landbeastnovel #424 - It doesn't matter anymore
#424 - It doesn't matter anymore
Chapter 423: It Already... Doesn't Matter Anymore
Charge, only charge.
That was the only thought in Armand's mind.
Lacking the help of infantry, they had already lost this battle.
But the thinness of the Galar shield wall meant that it couldn't stop the knights from escaping.
Continuing to charge was the only way to escape. He lowered himself on his horse, the three-rose emblem banner fluttering on the flagpole.
Behind the first line of battle formation formed by the Black Hat First Legion was the second line, composed of the Black Hat Fifth and Sixth Legions.
“Son of a witch!” The adjutant beside him cursed during the charge. “I knew something was wrong with how slow this warhorse was! Look at its legs, my lord.”
Armand lowered his head and saw layers of white, viscous spider silk clinging to the horse's legs and hooves. The more the horses ran, the tighter the silk became, naturally slowing them down.
He suddenly realized that the viscous, unknown substance the soldiers threw when they charged the Galar shield wall was spider silk bombs.
However, Armand and his men didn't have time to dismount and remove the silk.
They entered the dreaded eighty-meter range, within the firing range of the holy rifles.
But Armand no longer had any knights to shield them from the bullets. This time, it was their turn to face the terrifying lead.
“Praise the Holy Wind!”
As Jourdan swung his feathered lance, the wind generated by the winding key stirred the previously calm air once more.
From the front and sides, wave after wave, three consecutive waves of lead mixed with iron sand struck the knights from all directions.
Knights beside him who were charging perfectly well suddenly fell. Even when lying flat on their horses, they still had to be careful to control their mounts to jump in time, otherwise they would crash into their teammates.
By the time Armand charged into the second line of the Salvation Army's shield wall again, only a little over three hundred knights remained.
Still charging knights, still high-flying battle monks.
But unlike before, this time, many more knights fell from their horses. With the waving of spears and halberds, the warhorses suffered dense wounds, and knights were frequently dragged down.
The holy riflemen were still reloading, but the urgency of the situation could be heard from the sound of the gears turning.
Perhaps due to the influence of various previous factors, Armand's charge this time was exceptionally difficult, and even his calf was pierced by a lead bullet.
Thick blood flowed down his calf and onto the ground, but under the influence of the potion, he didn't feel much pain.
Struggling to break through the Salvation Army's line in the second line, the knights who followed Armand to the third line of the battlefield were noticeably sparser.
Panting heavily, Armand shook his head to suppress the dizziness caused by the potion. “How many are left?”
“A little over two hundred, my lord. Only sixty-seven Edict Knights remain!”
“Damn it, damn it!” Armand had prepared himself mentally, but he still didn't expect the casualties to be so high.
They had only lost eighty or ninety when they broke through the first shield wall.
It must have been the layers of encirclement, the spider silk, and the devil's wind that prevented them from picking up speed, leading to such severe consequences.
Previously, on the kingdom battlefield, when he led 600 cavalry to charge a solid fifty-column grand formation, he only lost a little over two hundred men and a dozen Edict Knights.
This shield wall was only six columns thin, and they had penetrated twelve columns, not even half the size of the grand formation, yet they had suffered so many losses.
Although Mizam's execution this time wasn't great, his assessment of the Salvation Army was exceptionally accurate.
“Let's continue charging out.” The hope of escape was right before their eyes. Mizam's previously dejected aura improved a lot. He gritted his teeth and glanced at the sun-gear flag. “I'm going to report to the Pope and have him launch a Crusader Army!”
With the casualties of this Edict Knight company, coupled with Prince Condé's prestige, as well as his firsthand knowledge of the Salvation Army's situation and eloquent writing, the Crusader Army was a certainty.
At the same time, Armand was also looking at the sun-gear flag. He deeply etched this pattern into his mind, raised the flag in his hand, and pointed forward: “Everyone follow me… Holy Father's ass! What is that?”
All the knights turned their gazes to the last line of defense.
What was that?
The black smoke was blown away by the wind, as if revealing a curtain. A dozen fire ball ballistae stood quietly.
Behind each fire ball ballista stood a wizard, the fiery ball radiating heat already fully condensed at the top of their staffs.
They waited patiently, holding their breath, waiting for that final moment.
“Holy Father, you must be joking with me!” Armand shouted, his voice cracking.
The hammer struck down, the gears and cogs rotated, the bowstring vibrated, and the Red Dragon Breath fireball, filled with firelight, instantly rushed towards the two hundred or so knights.
The fireball's tail flames drew a dazzling trail in the air. Just now, they could only see the firelight, but now it was already upon them.
It was only fifty meters, and the fireball ballistae were so fast that Armand couldn't dodge in time.
“Lord Armand!” Several of his personal Edict Knights jumped up, and the warhorses beneath them made a crisp sound of broken spines.
Armand subconsciously raised his hand to block, and was pushed off his horse by his subordinates and the wave of fire, even his helmet was thrown off.
All fifteen Red Dragon Breath fireballs in stock exploded, and the charging knights were swallowed by flames and black smoke, screaming as they flew up and landed on the ground, covered in fire.
