Chapter 119: The Autumn of Adolf (6)
“`
Sizzle sizzle!
The branches and axe of the spear entangled with white lightning, fiercely whipping the head of the demon dragon Mawolong and the crown of her skull, which was fitted with a white metal frame that harnessed the lightning, causing her to let out a roar in the sky.
“Don’t slack off!”
Ji Ma shouted.
The demon dragon Mawolong flapped its wings vigorously, its back rising and falling; if it weren’t for Ji Ma’s extraordinary agility, she would have already fallen off its back.
The speed of the demon dragon Mawolong increased even further, the strong wind blasting toward her, causing her long black hair to flutter in the wind, leaving the cavalry of the Vanguard on the ground far behind. The apocalypse knights stood on the blue-flamed floating discs, crowding around Ji Ma as they advanced toward Adolf.
She was itching with anticipation, standing on the dragon’s head, gazing into the distance at Adolf. Beneath the dark clouds, Adolf was belching black smoke, the southern city wall had collapsed, and the army of destruction surged in like a tide, flames spreading throughout the city as black smoke rose straight into the sky.
“Really!” Ji Ma kicked the horn of the demon dragon Mawolong with force. It was no wonder it was an old dragon; the horn was solid, causing her toes to curl in pain. “So many people, big deal? Being able to predict is impressive? It’s so annoying! When can I also crush some weaklings?”
She felt that the Eternal Chosen must have activated the “Eye of Mor,” predicting her marching route. Clearly, her legion was charging straight toward his backside; he must have at least taken precautions, which would inevitably slow down their march.
But the Eternal God certainly was not; he sent out a multitude of chaotic legions, always appearing precisely in front of her army, so coincidentally, as if he had a spy satellite monitoring everything. They were not particularly strong, still employing a strategy of adding fuel to the fire, but they just dragged on, forcing her to slow down.
Originally, Adolf had encountered an accident, with the entire river polluted and the defending troops struggling to hold out. Thinking of this, Ji Ma felt irritable and cursed, “What the hell! What a pile of rotten pig, is he cheating or what! He actually spoiled an entire river, surely not going to let this king off easy.”
As she cursed, she couldn’t help but kick the horn of the demon dragon Mawolong again, grimacing from the pain.
Ji Ma had calculated that she must exert all her military talents; everything had to go smoothly for her to break through the blockade and successfully poke the backside of the siege army. Now… was it over?
The demon dragon Mawolong flew even closer, and Ji Ma raised her binoculars for a careful look. At first, she did not focus on Adolf, but rather on the north; her warrior had told her that he would rush to aid Adolf urgently with the imperial mobile forces from the north.
To the north of Adolf, across a river covered in dead white moss, Ji Ma spotted numerous “stinky cans.” Her gaze fixated on a fat figure resembling a mountain of flesh, the God of Filth, gritting her teeth. She recognized him, the Vomiter, one of the more prominent demons under the God of Filth.
The timing was truly awful. The God of Filth’s army, known for its tenacity, was adept at blocking roads, preventing anyone from passing. She felt both happy and worried for George, as they rushed in from afar.
Sunlight flashed across the lenses, and the gargantuan form of the Vomiter came crashing down, igniting into a roaring white flame like a lantern.
“Good! Just as expected of you, George.” Ji Ma finally felt reassured and shifted the lens to focus on Adolf.
In the streets, there were many units of the army of destruction. At the same time, she noticed a horde of beastmen assaulting the eastern city wall; the defending troops were isolated and helpless, with all the reserves sent to block the advancing army of destruction from the south.
It was merely trading lives and loyalty for a little more time. Ji Ma thought to herself that Adolf was like a dying man, with his thigh cut open and pathogens and viruses constantly flooding in. Furthermore, there were others wielding knives, piercing through his shell with blow after blow.
No, that’s not right. Ji Ma looked again, overturning her previous comparison.
Adolf should now be a corpse lying on a pile of dry firewood, the pile already set ablaze, billowing blue smoke, just waiting for the moment to burn completely.
She felt regretful but discovered something wasn’t quite right.
There were too many army of destruction in the streets; they were all clustered together. Why was that? She rotated the binoculars, zooming in further, and saw numerous imperial defenders, outnumbered, holding their positions, using their lives and loyalty to delay the invading army of destruction.
“Not bad.”
Ji Ma said, having caught sight of the Eternal Chosen, who appeared to be heading straight toward the Sigma Cathedral along with the great demons.
The loyalty and resistance of the imperial defenders allowed Ji Ma, with her keen sense for war, to catch a whiff of hope. Perhaps everyone had not arrived too late, especially King Richard the Lionheart.
Ji Ma lowered her binoculars and turned to the left. A chivalrous army led by King Richard the Lionheart was moving faster than Ji Ma’s vanguard into Adolf, with snow-white pegasuses flapping their silvery wings, carrying knights who followed the sitting King Richard the Lionheart.
Below, various family banners were waving. Many warhorses bore noble knights, fully armored, with lances aplenty. Some lances emitted a glow akin to moonlight, surely the beloved Holy Grail Knights of the Knightly Kingdom of Bartow.
The knights formed a flowing iron torrent, headed toward Adolf. An estimated four thousand knights were participating in this chivalrous war. Not a single infantryman accompanied them, merely remounts and packhorses, with each knight on three horses, forming a new river flowing toward Adolf, bringing hope to the Empire.
Though Ji Ma scratched her head, when she compared the marching routes of the two armies, they would inevitably collide in front of Adolf. However, it could easily be avoided; just veer a little left here and a little right there; it wasn’t a big deal.
The bigger issue was that she led the demon army, while King Richard the Lionheart led knights. Both sides could restrain their forces; not seeing each other from far away and charging toward one another was already a blessing. If they were to run into each other, a fight was bound to break out.
There would always be hot-blooded knights wanting to defeat the demon race to prove themselves. There would also be bloodthirsty demon warriors who would provoke or even ambush the Knightly Kingdom of Bartow. Ji Ma did not want to see both reinforcements turn against each other on the road; that would be too ridiculous.
She had to communicate with King Richard the Lionheart. Ji Ma mentally drafted what difficulties she might encounter. Flying over boldly, the usually proud knights would surely not accept negotiating with demons; that was teetering on the edge of violating the code of chivalry.
If someone got the idea that encountering the demon army meant “retreating”… that would be a denial of chivalry. The code of chivalry stipulated that when two armies met, they could not retreat, hence the knights were very cautious about reconnaissance; as long as the two armies did not encounter each other, there was an infinite chance to turn and attack.
The biggest problem was trust. George was her lover; he believed in her, but others… anyone with a clear head wouldn’t trust the Chosen One of the Master of Deception, especially a force she led, which could launch surprise attacks at any moment.
Ji Ma’s head began to throb; she hadn’t expected both armies to coincidentally arrive at the same time.
Just as she was inputting her internal monologue into her personal system, she saw from afar that King Richard the Lionheart raised his sword, its blade flashing green, then turned right, leading the entire chivalrous army, like fat worms, moving rightward.
This was actively conceding a battlefield for Ji Ma’s army to advance.
Ji Ma couldn’t help but chuckle, recalling how King Richard the Lionheart had disregarded George’s beastman bloodline and gifted him a silver horse. Would such a monarch still harbor doubts at this critical moment?
She turned her head, wielding her staff, and commanded, “Listen to my orders: the entire army, leftward! Anyone who provokes those knights, their head should be cut off and offered to me.”
