A dazzling white ball of light pierced through the darkness as it soared into the sky amidst the storm. It exploded amidst the gloomy clouds and turned into a bright ball of light that could be seen from afar.
In the northwest of Palamel Highlands, in the center of a position covered by the terrain and woods, a huge and oppressive war machine was quietly lying dormant on the track. The dense rain poured down on its dark armor, and the flashes from the signal flares of the Tiphons shone on the wet surface of the steel plate, creating a floating light.
The Iron Throne had turned off all the main lights outside the train, and the windows of the carriages were also covered with opaque panels. In the darkness, only a few faint signal lights were flashing on the surface of the train. The faint light was shrouded by the rain and the dusky sky. It was almost impossible to detect it from a hundred meters away.
In the tactical section of the armored train, a commander came up to Philip. "The Typhon's vanguard Knight Regiment has sent a signal."
"They are sending a signal to the Transcendent Legion on standby at the rear," Philip said calmly. "Inform the armory section to get ready. All main cannons are pointed at the eastern plains of Longwind Stronghold."
"Yes, General."
Philip turned his head and looked at the holographic projection not far away. Above the crystal that was emitting a faint blue light, the scene outside the train was being transmitted from the external monitor.
The rain was getting heavier, and the sky was getting gloomier. The cold wind carried the rain as it splashed on the land near the border.
Thanks to the rain, the Iron Throne had arrived at the predetermined position northwest of the Palamel Highlands half an hour ago. After that, it entered a state of silence and waited until now.
Amidst the storm, night had gradually fallen.
Now, all they had to do was wait for the Typhon's Transcendent Legion to enter the buffer plains. Whether they were the Iron River Knight Regiment or the Black Steel Knight Regiment, once they entered the charging mode, they would have no time to raise their shields and block the bombardment from the Iron Throne's main cannons. With the bombardment of four main cannons and the firepower of the light and medium magic cannons in Longwind Stronghold, any legion could only fall on the charging path.
"Unfortunately, the rain has also affected our reconnaissance." An officer sighed. "The armored griffins can't take off in this weather. Otherwise, we could have a better grasp of the Typhon's movements."
"The Typhon's people are more affected than us. At least we have the sentry towers on the Longwind defense line, but they only have griffins that can't take off," Philip said. "Let's wait patiently for the signal from Longwind Stronghold. Don't think so much."
Although that was what he said, Philip could not help but have some thoughts after hearing his subordinate's sigh.
The armored griffins were a compromise between traditional units and magical equipment, but the limitations of the griffins had already determined the limits of this compromise. The war on the Divine Plains had already proven the importance of air power, and it was said that the Magic Engineering Research Institute had been researching flying machines that were completely based on modern technology. Who knew how long it would take for the flying machines to leave the lab …?
On the triangular plains west of Winterwolf Stronghold, the rising magic flames in the distance illuminated the rain-soaked armor and weapons of the Knight. As the light gradually dimmed, the commander of the Iron River Knight Regiment, Count Moglock, mounted his horse. The clanking of armor was the only sound in the silent Knight Regiment.
Quietly watching the magic flames in the distant sky spread between the clouds, Count Moglock slowly raised the longsword in his hand and issued an order to the Knight Regiment. "Everyone, third formation, slowly accelerate, forward!"
No one in the regiment made a sound, but all the Knight and their warhorses responded to the order at the same time. With the rumbling of the horse's hooves, the square formation of thousands of Knights began to move forward.
Under the dim light of the sky, the silent Knight Regiment were like six thousand neatly arranged statues. They began to accelerate slowly in a direction. Their armor made of fine steel glowed with a dark color in the rain, gloomy as ink. Only when lightning streaked across the sky would the steel covering their flesh reflect a light different from the mud and pools. It was like a surging iron river, quiet and solemn.
As the Knight Regiment accelerated, the flow of magic suddenly accelerated. The massive energy was guided by the thousands of Knights who had been trained, educated, and lived together since young. Little by little, it condensed into a blurry high-energy cloud above the formation. The tip of the cloud pointed towards Longwind Stronghold.
Behind the Knight Regiment, the second formation also began to move forward. This was an army that did not wear any metal armor, but the magical light in each of their eyes made it impossible for anyone to underestimate their role on the battlefield. This formation was dressed in blue-black short robes, with mage's short sword and mass-produced magic books at their waists. They also held oak staffs in their hands. Several black flags fluttered in the wind and rain above their formation.
