Chapter 32: The Fool (II)

The location of the final battle was ultimately set at the Brim Plains, where the Allied forces were currently stationed. This came as a surprise to Thors and the others, as they had prepared to launch a forceful attack on Thassan. They never expected Argus to dare leave the city to fight them head-on—did the guy really have such confidence?
Filled with doubt, everyone felt uneasy.
Three days of preparation wasn’t long enough, but not too short either. Yet Allen and Scott still felt it was rather hasty, perhaps because they weren’t entirely sure of the outcome of this battle. After all, their opponent was Argus—the man who stood at the pinnacle of the empire, and even the world!
Within those three days, both armies gradually gathered at the Brim Plains. As the lords had predicted, the necromancers ultimately chose to side with Argus. Perhaps, ever since they decided to oppose the dark mage, even though they had been exploited by Argus many times and harbored resentment, their stance had long been determined—they were destined to be seen as Argus’s accomplices. If Argus failed, their fate would likely be no better.
Out of this concern, the necromancers seemed to regard this battle as a critical struggle for their survival, forcing them to deploy all their remaining forces.
Compared to the necromancers, the sheer number of Death Knights, like a tidal wave, filled the Allied soldiers with dread. Their numbers even exceeded those of the Allied forces. Upon seeing this formidable army, some finally understood what Allen and Scott had said earlier: “The first three battles are merely a prelude to this confrontation.”
Indeed, those three cities, guarded by only 2,000 Death Knights each, played at most a role as a warm-up before the final battle. Yet it also hinted at Argus’s mindset—he probably didn’t even care about those cities. He was utterly confident he could annihilate the entire Allied army here.
If someone had mentioned this before, it might have seemed ridiculous. But now, after seeing that army of Death Knights, most of them could no longer laugh.
The sky was dark, just like the mood of the Allied soldiers. It wasn’t that the weather was bad; on the contrary, it was a clear day, but it was shrouded in clouds—clouds formed by countless crows summoned by the necromancers.

On the battlefield, there were even pale skeletons—undead armies controlled by necromancers. Their numbers formed a vast sea of white, evoking an eerie sensation deep in one’s heart. There were also giant magical beasts on the battlefield—dark green creatures resembling giant lizards, covered in scales that glinted harshly under the sunlight. In magical literature, these were known as horned lizards, a type of sub-dragon. Since the Alchemy Age, they had faded from human sight. It was unknown where Argus had obtained them. Though there were only a few of them, the pressure they exerted was immense. After all, they were also among the legendary creatures. Although not as awe-inspiring as true dragons, they were indeed extremely rare. Besides the horned lizards, there were various other magical beasts whose scientific names could not be named. Though they still looked terrifying, none of them had the same striking impact as the horned lizards. “Hmph!” Seemingly noticing some unrest among the Alliance soldiers, Argus sat on a magnificent throne, leaning on a black knight’s sword, looking like an emperor. With his usual mocking gaze, he scanned the human army across from him, searching for someone in particular. “Damn it!” Allen muttered under his breath, frowning at the opposing forces. “That guy seems full of confidence!” He glanced anxiously at his own army. Indeed, compared to Argus’s dark army, the morale of the Alliance soldiers was much weaker—after all, it was just an army of humans. But no matter what, there was no room for retreat at this point. Not a single step back! Just as Allen was about to say something to boost morale, Argus unexpectedly spoke first. “Oh, quite a few familiar faces!” With a mocking smile on his lips, Argus fixed his gaze on Prince Theo and his two loyal followers, saying sarcastically, “Hey, isn’t that the former prince? Long time no see! How have you been? —Even with considerable power, usurping the throne is still not allowed! Hah? After killing your own father, do you plan to kill your brother too and seize the throne from him? Tch, what a cold-hearted person!” “Argus…” Prince Theo’s eyes reddened slightly, clearly furious to the extreme.

