Chapter 18: The Storm
Multiple assault teams composed of Sky Roc Knights and Ram Horse Knights immediately plunged like countless sharp blades into Homer’s army, launching a ferocious attack. Homer’s otherwise unbreakable army appeared utterly fragile in the face of these coordinated assault teams.
The knights’ lances and combat auras formed a deadly sharp cone, mercilessly slashing and biting at the soldiers of the Rock Legion and Wave Legion. With each surge of combat aura and flash of lance light, countless barbarian or half-orc soldiers would scream as they were wounded or killed. Even though barbarians were tough and half-orcs were resilient, they could only gradually crumble under the power of these lance blades.
The Homer Knight Order and the Black Flame Knight Order were completely held back by the Ram Horse Knights, unable to move freely. Meanwhile, the Allied Mage Corps was also trapped by various light magic arrays conjured by the light mages led by Onia and Lorenzo. Faced with the relentless attacks from the Sky Roc Knights and Ram Horse Knights, Komer was extremely anxious. He never expected that even the Ram Horse Knights would be mobilized in this war, meaning the Light Church had almost completely freed itself from its conflict with the Salvation Society to turn its attention against him. But now was not the time to question the role played by the Salvation Society.
Shatima finally could hold back no longer and rushed into battle. She, along with Grace, Briarnos, Javier, and Bayezid, joined the fight without hesitation. Some cunning and ruthless Light Knights had already penetrated deep into Homer’s army, selectively attacking officers from the Wave Legion and Rock Legion to further disrupt their ranks. Shatima, who had hoped to hold out until the critical moment, could no longer endure it.
The massive power of the dragon lance generated a torrential surge of energy, while the icy wind made the three Ram Horse Knights shiver uncontrollably. Even though the three Light Knights protected themselves with light magic, the bone-chilling cold still pierced their hearts and lungs, threatening to freeze them solid.
With a powerful strike from the dragon lance, the leading Ram Horse Knight was immediately forced to spit blood. The other two Ram Horse Knights, joining forces, managed to withstand Shatima’s reverse curling strike. The relentless series of attacks threw the triangular assault formation of the three Ram Horse Knights into chaos, preventing them from organizing any effective attacks.
Mihajic finally began to show his strength as the two metal golems charged forward. The latter golem was clearly not yet fully completed; although its attack capabilities were unaffected, its rough appearance was unacceptable to Mihajic’s standards of perfection. Yet in a situation as critical as this, everything else could be set aside. The two Ram knights struggled under the combined attack of the two metal golems, and another Ram knight had to join in urgently to stabilize the situation.
Xavier, Grace, and Bayezid joined forces to withstand the assault from the two Ram knights. It was tough, but with Bayezid’s axe wielding immense power bearing most of the pressure, Xavier and Grace used their skills to launch frequent attacks to keep the Ram knights occupied, barely managing to hold their ground.
The giant Briarnos, wielding his towering staff, caused the air within a thirty-foot radius to twist and change. But the Sky Falcon knights couldn’t be matched by brute force alone. Briarnos realized his weakness and deliberately moved closer to Fenix. As the elven queen from the forest world, Fenix possessed innate magical control, making it easy for her to wield minor spells. Though she hadn’t officially joined the order, she didn’t hesitate to step in at this critical moment, continuously casting small spells to attack the Sky Falcon knight and help Briarnos overcome the crisis.
The pressure brought by the Light Knights charging full force became immediately apparent. Though they knew it wasn’t a good idea to bring Uma into the fight now, at such a life-or-death moment when their own side could collapse at any second, the risks were worth taking.
A squad of twelve fully armored skeletons appeared on the battlefield under the leadership of a black knight wielding an Ice Wind Magic Sword, instantly causing panic. The eerie aura, the pale skeletal frames, along with the armor reeking of green rust and the rusty swords, shields, and weapons, made both the allied forces and the Homer faction instinctively turn their gaze toward the silent, oddly shaped necromancer standing aside.
Uma, cursing inwardly, endured all the stares directed at her. Wrapped tightly in white cloth, she had no choice but to appear in this manner, which filled her with utter humiliation. Yet she also understood that if Elena’s appearance fell into the hands of the members of the Light Church, it could bring endless trouble to her, who still hadn’t fully taken control of the body. So she followed Komer’s advice and made her entrance in this way.
