Chapter 256 Chapter 253 Confidence
The ground cracked open, revealing blood-red magma, and from the sky, it looked as if the earth had been sliced, leaving gaping blood-red wounds. Beside the rolling magma, a vast expanse of withered farmland lay, where scarecrows came to life and wandered about.
It is hard to imagine that just last year, this place was fertile land, ready for cultivation and harvest.
The wind howled like a knife, continuously snapping off the branches of dead trees, which floated away and fell upon the ruins of a small town surrounded by farmland.
Within the town, human skulls were piled in heaps.
Under the guidance of a mysterious visitor shrouded in mist, the dark ritual of the Mother of All Beasts had been completed.
The ground trembled, stones stacked up on their own, forming a stone tower. An opening split in the air above it, and a powerful magical force created a wind that swept through all the beastmen present, even blowing open the hair that had always covered the Mother of All Beasts’ bosom.
The Mother of All Beasts gently gathered her hair, covering her full chest.
The dark ritual and the destroyed village brought back memories for the Mother of All Beasts. Back then, there were not so many humans to sacrifice—only those from a single village. No, not even as many as from one village, for some shepherds would still take their flocks out.
“Hiss.”
A massive hissing sound pulled the Mother of All Beasts back to reality.
The crack in the stone tower widened suddenly, forming a temporary rift connecting the demon world with the human world.
A horse’s red-eyed head poked out from the rift, its eyes glowing crimson, its body clad in heavy armor. It stomped its hooves restlessly and charged into the human realm.
Upon its back was a tall demon knight in heavy armor, looking like a giant iron tower. His cumbersome helmet sported a pair of horns, with a skull wedged between them. He wielded a steel spear with a trident tip, glowing red as if just pulled from a furnace.
These were the demon knights, each possessing extraordinary skills, having triumphed over countless powerful foes to reach this point, their armor and weapons infused with the souls of the vanquished. The blood of demons surged within their steeds, enabling them to bear the weight of their heavy riders.
The warhorses thundered, their flaming hooves smashing against the ground, leaving a trail of fire.
Behind him surged a group of demon knights, the pounding hooves creating piles on the ground, and the flames on the ground converged into a river of fire. By the time the fifty-fourth demon knight arrived in the human realm, the rift behind them closed.
The leading demon knight did not slow down. He glanced from side to side, seeing the Mother of All Beasts and the surrounding beastmen, and tightened the reins, aiming his spear at the Mother of All Beasts, seemingly preparing to charge.
“Stop!” shouted the demon realm envoy. “Unless you want Demon King Malus to behead you and drink your blood.”
The demon knights halted, restless and eager for slaughter, and said, “My spear tip is hungry.”
They needed neither water nor food, nor did they need sleep or rest; they fed on killing, and any victim would do.
While mortals gathered for self-preservation, they gathered to kill more. Mortals waged war for power, wealth, or peace, but they fought solely for the sake of war.
Only the demon king himself could make them pause in their killing, or promise them more killings in the future.
The Mother of All Beasts pointed westward and said, “The mortal knights have gathered together. They are extraordinarily skilled, and their king is the Lionheart King.”
“Another mortal claiming kingship?” A voice beneath the helmet sounded impatient. “Is he strong?”
“He is chosen by the goddess of the lake.”
This piqued the interest of the demon knights.
“And there are twelve Holy Grail knights.”
The demon knights became excited. Only by defeating equally strong or stronger opponents could they grow stronger themselves. Each demon who had reached this level was eager to destroy the strong.
“Where are they? Where?”
The Mother of All Beasts replied, “In the west, follow us.”
“Too slow!”
The demon knights disregarded the Mother of All Beasts entirely, galloping westward. Their flaming hooves struck the corroded ground, leaving a trail of blazing warfire.
No one could command them except for the powerful demon king.
The Mother of All Beasts, displeased, said to the demon envoy, “I expected you would send a great demon along with more formidable beings.”
“Do you doubt their strength?”
“I do not doubt they can contend with the Holy Grail knights when they charge,” the Mother of All Beasts stated seriously, “but if victory is assured, why not send more?”
The demon envoy smiled and said, “With the recovery of the demon king’s extraordinary material and secret methods, victory is already in your hands.”
The Mother of All Beasts guessed that her new partners were likely still occupied.
In the demon realm, there were challengers who would never lack defiance, no matter how strong.
In the distance, the demon knights racing across the land left a long trail of burning warfare.
The Mother of All Beasts watched the galloping demon knights, feeling confident of victory.
…
…
Outskirts of Lean Port, more than twenty kilometers away.
The bugler raised a golden bronze horn and blew the gathering call.
“Toot toot toot toot.”
Knights from across the nation gathered beneath the Lionheart King’s banner, extending to the horizon, their shields emblazoned with different family crests. As they passed by King Richard the Lionheart, they would raise their shields and call out their family names.
