SWNOVELXO Chapter 573
Chapter 573: I Didn’t Forget You (2)
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaang!
A tremendous number of fireballs came barreling toward the Atrode cavalry.
They were unable to react to the incoming fireballs that had flown out of nowhere.
Normally, skilled soldiers might have dodged or blocked them.
But now, they were focused entirely on controlling their mounts, and there was barely any room to maneuver within their ranks.
No one would have anticipated that something like this would rain down in a fight against cavalry.
“Uaaagh!”
Hiiiiiiing!
It was an attack that didn’t discriminate between horses and riders. The cavalry fell, entwined with their steeds.
The Penris Mobile Army was arranged in a line as long as the Atrode Army, and thus, the fireballs spread wide across their ranks.
Most of the Atrode formations were toppled. The cavalry that followed closely behind couldn’t slow down and tripped over the fallen.
As the front ranks of allies fell one after another, those in the middle tried to stop their horses by any means necessary.
But that wasn’t the end of the assault.
Paahk!
Fireballs erupted from the rear ranks of the Penris Mobile Army as well.
They weren’t precisely aimed at anyone. The indiscriminate fireballs rained down upon the Atrode Army again.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
With explosions lighting up the battlefield, many more soldiers from the Atrode Army collapsed. Some managed to evade or block the incoming attacks, but if they were hit by a fireball, they would inevitably fall alongside their horses.
“G-get out of the way!”
“No!”
Kwadang-tang!
The cavalry coming from behind ultimately couldn’t slow down and collided with their allies.
Screaming, they stumbled and fell, getting tangled up with one another. With horses falling on top of them, most suffered serious injuries, making it hard to get back up.
Thus, the Atrode Army’s formation was completely shattered.
Even so, the sound of hooves continued to thunder across the battlefield.
Dududududududu!
No more fireballs took to the skies. However, the Penris Mobile Army was charging toward the completely collapsed Atrode Army.
They increased their speed even further, exuding an intimidating momentum.
“G-get up!”
“Quickly, get up and regroup!”
“Block! We have to block them!”
At various points, Atrode commanders shouted out.
If they allowed a charge in this state, they would be overwhelmed. They had to get up, regroup, and defend by any means.
The soldiers who could stand up discarded their horses and grabbed their weapons. Some were hastily climbing onto the still-sound steeds.
Yet, the time they had to prepare was far too brief.
Before the few who could just get up even formed ranks, the enemy surged forward.
Kwaaaang!
“Uaaagh!”
The rapidly approaching Penris Mobile Army pierced through the Atrode ranks.
Ghislaine had put the most effort into training this mobile army from the very beginning.
They had grown splendidly through war, as Ghislaine intended. Their extreme training and real battle experience had tempered them into becoming stronger than anyone else.
Kwaaaang!
The gaps in the formation were exploited, and the rear ranks of the Penris Mobile Army surged in.
This double charge inflicted even greater damage. If it wasn’t executed precisely, it could harm allies too, yet the Penris Mobile Army seemed to effortlessly succeed.
Aiden snapped back to attention and shouted.
“Mages! What are the mages doing!”
He couldn’t fathom how such a staggering attack was possible. But one thing was for certain—it was magic.
They had been told to risk their lives to block magic, so why were these fireballs flying out!
Aiden’s face contorted as he turned to look at the mages, but after checking their state, he found himself at a loss for words.
“Ugh… ugh…”
The allied mages, even those at the 6th Circle, were experiencing serious nosebleeds while managing to block the enemies’ magic.
Some had even turned completely gray, indicating they had drawn upon their life force due to a lack of mana.
In fact, in the skies above both armies, red and blue lights kept blooming and extinguishing.
It was the phenomenon of magic being activated only to be dispelled. They were truly risking their lives and doing their utmost to counter the enemy’s magic.
Even amidst this, the mobile army used magic.
Aiden bit down on his lips in confusion.
“What in the world… How could this be happening?”
The mages of the Atrode Army were not simply standing by. Some of the magic used by the mobile army had indeed been dispelled.
Once they entered the mana field of the Atrode Army, it wasn’t difficult to dispel magic. The problem was the sheer number of fireballs.
They were already outnumbered and being pushed by the Penris mages. With an overwhelming number of fireballs additionally erupting, the Atrode Army’s mages could manage to block only a few hundred.
Seeing the Atrode Army being pushed back in an instant, Ghislaine let out a small laugh.
