Almost no magical creature could withstand the charge of the Fourth Legion's heavy-armored knights.
Even those mud elementals that could soften the ground into slurry could only briefly bog down the horses' hooves before being promptly baked into hard, black mud by the mages in the following team using precise fireball spells.
The warhorses thundered past, trampling these strangely-shaped black clods into powder, then continued their unwavering charge towards the Magical Creature Legion's position.
Grand Army Commander Beet took to the air, beginning to command the overall situation.
Under its direction, rows of Poison-stinger Wasps from the Blood Legion rose up, their dark red carapaces nearly occupying half the sky, emitting a heart-palpitating hum.
"It's swarm magic! Quickly, switch to crossbow bolts with fire enchantments, intercept them!" an officer on the city wall roared, his voice hoarse.
The soldiers hurriedly worked together to lift the enchanted crossbow bolts, inscribed with flame runes on their arrowheads, into the loading grooves.
Under the surveying officer's command, the soldiers adjusted their launch angles to be nearly vertical.
"Fire!"
This volley of enchanted bolts revealed their special nature the moment they left the strings. The steel bolts pierced through the Gray Mist, instantly bursting into roaring flames like dozens of roaring fire dragons, painting the sky crimson red.
The shaped blood orbs released by the Blood Legion's wasps had just filled the sky when they were met head-on and vaporized by this sea of scorching fire.
Even the few lucky ones that slipped through the fire curtain had their power greatly diminished. Landing on the Knight Team's protective spells, they merely stirred up a few ripples, well within the ability of the accompanying mages to handle easily.
Chen Yu, of course, knew the Border Corps couldn't possibly lack means to deal with swarms, so he never expected these blood orbs to achieve much.
Seizing the moment the flaming bolts burned in the air, four pitch-black Goblin Rippers had been pushed to the front lines by the Metal Slime Artillery with great effort. Their dark muzzles aimed at the Knight Team that had already charged to within a few hundred meters.
Among these four artillery emplacements, two were "veterans" that had appeared on the Graystone Bulwark battlefield. The other two were urgently produced by Anvil working overtime, using stockpiled Black Steel.
As the structural stability of the new emplacements hadn't been fully verified yet, to avoid barrel explosions, the power output for a single activation had been deliberately tuned down significantly. However, their power still wasn't something ordinary Silver-level magical creatures could withstand.
An inexplicable, intense sense of foreboding rose in Simo's heart. Those four dark muzzles seemed to be shrouded in the icy aura of death, causing this battle-hardened The Extraordinary knight to feel a faint unease.
"Shield bearers, ready!" his booming voice resounded across the battlefield.
For the first time, the Knight Team's charge actively halted. Dozens of heavy-armored knights wielding massive tower shields quickly stepped out from the ranks. Like moving fortresses, they firmly planted themselves at the very front of the formation.
Simultaneously, the elite mages within the team began chanting ancient, obscure incantations in unison, beseeching the earth and the Earth Elemental Lords for power, then collectively swept their hands upward.
"Rumble..."
The ground shook violently. Thick, solid earthen walls rapidly rose from the earth before the Knight Team, constructing layered defensive works.
At that moment, the metal on the surface of the four Goblin Rippers' dark barrels seemed to come alive, rhythmically opening and closing like scales, greedily inhaling and exhaling the surrounding Mana.
Deep within the muzzles, arcane energy mixed with the absorbed Mana had already completed its charge.
"Fire!"
The leading Metal Slime Big Brother forcefully waved down the small flag in its hand. Simultaneously, its command was instantly transmitted via the gel network to the areas around the four emplacements spaced ten meters apart.
All the Slime Artillery had serious expressions on their little faces. They uniformly raised their gel hands in a salute, then resolutely activated the emplacements.
"Hum! BOOM!!"
Four thick silver light beams spewed forth from the muzzles. Wherever the beams passed, the magical creatures along the path were instantly vaporized before colliding with the thick earthen walls shaped by the mages.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
"BOOM!"
The layered earthen walls rapidly melted and exploded under this terrifying energy impact. The residual energy finally slammed fiercely against the heavy shields tightly gripped by the knights in the front row.
"BANG!!"
A terrifying force surged forth like a tidal wave. The knights blocking the very front almost simultaneously felt a violent tremor in their arms. The iron shields in their hands were heating up and scalding at an alarming rate, blistering their palms.
