my new squire.”
“Idiot.” Jima said, kneeling beside his feet, unfastening the leather straps of his greaves, then pressed down hard on his greave to detach the one with the gaping hole, revealing the burnt and damaged armor beneath: “I used to be your squire.”
“In a rush, I forgot.”
George pulled another set of armor—a Milanese full suit—from his dimensional bag.
The two worked together smoothly, and George quickly donned the new armor.
Eve Frostleaf stood nearby watching, wanting to help but unable to get involved. After pondering, she realized that she had never done squire work, which wasn’t fitting for her status.
So, she could only stand by and watch, feeling a bit sour inside.
“Alright, now you can’t tell at all that you were just beaten all over.” Jima said, tapping his helmet with her hand.
“Let’s go.”
“Did you hear?” Jima looked at Eve Frostleaf, spread her arms, and smiled, “Come here, Frostleaf.”
You used to call me sister.
Eve Frostleaf remained silent, turned around, and walked backward. Jima hugged her waist tightly, flapping her wings and lifting her off the ground, flying towards the mid-route camp.
The closer they got, the itchier Jima’s heart felt. It was as if a feather was continuously scratching at her heart.
It felt like if she obtained the Overlord’s extraordinary material, she would definitely become very strong, very strong.
A gust of wind blew, and Eve Frostleaf’s silver hair billowed, brushing against Jima’s cheek.
No, if I keep the Overlord’s extraordinary material for myself, how could I still shamelessly flirt with such a beautiful girl as Eve Frostleaf? I can’t lose something small while aiming for something big; there’s still a four-person chaos waiting for me.
Jima’s determination solidified.
The further they went toward the mid-route, the more brutal the scene became.
Everywhere were fleeing infantry, even the foot soldiers were escaping; large swathes of murderous crows flew in the sky, their beaks stained with blood, swooping down at the fleeing soldiers from time to time.
Only a few remaining paladins and foot knights, relying on the broken camp, were holding their ground.
Outside, large and strong beastmen gathered; the beastmen birthed by the Mother of Beasts were extraordinarily robust.
Her own bloated and massive figure stood just outside the shattered human lines, only a wooden wall with at least five breaches away from the land polluted by the Overlord’s extraordinary material.
Among those five breaches, three were continuously being penetrated by beastmen.
And the Mother of Beasts remained motionless; it seemed that as long as she moved her “noble” body forward, she could easily break through the defenses and obtain the Overlord’s extraordinary material, right?
A figure that Jima did not wish to see stood on the broken wooden wall. He opened his arms, and a huge fire vortex appeared among the beast horde, swirling them up to dozens of meters in the air with their howls.
In the bright firelight, the thin figure of Cardinal Gregory looked like a matchstick about to be burnt out.
This is the answer.
Jima realized that the Mother of Beasts feared Gregory; even in a situation of overwhelming advantage, she was reluctant to charge forward.
No wonder slaying the Cyclopes took so long, and this mid-route camp had not been breached yet.
But it was close.
Several minotaurs seamlessly passed through the breaches, easily sweeping down over a dozen dismounted knights, while the nearby axe and spear unit could no longer endure and dropped their weapons to flee.
A Cupbearer relic charged ahead, swinging their heavy weapon at a minotaur, only to be cleaved down, and then the minotaur raised its hoof, forcefully stamping on the shattered remains of the Cupbearer knight, sending half of the skull rolling on the ground.
Frustrated flying knights emerged, furious, yanking their reins; the white pegasus dove down, and upon landing, charged swiftly toward the towering minotaur.
At this moment, the defensive circle near Cardinal Gregory was breached; both of the holy knights guarding him fell to a scarred and horned minotaur.
Those unarmored penitents, their bodies covered in self-inflicted whip scars, fearless, wielded wolf’s tooth clubs as they surged forward, facing the oncoming beastmen. Their small frames unleashed terrifying strength.
But they were outnumbered compared to the charging horned beasts, and their emaciated figures fell beneath the beastmen’s weapons.
A brown-furred scarred bull charged up to the wall, swinging an axe toward the thin Gregory.
George shouted, “Do you dare harm him?”
Before the words were out, three azure arrows shot through the air, continuously striking the scarred bull, hitting the unarmored neck, creating a charred hole.
Gregory maintained the fire vortex with one hand and lifted the other, unleashing a fire dragon that scorched the advancing beastmen, looking utterly at ease.
George charged down, and then Jima tossed Eve Frostleaf down, the scarred bull glaring at George before turning to flee.
George kicked the headless horned beast, looking toward Gregory.
Gregory glanced at the lineup he brought with him: a succubus and a silver-haired elf, and said, “You’re late.”
George observed Gregory, standing tall and unharmed, and replied, “Ran into some unexpected trouble.”
“Without preparation, there are always more unexpected troubles.”
George was in a bad mood, just as a crazed minotaur charged at him. He rushed forward and slashed the minotaur’s thigh with great force.
At this time, the retreating shouts of the beastmen could be heard. Gregory’s fire vortex had disrupted the beastmen’s reinforcements, forcing them to retreat and regroup.
The last line of defense barely returned to human control.
Seeing the last horned beast escape through the breach, Gregory suddenly bent down, one hand pressed against the wooden wall as he weakly coughed.
George approached and asked, “Are you okay?”
“Did you use all your healing abilities?”
“Yes.”
“Then the unexpected trouble you faced is quite significant.” Gregory took a breath and said, “I’m old, too old…”
