With the help of the fire belt, Dracula and the 1,000-man suicide squad led by him killed at least 60 monsters while suffering less than 100 casualties. This was a very encouraging result. However, there were not many combustibles on the tundra, and the fire quickly died down. Therefore, more and more monsters jumped over the fire belt and pounced on the remaining 900 people from all directions.
Dracula urgently adjusted the formation. The 900 people were divided into 25 combat squads, and they formed a circle back-to-back, leaving their backs to their comrades.
"Hold on! Stabilize the formation! "Dracula held his sword with both hands and roared.
However, the monsters were too fast, and it was even harder to predict their movements under the cover of the night. Screams could be heard from time to time, which were the wails of the soldiers who were dragged away by the monsters.
Dracula slashed the claw of a Goat Head Crocodile, saving a soldier who could not react in time. However, a Monkey Scorpion then entangled him. By the time Dracula finished off the Monkey Scorpion, the rescued soldier still had his throat bitten off by the Goat Head Crocodile. Dracula cursed. At this time, there were less than four or five people left beside him.
With just a wave of attacks, their formation was completely broken. Now, most of them were fighting for themselves, and the scene gradually became a one-sided massacre.
Every minute on the battlefield seemed especially long. At this time, everyone's eyes were bloodshot, and they threw the fear of death to the back of their minds. They waved the weapons in their hands, hoping to leave a wound on the bodies of those monsters. Dracula fought among the monsters while trying his best to gather the remaining soldiers. However, as time passed, the people around him became fewer and fewer. When Dracula turned back after a certain charge, there was no one left behind him.
The commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment was stunned. In fact, Dracula's body was also at its limit. After all, he was a man in his forties, and this kind of intense battle was also extremely taxing on him. He was only able to last until now by relying on his last breath. Seeing his soldiers die one by one, he was also at the end of his rope.
Dracula wanted to kill another monster to earn enough for his coffin, but because of the loss of strength in his right arm, he could no longer lift the sword in his hand.
Is this the end? Dracula thought to himself. However, in the next moment, there was a commotion among the monsters behind him. Then, he saw the adjutant leading an army of 3,000 people charging toward him.
Dracula was not happy but angry. He shouted, "What are you doing? Why didn't you follow orders and stay in the ice castle?"
The adjutant cut down two monsters blocking the way and knelt on one knee. "My brothers insisted on bringing you back. I couldn't stop them. If you want to punish someone, punish me."
Just as they were talking, an explosion rang out in the middle of the horde of monsters. Flames soared into the sky. In order to cover the rescue team, the archers on the city wall shot out all their remaining explosive arrows in one go, finally slowing down the monsters' attack.
Dracula took a few deep breaths to recover some of his stamina. Letting out a long sigh, he said, "Forget it. Since we're already here, let's not go back. Let's not waste our Exploding Arrows. Everyone, follow me and kill another wave of enemies."
"Yes, Commander!"
Amidst the raging flames, there were figures fighting madly. Be it humans or monsters, they were all stirred up by the death of their companions. Dracula took the lead, the longsword in his hand dancing in the air, coldly harvesting lives like the Grim Reaper.
However, whether it was a mere 3,000 soldiers or 1,000 Exploding Arrows, they could not fundamentally change the difference in strength between the two sides.
As time passed, the scene from before repeated itself. The defensive circle of the three thousand men shrunk, and was then mercilessly split apart. At this time, there were still two magic hours before dawn, and everyone's faces were filled with exhaustion.
This time, there would be no more miracles.
Dracula propped up his body with his longsword. Even at the last moment, he did not want to fall. However, he was too tired. Just standing up consumed all his strength, and he could not do anything else. He could only watch helplessly as the monster's tail swept toward him.
However, at this critical moment, a white light penetrated the body of the monster. The latter let out an unwilling cry, and blood seeped out of its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. In less than a moment, it died.
"Holy Power?" Dracula was stunned. After the Lionheart Empire declared war on the Sacred Alliance, all the clergymen in the country had basically evacuated. Although the two sides had now re-established an alliance, there was no reason for the church's reinforcements to arrive so quickly.
"Are you the commander of this army?" A voice sounded in his ear.
Dracula looked in the direction of the voice and saw a figure who had appeared not far away. He looked very young, only about 20 years old, but he had a maturity and calmness that did not match his age.
He stood in the midst of the group of monsters, not showing the slightest hint of fear on his face. On the contrary, the monsters seemed to be extremely afraid of him. Dracula thought that there was something wrong with his eyes. After all, the abyssal creatures had always been known for their cruelty and bloodthirstiness. In the previous siege, even the threat of death could not stop them.
And now, these monsters were showing fear toward this human who was standing alone on the tundra. Dracula was still trying to guess his identity when some of the monsters finally overcame the fear in their hearts and launched a wave of tentative attacks toward the human who had suddenly appeared. As a result, the monsters had only just extended their claws when their entire bodies were sliced apart by the wind blades that appeared out of nowhere.
"Is this … magic?" Dracula's eyes widened. In the past, if someone told him that humans could master magic and divine arts at the same time, Dracula would definitely think that the person was joking. But now, after witnessing the scene before him, he seemed to have thought of something. "Are you His Holiness Etrad Richard Holstein?"
"That's me," Rob said. "This isn't the place to talk. Let's return to the ice castle first."
"I can't leave. I still have my men here." Dracula shook his head. "I can't abandon them."
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that your soldiers are no longer here." The future Supreme Magus Your Honor said tactfully, "We can't bring those who have passed away back to life, but the remaining people are still counting on you. Please don't let them down, General. The war has only just begun. This isn't the place where you will die in the line of duty."
Dracula smiled bitterly. "You're right. I'm indeed not a qualified commander. But under such circumstances, I really can't find a way to lead everyone through this difficult time."
"That's why I'm here. Reinforcements will arrive at dawn. I'll lead you through this period of time." The future Supreme Magus Your Honor grasped the General's hand. The next moment, the two returned to the ice castle. A proud bird landed on Rob's shoulder.
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