The sound of horse hooves thundered like lightning through the clouds, the earth trembled, and dust scattered into the air.
"Charge!"
The roar of battle echoed on both sides of the central command as two flanks, like silver dragons, surged toward the demon army!
The two men in the lead, Kariel and Robert, rode at the very front on the left and right.
Behind them followed twenty thousand knights clad in silver armor.
Facing them was a demon army of over two hundred thousand, and in such a situation, there was no room for complex tactics.
The enemy was pressing forward with their full military strength, and if there was even a hint of weakness, the result would be singular.
They would be completely crushed.
"Lina, can you hold him back?"
I watched the Demon Emperor in the distance. I did not care about the others; he was the critical factor.
If we could not block him in the first exchange, the knights' charge would inevitably be cut short.
Once a cavalry charge was halted, they would lose seventy percent of their combat effectiveness.
If that happened, the entire central command would be torn in half.
"I can give it my best shot, but I can only manage a few exchanges. I say, where is your trump card? It is about time you brought it out, isn't it?"
Lina stared straight at the distant Demon Emperor, not daring to look away for a second.
In that moment just now, if she had not reacted in time, Luo Li would have been reduced to a bloody mist behind her.
If the enemy's sneak attack had succeeded and the Saintess was killed before the formation, it would be a devastating blow to the knights' morale.
At that point, nothing would remain but a total rout.
"Are you certain that he is a Demon Emperor?"
"I am certain. The power of that strike was definitely enough. Even if he is not a Demon Emperor, he is at least level sixty-nine."
Since Lina was sure, I could rest easy.
"Ligeia!"
I called out to the carriage, and the curtain was lifted. Ligeia, with her long green hair, stepped out, her staff glowing with a faint green light.
"Do not worry, Your Highness. I expect them to arrive in five minutes at most."
"Good... how is the situation with the Dragon King?"
"Everything is prepared."
Lina suddenly froze and instinctively looked back at me.
"The Dragon King!? You didn't actually bring the Dragon King here, did you?"
"Of course. However... there is more than one!"
"What?"
Lina was stunned again. This time, her CPU, which already had low processing power, completely crashed.
"What do you mean by more than one? Are there two Dragon Kings?"
Looking at the bewildered Lina, a mischievous thought suddenly rose in my heart.
I gave her a playful wink.
"You will know when the time comes. It would be boring if I told you now."
Lina blinked and looked me up and down as if she were seeing me for the first time.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing."
Lina retracted her surprised expression, returning to her usual indifference, and turned back to face the distant Demon Emperor.
"Since you have a trump card, then I think we should charge. If we wait any longer, the central command will be forced into close quarters combat."
Lina gripped her greatsword, gazing into the distance.
"Once the distance between the two sides reaches that point, the cavalry will not be able to build momentum."
She was right. Seventy percent of a cavalry's strength lay in the charge. Cavalry that lost the ability to charge were, to some extent, inferior to infantry.
If a knight had no horse, could they still be called a knight?
"Then let us charge."
At this stage, the opponent was giving me no time to organize tactics. It was clear that this Demon Emperor did not have enough troops and likely intended to settle the battle in one go by disrupting our formation as quickly as possible.
If that happened, these eighty thousand knights would be slaughtered by the demons at will.
"Dominica, signal the flags. Vanguard, charge! Central command, prepare for battle!"
"Yes!"
Dominica responded crisply, and the soldiers holding the battle flags immediately ran up to the wooden platforms to signal the orders.
"Kiran! Amir!"
I looked at the two knights guarding the Saint's Carriage.
"Present!"
"Present!"
"Each of you lead five thousand knights and head straight for the flanking attack points. Merge with the two wings and leave the middle path for the central command!"
"Understood!"
"Lina!"
"I'm here!"
"Prepare your Black Armored Knights. In this round... you are the vanguard!"
"Understood!"
Lina gave a sharp reply, jumped off the Saint's Carriage, flipped onto her black horse, and let out a fierce roar!
"Black Armored Knights!"
"Roar!"
The roar from ten thousand knights even drowned out the thunderous noise of the cavalry charge.
"Raise shields! Prepare lances!"
"Roar!"
Ten thousand Black Armored Knights let out a furious cry. In the next second, they raised their lances simultaneously. At the same time, they lifted their left hands and flicked their wrists.
With a synchronized 'clack,' a black circular shield deployed on the left forearm of every Black Armored Knight.
Only then did I realize that the Black Armored Knights had a hidden folding shield on their left arms.
With their lances held in their right hands against their waists and their shields protecting their chests, they let out a sharp shout:
"Ha!"
