"Alaric!" Even with all his patience, Raffel couldn't help but roar angrily at this moment.

On the three undulating mounds, like red water flooding the grassland, nearly a thousand blood knights surged, their formations dense yet chaotic.

When the blood-red horn sounded, the blood knights could initially follow Raffel's plan and charge toward the guard battle group not far away.

But within seconds, these blood knights suddenly made a one-eighty-degree turn and headed in the opposite direction!

Damn it, Alaric, what on earth are you doing!

As if sensing its master's anger, the Dragon Blood Horse neighed in fury.

According to the original plan, the blood knights should have charged directly at the guard battle group, why are they charging toward that mound?!

Raffel sent the blood knights to attack the guard battle group because a charge is relatively simple.

But the battery on the mound, protected by breastworks and earthworks, made the target much more complex than a simple charge.

Moreover, the order to disrupt the clockwork cannon required thought, which the blood knights found difficult to comprehend and execute.

The urgent sound of horns, one wave after another, echoed even from afar, audible to Raffel in its urgency.

In less than half a minute, Alaric hurried over on horseback, so flustered that he was stumbling over his words: "Sir Raffel, there's a problem, the blood knights are out of control."

Raffel didn't respond, simply lifted his visor, his cheeks puffed out, and seven or eight blue veins bulged on his face, writhing like worms.

How could he not be furious!

Even if Raffel wanted to clear the battery as per the original plan, the blood knights blocked the path of attack.

If Raffel proceeded with the original charge of the blood knights now, it would mean—

They would have to charge the Holy Alliance's elite guard battle group under the fire of the clockwork cannons with only two-thirds of their original strength.

Clearing the clockwork cannon with the strength of the blood knights was the only reliable charge force Raffel had considered.

And now?

Raffel was left with only about a thousand Imperial Knights and himself.

Oh, and Alaric.

Failure, failure again.

"Failure always runs through life," Raffel mused for a moment, slowly raising his head.

As he spoke, he released hot white steam from his mouth, unusual for summer.

Only those with sharp eyes could see a faint blood tint in the steam.

Raffel always believed his life was marked by failure; as a boy, he failed to compete with his brother, losing his family estate.

As a young man, he couldn't compete with other knights; after joining the royal family, he had to start as a squire unexpectedly.

If not for the knight he served later becoming king, he'd likely remain a mere attendant with the strength of a Square Banner Knight all his life.

Even in middle age, among the old king's retainers, although he was closest to the old king, he was also most useless.

Much like Alaric.

The only thing he could be proud of was practicing breathing techniques day and night, becoming a Great Knight, and keeping his promise to the old king, protecting his kingdom of Leia.

The previous generation had passed on; he was the last guardian of this kingdom.

At least until his death, Leia could not fall.

The second Thousand River Valley War was Leia's revival battle.

From the moment they entered the Thousand River Valley, after taking over half of Hotam County early on, they hadn't seen much success.

Failure, failure, failure, constantly moving from one failure to another.

Like Leia's national destiny, after its founding glory, it was just one low tide after another.

Was the Thousand River Valley War going to be yet another failure?

"What should we do next?" Alaric's voice sounded.

Raffel looked towards the distant direction of Ginijis, then turned to Changge City.

"I entrust my kingdom to you."

These were the words entrusted to Raffel by the late king Tumendjis.

"I entrust my king to you."

This was the last thing Raffel said to Alaric before turning away.

......

Riding on horseback, the wind blew through the breathing holes of his visor, emitting a faint whistle.

Underneath the bird-beaked helm, Raffel's face was as calm as still water, breathing rhythmically.

But his heart was thumping, faster and louder, to the point that the other following Imperial Knights could hear it.

"Disperse!"

Raffel's voice, rather than roaring, was abnormally calm, yet clear to everyone.

The Imperial Knights, who were initially charging together, instantly split into three triangular formations.

On the plain, three three-hundred-man wedge formations galloped across the green field.

The clanging of armor, the snorting of warhorses, appeared before Raffel's eyes as the last two barely reformed after collapsing, Reverent Troops.

Like a wedge piercing glass bottles, the last thousand-strong Reverent Troops were pierced through, countless bodies like glass shards rolling through the air and on the ground.

The gray-yellow squares quickly scattered into little yellow dots, chaotically fleeing backward.

"Watch out for the clockwork cannon!" a sudden shout came from an Imperial Knight.

"Boom boom boom—"

The clockwork cannons on the three mounds, while bombarding the blood knights, still managed to spare a few six-pound cannons to fire at Raffel.

Waves of earth and dust sprung up between the loose cavalry arrays.

Occasionally, a piercing scream marked a knight being thrown high and crashing heavily to the ground.

Clods of earth splattered into Raffel's armor crevices, yet he remained unmoved.

"Mad, it's that Great Knight!"

"Focus fire on him, the tallest one."

Seeing the three charging Imperial Knight battalions getting closer and closer to the guard battle group, while the Eagle Cannons were still unfinished.

The guard guerrilla hunters couldn't hold back any longer.

Risking exposure, they all stood up from the bushes and groves, focusing fire on Raffel.

Spiraling bullets tore through the air, precisely aiming at Raffel.

The bullets bounced off the armor, creating silver-coin-thick dents.

"Over there!"

