Chapter 402: The Wild Wolf Knights Are Defeated!

You don't have to believe me, but if I truly wanted to hide something, would I have let him deploy the 'Windbreaker'?

Moreover, I do have a granddaughter in the Southern Frontier, but she did not join this conscription! So I swear, none of the Southern Frontier's minor nobles are from the Hernade family!

The Stoneshatter Duke and the Legion Commander fell silent, for the Hernade Duke's words held merit.

If he truly wished to conceal it, the 'Windbreaker' should never have appeared.

Seeing they no longer doubted him, the Hernade Duke continued, "Now, I find myself increasingly interested in those minor nobles!"

"And I'm beginning to agree with Lord Austin's heir's view—perhaps these minor nobles truly won't fail!"

And indeed, things unfolded exactly this way.

The Wild Wolf Knights, having suffered another heavy blow, now lost thirteen knights outright.

This finally shattered the confidence of the Wild Wolf Knights.

After all, they hadn't even touched their enemy's sleeves, yet so many of their own had been cut down—something unheard of in the past.

Yet the Wild Wolf Knight Captain refused to yield, "No retreat! Charge forward! Avenge our fallen Wild Wolf warriors!"

Though the Wild Wolf Knights' fighting spirit was weak, none dared disobey orders, and immediately surged forward again.

"Spearmen, thrust forward!"

The Stormtroopers reacted instantly.

They had already readjusted their stance, standing firm to meet the charge.

At the command, spears repeatedly stabbed toward the advancing Wild Wolf Knights.

Though the thrusts couldn't inflict heavy damage on the beast-wolves, they instilled caution in the beasts who had witnessed their comrades' deaths, slowing their advance.

Of course, the Wild Wolf Knight Captain was unwilling to let the battle stall.

He knew the enemy's strange weapon would strike again soon.

So, as he used his longsword to deflect seven or eight spears, he relied on his mount.

The Wild Wolf Knight Captain and his beast leapt forward, breaking straight through to the front line of spearmen.

"Die, two-legs!"

Without hesitation, the Wild Wolf Knight raised his blood-smeared longsword and slashed at the nearest spearman.

In the whistle of the descending blade, the spearman's face twisted in mortal terror.

At this close range, he had no chance to dodge, let alone block with his weapon.

CLANG!

Just as the blade came within half a meter of the spearman's head, a longsword blocked it before his face.

The spearman blinked, turned his head—and saw Knight Captain Lei Meng.

Lei Meng had been watching the Wild Wolf Knight Captain all along.

For he was the strongest among all the Wild Wolf Knights.

Thus, the moment the captain charged, Lei Meng reacted.

He had Mi Gen lift him, then used the momentum to leap and land beside the spearman.

The Wild Wolf Knight Captain hadn't expected his killing blow to be blocked—his fury erupted.

He opened his mouth to shout, but Lei Meng spoke a single word: "Die!"

As he spoke, Lei Meng's battle aura blazed violently; his sword slashed with full force, knocking the captain's blade away.

Of course, this strike alone did no harm to the Wild Wolf Knight Captain himself.

This made the captain wonder if Lei Meng's display of full power was entirely unnecessary!

But before that thought faded, a series of hums suddenly echoed in his ears.

The second volley of crossbows, now reloaded, had fired.

The Wild Wolf Knight Captain's pupils shrank sharply.

For one of the massive bolts was aimed directly at him.

Instinctively, he raised his longsword to block.

His subordinates might not have been able to stop such a bolt—but he could.

Yet in the next instant, his face turned pale: his sword was pinned by an unseen force, unable to retract.

"Did you think my 'die' was just an empty word?" came the cold, mocking voice of the two-legs knight.

Only then did the Wild Wolf Knight realize—the massive bolt was the real killing blow.

His back bristled with cold sweat; an unprecedented fear gripped his heart.

For the moment he raised his blade, he'd wasted his only chance to react—now, even to dodge was too late.

As the thick bolt drew nearer, and he accepted his death, an anomaly occurred—his mount leapt upward.

SPLAT!

The massive body of the beast-wolf intercepted the bolt.

But the bolt's immense force pierced through the beast-wolf's body, drenching the Wild Wolf Knight Captain in a torrent of blood.

He froze for a moment, then his face twisted with endless grief: "No!"

As Wild Wolf Knights, they did not bind their mounts through master-slave contracts like humans.

Instead, they raised the beast-wolf pups from infancy, living side by side with them, forging deep bonds.

Thus, even though he had narrowly escaped death, the captain felt no relief.

Lei Meng hadn't anticipated this either, but he reacted swiftly, charging forward with his sword, ready to slay the Wild Wolf Knight Captain.

But the captain reacted faster—sensing the killing intent, he swallowed his grief and instantly retreated toward his comrades.

In the blink of an eye, the Wild Wolf Knight Captain vanished among his fellows.

Though he had escaped death, his mount's demise deepened the fear already stirring in the Wild Wolf Knights.

Lei Meng seized the moment and roared: "Storm Legion, advance!"

The spearmen reacted first: "Spearmen, advance!"

Then the swordsmen: "Swordsmen, engage!"

Immediately, all swordsmen, with Mil and the serfs, spread out to flank the enemy, coordinating with the spearmen to press the attack.

At first, the Wild Wolf Knights thought the human swordsmen on the flanks were easy prey—how dare they break away from the spearmen's protection? It was suicide.

But when those human swordsmen surged forward, their faces turned ashen.

For many of these human soldiers possessed strength equal to their own.

Though they rode beast-wolves, they were outnumbered ten to one—and could not hold back.

Amid furious roars, four or five more Wild Wolf Knights fell within moments, overwhelmed by careless overconfidence.

"Roar! Wild Wolf Knights, retreat!"

The Wild Wolf Knight Captain had still hesitated to withdraw; seeing the enemy deploy swordsmen, he thought he might still turn the tide by slaughtering them.

But he hadn't expected these swordsmen to be anything but soft targets—another few of his men were already dead.

His heart bled—he finally gave the retreat order.

Other Beastmen could die, but Wild Wolf Knights were the tribe's elite warriors—losing even one was a devastating blow.