The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 801: Volume 24: Beacon Fires Link the Camps, - 12: Thunder Peng Knight

Chapter 801: Volume 24: Beacon Fires Link the Camps, Chapter 12: Thunder Peng Knight

Philip and Carl Libukneisi looked grimly at the scene before them. They had exerted all their power and hadn’t even left a reserve team, yet they hadn’t anticipated that the seemingly invincible Royal Court Magicians and the Three Saints of the Church of Light would be so ineffective against the enemy’s restriction and harassment. Even Maldono had been severely wounded by the enemy’s undead assassins, which shocked both Philip and Carl Libukneisi. The enemy’s strength was formidable. Without the support of the Royal Court Magicians and the Church of Light, Philip and Carl didn’t know what direction the battle would take, but even now, the situation seemed to be increasingly turning against them.

"If that damned Light Saint is to die, let him die," but he stubbornly clung to life, necessitating another Light Saint to take on the responsibility of saving his fading life. This significantly tied down their own mages’ power. Onia and those three haughty Light Knights were also firmly suppressed by two giant undead giants; the slightest misstep could lead to a collapse. The Veiled Saintess, however, proved somewhat capable; under her full effort, the Heavenly Sacred Flame had greatly hindered the Black Warrior Battle Group. Perhaps with a bit more persistence, they could completely annihilate this group of undead.

But upon seeing the situation ahead, Philip and Carl’s hearts couldn’t help but sink. The Mage Corps’ victory did not mean a victory in the overall battle. True victory eventually had to be achieved through the military success on the Battlefield. Seeing the flood of magic attacks falling upon the Knights Regiment and the following Infantry Formation also suffering from this calamity made Philip and Carl feel like crying without tears. They had thought that their powerful mages could deliver a devastating blow to the enemy’s infantry, but now the situation had reversed. The magic attacks of the Caucasus now fell upon their own troops, and their own mages were exhausted from the onslaught of the undead.

Now their only hope rested on the Nirvana Knights, who were conducting a flank attack. If they could seize the opportunity to break through the Caucasus camp’s flank and disrupt their deployment, the war could still belong to Homer. But the question was, could the Nirvana Knights deliver this fatal blow? Why had they still not seen a shadow of them?

Cooklin and Falcon exchanged doubtful and alarmed looks. The shadows circling in the sky were increasing, now numbering more than ten. Even if they lacked experience in fighting with Barbarians, they realized this might be a secret weapon from those lower races. Encountering such a situation less than ten miles from the Battlefield, Cooklin harbored an ominous premonition. The battle cries from the west were faintly audible, indicating that the intenseness of the main battlefield was heating up. According to their plan, their Nirvana Knights should take advantage of the enemy being unprepared and launch a sudden attack on the flanks, completely crushing the enemy’s side defenses and thus breaking the overall enemy lines to win the war. But now, it seemed the enemy had long detected their plan, as evidenced by the increasing shadows overhead.

"Cooklin, be careful, those damned beasts seem to be lining up to attack!" Falcon suddenly cried out louder, who had been observing the activities of those swirling raptors above, "Oh, by the gods, there are people up there! There are actually people riding them?!"

Falcon’s tense voice made Cooklin’s heart leap. Falcon was right, there were indeed people mounted above, and they were fully armed warriors—from their attire, clearly Barbarian Warriors from the Caucasus. They had managed to tame such massive and fierce birds? What kind of birds were these?!

Before Cooklin’s doubts had a chance to be addressed, the first wave of air assault had already been launched!

Five giant birds spread their wings and swooped down in a "V" formation. The Knights of the regiment were already prepared, holding their spears slantingly, forming a forest of spears pointed towards the sky. If those damned beasts dared to swoop down, the Knight Spears, swiftly thrusting upward, combined with the Fierce Wind Fighting Qi, would let these ignorant beasts taste the true valor of the Nirvana Knights.

Sate’s eyes nearly burst into flames. Seeing the main battlefield right ahead, yet blocked by these damned beasts, the speed of the Knights Regiment slowed significantly. The few miles had become so distant, leaving him feeling powerless. All of this was due to the two cowards in front, and he couldn’t understand why Duke Zellin would let Cooklin, the coward, be the Knight Leader. Sate had always believed that he was more suited to the position, reflecting the Knight’s inviolability and sanctity.

