Chapter 53: You Can Trust Turt Again
The wind and snow howled across the icefield. The Wolf Cavalry Legion broke through the blizzard, racing at full speed across the frozen surface, with powerful enemies in pursuit behind them.
After Baha successfully assassinated the second daughter of the Extreme Ice Lord, Anta Emi, the heavy hammer warriors who had been flying overhead all dove down. The pitch-like substance on their wings surged, causing them to lose their ability to fly.
Logically speaking, the deterrent power of the Heavy Hammer Corps should have been greatly reduced. Among the allied elite forces, the Heavy Hammer Corps had the smallest numbers, and now they had lost their flight capability.
But things didn't develop as expected. A full 270,000 heavy hammer warriors all burned their life force, unleashing combat power beyond their limits. As a cost, they would soon fall into weakness, possibly even dying from life force depletion.
Or rather, these heavy hammer warriors were never truly normal beings to begin with. They had always exchanged life force for powerful combat ability; this was merely accelerating that process.
The cold ice wind belt had become exceptionally lively. The Wolf Cavalry Legion charged ahead, while behind them was the Holy Emblem Knight Order.
The Holy Emblem Knights on their warhorses had eyes blazing with fury, nearly spitting fire. Behind them were powerful enemies—no, it should be rabid dogs behind them. If not for activating their acceleration runes, they would have been caught already. The acceleration runes couldn't be maintained indefinitely; they could only last about half an hour.
The heavy hammer warriors behind had completely lost their reason. The only thought in their minds was to kill Baha, and anyone or anything that got in their way would be slaughtered along with them.
The second daughter, Anta Emi, was the sole reason these heavy hammer warriors continued living. Defending the Northern Border? Swearing loyalty to the Extreme Ice Lord? None of that mattered to the heavy hammer warriors.
The heavy hammer warriors had originally been normal Ice Descendants, elites selected from among many Ice Descendant warriors. Their last memory was being taken to a room filled with Doom Priests. After that came coldness and darkness—endless, boundless darkness. All heavy hammer warriors experienced the same thing.
Until one day, a faint glimmer of light appeared in these heavy hammer warriors' consciousness. Though not brilliant, it was the only thing they could perceive. When swallowed by darkness, even the slightest light was enough to be considered a divine gift.
For this glimmer of light, the heavy hammer warriors would give everything. And this glimmer was the second daughter, Anta Emi. The louder her soul screamed, the brighter the light she emitted. She naturally had no idea what she represented; she only wished she could extinguish herself as soon as possible.
On the icefield, a heavy hammer warrior roared. All heavy hammer warriors had black flames burning on their bodies, surging forward like a black torrent, mercilessly crushing everything across the icefield, leaving shattered ice in their wake.
The heavy hammer warriors could all sense the residual 'light particles' in the sky—that was the trail of the Light Killer.
Baha didn't know it had been labeled as a 'Light Killer.' Flying high in the sky, it kept pondering one question: why was the enemy commander so much weaker than expected?
What puzzled it even more was why, after it killed the target, the target actually thanked it. The tone was filled with a sense of relief.
Baha set these thoughts aside for now. Flapping its wings, it flew directly above the Holy Emblem Knight Order. Now that it had entered the backstabbing phase, it naturally wouldn't show any mercy.
"Friends down below, how are you all doing?"
Baha shouted with a mocking laugh. On the ice below, the crisp sound of horse hooves was unceasing, accompanied by a barrage of curses.
"Damn it, you're cursing me?"
Baha opened its throat wide. While flying at high speed, it engaged in a verbal battle with the Holy Emblem Knight Order below—one against 580,000.
A strange scene unfolded. The Holy Emblem Knights fleeing for their lives below were so furious their eyes were bloodshot. Having received various etiquette lessons since childhood, their cursing vocabulary was limited to a few phrases. In contrast, Baha in the sky was fully loaded with firepower; its vocabulary bank wasn't accumulated for nothing.
