Chapter 299 - 61: Huang Na’s Divine Might
Chapter 299: Chapter 61: Huang Na’s Divine Might
"What should we do?"
Augus didn’t say much, simply walking up to the Jackal Wolfman.
"I’ll give you one chance. Succeed, and we won’t hold you responsible for what happened.
I’ll even send men to protect your tribe." Augus looked at the Jackal Wolfman Chief, who was pinned to a tree, and spoke in a threatening tone.
The Jackal Wolfman Chief’s breaths were shallow, as if he might see the Beast God at any second.
Augus dared to say this because this Jackal Wolfman Tribe was a vassal of the Beastman Tribe he served. Although everyone said Prince Odoruo was benevolent, that benevolence was reserved for higher races like the Gray Dwarves, Centaurs, and Beastmen.
Without a bloodline mutation, Jackal Wolfmen were only a little smarter and physically stronger than Kobolds.
"Stop fucking playing dead! You’re Silver rank. If you fail, we’ll send your entire tribe to the Northern Wasteland once we pull back!" Augus threatened.
"N-no! Don’t!"
Hearing the words "Northern Territory," the nearly-dead Jackal Wolfman Chief took several deep gulps of air and began to regain consciousness.
The Northern Territory! In the Beastman Empire, that name meant absolute death and silence. The last time the Northern Territory made an appearance in the continent’s history was a thousand years ago, when a Necromancer from a foreign race there unleashed a tide of undeath that swept across the land.
In the past, only those who had committed the gravest of crimes were exiled there.
"I... I’ll do it, milord. But if I stay, can you let a few of my people go...?"
Seeing that playing dead had failed, the Jackal Wolfman Chief switched to negotiating.
"Augus, the human Cavalry is getting closer! Hurry up! We have to retreat!" Gustav urged.
"Fine. I agree to your terms," Augus replied.
"Alright, what do we need to do?" the Jackal Wolfman Chief asked, looking at Augus.
"Here’s what you’ll do..."
.....
SCREECH!
Huang Na soared through the sky. This was the first time since her youth that she had truly stretched her body.
Perhaps due to her exceptional gifts, Huang Na was now several meters long from head to tail, far surpassing others of her age.
"Stop staring! The phoenix in the sky is the Lord’s magical beast! Follow her and charge forward!" Claude shouted to the Heavy Cavalry behind him.
Although most of the men behind Claude were sixth-tier Frank border cavalry, the sight of Huang Na was so stunning that no one could look away.
"The Lord!"
’As expected, a magnificent creature like this must be connected to the Lord...’
’No wonder the Lord is victorious in every battle. How could someone who can tame a phoenix be an ordinary person?’
Claude had no idea that his words had just sent a shockwave through the Cavalry Team.
Even for high nobles, a phoenix was no ordinary creature, let alone for commoners like them. Most had only heard a few passing mentions of them in the corners of storybooks.
Thanks to the Mount & Blade system and Robson’s own preferential policies towards his soldiers, his reputation in the army had always been incredibly high.
Now, with Huang Na’s dramatic appearance, many of the Soldiers began to see Robson in an almost mythical light.
SCREECH!
Just as the cavalrymen were lost in thought, Huang Na let out a sudden cry from the sky and began to dive sharply.
Claude understood her meaning. ’The enemy is near.’
"For the kingdom! For Affleck! Charge!" Claude roared, his battle aura flaring to life in an instant. He spurred his warhorse, drew the Knight’s Spear at his side, and led the charge himself.
"For Affleck! For the Lord!" the cavalrymen yelled, raising their lances and following closely behind Claude.
Illuminated by the flames from Huang Na’s body, the Heavy Cavalry charged down the mountain, shouting their battle cries.
...
"Have you memorized everything? Even if you’re all wiped out, you absolutely cannot let them detect our presence. Otherwise, the Northern Wasteland will be your fate!" Augus added one final threat to the Jackal Wolfman Chief before leaving.
"Augus, let’s go! The humans are about to charge through!" Gustav said, his expression hurried and anxious.
The mountains had muffled the sound before, so they hadn’t really noticed. But now, as the Cavalry charged down the mountain, the earth-shattering commotion even startled Gustav.
That was Cavalry, and they were charging downhill!
A downhill charge already gave them an advantage in visibility and morale, and theirs seemed to have been boosted even higher.
Augus nodded. Feeling the tremors in the ground beneath him, he turned and began to walk away.
Watching the two Beastman officers leave, the Jackal Wolfman Chief looked up at the pitch-black sky, his heart dead with despair.
Jackal Wolfmen were naturally cunning creatures. The tremors coming from the ground had startled even those two large Beastmen; how could an ordinary Jackal Wolfman like him possibly face it calmly?
"Chief, what do we do now? Maybe we should just run. I mean... they won’t come back to check on us anyway..."
"Chief, look at the ground! The stones are jumping! These humans are just too..."
"Silence!"
Hearing the words of his kinsmen, the Jackal Wolfman Chief cut them off.
"You didn’t think to resist then, but now you see?" the Jackal Wolfman Chief said, looking at the crowd before him.
"Get ready... Once you start down this path, you have to accept your fate..."
"Alright! Assemble! Ready your bows! Assemble!"
The Jackal Wolfman Chief said no more and began ordering his soldiers to prepare for battle.
