Chapter 186: Madness

"Fire arrows!" Robin ordered, and the Viscount's Domain wall immediately unleashed a torrent of arrows, which collided with the enemy's shafts in the air, producing a succession of crisp clatters.

The sound of slicing through the air interwove with the crack of arrow feathers, and a stray arrow brushed Robin's ear, lifting a few strands of hair.

The Knight scout unit, well‑trained, after a brief arrow‑rain skirmish, swiftly launched a charge.

Hooves shattered the ground, raising clouds of dust; they surged like ferocious beasts toward the wooden palisade.

"Activate the magical trap!" Fengling shouted, her wand blazing brightly.

In an instant, the runes on the ground erupted in dazzling light, and the knights at the front were suddenly engulfed in a hallucinatory mist.

The warhorse neighed and reared, its iron hooves crushing a companion's shield; a knight was flipped onto the ground and instantly trampled into mush by the surging hooves.

Robin seized the moment, ordering the reserve to strike; the militia wielding long spears shouted as they broke out from the flank, spears like a forest, driving hard into the gaps of the chaotic knights' armor.

Made, seeing the tide turn, brandished his longsword, attempting to rally the troops.

"Don't panic! They're just a rabble!" he roared, "Charge! Break through this line!" He suddenly clamped his horse's belly, the longsword whipping up a gust of blood to seize a militia leader.

At the hair's breadth, Robin's Dragon‑slaying Spear shot out like a venomous snake; its tip struck precisely at the spine of Made's sword, the massive impact shattering Made's palm.

Made bellowed, discarded his sword and drew a war axe from his waist; the axe blade, wrapped in thunderous force, slashed toward Robin's face.

Robin sidestepped, sweeping the spear shaft horizontally, striking the rear leg of Made's mount.

The warhorse let out a mournful whinny and crashed to the ground, hurling Made heavily onto the earth.

The other knights, seeing this, several riders simultaneously thrust their spears at Robin.

Robin bellowed, the Dragon Devouring Breathing Method reaching its peak; the Dragon‑slaying Spear danced a golden spear‑shadow, its tip flicking like a dragon's tongue, instantly flinging three knights aside.

Scalding blood splattered on his face, the metallic scent causing his pupils to contract, making him even more ferocious.

At that moment, Fengling swung her wand, and an ice wall rose from the ground, bisecting the remaining knights at the waist, giving Robin a chance to slay the enemy leader.

"This can't be!" Made, foam of blood covering his mouth, pushed himself up from the mud; sparks from the axe's strike on the ground made his face look like a fierce specter.

This Legendary strongman, who once challenged seven noble knights in the Imperial City arena, now wore crooked Chainmail, arrows in his cloak like a hedgehog, "A country bumpkin dares to face me—"

The roar abruptly halted.

Robin's Dragon‑slaying Spear had torn the air, its gilded patterns flowing along the shaft like a living thing.

Made reflexively raised his axe to block, but the spear tip suddenly changed direction, forming a bizarre arc that slipped past the axe blade and precisely pierced beneath his throat cartilage.

Warm blood gushed out like a fountain, splashing onto Robin's faceplate; from Made's throat came a hoarse sound, like a dog whose neck had been strangled.

Robin twisted his wrist, the silver spear pulling out half a piece of throat bone.

Made's war axe clanged to the ground; his massive body shuddered twice, collapsing into the pool of blood he had splashed, his bulging eyes still holding an expression of disbelief.

The remaining knights' battle cries instantly turned into terrified screams.

Someone who turned his horse's head became tangled by the reins around his neck, being strangled until his face turned blue‑purple;

Someone, panicking, crashed into a comrade, both rider and horse rolling into the mist of the magical trap.

Robin drove the Dragon‑slaying Spear deep into the ground, shaking loose stones that flew up: "Not one left!"

Three hundred domain knights shot out of the city gates like arrows from a bow, hooves shattering the twilight.

Robin led the charge, his spear tip prying up a fleeing knight's shield, the clash of metal exploding across the plain.

A knight attempted to turn back and fire a cold arrow, but saw Robin suddenly remove his helm; the dragon‑scale pattern on his neck glowed menacingly in the moonlight, matching his blood‑stained visage, like a war god risen from hell.

The fleeing cavalry completely collapsed.

When Robin's long spear pierced the back of the last knight, a mournful wolf howl rose from afar, the night wind carrying the scent of blood toward the shattered Viscount's Domain wall.

Fengling stood on the city wall, the runes on her wand flickering, and she whispered, "Where did this unit come from?"

Robin wiped the blood from his spear tip, "A quick interrogation will tell us."

On the makeshift torture rack at the center of the training ground, the captive knight's chains clanged harshly as he struggled.

Robin leaned the Dragon‑slaying Spear against a wooden post, its gilded patterns glowing eerily in the torchlight.

The captive knight's helmet fell off, revealing a blood‑smeared face, his eyes still betraying resentment.

"Speak, which legion do you belong to?" Robin crouched, his finger sliding over the blood‑stained armor seams, his tone chillingly calm.

The knight spat a mouthful of blood, "Pah! Stop dreaming, the royal knights would never—"

"Bang!" Fengling's wand slammed onto the torture rack, the runes flashing a pale blue, instantly coiling around the knight's neck.

"I can make you feel every bone shatter while you're awake," she said coldly, "and I can grow barbs on your tongue, making each word feel like swallowing broken glass."

The knight's pupils contracted sharply, a whimper escaping his throat.

Robin raised his hand to signal Fengling to stop, picked up a nearby dagger, the blade lightly tracing the knight's cheek: "You probably still don't know, I just returned from the Bone‑burial Land." He leaned close to the knight's ear, lowering his voice, "There, even dragons can be stripped of skin and bone, let alone—"

The dagger tip suddenly pressed against the knight's eye, "You mortal."

The knight trembled all over, beads of sweat the size of beans rolling down his forehead. "I—I say! We are the Black Crow Scout Cavalry directly under the Duke of Lamia in the Imperial Capital; this time—this time we are on a secret royal order to probe the reality of the Western Frontier, not targeting anyone. It's night now, we intended to camp here, assessing the shoddy defenses of your domain..."

"What's the content of the secret order?" Robin's dagger slid toward the knight's throat.

"Cleanse all nobles of the Western Frontier, accept no surrender; Western nobles, regardless of gender or age, shall be beheaded."

The runes on Fengling's wand flared brightly: "Who issued the order?"

"His Majesty! He said that once the Western nobles are eradicated, the kingdom's nobles will have new fiefs, and the subsequent army will—" The knight's words cut off as his eyes widened, black blood spewing from his mouth, his body convulsing violently a few times before he breathed his last.

Robin furrowed his brow, crouched to examine the purple residue at the knight's mouth corner: "Poison fang. Seems someone didn't want him to say more." He rose, gazing toward the Imperial City, his eyes growing colder, "The emperor truly has gone mad."

Fengling hesitated, looking at the corpse.

"I don't know whether Leiba Dun is mad, but I'm sure the nobles of the Central Province have all gone insane; you have no idea of the plight of the Central Province's aristocracy."

(End of Chapter)