# Chapter 52: You Can Temporarily Trust Tult
100,000 Sacred Emblem Cavalry, pursued by 150,000 Heavy Hammer troops—the scene was truly miserable. The cavalry's speed was indeed fast, but the Heavy Hammer troops could fly, launching a heavy strike before immediately taking to the air again.
Interestingly enough, the elite forces of the three factions—Duoyin, Northern Border, and Elf Clan—formed a perfect food chain.
The Heavy Hammer troops feared the Elf Clan's Dawnlight troops. Even Demon Flame Dragon Barbatos was wary of those Dawnlight warriors, which showed the power of their arrows. The Heavy Hammer troops, once they encountered the Dawnlight troops, would be shot down in minutes.
The Dawnlight troops feared the Sacred Emblem Knights. Against a cavalry charge, they truly couldn't hold their ground. The Elf Clan's melee combat was somewhat lacking—this was why they had been beaten so badly by the Wolf Cavalry Legion back then.
Finally, the Sacred Emblem Knights feared the Heavy Hammer troops. Against these flying behemoths, they had no good methods and could only fight head-on.
The 100,000 Sacred Emblem Cavalry, who had been so valiant moments ago, now fled at top speed, wishing their warhorses could grow two more legs.
As they fled, the Sacred Emblem Cavalry left behind patches of blood and shredded flesh. The Heavy Hammer warriors dove from high altitude like cannonballs hitting the ground.
When struck by their massive hammers, the Sacred Emblem Cavalry would instantly become a large smear, making intimate contact with the icy surface, freezing together in no time.
Just as these 100,000 Sacred Emblem Cavalry had fled three kilometers, they all stopped. The runes engraved on their armor lit up, and a layer of golden light surged over their bodies.
*Thump!*
A massive hammer descending from above struck a Sacred Emblem Cavalryman. His warhorse neighed in pain, nearly kneeling on the icy surface. The Sacred Emblem Cavalryman, covered in golden light, was sent flying backward.
"Kill!"
Led by Legion Commander Tult, a 50,000-strong cavalry force charged through the wind and snow. Flames blazed on both their bodies and their warhorses. Their charge speed was extreme, breaking through into a trail of fiery afterimages as they rushed toward those few thousand Heavy Hammer warriors who had just landed their strikes.
*Clang!* Sparks flew everywhere. A Sacred Emblem Cavalryman's longsword slashed across a Heavy Hammer warrior's pitch-black armor. The armor was at least three fingers thick, covered in twisted ice patterns.
The longsword cut across the black armor, plowing up large sparks, finally leaving a nearly meter-long, finger-wide gash on the armor. The gash glowed fiery red, and when snowflakes fell on it, they hissed and evaporated into vapor.
The Sacred Emblem Knight who had delivered the slash hadn't wounded the enemy, but a smile appeared on his face. The rune engraved on his arm armor lit up.
Almost simultaneously, the Heavy Hammer warrior who had been slashed crashed onto one knee with a *boom*. The gash on his armor blazed blindingly bright, emitting intense heat, and finally exploded.
Shattered black armor fragments scattered everywhere. The kneeling Heavy Hammer warrior was sent tumbling backward. He lay face-down on the ice, and due to the high temperature at the damaged part of his armor contacting the ice, a large cloud of steam rose beneath him.
After lying on the ground for two seconds, the Heavy Hammer warrior pressed his large hand against the ice and actually stood up.
On his chest, the explosion had shattered the armor there. The flesh on his chest was completely blown open, revealing spreading rotten meat and broken ribs.
Inside this Heavy Hammer warrior's chest, three hearts were beating. One damaged heart was spraying blood outward. This giant monster had three hearts—it was easy to imagine how hard it was to kill.
*Crack, crack, crack~*
Ice spread inside the Heavy Hammer warrior's chest, freezing the damaged heart. His armored large hand reached into his chest and pulled out the frozen heart.
Just when everyone thought he would discard the heart in his hand, he actually opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth, tossed the heart into his mouth, and chewed it loudly.
He wasn't wearing a helmet—the helmet was embedded into his head. That process must have been extremely brutal.
"Ptooey, aren't you afraid of breaking your teeth?"
The Sacred Emblem Knight on his warhorse spat out bloody saliva. He had seen all kinds of scenes—the Chaos Legion's demonic ghosts were far more horrifying than this. Having fought the Chaos Legion for so long, this Sacred Emblem Knight had developed a strong heart.
As more and more Sacred Emblem Knights gathered, the number of Heavy Hammer warriors also increased. They never lingered—after diving to strike a hammer blow, they would immediately find an opportunity to fly back to high altitude, repeating the process.
No wonder the Sacred Emblem Knights were being battered so badly. This almost shameless tactic gave them very little time to attack the Heavy Hammer warriors.
Nearly 600,000 Sacred Emblem Knights engaged the Heavy Hammer troops on the icefield. How many Heavy Hammer troops had come was unclear, but they kept diving down in waves, each time about 30,000 Heavy Hammer warriors descending.
Their landing points were relatively concentrated, allowing them to avoid being pinned down by the Sacred Emblem Cavalry after landing a hammer blow and losing the chance to take off.
