Kingdom's Bloodline, page 112
Chapter 106: The Failed Bet |
Liroque yelled and took a few steps back in an urgent manner to avoid Arracca's offensive move.
Under his command, the dozens of Eckstedt infrantrymen beside Liroque neither formed a formation nor retreated. Instead, they pounced directly at the Fury Guards flanking Arracca. Arracca's expression darkened.
In the midst of the angry roaring and sounds of collisons, Eckstedt's soldiers tenaciously wrapped themselves around the Fury Guards.
Standing at the forefront, Arracca was left alone in an instant with no one shielding and protecting him on either side. Seven or eight of Eckstedt's warriors surrounded him with vicious expressions on their faces.
Thales's expression changed drastically.
'Oh no.'
Arracca relied heavily on the sacrifice and protection of the guards by his sides to maintain his absolute advantage in front to fight the enemies without a worry. Otherwise, maybe after Arracca had killed up to ten people, his speed would decrease and he would be caught up in the impenetrable encirclement once again.
Even a skilled supreme class elite would have died after such a huge consumption of energy.
Also, to face countless enemies, various types of attacks, and many weapons all at the same time on the battlefield… like Aida said, even a supreme class elite could never be entirely unscathed. Just like Arracca's current situation, the gradual accumulation of injuries and the increasing consumption of energy…
Arracca stared at the situation before him as he panted slightly.
"Cover him!" Aida agilely made her way through the three well-coordinated Eckstedt infantries, but it was obvious that she was not used to the rhythm of the battlefield what with the swords coming from all directions, so she could not free herself for a moment.
"Cover Arracca!" she yelled exasperatedly, "Otherwise, they would drag us back into their tight encirclement once again!"
Wya was held back by two enemies. He could not escape swiftly from battle due to him being injured, but it was clear that since Putray did not possess the same skills as they did, he could shake off his enemies calmly and easily to protect Arracca.
Because Arracca's Conical Attack Formation helped him to break through very quickly, the numerous Eckstedt soldiers that fell behind them ran and pursued after them once again.
Ralf widened his eyes and a gust of strong wind hurriedly raged and blocked the first few rows of Eckstedt's soldiers by using the scattering snowflakes as a barrier.
"Those soldiers carrying the Fury Guards' equipment with them are all held back!" Putray was having a lot of trouble dealing with a fierce and violent infantryman's attacks. "And it is obvious that our diplomat group, including you, have never fought in a war before—we are unable to break through!"
"Are there any more people other than the Fury Guards and the diplomat group?" Wya used his sword to fight his enemy, but with very slow efficiency. "As long as we can break away from this encirclement, we can reach to the prince's side!"
A young soldier, and a veteran who held a sword and shield, suddenly turned around amid the fierce battle.
…..
If Arracca had the soldiers of the Fury Guards by his side, he would not have to consider the threats beside and behind him at all. He would only have to face his enemy from the front. But now, he had to face the threats from all around him.
*Clang!*
Liroque aimed and swung his greataxe sturdily onto Arracca's newly-snatched nail hammer! Arracca bellowed like a beast in a low voice. Even Thales could feel the oppressive atmosphere.
Then, the Kingdom's Wrath could be seen with both of his eyes red. The nail hammer that was hooked onto the greataxe suddenly trembled as the power from his body exploded in an instant.
*Clang!*
As the flame and sparks flickered, Liroque clenched his teeth and retreated in a disheveled state.
"Behind—" Thales anxiously yelled.
But before Thales could finish yelling, Arracca had turned his head back in an instant. He struck the sword attack away from his back while he roared furiously, to ensure that Thales would not be hit.
The figure of the Kingdom's Wrath whirled around soon after and avoided the tip of a spear that attacked at the same instant. He had already thrown out the nail hammer in his hand as he was turning back and pierced through the chest of the swordsman behind.
Without others to shield and cover him, Arracca was unable to continue attacking. He limped with slowed footsteps as he retreated. He managed to dodge the blade that was aimed for the vital organs in his left side, but his waist was still cut open and blood bled from the wound.