Yet they still gritted their teeth, relying on the astonishing endurance granted by their Dwarf Bloodline, stubbornly holding their ground.
The reason the Goblin Ripper could eliminate Silver-level magical creatures was because its power already exceeded the Silver category. Even if it was still far from the Gold level, it was not something to be underestimated.
"Make way!"
Just as the heavy shield knights felt they were nearing their limit, a voice came from behind the shield formation. A stocky figure, shouldering a massive warhammer, parted the crowd and strode forward.
"Black Steel" Simo Barnes!
This The Extraordinary knight, famed for his violence and terrifying defense, stood less than 1.6 meters tall. Yet in the eyes of all the Barnes family knights, his figure was as towering and reliable as a mountain.
He was seen fearlessly withstanding the venting silver energy, firmly taking a few steps forward.
His hands tightly gripped the thick haft of the warhammer. He took a deep breath, then raised the hammer high over his head, using all his strength to bring it crashing down upon the ground ahead.
[Mountain Range Quake]
"THUD!!!"
The giant hammer struck the earth.
Like a thunderclap from a clear sky, the enormous sound instantly drowned out the roar of the artillery. The entire battlefield seemed to experience a violent earthquake, the ground shaking and crazily cracking.
Starting from the point where Simo's warhammer struck, a large swath of earth ahead was compressed together. The ground violently heaved upward, forming a steep, solid hill.
This barrier, shaped by pure force, not only completely blocked the Goblin Ripper's energy blast, but the terrifying shockwave it propagated even traveled all the way to the rear of the Magical Creature Legion.
"Hum!"
The Kingdom's Shield barrier trembled violently, failing to block all the residual force. The four emplacements behind the barrier were suddenly overturned by this unexpected ground tremor.
"Oh no!"
The Slime Artillery tumbled all over the ground, their Q-elastic bodies bouncing several times before they dizzily got up. They hurriedly "splat-splatted" over to the emplacements, trying to right these heavy behemoths.
Meanwhile, the Knight Team had already seized this opportunity, launching their charge once more, quickly ascending the hill shaped by force.
Simo, riding his similarly heavily-armored warhorse, stood atop the highest point of the hill.
His gaze traversed the chaotic battlefield, meeting Chen Yu's eyes from afar on Peachy's back.
His eyes were filled with the confidence and oppressive aura belonging to a The Extraordinary powerhouse.
He raised the warhammer in his hand and shouted loudly, his voice carrying across the battlefield. "Surrender and you will not be killed! You are no match for me!"
Simo was originally waiting for a response from the Slime King on the giant boar mount, but from those small eyes that showed little emotional change, he sensed something amiss.
He admitted this was the largest and most special Slime he had ever seen. Especially the small crown and red cloak symbolizing its kingly status further convinced him of this Slime's uniqueness.
But what gave it the courage to face a The Extraordinary?
Before his thoughts could fully form, a massive explosion sound suddenly erupted from the direction of the Storm Fortress behind him, shaking the hill beneath his feet slightly.
Simo whipped his head around to look. He saw towering plumes of dust and flames rising from the Storm Fortress. A shocking, enormous breach had been blasted into its sturdy city wall.
Something happened at the Storm Fortress?!
"The mana crystal reserve depot exploded!"
Panicked shouts echoed on the fortress walls. This sudden explosion and the violent shaking of the wall threw all the defending troops into disarray.
Impossible!
On the wall, Dominic grabbed a battlement, leaning over to look at the rising column of smoke below. Countless possibilities instantly flashed through his mind.
The mana crystal reserve depot had a very high security level within the Storm Fortress, with soldiers checking it almost daily. How could there suddenly be a negligent explosion, and precisely at this moment?
If it wasn't an accident...
This thought had just flashed through his mind when the Combat Instinct honed through years of battlefield slaughter sensed a trace of dangerous aura.
He instinctively sidestepped, drew his sword, and parried!
He heard a sharp "clang" as he blocked the incoming ice blade. Scattered ice shards and spreading frost instantly obscured part of his vision.
Dominic used the force to leap back several steps, focusing his gaze to look.
The figure of Raven Arevalo, holding a hunting knife, had appeared before him at some unknown time.
Unlike his usual steady Army Commander image, Raven's entire armor was now covered in a thin layer of frost.
The stone bricks beneath his feet were frozen by the spreading frost. Two robust, ghostly blue wolf spirits, like loyal guards, flanked his body, glaring menacingly at Dominic.
