The cannons roared and the sounds of gunfire thundered across the battlefield like stormy weather.
The black flood of warriors surged into the Bretonnian ranks, met by the newly trained pikemen and sergeants under Ryan's command.
Within just two minutes, the center began to falter, the barbarian chaos worshippers proving too ferocious. Although Ryan had tried to form a formidable infantry force, Bretonnia's national policy focused heavily on knights, and the pike regiment had been hastily assembled, pushed into battle prematurely.
Fortunately, the center was not fighting alone.
"Knights! Advance! For the Lady! For Bretonnia!" Duke Hubald finally overcame the barbarian cavalry with cover from the dwarven gunners. With the chaos champion Covendolf dead, the large group of knights and their attendants on the left flank were freed to target the barbarian forces in the center.
"Advance!!!"
Leading the charge in the midst of the Grail Quest, Hubald rode his beloved purebred Elven steed, his broadsword blazing with flames bestowed by the Lady of the Lake. He seemed a great hero reborn, charging alone into the barbarian ranks. Several barbarians armed with long spears and pikes attempted to block him, but Hubald's face was set in a mask of cold fury.
"For the Lady!" The expeditionary knights roared, their armor responding to their master's call, enveloping the battlefield in dazzling light that dizzied the chaos warriors and barbarians.
Hubald then broke through, his double-handed sword beheading three barbarian warriors in a swift motion.
The cavalry, ranks tight and lances forward, charged through the gap opened by Hubald, smashing into the barbarian center like a gigantic battering ram. By the time the chaos soldiers realized what was happening, it was too late. The knights unleashed their fury, their sharp lances piercing the barbarian armor, and their steeds' hooves crushing skulls.
Five thousand heavy cavalry charged against four thousand barbarians with predictable results—the knights began their slaughter.
Like a whirlwind, the knights led by Hubald devoured the despicable barbarians, crushing them to bits. Bravely they fought through the entire barbarian formation, a terrifying and bloody harvest that broke the barbarian vanguard. Hubald, leading a dozen knights, broke through first, unsatisfied, he ordered, "Turn around! Knights! Today we ensure every barbarian mongrel dies here!"
"Ooh!" Hundreds of knights erupted in cheers, then wheeled their mounts around, charging again into the disorganized and demoralized barbarian front.
Meanwhile, Egel's reinforcements were still trapped behind the ice wall. Chaos sorcerer Chakoy, attacked by Veronica, couldn't use his magic to break the ice, and the barbarian king frantically hacked at the ice wall with his hellish axe, finally creating a passage.
But as Egel led the Crimson Guard and a large group of barbarian warriors out, they were met with a volley from the dwarven cannons and organ guns. The serf crossbowmen and dwarven gunners opened fire on the barbarian reinforcements, pinning them down and preventing them from quickly aiding their devastated vanguard.
"It's a disaster!" Egel was hit by the dwarven artillery. The fearsome chosen champion was unharmed, chopping an incoming cannonball in half with his axe. The resulting explosion engulfed him in flames, but while the cannonballs couldn't hurt him, his army suffered greatly. When Egel looked up to survey the battlefield, the sight fueled his rage.
Over four thousand barbarian warriors were now reduced to a mere thousand retreating. The knights continued to charge and slaughter them, and the barbarians were losing their nerve, fleeing across the plains, their corpses strewn everywhere. On the right flank, Haldon's forces also fell back, outnumbered and unable to withstand Sir Houlf's five thousand heavy cavalry, especially the fearsome Sea God knights wielding scimitars and tridents.
"My king! Haldon needs reinforcements! We can't hold on!" a barbarian scout reported to Egel.
"There are no reinforcements! Tell him to hold those knights, fight to the last man!" Egel looked behind him, where less than seven thousand barbarian warriors remained.
The fearsome chosen champion realized he could not afford to split his forces.