Among the Holy Emblem Knights at the front, Legion Commander Turt's face was ashen. He silently reflected in his heart that his backstabbing speed had been too slow earlier. The current situation was the price—hundreds of thousands of soldiers being hunted.
"Sir, what do we do?"
A female voice came from behind—it was Medical Chief Off. She had already rushed from the rear to the front lines, which was why she hadn't appeared when Su Xiao set out.
Now Off was riding a warhorse, following behind Turt. No one had stipulated that logistics troops couldn't fight. For instance, Medical Chief Off was ranked among the top five in strength within the Holy Emblem Knight Order.
"Continue marching. Try to overtake the enemy... overtake the allied forces."
Turt didn't directly refer to the Wolf Cavalry as the enemy. There were many reasons for this. Currently being pursued, if they completely broke ties with the Wolf Cavalry Legion, the situation would become very unfavorable.
What Turt worried about most was the Wolf Cavalry Legion ahead suddenly stopping and charging toward the Holy Emblem Knight Order, delivering a 'friendly strike.' If that happened, they would be finished, caught in a pincer attack with no way to withstand it.
In the middle section of the wind and snow belt, a 10,000-strong Ice Descendant force was marching across the ice. They weren't leading many giant beasts, but their ice sleds were loaded with supplies.
The Northern Border clearly understood one principle: don't put all eggs in one basket. Supplies had to be transported in batches. If too much was moved at once and intercepted, the losses would be unimaginable.
"The weather keeps getting colder."
"Yeah."
"Hurry up. The front lines are waiting for this batch of grain. The battle situation isn't optimistic."
Several low-ranking Northern Border officers chatted as they walked, their expressions relaxed. Being spared from the front lines, they were genuinely happy.
Rumble...
The ice beneath their feet began to tremble. The officers looked puzzled, but a one-armed veteran behind them showed terror in his eyes.
"A large army is approaching—cavalry!"
The one-armed veteran shouted, pulling an ice spike from his lower back. He prepared to dig a hole in the ice and crawl in. From his experience, with the ice vibrating so intensely, the enemy cavalry numbered at least hundreds of thousands.
No sooner had the veteran spoken than Wolf Cavalry soldiers burst out of the wind and snow. Seeing this, the 10,000-plus Ice Descendant soldiers felt despair. They couldn't understand why a mere logistics unit would attract hundreds of thousands of enemy troops.
"It's the War Demon's Wolf Cavalry Legion!"
Hearing this shout, the Ice Descendant warriors felt even more hopeless. Some even began considering whether surrender might offer a chance to survive.
Under the despairing gazes of these 10,000-plus Ice Descendant warriors, a full 500,000 Wolf Cavalry rode past them, bypassing their flank.
Moments later, the icefield fell silent. Several low-ranking Northern Border officers stood frozen in place, the joy of surviving a disaster filling their hearts.
Rumble...
The ice beneath their feet began trembling again. If the 10,000-plus soldiers here hadn't been trained, they might have burst into tears. This was simply too intense.
"It's Doyin's Holy Emblem Knight Order!"
A despairing, powerless shout spread. The 10,000 Ice Descendant soldiers stood rooted to the spot. The dramatic ups and downs had made them see through life.
Yet, under their stunned gazes, the Holy Emblem Knight Order rode past them from the front without even glancing their way.
A few seconds later, some new recruits collapsed onto the ice, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Rumble...
The ice trembled again—the same familiar sound, the same familiar feeling.
"Let it all perish. Let the Northern Border and Doyin both perish quickly."
A low-ranking officer threw down his weapon, pulled a flask from his thick cotton coat, and drank gulps.
"It's our Heavy Hammer Corps!"
Hearing this shout, the 10,000-plus Ice Descendant warriors nearly cheered. But the heavy hammer warriors charging toward them showed no sign of stopping.
