Chapter 51: Knights Ahead
King Duoyin proposed a meeting at this time, his true intentions quite intriguing. It was well known that the Holy Emblem Knights were still circling within the Northern Territory, not only dealing with the Heavy Hammer Corps but also guarding against the Ice Descendant forces there. The situation was far from optimistic.
Under such circumstances, King Duoyin still insisted on a meeting, his purpose difficult to fathom.
Since he couldn't figure it out, Su Xiao chose not to speculate and simply declined. The battle situation was urgent, with the Holy Emblem Knights facing encirclement and annihilation in the Northern Territory. Using this as a reason, King Duoyin could say nothing in response, unless he was willing to bear the reputation of not caring about the lives of the Holy Emblem Knights.
The Demon Flame Dragon soared into the sky, below it the Wolf Cavalry Legion marching at full speed. Given Barbatos's size, carrying Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, and Amu was effortless.
Su Xiao did not head near the main battlefield. The more intense the fighting there, the better. He chose to have the Wolf Cavalry Legion take a detour, heading toward the northwest side near the "Yatade Wall."
After two hours of marching, the towering "Yatade Wall" appeared ahead. This section of the wall remained intact.
Barbatos swooped down from high altitude. When it was still several dozen meters from the "Yatade Wall," it began spewing dragonflame.
Whoosh!
Flames erupted, the ice wall crackling and popping as it burned. Before long, a 300-meter-wide section of the "Yatade Wall" was destroyed, and the Wolf Cavalry Legion poured through the breach like a flood.
Less than ten minutes after the Wolf Cavalry Legion entered the Northern Territory, a force of Ice Descendant cavalry arrived at the breached "Yatade Wall." They were clad in black armor, their helmets adorned with single horns, numbering about 30,000.
Leading them were two heavily armored cavalrymen, their eye sockets burning with ice-blue flames—deep, lifeless. They resembled undead knights.
...
A biting wind blew in their faces, sharp as knives. Though the Northern Territory was known for its cold, when Su Xiao had last visited, it had never been this frigid. Something must have been changing silently.
"I-I-I-I'm, damn."
Baha, once called a sand sculpture, was now nearly frozen solid, shivering like a sieve as he stood on the dragon's back.
The Wolf Cavalry Legion had reached the central region of the Northern Territory. Here, the temperature plummeted sharply. Even the wolf cavalry, with their hardy constitutions, felt a chill.
Baha, tasked with reconnaissance, was frozen stiff. Su Xiao took a gem the size of a pebble from his chest. The spell formula etched into it emitted a faint glow.
Through this spell formula, he could sense the general location of the Holy Emblem Knights. But if he thought about it carefully, could the Holy Emblem Knights also sense Su Xiao's position through the same formula?
Given the current situation, some things could not be scrutinized too deeply, or else a rift with Duoyin would be inevitable.
Amid the howling wind, the Wolf Cavalry Legion marched at full speed. In the central region of the Northern Territory, there was almost no distinction between day and night.
Interestingly, the entire Northern Territory had a unique topography. The front was relatively cold, the middle was extremely frigid, and the rear maintained a constant temperature of around minus 30 degrees Celsius, where day and night alternated normally.
After a forced march, the gem in Su Xiao's hand grew brighter. He had Barbatos lower its flight altitude. Through the swirling snow, he faintly heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats ahead, and the ice beneath them began to tremble.
A series of sword-drawing sounds followed, and a cavalry force charged from the front. It was the Holy Emblem Knights, riding warhorses with scales on their necks. These horses were majestic. One of them snorted, and the hot air from its nostrils faintly revealed sparks.
A man in gold-embossed armor, a blue cape draped over his back, with slightly curly brown hair, rode at the forefront of the Holy Emblem cavalry. The sword in his hand bore shallow red marks—bloodstains that could no longer be washed away.
"Kukulin Bai Ye?"
The lead imperial officer spoke, resting his sword on his shoulder as he did—Duoyin's knightly salute.
