The military chaplain of the Chongxin Army's Vanguard Corps flew about three meters high.

When he landed, his spine broke in half, white bones pierced through his body, and dark red liquid mixed with fragments of internal organs continuously poured from his mouth.

Bare hoofs of horses whisked up grass leaves, flying past his eyes.

On the verdant green plains, butterflies and bees flew together, red patches slicing through the rough lines of the gray-yellow military uniforms like arrows.

The sound of spears shattering was incessant, and amidst the flying splinters of wood, Battle Cultivators soared one after another.

The light reflected off the shiny armor swept back and forth before his eyes.

Those red blurred patches also sliced back and forth through the gray-yellow coarse lines.

In the last blurry vision he had, only the retreating backs of nearly a thousand Battle Cultivators were visible.

"Don't run, come back!" he mumbled, but no one heard him.

Trying to stand, but there was no strength however hard he tried.

In the end, he could only desperately raise one hand, crying intermittently, "We can't lose... everything is gone... no retreat... no..."

His words became lighter, the brightness in his eyes gradually vanished, and this young military chaplain turned into a corpse, eyes wide open, tears streaming down.

Only three impacts, essentially one and a half rounds of charging back and forth, and the two frontmost corps collapsed.

Among them was even the Vanguard Corps of the Chongxin Battle Group, considered the second most elite corps of the whole battle group.

These Blood Knights, before they died, perhaps only had three or four breaths of the breathing technique.

But after becoming Blood Knights, their physique could even aim for six or nine segments of Imperial Knights.

Most importantly, they were unafraid of pain, had no fear.

Even with a large hole blown into their bodies by lead, they could swing their longsword and spear as if nothing happened.

Moreover, they could charge at full speed without slowing, utterly unafraid of being surrounded if they fell from their horses.

Seeing the Chongxin Battle Group collapse, Alaric couldn't help but feel smug.

The Blood Knights charging at the Chongxin Battle Group was his suggestion to Raffel.

The Chongxin Battle Group had been bombarded by Grey Robe Hill's artillery for so long, it was the most severely damaged battle group.

Plus, it was located in relatively open ground, convenient for cavalry charges.

More importantly, compared to the seasoned Black Champion Army and the Imperial Guard, the Chongxin Battle Group was a newly formed corps, established for less than a year.

In terms of combat ability, equipment, and morale, it was far inferior to the Black Crown Battle Group.

Especially the spring-loaded cannon, just tricked by a Noble Knight, couldn't fire again.

Looking at the current overall Chongxin Battle Group, one corps on the left wing had previously retreated to the rear for reorganization due to bombardment.

The two frontmost corps had been broken by them, leaving only the final five corps.

Since the two vanguard corps had ultimately delayed the rear somewhat, the central army and right wing merged, forming an overlapping counter-attack formation with two in the front and three at the rear.

"Don't waste time, the pursuit of scattered soldiers can wait a while, immediately charge!" Alaric dared not delay; if the Imperial Guard came to support, it would be all for naught.

"Woo, woo, woo—" The red-robed monks blew the horns of assembly and charge.

......

"All Long Spearmen, align towards the center using the plumed spear as a mark."

The third Corps Commander stood at the forefront, raising the plumed spear high for all soldiers to see.

According to Horn's orders, all officers' commands must explicitly include three elements: Who? How to do it? What to do?

The command to align was understood by the Battle Cultivators trained and having read the Soldier's Holy Scripture.

His position roughly faced two-thirds of the Blood Knights' charge formation.

The soldiers behind the plumed spear stood still, while soldiers on both sides of the first row aligned towards the center in small steps, using the stationary soldiers as a reference, until shoulders touched.

Soldiers in the rear rows watched the front soldiers, moving left or right to follow.

From a bird's-eye view, one could see the loose battle lines wave toward the center.

When the formation was completed, it faced directly towards the charging Blood Knights.

"All Long Spearmen, secure your spears, resist the impact!"

The soldiers collectively inserted the spear's tail into the ground, stepping on it, holding the spear with one hand, and grasping the dagger handle with the other.

This was the spear anchoring move, specifically used against cavalry charges.

The Long Spear Cultivators of the Chongxin Battle Group also knew this, as they were about to face those terrifying Blood Knights.

"Miseria bless us."

"Huff, huff, huff, huff—"

Many soldiers violated the silence principle in the manual; some prayed with the sign on their foreheads, some mournfully muttered, and more breathed heavily.

They could already feel the ground trembling, horse hoofs raising piles of dust.

Numerous horse legs hung in the air, alternately stamping heavily, red robes fluttering wildly.

The Blood Knights stared with scarlet eyes, faces pale, smiles stiff, seemingly human yet inhuman.

Three-quarters of their round eyeballs were whites, staring dead at the Gallar Array ahead.

As if the array before them were magnificent palaces, unparalleled beauties, countless treasures, the ultimate release from endless suffering!

"Oh Lord..."

Quite a few recruits began to tremble in their legs.

Their inhuman appearance indeed made Dass feel uncomfortable, but he couldn't panic.

Exhaling the stale air, Dass opened his mouth, his raspy voice even unfamiliar to himself: "First monk team, bless them. Second monk team, prepare for the Scripture Recitation Divine Technique."

Dozens of light globes rose and settled beside the soldiers.

