novelraw Chapter 201 : Clash of Battle
Chapter 201 : Clash of Battle
Chapter 201: Clash of Battle
“Commander, just as you said, the enemy has changed formation!”
“A mere few hundred men could never possibly hold us back.” The young commander of the Aust Empire did not lead the charge. “But for them to have lasted this long has already far exceeded my expectations.”
He was just an ordinary man, not a Bloodline User, and thus was not known for his martial strength. Naturally, he did not lead the assault, instead remaining stationed at the rear to direct the battle.
However, when a battlefield had already descended into a full-scale melee, command ability no longer decided victory—what mattered then was the overall combat quality of the soldiers. Any small mistake that triggered a collapse could turn into a disastrous rout.
Just moments ago, the Aust Empire had already found two chances to throw the enemy ranks into chaos.
Yet before they could expand that chaos into a total rout, the enemy had suppressed the change first and stabilized their formation again.
From that alone, the young commander understood how troublesome this enemy was.
“That Bloodline User has beast-like instincts. He must be eliminated quickly.”
Pointing at Akar, who stood on the battlefield like a living artillery piece continuously firing flaming arrows, the young commander said in a low tone, “Take advantage of this chance while the enemy is shifting formation to break through. Let the knights move out.”
“Yes, sir!” The messenger immediately relayed the command.
“Let me go.”
A middle-aged man with gray hair suddenly spoke up.
Before he opened his mouth, no one around had even noticed his presence.
“Wait a little longer,” the young commander shook his head. “We already have three Third-Tier Knights on the field. Two have drawn the beast’s attention, while the third lies hidden in the dark. The enemy, no matter how strong, has only two Third-Tiers.”
The gray-haired man said nothing more, but his presence began to fade.
Though he still stood beside the young commander, everyone nearby subconsciously overlooked his existence.
Meanwhile, the battle ahead grew ever fiercer.
At first, the Aust Empire split part of its forces to block Yam, while concentrating strength to encircle and devour Akar’s isolated unit, intending to crush him quickly before turning back to face Yam.
But when Akar changed tactics—choosing to break through and join Yam—the Aust soldiers blocking Yam suddenly found themselves caught between Yam and Akar’s troops from both front and rear. It became an agonizing position. Those who had been executing the encirclement strategy now had to abandon it by order of the commander and launch desperate, repeated attacks instead.
As a result, Akar’s breakout grew far more difficult. Their casualty rate surged rapidly—every ten meters of advance cost three to five comrades. On such a battlefield, even a brief delay meant death; anyone who fell behind the main force was doomed.
Yet no one dared to turn back to pull up a fallen companion.
They all knew clearly—turning back meant they too would die here forever.
Thus, each soldier could only charge forward with head lowered, turning every shred of fear, panic, and rage into fury against the enemy, driving their weapons into the foes blocking their way.
And in such a desperate struggle, the casualties soared not only among Akar’s men.
The Aust Empire’s soldiers suffered losses just as great. The difference was—Akar’s men fell where they stood, while the Aust troops were mostly wounded rather than killed outright.
Ryan still led at the front.
Two veteran survivors followed closely behind, cutting down enemies Ryan had no time to handle, widening the breakthrough path.
But this time, when Ryan swung his sword, he could not kill the enemy as easily as before. He couldn’t even force the man back. Instead, the powerful recoil made him stagger two steps. His heart jolted—something was wrong.
The two veterans beside him, seeing Ryan’s attack blocked and the formation’s advance halted, had not yet reacted. Acting purely by instinct, they continued to rush forward—at that instant, their triangular formation collapsed, turning into a concave wedge with its tip bent inward.
The next second, Ryan’s voice roared out—“Don’t stop!”
The shout snapped the two veterans awake.
They hesitated only a heartbeat before charging again.
Ryan took a deep breath to shake off the backlash, lifted his sword once more, and charged.
The pressure of the frontal assault, which he had borne alone before, was now shared by the two veterans—giving Ryan, positioned within the concave tip, a brief chance to breathe and recover strength.
“Double-Wedge Formation…” The young Aust commander’s expression darkened. “No wonder they used a triangular formation to break through earlier.”
“That’s a cavalry assault formation, isn’t it?”
“Mm.” He nodded. “Usually, only cavalry employ it—to expand the breakthrough front as much as possible and crush enemy morale. I thought their commander was a fool. Now it seems I was the fool.”
The gray-haired man glanced at him, surprised by how readily he admitted his mistake. “Then what will you do now? Another short distance and they’ll merge.”
“I’ll leave it to you,” the young commander said gravely. “Unless we can completely stop them and split their formation apart, that wedge will regain its point and break through anyway. In this tactical contest, I’ve already lost because of my arrogance—I can’t lose again.”
The gray-haired man nodded slightly, then strode toward the battlefield.
Though he was still far from it, his speed suddenly became inhuman—swifter than galloping horses, his figure blurring into the wind itself.
“My lord, that’s—【Swift Gale】?”
“Mm.” The young commander nodded lightly. “This battle has cost us dearly, but the enemy won’t escape unscathed. Besides—if we capture Yam Soderbell, our infiltration plan can continue.”
“Twannng—”
The bowstring thrummed again.
A scorching flame arrow tore through the air.
It pierced several enemy soldiers before a Bloodline User swung his sword and deflected it.
Akar’s eyes narrowed, his lips curling into a faint smile. “Got you.”
He drew in a deep breath—his right hand burst into blazing fire, while his left index finger ignited with a small flame.
The next instant, Akar swiftly drew and released—without even aiming or fully drawing his bow to a full arc. As his right and left fingers aligned, a flaming arrow formed instantly, and with the release of his right hand—
The arrow streaked through the air.
One second, two arrows.
Eighteen pulls of the bowstring in mere ten seconds—eighteen blazing arrows launched in succession.
They sealed the Bloodline User’s movements completely, forcing him into a direct confrontation.
This knight, hidden among the Aust soldiers, had no idea how he’d been exposed—but facing Akar’s relentless volley, he dared not waste a moment pondering it. He could only swing his massive Two-Handed Greatsword to parry.
His weapon’s blade was wider than most, but heavy and clumsy. He swept left and right, knocking aside the nearest arrows—but each collision exploded with a violent blast, numbing his arms. After deflecting two volleys—barely ten arrows in total—he cursed under his breath, “Monster,” and slammed his sword into the ground, using its broad blade as a shield.
The earth trembled—rock tendrils climbed up from the buried blade, forming a thick Stone Wall.
『Boom—』『Boom—』 The remaining arrows struck the wall, exploding one after another. With each blast, the rock barrier cracked and thinned rapidly before the eyes.
Akar’s gaze sharpened as he drew a Refined Rare Iron Arrow.
The long arrow ignited before his eyes, glowing a bright orange, its heat scorching the grass beneath his feet to withered yellow.
【Flame Streamed Demon Feather】
Akar chanted silently.
But at that very moment—
A figure suddenly burst from the side. Twin blades flashed, cutting down over a dozen soldiers guarding Akar in an instant!
He charged with terrifying speed—his blades crossed like scissors, slicing straight for Akar’s neck.
The third hidden Third-Tier Bloodline User of the Aust Empire had finally found his chance—and struck for the kill.
A life for a life!