Chapter 166: Chapter 162 – The Flank
Humans are ultimately just humans.
Those selected to join the expeditionary force are not ordinary soldiers. They are disciplined, physically robust, donning armor while viewing retreat as an act of cowardice.
But under the scorching flames of the fire skeletons, ten death wagons passed by, turning living people into charred corpses. Their spears struck the armor of the demon knights but broke into two, and the demon knights on horseback pierced and killed with their lances, mercilessly reaping lives.
The long-dead giant dragon tore through the chaotic battlefield, biting and sweeping its tail.
Courage left them.
Survivors stepped over the charred bodies and turned to flee. Those remaining either couldn’t react quickly enough or were commendably brave, but they were too few to stop any of the demon knights. The demon knights, riding armored steeds, galloped at will, trampling survivors under their fiery hooves, breaking bones as they passed.
The steeds opened their jaws, revealing sharp teeth, biting down on the fleeing soldiers’ necks. Amid their screams, spines snapped, and blood flowed freely.
The demon knights were few in number but relentlessly pursued and hacked at the fleeing soldiers like a pack of vicious wolves chasing a flock.
However, the stench of blood and the cries of the dying attracted a horde of demonized war hounds. Smaller and quicker, they easily overtook the fleeing soldiers, brought them down, and bit through their necks, chewing on fresh blood and flesh while continuing to kill more.
Some tried to stand back to back, forming small groups of a dozen, but the surging hounds devoured them entirely.
The slaughter efficiency of the demonized war hounds was terrifyingly high. Some battalions comprising about five hundred soldiers acting as the first line were wiped out in a short period.
The soldiers of the second line could only watch in horror as their comrades fell prey to the demonized war hounds, reduced to mere livestock awaiting slaughter.
The blood-crazed demon knights, seeing the number of standing people dwindling, finally pointed their red-hot spear tips at the second line, which were still smoldering as if soaked in blood.
They were the elite of countless battles, known as the “Sword of Chaos,” having fought alongside the infamous Demon King. Their last master was named “Demon King Kima,” under whom they had defeated the previous demon king.
Though their crimson armor indicated their worship of the Blood God, filled with a thirst for murder, they could suppress this desire for killing, refraining from charging prematurely. Instead, they trampled upon the bodies of mortals, regrouping to raise their standard, with the Eternal Chosen Malus at the forefront. He finally dismounted from the dragonborn knight Duncan, leading the demon knights.
The surviving few soldiers, abandoning their helmets and armor, fled into the second line, followed by throngs of bloodthirsty demonized war hounds, which crashed against the formation, being impaled and chopped down by spears and axes.
Fear spread among the soldiers as they staggered, their spears trembling in the ground.
From beginning to end, none of the “Sword of Chaos” had lost a man or mount.
The accompanying mage finally arrived on horseback, riding a swift steed and ready for action. But the first line, consisting of several battalions, nearly five hundred in total, had collapsed far too quickly.
“Don’t be afraid!” The accompanying mage, the Ice Witch, drew her icy long sword, standing behind the soldiers and waving it: “Ice is with you!”
As her words fell, a magical wind turned to frost, sweeping across the soldiers, coating their armor in a layer of ice, the blades and spear tips glinting with cold light.
This gave the soldiers some comfort; at least this time they had an accompanying mage to support them, and reinforcements were continually arriving, providing a sense of security along the long lines to their sides.
However, the safety brought by the mage was fleeting, lasting less than ten seconds.
The blood dragon knight Duncan rode down on a zombie dragon and leapt off its back. Under the protection of dozens of elite soldiers, he easily broke through the Ice Witch’s protective spell and beheaded her.
Then, under the leadership of the Eternal Chosen Malus, the Sword of Chaos reformed briefly before crashing once more against the awaiting second line. This time, a fiery dragon whirlwind appeared within the infantry ranks, raging flames engulfing nearby soldiers.
The soldiers screamed as they were lifted into the air, burning, turning to ash.
All who attempted to stabilize the army — be they extraordinary beings, officers, or other accompanying mages and priests — were slain by the Eternal Chosen Malus in a single stroke.
The second line fared marginally better than the first, holding for half again as long, but that was all; the Sword of Chaos shattered the forces of Lady Kisli and the demonized war hounds feasted deeply.
“Report to the general! They are attacking the third line!”
The messenger’s voice roused the expeditionary army’s general from his stupor, barely bringing him back to reality.
He rode atop a giant bear on a small hill, with a good view, and thus, through his telescope, he witnessed firsthand as the Eternal Chosen Malus wielded magic and swordsmanship, effortlessly piercing a large hole in the rear of the expeditionary army.
Soldiers fled, tragically pursued by the demonized war hounds, becoming nothing more than dog food.
Surrounded by bear-riding bodyguards, he found no comfort in their presence; he realized his body was trembling as the expeditionary army general struggled to accept the reality.
This was the first time since enlisting that he tasted the flavor of fear.
All plans had fallen through. They had initially believed the line would not be breached so quickly, especially not by less than a hundred heavy cavalry and a horde of war hounds.
In their expectations, wouldn’t there at least be proud heavy infantry from the demon race attacking?
Battlefield spells had been prepared, but the opponent consisted of powerful demon knights who did not need to stand tightly like the infantry, nor were they easily killed like mortals by battlefield spells.
