Chapter 1001: Panic raid
Five Minutes Ago
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"That foolish old fart, how could he not recognize such bad acting?!" Marshal Haros looked extremely annoyed as he flew ahead of what appeared to be a swarm of Imperial Guards. At any other time, he would have felt like he was in the safest place in the world, surrounded by seventy Imperial Guards, but now he was flying forward like an arrow, too afraid to slow down for even a moment.
"Marshal, was there really a need to leave like this?" The oldest of the imperial guards sped up slightly to catch up with the marshal. "We agreed to follow you because you saved our lives in the military square battle, but that doesn't mean we want to betray our brothers at your mere order."
"But here you are, betraying them and following me. Did I slap you on the hand to make you do it?!" the marshal shouted back.
"....." That imperial guard lowered his head slightly. In truth, he wanted to oppose the marshal and stay behind, but seeing Marshal Haros so panicked and fleeing like this made his feet move on their own to follow him.
"What's happened has happened, Marshal. Why don't we go back now to save them? We can say we were attacked and drawn into a distant battle or something like that," another
imperial guard sped forward to support his brother.
"There's no one left to save." Marshal Haros sped up slightly as he remembered Robin's terrible acting. "Am I the only one who noticed? He was acting as if everyone who went to him was already as good as dead and was just trying to lure more. He didn't even put much effort into his performance, as if to say, 'If you don't believe I'm defeated, at least come save them from me.' He just wanted more of us to come out! If I hadn't fled, we'd be dead by now- no doubt about it! Hate me all you want, but I just saved your lives for the second time in a row."
Hearing this, the imperial guards closest to the marshal looked at each other, then down, and continued flying behind him, trying to match his speed.
As for the marshal himself, he kept muttering: "...That human bastard has such an appetite. He wasn't satisfied with Snaite and 130 Imperial Guards; he wanted to lure us in as well. What exactly is he planning? Is he that confident in his power, or is he preparing some kind of trap? Damn it..."
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"We're here!" The marshal slowed down and raised his hand to signal everyone else to reduce their speed as well. Then he slowly descended and hid behind one of the mountains near the battlefield. "We'll wait for a chance to intervene. If we can turn the victory to the beasts here and then bypass the strait, Robin Burton will be forced to cram his army back into the military square to keep them safe. That'll buy us some time to figure something out."
"...Doesn't that mean the beasts will take control of the planet and our species will be wiped out entirely? At least Robin Burton and his followers keep some as prisoners, the beasts wouldn't." one guard asked.
"Does anyone have a better idea?! Which one of you wants to take my place and lead? Be my guest!" the marshal shouted angrily, glaring at everyone. When silence filled the air, he nodded several times. "That's what I thought too!" Then he turned back to observe the battle.
CLANK
The battle was raging between the True Beginning Empire's army and the massive beast horde. "....."
Haros couldn't help but stare at the True Beginning Empire's army. This was the first time he had seen their full army in a real battle. His previous encounters with them on Planet Gudah or in the military square Battle meant nothing; those were merely clashes between martial emperors.
But now... the sight of the cavalry armed with powerful matrices, holding their positions against millions of beasts; the infantry advancing from behind, killing the beasts near the walls using a vast display of heavenly laws and high-quality weapons; hundreds of thousands of Drako riders in the sky providing unmatched aerial support; the human emperors wielding heavenly laws somehow and donning complete epic sets of armor; the terrifying Tree Fathers and Warlords, each of whom could rival a marshal; And finally... Those two individuals.
One wielded a halberd, fearlessly floating above the middle of the battlefield staring at Durger The Devourer right in the fu*ckin' eyes. None of the nine beasts dared approach him- the very same individual who fought Marshal Snaite and forced him to spend most of the battle fleeing until Haros eventually saved him.
The other sat at the rear, exuding a dense aura and terrifying killing intent, allowing him to seal several breaches without even moving. Each of them possessed strength surpassing that of ordinary marshals; they could undoubtedly fight the First Marshal, Celebos, head on! Beyond the meticulously designed army formation, several green domes sat at the rear, filled with wounded soldiers visibly recovering.
Additionally, there were numerous groups of elder Burton family members working to reorganize the lines as ordered by the Supreme General. Should someone fall on the front lines or a breach open, they worked tirelessly to send reinforcements and restore the situation to its optimal state.
After observing carefully for a few seconds, Haros muttered under his breath, "...Perfect, everything... is perfect."
At that moment, Caesar's voice echoed even to their position: "Now!" The Terra battalions advanced, slicing through the beast army like a hot knife through butter!
"What's with all these arrays?"
"Damn it, their Overlord is ridiculously rich!!"
The Imperial Guards, who had spent most of their lives in the middle belt, knew well the value of such matrices in wars, their prices, and how rare they were. Seeing so many matrices deployed in a battle in the young belt was shocking.
"...Focus. The opportunity has arrived," Marshal Haros stood. "Their army's formation is very tight. Even in the absence of that human with the halberd and the Terra battalions, their army remains strong. We can't engage them head-on. Your mission is to attack the Warlords from the rear and open those gaps in the dark flame wall. All we're doing is helping the beasts break through to the other side, and then we retreat. Understood?"
"Understood!" The seventy guards stood in unison, then launched themselves toward the
battlefield.
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BOOOOOM
"Enemies coming from the rear!"
"Take caution! Aargh-!"
As soon as the Imperial Guards reached the battlefield, they followed orders, immediately attacking the breaches while ignoring everything else.
The martial emperors of the True Beginning Army-and technically all of the soldiers-were already engrossed in the battle, trying to maintain balance despite being vastly outnumbered. So when all those high-level martial emperors suddenly attacked, they didn't know how to
respond.
Clatter Clatter.
Feeling insulted that the army was attacked while he was present, he started showcasing his strength for all to see, Richard stood up and shouted at them, "Does none of you know the difference between life and death?!" The green flames in his hair erupted, roaring until they reached the heavens.