The knights' movements were perfectly synchronized, without the slightest hesitation.
Such an elite Black Armored Knights unit made the other nearby knights look on with envy.
However, at that moment, the vanguard had already begun their charge.
The sound of hooves rose from behind as Kiran and Amir each led five thousand heavy cavalry, charging out instantly!
Dust flew into the air, momentarily obscuring everything in sight.
Seeing this, Ligeia stepped forward and waved her slender hand lightly.
"Water Mist!"
In an instant, the air became damp, and a thick fog rose, immediately suppressing all the dust.
"Ligeia? You have such a useful skill?"
I was stunned. I hadn't realized Ligeia possessed a skill like this.
"There is much that Your Highness does not know."
Ligeia smiled faintly and waved her hand again.
A gentle breeze blew from behind us.
The thick fog moved forward with the breeze, covering the silhouettes of the knights in the blink of an eye.
Excellent. It seemed that although Ligeia did not like the battlefield, she still had a certain understanding of it.
This layer of fog directly concealed the vanguard, making it impossible for the enemy to see the direction of their charge.
"Order Andre and Boris to prepare for battle. Use the Saint's Carriage as the signal. When the Saint's Carriage charges, anyone who retreats... dies!"
"Yes!"
Dominica signaled again, and at the same time, the two wings finally made first contact with the demon army!
At that moment, it felt as if I were watching two massive ocean waves crashing violently into each other!
I turned my gaze to the right wing. At the front of the ride was Robert, clad in silver armor and wielding a silver lance. His eyes were wide with intensity, and the lance in his hand was like a power drill, with holy energy spiraling around the shaft.
A demonized orc in front of him roared madly, only to be instantly impaled. In the next second, the orc was torn to pieces by the holy energy rotating on the lance.
The knights behind him held their lances high, trampling over the oncoming demons without mercy!
Countless demons were impaled instantly, but for every one that died, more quickly surged forward to take their place.
As I watched Robert lead the right wing like a sharp knife piercing into the tide of demons, my heart hung in my throat.
I had to admit that such a charge was indeed the best way for knights to fight.
However, the gap in strength between the two sides was still too large!
The demon army numbered two hundred thousand, giving them a clear numerical advantage. Although they lacked the enhancement of battle formation skills, their individual strength was enough to make up for that deficiency when combined with overwhelming numbers.
Even if the numbers were equal, a knight's charge had limited threat against demons.
And at this very moment, Robert was leading his troops against a demon army of two hundred thousand!
I was deeply worried they would not be able to break through.
But having reached this point, there was no option to retreat.
When two paths meet, the brave prevail. If we were to retreat now, the result would inevitably be a total rout of the entire army.
That was something I could not accept!
The knights on the right wing followed Robert's charge. Those demons did not care about the deaths of their comrades; as their allies were impaled, they reached out frantically to grab the knights.
Most knights were able to use the momentum of their charge to shake off these demons, but a small portion of knights on the outer edge had their speed reduced due to the obstruction of other demons.
Consequently, their horses could not withstand the weight of several demons clinging to them at once, and their speed plummeted.
Once their speed dropped, these knights were no longer a threat and were instantly swallowed by the surrounding demons.
Even as many knights were pulled from their horses, they continued to draw their longswords, killing as many as they could.
But those demons did not fear life or death. In this moment... the cruelty of the battlefield was laid bare before my eyes.
This was a true ancient battlefield; this was a true meat grinder!
Every minute, dozens or even hundreds of lives were snuffed out by both sides.
The knights roared, watching their former comrades being pulled down and torn to pieces by the demons. Their eyes turned bloodshot with rage, and they could only vent their fury on the demons blocking the path of the charge.
They could not retreat, nor could they turn under these conditions.
If they slowed down, the only result was death!
The situation on the left wing was much the same, as Kariel roared and led the charge into the demon army.
The collision between the two sides produced a massive boom, the collective sound of countless weapons clashing against one another.
Meanwhile, the fog at the front finally began to dissipate.
The Demon Emperor seemed prepared for battle, but he suddenly discovered that the knights within the fog had not charged straight through the center. Instead, they had bypassed it and headed for the flanks!
Seeing this, the Demon Emperor's expression darkened. He seemed to understand my plan as he slowly raised his head, floating in mid-air and staring at me.
It appeared he was ready.
In that case, I would not keep him waiting long.
"Lina, charge!"
"Yes!"
Lina let out a sharp command, raised her greatsword, and roared.
"Black Armored Knights, charge!"
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