“Your Highness!” Cliff Bealis, a mage from the First Squad of the former Royal Magic Corps standing beside him, quickly pulled him aside in secret and whispered, “Don’t fall for Agus’s provocation, Your Highness!”
Bert Brackley, the former deputy commander of the Royal Knights, also spoke softly, “Your Highness, this battle is of utmost importance. Every word and action of yours will determine whether you can regain the throne in the future! The dignity and glory of the Yawood royal family rest entirely on you!”
“…” Glancing at his two loyal followers, Prince Theo took a deep breath, forcing down his anger. With composure, he stared at Agus and said in a low voice, “Aren’t you better aware than I am of what’s really going on, Agus?”
“Hey, is that so?” Agus smiled faintly before turning his gaze away from Prince Theo. After all, even the former first prince was nothing but an insect that could be crushed at any moment in Agus’s eyes. Once local armies like Altak and Galic arrived in Sassen as planned, this insect lost its value—whether it lived or died didn’t matter to Agus.
On the contrary, Agus was more interested in Allen, Scott, and Ravia.
“Wow, kids, long time no see! I never expected you to achieve such things… I really didn’t think so back then…”
“Hey!” Allen, perched on a warhorse, grinned mischievously, tilting his head and speaking in a somewhat defiant tone, “We didn’t expect it either. Those ‘fugitives’ who almost starved in the woods ended up ruling this country!”
“That’s fate, isn’t it?” As he spoke, Agus’s gaze fell on Thos beside Ravia, and he said meaningfully, “Fate is what’s predetermined… The strong and the weak—this is decided the moment one is born. The strong will always remain strong, while the weak will always be the foundation beneath their feet. Right, Thos?”
Thos opened his eyes and glanced at Agus coldly, then said, “Including the fact that you’ll die here?”
“Oh?” Agus raised his eyebrows playfully. “Are you that confident you can defeat me? Don’t forget, if I hadn’t shown mercy three years ago, you probably wouldn’t be here with your woman now! Right, kid?” He said the last part to Ravia.

But sadly, Argus was unaware of the complex relationships between Thors, Ravia, and Dia. Those words didn’t bring any joy to Ravia at all; instead, she saw them as mockery. Gritting her teeth, she cursed angrily. Just as she was about to speak, Thors beside her sneered, “Hold back? How could I not be aware of that?”
What he meant was, of course, the real reason Argus had held back back then. After all, both of them were apostles, and once an apostle faced a life-threatening situation, the ancient will behind them would surely intervene to save their life.
“Oh my, you see through me,” Argus said with a laugh. The smile gradually faded from his face covered in black tattoos. With a tone that mixed defiance, excitement, and an inexplicable expectation, he said in a low voice, “We will meet again. It’s fate! Since you have the courage to appear before me, it means you’ve gained strength enough to rival me. Prove it to me, Thors! I’m right here!”
“Ah, of course!”
Their conversation was like the bugle call for this major battle. When their talk ended, the smoke of war spread across the Brim Plains, turning the atmosphere tense.
“Hey, the game has begun, kids!” With a teasing smile, Argus slowly raised the black knight sword in his hand and pointed forward. Instantly, eerie and terrifying red lights flashed in the eyes of the death knights. Pulling on their reins, they rushed forward.
“Huh!” Taking a deep breath, Allen, as the vanguard, drew the knight sword from his waist and raised it high. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly roared loudly, “Glory!”
“Glory!” Around two thousand knights of the Free Wind Knights also drew their swords from their waists and raised them, shouting in unison.
“Charge!” The two concise and powerful words burst from Allen’s mouth, and suddenly a red and green halo surrounded him at high speed, enveloping almost all the knights of the Free Wind Knights. Faintly, the sound of a dull battle horn could be heard. When that horn sounded, a fierce flame of fighting spirit seemed to ignite in the eyes of the knights of the Free Wind Knights.
[Domain: Battle Horn]!

“Hm?” Argus’ interested gaze showed a hint of surprise as he clearly noticed that the knights of the Free Wind Knights Order suddenly became far more formidable. Strangely enough, their bodies and the warhorses beneath them emitted strange sounds, as if their muscles were swelling. Even more astonishing was that, just a few seconds later, this mere human army managed to halt the steel tide of the Death Knight army, blocking them head-on without being defeated, which left Argus utterly amazed. After all, Death Knights were beings between undead and dark creatures, possessing physical strength several times greater than humans. Yet those knights of the Free Wind Knights Order, with their human bodies, managed to contain and disperse that steel tide—what an incredible feat! “A domain?” A faint smile appeared on Argus’ lips as he stared at the strange auras glowing beneath the knights’ warhorses. “A non-lethal enhancement domain… quite rare. What an interesting little brat!” “Everything… for glory!” On the battlefield, Allen was nowhere near his usual playful demeanor. Like a legendary great warrior, he charged bravely at the forefront of the knights. As a human, he possessed extraordinary strength that even the Death Knights could not match. The golden knight sword in his hand seemed like a death warrant. Suddenly, one of the knights sensed a huge shadow blocking the sunlight. When he looked up, his eyes, filled with fighting spirit, also showed a hint of fear—turns out, that huge shadow was a horned lizard. Worse still, the horned lizard was revealing its bloody fangs to the unsuspecting Allen… “Commander!” The knight quickly shouted to warn him, but then his tense nerves relaxed slightly as he saw a rock puppet, slightly smaller than the horned lizard, use its body to block the attack before the lizard could bite Allen. It was Allen’s puppet, [Castle: Kanso]! The horned lizard’s bite force was undoubtedly strong enough to crush rock—even Kanso’s rocky exterior couldn’t withstand it, suffering severe damage, with even its entire right arm being torn off. But surprisingly, the shattered rock fragments merged back into Kanso’s body, instantly reconstructing its right arm, which then punched the stunned horned lizard back several steps. “Hey, thanks, buddy!” Allen turned around, holding his knight sword and smiling.

