Chapter 348: Knight Order's Charge

Marius watched Lei En leave, then took a deep breath and shouted loudly:

"Brothers and sisters, rally! Today, Astat will not be breached, just as in every battle we have faced over the past centuries, Astat has always been the home of the Makulag people, and we will fight for victory!"

His voice rose from the highest point of the city, reaching every Makulag person's ear, and was highly stirring.

"For victory!" the people roared in unison.

"For Astat!"

"For the glory of Jiliman!"

Marius shouted the three slogans in succession, instantly stirring the fighting will of the entire tribe's members; people's blood boiled, and the gloom brought by the approaching army vanished.

Outside the city wall, ogre mages had already moved within spell range, massive fireballs coalescing in their hands; under the command of a high-ranking ogre mage leading them, they were hurled simultaneously at Astat's main gate.

Wars on the Seian Plateau are generally ambushes or frontal clashes.

Barbarian or troll tribes only have crude wooden palisades, no proper cities, so they rarely employ siege tactics or tools.

Having the ogre mages bombard the gate with fireball magic is already the best method.

Seven massive fireballs from the units flew toward the gate.

Boom—boom—boom…

A wave of fierce explosions rang out, yet the gate did not budge.

Astat's gate is a single massive rock; when the dwarves first built it they etched protective rune arrays, but those have long since failed. The Makulag people closed the gate and piled more boulders behind it, sealing it tightly; the fireball magic cannot breach it for now.

"Counterattack! Shoot them dead!" Marius ordered loudly.

Makulag defenders on the wall launched their spears one after another; almost every Makulag is adept at spear‑throwing, a signature defense technique. From their height they fired in multiple batches, and any enemy entering range would be turned into a sieve.

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh…

The Makulag shouted, and hundreds of spears shot from the wall, forming a shadowy barrage.

The ogre mages kept a precise distance, staying beyond three hundred steps.

Most spears fell to the ground before reaching three hundred steps; only a few reached the front of the ogre mages, but they lost force and were swept aside by the Dulak berserker protecting the mage.

Marius saw this and couldn't help but frown.

Astat had been attacked by ogre mages a few times before; their fireball magic could not reach such a distance.

This time, the ogre mages evidently used some method to extend the fireball's range.

Mid-stage or high-ranking Makulag warriors' spears could counterattack, but their numbers were too few to pose an effective threat or suppression.

Exploiting this advantage, the ogre mages could cast their spells at ease.

The second wave of fireballs came again.

Boom!

The sturdy gate trembled continuously, the scorching fireballs reddened the rock; fortunately, there were still no signs of breach yet.

But if this continues, the gate will eventually be blown apart.

If there is no backup or support, Marius would immediately open the gate and rush out to fight the enemy to the death. Though a poor choice, it is better than passively taking hits; with Makulag strength, victory might still be possible.

Boom!

The third wave of fireball explosions cracked the boulder-built gate and walls in several places.

Some Makulag grew restless, yet the chieftain remained unmoved, simply letting the warriors with sufficient spear range counterattack, creating distractions for the ogre mages.

"Are we to fight a defensive war of attrition with the enemy?"

Astat's layout consists of five tiers, low to high, each with its own defensive wall; once, at the most perilous moment, the enemy breached up to the third tier, but leveraging terrain advantage, they ultimately secured a fierce victory.

Marius's eyes flickered.

If Lei En had not appeared in time, this would still be a viable strategy.

Outside the city, the entire army was slowly advancing, waiting only for the gate to break so they could surge in: Dulak berserkers, Blood Spear hunters, Gray Lizard cavalry, and dozens of ogres swinging massive wooden clubs, all eyes filled with blood‑thirsty desire.

Boom!

Boom…

After several rounds of fireball bombardment, the tall, sturdy gate began to sway, cracks lengthening; some stones had already shattered and fallen, and the ogre mages were in a frenzy, seeming that a few more rounds would completely demolish the gate.

"Faster!" the leading ogre mage shouted.

Behind them, a massive army formed from several tribal clans was raring to go, waiting for the moment the city fell, then charging in for a bloodletting.

Fire elements gathered, another fireball was forming.

Suddenly, the ground trembled lightly.

On the vast, blank snowy plain to the north, a huge group of knights appeared from nowhere; the horses they rode were entirely azure, reflecting a metallic sheen under the winter sun, dazzlingly bright.

Many recognized them as a species unique to the Seian Plateau.

"Bronze wild horses!"

