The House of Han guards charged at Ralph's Second Corps of Divine Guards like an unstoppable spear. But as they charged, they remained in formation, perfectly organised, moving in perfect unison.
As they charged at Ralph's army, these House of Han divine guards watched each other with great rapport. The demonic battle formation they used when marching on their enemy maximised their firepower potential and allowed them to shatter their enemy in the most effective way.
The divine guards of the House of Han wore emotionless faces as they calmly coordinated with their teammates. Every step they took was precise to the millimetre.
If one were to observe from above, one would see that each guard in a squadron was at the same distance from each other. The squadrons were also well coordinated, as if each squadron were an individual in a larger group. Those guards with great strength and the ability to make formidable attacks stood at the front, acting as the tip of the spear. Meanwhile, those with more ordinary abilities but who had cultivated the energy of water or earth - energies with great defensive power - would stand in the middle. Their job was to create layers of boundaries to defend against the attacks of their enemies.
The individual strengths of these House of Han guards weren't much greater than those of the Divine Guards of the Second Corps. However, when they worked together as a team, when each individual's potential was utilised to the full, they could unleash an exponentially greater amount of power and become far more formidable than the Divine Guards of the Second Corps.
Seeing the House of Han guards charging at them, the Second Corps Divine Guards immediately took defensive measures. Their leaders, Ralph, Locke and Walter, were occupied with Sanguis, Bolland and Gilbert. Without the three Highgods to take the brunt of the attack, and intimidated by the House of Han guards, they took defensive measures without thinking.
Though they had made the right choice, it was still not enough!
As soon as the conical formation made contact, the defensive wall that the Divine Guards of the Second Corps had hastily formed crumbled like paper!
Immediately, the House of Han guards shot into the gap between the Divine Guards of the Second Corps. The squadrons and companies spread out like inflated balloons before quickly taking the lives of the Divine Guards closest to them.
If the Second Corps Divine Guards launched attacks on the House of Han guards, they would be dealt with by those guards who specialised in neutralising incoming threats. Meanwhile, the guards in charge of the attack could completely ignore their enemies' counterattacks, allowing them to concentrate on what they did best.
As a result, even though the two clashing forces had roughly the same number of troops, the two sides were not being ground down at an equal rate. The attacks made by the Divine Guards of the Second Corps were mostly ineffective, causing only minor injuries at best. Meanwhile, the attacks made by the House of Han guards would often result in serious injury, if not death.
The fatal flaw of these Divine Guards of the Second Corps was immediately exposed. It was obvious that they lacked cohesion and did not know how to cooperate. When faced with an attack, they tended to focus only on preserving their own lives, which would reduce the frequency and lethality of their attacks. These Divine Guards were also very selfish. Not only did they not care about the lives of their comrades, but they would sacrifice their injured teammates in order to keep themselves unharmed.
The disparity in power between the two forces was evident as soon as they clashed, and it only grew as time went on. Most of the pitiful screams came from the Divine Guards of the Second Corps. More than a hundred died in a few moments under the bombardment of the House of Han guards, while the House of Han suffered only two deaths and a dozen or so injuries.
Having been taught to fight in demonic combat formations, the House of Han guards knew how to work together to maximize their firepower and defensive power. They had way surpassed the Second Corps divine guards in cooperativeness and team cohesion. In large-scale combat like this, the House of Han had an absolute upper hand as they mowed down those Second Corps divine guards.
Ralph had been rather passive since the start of his battle with Sanguis and he found himself rather helpless against the ferocious bombardment of bloody radiances. He did not expect Sanguis to possess such formidable strength and to be so damn ferocious.
Ralph could not feel more remorseful as the miserable shrieks of his troops played over and over in his ears. He had not just underestimated Sanguis, Bollands, and Gilbert's strengths; he had severely misjudged the situation. He did not expect to find that not only had those refugees escaping from Fort Lasberg not suffered any casualties, but they were still bursting with energy and at the top of their game.
Fucking hell, did Hofs and Larikson even invade the Fort? How is it that two Late-stage Highgod experts with so many Highgods and divine guards have not been able to leave the slightest scratch on the House of Han? What the fuck happened?! cursed Ralph internally as he watched his divine guards being slaughtered.
Before Ralph was Sanguis, staring fixedly at him with his blood-red eyes. A broadsword giving off the reeking of blood whooshed past him and caused the blood in his body to rush chaotically.
Ralph was confident that he could eventually defeat Sanguis. He realized that Sanguis was only barely able to stay on top by relying on the bizarreness of the energy he cultivated. Based on Ralph's assessment, Sanguis was overdrawing his energy and he wouldn't be able to keep it up for too long. Sanguis would soon be exhausted and he only needed to defend himself until that moment.
But Ralph also knew that if he kept on waiting, more and more of his divine guards would perish. The only other option was to risk his life and go on an all-out fight against Sanguis, which he himself would suffer greatly for, even if he could defeat Sanguis.
Ralph had been passively waiting because he would rather let his subordinates die than risk injuring himself.
As Ralph silently defended against Sanguis' ferocious attacks, he found the time to observe Locke and Walter. He had high hopes for the two experts sent by Wallace.
But he soon realized that his hope was misplaced.
Locke and Walter, the two trusted aides of Wallace were also being passively bombarded by their opponents. In fact, Locke and Walter were in a worrying situation. Against the ferocious attacks of Bollands and Gilbert, the two Highgod experts were candlelights in a storm – they could be extinguished at any moment.