The bursting fire dragons swept through the air, and dozens of knights were instantly set ablaze.
Mizam was even less agile than Armand. He was hit in the back of the head by a fireball, suffocated while unconscious, and then his entire head was consumed by flames.
The warhorse beneath him hadn't realized its master was dead, and was still carrying this flaming skull head across the battlefield.
The knights in the flames were forcibly divided into several pieces by the fire wave. Seeing this, the few purple-faced mercenary knights could no longer endure it and shouted first: “Armand is dead! Armand is dead!”
“Nonsense, the Lingya Knight isn't dead!” Several guards immediately stood up to deny it.
Their denials were useless, because at this moment, Armand's warhorse, covered in flames, was roaring in pain, rolling and running in the center of the battlefield, trying to extinguish the terrible flames with the wind.
The knights who were still trying to charge and entangle on the periphery lost all their fighting spirit the moment they saw the burning warhorse.
Even the invincible Armand had fallen, what was the point of continuing to fight?
Just as the morale of the church army collapsed, to make matters worse, the holy riflemen of the two legions of the Third Line Guards gathered together and fired.
The soaring lead bullets slid through the sky, and the knights, who had been slowed down by the flames and spears and halberds, lay in disarray on their horses.
The swooshing lead bullets collided in a crisscross pattern, and plunged into flesh and blood with a thud, the smell of scorching and the rising stench of blood filled the nostrils.
Crows descended from the sky, eager to start their feast, enjoying this heated blood meal.
The knights who had barely maintained their formation immediately scattered like frightened birds and beasts.
Only those Edict Knights were still insisting on charging towards the flanks in an attempt to escape, but what awaited them was a burst of dazzling lightning.
“Woo woo woo——”
“Charge!” The charge horn sounded again, but this time it was the Salvation Army who was blowing it.
With orderly steps, the Salvation Army battle monks, leveling their spears, began their usual charge.
Pushing away the guard whose back was scorched by flames, Armand struggled to get up, his palms were burned, and his calf was pierced by a lead bullet.
On the battlefield where knights and lead bullets were flying, the sound of the Black Hat Legion turning around and trying to backstab came from behind.
The ground and bushes were scorched black, and in the hazy light and shadow, there were flames and flame-stained dead branches everywhere.
Like a fiery hell.
The dried bloodstains on his face cracked open, and Armand laughed silently. His knights had not fought any cavalry and were pressed to the ground by wizards and infantry.
He was confident that if Prince Condé were in his position, he would still lose.
The only difference was probably that Prince Condé would be able to rely on his superb extraordinary martial power to kill his way out with dozens of guards.
The Dengjar phalanx had already sounded the alarm, but the arrogant knights were still wallowing in the glory of the past.
“Boom——”
A blazing white light rose not far away, and a Valkyrie-like knight, wrapped in electric snakes, walked slowly.
After getting rid of the entangled local knights, Jeanne finally arrived at the battlefield in time and stood in front of Armand.
She was wearing a breastplate wrapped in white cloth and gilded Crusader crosses, and the gorget supported her chin, preventing her from lowering her head and forcing her to look at Armand diagonally downwards with her eyes.
“Armand, you have committed the devil's sin. The Holy Father sentences you to death. Will you submit?!”
The electric snake struck the forehead of the guard who wasn't wearing a helmet, instantly straightening the knight who was attacking with his sword, and he fell stiffly to the ground.
“Don't move, go back.” Shouting at these guards, Armand walked slowly towards Jeanne.
The surrounding holy rifle cavalry immediately took out their holy rifles and aimed them at Armand.
“No need, let him come over.”
Armand limped forward, a charming smile that was the most charming in his life appeared on his handsome face.
“Witch, oh witch, the most beautiful roses are covered with the most poisonous thorns.” Armand stopped in front of Carrot's horse's head and looked at the young female knight in front of him.
“Glittering tongue!” Jeanne snorted coldly, lightning struck, drawing black cracks on the wooden pole, raising the flag spear and aiming it at Armand.
“Beautiful lady, perhaps you don't believe it, but the first time I saw you, I felt that my hatred for witches, maybe it's not necessary, I will definitely fall in love with you.”
“Unnecessary.” A few traces of tenderness flashed in Jeanne's eyes. “Whether I am a witch or not, there is already… you knight, really rude!”
Armand was stunned for a moment, then chuckled: “Then I must meet him, adding a witch's name to my roster is my lifelong wish.”
“Fickle, filthy!” Jeanne muttered unhappily.
With his throat against Jeanne's flag spear, blood flowed down the spear tip to his collarbone. Armand restrained his smile, raised his head, and asked without joy or sorrow: “So, the era of glory has come to an end?”
“Your glory is fake.” With two heavy dark circles under her eyes, Jeanne's eyes were surrounded by the light of electric snakes. “The era of knights has come to an end!”
The black smoke dissipated, the guards fled all over the mountains and plains, and the knights jumped into the water in panic under the pursuit of the hussars.
A gear sun flag wandered on the battlefield, and wherever it went, there were deafening cheers.
“Perhaps, anyway, it already… doesn't matter anymore.” Closing his eyes, Armand took a step forward with relief.