The Players and the Protagonist Want to Kill Me – Chapter 262

Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)

Seeing their commander killed, some ordinary soldiers lost the courage to continue fighting. They had been stunned by the modern, high-IQ, and shameless Venom Dragon bombing formations deployed by the players. These simple soldiers had never encountered such disgusting tactics before.

First, there was a sky full of sewage and burning oil, followed by deafening explosions. Many soldiers were deafened on the spot. Their eyes were blinded by flying armor fragments, and the unlucky ones had their brains shattered and died immediately. Their sense of taste and smell were assaulted by foul odors. It was a complete assault on their five senses. They also felt the pain of being burned by flames. There were mangled limbs and ruptured organs everywhere.

One soldier cried out in agony, a torn piece of his comrade’s body hanging from him. His leg had been cleanly severed by a shard of armor, and blood gushed out, unstoppable no matter how he tried to staunch it. The blood on the ground converged into shallow pools, a mixture of the smell of roasted meat, blood, and filth. If this wasn’t hell, what was? After vomiting, they were all weakened and their will to fight had collapsed. They threw down their weapons and knelt on the ground, burying their stained faces deeply, praying for mercy.

However, Earl Amper’s Great Knights and Sky Knights were still fighting back fiercely. It wasn’t just out of loyalty, but also because they had their own pride. Kleon was such a powerful Sky Knight. Although he was old and his face was weathered, he was still a formidable warrior. As Earl Amper’s personal guard, he had practically watched Earl Amper grow up. It was he who had stepped forward to stop the King of Winter just now. Unfortunately, two Sky Knights riding Glorious Warhorses, their bodies radiating Holy Light, had trapped him. By the time he broke free with his nearly Champion Level strength, Earl Amper’s head was already impaled on a spear.

“Gather around me!” Kleon immediately retreated on his horse, raising his long sword and roaring loudly. Earl Amper’s death was undoubtedly a huge blow to him, but he was not defeated by grief. The only thing to do now was to avenge Earl Amper, or die fighting. With a rallying point, the chaotic Earl Amper’s army began to stabilize. The remaining Great Knights and Sky Knights began to consciously gather and unite.

“Troto-gelawen-losa,” a high-pitched female voice rang out from the rear of the formation. It was Archmage Claudia, another Legion-level Magus under Earl Amper. A wall of flames, four to five meters high and hundreds of meters long, appeared, instantly cutting the battlefield in half. It also successfully helped most of the soldiers and Great Knights escape from the King of Winter’s enemy forces, buying them time to regroup.

From the moment Sky Knight Kleon took command to the appearance of the wall of flames, only two or three breaths had passed. Xi Wei could not help but admire Earl Amper, or rather, the Andor Empire’s army, for their elite quality. The Kolon Empire’s army would have been routed by now. This was thanks to the Andor Empire’s unique political system. The territories were in a symbiotic relationship, with a great noble’s territory composed of countless smaller noble territories. Resources were more concentrated in the hands of the great nobles, making them easier to mobilize. Of course, the most concentrated resource was in the Royal Capital, where the King’s power was unparalleled.

Unlike the private armies of the Kolon Empire’s lords, the strength of those above Knight Rank in the Andor Empire was ultimately controlled by the state and supported by military pay. The various territories only had the right to use these knights; the King could recall them at any time if needed. In fact, Xi Wei had considered implementing such a system in his own Winter Kingdom before, similar to the prefecture-and-county system. However, those nobles would never accept it. A single legal code had almost caused them to break down, let alone a reform of the political system.

But these were not problems. Kaelen was, after all, a world that valued martial strength. The lives of ordinary people needed to be protected. However, these nobles were not included. When the Winter Kingdom recovered, he would immediately unleash his blade upon these corrupt nobles who occupied their positions without doing anything. This country only needed one noble, and that was him.

“Lord Kleon, what do we do now?” A Great Knight, suppressing his nausea, wiped his face. Although his Qi could vaporize or shatter the dirt, the smell lingered.

“What do we do?” Kleon looked up at the sky, where the Venom Dragons that blotted out the sun roared and circled, and at the King of Winter’s army, which was advancing with fierce momentum. He couldn’t help but sigh.

“Alas… Prepare for a fight to the death. Let the ordinary soldiers run if they want; there’s no need to stop them.” The composition of the King of Winter’s army overturned Kleon’s understanding. If these dragons were replaced with griffins, he would even believe that the Kolon Empire had not experienced any rebellion. He couldn’t comprehend how a human king could command so many powerful flying magical beasts. Furthermore, he could clearly feel that these flying dragon-like magical beasts had very high intelligence and could perform all sorts of complex battlefield maneuvers. This was simply impossible. After all, there were no human commanders on these dragons, so only true dragons would possess such high intelligence.

Despite his many doubts, the resilient old knight Kleon finally issued his combat orders. They had no escape.

“Form ranks and prepare to fight!”

“Master Borahan, Master Claudia, I will assign four Sky Knights to protect you. Please do your best to inflict casualties on the King of Winter’s army!”

“Please rest assured.” Borahan and Claudia responded with grave expressions, nodding in agreement, and began chanting their magic. But they couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness. The once invincible Andor Empire army was now forced into a passive defense. How glorious and unyielding were the Andor Empire’s troops when they were the main force besieging the Elven Royal Court back then?

Xi Wei paid no mind to what Earl Amper’s elites were thinking. The moment the wall of flames dissipated, he drew his long sword and issued the order to advance. “Forward, break through everything!”

“Roar!” The soldiers of the Winter Kingdom responded to their beloved King with earth-shattering roars.