This scene instantly created a fleeting illusion for Dominic, as if he wasn't facing a noble-born Kingdom Knight, but an Orc warrior who had walked out of the Northern Ice Plains.
Carrying a savage aura.
Raven confronted him, speaking in a flat tone. "Dominic, you don't seem surprised."
Dominic held the knight's sword in his hand, currently flowing with holy light, upright before him. "Raven, you are not a fool, and neither am I."
"Our stances differ. There's nothing more to say."
After saying this, he suddenly raised his volume, his cold voice ringing across the wall.
"Raven Arevalo, the Arevalo Family, colluded with the traitorous Princess Louisa, attempting to subvert the kingdom's rule. Furthermore, during the Magical Tides invasion, they deliberately sabotaged the fortress defenses, intending to pry open the fortress gates and lead the Magical Tides into the kingdom's heartland."
"For these unforgivable crimes, I, Dominic Elvin, shall act in place of the Sun's justice and punish you with Holy Light."
Hearing this, Raven showed a smile. "Even now, you are unwilling to reveal the existence behind you. It seems you also understand how filthy the things you are doing are."
"Enough!!"
Dominic's gaze darkened. He swung the sword in his hand, now imbued with dense holy light, and brought it slashing down towards Raven with a radiance that seemed capable of purifying all filth.
Raven sidestepped to avoid it. His hunting knife and the holy sword scraped against each other, producing dazzling magical brilliance. Holy light flew off, directly shearing off a corner of the adjacent battlement, the rubble falling down the wall.
Their duel seemed unremarkable, even less flashy and dazzling than the duels of young knights. Yet the ordinary knights nearby dared not approach.
"The Arevalo Family has rebelled! The Third Legion has betrayed the kingdom!"
"Capture them!!"
The chaos on the wall continued to spread. The knights belonging to the Second and Fourth Legions finally reacted, turning their suspicious and uncertain gazes towards their companions beside them bearing the Arevalo emblem.
They hesitated, their hands gripping their weapons trembling slightly, unsure whether to raise their swords against their former comrades.
At that moment, several Second Legion knights with shifty eyes launched an attack first.
"Quickly, seize these traitors!"
However, before they could rush more than a few steps, they were sent flying back even faster, crashing heavily against the walls or battlements behind with a series of dull thuds.
Alice stepped out steadily from the gathering Arevalo Family knights. She raised the longsword in her hand high, her cold voice clearly reaching all around.
"Second Legion Commander Dominic Elvin, Fourth Legion Commander Simo Barnes, colluded with foreign Demons, slandered Princess Louisa, and attempted to completely infiltrate and Corrupt our homeland."
Her gaze swept over the knights showing hesitation, her tone grave and earnest. "Knights, open your eyes. Do not let your vision be clouded by the Demon's lies."
"Recognize clearly who is the true threat to the kingdom, and who are your compatriots and the justice you should protect!"
Alice's words were plain and unadorned, even devoid of any inflammatory rhetoric, yet they struck the hearts of many knights like a heavy hammer.
Here, no one was a true fool.
Combining Alice's words with the various unreasonable deployments within the Border Corps in recent years, the strange orders from certain high-ranking officials, and the questionable points surrounding Princess Louisa's sudden conviction for treason... many clues instantly connected in these knights' minds.
A portion of the knights abandoned the overly complex question of who was right or wrong, choosing to temporarily stand aside and point their weapons at the Magical Tides creatures below the wall, constantly assaulting the protective Magic Formation.
They believed that, no matter what, resisting the Magical Tides was the Border Corps' most fundamental duty.
Only those knights who firmly supported their families unhesitatingly launched attacks against the Arevalo Family knights.
For a time, the Storm Fortress descended into chaotic fighting.
On the distant hill, Simo smashed away a nearby magical creature with his hammer. Looking at the rising smoke and the sounds of fighting coming from the wall, his expression instantly darkened.
But he did not choose to return to aid them. Instead, he spoke out to steady all the knights.
"Trust Dominic! He can deal with those traitors from the Arevalo Family. Our task is to crush the Magical Creature Legion!"
"Yes, Army Commander!"
Bolstered by Simo's encouragement, the worry faded from the knights' eyes, their focus returning to the enemy before them.
However, before the knights could launch another charge, they felt the surrounding light suddenly grow even dimmer. A huge shadow enveloped them from above.
Looking up, they saw it was a mountain eagle!