"Then how do we fight them if they still retaliate no matter how much we fight them?" Lucas gritted his teeth as he pierced through one undead after the other.
Brandon and Kyle were also feeling the pressure but they still continued the offensive or else the army might crumble from the constantly diminishing morale.
Brandon commanded orderly using the tactics taught in the academy while Kyle used his instincts to issue orders and support his men.
The battle continued for a few clashes but the undead army still caught the soldiers by surprise despite their wariness. The casualties have already reached hundreds by this point!
"Is this it?" Kyle muttered as he smashed a skeleton one after the other. His thoughts reflected every single soldier fighting for survival in the battlefield, "Are we truly going to die?"
It was also at this moment that a general visited the frontlines. It was General Kwang who appeared to be a seasoned soldier judging from his long beard.
He applied Innate Energy onto his vocal chords and shouted, "Use your brains! Don't let the pressure of the battlefield consume you! Calm your minds! If you can't kill them normally, then you just need to annihilate them completely. You can also make them incapable of fighting by removing all of their limbs and head to ensure that they would not be able to launch a counter attack!"
His amplified voice reached the ears of every soldier. His advice caused all of them to feel enlightened! The army felt awakened!
They all had the same thought, 'They won't be able to attack us if we just completely destroy them!'
"What a blunder! To think I would let the tension of the battle get to me! Men, destroy them all!" Brandon gritted his teeth and issued a charging order!
"Charge!" The soldiers released an energized yell as they tightly wielded their weapons and brandished it towards the undead!
With newfound courage, the Purging Army resumed their advance and completely obliterated all the undead on their paths.
Although significantly reduced, the casualties were still rising due to the inexhaustible stamina and mindless charge of the undead.
Watching the undead army being overwhelmed, Yumi decided to send out the stronger ones, "Twenty of the Mortal Severing Undead, march forward at the designated points I assigned to you. Divide the army into ten parts and smash them to pieces while pushing them back."
Using a divide and conquer strategy, Yumi used precise orders on the ten strong undead she picked. The twenty undead she picked were all former monsters that are at least ten-twenty meters in height.
They moved in pairs towards the ten designated places they were assigned.
With two colossal monsters at each location, the advance of the army was immediately halted.
Facing the pressure of sheer massiveness, the soldiers could not help but take a step back.
" A Mount Boar and a Terror Grizzly together?! We'll be wiped out at this rate!" Lucas found this scene incredulous
! At the right most part of the army, the soldiers under Lucas who were isolated screamed in despair.
"A Rampage Rhinoceros and A War-wrecker Elephant?! What the heck is this!" At the center, two twenty meter tall beasts were killing soldiers with each step.
" A Gigant Croc and a Slaughter Tiger?! We're going to get massacred! Run back!" Kyle issued an order. The left flank had no choice but to retreat back in front of overwhelming power!
"A Boulder Gorilla and a Whirlwind Wolf... There's eight more of them?! All of these monsters are Beast Kings of a Beast Wave, the necromancer can even control monsters at this level?!" Brandon felt his weakness when compared to this Beast King's much more towards the Malevolent Magnate who could control them!
He thought with mixed feelings of terror, shock and reverence 'A Malevolent Magnate... It might be the strongest existence I have witnessed as of today!'
Seven more groups encountered the same situation. They felt that this must be what despair looked like.
Once the undead pair reached their assigned locations, they started a rampage!
They were dividing the army into ten smaller parts. Their momentum was destroyed and they were now being dragged to follow the momentum of the undead giants before them.
"We can't fend them off! They're all at the Mortal Severing Realm. Help!!!" The soldiers were asking for assistance as they watched their comrades get slaughtered.
It was not until General Kwang who visited this battlefield suddenly made a move and guided his horse towards the center of the battlefield with astonishing speed.
Then, he jumped off his horse and headed above the undead Rampage Rhinoceros!
While in mid-air, a flash of light suddenly appeared from his left land and formed a weapon. It was a large two-headed hammer with spikes on its face. With great force, he smashed it downwards with great force.
"Earth Shaking Pound!!!" General Kwang roared as he descended!
"GRUOOWR!" The undead Rampage Rhinoceros did not remain idle to foolishly meet the powerful strike. With a roar, its body emitted dark Innate energy and gathered into its horn! It bent its body downwards and jumped towards General Kwang!
*KABOOOOOM!!!!!*
The clash caused a great sonic boom and caused the battlefield to halt! The waves of residual energy from the clash blew soldiers and undead alike! Then, after a short moment, they heard another sound.
*Crash!*
It was the sound of the Rampage Rhinoceros crashing into the ground and causing a large crater while smashing all the undead that were below it into powder or squashed meat.
Above it there was a silhouette of a man, it was General Kwang who raised his hammer victoriously, "Advance, Soaring Cloud!"
=====
Yumi may be losing in terms of quantity but the quality of the undead she has far surpassed the Purging Army. She had around one hundred twenty Mortal Severing minions and ten peak Mortal Severing undead.
On the other hand, the side of the Purging Army only has one hundred officers who are at the Mortal Severing and seven generals who are at the peak of Mortal Severing.
But rather than issuing orders to completely destroy the army immediately, she was more focused with Kaiden's well-being.
She looked at Kaiden who was struggling to defend with all his might, "This is taking way too long! Kaiden's vitality might not hold! I have to knock him out now!"
She issued an order to the strongest Beast King she was able to revive, "Sabertooth King, bring that black-haired young man to me alive!"
The large sabertooth tiger which was over ten meters tall nodded obediently and swiftly sprinted towards Kaiden.
====
A few minutes before Yumi's order.
"Damn it. There is danger everywhere I look." Kaiden did not know that Yumi commanded the undead to protect him from the Soaring Cloud soldiers.