Groups of Imperial Knights bent their bows and set arrows, and amidst the twang, thumb-thick arrows easily pierced through the brush.

In unison, the bodies of the Guerrilla Hunters shook, the arrows piercing through, pinning the ones too slow to flee to the ground.

Screams and blood erupted violently.

In almost a blink, Raffel could already see the flags of the Guard Battle Group, bearing the Holy Banner of the Pope and the Saint's Grandson.

However, between him and that Holy Banner, two forward army corps and four middle army corps still stood.

Before he could see clearly, a battle banner printed with the Holy Grail suddenly barged into Raffel's sight from the side.

"Dog Knights!" Like a lioness roaring in anger, three hundred Holy Gunmen surged like a tide, led by Jeanne wielding the Holy Grail Battle Banner.

Da-da-da, da-da-da!

The world in front shook, and both Raffel and Jeanne could see the enemy in front more clearly.

The clearer the vision, the heavier the hearts of the Holy Gunmen felt.

Too large, the knights in front were too large, taller than houses, sturdier than brown bears, yet made of iron.

Feeling the low morale of the Holy Gunmen, Jeanne immediately charged forward as she had before.

This was her most classic tactic—using lightning to strike down the most elite enemy knights in the forefront.

But to other Holy Gunmen, Jeanne's silhouette seemed to be charging toward a mountain in front of the massive Raffel. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The front hooves of the Dragon Blood Horse stamped heavily, sounding a muffled thunder.

The war hammer in Raffel's hand swung down with a hum, colliding with the charged axe blade of the battle flag producing a crisp metallic sound.

The enormous force nearly knocked Jeanne off her horse.

The tiger's mouth split, revealing bloody fingers and bones, she gritted her teeth, as the Saintess's hair tips blazed golden: "Devil, return to the Fire Prison!"

Almost as bright as daylight, a dozen bolts of lightning erupted, striking at the weak points of Raffel's armor.

From under the visor, Raffel's face wasn't visible; only a deep growl was heard: "Disperse!"

This voice seemed to have form, spreading like a storm, the dozen bolts of lightning cut off at the waist by some invisible force.

A blessing only Great Knights can withstand, a divine art only clergy of the Shepherd Leader level can bestow—[Angel's Descent].

On the battlefield against the Blood and Flesh Royal Court, almost every Great Knight receives this blessing when fighting.

Its effect is simple yet powerful, akin to an instant Scripture Recitation Divine Technique, capable of suppressing magic.

The golden of the hair tips dispersed, Jeanne hadn't reacted yet, only seeing a blur in front, countless strange patterns re-emerging in sight.

As war horses crossed paths, Raffel pulled a meteor chain hammer, tossing it backward without a glance.

It hit squarely in the back!

"Ah—"

Thick blood flowed from Jeanne's teeth as she lunged forward, collapsing onto the horse's back.

The Dragon Blood Horse at the same time, suddenly turned, biting into a piece of Jeanne's war horse's flesh.

"Rip——"

"Neigh!"

Blood sprayed, tender horse flesh and white bone exposed to the air.

The war horse let out a cry, rolling over onto the grass with Jeanne still in tow, throwing her far off, making her tumble several times on the ground.

Raffel didn't pursue but continued charging toward the front battle array.

"Ding——Da——Bang——"

The sound of bullets striking White Crystal Steel armor rang clearly, yet Raffel showed no sign of defense.

Laughing loudly, he swept with his war hammer, turning the Holy Gunmen into mush.

Casually snatching a saber, he slashed while turning his torso, sending a horse head flying high.

Having once shattered countless Extraordinary Knights, the Holy Gunmen were dispersing for the first time!

Being obstructed by the Holy Gunmen, Raffel had been delayed.

Six hundred Imperial Knights reached first, charging from the sides.

Six Falcon cannons roared in turn, showers of buckshot exploding forth.

"Long Live Thousand River Valley!"

"Long Live Holy Alliance!"

"Long Live the King!"

The sound of breaking gunstocks, the clang of bullets piercing armor, mixed into a tussle.

Hot wind brushed past, laden with blood mist and stench.

Retreating from the arrays of the first two Guard Battle Groups, six hundred Imperial Knights for the first time couldn't penetrate the horizontal array.

Now, they must prepare for a second charge.

Just as the second line at the rear four Guard Corps moved to support the front, surprisingly, Raffel didn't continue charging the forward army.

He expertly bypassed the front two corps, buckshot from Falcon cannons and bullets from Holy Gunmen chasing his horse's tail.

Straight on, he charged toward the rearmost six corps!

Mengse instantly understood: "That Great Knight, he wants to capture the flag, he wants to capture the flag!"

Raffel's goal is the banner waving at the rear guard, representing the Pope—he aims to break that battle banner!

The one, Bo Ao Lie, Nidesar, Ailard, Prince Kongdai, and Cosme all fought tirelessly to reach, yet could not touch the Holy Banner!

It's the morale banner of the Holy Alliance; breaking it, then attacking the remaining corps is the sole and most likely way of crushing the Guard Battle Group with a thousand men!

Mengse broke out in a cold sweat, though the Holy Banner was there, the Saint's Grandson went to lure the Blood Knights away.

Without the Saint's Grandson's encouragement, does this Holy Banner still hold power?!

"Charge!"

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