"Maybe we should retreat and meet with the guards!" Thales yelled in pain due to an earlier injury to his back.
The beastly man did not pay attention to the prince. He turned around and roared in a low voice. With a shoulder slam that exerted a force as strong as a volcano's eruption, he knocked over the blade and shield soldier who could not put away his blade in time with the shield was wedged between them.
*Rip!*
Arracca forcefully seized the opponent's blade and sliced open his throat. The blood splattered all over Arracca's body.
Without any time to rest in between, the Kingdom's Wrath lowered his waist as he swiftly turned around. The broad sword that attacked laterally from behind could only cut into his shoulder slightly.
Arracca immediately aimed a low-angle kick right onto the opponent's knee. The latter grunted and lost his balance after he heard the sound of his bone fracturing. The blade of the Kingdom's Wrath sliced through his neck, and caught his falling sword in a smooth motion.
The wind howled right at this very moment!
*Dang!*
A tremendous noise made Thales' eardrums vibrate with pain.
Arracca was seen raising the blade and the sword over his head while his feet sank into the ground. With an unwavering force, Arracca resisted the greataxe by Liroque that forcefully hacked downwards.
"You have meticulous control, so your energy is always just right and never wasted... is that not so, the Kingdom's Wrath of the supreme class?" Liroque exhaled sinisterly, "Even though we attacked at the same time, you still managed to kill three of us."
A longspear charged towards Arracca's heart. The Kingdom's Wrath used both his hands to fend off the greataxe. With unimaginable skill, he managed to turn his chest around to avoid the sharp tip of the spear and forcefully pinned the attacking longspear between his torso and his left underarm.
Another longspear attacked from nowhere. Arracca unleashed his Power of Eradication in an instant and avoided the spear tip. Then, he stomped on the attacking longspear ferociously with his foot.
Thales felt his skin crawl when he watched Arracca firmly hold and block the two spearmen back. The spearmen were clenching their teeth strenuously and their faces were flushed red from the exertion of trying to kill Arracca.
'This is not good.'
As expected, the enemy did not give him any chance to breathe. Two Eckstedt soldiers, along with their two longswords, attacked Arracca's torso and head.
Arracca spared no effort as he deflected the sword aimed for his chest, then he firmly held on to the other sword to stop it from attacking.
*Whoosh…*
A howling sound came when the greataxe swung down again.
"But this is a battlefield! The battle has never been just one-to-one!" The commander of the enemy laughed sinisterly. He swung his greataxe in a wide arc to attack. "Supreme class elites also have limits!"
The few of Eckstedt's infantrymen howled in anger. They appeared from behind Liroque and surrounded Arracca.
Thales hovered his hand over his dagger in shock as he yelled, "Be careful!"
In the next second, the sound of an axe piercing into flesh and a fear-inducing clanging sound of the weapons rang through the air!
*Splash!*
*Clang!*
Thales felt shivers down his spine and his eardrums were in excruciating pain. 'No...'
The prince panted and, with his widened eyes, he witnessed the blade of the greataxe firmly chop into Arracca's left shoulder. The greataxe broke through the breastplate and cut open Arracca's flesh before it stopped between Arracca's shoulder blades and clavicle.
The greataxe was only an inch away from Thales' shoulder.
Arracca panted heavily while blood flowed out of his wound and soaked through Thales' shoulder.
The sword in the right hand of the Kingdom's Wrath had already disappeared without a trace. With just one hand, he blocked Liroque's greataxe by the hilt. His whole body trembled as he was engaged in a life-and-death battle with the enemy's commander.
But he was not alone.
Before the edge of the axe, a black-haired, brown-eyed young soldier of Constellation knelt on one knee beside Arracca. He clenched his teeth tightly and raised both his hands over his head. He held a pair of even-length pikes in each hand as he used all his strength to withstand the axe blade that had hacked into Arracca's left shoulder.
"Damned bastard!" Liroque's eyes strained with redness while his Power of Eradication burst out. He gradually pressed down on the axe blade in his hands.