After several rounds of hammering, the Sacred Emblem Knights had suffered over 10,000 casualties. In contrast, the Heavy Hammer troops had only lost a few hundred.
The sound of wind breaking came from above, and large shadows dove down. Just then—
"Howl!"
A wolf howl came through the wind. Hearing this howl, Legion Commander Tult's gaze sharpened. He knew the opportunity had come.
*Boom!*
A full 30,000 Heavy Hammer warriors dove from above. The landing points of their attacks vaguely formed a massive circle.
When these 30,000 Heavy Hammer warriors' giant hammers struck the ground, over 60% of the Sacred Emblem Knights within the landing range were killed or wounded. Those at the edge were sent flying by the shockwave, men and horses tumbling.
"Form battle lines!"
Legion Commander Tult shouted. As his shout fell, a large row of Sacred Emblem Cavalry at the edge of the 30,000 Heavy Hammer warriors' landing zone all formed a single-file line.
They leaned forward slightly, gripping the sword hilt with their right hand and the front of the blade with their left, raising their longswords with the blade facing upward.
Rapid running sounds came from behind. Wolf Cavalrymen charged out from the wind and snow. Their running speed was at least 10% faster than usual. The Northern Border was the home of dire wolves—they were very skilled at running on ice.
One Wolf Cavalryman after another leaped up, using the Sacred Emblem Cavalry standing in a row as springboards. First stepping on the warhorses, then their wolf claws stepping on the sword blades.
The waiting Sacred Emblem Cavalry exerted all their strength, pushing the longswords upward with all their might. Their strength, combined with the Wolf Cavalry's jumping power, sent these tens of thousands of Wolf Cavalrymen flying as if they had wings.
In midair, one dire wolf after another extended their claws. The sharp tips gleamed with cold light. Like predators pouncing on prey, they leaped onto the already-airborne Heavy Hammer warriors.
The dire wolves' claws hooked into the gaps in the Heavy Hammer warriors' armor. The Grey Orcs on the wolves all swung their large axes—not using the blade edge to cut, but the blunt striking surface at the back.
*Thump! Thump! Thump!...*
The sound of impacts formed a continuous chain. Many Heavy Hammer warriors were stunned by the blows and fell downward.
After delivering one axe strike, the Wolf Cavalrymen flipped their long-handled axes, raised them high with all their strength, and chopped down at the black wings on the Heavy Hammer warriors' backs.
Blood splattered everywhere. Black blood fell like rain. Nearly 30,000 Heavy Hammer warriors all crashed down, and below them waited the Sacred Emblem Cavalry.
A Sacred Emblem Knight leaped from his warhorse. The longsword in his hand was like a red-hot branding iron. He gripped the longsword with both hands in a reverse grip, leaped up, and stabbed downward. *Pfft*, the longsword pierced into the Heavy Hammer warrior's chest.
The Sacred Emblem Knight roared in fury. Flames exploded inside the Heavy Hammer warrior's chest, shattering his massive body.
Not far away, a Wolf Cavalryman holding a bloodstained battle axe wiped the blood from his head armor.
In the howling wind and snow, the Sacred Emblem Knight and the Wolf Cavalryman locked eyes. Both had complicated expressions. Finally, they nodded to each other. The battle axe was already stained with blood, the longsword was burning.
This counterattack was perfectly executed. Nearly 30,000 Heavy Hammer warriors all died on the icefield. But high in the sky, the number of Heavy Hammer warriors still numbered 270,000.
In the howling wind and snow high above, Baha was flying through alternate space.
Due to the snow cover, visibility at high altitude was very low. Baha squinted its eyes. Although it was in alternate space, it was also trying its best to avoid the surrounding Heavy Hammer warriors. These flying behemoths were truly formidable.
Su Xiao had sent Baha to scout. Earlier, in the wind and snow, he had observed the Heavy Hammer troops' attack pattern. 30,000 Heavy Hammer warriors as a single unit, all diving down to strike at the same time, with not even 0.1 seconds of deviation between them. This was far too synchronized. There was definitely a commander of some kind, and not one commanding through orders—more like mental instructions.
Given the Heavy Hammer warriors' 42-point intelligence attribute, even their leader-level units wouldn't have very strong mental power. So whatever was commanding them was probably not their kind.
What Baha was looking for now was the anomalous individual among the Heavy Hammer warriors. It glided silently through alternate space, its sharp eyes scanning around. When it came to eyesight, Baha was definitely the top of Su Xiao's team. From several kilometers high, after focusing its vision, it could see objects the size of rice grains on the ground. Its vision could adjust between far and near—it was practically a living telescope.
Baha searched silently. Suddenly, it spotted a figure that looked like it was coated in petroleum.
From the silhouette, this figure was female, no more than 1.3 meters tall. Her expression had been frozen on her face by the "petroleum," maintaining an expression of extreme agony. The black wings on her back were exceptionally large.
Near this commander flew dozens of Heavy Hammer warriors over 5 meters tall. They were all elite individuals, their perception fields overlapping, covering the commander layer by layer.
