High up in the mountains, golden battle flags of light fluttered in the wind. Below the flags was an orderly military formation.
At the very front were noble Knights. Their adamantine armor reflected a dazzling golden light under the sunlight. Their steeds, shields, and swords were all equipped with their weapons with the help of their attendants. They were now ready to charge.
But judging from their uneven armor and armor, it was obvious that they weren't from the same country. Yet, they were fighting under the same flag.
At this moment, the horn for charge hadn't been blown yet. The Knights tightened their reins to prevent their impulsive horses from messing up their formation. Behind the Knights were heavily-armored dragon gunners. Guards with tower shields were patrolling the area. Archers and catapults were anxiously calculating the trajectory of the arrows.
At the very back of the army, priests were singing holy songs. The air was filled with the fragrance of holy water. There were even several important figures wearing red cardinal robes among them.
Although the cardinals were obviously the highest-ranking members of the army, the Holy Light's battle flag wasn't only composed of Holy Light warriors. There were also the crescent flag, the golden snake emblem, the three-headed dog emblem, and countless other famous and unknown emblems and flags. The Holy Church had summoned countless devout believers, local domain lords, and even ordinary farmers who were fighting for the Holy Light would raise their wooden spears and participate in this battle.
Facing off against them were no easy opponents. This was the Holy Light's border defense army.
Perhaps they weren't as well-equipped or well-prepared as the Holy Light's, and they didn't even have one-tenth of the Holy Light's numbers, but they absolutely had a reason to not retreat … This was their home. They were the Holy Light's East Erkenfeld's first military squadron, which was responsible for defending this place. They were also the soldiers of Erkenfeld City, which was located several hundred kilometers away.
"A Holy War? No, it's just another ordinary battle where everyone hates each other and wants to kill each other. "
They were already surrounded by the Holy Light's ambush. It would be impossible for them to outrun these Knights on flat plains. Even though they were facing an army ten times their size, perhaps their feet were instinctively trembling, but their hearts were as resolute as a boulder. Perhaps their arms holding shields weren't steady enough, and some rookies even dropped their weapons, but not a single one of them retreated.
"Everyone, prepare for the charge."
The order to do battle had been passed down for quite some time now. Every Bardi Empire's border guard was waiting for their own deaths as they faced an undefeatable army.
Finally, the silver-haired general of the invaders completed his final preparations. The Holy Knight Marshal, who wore golden lion-patterned armor, rode back and forth in front of the enemy formation, his eagle-like gaze searching for any weaknesses in the enemy formation. However, he still didn't see any signs of the enemy collapsing or wavering.
Finally, he gave up on the extravagant hope of winning without a fight. He also made the mental preparation to pay an equivalent amount of sacrifice. His eyes were still sharp, but his wrinkled face changed in an instant. He first nodded in agreement with his opponent, but then he shook his head as if it was a pity that the warriors of both sides were about to die.
He made up his mind to end the battle quickly, so he unsheathed the military sword that represented Zhan Qi. It was stimulated by the Holy Light and flashed with golden splendor under the sunlight.
"Wahhh!"
When the commander's sword, which was embedded with a blue teardrop stone, landed, an ancient beast horn sounded, and the Holy Priests finished their final mass. The participating warriors' golden swords were filled with water droplets condensed from Holy Water. They had all sorts of different equipment to begin with, and the various buff Divine Arts on them made them seem rather laughable. However, in the eyes of their enemies, these buff Divine Arts were powerful tools that would greatly increase their combat strength.
The mixed battle formation had always been rather noisy. But now that they truly began to move, the sound of horse hooves, footsteps, and battle roars all mixed together, finally creating an earth-shaking rumble. The gigantic army slowly slid down like a landslide, pressing down on the enemy formation at the foot of the mountain.
"For the Holy Light!"
All the shouting combined into a single phrase. The name of Holy Light once again rang out in this Holy War. But this time, both sides were still humans of the same species.
"Bardi! Long live victory! "
Bardi's royal spear and divine scepter clashed in midair. When the landslide and the boulder collided, time seemed to freeze at this moment.
Tower shields with cross tattoos viciously smashed into battle hammers with dragon heads. Golden spears nailed the crossbowmen who had been stirring their bowstrings to the ground. Catapults thundered in unison as they used their own methods to whip the ground.
Bardi's warriors weren't foolhardy enough to send themselves to their deaths. They had done their homework for the Knight vanguard, which was the most difficult to deal with.
The Knight's charge was stopped by pits and horse tripping ropes. The ten-meter-long super dragon spear formation harvested the lives of the venerable Knight knights. However, there was far too much of a difference in numbers between the two sides. It was just like how a small flame would be unable to dry up a river. Once these obstacles were filled up by corpses, the difference in quality and quantity made the Bardi first army a target to be harvested.
Screams and howls of pain could be heard everywhere. Not even five minutes had passed since the battle began, and the balance of the battle had already been lost. It was now a massacre of the many against the few.