At the same time, the two spearmen who wrestled with Arracca had also exerted themselves, hoping to kill the Kingdom's Wrath here. "Don't even think about it…"
Willow Ken's hands trembled as he held the twin pikes with all of his strength to withstand the greataxe above him—under gravity's pressure and Liroque's strength—to ease Arracca's burden.
Arracca was panting hard and he was in excruciating pain while he stared at Willow with a complicated gaze.
Strong wind howled in the air when Ralf's figure glided towards them. Ralf swept past the Eckstedtians' weapons with great effort. He brought along two Constellation soldiers dressed in the apparel of the fortress' soldiers to fight with Liroque's subordinates—who were preparing to enter the battlefield.
A sturdy veteran of Constellation abruptly dashed over. With his shield, he knocked the Eckstedt soldiers who were fighting with Arracca just now onto the ground.
Genard, the veteran from the Starlight Brigade, held down his madly struggling enemy. The both of them held each other's sword hand and competed against each other with their strength and stamina, wanting to bury their swords into each other's vital organs before the other does.
"Is there anyone else?" Thales asked anxiously while he pulled out his dagger with great effort. He hesitated on whether he should cut the rope that fastened him behind Arracca.
"There are only a few of us left. The Fury Guards and your subordinates are all being entangled!" Genard yelled as if his life depended on it while he wrestled with his opponent, "You had better be useful, you twin pike wielding army deserter!"
Willow's face was flushed red and his hands shook continuously as they withstood the greataxe.
"I said this before…"
The Eckstedt infantryman whose longspear was wedged between Arracca's left arm and torso roared as he threw down his longspear. The infantryman pulled out a dirk from his back and charged at Arracca who was caught in a deadlock. Arracca loosened his left arm and held on to Liroque's greataxe with both hands. His eyes were burning with rage.
"I am not an army deserter!" Willow spat out those few words through clenched teeth.
The soldier charged frantically at Arracca and Thales with his dirk in hand. Thales trembled as he cut the rope.
Willow pulled back his right arm that was holding a pike while he withstood Liroque's greataxe with his left hand laboriously. He yelled desperately, "Also… I really know how to use… twin pikes!"
Willow's right hand suddenly lashed out! The Eckstedt soldier, dirk in his hand, stepped away from Willow's single pike.
Thales had a cold feeling in his chest. 'This is bad. He missed the target.'
But Willow's hand suddenly trembled. The spear tip flashed while the pike shaft flew from his hand.
*Rip!*
The Eckstedtian lowered his head in shock and the dirk fell from his hand.
Willow's pike was no longer in his hand. The tip of the spear was already lodged in the soldier's throat.
Thales exhaled a long breath and his mind began to unwind and relax. 'What a close call.'
With all his strength already used up, Willow panted while his left pike trembled and dropped from resisting the greataxe. He then collapsed onto the floor, exhausted.
But Liroque's greataxe did not come down.
Once more, Thales felt newborn power explode from the body of the man carrying him.
Liroque stared at his own greataxe in surprise as the Kingdom's Wrath lifted his axe up inch by inch with his arms.
The beast-like man slowly stood from the ground like a volcano at the point of eruption.
"Did your commanding officer not tell you?" Arracca breathed heavily and he trembled like a beast. A scary strength exploded once again from his arms and pushed the greataxe forward. Liroque stumbled and almost fell to the ground, but his subordinate was there in time to support him from behind.
"If you have a chance to kill me, it is best that you kill me in one strike. If you do not manage kill me… Heh…" Arracca sneered through clenched teeth as his countenance suddenly changed.
Filled up to his eyes with the fluctuations, Thales watched in surprise as the previously stirring ripples and explosions within Arracca's body start to boil vigorously like lava!
Liroque furrowed his brows and stared at the faint red light shining from Arracca's eyes. The muscles on his injured shoulder began to contract and block his wound to stop the bleeding.
'What is that?' He recalled the legend of the Kingdom's Wrath again. 'No… Impossible. He is only human after all, isn't he?'