“They probably never imagined an attack like this.”
Even without Vanessa, the mages on the Penris side could still block the enemy’s magic.
However, Vanessa had deliberately intervened to pressure the Atrode mages. As a result, they had no choice but to summon their mana with the resolve to risk their lives.
Amidst this, the newly emerged 20,000 lower-circle mages were effectively casting spells.
The overall amount of mana released in an instant was staggering. At this level, even superhumans could barely protect just themselves; dispelling all the magic was impossible.
In this absurd situation, Aiden felt himself going insane.
“What trick are they using? There can’t be so many mages in the mobile army!”
Nearby, one mage gasped and said:
“It seems they’re using artifacts.”
“Does that even make sense? Are all those soldiers using artifacts? Where’s Penris getting all that money? Do they have that many runestones…”
As soon as those words slipped out, Aiden realized something and quickly closed his mouth.
Runestones.
The Duke of Penris began to gain recognition precisely because of the runestones.
He had developed the Forest of Monsters and used the resources harvested there to become extremely wealthy.
The cornerstone of that wealth was undoubtedly the runestones. The Duke of Penris had accomplished many tasks with them.
However, not long after, the Penris territory had started to reduce the sale of runestones.
“Right, after the drought… everything was replaced with food. They just hoarded all those runestones.”
Then it made sense. There was plenty of runestone to craft artifacts.
Moreover, the Duke of Penris had been capturing and constantly recruiting mages whenever war broke out. Recently, even 8th-circle mages had joined the Ruthania Army.
In other words, Penris had ample funds and workforce to create lower-circle artifacts.
“Seriously… had they been making those all along? Was this meant for me?”
It wasn’t specifically made for Aiden, but it was true they were created for significant battles.
However, self-centered Aiden could only think of it as being made for him.
Intentions aside, as a result, the Penris Army had equipped themselves with monstrous gear once more. If this continued, they would surely face defeat.
Aiden turned to the White Silver Knight Order and shouted.
“Now! Attack those bastards! Hurry!”
He had to use the trump card he had saved. They could deal with the Duke of Penris and the 7th-circle mages with priests.
Kwaaaang!
The White Silver Knight Order unleashed their mana and surged forward.
They had already dismounted. It simply wasn’t a situation where they could fight from horseback.
The White Silver Knight Order could be regarded as the strongest knight order on the continent. Each individual had achieved at least intermediate skills, with a total of one hundred members.
At this level, they possessed the power to kill even superhumans with a coordinated attack.
With their intrusion, the advance of the mobile army would be hindered. Just the White Silver Knight Order itself could immediately push away thousands of soldiers.
In the meantime, they could regroup the surviving troops.
Ghislaine, watching Aiden’s response, noticed the White Silver Knight Order moving and waved her hand lightly.
“Now, embark. Two of you take on one. Show them who is the strongest knight order on the continent.”
“Today, we’ll crush them all!”
“Woooaaaaah! Let’s goooo!”
Paladin Gordon and Lucas shouted loudly as they charged out. Two hundred members of the Penris Knight Order followed suit.
This side had now become just as strong as the White Silver Knight Order. Everyone had far surpassed the intermediate level.
Gordon had become a senior knight, and Lucas was nearing the top tier.
And their numbers were even greater.
Watching them charge out, Ghislaine wore a satisfied smile.
“I was really unfairly treated in my past life.”
Having lost troops and sustained injuries, Ghislaine received the combined strike of the White Silver Knight Order. They managed to kill all the enemies, but in the end, she was drained and lost pathetically to Aiden.
Because of that memory, she had gritted her teeth and raised her knight order. Understanding the level of the White Silver Knight Order, she elevated all of them to at least an intermediate level.
While sharing her vision in mana circulation methods with everyone.
With the knights she had painstakingly nurtured, there were a total of 400. While she had only brought half today, those alone would be sufficient to exterminate the White Silver Knight Order.
“Run faster!”
Kwaaaang!
Lucas erupted with mana, leading the charge. Other knights raced alongside him, exploding their mana as well.
The White Silver Knight Order had to navigate through the fallen allies. But the mobile army had already widened their formation as if it had been planned, allowing the knights to pass through.
Thanks to that, the Penris Knight Order could block the White Silver Knight Order before they could strike the mobile army.
Upon seeing the White Silver Knight Order extend out toward the Penris mobile army, the Penris Knight Order spread themselves out in response.
