novelraw Chapter 427 427: The War at it's zenith
Chapter 427 427: The War at it's zenith
"Your Majesty, you must not fight at the front lines," Merlin said, turning to Kharos. "Please calm your anger and command the army from the rear."
Kharos was about to refuse, but the other dukes also urged him to fall back. If the Emperor were to suffer any injury at the frontline, the morale Merlin had built within the army using his skill would instantly shatter, throwing the entire formation into chaos and panic.
After a few seconds, understanding their concerns, Kharos moved back while the dukes spread to different locations along the borders of Ironvale.
The Sect Masters and the ancestor of the Thunderbanes, Robert, also dispersed across the walls of Ironvale, each taking position to ensure that the Empire's army would not breach the walls and enter the city.
Taranis, although he had informed Ironvale's knights that his army would not shed blood to protect the country, had given no such orders to the Sect Masters.
The reason for protecting the country was not entirely selfless.
The blacksmiths of Ironvale were supplying the Banes' army with war resources, forging weapons day and night without rest. Moreover, the fortress was not built to defend against internal attacks in case the Empire's army managed to enter the country, meaning the Banes would lose their territorial advantage. Thus, the Banes had their own interests tied to protecting the country.
At the fortress, Aurelion, Sylvaris, Jambavan, Vyaghra, and Taranis of the key figures, remained.
"Lord Aurelion, I leave the army's command in your hands," Taranis said, mounting his horse.
"Prince, please be careful," Sylvaris called just as Taranis was about to leave, her face behind the veil carrying a worried expression.
As a physician, she and the other Flowerbane disciples stayed inside the fortress to provide aid to the injured soldiers.
Taranis gave a slight nod to her, leaned toward his horse's ear, and murmured, "Dark, I do not have a hand free to hold your reins. You must move with your own judgment."
Dark, the black horse with crimson eyes, gave a slight nod, understanding Taranis's words, its breath snorting faint mist into the cold air.
In the distance, the Empire's army had already begun a long-range assault on the soldiers stationed on the walls, while the infantry and cavalry advanced toward the iron gate of the fortress at a terrifying pace.
The Banes responded with equal ferocity, darkening the sky with arrows aimed at the advancing army while unleashing ballistas at the long-range attackers.
Yet no matter how many they struck down, more and more continued to emerge like an endless tide, their banners rising one after another beyond the horizon.
Someone was needed to fight them outside the fortress, or it would not take long for them to infiltrate it, not to mention the cannons would become useless once the enemy drew too close.
Thus, a unit was formed to halt the enemy's advance toward the fortress. And the number of warriors in that unit was...
Three.
No matter how one looked at it, the number seemed laughable, if not outright arrogant.
That was what anyone would think if they did not know the warriors in that unit.
"Open the gates!" Taranis's voice rumbled from behind his helm. Beside him stood Jambavan and Vyaghra, the former cracking his knuckles while the latter held a pair of obsidian daggers in his hands.
The iron gate opened with a heavy metallic groan, revealing an unending cavalry of the Empire's soldiers advancing toward the fortress in the distance, the thunder of their horses' hooves raising clouds of dust that blurred the horizon.
"Kid, once we step out of the fortress, all three of us will be on our own," Jambavan said. "Do not do anything reckless. We will not be able to come to your aid."
"Do not worry about me, Jambavan," Taranis replied, drawing his sword from his inventory.
Dark, Taranis's horse, struck its hoof against the ground as Taranis continued, "Try not to die."
The moment he said those words, the horse bolted forward at blinding speed.
"Hah! Who does he think we are?" Vyaghra muttered, slowly vanishing into the shadows. "As if we would fall to mere mortals."
"Ay think it's time to show that kid why Ay'm called the God of Strength!" Jambavan muttered. Cracks spread beneath his feet, and in the next moment, he launched himself high into the sky, landing directly in the midst of the enemy cavalry.
The impact of his landing sent dozens of horses flying in every direction, the ground itself trembling from the sheer force.
"Come at me, warriors of the Azure Sun Empire!" Jambavan roared, a fierce grin forming on his face.
On another front, soldiers fell one after another from their horses, their heads cleanly severed or their hearts pierced. They could not sense any enemy. There was no presence at all.
It was as if they were being hunted by an invisible predator.
At the center, Taranis fought relentlessly, cleaving through the ranks of soldiers in a merciless slaughter.
Dark's speed made it impossible for the Empire's knights to land a hit on Taranis, while the unstoppable force behind his blade shattered their armor and defenses before cutting through their flesh with brutal precision.
Within minutes, thick streams of blood flowed across the battlefield, and the metallic stench of death filled the air as the war reached its full intensity.
Every fifteen minutes, a barrage of cannonballs from the Madam Doom was unleashed upon the Empire's knights positioned further back from where Taranis, Jambavan, and Vyaghra fought.
However, despite the three of them fighting at the forefront, the battlefield was too vast to be controlled by them alone.
Nearly forty percent of the soldiers passed through them, heading straight toward the fortress walls.
Yet none managed to reach the walls, for at the fortress itself stood a warrior far more powerful than the three gods fighting at the front.
Lines of frozen statues formed around the fortress, the surrounding temperature dropping sharply as frost spread across stone and steel alike, as Demi-God Aurelion, the final defense of the Banes' army, protected Ironvale.