Chapter 766: Retaking the Defensive Line

The First Cavalry Legion has always been the finest organized force in Peace Haven.

If Peace Haven had not drawn away part of its strength to form the Second and Third Cavalry Legions, it would have become a true knight order long ago.

Its commander, Simon, once led the Lord Iron Guards and served as Henwell's guard captain. He is also Henwell's earliest and finest disciple.

The moment Henwell advances to the Glory Rank, Simon will be able to advance to Iron Knight.

Years of tempering have taught Simon to draw out the Light of Civilization, creating an effect throughout the First Cavalry Legion much like a fighting-spirit link.

With that power flowing through the charge, more than five hundred spearhead cavalry led by Simon carry Heart-Piercing Lotuses.

A single strike punches a washbasin-sized hole through even heavy units such as shaggy giants and war rhinos.

After the first charge, the fourteen thousand riders immediately break into more than a dozen thousand-man assault battalions.

They wheel back in sequence through an intricate but exceptionally lethal battle formation, then launch a second round of charges.

Agnico chooses that moment to order a full counterattack, driving the enemy into the cavalry mass's killing zone.

Meanwhile, the five thousand Blood Lion Knights have already torn through the mountain-beast cavalry formation.

Knight orders remain the continent's finest military forces. Against mountain-beast cavalry already worn down by the Mixed Army Group's riders, the Blood Lion Knights crush everything before them.

The surviving cavalry, Dikern's men among them, rally once more and begin driving down the fleeing mountain-beast cavalry around the perimeter.

If darkness had not already fallen, not one Northern Mountain Raider in the area would have escaped.

The Blood Lion Knights and First Cavalry Legion then escort the Central Army Group in a rapid push toward the original first defensive line.

Late that night, vanguard battalions from the First and Second Garrison Legions slip through tunnels into the lightly defended fortresses.

At dawn, they quietly open the gates, and the assault troops waiting outside flood into the strongholds.

By sunrise, Main Fortresses One through Three along the first defensive line are back in human hands.

Once the last Northern Mountain Raider soldiers inside are cleared out, the fortresses will form a secure bridgehead for further attacks.

Supply convoys prepared in advance begin pouring military supplies into the three main fortresses.

The Central Army Group also splits off troops to seize the surrounding small and midsized fortresses.

Peace Haven alone kills nearly one hundred and fifty thousand enemy troops in the counteroffensive. The Vorry army adds victories of its own on other fronts.

Together, they annihilate more than two hundred and forty thousand enemies, the greatest victory since the calamity erupted ahead of schedule.

By the fifth day, humanity holds three of the six fortress clusters along the first defensive line.

The original plan called for retaking at least one fortress cluster and no more than two.

With an unexpected third cluster in their hands, the plan has to be revised. The remnants of the Mixed Army Group are assigned to Fortress Cluster Three.

Fortress Clusters One and Two are garrisoned by the First and Second Garrison Legions respectively.

Half a month later, the battle report reaches Peace Haven's leadership.

The counteroffensive cost Peace Haven's Northern Expedition Army more than eight thousand dead. With the severely wounded removed from service, total losses exceed twenty thousand.

That is an entire legion and a garrison warband wiped away!

The news shakes Peace Haven to its core.

The mixed legions may have been formed jointly with the Phoenix family, but they are no weaker than Peace Haven's numbered legions.

Both sides supplied exceptional recruits and lavished resources on them, making the mixed legions some of the strongest units in any military district.

The Central Military District's garrison legion is stronger still. It is one of Peace Haven's main striking forces.

Losses this severe among such elite troops leave Peace Haven's leadership deeply shaken.

Detailed battle reports soon arrive one after another.

Rawkins and Victor immediately assemble twenty thousand replacement troops for the Northern Mountain Front.

An unbroken stream of military supplies accompanies them north.

At the same time, Melissa signs a proposal drawn up after a joint discussion, and it is sent to Silver Peak City.

Arius approves their proposal at once.

Peace Haven sends personnel north to the region between Iron Pit City and the southern edge of the Northern Mountain Front.

There, they will build a complete industrial base covering everything from metallurgy to medicine, apart from a few specialized high-end industries.

The base will ease the strain of hauling supplies over such a great distance, where losses along the route are simply too high.

With strong support from Iron Pit City and the kingdom, the selected technical personnel can begin production within six months.

By Henwell's thirty-ninth birthday next year, the base should be able to sustain two northbound army groups on its own.

It should even have enough surplus to supply five legions of the Vorry army.

As the calamity war continues, the production base will inevitably grow.

The ultimate goal is to supply the entire defensive line.

Once the production and supply base is running, Peace Haven's northbound convoys will need to carry only high-end goods.

These include enhancement potions, stamina-restoring potions, extraordinary equipment, Heart-Piercing Lotuses, Thunder Hand Cannons, Thunderclap Ballista Bolts, and other high-end supplies.

Melissa became pregnant again before Henwell entered seclusion.

Henwell still has not emerged when Peace Haven's little princess is born.

By this point, Simon and all the others have advanced to the Iron Rank.

That is proof enough that Henwell has become a Glory Knight.

For now, however, he must stabilize his condition and cannot risk leaving seclusion.

Advancing to Glory Knight normally takes anywhere from one to several years, so no one finds Henwell's delay unusual.

What no one realizes is that Henwell does not follow the Knight path.

Within his dual-lock path, the Gene Lock is his main source of combat power, and it is far more violent.

Containing it requires both a powerful body and a resilient soul.

Without both, Henwell would become a bloodthirsty, frenzied monster.

He refuses to risk losing control again and nearly harming his own family as he once did.

Henwell resolves to use this opportunity to subdue the violent power inside him.

He also needs to settle matters with Barbarossa, the death dragon.

The dragon has not given him a single peaceful day since attaching itself to his shoulder.

At first, it fell dormant after devouring vast quantities of demonic flesh and souls.

In truth, it was only biding its time. It still did not understand the power restraining it and was waiting for a chance to escape.

That chance comes while Henwell is focused on completing his breakthrough.

Barbarossa sneaks out of Henwell's body and bolts for freedom.

The power of both locks snaps it back at once. Blood-red and white chains lash it like whips.

Barbarossa flies into a rage and struggles madly.

That is why the guards outside the Twin Spires keep feeling violent tremors.