A few creaking sounds were heard as Kanso turned to glance at Allen, then said in a deep voice, “Leave this to me, master!”
“Oh,” Allen shrugged, weighing the knight’s sword in his hand, and said in an odd tone, “Be careful, Kanso!” With that, he raised his sword again and shouted loudly, “Forward, my warriors! It’s time to claim glory!”
“Wow!!” The knights following him echoed his cry.
Watching his master leave, Kanso let out a deep roar. Amazingly, the entire ground in the vicinity trembled with his roar. Soon, giant, sharp thorns sprouted from the ground, one of which pierced through the horned lizard’s right leg, causing it to let out a scream like thunder.
“Bang! Bang!”
Two massive creatures collided violently, fighting with their horns, teeth, claws, and fists, rolling around the battlefield and crushing many Death Knights who couldn’t dodge in time into pulp.
“Heh, not bad at all!” Lavia, watching from afar, smiled slightly. Dressed in knightly armor, she possessed a charm that set her apart from other women. She raised the whip embedded with a ruby in her hand and said in a sweet voice, “Don’t let Allen take all the credit, warriors of Altak! Hold your weapons tightly…” As soon as she finished speaking, she swung her whip, and flames burst forth. From within the flames, a huge black shadow leaped out. When it landed, it turned out to be a giant fire fox engulfed in blazing red flames.
“Swish!” With a flick of her flaming whip, Lavia pointed at the Death Knights and cried out sweetly, “…Charge!”
The soldiers of Altak were once the empire’s strongest individual fighters, known as the “barbarians among humans.” Their combat skills were evident—although they were infantry armed with swords and shields, they were sufficient to serve as a second line of defense against the onslaught of Death Knights.
As the one who commanded this unruly army, Lavia’s power was enough to make people forget for a moment that she was a woman. Her flaming whip kept swinging, sending waves of flame like wind blades toward the Death Knights. Though they were flames, they could cut through their bodies.
And that giant fire fox kept firing volley after volley of fireballs, turning one after another of the Death Knights who rushed forward into ashes—heat intense enough to melt steel.

As a simulated beast, this fire fox fears no physical attacks. Even if its body is severed by those Death Knights, it can recover instantly. — This is the combat style that Ravia, a typical fire mage, has used over the years, as she lacks the formidable physical strength of Allen and Thos.

Beside Ravia, the Pawn Puppet, Queen Quinn, seems uninterested in fighting. Dressed in a violet gown, she holds a golden fan in her hand, constantly watching over her master’s safety. The moment she detects any enemies approaching, she uses her blade-like fingers to slice them into countless pieces at speeds too fast for the eye to follow.

“Hm? Has Altak started moving?” Noticing the developments on the northern battlefield, Scott pushed up his glasses and smiled. “If that’s the case, we can’t fall behind… Knight!”

“Yes!” Seeming to understand his master’s intent, the Pawn Puppet, Knight Knight, clad in heavy knight armor, mounted a warhorse. Holding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other, he shouted, “Galic soldiers, follow me… Charge!”

“Oh!!”

At the center of the battlefield, Allen, as the vanguard, successfully halted the Death Knights’ advance. Altak and Galic, the main forces from the northern and southern battlefields, also joined the fight, marking the official start of this major battle.

“Skelets! Those skeletons are coming!” A Union soldier shouted in fear. Not far ahead, a sea of skeletons, dense as a white ocean, rushed forward with bone knives in their hands.

Immediately afterward, a series of loud whooshing sounds were heard as various spells—fireballs, water balls, torrent spells, flame blasts—rained down like shells onto that sea of skeletons. — The 2,000 dark mages in the rear also joined the battle to support the soldiers ahead.

But soon, the necromancers on Argus’s side retaliated. Bone spears glowing with dangerous green light descended upon the Union soldiers, claiming many lives.

“Shields!”

Just as the Union soldiers grew fearful of the sudden spells, water barriers and stone walls protected their lives.

“What are you standing around for?” a dark mage shouted.

