Chapter 382: Countercharge
After casually destroying a stationed baronial army, the Red Dragon Knight Order wasted no time charging toward the next encampment.
The warhorses beneath them seemed to bulge with throbbing veins, and a dark red glow pulsed along their hides like surging magical energy.
This magic dispersed into the burning torches, slowly seeping into the knights’ bodies, replenishing their mana.
After each camp was broken through, the horses’ swollen abdomens visibly shrank.
Their gallop resembled a physical release and stretch, and by the time the knights charged into the next camp, the steeds were in even better shape than when they broke through the first.
This new camp was slightly larger than the first, but no different in outcome. The moment the Red Dragon Knight Order made contact, it was utterly crushed.
When the last man in the camp was killed, the warhorses’ abdomens swelled once more, and their neighs grew increasingly shrill.
If the highest fortress of Doyle had not been destroyed, then from its tallest balcony one could have seen a scarlet blaze encircling the entire city of Doyle.
Occasionally, this blaze struck something hard and scattered sparks, which quickly rejoined the flames.
As if dictated by fate, the infantry led by Julian marched straight toward the main gate of Doyle, while the Red Dragon Knight Order veered off to the right. The rebellious knights fled to the left.
Thus, the rebels narrowly avoided the iron hooves of the Red Dragon Knight Order and stumbled into a viscount’s military camp.
This viscount, second only to Marquis Gregor, had brought over eight hundred soldiers and seven knights to the campaign.
Five of these knights had accompanied the viscount to Doyle, while two remained behind in the camp.
Of the five who went to Doyle, only one survived.
It was because of this surviving knight that a conflict between the viscount’s army and the fleeing knights was avoided.
The escaped knights had a crazed look in their eyes, nerves stretched thin. One wrong move, and they wouldn’t hesitate to slaughter this eight-hundred-strong camp to vent their fury.
Under the arrangement of the surviving knight, some jerky was swiftly brought to the rebel knights. He explained the situation to his two peers, informing them that the knights intended to break camp and leave.
The two commanding knights initially wanted to refuse. They had not seen their lord’s corpse, and rebelling directly against Greenwood was a heavy burden.
They were beneficiaries of the Church's founding. Regardless of their true thoughts, they always claimed to be devout believers. Though they might not have memorized the New Testament Scriptures, they at least understood its main tenets.
Even if they weren’t truly devout, after living in this environment for four or five years, they had developed some taboos around it.
After all, once something exists and is praised by the surrounding world, even the most stubborn unbeliever is subtly influenced.
They also had the memory of the Old Testament era to compare to.
No knight was particularly young. Even the youngest ranked fourth-tier after the New Testament Era began was at least twenty-four, meaning they had been sixteen during the Church's founding.
They remembered how miserable life had been for those who couldn’t become knights under the Old Testament.
Lords wanted them to exist—but not really.
Their presence signaled military strength, but knightly titles were limited, and so were the lords’ resources. As their numbers grew, the lords’ authority waned.
Knights didn’t want them to exist—but they also did.
Their presence meant that titled knights were no longer indispensable. Yet without them forming the backbone of the army, the lord’s troops would be laughably weak.
So they had always lived under pressure.
With the New Testament Era, they no longer had to endure it. If they were fourth-tier, they could proclaim it proudly, backed by the guild.
Thus, they were grateful to the Church, devoutly praising the Lord. They had no wish to return to the Old Testament era.
Of course, what they didn’t want was the part of the Old Testament era where they weren’t knights. If they already held knighthood, they thought some aspects of that time were worth preserving.
But heading to the woodlands meant losing the Lord’s protection. The act itself was true betrayal—of Greenwood, of Lundex.
The Kingdom of Lundex was under the Lord’s protection. Once they rebelled, they abandoned that divine shelter.
That was why the escaped knights were so frenzied.
They had lost their lord. The appearance of York Territory’s troops meant losing everything in Greenwood. And after fleeing to the woodlands, they lost their faith.
They could no longer rightfully call themselves devout believers.
They had been completely cast aside by the New Testament Era.
All that remained was to live in the dreaded days of the Old Testament.
Thus, the two commanding knights didn’t want to lose everything so easily.
In their minds, they were merely answering Marquis Gregor’s summons, following their lord to this place. To them, the Church had tacitly approved this act—and therefore, the Lord had as well.
Unfortunately, the escaped knights couldn’t lie to themselves like that.
When they burst from the second gate, they saw Knight Paul.
A man clad in full knightly armor was impossible to miss.
That was why Knight Paul wasn’t killed by their charge. Instead, his armor was battered with dents as an outlet for their rage.
Even if they knew in their hearts that they were only nominally devout, after so long, they instinctively hesitated before the Church’s people.
At least, they told themselves that Knight Paul hadn’t raised a weapon against them.
Anyone who died in the chaos—they were just unlucky.
But thanks to Knight Paul, as they fled, even if no one voiced it, everyone came to understand: the Church hadn’t approved of their actions—it had merely allowed the Senate’s orders.
Or rather, they had always known this was the truth, but something had kept them from admitting it.
Perhaps they had deliberately ignored it.
And that impulse—maybe it was the Sin of Greed, recorded in the New Testament Scriptures.
Whether the Church had a role in this conspiracy—they dared not speculate.
So, under those dangerous stares, the two commanding knights agreed to take their troops to the woodlands.
With this answer, the escaped knights quickly devoured the jerky, drank some wine, and wiped away the dried blood.
Once done, the two knights gathered the camp’s soldiers.
They set the camp ablaze and marched toward another.
Eight hundred soldiers wouldn’t be enough to hold ground in the woodlands—nor to divide among so many knights.
They needed more.
They didn’t believe York had more troops outside the city.
This was Doyle Territory, after all—with fifteen hundred fully armored third-tier elite warriors, each phalanx supported by knights. That force was already substantial.
They were knights with military training, and they knew the York warriors’ top priority was securing Doyle City.
With the solid defense of Doyle City and its elite garrison, even if all the nobles’ coalition forces assembled, they couldn’t break this stronghold.
Then all York had to do was wait ten days, maybe half a month. The coalition would disperse on its own.
This, they realized, was the most effective way to deal with their group—minimizing both material and human losses.
For Greenwood now, people were the most precious resource.
So they had to seize this time gap and gather all the noble troops outside Doyle City.
They moved swiftly, avoiding the main gate of Doyle, the path they’d fled.
They veered leftward, sweeping up camp after camp, amassing nearly two thousand warriors. The number of gleaming-armored knights grew.
They could already see the moon descending and the sky beginning to lighten.
Dawn was near. It was time to stop gathering and head to the woodlands.
So they thought.
But before they could turn, they saw distant red torches charging toward them.
「Enemy attack!」
The cry rang out again and again.
Tense knights responded instantly. Those with gleaming armor turned the troops to flee.
The knights who had escaped Doyle lined up into formation.
They had to buy time for the army’s retreat—and they desperately needed to release their pent-up rage.
The oncoming force was swift—likely cavalry.
From the lights, it looked like a hundred or so.
But they too had over a hundred knights.
And this area was open.
They lowered their visors, hiding flushed, excited faces.
Even if every foe was a knight, they had over a hundred knights as well!
Even if they lost—they wanted to prove: the knights who upheld the Old Testament code were never wrong!
Thus, these knights of the Old Testament Era launched a countercharge against the onrushing Red Dragon Knight Order.