Under the warm light, tension and fear melted like cream, rushing breaths, trembling hands were all soothed.

"Long live Thousand River Valley!" Dass shouted first.

"Long live! For freedom!" The soldiers roared in unison, perhaps to dispel fear or genuinely moved.

With the encouragement of the military chaplains, the previously fear-controlled array astonishingly coalesced again.

"Woo woo woo..."

The war horn blared more urgently, as if it were lashing out.

That was the order to switch from a trot to a charge.

The hooves lifted off the ground, the horses extended their legs, and the blood knights began to accelerate.

However, inexplicably, the front row blood knights were moving a bit sluggishly.

The red-robed monk controlling the blood knights was momentarily stunned; he blew the horn a few more times unbelievingly.

But all he saw was the same scene as before.

The front row of blood knights had not switched to a charge; they maintained their trot.

The rear row of blood knights had already switched to a charge, their devil horses shaking their maneless heads and biting the tails of the horses ahead, urging them on.

Yet the blood knights in the front row remained unmoved, continuing to advance in a trot.

Why is this?

"Thus the Blessed Son stood in the valley, feet upon the bonfire..."

"In the name of the Seven Sacred Pillars, you are blessed... Dawn is the crown, dusk the lock..."

"Wandering must return to dust, the usurper must return to the abyss..."

A distant chant echoed, pure like crystal, drowning out the hoofbeats, drowning out the sound of the horns.

Not only did the red-robed monk freeze, but even Alaric was stunned, exclaiming after a long pause, "Scripture Recitation Divine Technique?!"

The Thousand River Valley Holy Path faction, the devil's minions, the allies of the secret party, were using the Scripture Recitation Divine Technique?

A bead of cold sweat slid past the corner of Alaric's eye; the blood knights themselves did not use magic, so the Scripture Recitation Divine Technique should have no effect.

But the horn of the red-robed monk's blood knights essentially released magic!

In other words, the orders received by the front row of blood knights were isolated by divine art, continuing in a straight line charge.

Yet the rear row was charging!

With cheeks puffed out, several red-robed monks blew the horn desperately, narrowly halting the last thousand-plus blood knights.

Yet the first three rows of over two hundred and thirty blood knights had already entered the influence of the Scripture Recitation Divine Technique.

Some received the charge command; others remained in the marching command.

The scapula of the rear horses collided with the hip of the front horses, drawing the rows ever closer.

Soon they simply crashed into each other, rebounding, pulling at each other's hind legs.

The previously safe distance between horses kept shrinking, every gap filled with the surging blood knights.

Shoulder armor scraping, thighs colliding, even sweat from one horse splashing onto another's back.

Even before anything further could happen, more than a dozen blood knights were already tripped by the close distances, rolling into a tangle on the ground.

"Woo woo woo—" The red-robed monk still tried to halt the blood knights, but the chanting abruptly ceased at this moment.

The chanting stopped, the horn pierced the ears, and once again the monk's orders occupied the brain—

"Stop!"

Some blood knights reacted, yet some did not.

Reins tangled around arms, feet locked in the saddle, some advancing, some retreating.

The formerly orderly formation immediately twisted into a chaotic mess.

His throat tight, Dass attempted twice before roaring out, "Holy Thunder!"

The spring gun roared, cherry-sized pellets spewed a cloud of blood mist, punching holes through the blood knights' decaying flesh.

"Holy gun, fire in three ranks!"

The lead headed toward the charging horses, ultimately stopping fewer than fifty blood knights at the front of the formation.

After crashing into a dozen men in the front row, they were halted by the long gun and trapped hook of the holy gun, unable to escape.

Before the blood knights could shrug off the brute force, a muscular monk with the hanging cross on his chest swung an axe and cleaved their heads.

"Die, devils!" The rotten blood splashed onto the upright head of the military chaplain, who seemed more like a monk than the monks of Leia.

The imposing military chaplain raised his axe gun high: "Charge with me; let's send them to meet the Saint Master!"

"Send them to meet the Saint Master!"

"Except for the first three rows, do not pursue; raise the long guns, ready to anchor!" Dass shouted.

Following this strategy, if the Chongxin Battle Group itself did not leave any openings, then the blood knights could definitely not break through.

They must buy time for the reorganizing cultivators of the rear battle group.

Indeed, the blood knights had no way to deal with this move, only repeatedly testing their charges.

Each time, five or thirty blood knights were either shot down by the lead or stopped by the tight long spear phalanx.

Once, twice, thrice... They never managed to break through, regardless of how furious Alaric became; they were still unable to break through.

The blood knights had just broken through two arrays of the Chongxin Battle Group, only to be stopped here again!

Stopped by less than 1500 infantry!

Dass showed no joy on his face; he understood this situation was bound not to last long.

The blood knights had appeared, surely the Imperial Knights couldn't be far behind?

Soon, the dust whipped up by two galloping Kush Rangers returned from Grey Robe Hill.

"Dass Warlord, be wary, the Imperial Knights have set off."

"Who leads them?"

"It was unclear, but at departure, King Leia personally led him by the horse!"

No need to say more, no need for binoculars, Dass knew immediately who it was.

A steel juggernaut appeared on the battlefield, bringing nearly a thousand of the most elite Imperial Knights, nearly a thousand Imperial Knights.

"Great Knight..." Horn put down the binoculars, his expression complex, "Raffel."