Muller calmly surveyed the dense Knights Formation below. The calmness and composure shown by the opposing side made him realize that this group of knights was a formidable foe. However, his duty was not to inflict major damage to the opponent but to delay these powerful enemies from entering the battlefield as much as possible, to win time for their comrades on the main battlefield. This was fairly easier than having to confront these knights face-to-face.

The dive of the five Thunder Pengs stirred up a gale, even the dried grass on the ground swirling in the sudden windstorm. The knights gripped their panicking steeds tightly, their faces somber as they stared into the sky, waiting for the final strike to come.

Like a massive iron anchor, sharp claws descended from beneath the Thunder Peng, their tips gleaming coldly in the sunshine as they sliced through the air, their vast wingspan whipping up fierce winds that nearly forced one to close their eyes. However, for the Nirvana Knights, the real test was yet to come in the final strike.

When the Thunder Peng had descended to just ten feet above the knights, a wrathful shout signaled a Thunder Peng Knight to hurl his short axe downward. The Nirvana Knights, caught utterly off guard, saw four of their number unhorsed by this sudden attack. The great velocity and sharp axes hardly gave the knights any chance to survive; the four knights didn’t even have time to cry out before they fell and did not rise, while at the same moment, five pairs of sharp iron anchor-like claws volleyed through the air!

Muller carefully steered his Thunder Peng, twisting sideways to avoid the combined strike of two knights’ spears beneath him. The intense winds even made his eyes ache a bit, which surprised him; the attack power of these mortal knights was formidable, greatly exceeding his expectations. He had not taken General Fran’s orders seriously at the time, but now he realized the General had been right — though this realization came a bit too late.

Sate had already leaped into action at the first opportunity. These flat-haired beasts were incredibly fast and agile. He had just raised his knight spear when the enemy had already fled sideways, but Sate, having made up his mind earlier, didn’t give his opponent much chance. As he lunged forward, a layer of blue light suddenly flashed on his lance. Following the direction of the fleeing giant bird, Sate fiercely pressed the end of his now flying knight spear, which buzzed and suddenly accelerated directly towards the sprinting giant bird.

A piercing scream echoed across the field as the knight spear drilled straight into the body of the Thunder Peng and even pierced through the body of the warrior on its back. The Thunder Peng, having just managed to ascend thirty feet, could no longer hold itself aloft and fell like a massive rock to the muddy ground, sending feathers and leaves flying everywhere.

The cross attack from Cooklin and Falcon also brought down another Thunder Peng that hadn’t even had a chance to cry out before it fell dead. The fallen Barbarian Warrior was firmly pinned to the ground by the oncoming knight spears. The cruel slaughter reddened the eyes of the Nirvana Knights. Seeing four comrades silently fall and die ignited such pain and fury within them that their strikes became unreservedly merciless.

Muller, his heart twisted in agony, had never anticipated that the enemy would be so powerful. After just one wave of attacks, only three of his five Thunder Pengs remained; of the entire thirteen in the Caucasus, a sixth had been lost in just this brief encounter!

It was only then that Muller truly appreciated how prudent General Fran’s advice before departure had been, and he regretted dismissing it as unimportant. Anger filled Muller’s chest, and at that moment, he wished he could dive back into combat to decide the battle with a fight to the death. However, as the leader, he quickly recognized the recklessness of this impulse. No matter the pain or insult, as the leader, his first duty was to ensure the safety of his entire team, a principle Muller had committed to heart when he was appointed leader of the Thunder Peng Knights.

"Second team, third team, alternate your attacks, maintain a sixty-foot distance, do not approach the enemy! Our task is to hold the enemy!" Suppressing his inner pain and anger, Muller issued his orders through gritted teeth.

Facing such cunning foes, Cooklin realized how much his allies on the main battlefield were counting on his forces. It was clear that this air squadron had specifically come to stall his strike force and delay their progress. The situation on the battlefield was obvious, and at this point, all that remained was to engage before the enemy could achieve their goal and completely shatter their misplaced hopes.

But in this situation, was his Nirvana Knights regiment still in time? At that moment, all Cooklin could do was pray that the Homer People could hold on a little longer.

(To be continued. For more about what happens next, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM, where you can find more Chapters, support the author, and support authorized reading!)