When the portal was already created, the Knights of Adri started marching up. They are all wearing bluish armor with each sword hung on their waist. Horses are unnecessary since they will only run at the sight of a monster.
When the Grand Duke walked in front and faced a hundred knights, all ears were on him.
"The battle we will face beyond this portal is quite different from the usual monster subjugation we always take part in. This time, I receive news from the commander of the third squadron himself that these monsters have somewhat evolved. They are stronger and fiercer than before." Kyden scanned their faces. But he failed to see any change in expression.
All of his knights are void of any nervousness or hesitation.
Lionel marched up in front and stood beside the Grand Duke.
"My lord, we have evolved too."
Kyden chuckled at the answer. Perhaps his captain felt his hesitation to send these many lives into a dangerous battle.
Kyden is resolute in helping the empire against destruction and hazards, but reluctant to shed blood and lives. The rumors about him being a bloodthirsty beast on the battlefield are all because he always strikes to kill first before the enemies can kill. So, the casualties on his side will lessen.
Inside his territory, he always showed his interest in things his people do, because he treats them the way his father taught him. But outside the duchy, his attitude towards nobility is nothing but dull.
He sighed deeply after showing his concerns to his soldiers.
"Alright. Don't die."
The moment he signaled his hands to them, everyone continued marching inside the portal where their life and death awaited beyond.
* * *
Monsters appearing like giant demonic bears with overgrown fangs and paws, centipedes almost a hundred meters long, wolves with horrifying appearances possessing advanced agility and strength, and other inhuman creatures one could not even dare to imagine kept coming from the far side of the crimson forest.
The knights wearing black armor belonging to the third squadron are gradually losing hope and their will to fight is becoming clouded and wavering.
The man in the middle is currently subduing a wolf monster, weariness can be seen in his bloodied face yet his eyes are unyielding.
He shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping his knights would remain the same.
"Men, remember! If we fail to stop these beasts here, our family's lives beyond this point will be in danger! Hold your ground!"
The knights who had heard him shouted back and continued to fight. Many of his men have already fallen. The three hundred knights he deployed on that mission are not even enough to conquer a hundred monsters. Normally, the numbers would have been too much, but because they were unaware of the sudden evolution of these monsters, they were caught unprepared.
Lives have been lost. And the morale of his companions is barely hanging on a thin thread.
The squadron commander, Luven Vandross, cursed at the empty air for feeling so helpless and pathetic. He exerted twice his strength and overthrew the wolf in his front, then he released a wave of mana that transformed into sharp wind blades and pierced the wolf. It fell loudly on the ground covered with its blood.
His attack consumed lots of his remaining mana on his body and his weariness increased.
He turned to another monster attacking his companion and tried to approach them and help, but unfortunately, his knees gave up and he knelt on the ground. If he hadn't used his sword, his body might have completely fallen flat on the land.
As soon as he tried to stand up once again, a subordinate of his shouted his name.
"Sir Luven!"
It was too late for him to answer since a giant demonic bear's mouth filled with sharp and huge fangs had already opened and was ready to devour him whole.
He could not think of a single thing but just a familiar face flashing in his mind.
Luven could only think that he could finally see her.
But as he was about to surrender himself to the monster in front of him, white and cold things flashed from behind him, completely covering the bear's mouth. Then a hand grabbed him and threw him out of the way.
"I guess you're not only arrogant but suicidal as well."
A cold and deep voice entered his ears.
'Ah. Finally, this man appeared.' Luven thought.
"Do you always have a habit of appearing in the nick of time?" From his slumped figure on the floor, Luven sat up and picked up his sword.
"Does being suicidal run in your family?" A sarcastic response came from the man who had barely saved him.
Luven was given no chance to answer since the Grand Duke had already charged towards another demonic beast before he could even.
The Grand Duke's answer made him think of someone.
"Don't just dawdle. Move, Marquess."
He scowled at an annoying voice and supported himself to stand with his sword.
He witnessed how the tables had turned. How his once crestfallen knights have regained their morals and will to fight. How some of the monsters have slowly been pushed back at where they came from.