Previously, whether in the battle of the southern plains or the siege of Leonace, the barbarians had the advantage in numbers. But with continuous deep inland raids and Egel's disregard for casualties, when Ryan's knights engaged Egel's forces, the barbarians not only lost their numerical advantage but also their artillery support.
Now, the battle-worn barbarians were at a disadvantage, their forces exhausted from partying the night before and now faltering under the knights' assault.
The last chaos mammoth fell, struck in the face by a dwarven cannon and died instantly.
"Bretonnians! Deceitful, dishonorable! Like a swarm of vile insects! They refuse the honor of close combat, relying instead on cannons and firearms, hiding behind their solid formations to shoot!" Egel motioned for the remaining barbarian forces to follow him. "Glory to the Blood God!"
"Blood!"
In the midst of the knight's central army, Armand noticed Egel's appearance: "My lord, Egel and his Crimson Guard have emerged."
"The battle is turning in our favor," Ryan murmured, having spotted Egel and his guard: "Egel is formidable. Command the troops to continue the retreat!"
"Yes!"
Having repelled the barbarian vanguard with the help of the knights, the infantry began to slowly retreat upon receiving the order, luring Egel and the remaining barbarian forces deeper into their ranks.
The fearsome chosen champion knew this was Ryan's trap, but he had no choice. The barbarian cavalry and chaos mammoths were depleted, the chaos hellcannons destroyed in earlier sieges, and the chaos dwarves had been killed by the Skarins people.
"Attack the center directly!" Egel decided to strike at the heart of the enemy's command, the same tactic he had relied on before.
Braving the volley from the dwarven cannons, the Crimson Guard blew the Skarins' horns.
The mournful yet majestic sound of the horns echoed across the plains in the early morning. Nearly two hours since the war began, the barbarians were at a severe disadvantage on the battlefield. However, when the horns of the Skarins' king sounded, nearly all barbarian soldiers rallied once more. They regrouped under the flags of the black chaos octagon, the Blood God's eight-pillar insignia, and the Skarins sail banner, charging back at the knight's army.
"Hold firm!" Ryan personally led the central army's elite soldiers against the barbarian onslaught. The count, mounted on his horse, swung his warhammer, sending three chaos warriors flying. The barbarians immediately recognized Ryan as the enemy commander—his ornate psionic exoskeleton armor, uncovered helmet, and the front badge of the Grail Knight's commander gave him away.
"Forward! Soldiers of Bretonnia!" Ryan smashed a chaos warrior's head with his hammer, then lifted his own: "Let us unite, let us wield our lances and swords, let us break these filthy foes, defend the Lady's land, defend the kingdom! For the Lady!"
"For the Lady!" At the call of Count Ryan, the Grail Knight and chosen champion of the Lady of the Lake, even the serf infantry roared with exhausted rage.
Indeed, the serf infantry, lowly and minimally trained, whose combat effectiveness was weak, could also explode with astonishing power and courage in desperation.
More importantly, Count Ryan had promised that even a serf could be knighted for displaying remarkable valor in battle.
Knighthood was an honor available to both nobles and commoners, but it was rare for serfs to receive such a distinction. As a Grail Knight, Ryan's word was his bond, and how could this not drive the serfs and sergeants to frenzy?
"Charge!" The newly trained pikemen, a large group of sergeants, and the barbarian forces clashed fiercely, the scene chaotic.
Egel had just entered the fray, his axes killing several infantrymen. The fearsome chosen champion was eager to confront Ryan in a true duel of champions, but the ground shaking and the constant sound of horns forced him to abandon his plan.
The thunderous sound of hooves came from all directions, drowning out the Skarins' king's senses with the noise of horns and hooves. Egel, mounted on a chaos steel bull, sensed danger.
On the left flank, Hubald's cavalry had regrouped, the crusading knights unyielding, charging once more into the barbarian center. The knights' fury swept the plains, only ceasing when all barbarians were exterminated.
On the right flank, the chaos champion Haldon's forces were retreating, clearly unable to withstand Sir Houlf's five thousand heavy cavalry.