All of the army’s strongmen were slaughtered like chicks by the Eternal Chosen and the Blood Dragon Ancestor.
“General, General!”
The expeditionary army general snapped fully back to reality; he noticed the pallor on his trusted subordinate’s face, realizing that everyone around him was oblivious to his trepidation, which made him feel a bit better.
“What should we do?”
“Where’s Beo?” The general restrained his fear and asked, “Only his holy sword can threaten the Eternal Chosen.”
“He seems to have just arrived from the city walls.”
“What about George and the others?”
“No contact has been made.”
The battlefield was vast. Although the fog was beginning to lift, it still obscured the view in the distance. On both flanks, countless blurry figures clashed, with their lives unknown.
In such a chaotic environment, not making contact was entirely normal. All he could mobilize were the soldiers near him, while the distant forces acted independently, fleeing or fighting.
The expeditionary army general watched as the third line was breached, surrounded by fleeing soldiers, their screams piercing through the fog.
The cavalry led by the Eternal Chosen Malus was like a sharp knife, ruthlessly thrust into the flesh of the expeditionary army.
From the general’s perspective, the long line had been deeply punctured, nearly straight through to the waist.
The soldiers at the front were still fighting on the walls, utterly unaware of the monumental events unfolding a kilometer away behind them.
“Order all bear cavalry.” The expeditionary army general’s palms were sweaty; he intentionally tried to appear less afraid. “Gather and prepare to break the blade of the Eternal Chosen!”
Lastly, he added, “As long as we wait for the hero Beo to arrive.”
Meanwhile, the Eternal Chosen Malus thrust his blade, explosive blood from a Kisli officer spraying out and turning into flying scraps of flesh.
He focused his third eye on the chaotic battlefield.
It was too chaotic.
Fleeing soldiers crashed into awaiting troops, those rushing to reinforce collided with the fleeing, and formations slammed into each other.
Order was shattered. His forces were not much better off, with only about thirty of the “Sword of Chaos” remaining, the others engaging in senseless slaughter, gorging on blood amidst the blood-soaked hellscape, severing heads to offer to the Blood God.
Now, the Eternal Chosen Malus did not pursue a simple count of heads. Since his defeat to Demon King Kima, he had studied the enemy’s cavalry tactics.
Initially using giant flying beasts, spells, and powerful beings combined with heavy cavalry charges supported by a horde of efficient demonized war hounds was the regular tactic of Demon King Kima.
Influenced by the opponent’s tactical mindset, he cared more about slaying the opponent’s army’s spirit rather than its corporeal form.
Especially morale, organization, and other unseen factors.
With his three eyes, he saw amidst the chaos, flags still waving and horns sounding. He knew this represented the giant known as the expeditionary army, still futilely trying to resist.
As long as his demonized giants and demon warriors arrived, the faltering expeditionary army giant would surely collapse.
But the Eternal Chosen Malus did not mind delivering a kick to the wobbling giant, causing its fall to come faster.
The Eternal Chosen Malus’s sword pointed at a well-formed formation where an officer was still trying to regroup the fleeing soldiers; it was the ballast preventing the collapse of morale from spreading.
Those able to see the glow of his sword charged alongside him. The Eternal Chosen Malus led the charge, magic shrieking across the battlefield, brave extraordinary beings rushing in, but all like air, could not block the Eternal Chosen Malus.
He plunged into the infantry formation, slaughtering at will, cleaving through flesh, biting down the “ballast.”
No one dared to block his path any longer.
An upright flag approached, and the bear cavalry charged, clashing with the vanguard of the Sword of Chaos; the vanguard rushed too fast and was instantly crushed beneath their paws.
“If I’m not mistaken.” The blood dragon knight Duncan, having unknowingly appeared at his side, was covered in blood, a look of enjoyment on his face. “Whenever humans are at a disadvantage, they love to go all-in, hoping that slaying the leader will bring about victory.”
The Eternal Chosen Malus saw the glow of the holy sword, but the sword bearer was a stranger to him.
Who was this nameless person?
Out of habit, he used the “Eye of Morl” to glimpse the future.
It was indeed a bloody battle; human strongmen roared and did not retreat as one after another fell to his blade. Even wielding a holy sword, the new hero could not withstand him.
He chopped off the head of the expeditionary army general, declaring his victory.
Then he realized he was surrounded; the entire Sword of Chaos had been annihilated, and the reinforcements he had called upon were unexpectedly crushed midway.
After that, he could foresee nothing further.
The Eternal Chosen Malus withdrew from his future sight; predicting for so long drained his energy, and he could not continuously foresee a distant future.
He thought and realized that unexpectedly, neither flank of the expeditionary army had been ravaged by the demonized war hounds as he had anticipated.
Clearly, he had already breached the center.
The Eternal Chosen Malus looked at blood dragon knight Duncan and asked, “Didn’t I order you to provide air support and keep an eye on the flanks? Why are you down here?”
“Can’t I chat after finishing killing? What’s the fun otherwise?” Blood dragon knight Duncan said. “Anyway, the wings are doing just fine; I see those winged knights entangled with a pack of war hounds, unable to free themselves.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Eternal Chosen Malus immediately turned back and just in time saw a demonized giant collapsing to the ground. Nearby, a swarm of demonized war hounds were fleeing at top speed, pursued by a group of winged knights.
How did the winged knights end up behind them?