So, whenever he sensed a soldier coming near him and Victoria, he cut them down immediately.
He was having a dilemma since Yumi wanted to kill Victoria but also wanted him to be her servant and the Soaring Cloud Purging Army demanded that Victoria was to be handed over to them.
"Fighting in this state is... *pant* extremely exhausting.... *pant* I can't even... *pant* see properly now..." Kaiden was already feeling the effects of pushing his body beyond his limits.
"Maybe, I should allow them to shelter milady...*pant*" Kaiden thought.
He was already on his last leg. He was not sure how much more can his body hold up so he was already thinking of resigning himself to fate. At least, Victoria would be safe.
"Stop it, Big Bro Kai! Leave me! Please, I beg you!" Then, he heard a desperate cry from behind him.
It was Victoria who was hurting and crying as she bashed her arms on the Profound Isolation Barrier that Kaiden activated to protect her.
She no longer looked as deathly pale as before but her flowing tears could break the heart of any man who looked at her at that moment.
"If only I had stayed home, then none of this would have happened. Uncle and the others would not have had to die. If only I had never asked Big Bro Kai to become my knight, then Big Bro Kai wouldn't have to risk his life like this for me. If only I had never existed, Big Bro Nick would still be alive and he wouldn't have ended in that bloodied state..." Victoria cursed herself.
Remembering Nicholas' bloodied corpse made her vomit herself again. Her hands trembled as she watched the blood flow from her fist. Her self-blame intensified to self-loathing as she cried even more.
"I shouldn't have been born!" She cursed herself over and over again. She punched the barrier with her bloodied fist. It seemed as if her self-loathe had surpassed the trauma she had. Her fear of blood had been suppressed by extreme hatred.
"Fuck!" Kaiden cursed loudly as he cut down another undead with regained ferocity! He regained his clarity and fighting spirit and fought the undead with much more vigor.
'What should I do to help her? Milady is hurting and is blaming herself because of everything that happened. How to help ease the pain she feels?' Kaiden's heart was twisting from the pain of looking at Victoria cry helplessly. He had no experience and had no idea what to do.
Then, a familiar voice echoed in his mind. He recalled a certain memory when he was in the backyard garden of a house. A voice that he always held dear in his heart.
=====
"Big bro Kai!" A familiar nickname accompanied by that sweet tone. It was a pretty little girl with long black hair and she also bore some semblance with the younger Victoria.
"Is something the matter?" A Kaiden who was only six years old replied rigidly. A reply that you would not usually hear from a child
"You're being awkward again! I don't like it when you're like that! Hmph!" The little girl pouted and stomped her foot
"Kaela, I'm already disciplining myself to be a true knight who can fight for the sake of the clan! You're only four years old so you would not understand!" The little Kaiden answered in a way that would make him sound more adult and knightly.
"Hey, you're only six! Hmph, I don't know what discipline means but. Mama told me that a true knight is kind and warm! He helps people with all their problems and stuff like that. You won't be warm if you're like that!" Kaela pouted once more.
Kaiden was silent for a minute and asked, "Is that so? How do I become a kind knight?"
"Mom said something like 'You need to speak and act from the heart.' I think?" Kaela replied with a face that was trying her best to remember the exact words.
"What is the meaning of this phrase? It sounds "uncomprehensible"." Kaiden contemplated.
"There you go, with your difficult words again! Grr!" Kaela looked angry but it made her look even cuter.
=====
"To speak and act from the heart? Huh? Thank you, little sister. You still keep helping even when you're already up there." Kaiden smiled as he prayed to her.
It was at that moment that Kaiden called out to her. He tried his best to sound as fine as he could, "Milady, you shouldn't blame yourself any longer."
Victoria stopped her self-destructive behavior and looked at Kaiden who was calmly fighting the undead surrounding them. Unlike earlier, he no longer wore a distressed expression but was smiling warmly as he looked at Victoria. "Big Bro Kai?"
Kaiden continued as he sliced another undead, "You should remember that you are loved. Your family is waiting back at the clan for your safe return. The mistress must be having a sleepless night and is still worrying about you every night. Furthermore, all of this happened not because of you but because of us."
Victoria was puzzled. She did not understand why it was because of them, "I don't understand. What do you mean?"
With a gentle laugh, Kaiden continued speaking, "We risked our life because we wanted to. We wanted to protect you because you are precious to us."
Victoria strongly rebuked, "But that's because I'm the Clan Head's daughter. It still points towards me. I am the one that those evil cultivators want! You guys protected me and had to suffer the consequences. If only..."
Kaiden replied while brandishing his sword at another . "That's where you're wrong, milady. Being the Cross Clan's princess played little role for why we fought for you. Have you forgotten everyone's words back in the forest? We risked our lives because of the kindness and warmth that you showed to all of us during our travels. We risked our lives to protect the girl named Victoria Cross."
"All of you..." Victoria's eyes were starting to become watery again as she listened.
She remembered the words that Hawks, Erca, Koma and everyone else said. She felt warmth in her heart as she now understood what they meant.
Kaiden continued, "As I have said earlier, remember that you are loved, milady. You are loved because of your gentle and caring nature that makes people want to protect you. I can say for sure that because your brother loved you he risked his life so that you will continue to live."
"I..." Victoria started crying once more as her heart heard Kaiden's words. Similar words were said to her numerous times over the years but none were as strongly convincing as this.
Maybe it was because of the dire straits…
Maybe because she experienced numerous emotional shocks today. But one thing was for sure, she now understood her brother's intentions at that time. It was to live!
But Kaiden was not done yet. Words were unceasingly overflowing from his heart that he couldn't stop even if he wanted to.
He smiled with utmost gentleness, "The reason I could say the same is because I love you too."