Unfortunately, the rumbling from the ground grew louder. Without the two Beastmen to intimidate them, how could the Jackal Wolfmen possibly have the will to face the enemy?
It wasn’t death that was terrifying, but the wait for it.
They all knew they were nothing but sacrificial pawns on the battlefield.
"Get over here! If we desert, what will happen to the tribe? If you run now, do you think you can outrun those humans?" Seeing his sluggish troops, the Jackal Wolfman Chief was so angry he could have stomped his feet.
It seemed the word "tribe" had some effect, as the Jackal Wolfmen finally began to stir. But at that very moment, a screech suddenly echoed from the sky.
SCREECH!
Before the terrified eyes of the Jackal Wolfmen, a silver-white bird in the distance was approaching at astonishing speed.
This legion under Gustav’s command had seen its share of the world, so a single bird didn’t frighten them at first. Not until it drew closer and they could gradually make out the flames enveloping its body.
They stared at the beautiful creature, not yet realizing what was about to happen.
It wasn’t until the bird screeched again and dove toward the Jackal Wolfman Legion that the Jackal Wolfman Chief finally reacted.
"Fire! Quick! Fire!" the Jackal Wolfman Chief commanded at the top of his lungs.
Some of the Jackal Werewolf Shooters, slow to react, raised their shoddy bows and drew them toward the sky.
"Shoot! Dammit, what are you gaping at!" The Jackal Wolfman Chief was frantic as he watched the magical beast get closer. He wasn’t completely ignorant. At the very least, he could tell that this was definitely a High-Tier Magical Beast!
Even a standard Beastman Corps, let alone their Jackal Wolfman Legion, would need several hundred warriors to face it head-on.
Hearing the Jackal Wolfman Chief’s words, a portion of the Jackal Werewolf Shooters belatedly fired their arrows into the sky.
But it was too late.
The silver-white bird spat fire from its beak, and the arrows flying toward it instantly turned to ash, dissipating in the air.
The flames didn’t stop, continuing straight toward the Jackal Wolfman Legion. In an instant, the world turned silver-white, and many of the Jackal Wolfmen were struck by sparks.
"Wh-what is this?"
A Jackal Wolfman Warrior, hit by a spark, looked in terror at the tiny ember on his body. It had been just a flicker of fire, but upon touching his flesh, it erupted like a wildfire, spreading rapidly across his body.
"AHH! Help me... Chief, water! I need water!"
"Quick! Get on the ground! Drop to the ground and put out the fire!"
"It won’t go out... it won’t go out! Gack, gack..."
The Jackal Wolfmen scorched by the flames lost their limbs in moments, their eyes filled with agony and despair.
Some Jackal Wolfmen, disregarding their own safety, even grabbed branches or whatever else they could find to try and beat out the flames on their comrades.
But this was Phoenix Fire! And seemingly enhanced by the Mount & Blade system, how could it possibly be extinguished by mortal means?
The silver-white flames shot right up the branches and onto the bodies of the Jackal Wolfmen trying to save their companions...
"That beast is charging again!"
"Run! Just run!"
No one could face something so unknown and powerful without feeling fear, especially when their morale was already at rock bottom.
Those two Beastmen hadn’t minced their words at all. In this faithless era, there was no honor in death for those at the bottom.
It started with one or two Jackal Wolfmen running, but the Jackal Wolfman Legion only numbered a few hundred to begin with. The panic spread quickly.
"What are you doing? Come back! All of you, get back here!"
"The beast—it’s sucking the fire back in!"
Seeing the flames being drawn away, the Jackal Wolfman Chief felt a surge of joy and wanted to call his troops to continue resisting.
Unfortunately, by this time, the human Heavy Cavalry had already charged right up to them.
"Lighting Technique! Now!" Claude bellowed. Two small orbs of light rose into the sky—the work of the Military Mages. Their Lighting Technique wasn’t as practical as Robson’s, but it was more than enough to illuminate a short stretch of road for the army.
"For the Lord!"
The Cavalry formed a loose formation and simply steamrolled through.
Even if the Jackal Wolfmen had managed a proper formation, they would have been ground to dust by this cavalry charge. As it was, they didn’t even have a semblance of an Array.
The Cavalry Team pushed through effortlessly, leaving nothing but the mangled flesh and blood of Jackal Wolfmen in their wake.
"The humans! We can’t possibly defeat them!"
Some of the Jackal Wolfman Chief’s Attendants were still there, having originally intended to sacrifice themselves for the tribe, just like their chief.
But thinking it was one thing; seeing it was another entirely.
The strange bird in the sky had been terrifying enough. But seeing how powerful the human Cavalry was, they all dropped their weapons and fled for their lives.
Claude looked around, wondering. ’Why are there so few of them?’
Just as Claude was pondering this, Huang Na screeched again from the sky and continued flying into the distance, showing no intention of stopping.
Claude understood instantly. He raised his lance and, channeling his battle aura, roared at the top of his lungs.
"Keep moving! Don’t stop! Keep moving forward!"
At this moment, the supreme discipline of the Cavalry Team was on full display. A typical army would have been delayed by this group of Jackal Wolfmen and lost their tactical window.
But Robson’s Cavalry, upon hearing the command, didn’t even look back. They continued to follow Huang Na, charging ahead without so much as breaking formation.