Chapter 14: United Forces
At the same time, the three Fallen Knights, who had already taken up positions for an ambush, also noticed a sudden change in the situation. The presence of magical beasts, which had earlier only been faintly detectable, suddenly became intense and chaotic, like a beehive suddenly poked, exploding and sweeping toward them. Although they couldn’t yet determine exactly what kind of magical beasts they were, the lead Fallen Knight could sense a cold, icy stench mixed in with the approaching threat—clearly ice or wind-type magical beasts, with ice-type being the most likely.
As their targets entered range, the three Fallen Knights could clearly hear a loud impact coming from the flank. The lead knight, who had already raised his knight’s lance ready to launch the first attack, was forced to make a difficult choice. If he dealt with the targets first, he might face an onslaught from the magical beasts coming from the side. But if he missed this perfect opportunity, with the enemies busy defending against the beasts, it would be hard to find another suitable chance. He had noticed two additional figures among the targets, and from his observations, both seemed to possess considerable strength, even on par with his two companions behind him. The slave among them, said to be a prisoner from the Melun Principality, also seemed to hide some hidden power. These were merely fleeting thoughts in the lead knight’s mind.
“Jacques, it’s wolves—countless wolves on the flank!” A frantic voice came from behind—Pitt’s, tinged with urgency and tension.
By now, the targets were less than ten meters away and had clearly spotted the three strange figures wearing tricolor masks. The two leading knights showed signs of alertness, raising their knight’s lances, clearly suspicious of these mysterious newcomers, especially under such circumstances.
A deafening howl, accompanied by a cold, foul wind, erupted as an endless swarm of wolves rushed out of the forest, engulfing both groups of people who happened to be there. Without hesitation, the masked knights swung their lances fiercely. In an instant, two wolves with raised manes were struck in the throat by the massive lances, their grayish blood spraying over ten feet high as their huge bodies collapsed in front of their horses, raising clouds of dust.
“It’s too late! We must unite and form a defensive formation—only then can we survive this. These gray wolves are migrating; there are countless of them in the area. We must get through this period!” roared the masked knight named Jacques at the front. He pulled his knight’s spear back sharply at the same time, causing a large grayish-white wolf that had pounced from behind to collide head-on with the spear tip, which now emitted a faint red glow. “Hurry! Otherwise, we’ll all die here!”
To be honest, Jacques hadn’t expected the wolves to be so numerous. He never imagined there could be so many of them in the Greenland Forest. Although wolves weren’t considered among the most powerful magical beasts, they lived in packs, were cunning, combining the ferocity of wolves with the trickery of foxes, and possessed an unyielding determination to fight to the death. He had encountered wolf packs before, but their numbers were nothing compared to this.
At that moment, the two Rhinoceros Knights were still locked in a fierce battle. Perhaps it was the innate aura that made the Rhinoceros Knights detested by magical beasts—the wolves that kept attacking from the air hissed simultaneously, unleashing their unique magical attacks. As the foul wind left their mouths, white mist formed instantly, dropping the temperature in the area by dozens of degrees, turning it into a frozen winter. Those without internal energy protection shivered violently from the cold.
The Green Knight’s gleaming knight’s spear emitted a brilliant light, with countless spear shadows forming a giant millstone—this was the perfect manifestation of a Light Knight’s full strength. Whenever the wolves collided with this light barrier, they fell to the ground. The Mare Knight was even more formidable; with each thrust of his spear, a gorgeous rainbow burst forth, its seven-colored glow resembling gemstones shining in the sun. With each movement of his spear tip, blood stained with a foul odor was drawn from the throats of the attacking wolves. Within a few feet of the two Rhinoceros Knights, light flashed rapidly. No matter how desperately the wolves attacked, they couldn’t get even half a step closer.
“Is this really the true strength of the Ram Knights?” While secretly praising the extraordinary prowess of the Ram Knights, Komer immediately jumped onto one of the three carriages in the middle, while Eilot had already drawn his massive broadsword, enhanced by Komer’s dark magic and blessings. Channeling his inner energy, he had seamlessly merged his mind with the sword; with each swing, the heavy blade unleashed fierce winds and thunderstorms. Wolves’ heads and claws flew everywhere, and bloody splatters scattered in all directions. Even though the icy magic of the wolves made the temperature drop further, Eilot, emboldened by the fighting, fought wildly without caring about the growing number of wolves attacking them.
The sturdy horses pulling the carriages tried to break free and escape when the wolves attacked, but there was no chance of survival. Amidst the chaos of the wolves, after a few shrill cries, they turned into bloody scraps. Even the three servants couldn’t escape their fate—they were torn to pieces by the wolves as they tried to climb onto the carriage roofs to flee. Puber, who had managed to climb onto the roof first, pounded his chest in grief, knowing it would cost a fortune to replace them.
“Morsen, you and I will guard the east. Pick, you guard the northwest. You two guard the south, and the rest guard the west!” shouted the lead masked knight. “Form a formation quickly! If we don’t, and the wolves break through, we’ll be doomed!”
Jacques’ roar cleared the minds of those who had been lost in the battle. Even the two Ram Knights realized the severity of the situation. Although they seemed to be in the upper hand, with over a dozen wolves already fallen under their spears and swords, more and more ice wolves were emerging from the forest. The scent of their kind’s blood only intensified their aggression. Moreover, the wolves that appeared later were larger and more powerful, clearly the strong ones among the pack.
There was no time to overthink things now. If they didn’t work together, everyone would likely become food for the wolves. The Ram Knights took control of the south, while the three masked knights guarded the east and north. Eilot, Fran, and Baoling held the west, and even Komer jumped off the carriage to join the defense of the north, covering the west as well.
The wave after wave of attacks from the pack of wolves put the nine-person defense line under intense pressure very quickly. The Eastern defense line, manned by two masked knights, took the brunt of the attack—this was the direction from which the wolves rushed out of the forest, so it naturally faced the greatest strain. The strength of the two masked knights was fully demonstrated as their black knight lances became two streams of deadly force, sweeping back and forth and causing chaos with bloodshed and violence. The two Thunder Horse knights in the south were no less formidable; their transparent silver knight lances moved skillfully back and forth, creating a chilling aura. Despite the wolves being as dense as a forest, it was difficult for them to get even half a step closer.
The Western defense line, composed of Komer, Eilot, Fran, and Baoling, was just as impregnable. Fran and Baoling were seasoned warriors, especially Fran. Although he wasn’t fully recovered, he had the stronger Baoling take on the frontal defense while he dealt with attacks from the flanks. His moves were simple yet powerful, devoid of fancy but extremely effective—each strike aimed straight at the throat, killing instantly. Eilot took on half of the defense burden, protecting Komer from the side with his giant sword, firmly blocking the wolves’ charges.
The howls grew louder. With each agonizing cry, countless wolves joined in, howling in response. Standing in the center, Komer used a staff he secretly held to point at the people around him, silently chanting spells of blessing and enhancement, strengthening the defensive abilities of Eilot, Fran, and Baoling as well as the offensive power of their weapons.
However, this type of supportive magic wasn’t Komer’s strength. He hadn’t spent much time on it, and given his limited magical power, he couldn’t sustain such continuous spells. Yet, the dying wolves seemed to generate some kind of dark energy, which in turn seemed to stimulate the mysterious magic within Komer. These two similar kinds of dark energy clashed, attracted each other, and intertwined, continuously enhancing Komer’s magical power—something he had struggled to improve even through years of practice. He felt his magical power and understanding of magic rising rapidly, even by leaps and bounds.