Baha narrowed its eyes, thought for a moment, and decided to strike now.
Surrounding the enemy commander were 270,000 Heavy Hammer warriors. This wasn't something Demon Flame Dragon Barbatos and Su Xiao could break through in a short time.
"Boss, that's basically the situation. I'm going in."
"One strike, certain kill."
"Got it."
In alternate space, Baha's eagle claws scraped through the air, making a faint sound of wind breaking. It spread its wings and began gliding forward at full speed.
10 meters, 8 meters, 5 meters. Successfully closed in.
In the blizzard high above, Baha suddenly appeared behind the enemy commander's head. Its claws opened and stabbed toward the enemy's nape.
Back Strike (Passive Lv.65): If Baha launches a surprise attack from behind an enemy, it deals Agility × 2.7 True Damage + Base Damage + 267 points of True Poison Damage.
*Pfft.*
Baha's claws sank into the enemy's nape. Its body tilted, and its other claw reached forward.
Throat Slit (Active Lv.62): After Baha triggers Back Strike (Passive), it can immediately follow up with this ability, using its claws to tear open the enemy's throat, dealing 1200~2700 points of Vital Point Damage, along with 267 points of True Poison Damage and severe bleeding effect.
*Shrrrk.* Black blood sprayed. A faint blue light glowed on Baha's claws, which were already embedded in the enemy's nape.
Skill 6, Toxic Shadow (Ultimate Skill·Passive/Active Lv.23): Due to the creator's ability characteristics, Baha receives partial enhancements. It contains a growing biological energy poison within its body. Each attack can inflict 267 points of True Poison Damage.
Tip: Baha can inject all its energy poison into an enemy's body at once, dealing up to 5800 points of True Poison Damage. Baha will be weakened for 1~5 seconds.
...
After the three-hit killing combo, Baha immediately began entering alternate space. But when it was halfway in, a giant hammer swung horizontally.
Baha's pupils contracted. But suddenly, it used its eagle claws to make a middle finger gesture.
"See ya."
*Whoosh.* The giant hammer swung through, hitting nothing. Baha had already entered alternate space. This was Baha's fighting style—if it didn't strike, it wouldn't act. But once it struck, it would kill.
The enemy commander in midair began to fall. Meanwhile, in alternate space, just as Baha was about to fly away, a faint female voice came through.
"Thank you."
"Huh?"
Baha looked around left and right. If Bubu Wang suddenly heard such an eerie voice, it would definitely jump in fright.
Just as Baha killed the enemy commander, Su Xiao, who was near the Wolf Cavalry Legion, received a kill notification.
[Tip: Your follower has killed the Second Daughter of the Extreme Ice Lord, Anta Emi.]
[You have gained 12.7% World Source.]
[You have gained Box of Suffering (Chest-type item).]
[You have gained Little Emi's Gratitude.]
[You have gained Ice Bud Candy (After consuming this item, Luck Attribute permanently increases by 1 point).]
...
Just after successfully killing the enemy commander, Su Xiao heard a series of explosions from the sky. All the Heavy Hammer warriors, as if losing their minds, dove down from high altitude.
*Boom, boom, boom...*
Shattered ice flew everywhere. A total of 270,000 Heavy Hammer warriors dove down from above. Black flames burned on their bodies. The ice beneath their feet hissed and corroded. They were burning their life force, their strength skyrocketing. Now, whoever fought them would be in trouble.
Seeing this scene, Su Xiao exchanged glances with Legion Commander Tult, who was over ten meters away. They confirmed it—they could backstab each other.
"Run!"
"Retreat."
Su Xiao and Tult gave orders almost simultaneously. The Sacred Emblem Cavalry and Wolf Cavalrymen were all a bit confused. They had cooperated so well just now, and now the situation had suddenly become delicate.
The Wolf Cavalrymen quickly ran into the distance. The Sacred Emblem Knights weren't slow either.
The Heavy Hammer warriors seemed to have temporarily lost their flight ability. They took large strides, their formation chaotic as they pursued.
In the charging army, Legion Commander Tult quickly discovered a very unfortunate fact: the Wolf Cavalrymen were faster than his knights. This was very unfortunate.
Seeing this, Legion Commander Tult understood a principle. Sometimes, you don't need to be faster than the enemy—being faster than your allies is enough. Especially when your allies are unreliable.
Just as Legion Commander Tult was filled with anxiety, hesitating whether to stop and fight, he suddenly noticed that the speed-boosted Heavy Hammer warriors behind them were actually running past their flank, bypassing them, and heading straight for the Wolf Cavalry Legion ahead.
Seeing this, Legion Commander Tult almost laughed out loud. But a few seconds later, the smile that had just bloomed on his face froze.
Baha flew at high speed through the wind and snow. Below and behind it were densely packed Heavy Hammer warriors. These Heavy Hammer warriors wanted to kill Baha—their hatred for it had reached the heavens.
Baha headed straight for the Sacred Emblem Knights. Behind it came the deafening sound of running.
Watching Baha fly rapidly toward him, Legion Commander Tult's eyes nearly burst. He roared with all his might:
"Don't you come over here!"