Chapter 28: A Farce
Vladkov cast a cold glance at the tip of his knight’s spear in his hand. The grayish-black blade dripped with dark red blood. At that moment, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction—a pleasure he hadn’t experienced in ages. The wound on his back still caused slight pain, and the heavy blow to his waist still left him feeling oppressed, but none of this affected Vladkov’s inner joy.
Vladkov had never regarded his visit to the Misty Flower Hills as a casual trip. Like everyone else, the real purpose of their journey was to engage in actual combat—to hone their skills and undergo a thorough trial by fire. This was what everyone, including Vladkov, had hoped for, and this battle finally fulfilled that goal.
There were twelve dark elf swordsmen, along with three cave elf archers. Of course, the seven Assyrian magicians also posed significant trouble and damage to the Black Flame Knights. Add to that sixty Assyrian warriors, and this battle was indeed a fierce contest with evenly matched forces.
The three dark elf swordsmen had blood-red eyes. Their thin, sharp blades shimmered with a cold glow in the sunlight. Their slender, tall frames, coupled with appropriate flexible leather armor, made them appear even more agile and swift.
Yet for Vladkov, the three swordsmen were not the most dangerous foes. In a face-to-face duel, he was confident he could defeat anyone. The real threat came from the two elf archers hiding among the tree branches. Their unexpected arrows not only effectively halted Vladkov’s attacks but also often coordinated perfectly with those of the three swordsmen, making their assaults even more deadly.
The three swordsmen had every reason to be furious. In just a few rounds, without giving the other elves a chance to react, two of them had already fallen to Vladkov’s knight’s spear. One of them had been corrupted by Vladkov’s dark magic, rendering him unable to defend himself, and he was pinned to an oak tree by Vladkov’s spear. The other two swordsmen had their sternums shattered by Vladkov’s suddenly fierce combat energy, leaving them collapsed on the ground, their fate unknown.
Compared to Vladkov’s direct challenges against the strong opponents, the mage teams achieved much more significant results. The fierce lightning magic arrays completely shattered the attacking formation of the Assyrian warriors. Although the Assyrian mages quickly realized their failure, their intervention failed to turn the situation around. The magical attacks not only destroyed the Assyrian warriors’ fighting spirit but also dragged the Assyrian mage teams into the conflict. Faced with the relentless assaults of the dark mages, the Assyrian mage teams could hardly organize an effective defense system; they could only passively try to withstand the pervasive magical attacks.
The triangular assault formation led by the three fallen knights plunged into the already devastated Assyrian warrior formation like a hedgehog covered in spikes. The onslaught was like a storm, utterly destroying the last remnants of the Assyrian warriors’ confidence. The merciless slaughter left them with no chance to resist. It was only with the arrival of the elf swordsmen that they barely got a chance to escape, but unfortunately, the elf swordsmen almost sacrificed their own lives to prevent the Assyrian warriors from being completely annihilated.
Vladkov chose an excellent opportunity, one that was largely thanks to intelligence gathered by the forest elves. The Assyrians, dark elves, and cave elves planned to collaborate to develop the Mistflower Hills and expand eastward, holding a small celebration ceremony. The location chosen for the ceremony was at the border between the Redwood Forest and the Iris Basin, which was equivalent to handing over an easy target to the Black Flame Knights.
The sudden attack caught the dark elves and Assyrians off guard. The overwhelming magical assaults left all parties preparing for the celebration in panic. By the time they recovered from the chaos, the Black Flame Knights had already inflicted heavy damage on them.
What should have been a celebration turned into a funeral. Vladkov intended to use this opportunity to establish his authority, especially to project an image among other elves who had not yet fully submitted to the dominance of the dark elves and Assyrians. The Black Flame Knights launched relentless attacks, while the Assyrians and dark elves were not fully prepared for war. Without any doubt, the battle ended in a crushing defeat for the dark elves and Assyrians.
Total chaos!
Vladkov inspected the battlefield, now free from combat, with a satisfied expression. The elven swordsmen had ultimately withdrawn from the fight. Without the support of Assyrian magi, they knew they could easily be crushed by a combined force of knights and magi, leaving almost no chance of escape.
On the celebration platform, over a dozen pairs of shoes belonging to Assyrian nobles lay scattered, along with overturned flower baskets, scattered wooden frames, and seats in disarray. The completely empty scene was nothing short of a ridiculous farce!
The people’s flight had left a deep impression. Vladkov believed that this Assyrian retreat would leave a strong impression on the dark elves and cave elves—showing whether this seemingly powerful human nation was truly a worthy ally, given that even such a minor setback could lead to such disastrous consequences.
Vladkov held no respect for the Assyrians at all. In his eyes, they were nothing but half-barbarians who hadn’t fully civilized themselves. Though they had no blood relation to true barbarians and were pure humans, they lived in a remote corner of the Azure Continent with little contact with its more civilized regions, leading to an arrogant attitude of isolationism. Of course, since no powerful nations or regimes posed a real threat around them, their confidence had grown infinitely, to the point where they even thought they could conquer the Misty Hills or even penetrate the regions along the Southern Mid-Sea. How pitiful!
What was even more pitiful was that the dark elves and cave elves would believe such ignoramuses and think they represented human civilization.