And from behind the barbarian lines, a fresh force of knights joined the battle.
This force, led by Count Calard of Garamont, comprised over four thousand cavalry. They attacked from behind the barbarian lines, the golden fleur-de-lis and the white lion banner of Leonace rolling in the air, a new steel wall closing from all sides. The raised lances formed a dense forest of spear points, the sharp tips carrying the knights' fury as they rolled towards the center of the barbarian army.
Count Calard, nearly reckless, led the charge into the rear of the barbarian forces. Each of his strokes killed at least two barbarians, and he showed no regard for his own
safety, his knights following his lead.
"Chaos scum! Die!"
"It's Calard! It seems Leonace has not yet fallen!" Ryan, mounted on Grape the steed, charging through the barbarian forces, saw Calard leading the four thousand heavy cavalry to their aid and shouted excitedly, "We've won this battle."
Now it was the Skarins' turn to experience the hurricane-like group charge of the Bretonnian knights. The knight's army struck from three directions, instantly killing thousands of barbarian warriors and chaos warriors, the remainder now in absolute disarray.
The battlefield turned into a gigantic slaughterhouse. The barbarian army desperately resisted the encirclement by knights from three sides, and the knights and their attendants who plunged into the barbarian ranks found themselves mired in a quagmire. The chaos warriors and chosen swung their axes and pikes, seeking enemies. Their superhuman strength was enough to instantly slay knights who had lost their momentum. The knights, discarding broken lances, drew their swords to engage in a terrifying melee.
The only consensus was to take no prisoners.
The frenzied battle continued, the barbarian forces surrounded on three sides, but under Egel's leadership, they did not collapse but kept resisting stubbornly. The knights, having lost their powerful charge, were also forced into close combat, not giving the barbarians any chance to regroup. One moment a knight was dragged from his horse and slaughtered, the next a chaos warrior was decapitated, his body falling to the ground.
The gruesome melee persisted; now tactics were no longer necessary as both sides committed all their forces. Knights in tattered armor vowed not to retreat until all barbarians were slain, while Egel realized a horrifying fact.
His forces were rapidly dwindling. Nearly twenty thousand barbarians at the start of the battle were now less than five thousand. In the knights' encirclement, the barbarian forces were losing men at an alarming rate.
"What are those small tribe chiefs doing! Why aren't they joining the fight?" Egel shouted angrily at his personal guard. The Crimson Guard was still protecting him and his newborn son. When the fearsome chosen champion turned around, he witnessed an unbelievable scene.
Dozens of small tribe chiefs were fleeing, leading about two thousand barbarian routs rapidly retreating from the battlefield, heading north without looking back.
"Aaaaargh!" Egel's roar reached a fever pitch as he performed a whirlwind slash, killing more than twenty knights and a dozen serf infantrymen in one swoop: "I swear, once I return to Skarins, I will kill them all!"
"Ugh!" A piteous scream drew Egel's attention.
The banner pole of Grail Knight Armand had pierced the chest of chaos champion Haldon, followed by a golden griffin warhammer crushing Haldon's head to pulp.
A young figure entered Egel's vision, with black hair, blue eyes, and a long sword on his back, his expression cold.
It was the chosen champion of the Lady of the Lake! Egel locked his gaze on Ryan, identifying his prey.
At the same time, as if driven by some will of fate, Ryan's gaze also naturally found Egel.
Now, the bloody battlefield faded from view for both chosen champions. Ryan struck down a chaos chosen warrior with his hammer, riding towards Egel: "You must pay for your atrocities, chaos scum!"
"Your head will fit perfectly atop my armor and the throne of the Blood God, a bit higher than Yules's." Egel no longer cared about the outcome of the war; his eyes focused only on Ryan's head.
This was what the Blood God desired, and as his chosen champion, Egel naturally sought to fulfill those wishes.
A duel of champions was destined.
"Let's settle this!"
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