Both sides, whether Makulag, Klarad, Blood Spear trolls, even the casting ogre mages, were stunned.

Bronze wild horses cannot be tamed nor provoked, roaming the plateau unchecked, yet now they saw human knights riding on their backs!

"A human knight order! How is this possible?"

Countless barbarians wore expressions of disbelief.

Even Marius, who had known of them long ago, found it astonishing when he saw it with his own eyes.

Makulag people lack means to tame mounts, making travel across the vast plateau cumbersome, costing them many setbacks. As chieftain, he has long sought to solve this, even plotting to capture bronze wild horses, yet even approaching them proved difficult, let alone taming them.

"Continue the spell, blast the gate open!"

A command rang through the army, its tone bearing undeniable authority: "Akton, take the Gray Lizard cavalry to meet the enemy and eliminate those humans."

Over six hundred Gray Lizard cavalry instantly turned and faced the incoming knight order.

They gradually accelerated.

The distance between the sides closed, and the Gray Lizard cavalry could now see the enemy clearly.

These human knights riding bronze wild horses number only about three hundred in total, half the number of the gray lizard cavalry; they wear silver‑gray armor, swords at their waists, but unlike ordinary cavalry they do not wield long spears, each holding a black, oddly shaped weapon less than two feet long.

Most of the gray lizard cavalry have never left the plateau and have never seen soul spears, so they find it very strange.

The leader, Akton, is a high‑rank barbarian.

He controls his own cold‑toed gray lizard, charges to the front, and at a glance spots a very conspicuous human in the opposing knight order.

That person is very young, his armor differs from the others, and a blood‑red great cloak hangs from his back; riding a bronze wild horse, the cloak flutters behind him, making it clear he is a major figure, surely the leader of this knight order.

Akton immediately covets the cloak, already treating it as his own trophy.

The ground rumbles, ice and snow spray.

"Accelerate! Charge!"

Akton shouts loudly; the gray lizard cavalry behind him spread left and right in perfect coordination, widening the line, the winged cavalry beat their gray lizards hard, crazily accelerating, forming a pocket formation hundreds of meters wide, achieving a three‑sided encirclement.

But the human knight order opposite shows no change, merely continuing the charge.

Five hundred paces;

Four hundred paces;

Three hundred paces…

The distance closes, and Akton notices some humans' faces reveal uncontrollable tension, even their mounts cannot be restrained, letting the bronze wild horses run wildly.

"So they're just a bunch of fresh recruits…"

Akton licks his lips excitedly; he can almost smell the humans' scent, a huge long spear lies horizontally, its tip locked onto the young human leader opposite, his eyes full of cruelty, as if he sees the fate of being pierced by his own spear.

Two hundred paces;

One hundred fifty paces;

In an instant they enter within a hundred paces; for high‑speed charging cavalry this is already under the eyes, only a few breaths away from a head‑on collision, a frontal clash.

"Charge!"

Just as both sides are about to collide in melee, a clear command reaches the ears.

Three hundred bronze wild horses' hooves entwine a cyan glow, half‑transparent massive wings sprout from their flanks, their heavy bodies become supremely agile, soaring upward at high speed.

At the same time, all the bronze wild horses' breaths connect into one, forming in front of them a tangible whirlwind current, like a solid high wall, raging and crushing everything ahead.

This change catches the gray lizard cavalry off guard.

Boom…

Both sides finally begin the clash, but the gray lizard cavalry are attacked unilaterally.

The bronze wild horses do not fly too high, deliberately staying at a height that can escape the enemy's long spear range yet let the raging wind strike the foe.

Three hundred versus six hundred, the outcome is decided in a heartbeat.

The gray lizard cavalry at the front seem to slam into a wall; their long spears cannot reach the enemy, nor have time to adjust formation.

The barbarian cavalry that once seemed tall and strong become as fragile as scarecrows under the wind assault, and the cold‑toed gray lizards beneath them are knocked and roll, emitting painful screams.

The knight order slices through like a razor, sweeping across.

The formation formed by the gray lizard cavalry is shattered into pieces within a few breaths of the impact.

"Open fire!"

Another command sounds in mid‑air.

Akton, who barely survived the first wave, crawls up from the ground bloodied, looks up to see the human knights above, charging while raising their black weapons, aiming at him and the surrounding tribe members, spitting out tongues of flame.

Da da da da da…

Akton cannot see what it is, let alone dodge; the next second his head is blown apart like a watermelon, becoming a headless corpse.

(End of chapter)