"Creak, creak, creak——"

The steel spearheads of the Long Spear Cultivators from the Second Corps clashed against the bodies and warhorses of the Imperial Knights, emitting the sharp sound of breaking spear shafts.

The force of the impact caused the Long Spear Cultivators to recoil backward repeatedly, only stopping when supported by the soldiers in the rear.

The front hooves of the warhorses opposite rose into the air, and a whole row of Imperial Knights fell backward, raising a circle of dust.

The surrounding Battle Group Cultivators reacted quickly; a robust Military Chaplain swung a battle-axe and lunged to strike down.

"Dogs of the devil! Bah, may the Holy Father curse you!"

"Heretic! Die!"

The fallen Imperial Knight jumped up on the spot, as if the heavy armor on his body was weightless.

He swung a two-handed sword with one hand, easily using its length to sever the wrist of the robust monk.

With a sweeping motion of the blade, the monk's head instantly flew off.

"Brother Delaina!"

The surrounding Battle Group Cultivators' eyes turned red: "You devil, devil!"

Dozens of spears thrust forward, and the knight hurriedly leaped away, but not in time; he only felt a cold chill from his armpit and thigh.

"Ah——"

Clutching his wound that was gushing blood, he shouted in shock and anger: "Commoners, get away, I am a noble..."

"Noble?" A war hammer pierced the air, and the knight's head exploded instantly.

Retrieving the war hammer, another tall monk with piercing eyes exclaimed, "Devil!"

Stepping on the slippery ground, the Military Chaplain began to reorganize the battle formation.

However, the moment he turned around, he felt a chill on his back as if sunlight was blocked by clouds.

The hair on his body stood on end; he wanted to dodge but was too late.

With a loud bang, the stomach of the war hammer monk bulged, the spinal bone pierced through his belly, and he rolled on the ground like a rag doll.

When the twisted corpse knocked over several people before coming to a stop, the attention of the Battle Group Cultivators focused on the flashing white shadow.

A white mudslide rushed through the gray-yellow crowd; any soldier in its path was sent flying high.

What a warhorse this was!

Standing two meters at the shoulder, nearly three meters tall, no less than three meters in length, and clad in clattering scale armor.

The black horse had knotted muscles, weighing an estimated over 2 tons, even larger and sturdier than some bulls.

When the warhorse opened its mouth to reveal sharp fangs, it was clear it was a Dragon Blood Horse or Dragon Scale Horse.

Of course, such a size was not uncommon among imperial horses, as many plow horses could reach a similar size.

But expecting a plow horse to charge at full speed like this warhorse was impossible.

This Dragon Blood Horse was wearing 300 pounds of scale armor covering the chest with a frontal plate and the neck with ringlet plates.

Let alone, it carried the Great Knight Raffel on its back, along with nearly a hundred pounds of various weapons.

In other words, it could bear nearly 1800 pounds of armor and knight.

A plow horse of the same tonnage would struggle to carry 600 pounds, let alone charge.

With the Great Knight on its back, it was even taller than many rural wooden houses.

Many new recruits who hadn't seen Prince Kongdai before swallowed hard, even fearing to move.

This was truly a giant come to life!

Effortlessly, it led nearly a hundred Imperial Knights to break through the formation, distancing themselves as Raffel led them away amidst the desperate shouts of the Cultivators.

Every time the warhorse galloped, fragments of flesh and fingers fell from the gaps in the armor and the saddle.

The white armor had been stained half red.

Bright red, like flames burning on the armor.

Looking at the ground littered with corpses, especially the two Military Chaplains' bodies, the battle cries quieted.

Was this a Great Knight?

"Bang!"

The thick White Crystal Steel armor trembled slightly, and the hope in the Battle Group Cultivators' eyes gleamed.

They still had Holy Guns!

Yet, the tall knight only trembled slightly.

From the slits in the helmet, a pair of indifferent eyes turned side to side.

Even though the face was unseen, they could still discern; it was a cold smile.

The lead pellet just ricocheted off the curved surface of the White Crystal Steel breastplate, leaving only a dent with the thickness of a silver coin.

If you don't look carefully, you wouldn't even notice!

The Holy Wind couldn't penetrate his armor!

The Chongxin cultivators seemed stunned, unable to even block, allowing that giant knight to leave the formation.