Seconds later, screams and the sound of limbs being crushed came from within the wind and snow. Giant beasts let out mournful cries.
The Wolf Cavalry at the front had little pressure. Dire wolves were naturally long-distance runners.
Doyin's scale horses were also good at running, but this was the Northern Border. Running on ice, horse hooves differed from wolf claws. Additionally, the cold climate affected the fire-attribute scale horses.
After the three forces had been racing through the cold wind belt for nearly half an hour, the Holy Emblem Knight Order couldn't hold out first. Their acceleration runes were about to reach their limit. Continuing to activate them would exponentially drain their stamina.
"Halt!"
Legion Commander Turt at the front of the army drew his sword and roared. The Holy Emblem Knights gradually slowed down.
"Light Shield Battle Formation."
"Roar!"
The Holy Emblem Knights shouted in unison, raising their swords. The runes on their backs glowed with golden light.
580,000 Holy Emblem Knights formed three arrays. Their activated runes connected, forming three enormous light shields in front of them.
Three ultra-massive light shields stood, with three groups of Holy Emblem Knights behind them. At Turt's command, they began charging backward.
Warhorses galloped. The three massive light shields advanced. Heavy thudding sounds came from behind—the Heavy Hammer Corps. The two sides rapidly closed in.
With a thunderous boom, a wave of flame and a wave of blackness collided. Men and horses tumbled. Broken swords flew up. Fragments of shattered hammers scattered everywhere.
High above, Baha emerged from alternate space. It had been under fire from the Holy Emblem Knight Order's flame runes earlier, so it naturally had to be careful.
Brutal slaughter unfolded on the icefield. A surprising scene appeared: the Holy Emblem Knight Order actually held their ground. After all, every member had Sword Mastery Lv.40. Don't underestimate this technique ability of modest rank—when a large army mastered technique-type abilities, even at a low rank, it was formidable.
The Heavy Hammer Corps had been powerful half an hour ago, but this pursuit had drained them considerably. They had lost flight capability and lacked a commander to control them.
Even so, the heavy hammer warriors weren't pushovers. Some gripped their long-handled hammers and began spinning like windmills.
More critically, they feared neither life nor death. Unless their heads were cut off or their torsos destroyed, they could keep fighting.
A brutal battle of attrition began. It took three full hours before the Holy Emblem Knight Order finally stabilized their defensive line. Leveraging their numerical advantage, they began encircling and gradually devouring the Heavy Hammer Corps.
The Holy Emblem Knight Order's victory was only a matter of time. After losing nearly 80,000 knights, they finally withstood the Heavy Hammer Corps' most frenzied assault. Now, the heavy hammer warriors were beginning to weaken.
"Don't panic! Your allies are here!"
Baha shouted from high above. Hearing this, Medical Chief Off, who was fighting amidst the chaos, pulled a dagger from her waist. With a whoosh, the dagger flew straight toward Baha.
"So it was you up there. I thought you were an enemy."
Medical Chief Off smiled sweetly after missing. As she spoke, she leaped from her warhorse. With a flick of her arm, a cold gleam flashed, and a nearby heavy hammer warrior's head was severed.
Bang!
The seemingly delicate Medical Chief Off kicked a heavy hammer warrior between the legs. The warrior was lifted slightly off the ground by the force.
Seeing Off's precise and elegant groin kick, Baha felt a bit uneasy. Not just the semi-hostile Baha, but even Legion Commander Turt not far away felt a chill in his crotch after witnessing that kick.
Wolf Cavalry soldiers charged in from the flank, coming to 'reinforce' the Holy Emblem Knight Order.
Seeing this, Turt frowned in thought. But soon, he ordered the Holy Emblem Knights on the flank to spread to both sides, allowing the Wolf Cavalry Legion to enter the battlefield.
The backstabbing phase had temporarily passed. Now, with a 'knife' still stuck in his back, Turt chose to first wipe the blood clean, then find an opportunity to stab Su Xiao in the back.