The flesh grinders were harvesting lives. No one dared to close their eyes and scream. Dark clouds gathered in the sky, as if the Gods were unwilling to witness such a tragedy.
Honor? Glory? Courage? Blessing of the Holy Light? Such things didn't exist on a battlefield like this. All the warriors needed to do was stab their swords into their enemy's chest before they died.
Pity? Justice? Friendship? Under the dark clouds and on the stage, the sword dancers only had two choices: kill their enemy, or be killed by their enemy.
The tremendous difference in numbers allowed the bloody battle to end very quickly. However, the ambush battle without any captives turned the battlefield into a sea of blood and corpses. And, the legendary veteran general Gordon, who was known as Beasso's Eagle, didn't seem like a victor at all.
"The entire Bardi army was annihilated, yet they still fought to the death. They forcefully caused more than double the number of casualties. Is this the mega empire Bardi? Actively invading such a country? This type of battle won't be easy to fight. "
The dark clouds in the sky seemed to indicate that this battle wasn't going to end well. Even the veteran general Gordon, who was ranked seventh on the Holy Light Rankings and was nominally the highest commander of the allied Holy Light armies, no longer had any confidence in victory against the human mega empire Bardi. However, there was no turning back. Gordon's commanding sword was already pointed at the next target.
"Akenfeld City. That city is now empty. It'll be our first victory."
…
"The Bardi Empire is voluntarily negotiating for peace? How is that possible? "
If I was facing Marguerite, who had an icy expression on her face, I probably wouldn't have exclaimed in surprise. Instead, I would have directly called her nonsense.
I was currently in a coffee shop attached to Thorn Garden. Apart from me, Heloise, and Marguerite, there was only Adam, who was currently playing poker with himself. It was evident that he was incredibly bored. As for why Marguerite seemed to be in a bad mood … it seemed that I was the one who caused it.
Of course, I could understand why Marguerite was in a bad mood. After all, they still didn't have much free time to spend alone time together after completing their mission. Every time they went out by themselves, I would always drag them back to the Cloud Tower. This time, in order to better control the situation at the Cloud Tower, I had to summon them back.
I really wasn't doing this on purpose. After all, there were some things that only she would be able to deal with.
Setting aside Adam, who was an extra, for now, even though Marguerite was a rogue mage, she was a heroic mage during the battle against Yongye. The calm and elegant Marguerite had quite a high reputation in the Cloud Tower. At the very least, her mage organization was one of the highest-level members of the Cloud Tower.
Back when I was in the Mage Country, I was nothing more than a small shrimp. Apart from my friends from the Mystical Blade, I didn't have much contact with the higher-ups of the Mage Country. However, Marguerite was a candidate for the position of Truth Overseer, and she had lived here for more than 30 years. She could definitely be considered a local here.
Outsiders would forever be outsiders. That barrier between us would require time and opportunity to slowly grind away. Right now, what we lacked the most was time. However, if we had the help of a local archmage, many things would become much more convenient.
I had long since learned from Adam that if she wanted to, she would have had the chance to pass the internal selection of the "Star Revelation" and become a member of the Truth Overseers when she returned to the Mage Country. She had already rejected the "Star Revelation"'s request to go traveling, but I had dragged her back here. It would be quite awkward for her to face a familiar face, so of course she would be displeased.
Right now, not only did Marguerite shamelessly return to the "Star Revelation" and help me find out some information, but I didn't believe her, which naturally made her even more displeased.
"Is there anything else? If not, I'm going to go back and write a report. It was that "Report on whether the Lord of Yongye has been active in the Northlands" that was half a year late. Hmph, you really are a super troublemaker. "
She was tapping her exquisite fingers on the table. It was obvious that she wasn't in a good mood.
From a certain standpoint, this really was my fault. Back then, Marguerite and Amelia had used the excuse of investigating the "undead" and "Lord of Yongye" in the Northlands as an excuse to set out under the name of the Cloud Tower. Yet, even after so many days had passed, not a single person had returned with an investigation report …
A government-funded trip? From a certain standpoint, that was indeed correct. In that case, didn't Amelia, who was currently in hibernation, become a vegetable because of an accident while she was out on a business trip? How could she still receive government-funded medical treatment?
Cough, cough, let's be serious. Yep, it was obvious that I couldn't count on Amelia to hand in a report right now. As the last mage in the Cloud Tower with the Emblematic Truths level information, Marguerite had to complete this report. Even if this report was destined to be meaningless, it would still be necessary for her to complete her previous work. She would even need to explain why Amelia hadn't returned with her.
And so, the unfortunate Great Sage Marguerite was just like a naughty child who had too much fun and forgot about her summer homework. She was urged by her teacher and driven by endless regret to do meaningless homework that no one would take seriously. It was said that Marguerite hated doing meaningless homework the most.
"I'm really busy. That report needs to be submitted by the day after tomorrow."
No wonder she had such a deep grudge against me. No wonder Adam pretended that he didn't know anything and did his best to hide in a corner so that he wouldn't have to worry about Marguerite taking out her anger on him for talking nonsense.