Indeed, in large-scale battles, a mage’s tasks are far from as simple as casting attack spells from behind. After all, once the warriors who serve as the fighting force are all killed, these fragile mages cannot defeat enemies who also have magical support on their side with their own strength alone.
“Another wave is coming—prepare shields! Those damned necromancers!”
“Shields, shields!”
“The second team, prepare to cast attack spells… The third team, get ready with shields…”
“Protect the mages!”
“Kill!”
The entire battlefield was like a boiling pot, filled with all sorts of shouts.
Fierce battles didn’t just take place on the ground; the skies were no different. Galic’s vampire army was also engaged in a desperate struggle against the ravens controlled by the necromancers. Although ravens were insignificant creatures compared to vampires, they had the advantage of numbers. Even vampires, with their strong regenerative abilities, found themselves in a tough fight against tens of thousands of ravens launching suicidal attacks, not to mention having to watch out for the massive magical beasts in Argus’s camp, which could knock them down with their sharp claws.
Just as the vampires were at a disadvantage, a crimson storm suddenly arose from the ground. After the storm passed, Ulric, a Vanzo vampire in blood form, landed in the air with his demonic wings flapping, uttering a sighful murmur.
“Ah, war truly is nothing beautiful…”
The ravens seemed to notice this unexpected intruder as well and rushed at Ulric. Unfortunately, Ulric wasn’t like the vampires from Galic region who could only transform into bats. In his blood form, he possessed strength comparable to that of Gungro vampires. With a soft sigh, blood gushed from his raised right hand, forming blood blades. In the sound of swishing, countless black feathers scattered across the sky.
It was a truly spectacular sight. In just over ten seconds, the dark sky seemed to brighten significantly. Looking at the dead ravens, Ulric sighed and prayed for them.
“O omnipotent gods, please hear the final prayers of these sorrowful lives and grant them peace of mind…”

As they spoke, Ulrich’s figure was suddenly covered in shadow. It turned out that a giant horned lizard had approached him unnoticed. While he was focused on praying, the lizard revealed its bloody fangs and bit him in two—Ulrich’s upper body, including one of his wings, fell into the lizard’s mouth…
Strangely enough, the remaining half of Ulrich’s body continued to flap its wing and float in the air, a phenomenon that defied the lizard’s limited intelligence. Suddenly, it heard a voice coming from within its mouth…
“Really! — Please don’t interrupt someone’s prayer. That’s an insult to the gods…”
As soon as the words faded, thin red lights appeared in the lizard’s mouth, and it suddenly crashed to the ground, creating a huge crater. At the same time, a crimson energy wave burst from the lizard’s mouth and merged with Ulrich’s remaining half-body, forming a new body.
“Roar!” The lizard, whose mouth had been severed by sharp blood-blades, writhed in pain.
“Sigh,” Ulrich, still floating in the air, sighed softly. He looked at the lizard with pity and said gently, “It must be painful. I’m sorry… Let me free you!” With that, he slowly raised his right hand and pointed at the lizard, then clenched his fist tightly. The lizard’s body trembled violently, and countless streams of blood burst from its surface before it finally stopped moving…
Even the vampires were stunned by these events. After all, they were ordinary vampires without special abilities like Ulrich and Connel.
Seizing the vampires’ strange gazes, Ulrich, whose face appeared grotesque in his blood form, bowed politely and said gently, “Please don’t worry! — I’ve been entrusted to assist you, my fellow vampires!” He then looked up at the crows that had gathered again and said in a tone of pity and regret, “Then… follow me, my fellow vampires, to put an end to this ugly war as soon as possible!”
“…Yes!” The nearby vampires bowed their heads to Ulrich.

This battle seemed to turn into a fierce fight from the very beginning, turning what initially appeared to be an orderly army operation into a chaotic mess. Whether it was the Altaks, Galiks, Operials, or the Death Knights and Necromancers, all sides were thrown into disarray. So, it’s no wonder that a few Altak soldiers, with the help of a dark mage, surrounded a magical beast, nor is it surprising that Necromancers joined forces with Death Knights to slaughter Alliance soldiers. In less than an hour, the entire battlefield became extremely chaotic, with lives lost every second as their souls were absorbed by that dark altar…

In short, Ravia still holds the advantage on the northern battlefield, and Scott seems to be in the upper hand on the southern battlefield. However, Allen in the central battlefield is clearly fighting a tough battle. Yet, it must be said that facing Agus’s dark army, the human-led Alliance demonstrated their resilience, never retreating even under severe casualties—perhaps due to strict military discipline or personal conviction…

The Alliance warriors seemed determined to kill their enemies, anyone in their path, until they reached that man. This mindset became even more pronounced as the balance of power shifted. But was it really that simple?

At least that man remained seated on his magnificent throne, still holding his sword, his expression unchanged whether the Alliance was ahead or the dark forces held the upper hand. In fact, Ravia, Allen, Scott, and even Prince Theo were well aware of one thing: as long as Agus was alive, the war would not end, and the Alliance would not achieve victory, even if they killed all of Agus’s dark army…

Suddenly, Agus’s calm expression shifted slightly as he saw the figure he had been keeping an eye on from afar finally walking slowly toward him…

“Hey!” Agus slowly stood up, tossing his knight’s sword aside, and let out a deep laugh. “You’ve finally arrived… I’ve waited so long for you, Thos!”