“Don’t be afraid, just charge forward. These monsters aren’t that scary; the more afraid you are, the stronger they’ll become!”
With that, Hammond charged ahead, heading directly for a monster that had just slipped through the area covered by firepower.
As Hammond rushed forward, he rotated the tail of the long-handled sword in his hand, like an engine being revved up. The sword emitted a sharp roar, and the orange glow of the blade became even more dazzling.
As Hammond got closer to the monster, he unleashed his power field fully, swinging his sword at incredible speed through the wind and snow, accompanied by a howl of burning air. The monster, seemingly caught off guard, was cleaved in two before it even realized what had happened.
The knights behind stared in astonishment; with skills like Hammond’s, it was clear who should be afraid of whom—the monsters feared him!
How could anyone learn such skills? It felt utterly impossible!
Hammond, satisfied, stroked the molten-cut long-handled sword in his hand. Although he didn’t understand why the Lord Governor preferred this type of sword, he felt that when dealing with these monsters, this sword was indeed much more effective than a spear.
Looking at the dazed knights behind him, Hammond shouted, “Don’t let your guard down! Quickly support your fellow comrades! If you truly can’t move forward, then use your firearms to assist them! Move out!”
Upon hearing Hammond’s bellow, the knights immediately reacted, heading to provide support to their comrades on the battlefield.
Hammond also waved the reins of his horse, continuing to rush into the battlefield for support.
In other parts of the battlefield, things were not as easy as they were for Hammond. Although there were ample warming measures to help the soldiers maintain their body temperature, the heavy snowfall would still cause them to tire more quickly and become fatigued, with some unfortunate enough to get stuck in the snow.
Not everyone could display skills like Hammond’s to maneuver effortlessly through the snow.
If they encountered heavy snow weather, fighting in Graythorn Territory would become even more challenging, as reduced visibility would greatly enhance the threats posed by the monsters.
While the snowstorm would affect those monsters too, the impact was nowhere near as significant as for humans; those monsters didn’t even need to worry about keeping warm.
Even so, the front line had stagnated; Hammond felt the demon clan’s attacks were not as fierce as before. Initially, when reinforcements had just arrived, it truly was like waves crashing one after another.
Now, the enemy seemed more cautious, only testing the waters with monsters that were two to three meters tall, and Hammond noticed fewer and fewer instances of the monsters’ hoofed forms.
Was the demon clan starting to falter? No, Hammond was more inclined to believe that they were preparing for something substantial.
In the distance, a gigantic monster, like a small mountain, stood on the battlefield, its numerous mouths occasionally emitting low roars.
It was now almost certain that this monster was the brain behind all the others; there was no reason for such a massive body to remain protected in the rear, requiring dedicated soldiers for protection.
Hammond pointed his sword towards the distant monster, believing that one day Graythorn Territory would crush this creature.
After fending off another wave of monster attacks, a knight came to inform Hammond that the Lord Governor wished to talk in detail. After glancing at the monsters that had been pushed back once again, Hammond turned his horse back into the encampment.
Once back in the encampment, Hammond felt a slight tremor from the ground; he knew the magic-powered train was getting closer to the Golden Ear Plains.
The magic-powered train could now provide seamless logistics support to the Golden Ear Plains, allowing the entire encampment to gradually establish a stronghold. While the demon clan was accumulating power, was Graythorn Territory not doing the same?
The location summoned by Lind was different from before, not within the frontline encampment’s tents but in a large square at the rear supply point.
It could be said that the important figures of the entire frontline encampment gathered rarely in this square.
Although the fierce winter wind and snow remained intense, it was nothing to the people present. Wearing a great cloak, Lind simply nodded to Hammond upon his arrival; Hammond consciously joined the ranks of military officers.
It was evident that the people present were somewhat weary, yet there was a glimmer of excitement in their eyes.
Unlike before, Lind did not give an inspiring speech from a high platform, but simply called out, “Flora.”
Saintess Flora, dressed in a blood-red robe, stepped forward quickly and bowed to Lind.
At this moment, Hammond noticed that Flora, who had been serving as a military medic with the sisters, looked different from before. While her blood-stained sister’s attire remained unchanged, the mask on her face had been replaced with a face shield.
The mask was predominantly deep black, with a streamlined design. The eye area was fitted with two round goggles, both protecting the eyes and ensuring a broad field of vision.
However, the most distinctive feature was the two cylindrical protrusions on the front of the mask, one large and one small. Experienced Hammond immediately guessed their purpose—they were likely used to filter and purify the air.
But what toxins needed filtering or purification on the battlefield?
After bowing, Flora walked to the open space in the square, pulling out a peculiar firearm equipped with special pipes from a tactical backpack on her back. Hammond recognized the pipes as being used for certain special functions of firearms, like the six standard rifles used by the Lord Governor’s personal guard.
“I originally did not want to use this kind of weapon.”
Lind’s voice echoed again, but it sounded much graver than when he usually spoke.
“When dealing with Fang Ge, we actually already had the technology to produce this type of weapon, but I never approved its production because such weapons are too inhumane.”
As a soldier at war, Hammond found it difficult to understand what the Lord Governor considered humane. Wasn’t war about killing the enemy? If so, why bother with notions of humanity? Any means would be acceptable if it could defeat the enemy.
However, Hammond understood that the Lord Governor’s idea of humanity was different from those nobles’ ideas of noble warfare from before. After all, for the Lord Governor, some enemies were also citizens of the Northern Border, so it was understandable that he wouldn’t want to use overly cruel methods against those who might be future subjects.
As Hammond pondered the meaning of humanity, he heard Lind continue in a low voice, “To be honest, in my previous considerations, even when facing the demon clan in the future, I hadn’t thought of using such weapons. But now, it’s different; our opponents are a group of monsters, aberrations, and with beings that don’t even resemble humans, there’s really no need to think about humanity anymore.”
After Lind finished speaking, Flora pulled the trigger.
The intense red-orange light instantly illuminated the surroundings, and a wave of heat from the flames surged forward. The fiery tongue danced like a giant serpent in the air, immediately engulfing half of the square.
Since it was an open square and the wind direction had been calculated beforehand, the flames did not harm anyone.
But Hammond couldn’t help but swallow hard; he fully understood what the Lord Governor meant by humanity. This thing was indeed far too inhumane. If Hammond caught any soldier operating such equipment on the battlefield, he would definitely leave no prisoners.
The heat wave shook the air, and a potent burning odor spread, making it hard to breathe. Yet, a long blackened streak remained on the ground, with sparks flickering in the embers.
Hammond also realized what the two cylinders on Flora’s mask were intended to filter; they were designed to prevent the sisters from suffocating in the flames, using special formations to purify the smoke.
It was no wonder that those sisters, treated as personal guards, had to replace their beloved beak masks.
Hammond thought he heard Flora stifling a laugh beneath her mask.
At this moment, in the distance at the temporary station, the magic-powered train, like a colossal beast, had just arrived.
Crates of holy water and special weapons were being unloaded from the train.
Lind announced loudly, “Everyone, the counterattack is about to begin.”