"I apologize. It's not that I don't trust you, it's that this matter is far too bizarre. How did the Bardi Empire and the Mage Country come to an agreement? That's impossible, isn't it? "
Still, I couldn't be blamed for doubting her. That was because what Marguerite had said was far too inconceivable.
Mega empires like the Bardi Empire and the Mage Country would be like two high-speed trains once they entered a state of war. Their weight and momentum would be tremendous. How could they possibly stop just like that?
The damage from the previous forbidden spell's bombardment was still fresh in everyone's minds. The confrontation between the Dragon Knight and the archmage on the eastern front was the latest news. Although I hadn't heard of any major losses on either side, and it seemed that both sides were still restraining themselves, it was impossible for both sides to simply greet each other and then go their separate ways.
The Dragon Knight fought for its honor, while the archmage had the confidence to be arrogant. Since both sides had met, it was likely that neither side would believe that they hadn't fought each other to test each other's strength. But if they fought, it would be impossible for either side to back down.
And even if the Mage Country wanted to negotiate for peace, the Bardi Empire would never agree. One of their own fortresses had been destroyed, along with so many people. The Dragon Knight would need to get revenge, and the Bardi Empire would need to take revenge. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the Bardi Empire to explain itself to its citizens.
Even if the Bardi Empire's upper echelons were able to restrain themselves from the threat of the undead, they would definitely provoke the Bardi Empire. In such a situation, the Bardi Empire and the Bardi Empire actually wanted to negotiate for peace? This was completely incomprehensible.
However, Marguerite remained silent in response to my suspicions. However, Adam couldn't bear to watch this any longer.
"Cough, that's because …"
"You're not allowed to say it!"
"…" The two of us exchanged glances in response to the furious Harloys, and then tacitly agreed to remain silent.
"At the very least, someone has to help me write that meaningless report." Marguerite seemed to be talking to herself, but I pretty much knew what I should say.
"Let me write the report. I'm the best at writing reports. "
Alright then, let's not talk about how incomprehensible it was for Emperor Yongye to personally write a report on whether the Lord of Yongye's activities existed in the Northlands. Let's not talk about how much I had to wrack my brain over this damned report tonight. But at the very least, for now, the Great Philosopher finally nodded in satisfaction as she told me the secret information that very few people in the Cloud Tower knew about.
"The Holy War has begun."
Although Marguerite's words were simple, Adam added something to them.
"The Holy Church's allied armies have crossed the Elodon Mountains and ambushed the Bardi Empire's southern border, Erkenfeld City. The war has erupted."
I opened my mouth wide. I never expected that the Holy Church would actually get involved at such a time. According to my expectations, it would be impossible for the Holy Church to start a war in such a short period of time.
Erkenfeld City? I checked the map. The Holy Church's territory wasn't even connected to Erkenfeld City!
"The Elodon Mountains? Isn't that the Penglin Alliance's territory? Don't they worship the Earth Mother Goddess? Why would they allow the Holy Church's allied armies to pass through? "
"One day before the Holy War, the highest priest of the Penglin Alliance's Earth Mother Goddess Church converted to the God of Holy Light. The entire country converted to Holy Light, and then the allied armies entered Erkenfeld. They even brought with them the top ten mercenary groups of the Penglin Alliance and the Holy Church's Holy Temple Knight squadron."
Alright then, it seemed that there was quite a bit of trickery involved. Perhaps the Penglin Alliance had long since joined the Holy Light Faction. But no matter how unexpected the process was, the Holy Church's ambush was quite successful.
"How's the battle situation?"
"Erkenfeld City's defending army was completely annihilated, and the city was lost. There's also … the Holy War. You know what it means."
As someone who was unlucky enough to be attacked by the Holy War, of course I knew!
The Holy War was against heretics, and heretics' women and children were all evil. They were all targets that needed to be "purified". The Holy War's wealth and land would be used to reward the holy believers who fought for their faith. There would only be one result for any city that was destroyed in the Holy War …
"They massacred the entire city?" Although it was a question, she sounded very certain.
"Yep."
The small room fell silent for a moment. Judging from the magical energy pulsating between Marguerite's eyebrows, she wasn't in a bad mood just because of that damned report.
It was quite obvious why the Bardi Empire and the Mage Country were willing to negotiate for peace. Once the Holy War started, it would be impossible to stop. Not to mention, the Bardi Empire had an undead army that was growing like a malignant tumor. The Bardi Empire was basically facing enemies on three sides. Faced with such a desperate situation, even the most insane ruler would think of a method to temporarily negotiate with one side to reduce the pressure.
"… Heh heh, don't look so grim. At least there's good news. At the very least, the Mage Country is willing to negotiate with the Bardi Empire. Our plan will become much easier."
"That's the second bad news. According to the latest intelligence reports, there's a 90% chance that the Bardi Empire will refuse to negotiate for peace. Not only will the war between the Mage Country and the Bardi Empire not stop, it's even likely to escalate! It seems that the mages hope to use this opportunity to deal with their restless neighbor once and for all! "
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