In the surrounding noise of carnage, Liroque roared angrily. He used all the strength in his body and charged at Arracca with his few most trusted subordinates. Seven or eight weapons thrust out at the same time.
…..
Count Levan asked the military courier before him in surprise as his face was filled with disbelief, "Four minutes? That man charged at the forefront alone… and he used only four minutes to break through our battle formation?" The count grabbed the courier's collar in one swift motion as he angrily yelled, "Impossible! Those are six military units! Almost two thousand and five hundred people! Flanking from all directions!"
"It- it has yet to break through completely." The military courier gasped for breath and it seemed as if he, too, was extremely irreconcilable. He could be heard hatefully saying through clenched teeth, "Soldiers from the other directions are also trying to fill in the gap… We-we can drive him to death by exhaustion…"
He did not continue to speak. For a valiant Northland Soldier like him, saying the phrase "driving him to death by exhaustion" was already close to disgrace.
"Do not be surprised." From the side, Viscount Kentvida walked forward, placed his hand above the count's hand and sighed. "We have been looking forward to meeting the Kingdom's Wrath for a long time. Even the White Blade Guards could not hold back his beast-like frontal attack."
"But… four minutes…" Count Levan had a solemn look on his face. "This is too…"
"Arracca Murkh and his strength was originally part of our plan." A steady voice from behind was heard. Both Kentvida and Levan bowed down. "If he takes the lead in attacking, he can certainly break through even further on with Constellation's prince."
On his warhorse, Archduke Lampard stared at the distant battle and sighed. "If they want to break through to the direction of the fortress, the psychological shock delivered to the fortress will be stronger… Then the chances of success for our plan in luring Sasere will probably become higher. By that time, the fortress' morale would not depend on whether Sasere wants to send her troops out or not.
"What a shame. Whose idea it was that actually made them face north instead of the fortress and attack in the opposite direction—it is unknown." Archduke Lampard shook his head with an abnormally regretful look on his face.
Count Levan resumed his calm state and said with his brows furrowed together, "Does the seven-year-old prince also agree to court death like this?"
"There is no point in overthinking." Lampard steeled his expression and shook his head resolutely. "It is already impossible for us to take back the fortress."
"There is another problem. So long as Murkh brings along his bow, it will be very hard for the infantries to exhaust his physical strength through sheer numbers." Viscount Kentvida furrowed his brows and pondered. "The infantry's encirclement on the north side is not as tight as the south side. There is a large possibility that he might rush out until he stands before us. That would be very awkward. How should we handle Murkh and that prince?"
"If the light infantry cannot surround and stop him..." Count Levan's eyes sparkled and he said in a serious tone, "But he still has a baggage with him, and he cannot enter or leave the battlefield at will! Let the light infantry continue holding the others back and transfer the main force prepared to attack the fortress back here. Regardless of whether it is the Doppelsöldners's attack or the heavy cavaliers' long-distance indiscriminate charge, either one can easily kill them all... including Murkh."
"It is not like we do not have any experience before. Based on the battlefield skills of Kingdom Wrath's, his efficiency in killing light infantry and Doppelsöldners are the same." Viscount Kentvida shook his head. "And even if we succeed, it is very likely for us to kill the Constellation's prince along with him. This is not a good choice… I am afraid we have to come up with another plan."
"Please, let ME go, Your Grace." Behind Lampard, Lord Tolja held a peculiarly shaped saber, and bowed down slightly from his horse. His eyes were glinting with an unlimited desire to fight. "From Murkh's dead body, I will surely seize back the bow that belongs to Eckstedt. If we cannot dispatch our main force… Then I am the only person here who can confront Murkh." Tolja stared at the archduke with his burning gaze. "Let the Rising Sun Saber confront the Motionless Bow."
Lampard caressed the sword at his waist as he thought carefully. After more than ten seconds, Lampard slowly shook his head and declined. "No, I do not wish for any accident to happen to you. Even if Murkh does not bring along that bow, he is still too valiant."