If even the Holy Gun is ineffective, does that mean that the Holy Father stands on Raffel's side?

Could it be that the Holy Father wishes these lowly ones to forever remain lowly?

Many soldiers dropped their weapons to the ground with a clatter.

Despair spread like fog, continuously permeating.

Just like the stream of blood flowing on the ground, spreading to every corner of the battlefield.

Glancing at those Holy Alliance soldiers whose morale was on the brink of collapse, Raffel snorted coldly and lifted his faceplate: "What's the situation?"

Alaric's face was filled with admiration: "The infantry phalanx is pressing forward, but they may not hold for long. Another batch of coil guns has arrived, have you heard the cannon fire?"

"They're using coil guns to attack infantry, that's even better." Raffel plucked flesh from the scales of his horse armor, "What about the knights?"

"2500 noble knights have mostly withdrawn from the battlefield to avoid interference with us.

The squire knights and bow cavalry have retreated to the rear, giving us ample space, and on the west side orchard, there are more than two hundred Imperial Knights and over nine hundred Square Banner Knights.

In a short time, the Black Champion and Wild Wolf armies won't be able to affect us."

Quietly calculating in his mind, Raffel's eye twitched: "Those bastards."

Alaric only reported what was left, not what was lost.

In an afternoon, over three hundred Imperial Knights were lost.

What Raffel could see was that casualties were less than a hundred; the rest had fled.

It's known that the valor and morale of the Imperial Knights are built on their extraordinary confidence.

Previously, infantry couldn't break their defenses or hit them, so they acted recklessly.

But the Holy Alliance is different!

Their Holy Guns can break defenses, and they have coil guns and other instant-wide-range weapons.

Losing extraordinary confidence, the morale and valor of these Imperial Knights are not much higher than ordinary extraordinary knights.

Infantry flee, knights supervise; knights flee, Imperial line supervises; Imperial Knights flee—should Raffel stop them one by one?

In this regard, Prince Kongdai's Imperial line performed better.

Not because they are better trained or Prince Kongdai is stronger than Raffel, but because they have no retreat.

If they don't take Thousand River Valley, returning to Leia means being a traitor.

Let alone whether they can even return.

For the Imperial Knights under Raffel, if they don't take Thousand River Valley, they can simply go home.

With their strength, why fear not being accepted?

"Don't be vague, give me a number."

After a few seconds of silence, Alaric voiced just in time to prevent Raffel's impatience: "Just over 1000 Imperial Knights left, more than 900 Square Banner Knights, and over 900 Blood Knights."

Despite almost crushing the Chongxin battle group, this number still weighed heavily on Raffel's heart.

This battle damage ratio is something he cannot accept no matter what.

Even with the current battle, achieving such a battle damage ratio, the Leia army has yet to collapse, which is already an extraordinary performance.

However, this extraordinary performance still hasn't shaken the Holy Alliance's army; only he, the Great Knight, must act.

If the Holy Alliance isn't completely erased and continues to develop, it may never be possible again!

Counting these remaining chips, Raffel pulled his faceplate back down: "Transfer all Imperial Knights from the orchard side, we'll crash through their Chongxin battle group in one go.

I estimate that after two or three more charges, the remaining two Chongxin corps will collapse.

Once they collapse, have the Blood Knights immediately charge the Guard Battle Group.

I'll personally enter the fray; we'll clear the battery on those three mounds, then converge on the Guard Battle Group."

"Shouldn't we flank the Black Champion? I'm afraid it may cut off our retreat?" Alaric cautiously asked.

"Your suggestion is reasonable, but it's not doable—if I had five hundred more Imperial Knights, flanking the Black Champion wouldn't be a problem." Raffel showed considerable patience toward Alaric, quite unlike the irritable Prince Kongdai after consuming the Dragon Potion.

"Does the Guard Battle Group actually need 1500 Imperial and 1000 Blood Knights to defeat them? You are leading after all!"

"I still think it's not enough!" Raffel gazed at the approaching Guard Battle Group with deep concern, "What's the Blood Knights' status?"

"... Previously suppressed by Divine Art, their condition seems not great and has been very agitated."

"Whether they're agitated or not, even the Guard Battle Group is suppressed by the monk's Divine Art—Blood Knights, charge as they would!"