The Demon Flame Dragon Barbatos landed and roared forward. The warhorses of the Holy Emblem Knights retreated repeatedly, snorting in panic and agitation.
"It's me."
Su Xiao stepped onto Barbatos's head and looked down at the lead imperial officer.
"Greetings. I am Tuerte, Legion Commander of the Second Legion's Cavalry Vanguard."
As he spoke, Legion Commander Tuerte took a gem from his chest and crushed it with a crack. It was through the spell formula on this gem that he had rendezvoused with Su Xiao.
Seeing this, Su Xiao said nothing, simply tossing the gem in his hand.
Legion Commander Tuerte caught the gem, paused for a moment, then crushed it as well. Being able to locate each other was convenient, but these two mutually sensing gems had originally been a trap set by Duoyin's higher-ups.
Legion Commander Tuerte had known this all along. When he learned of that plan, he had been furious. But though he was a knight of tradition, he was also an imperial officer, serving the Duoyin Empire for generations. When he had first become a lowly soldier, he had sworn under the legion's battle flag to defend the Duoyin Empire with his life.
Faith and loyalty sometimes conflicted. Legion Commander Tuerte chose loyalty.
"Your forces have traveled far to reach here. We should have held a banquet in your honor, but with the war ongoing, let us save the drinks for after the battle."
Legion Commander Tuerte dismounted, quickly approached, and stopped a few meters from Barbatos. Seeing the dragon, he showed no shock, only a hint of envy—who wouldn't want to be a dragon knight?
Su Xiao leaped down from Barbatos's head. Seeing this, Legion Commander Tuerte sat cross-legged on the ground and took a map from his chest.
"Bai Ye, look. This is the 'Yatade Wall.' Ahem... you broke through here yesterday."
Legion Commander Tuerte's expression turned slightly awkward as he spoke, but he quickly grew serious.
"This is Frostwinter City, the main city of the Northern Territory, located on the inner side. The area we're in now is the Icewind Belt, the central region. Based on my observations yesterday, there are a total of seven supply units in the Northern Territory."
Saying this, Tuerte tapped the map on the ice.
"When these seven supply units cross the Icewind Belt, the Heavy Hammer Corps will scout from above. If any supply unit is attacked, the Heavy Hammer Corps will rush to reinforce. Engaging them will inevitably be a hard battle. This morning, we clashed with the Heavy Hammer Corps. Both sides suffered casualties—we lost over 20,000 men."
Legion Commander Tuerte sighed. Unlike Duoyin's rulers, he truly regarded his soldiers as brothers.
"Can't we intercept the supply units outside the Icewind Belt?"
Baha spoke up. He was no longer cold, clutching an unactivated ordinary Apollo for warmth. Legion Commander Tuerte's eye twitched at the sight.
"No. Outside the Icewind Belt is the main battlefield, where the enemy's forces are concentrated. Breaking out from the rear of the Icewind Belt leads to all the major cities of the Northern Territory. Entering there would be like poking a hornet's nest without pants on. To be honest, we tried yesterday, and the result..."
Legion Commander Tuerte didn't finish, likely having been soundly beaten. Even elite troops feared numbers, especially when the enemy had established a stable defensive line.
"I suggest we join forces to eliminate the Heavy Hammer Corps first. Our side is willing to serve as the vanguard. We'll set up ambushes here, here, and here. After we engage the Heavy Hammer Corps, your forces can launch a surprise attack and strike hard. But the Heavy Hammer Corps excels at flight, making a complete wipeout difficult."
Legion Commander Tuerte was sincere. From his setup, the Holy Emblem Knights were the bait, and the Wolf Cavalry Legion behind them only needed to strike.
Tuerte understood one thing clearly: no one was a fool. The empire's higher-ups had tried to scheme against the allied forces before. Now that they were truly united, as the frontline commander, he had to show enough sincerity. Otherwise, not only would they fail to deal with the Heavy Hammer Corps, but internal conflict would also arise.
