Chapter 531: Defeat, Part 2

Chapter 531: Chapter 343: Defeat, Part 2

Merely standing there, they were as intimidating as a city wall. Even more despairing—hovering above them were three Elves in purple robes.

“Debei’s Casters…”

A shriek of pure terror escaped the Black guard’s lips. Kemish’s own trembled, his face a mask of despair.

‘It’s over. It’s all over…’

The next moment, as the three enemy Mages completed their chanting, three enormous meteorites materialized in midair. Descending from the sky, they crashed into the charging cavalry with suffocating force.

BOOM!

The ground began to tremble violently as screams echoed without end. Countless horsemen were smashed into mincemeat, and those on the periphery were thrown from their mounts.

A sudden halt is the one thing a charging cavalry fears most. The lucky riders who weren’t hit had no time to feel relieved; unable to control their momentum, they crashed into the stalled masses ahead, creating a chaotic pile-up of men and horses.

Just three Casters had dealt devastating losses to his eight hundred Heavy Cavalry. Their once-unstoppable momentum evaporated, leaving only terror and panic on every face.

The Heavy Centaur Cavalry was now accelerating, their trot turning into a full-blown charge. Unbelievably, their steps fell in perfect, unified synchrony.

This level of coordination was theoretically impossible for mounted cavalry; no rider could ever control their mount’s gait to perfectly match another’s. Yet Kemish was now witnessing a spectacle that would put the world’s most elite cavalry to shame.

“Master, we have to flee! If we don’t go now, it’ll be too late!” The Black guard was terrified out of his mind.

The infantry in the front ranks were being cut down like wheat, the archers on deck were too suppressed to show their heads, and his pride and joy—the Heavy Cavalry—had been decimated by three spells.

Judging from what happened to the Heavy Armored Infantry and Archers, these Centaurs were no mere decoration. On top of that, the enemy even had powerful Casters. They stood no chance of winning.

If they fled back to the ship, the enemy couldn’t possibly cross the ocean to kill them, no matter how strong they were.

“We’re leaving.” Kemish’s features twisted with unwillingness, but he had no choice but to accept reality. He mounted the nearby Sofen Giant Wolf, kicked its flanks, and bolted toward the slave ships at the makeshift harbor.

He hadn’t lost everything yet. The slaves he’d captured would fetch a fortune back home, enough to purchase more Slave Warriors and rebuild his army!

When that day came, he would return and make them swallow this bitter pill. He would take back everything he had lost!

Just as the slave ship came into view, three riders suddenly charged at him from the flank. Kemish was startled for a moment, then filled with ecstatic joy.

In the lead was a burly but young-looking boy in a flashy suit of silver armor, brandishing his longsword and yelling something.

A step behind him was a sturdy, resolute man with golden hair, clad in brilliant Golden Plate Armor. Bringing up the rear was a Beastman on a Dwarf Beast.

‘This formation… The one in the lead has to be that so-called Lord of High Cliff Castle!’

‘There’s still hope!’

‘If I can just capture their Lord, I can turn this defeat into victory!’

‘He’s too young; he can’t be that strong. The Knight is nothing to worry about, either. The only one I need to take seriously is that burly old Beastman.’

‘But my Blood Qi Cultivation is nothing to scoff at. Back in the Empire, I’m considered one of the best.’

The more Kemish thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. The Lord was hopelessly naive, a reckless youth who had chased this far and gotten separated from his main force without even noticing. It was obvious he was just trying to steal the spotlight.

“All of you, with me! Counterattack!”

Two Purity Warriors still stood by his side. They were slave guards assigned by his family; though they couldn’t use Blood Qi, they were masters of Martial Arts and had Demon Patterns etched into their skin.

…

“Si Kai, this is our chance for glory!”

Mier was thrilled. He had been commanding the High Cliff Castle troops from the rear, and a battle they were fated to win wouldn’t earn him much merit. But the moment he saw the enemy commander trying to escape, he knew his chance had come.

If he captured their leader alive, he would certainly look good in front of his brother-in-law. So, he had decisively broken away from the Centaur ranks with Orak and Si Kai to give chase.

“Mier, let me test him first. He’s a military noble who commands thousands, likely a high-ranking aristocrat from the Persian Gulf Empire. He can’t be weak,” Si Kai said, his gaze fixed on the middle-aged man opposite them, the one in Gem Plate Armor with a handlebar mustache.

He hadn’t expected the man to actually turn back and ambush them. His motive couldn’t have been clearer.

“If only Orak had caught up,” Mier said, glancing back. No matter how anxious the Beastman Shaman was, the Wendigo Beast he rode—a Servant Beast typically used for hauling heavy loads—simply ambled along at its own pace, and they had already left it some distance behind.

Still, he took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his sword. He had been studying Swordsmanship under his brother-in-law for some time and had even formed a Combat Qi Seed, becoming a Low Tier Combat Qi Knight.

‘Even if I can’t take on their commander, I should have no problem with those two guards.’

A layer of blue light—Combat Qi—flowed across his sword’s blade. This was the unique Combat Qi exclusive to the family Si Kai served.

As the personal Guard Knight to the Lord of the North Martel Family, the Combat Qi Secret Manual he practiced wasn’t the best of the best, but it was certainly first-rate—on par with those used by some Counts.

He had even refined his Swordsmanship in the Royal Capital. Though his lack of Talent had stopped him from advancing beyond High Tier Combat Qi, his strength was more than sufficient—he might not compare to the very best, but he was far better than the rest.

Empowered by his Combat Qi, he swung his longsword fiercely at his opponent as the distance between them closed to ten paces.

The Combat Qi clinging to his longsword instantly detached, forming a crescent-shaped arc that shot straight toward his opponent’s chest.

Kemish had already been on guard against this Debei Knight. He immediately swung his body down to the side of his mount, perfectly dodging the attack. But when he glanced back, he couldn’t help his shock—the attack had carved a dark, impossibly deep fissure into the ground.

“Si Kai Martel.” Si Kai still abided by the knightly code of announcing his name before a duel. As for his surname, Duke Fulina had granted the old knight the family name, making him an honorary member of the Martel Family.

“What’s this nonsense?” Kemish Blue Diamond frowned.

‘I know Debei’s Knights follow their code, but to pull this stunt in a life-or-death duel… This is the perfect chance to split his skull open.’

‘No etiquette, no respect for the knight’s code. Just what I’d expect from a noble of the Persian Gulf Empire, born from sea bandits. Barbarians, the lot of them.’

“Tch.” Si Kai spat contemptuously, then dug his heels into his horse’s flanks and charged forward. “For your unprovoked invasion of the Lord of High Cliff Castle’s domain, I, by the will of Duke Levi, sentence you to imprisonment!”

Si Kai seized the initiative, his longsword, wrapped in a chilling aura, thrusting cunningly toward his opponent’s eye socket.

CLANG! CLANG!

The moment their blades clashed, Kemish realized his opponent was actually a bit stronger than he was.

‘To think… back home, they call me Blood Sword Kemish! My Blood Qi Cultivation is outstanding. I never imagined some nameless Guard Knight would actually be a fair bit stronger than me.’

If Kemish was shocked, Si Kai merely frowned. ‘He’s much weaker than I thought,’ he mused. Capturing him alive, however, would still require some effort.

“Die!” Kemish’s eyes were bloodshot. He raised his longsword high and brought it down, unleashing a crimson arc of light that flew straight at his enemy.

The two were evenly matched for a time, mainly because Si Kai, wanting to take him alive, was forced to hold back.

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

“Old Si, you can’t even take down a little nobody like him? Looks like you’ve still got a lot of training to do.”