Chapter 1431 - 1342: Fight to the End

Chapter 1431: Chapter 1342: Fight to the End

Imperial Calendar December 10, 1463, Boos River.

The night descended upon the earth, yet the glow from torches and fluorescent stone lamps filled the hills and valleys.

Under the glow were fluttering banners, orderly footsteps, and the fatigued eyes of over ten thousand vanguard battle regiment soldiers.

Though using alternating marching methods reduced physical exhaustion, even with food as hearty as that for the Holy Alliance, the strain of this long march was evident.

After all, wherever vampires go, the populace becomes an illusion, and it’s impossible to gather adequate supplies like other places.

Despite the fatigue, their gaze remained fiery, watching the floating bridges being built simultaneously at seven or eight locations.

Under the floating bridges, the silver stream-like river water was stained a light red by blood.

Amidst the roar, mud clumps occasionally exploded at the riverbank, and water columns rose intermittently, turning into rain.

In the midst of flying cannonballs, the Blood Flesh Titan darted like a petrel between the cloud of lead bullets and the sea.

Unlike before, although the vanguard battle regiment had clearly arrived and two hours had passed, the floating bridge had yet to be built.

The reason was relatively simple.

Unlike other vampire leaders who underestimated the engineers, Ritino placed great importance on them.

Compared to those rigid and lazy vampires, Ritino was far more enlightened.

She didn’t follow most vampire leaders’ strategies of dueling for dueling’s sake, confronting formidable foes on the battlefield with high-ranking vampires but instead used them as assassins.

She didn’t deploy troops behind the river but arranged a few loyal vampire cavalry in front, especially high-ranking vampires.

When the Holy Alliance engineers surveyed the terrain and prepared to build the bridge, they suddenly glided down from the mountains and launched an attack.

Due to the suddenness of the event, there weren’t enough troops around the engineers for protection, and nearby soldiers couldn’t reach in time.

In mere moments, the relatively weak engineers suffered heavy casualties.

Especially several engineering officers were struck down by high-ranking vampires.

All the engineers wore the same navy-grey uniforms; only the officers wore gold-rimmed glasses with pens tucked behind their ears.

Due to the sudden killing of engineering officers, along with the high-ranking vampires killing many skilled bridge-building engineers, the Holy Alliance couldn’t deploy qualified engineer units in a short time.

Even by swiftly gathering enough engineers from the rear, Ritino managed to delay them for two hours.

Though it was just a delay, these few hours caused significant impact nonetheless.

Not to mention anything else, the look on the faces of the Holy Alliance’s high-ranking officers said it all.

And Ritino had more tricks up her sleeve; knowing the bridge was narrow, she sent Blood Flesh Titans to obstruct the bridge.

Since only so many soldiers could cross at a time, what difference does it make even if you build the bridge?

However, with the massive arrival of Holy Alliance reinforcements, the situation completely changed.

With Victor’s shout, "Mad, all engineers go up together; I refuse to believe her Blood Flesh Titans can split into two!"

Now, with the army gathered, engineer units were equipped with river-crossing components and arriving continuously.

With over a dozen engineer units going up simultaneously, would they fear the Blood Flesh Titans blocking the bridge?

Soon, vampires discovered that twelve floating bridges were being built at once by the Boos River, but they only had five Blood Flesh Titans.

Like opening a floodgate, countless human soldiers crossed the swaying floating bridges, charging into the former riverbank.

Helical guns roared, blasting openings in the vampire ranks.

Vampires visibly appeared bleak and powerless, not just because of the elite and numbers of the enemy, but also due to the weariness from prolonged marching.

On the narrow front line, the only obstacle for the Holy Alliance soldiers were the Blood Flesh Titans.

But Blood Flesh Titans still feared cannons and the fearless plasma grenade charges of Holy Alliance soldiers.

Without solid infantry cover, Blood Flesh Titans could be easily killed when concentrated fire from three-pound cannons and helical guns was directed at them.

Ritino watched the battle situation unfold, but as she said before, knowing it didn’t change anything.

She vaguely felt the downfall of the Royal Court, with all the armies and brilliant commanders and strategies defeated.

Perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence or any other excuse; the fate of the Holy Alliance and Royal Court was decided even before the war began.

Even if the Serafe Empire didn’t fall to the Holy Alliance, it would fall by its own hand.

But what if?

Just like this blockade, with 2,000 vampires and five Blood Flesh Titans, hindering the Holy Alliance enemy for six hours seemed impossible.

Yet through all the prior preparation and effort, she had reached this point; if it truly worked?

Now, facing the temptation directly to destroy Serafe, the Saint’s Grandson Horn had lost his reason, making the worst decision.

If this step succeeded, could it extend the Royal Court’s reign by another three hundred years?

Let’s gamble; this is a grand gamble after all. No one knows who will win until the last moment.

Even if unable to win, it wasn’t in vain that Serafe saved her from terminal illness, giving her, a woman scorned for deviating from the norm, a path to prove herself.

Taking a deep breath, Ritino raised her longsword, "All troops, heed the order: fight until the last moment, to heaven by self-sacrifice!"

........

"Was that commander, did they capture the vampire commander?"

"She drank a bullet and ended her life."

Victor was startled, "With one hero from every ten households, it’s no wonder the Royal Court nurtured someone like her... what about her subordinates?"

"They all surrendered."

"...Alright then."

Strolling the battlefield, Victor frowned, calculating post-battle timing; this force truly delayed the Holy Alliance for five to six hours.

Though theoretically, those five to six hours could be made up with forced marching, it still introduced a lot of randomness.

Stepping over the floating bridge to the other side, Victor’s pace slowed.

Looking at the corpses of Holy Alliance soldiers riddled with shrapnel or with their brains smashed by the Titan’s heavy blows, his expression grew grim.

He sat silently on the grass, ignoring the few strategists still analyzing battle achievements.

Eventually, the archbishop sensed something and proactively asked, "Are you worried about the Blood Flesh Titans?"

"Indeed." Victor sighed, "Thus far, we haven’t found any suitable method to deal with Blood Flesh Titans; we have merely filled the gap with human lives, opting for desperate assaults."

"This is still a method, like dealing with the Great Knight back then, only relying on human lives." The Chief of Staff reassured, "The cost of creating one Blood Flesh Titan far exceeds that of ten soldiers..."

"You can’t say that," the Archbishop promptly interjected, "Human lives are not your currency; the worth of each soldier is beyond measure."

The Chief of Staff opened his mouth but didn’t refute, only changing the subject with a low curse, "The Holy Council keeps claiming to have weapons against Blood Flesh Titans and against the Royal Court’s zombie sea tactics, but now what? Not a trace of them."

"Sigh..."

They all sighed simultaneously, while the Chief Technician flushed red but remained silent.

"Besides that, I’m worried about something else."

"What is it?"

"What is His Majesty thinking? Advancing into the valley is clearly an overly aggressive strategy, not His Majesty’s usual style."

"What do you mean?"

"I don’t know why, maybe because of his daughter’s birth, or some other reason, His Majesty’s choice this time is surely not his wisest."

For someone like Victor, who had reached the strategic level.

Given the current situation, it’s a disadvantage for the Royal Court but still holds strategic initiative, so a desperate offense is warranted.

While the Holy Alliance has a strategic advantage, they can maintain composure and not rush for victory, thus needing to prioritize stability.

The two decisive battles for the Holy Alliance, the Mot Battle and the Thorn Garden Battle, have been fought.

Pursuing into Winter Embrace Valley is a gamble not meant to be taken!

What is His Majesty really thinking?