"Agreed."
"Good. According to our scouts, in half an hour, an enemy supply unit will pass through here. Time is short. Let's begin the ambush."
Legion Commander Tuerte looked up at Su Xiao, seeking his approval. If Su Xiao disagreed, everything he had arranged would be meaningless.
Su Xiao leaped onto Barbatos's back and led the Wolf Cavalry Legion toward the designated direction. Legion Commander Tuerte led his forces to set up the ambush.
Over half an hour later, amid the swirling snow, a force of about 50,000 Ice Descendant troops was marching.
They surrounded over a thousand giant beasts, each bound with iron chains, pulling massive ice sleds laden with supplies stacked nearly ten meters high.
The force moved at a decent pace. In the blizzard, every Ice Descendant warrior was alert. They had heard that a supply unit had been ambushed in the Icewind Belt that morning.
Boom!
A loud crash rang out as a massive fireball arced through the air, descending toward the supply unit.
With a thunderous roar, flames scattered, and cries of agony spread. A giant beast, breaking free of its chains, charged out, engulfed in flames. It ran far before collapsing, its body plowing through the snow and sliding across the ice before stopping.
"Enemy attack!"
After urgent banging on shields, the 50,000-strong supply unit formed a defensive formation.
Boom, boom, boom...
The ice trembled. Hearing the sound, the Ice Descendant warriors gripped their weapons, their hands trembling with tension. They had a grim suspicion about which enemy force was coming.
Swish—
A synchronized sound of swords being drawn echoed. The glow of spell formulas flickered faintly in the snowstorm.
Whoosh! Flames ignited on the swords. A total of 100,000 Holy Emblem cavalry charged out of the blizzard, unstoppable.
"It's the Holy Emblem!"
Panic spread through the Ice Descendant supply unit. Some warriors even turned and fled. Such was the deterrent power of the Holy Emblem Knights—this elite cavalry had been active on the Canglong Continent for many years.
The Holy Emblem cavalry, swords ablaze, charged into the enemy ranks, their flaming blades slashing horizontally.
Like reaping wheat, the Ice Descendant warriors fell in droves. They simply couldn't withstand the Holy Emblem cavalry's charge.
After one charge, the 100,000 Holy Emblem cavalry cut straight through the enemy, entering from the left and exiting from the right, piercing the enemy line.
All the Holy Emblem cavalry halted, then the rear became the front, and they charged back.
The sounds of slaughter, battle cries, and screams continued unabated. Some of the Holy Emblem cavalry's warhorses even had faint flames on their bodies.
After several rounds of charges, the enemy supply unit was either dead or fleeing, leaving behind a mountain of supplies and terrified, wailing giant beasts.
"Kill them all."
A squad leader ordered. These giant beasts couldn't be left. Even if released, these domesticated beasts would return to the major cities of the Northern Territory and serve the enemy again as transport.
Soon, blood stained the ice completely. All the supplies were piled up and burned. What couldn't be taken had to be destroyed.
With that done, the 100,000-strong Holy Emblem cavalry immediately withdrew. But at that moment, a series of piercing sounds came from above.
"Retreat!"
The Holy Emblem cavalry leveraged their speed, retreating at full speed toward their original direction. In the snowstorm above, bulky black silhouettes rapidly approached.
A massive hammer broke through the howling wind. A heavy hammer warrior, four meters tall and clad in ultra-heavy armor, folded his oil-coated, thick wings and dove from the sky. Both hands gripping his giant hammer, he smashed it toward the ice.
With a wet crunch, a Holy Emblem cavalryman, horse and all, was crushed to pulp by the hammerhead, as thick as a water vat. Bloodstained ice shards flew everywhere. The hammerhead was covered in spikes.
Heavy, brutal, unstoppable—this was the Heavy Hammer Corps. Numbering 300,000 in total, they were the strongest troop type in this world in one-on-one combat, bar none. After all, they weren't entirely living things.