Chapter 453: The Final Variable!

“Damn it! Stop them! Don’t let them break in!” The orc leader, snapping back to reality, roared orders to his surrounding subordinates.

But his subordinates were just as terrified as he was, and none had yet reacted.

The orc leader trembled with rage and charged at his own men!

Slap! Slap! Slap!

“You idiots! Wake up! Go stop those humans!”

He slapped one after another, raining blows on the stunned subordinates.

The blows finally snapped them out of their daze.

At last, the orcs began to react—slowly.

But in that brief delay, the Storm Legion had already reached the collapsed wall.

Without hesitation, they surged through the breach into the city.

The orcs below could only scramble down to intercept.

Of course, realizing what was happening was one thing—fighting effectively was another.

Especially upon hearing the word “divine punishment,” many orcs and servant troops had already lost their courage.

With morale soaring on one side and crumbling on the other, the orcs could not hold back the Storm Legion—they were merely delaying their collapse.

“Bloodbat Knights! Help us!” The orc leader knew he would lose if things continued this way.

So he pinned his hopes on the twenty intact Bloodbat Knights above.

“Roar! We won’t let these two-legged sheep live—but first, we must kill those griffon riders! Hold on a little longer!”

The Bloodbat Knight squad leader had no reason to refuse.

Their mission was to assist in defending Snowplain City and ensure these humans could not pass.

He never expected the Snowplain City garrison to be this useless.

In barely an hour, the wall had already collapsed!

“Roar! Bloodbat Knights, follow me! First, eliminate those griffon riders and Swiftwing Eagles!”

“Roar! Kill!”

The Bloodbat Knight squad leader wasted no time—he gave the order, and his entire squad shot straight out toward the city’s exterior.

“Griffon Riders, prepare for battle!”

“Swiftwing Eagle squad, prepare for battle!”

Mick and Evlan had already readied themselves; sensing the enemy’s intent, they immediately shouted warnings to their comrades.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

In the next instant, the aerial riders of both sides met and clashed violently.

But the gap between them was too great—immediately, the griffon riders and Swiftwing Eagles were overwhelmed.

Especially the Swiftwing Eagles, who dared not directly collide with the Bloodbat Knights.

They were simply too weak—if they struck head-on, they’d be crushed in moments.

So the Swiftwing Eagles either stayed behind the griffon riders to attack from afar, or used their agility to dodge and weave around the Bloodbat Knights.

Of course, the Bloodbat Knights weren’t fools.

Seeing the griffon riders and Swiftwing Eagles’ delaying tactic, they changed strategy—some stayed behind to outnumber and pin down the Swiftwing Eagles.

The rest concentrated their force to surround and overwhelm the griffon riders.

Once the five griffon riders were eliminated, the Swiftwing Eagles would be powerless.

Soon, three Bloodbat Knights locked onto Mick and his griffon.

They had overheard Mick directing his comrades and assumed he was the griffon rider squad leader—they planned to strike at the head to break the whole unit.

Their ambush worked quickly.

Though Mick fought desperately, two fists couldn’t match four hands—soon his griffon was wounded, its flight speed slowing further.

“Roar! Ha! Kill him! Don’t give him any chance!”

Several Bloodbat Knights grew wildly excited, eager to finish Mick off.

“You damned orc scum! You think you can kill me, Mick? You’re not even close!” With a roar, Mick yanked his griffon into a sudden escape.

“Chase him! Don’t let this damned human escape!”

Naturally, the Bloodbat Knights gave chase without pause.

After all, griffon riders had no speed advantage over them—especially when wounded.

Soon, Mick sensed the three Bloodbat Knights relentlessly pursuing him from behind.

Seeing this, he gritted his teeth and forced his griffon into a vertical dive toward the ground.

The three Bloodbat Knights, seeing this, sneered. “After him!”

Instantly, they too began a steep vertical descent.

But as they did, Mick’s lips curled into a sly, triumphant smile.

Two hundred meters… one hundred fifty… one hundred… thirty…

Mick’s descent was rapid, but the three Bloodbat Knights were equally confident.

If this griffon rider dared such a dive, their own mounts wouldn’t be inferior.

So unless the human was suicidal, whatever move he made, they could match it.

Indeed, in the next instant, just twenty to thirty meters above ground, the human griffon rider suddenly halted his fall, veering sharply forward instead.

The Bloodbat Knights sneered, mocking the griffon rider’s childish trick—thinking he could force them to abandon pursuit with this dangerous maneuver.

They calmly adjusted their angle, preparing to continue the chase.

But just as they completed their turn, a sudden flash of fire erupted from the sparse forest below.

They froze—recognizing the black iron tubes from earlier battles against Snowplain City.

They’d seen these tubes many times before—each one had killed their ground troops.

But now, for the first time, the three Bloodbat Knights felt an ominous dread.

Because this time, the tubes were aimed directly at them.

What did that mean?

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Roar! Roar! Roar!

In the next instant, they knew exactly what it meant.

As the sound of flesh tearing filled the air, their mounts let out agonized shrieks—and then both rider and beast spun uncontrollably downward.

“Roar! Damned two-legged sheep!”

That was the last thought of the three Bloodbat Knights.

The next moment, as the ground rushed toward them, their vision went black—and consciousness vanished.

In Mick’s view, the three Bloodbat Knights and their mounts spiraled down and slammed into the earth at terrifying speed.

After rolling and skidding over ten meters, they finally came to a stop—motionless, lying still on the ground.

“Ha! You fools really think we’re stupid? Would we fight you to the death without a trick up our sleeves?”

Seeing this, Mick was ecstatic.

Gervas had long anticipated the Bloodbat Knights would be the decisive variable in today’s battle.

So he’d already devised a plan to counter them.

If they could eliminate just a few more Bloodbat Knights this way, the enemy’s aerial force would no longer sway the outcome.