The Ice Wind Magic Sword in the Black Warrior’s hand stirred up a gust of dark wind as it rushed at one of the radiant Sky Falcon Knights first. The bright holy flames emanating from the knight’s spear caused the Black Warrior’s entire body to emit eerie creaking sounds, and the black mist surrounding it thinned out—this was the sound of dark magic being scorched by the holy flames. Yet, with each step the Black Warrior took, the brilliant holy energy of the Sky Falcon Knight dimmed slightly.
The Ice Wind Magic Sword, imbued with endless dark devouring power, created countless spatial vortices in the Black Warrior’s hand, seemingly trying to suck everything around into these whirlpools. The Sky Falcon Knight was clearly aware of the power of the sword in the Black Warrior’s hand, and the bright holy flames on his gleaming spear shone even more intensely. With every clash, both weapons dimmed for a moment before shining again under the force of their respective owners. The thick mist and the radiant light displayed their prowess through continuous collisions. The deep roars from the Black Warrior’s throat and the loud shouts from the Sky Falcon Knight, along with the bizarre battle scenes, together formed a magnificent and colorful tableau.
Light and darkness coexist and depend on each other, yet they have always been irreconcilable foes.
Compared to the leader of the Black Warriors, the combat strength of the skeleton warriors was significantly weaker, although their abilities had improved greatly through Umma’s rigorous training.
A defensive circle formed by three skeleton warriors could usually only withstand the attacks of one Sky Falcon Knight. Their coordination was clearly not on par with that of the Sky Falcon Knights who had fought together for a long time. Two skeleton warriors didn’t even have time to strike before they were shattered by the combined attacks of two Sky Falcon Knights and turned into debris.
With the appearance of the Black Warrior, two Dark Flame Demons also stepped out of the dark passage created by Umma’s spells. As soon as they entered this alternate space, the Dark Flame Demons seemed to be reborn—their bones cracked loudly, their previously compressed bodies suddenly expanded to half their original size, and the Bone Spirit Flame Swords in their hands burst with eerie dark flames.
The appearance of the Dark Flame Demons made Kent and Trajan’s expressions darken. These demons were far more powerful than the Black Warriors, and their Bone Spirit Flame Swords, burning with fierce dark flames, were extremely lethal. Even if one wasn’t directly hit by those dark flames, it was very likely to cause internal injuries.
The four Ram Knights barely managed to hold off the two Darkflame Demons, and these demons, as creatures from the demonic realm, were no less intelligent than ordinary people. Their coordinated efforts pushed the four Ram Knights into a difficult situation, with their knightly lances unable to withstand the swirling Bone Spirit Flame Swords.
The hope of breaking through by leveraging the strength of the knights was delayed by Homer’s endless tactics. Although the Ram Knights and Sky Roc Knights still had several assault units achieving victories, their momentum was nowhere near what it had been at the beginning.
Newman, along with several mages, activated the Starry Sky Array, creating gusts of wind and thunder in the air. The intervention of Oonia’s Supreme Light Sword disrupted the array’s activation. With the help of Lorenzo and several mages, the sharp light sword stirred through the Starry Sky Array, cutting apart the gradually gathering magical energy from south to north and west to east, preventing it from amassing enough force for a full-scale explosion.
After the balance of war tilted in favor of the allied forces, Kommer gradually turned it back in his favor. Neither Kommer nor the allied forces had anticipated such a volatile situation. The knightly forces, which had been key to breaking through, were continuously dispersed, making it unlikely to achieve goals quickly. For Kommer, the strength displayed by the allied forces also posed significant pressure. Even now, the allied forces still held many advantages, especially since Trajan and Kent still had reserves. If they suddenly unleashed their magic, the balance could be shattered. Kommer didn’t want this uncontrollable situation to continue.
Almost at the same time, Trajan and the silent, powerful warrior beside him gazed into the distance. Kommer’s gaze also pierced through all obstacles to meet theirs, breaking the fragile and temporary balance and turning the situation in his favor. This was something Kommer and Trajan thought of almost simultaneously. The silent mage warrior also sensed this, and at that moment, they almost simultaneously became aware of each other’s presence.
Let the storm intensify!