"Breakthrough!"

Raffel shouted this phrase as he charged through the enemy ranks for the second time, but the soldiers on either side did not block him; instead, they actively made way.

As he was puzzled, he suddenly realized that nearly a hundred Imperial Knights charging with him into the enemy ranks, more than fifty had been left behind.

Lead shots and pellets swept through the Imperial Knights, knocking them off their horses one by one.

At this moment, the monks finally grasped the intricacy of the situation. Even though Raffel was a Great Knight, he feared being dragged into hand-to-hand combat, because that would make him susceptible to being hit with live shots from hawk cannons.

Pellet bombardment and live shot bombardment are two different concepts.

So why actively attack the Great Knights, evade the Great Knights, focus on the Imperial Knights, and once the Imperial Knights are exhausted, the Great Knight has to retreat even if he doesn't want to.

At this moment, Raffel, even as a Great Knight, found it quite challenging to fight his way out from around the large banner.

Raffel's accumulated injuries were of little consequence; the most crucial concern was that the Dragon Blood Horse was near its limit.

It didn't have divine protection!

Despite Raffel's sheltering, it had taken all the lead shots and chaotic magic.

Just delivering its master to the rendezvous point with other Imperial Knights had drained the Dragon Blood Horse's strength.

The Dragon Blood Horse collapsed weakly, its four legs twitching, blood-tinged foam flowing from its mouth.

Raffel could only place his hand over its eyes and swiftly pierce its skull with a small knife.

At least this way, it could die without pain.

The sacrifice of this Dragon Blood Horse was worthwhile; it at least broke the monks' Holy Banner once more.

Having mounted a second Dragon Blood Horse, Raffel finally exhaled a sigh of relief and looked toward the battlefield, taken aback.

"You, you..." Raffel's lips trembled, unable to utter complete words.

The flag he had just knocked down was now being resolutely and slowly hoisted again for the second time.

Even the second group of banner carriers was not the same as the first.

"Advance, advance, raise our flag!"

This voice seemed to come from beyond the clouds, sounding like a booming bell in Raffel's ear. He was silent for several seconds: "Prepare to charge again."

"Are we still charging? Let's retreat." The Attendant Officer softly advised.

"No, I want to keep charging to knock down their banner again. Who will follow me? It's not over yet!"

"It's already over!" The Imperial Knight Company Commander beside him couldn't help but shout.

Stubbornly turning his head away, Raffel's eyes were filled with bloodshot: "Not yet. Once more, we must break through the enemy lines."

"Open your eyes wide, we've already lost." The Company Commander, nearly pleading, spitted as he spoke, "The front-line battlefield infantry have mostly scattered, relying on the remaining Square Banner Knights and Squire Knights to hold the line.

The Blood Knights have been somehow lured into the river by the Saint's Grandson, either washed away or killed by the twelve-pound cannon.

We had eleven hundred Imperial Knights when we charged, look, only less than five hundred remain!

Initially, both sides were on the brink of collapse, and we could still fight, it was a matter of who collapsed first.

But now, there's no hope!"

Raffel seemed oblivious to anything, as if possessed: "No, remember, that flagpole is the soul of the Holy Alliance; break this soul, and even if we lose, we've won.

They can raise the Holy Banner once, twice, but can they raise it three, four times?"

"But you don't have the ability to raise the Holy Banner three, four times!" Tears welled in the Company Commander's eyes as he looked at Raffel before him.

Changing the chest armor, the Company Commander could already see the injuries Raffel had sustained.

Scorch marks from the Red Dragon's Breath, blisters from lightning, gangrenous flesh corroded by poisonous fog.

Not to mention the lead shots, iron pellets, arrows, and armor fragments buried deep in the flesh, with dark toxic blood oozing from the wounds.

As for the bones, although invisible, everyone was a battle-hardened warrior; they only needed a glance at Raffel's movements to understand how many bones had broken.

Compared to his initial peak state, Raffel was now in a state of serious injury.

However, a Great Knight's serious injuries and an ordinary person's serious injuries are two different concepts; he was still a distance from death, just that his combat power had slightly diminished.

"I still have!" Raffel roared, covering those scars with new White Crystal Steel Armor, "The monks, call them over for blessing; my Angel's descent effect is waning."

Smiling bitterly, the Company Commander stepped aside, revealing the injured or dead monks on the ground.

Some distance away, there were also some Shadow Crow Army soldiers' black-clad corpses.

"Shadow Crow Army's soldiers raided, killing or severely injuring most of the monks we brought. The few remaining have mostly fled."

Raffel's body stiffened, sitting silently atop his horse for a long time.

"Our Salvation Army of the Holy Alliance, our army boots crush the tyrant!"

"Lances forward, advance!"

"Advance, advance, raise our flag!"

Six-pound cannonballs flew through the air, creating deep craters on the ground.

Imperial Knights ran through the horizontal lines, often being pierced through the chest by three-pound hawk cannon shots, and flung backward.

More and more Imperial Knights fled the battlefield, while in the front-line infantry battalions, a total of four battalions arrived continuously.

Under the protection of the Holy Gun Armored Riders, Horn tossed the Blood Covering Cloud into the river, finally breaking free from the Blood Knights' pursuit.

Amid countless cheers, Horn dismounted and personally hoisted the Holy Banner: "For freedom, for dignity, for homeland!"

"For the homeland!"

A deafening roar ensued, and Raffel finally spoke: "You, dismount."