Luven was amazed at how a single presence can uplift a person's mood and determination.
The Grand Duke, holding and slashing his sword against hundreds of hands and feet on his right hand, and shooting frozen fractals that creep and devour the object it touches on his left hand. His knights fighting alongside him are the ones responsible for smashing those frost-covered monsters into pieces. His way of immobilizing his comrades' enemies lessens the damage and injuries they get.
But the Knights of Adri are aware of their lord's intention, so they try their best not to be killed and not to be a burden, that's why they have been training nonstop to improve their skills and increase their mana.
Lionel came forward and commenced the preparation for a magic circle to create a spell of mirage. The tactical strategy that Shelly; his sister had suggested.
Before the Omun province was breached, a strategic defense was created on the boundary of the province and the abandoned area. It was fire magic that activated upon sensing a demonic being. Monsters are of demon kin, so the magical defense which is made from the emperor's hellfire contained on magic stones, a fire that burns everything inhumanely, will be activated.
That is what Kyden was most concerned about.
He kept thinking about how could these monsters escape the eternal fire that burns all evil. The magic stones would never run out of the emperor's mana since his Majesty greatly prioritized the safety of his people against demonic beings, he would never forget the stones that serve as the main defense in areas bounded by the crimson forest.
Unless the magic stones that were placed on the Omun province don't contain the king's power.
Kyden could only think that those might have been swapped by another magic stone. And he was sure that the king was thinking the same.
"Protect the magicians!" Lionel ordered.
The soldiers pushed off the monsters and created a clearing approximately ten meters in diameter. The plan was to create a mirage that would hide the entire province from the senses of the monsters. The magic spell requires a lot of mana, that's why they brought plenty of magicians from the Magus Tower. Even so, the magic will only be temporary but will be enough to buy time for the creation of the emperor's magic stones.
Shelly came forward and started writing symbols on the ground, the other magicians followed and wrote their parts.
"A mirage spell. Will that work?" Luven, fighting against another demonic beast in the Grand Duke's vicinity, asked.
"What do you suggest? Fighting these things until we're all exhausted?" Kyden, jumping while slashing his sword upwards to cut a bear's head, answered.
Although reinforcement has arrived, exterminating all the monsters will be difficult and dangerous. Monsters don't seem to run out of energy, their beastly and demonic instincts are keeping them to fight ferociously. So, it will be safer to buy time and wait for the defense magic to be installed.
"I'm not belittling your fiancée's capability." The Marquess retorted.
Due to this, a sharp and cold icicle almost pierced his abdomen, if he wasn't quick enough to dodge.
A painful growl erupted behind him.
"Twice, Marquess. I have saved you twice already." Kyden looked at the Marquess condescendingly and smirked. "Run your mouth and I won't on the third time."
Luven grimaced and answered. "There won't be next time."
He turned his back on the Grand Duke and focused on his surroundings. Determined not to be saved by the Grand Duke again.
Kyden just watched the Marquess. He thought about how rude and ungrateful the kid was. But only shrugged his shoulder. Somehow, whenever Kyden sees the marquess's face, he can't help but annoy him. As if looking for a familiar annoyed face unconsciously.
Luven was four years younger than the Grand Duke. Grand Duke Adri is twenty-four, while he is twenty, only a year younger than his beloved sister.
The two never had a pleasant relationship, since the Grand Duke has an unpleasant attitude towards the nobility of the capital, and Luven dislikes him for generalizing all nobility.
He was focused on fighting so he noticed immediately the sudden change in the atmosphere.
The surroundings became dimmer, and a thick fog covered the entire battlefield. But surprisingly, he can still see things perfectly.
The mirage had started.
Monsters gradually became slower in movement and they all seemed lost. The knights took that opportunity and attacked all the monsters they could find.
Bloodshed commenced and terrifyingly painful howls emerged everywhere. All the monsters that had been fighting against them and almost claimed victorious were all fallen and dead.
Cheers erupted from the knights. They were all delighted despite being exhausted. Finally, the battle is over. These soldiers will be able to come home alive.
They were all exuberant.
Until the mirage they created, turned completely into darkness.