“Hey! Hey! You should be playing with us!”
Gordon shouted loudly and jumped in. At the same time, over a hundred knights clashed head-on. Their battles were on a different level than the soldiers’.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaaang!
Each side emitted mana as they tried to slay the other. Naturally, the soldiers backed away from the knights.
At first, it looked evenly matched. The knights had similar skills. But one side operated in pairs.
Kaaang!
At the moment their swords clashed, a remaining Penris knight beheaded the opposing knight.
Most Penris knights had lived rough lives like mercenaries. The code of chivalry meant nothing to them.
They would do anything to win a fight.
“Hey hey hey, check this out!”
One knight, while fighting, suddenly threw sand into the face of his opponent. Meanwhile, another, who had been waiting to assist for the cooperative attack, suddenly tackled the enemy, knocking them down.
With the attack blocked, some even spat into their opponent’s eyes.
The White Silver knights were taken aback. It felt more like they were fighting a group of lunatics than actual knights.
“You base scum! How can you even call yourselves knights? Where’s your honor?”
“We don’t know that kind of stuff, you bastard! Just take this!”
Paak!
Someone threw Belinda’s special spicy seasoning. It was something Kaor had previously used to great effect.
With one person clinging to two enemies, the fighting became incredibly filthy. Since their skills were similar, it made for a tougher matchup.
Moreover, the Penris Knight Order coordinated exceptionally well. All thanks to Ghislaine’s hellish training.
“Cough!”
White Silver knights began to spit blood and collapse.
They had never fought in such a shameful and despicable manner. They were panicking as they died.
The mobile army members fighting nearby cast glances at them.
‘Wow, thank goodness they’re not the real enemy.’
‘They’re on our side, but they’re really dirty.’
‘The strongest knight order on the continent really seems to fit. Strong but filthy.’
Unaware of such sentiments, the Penris Knight Order was simply elated. It was only natural they would enjoy overwhelming victory.
“Ahahaha! These bastards are weak! They’ve just been showing off in their shiny armor!”
“The monsters from the Forest of Monsters are probably stronger!”
“We’re the strongest in the North! We’re the strongest in the Kingdom! And now, we’re the strongest on the continent!”
Puwok! Puwok! Puwok!
They confirmed that even the fallen knights completely died. Now, the war was beginning to swing fully in favor of Penris.
Aiden’s face turned pale.
“M-my knight order…”
His knight order, which he had prided himself on as the strongest on the continent, was crumbling far too easily.
They couldn’t die so futilely like this. They had to win and die for him.
At least, shouldn’t they take the Duke of Penris down with them! How could it be so wasteful to die without using any power!
“Ah, no! Get in there and stop them! Kill those bastards!”
Excited, Aiden began to yell at the priests. He had completely abandoned any pretense of etiquette.
The priests understood the gravity of the situation. They couldn’t just wait around to catch the Duke of Penris.
They had to step forward and reduce the Penris Knight Order and mobile army.
However, before they could even move, Ghislaine had already drawn her sword and was charging in.
Kwaaaaah!
The speed at which she descended from her horse was like lightning.
Seeing the red light approaching, Aiden changed his target.
“Kill that one first!”
There was still time before all his allies perished. If he could take down the Duke of Penris beforehand, a reversal would be possible.
If he and the priests joined forces, they could wipe out the remaining Penris knights and mobile army.
Kwaaang!
Ignoring everything, the priests charged toward Ghislaine. Aiden hesitated for a moment but eventually moved.
He no longer had the luxury of thinking of cunning plans.
‘We need to trap that bastard when he comes out to fight!’
He could leave the Duke of Penris to the priests and focus on reducing the Penris forces, but Aiden didn’t want to waste his strength that way.
If the priests died in the process, he would truly be isolated among the enemy ranks.
Before long, Ghislaine leaped into the battlefield and shouted loudly.
“Everyone, stand back!”
Although enemies still remained, it wasn’t at a level that would impede the fight. Leaving it be would only result in his allies being more harmed by the aftermath of the battle.
The Penris knights and mobile army spread out widely while retreating.
At the same time, Ghislaine’s sword clashed with the priests’ energy.
Kwaaang!
The energy unleashed by four priests was powerful. However, it was a level Ghislaine could sufficiently handle.
What was important wasn’t the priests.
Kwaaang!
From behind the priests emerged a striking sword of vibrant blue light.
That sword cut through space and plummeted down toward Ghislaine’s head.