“Many knights have come.”
Jima gazed at the sea of knights, momentarily astonished by the fertility of the Bartow knights.
There were not only young and inexperienced chivalrous knights but also many kingdom knights who already held lands and families, with the wealthy riding Pegasus. These magical creatures could not only fly but also carried fully armored knights faster than running on the ground.
Each Pegasus was worth a fortune; even someone as wealthy as Jima had to grit her teeth to buy one. It was nearly impossible to tame wild Pegasi, requiring hunters to brave the mountains to steal younglings and raise them, though training them was a professional job that needed specialists to sleep and live with them day and night.
Yet even so, many young Pegasi did not grow wings each year.
Nearly two hundred Pegasus knights soared overhead, their white feathers and horse bodies catching Jima’s attention as she exclaimed, “So beautiful, so many Pegasus knights.”
George frowned as he looked at one of the Pegasus knights.
Jima asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I see an evil Pegasus knight.”
“Thunder?”
“No,” George replied, “it’s Sir Hugo. In his territory, he issued a decree forbidding farmers from looking at his Pegasi because he claimed their filthy gaze would spoil them.”
Jima conjectured, “If someone breaks the law, does that mean he would hang them and whip them a hundred times?”
“He would have someone gouge out that farmer’s eyes,” George said. “If possible, I don’t want to fight alongside them.”
“Alright, George,” Jima said. “The war is upon us; why bother with this? There will be plenty of days ahead. If I’m still angry, I could find trouble with him later. Akannis owes me a debt, and if I toss him into his castle for just three days, he will definitely regret being born a human.”
George shook his head. “What I want is not revenge, but to correct such evil laws.”
“Then there’s nothing to be done.”
After all, in the Bartow Knight Kingdom, each knight territory is essentially a small country. Even the king cannot intervene casually, unless the other side violates the chivalric code, such as refusing to respond to the summons of higher knights to battle or defecting to the dark Four Gods.
Jima asked again, “Who do you think will win this war?”
George looked down and said, “Us.”
The two stood atop the watchtower of the field encampment, with the tainted land polluted by the demon king’s extraordinary materials not far away. The area was only about the size of a living room, surrounded by statues blessed by the goddess.
However, it was enclosed by at least three layers of wooden walls, each with a deep trench dug in front.
If not for the fact that mortals would be affected mentally by the demon king’s extraordinary materials and could not remain nearby for long, King Richard the Lionheart would have loved to surround the tainted land with military camps.
Simultaneously, a group of strong beings concentrated nearby. Although there were magical alarms, they remained on twenty-four hour alert.
Only King Richard the Lionheart could have the noble knights do such laborious work.
Now it was Jima’s turn for the watch, while George was there to keep an eye on her. He had noticed Jima exhibiting an unusual greed for the demon king’s extraordinary materials and, without hesitation, stayed close to her, even sharing a bed together.
“Is it because we are the defenders and have fortifications?”
“No.”
At that moment, a group of war eagles carrying knights flew overhead. These knights riding the gigantic beasts of the sky were among the top combat forces of the Bartow Kingdom. Below them were twelve Holy Grail knights.
“Is it because of our strong soldiers and horses?”
“No,” George said. “The beastmen outnumber us, perhaps by two times, and they also have one-eyed giants.”
“I believe this group of flying knights could rush in and kill all the one-eyed giants.”
But George was right. The quality of the chivalrous army was high, yet the total number was somewhat low; even when including the infantry, there were only just over fifty thousand—unless one counted the large number of peasant mobs.
In the distance, farmers directly pulled from the fields held pitchforks, shovels, and axes, working hard as they chopped down trees and filled in ditches to create favorable conditions for the noble knights to operate.
In battle, they would use the pitchforks in their hands as weapons, using their flesh-and-blood bodies to block the enemies, buying time for the knights to flank.
In a real sense, cannon fodder.
This was also why George had been wearing a grim expression.
George said, “The Mother of All Beasts has more than just one-eyed giants.”
“Then why do you believe we will definitely win?”
“Because I can slay the Mother of All Beasts.”
Jima shuddered and said, “I was wrong.”
George looked at Jima, “Hmm?”
Jima shivered a few more times, finally catching George’s attention: “What’s wrong? Jima.”
“I was mesmerized by your kingly aura; it’s overwhelming.” Jima pretended to look serious and said, “I almost forgot how proud you are.”
George couldn’t help but chuckle.
Below, the white-clad Eve Frostleaf gazed at George’s smiling face. In her impression, it was the first time she had seen him smile over the past few days.
She also overheard their conversation.
It seemed that George was not just someone who understood the literal meaning but also grasped the implications behind the words.
This gave Eve Frostleaf confidence; she decided to have a private discussion with George.