'Palin?' The Count of Winterfort, who was wearing a starry robe, raised his staff high. "Black Flag Magician Legion, advance!"
Unlike many people's impression of mages who moved slowly on the battlefield, the battle mages of the Tifeng Empire also received a certain degree of horsemanship training. In addition, they also received some defensive swordsmanship and a certain degree of physical training. This was because the battlemages usually only mastered one to three types of combat spells. Additional training was necessary for them to play a role on the battlefield.
On the basis of this training, the battlemages who were skilled in horsemanship could move together with the Knight Regiment. Unless the latter launched a charge, the battlemages would always fight in sync with the Knight Regiment, forming an uninterrupted long-range support.
Andesha could not see the movements of the Iron River Knight Regiment, but she knew that when the signal was sent, the Iron River Knight Regiment and the Black Flag Magician Regiment would have already set off.
The Cecil Regiment in Longwind Stronghold might have already received the news of the Empire's advance, but how were they going to deal with the incoming attack?
The once impregnable Eastern Army was no longer there, and the cunning Sareth Lothair had gone missing. It was said that Loren had gone missing on the battlefield of the Holy Spirit Plains. With just a group of Cecil soldiers who had yet to gain a firm foothold, they would definitely not be able to defend the Longwind Stronghold … If they were able to defend it, there would be no need for them to set up so many fake positions around the Longwind Stronghold.
Andesha waved her hand to disperse the rain around her. She rejoiced that her advisors were able to discover the abnormalities in the Cecil Regiment in time. Otherwise, the soldiers of the Empire would have been kept in the dark, and the Empire would have missed the best opportunity to open the Ansu Regiment … No, Cecil Regiment's door in one fell swoop.
But just as she was sighing, a sudden surge of doubt made the young Wolf General frown.
Fake positions could not really defend the borders. If she could understand such a simple logic, then the Cecil Regiment would definitely understand it as well.
They obviously did not create these fake positions to defend against the Typhon Regiment, but to stall for time.
Stalling for time meant that the Cecil Regiment really had reinforcements. They were not really empty, but the reinforcements needed time to reach the border.
It had been a long time since the Longwind Stronghold's first abnormal 'reinforcement'. Then … did the Cecil Regiment actually stall for time? After I exposed one layer of their facade … would there be another layer of facade hidden behind it?!
Most of the time, a sharp mind only needed to open up an opening to connect many clues that were easily overlooked. Andesha felt that she was overthinking and was a little too nervous. But once she started to think in the direction of a conspiracy, she found that her thoughts could not stop.
Ever since the Cecil Regiment took over the Longwind Stronghold, things had been strange. In this vast area of confrontation, the things that happened had gradually exceeded the boundaries of the traditional rules of war. She suddenly felt that she had to think one step further … Between the Longwind Stronghold and Winterwolf Stronghold, there was never a Knight's Code!
A sudden clap of thunder sounded in the sky. Bright lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the uneven rocks and vegetation around her. Andesha suddenly recalled the fake positions that she discovered before, and recalled a detail of the fake positions.
Cecil Regiment should have only left a very limited number of soldiers in each fake position to act as observation posts and 'actors'. With so few soldiers deployed in the Palamel Highlands, it was impossible for them to not panic when facing an entire Knight Regiment. Even if their willpower was as strong as steel, they would at least consider their own safety. Unless they did not intend to leave alive, but if that was the case, they would not leave their positions. Instead, they would use the explosives in their positions to perish together with the Typhon Knight Regiment!
But in reality, the Cecil Regiment only calmly left after attacking the Typhon Knight Regiment three times. At that time, they had already reached the distance where the Knight Regiment could launch a short charge.
For them to be so calm, they must have an escape route. That escape route could not be the distant Longwind Fortress, nor could it be the other defensive positions on the Palamel Highlands. Even if one or two of those positions were real, they would not be able to withstand the assault of the entire Winterwolf Knight Regiment.
Their escape route was a battle group that was close to the Longwind Fortress and could ensure the destruction of the entire Typhon Knight Regiment in a short time. And this battle group was definitely near the Palamel Highlands!
Andesha's eyes widened. She turned around and ordered: "Gryphon Knight, take off!"
The adjutant beside her was startled: "General?"
"Cecil Regiment might have hidden a large number of long-range troops nearby … … The rain has affected our vision!"
The adjutant was shocked by Andesha's gaze. He quickly realized the severity of the situation and ordered the Gryphon Knight, who was currently in the best condition, to take off immediately.