What the fuck! No wonder the House of Han won the last time! No Highgod my ass! What a liar! cursed Ralph in his mind. He had no idea that Sanguis, Bollands, and Gilbert in fact were not Highgods during the competition and that they had simply soared in the little time since. He thought that the Fifth Corps defeated his Second Corps because Sanguis, Gilbert, and Bollands were too powerful.
We can't keep going on this path. Otherwise, we would all be finished! After re-evaluating the situation, Ralph finally stopped being so passive in the battle. He finally put his life on the line and went on an all-out fight against Sanguis.
When Ralph stopped being overly cautious and stopped being so reserved, his strength substantially improved. While spending divine energy to stabilize his blood, he fought Sanguis without a care about getting hurt.
With that, Sanguis no longer had the upper hand. Against a Mid-stage Highgod going all out, Sanguis had no choice but to strive even harder. He had gained many more fresh wounds in just moments.
But somehow, as the blood flowed from these wounds, Sanguis felt that the blood in his body had become even more energetic, while his broadsword glowed even brighter.
His firepower was increasing!
In a matter of minutes, more than three hundred Divine Guards of the Second Corps were slaughtered by the guards of the House of Han, with the latter suffering only three additional deaths and around twenty injuries.
"Kill them all! Stop at nothing!" Phoebe ordered coldly from behind the House of Han guards. She could tell that Sanguis, Bollands and Gilbert were draining their powers and wouldn't last long. She realised that the House of Han guards had to destroy the Divine Guards of the Second Corps as quickly as possible and help the three of them.
The House of Han guards immediately changed their battle formation. From a conical formation, they transformed into daggers stacked like a flower. The seven hundred of them divided into seven groups and shot out like seven daggers, slaughtering the panicked Divine Guards of the Second Corps.
It soon became apparent that this formation was even more deadly than the previous one. As the seven daggers dispersed, they turned the Divine Guards of the Second Corps into seven rivers of blood.
Ralph was terrified!
Ralph suddenly realised that at this rate, even if he managed to kill Sanguis, he wouldn't have any troops left. He calmly reassessed the situation for a moment before suddenly shouting, "Mission failed! Everyone retreat!"
Ralph stopped attacking Sanguis and flew away.
Locke and Walter also immediately broke away from Bollands and Gilbert and flew towards the nearby valley.
The Divine Guards of the Second Corps, who had received the order to retreat, began to flee frantically. Their hearts were filled with fear. They had not expected to fare so poorly against an army of similar size, to be so vulnerable from beginning to end.
As Ralph and his Divine Guards of the Second Corps began to flee, the House of Han guards quietly pursued them. They wanted to inflict more casualties and maximise the damage to Ralph's Second Corps.
"Do not pursue!" shouted Stratholme hastily.
"Come back, we cannot afford to waste any more time on them!" ordered Phoebe calmly.
Both Stratholme and Phoebe understood that Larikson and Hofs wouldn't have given up so easily. They might already have started to pursue them. If Hofs, Larikson and his experts caught up with them, there wouldn't be any demonic formation to hide behind this time.
It was crucial for them to use every second of every minute. They simply had no time to waste on Ralph and his gang. Besides, it wouldn't be too late to kill Ralph along with Wallace in the future, when they were able to return to the City of Shadows.
They knew that Ralph was no longer a threat to them, and they could always take his life in the future.
Upon hearing Stratholme and Phoebe's command, the House of Han guards quickly flew back to them. They took up a defensive formation around Phoebe and Stratholme.
"Sanguis, Gilbert, are you all right?" cried Emily suddenly.
The crowd immediately turned their attention to Sanguis, Bollands and Gilbert. All three were panting heavily and drenched in sweat after the great battle. It was obvious that they had expended a great deal of energy.
This was especially true of Sanguis. Although he seemed to be supported by the inexhaustible willpower of a warrior, the moment Ralph left, he turned pale and his blood-soaked body collapsed. It was only after Sanguis had had time to relax that he realised he had spent too much energy fighting.
"Sanguis, are you all right?" asked Gilbert worriedly. Although he too was sweating profusely, he still looked quite healthy, unlike Sanguis.
"I'll be fine in a moment," Sanguis said after forcing a smile. The broadsword in his hand suddenly flew up, hovering in the sky and spinning at high speed.
Strings of bizarre energy emanated from Sangui's broadsword. Suddenly, the blood spilled by the fallen Divine Guards of the Second Corps seemed to be drawn by some kind of energy. It turned into mist and flew into the air, gathering around the broadswords. The mist slowly condensed into streams of blood, swirling on the surface of the sword.
Gradually, every drop of blood on the ground condensed on the broadsword, and the stench faded. The broadsword returned to Sanguis's hand before streams of red radiance flowed from the broadsword into Sanguis's body.
Moments later, Sanguis was no longer pale and his eyes no longer tired. He seemed recharged and as energetic as ever. Sanguis took a deep breath and announced with a smile, "All right, I'm fine. Come, let's hurry!"
Stratholme, Ayermike, Phoebe and the House of Han guards were all stunned by what they saw. They hadn't expected Sanguis, who hadn't even been able to stand a moment ago, to regain his strength like that. It was simply inconceivable to them.
"Pff, that's nothing to be shocked about. Our master's energy is nothing you can understand. Sanguis is my master's disciple, it's normal for him to recover so quickly." When Gilbert saw that everyone was in a daze, he hurriedly said, "Hurry up! Don't tell me you want them to catch up?"
The crowd came to their senses at these words. They hastily reboarded the airship and continued their journey to the Death Dominion.