nownovels Chapter 490: Overwhelming, the Swan Song of the Old Era!
Chapter 490: Overwhelming, the Swan Song of the Old Era!
At noon, on the plains about a hundred kilometers away from the Holy City at the empire's border, tens of thousands of imperial cavalrymen, fully armed in silver armor, stood ready for battle.
Leading them was Cardinal Nick, who solemnly addressed the gathering.
“Gentlemen, according to our scouts' reports, two cities on the imperial border have now been conquered by the wizards. Those demonic minions freely slaughter and harm the followers of the Lord. And now, they have penetrated deep into the heart of the empire, ready to spread pain, disaster, and death across the entire continent!”@@@@
“The apocalypse has indeed arrived! Behind us lies the Holy City, and we have no retreat...”
As Nick spoke with heavy sorrow, a sense of fear visibly spread among the tens of thousands of cavalrymen. However, Nick's voice soon grew more resolute and rang in everyone's ears like a great bell.
“But we need not fear, panic, or be daunted! The great Lord is watching over each of us from the heavens above, fighting a desperate battle for the empire and the church!”
“Death and faith are the keys to opening the gates of heaven, allowing our souls to rest in peace forever!”
“Now shout, the Lord's most devout children, the apocalypse is not to be feared. Our sacrifices will be engraved in the annals of history. Soon, the Lord will descend from heaven, dispel the gloom of the apocalypse, and transform the world into an eternal paradise...”
Nick's passionate speech dispelled the fear and hesitation in the hearts of the knights, who then raised their weapons and shouted aloud, expressing their madness and determination.
“To kill those blasphemers...” “May the great Lord dispel the gloom of the apocalypse and transform the world into a pure land!” “May the glory of our Lord shine upon all things!”
In that moment, everyone cast aside their fear of death, fully aware that defeat and destruction awaited them, but without any hesitation.
Because death is not the end of pain but a stairway to heaven.
In the Lord's kingdom, there is no sickness or aging. In its rivers flow the sweetest wines, fields of wheat grow bountifully without toil, and every tree branches are laden with succulent steaks... Everyone will reside in splendid mansions, enjoying endless peace and joy.
As the cries echoed around him, Nick suddenly dismounted, knelt down devoutly towards the Holy City, and kissed the soil beneath him, chanting the Lord's holy name.
More and more people dismounted to make their final prayers, hoping the great Lord would protect them and grant them ultimate victory.
As the fervent prayers grew louder, a pale divine light emerged from the direction of the Holy City.
A soft magical glow appeared around everyone, filling their minds with fervor. At this moment, they felt the Lord's gaze upon them, and their only thought was to wield their swords against all enemies who dare stand in their way, defending the Lord's glory with their blood and lives...
“Praise You, my Lord, for Your mighty power dims the stars!” Nick responded to the Lord's grace, then stood up, leading tens of thousands of cavalrymen. With swords pointed forward, he cried out. Ra₦Ọ฿Ε§
“Now... Charge!”
“Charge, charge!” With roars, tens of thousands of cavalrymen spurred their horses forward, charging like an avalanche.
On the horizon, a steel tide made up of thousands of armored vehicles appeared, their wheels kicking up clouds of dust. Underneath their fearsome armor, machine guns gleamed coldly, ready to unleash deadly volleys.
Nick knew these were new war machines devised by wizards, with formidable defenses and offensive capabilities. Yet, he believed nothing was invincible under the Lord's mighty power!
Even if defeat was the ultimate outcome, he was determined to inflict the heaviest blow on the enemy...
As the cavalry charged, they quickly closed the distance—a dangerous two kilometers!
The roar of cannons broke the silence, hundreds of shells flew into the sky, then crashed down like meteoric fire.
“God is with us!” Nick raised his sword, shouting as the magical light around the soldiers converged.
One thousand Divine Punishment Army soldiers, having ingested the Grace Potion and led by a core of priests and bishops, quietly deployed a sophisticated magical formation.
“Perhaps they aim to deplete our ammunition and magical reserves, to gain some advantage for a later decisive battle,” Harof speculated.
The lives of hundreds of thousands in exchange for battle preparations?
The wizards present frowned, feeling a coldness creeping up from their feet.
If this was the case, then the church's madness and ruthlessness were beyond their imagination. However, they couldn't deny that after six major battles, they had used up more than seventy percent of the ammunition they had stockpiled over a year.
Fortunately, their core battle preparations had not been touched, and the wizards’ magical power remained at a considerable level. Lynn, Victorio, Harof, and Aurora, the four legendary wizards, had hardly taken any action.
On the one hand, the kingdom's army was sufficient for such minor skirmishes, also serving to train new recruits. On the other, they needed to be in their best condition to face potential threats.
According to their intelligence, the church still had at least three legendary clerics, over a hundred cardinals, countless bishops and priests,
plus a false god whose strength was unknown. On paper, their strength was much greater.
“Perhaps these armies are just pawns the church is using to delay our progress,” Lynn surmised.
But it was meaningless. Under the crush of thousands of armored vehicles, these sacrificial imperial troops couldn't even slow their advance.
The longest delay was when seven cardinals and tens of thousands of men held out in a wooded area.
He simply had airships, fighters, and artillery bombarded them for hours, then led the armored vehicles through to flatten everything.
Six crusading forces, over three hundred thousand elite troops, plus attacks from other directions intended to force them to split their forces for rescue operations, probably represented all the conventional power the empire could muster!
Lynn looked down at the imperial knights enduring heavy casualties, struggling against indestructible steel behemoths until their last breath, feeling somewhat moved.
The gap in spiritual magic research between them and the church was clear.
Lynn could imagine the psychological pressure such a fearless army, composed of divine magicians and Divine Punishment Knights, would impose on their enemies. No wonder the church and the empire had dominated this continent.
Unfortunately, the swan song of the old era ends here...
As he pondered, the battle below quietly came to an end. After suffering a tenth of their losses, fifty thousand imperial knights had completely collapsed.
The entire plain had turned into a slaughterhouse, with burning corpses, shattered armor, and weapons scattered everywhere.
The steel tide showed no signs of stopping, leaving the cleanup to others while they continued forward, forward, always forward!
Their destination: the Holy City!
As midnight approached, the kingdom's army, having traveled for days, finally halted for a rest.
Now, less than sixty kilometers away from the Holy City, if they proceeded without their supplies, they could arrive at its gates by morning.
Appropriate rest before the great battle was clearly necessary.
Lynn looked up at the sky, where a bright moon hung, its brilliance felt by every wizard as the tide of magic.
But he remembered that today wasn't supposed to be a lunar day...