In such bad weather, the Gryphon instinctively refused to go close to the clouds. The rider had no choice but to insert a hollow needle filled with potions into the back of the Gryphon's neck. He used the potion and a special incantation to force the Gryphon to fly against the wind and rain. Andesha raised her head and stared at the Gryphon Knight as it flew further and further away in the dusky sky. It gradually became a blurry black dot. She did not have to wait for long before the Gryphon Knight returned to the ground.
The poisoned Gryphon stumbled to the ground. The lightly armoured Knight jumped down from the back of the Gryphon and shouted: "General! Northwest! There was a very large, strange-looking thing! It looks like the 'train' that the Cecil Regiment sold to us, but it's huge and strange! "
Andesha's heart sank. After asking for the location of that thing, her bad premonition turned into reality.
She ordered the rest of the troops to wait for orders while she brought a portion of the elite soldiers to a safe observation point pointed out by the Gryphon Knight. She saw the war machine hidden between the trees and boulders.
The gigantic steel monster was quietly lying dormant on the track, its entire body covered in frightening armor. Countless large and small magic weapons armed it, making it a frightening sight.
The most terrifying thing was the two huge magic cannons at the head and tail of the steel monster. Andesha had never seen those cannons before, but she had seen them in the reports. She knew what those cannons were used for.
They could pry open the strongest fortress in the world.
Those cannons were silently pointing towards the direction of the Aegean Defense Line. The Iron River Knight and the Black Flag Magician Regiment were advancing towards it without knowing anything!
Andesha would never know that the terrifying war machine was only half an hour early.
Taking into account the time difference between the Iron River Knights' attack and the time difference between the Iron Throne's bombardment, she was less than an hour away from the turning point that would decide the fate of Typhon and Cecil.
"… General, this is a trap!" The adjutant said in a low voice. "We have to destroy this thing …"
"It's impossible, unless we have a large siege machine or half a regiment of magicians …" Andesha gritted her teeth and looked towards the Eastern Plains.
The adjutant and a few of her subordinates also looked in the same direction. Everyone understood the meaning behind Andesha's gaze.
They had to stop the troops at the back.
Andesha raised her hand and was about to give the signal.
But she stopped because she realized that once the signal was sent out, it would mean that her troops would be exposed to the silent war machine.
The war machine should know that Typhon's troops were nearby, but it and its people did not know that the trap had been exposed. It was still dormant, and the First Winter Wolf Knight still had a chance to retreat.
But by the time the First Winter Wolf Knight retreated to a safe distance, the Iron River Knight would have entered the attack range of Cecil's trap.
Andesha did not dare to wait until then to give the signal. She did not dare to gamble.
No one knew how far the war machine's attack range was, but based on the information she had on Cecil's magic weapons, she knew that she did not have much time left. The Iron River Knight's troops were moving very quickly, and they had probably entered the Longwind Plains by now. She had to stop the troops and the magicians at the back in a few minutes.
Thus, someone had to leave the main force to send the signal, and the rest of the Knight's troops would quickly move. The Palamel Highlands covered a large area, and the visibility was poor. The war machine should only be able to lock onto the person who sent the signal, and not the main force.
This was the plan with the least losses.
While Andesha was hesitating, a soldier wearing a short magician's robe walked up from the back.
"General, I'll give the signal, please retreat as soon as possible."
Andesha stared at the soldier who stood out, and the soldier replied calmly: "General, I'm a support magician who specializes in sending signals. I only know how to cast light spells, and sending signals is my duty."
After a moment of confrontation, Andesha spoke in a low voice: "… Soldier, what's your name?"
"Eric? Yuria. "The soldier puffed out his chest:" I'm from the Enkidhock County. "
Andesha took a deep breath and stepped forward, pressing on the soldier's shoulder: "Eric, the Empire will treat your family well."
"It's my honor to serve under you!"
Andesha nodded and ordered: "The rest of you, follow me immediately!"
Two minutes later, the First Knight of the Winter Wolves retreated from the Palamel Highlands as quickly as possible.
Not long after the Knight's troops left the area, a flash of light came from the back of the troops.
Andesha turned around and saw a bright red ball of light rising in the distance, and it exploded into a blinding red flame.
Trap, retreat.
After a short delay of a few seconds, an ear-piercing screech and explosion engulfed the area where the ball of light rose.
Ansu 738, the first year of Cecil, the 35th day of the Month of Harvest.
Everyone in the Palamel Highlands' defensive line brushed shoulders with the blade.
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