Ingis Empire, Hailan Territory.
The desolate outskirts of the city.
Daybreak was neither near nor far, and dark clouds veiled the moonlight.
A squad of knights clad in light armor made of Ayemi Alloy rode their loyal horses along the suburban path.
The knights had slipped out quietly through the side gate of the city wall, silently galloping toward a battle that would decide the fate of Hailan Territory.
They intended to slay the Demon Dragon before dawn.
Or else, to fight with all their might until after daybreak.
This was a silent "surprise attack."
Although a "sneak attack" starting from the side gate of a city wall was not regarded by the knights as a glorious combat.
Yet, the Hailan knights of today were forced to carry out such an assault that defied the code of chivalry.
Hailan Territory is nearly finished.
Knight Commander Taren could not help generating such a thought.
On the wilderness eight kilometers away from the city wall of Hailan Territory, an army of several thousand people organized by the "Church of Death" had gathered.
The defensive force of Hailan Territory was left with fewer than five hundred knights, along with the towering spire upon the city wall—Bornez.
That was the place that provided a spellcasting platform for the sole high-tier mage of the entire Hailan Territory.
Although the enemy's army was mostly composed of undead and low-tier Death Cultists, this was not entirely unmanageable.
As a top mid-tier Flame Knight, Knight Commander Taren possessed the confidence to thrust the blade in his hand into the chest of any low-tier Death Cultist, and then use his well-practiced command skills to lead the knights in slaughtering this "hastily cobbled together" force.
However, the preparations of the Church of Death went far beyond this army of several thousand—
They had brought a dragon!
A rotting undead Demon Dragon etched with ghostly green flames!
Originally, no one believed that the fools of the Church of Death could run amok in the Northern Frontier of the empire, and even march in triumph to capture several territories.
Yet when the opponent truly appeared within their field of vision, everyone finally understood why this group of otherwise insignificant Death Cultists had suddenly become invincible.
They had used dark death arts to transform a dragon!
A dragon that obeyed commands and was virtually undefeated when facing low-to-mid-tier challengers!
The ground was littered with corpses left behind from the battle against the Church of Death during the day.
An atmosphere of terror quietly pervaded among the knights.
Knight Commander Taren knew this was not a good omen.
Even though panic was currently brewing within his own heart as well, he had to say something to stabilize the convictions of the knights.
Yes.
To stabilize their convictions, not their confidence.
They possessed no possibility of defeating the Demon Dragon, and the best outcome would be to acquire the glory of swearing loyalty unto death to Hailan Territory.
"Lift your heads,"
the knight captain lowered his voice.
"Show some spirit, lads!"
Such comfort did not produce much effect, and the faces of the youths remained peacefully reduced to silence.
The knight captain felt that he should say a bit more, but a hand clad in exquisite armguards rested upon his shoulder.
"There is no need to push them."
The voice came from beneath that exquisite armor.
It was Havent Hailan.
Havent looked up at the moonlight obscured by dark clouds and waved his hand, signaling the knight captain that there was no need to rack his brains to boost the morale of the young knights.
Sources of sound should be minimized as much as possible during a night march.
Havent knew that the knight captain's words were, to a large extent, actually boosting his own morale as well.
Yet such encouragement yielded meager results.
He was well aware of how terrifying the dragon controlled by the Church of Death was.
The primary purpose of this sortie was actually not to launch an assassination attempt against the Demon Dragon.
They were merely acting as a cover for the evacuation of the citizens within the city.
Before departure, he had already communicated with Solis, the sole high-tier mage within the territory, requesting the latter to check the Teleportation Array once more.
When the Church of Death was startled by their raid, the Teleportation Array inside the city would immediately activate.
The rest of the Hailan Family and the citizens would be transferred by the array to a safe location before dawn.
Before dawn.
The knight squad had to hold out until daylight.
Otherwise, the violent magic fluctuations generated when the Teleportation Array activated would spread into the camp of the Church of Death.
Those madmen would drive the Demon Dragon to storm the city walls at the very first moment, to prevent the commoners who could be converted into undead armies from escaping.
Havent did not want to see that kind of scene.
Although his past life had been lived on Earth, he had reincarnated into this fantasy world in the identity of an embryo.
Windmill wheels turning, winter snow fluttering.
He had lived here for fifteen years in the identity of the eldest son of the Lord of Hailan Territory.
To some extent, Havent Hailan was an indigenous person of this world.
There was no particular bond to speak of, but he was unwilling to see the commoners who greeted him every day transformed into walking-corpse-like undead.
Havent withdrew a blood-red gemstone necklace from beneath his armor, lost in thought.
This was a secret treasure passed down through generations of the Hailan Family, and only each successive lord could drive it.
When danger arrived, the lord would pour mental power bearing their imprint into it, and then activate it.
The surging magical elements contained within it would pour out the instant it was activated.
If only it were a high-yield elemental bomb, Havent sighed.
However, things went contrary to wishes; those pouring-out magical elements would not trigger an earth-shattering explosion capable of piercing through the enemy's defenses.
Instead, those elements would surge into the bodies of his own people.
This secret treasure was actually a gemstone for temporarily elevating one's realm.
It would elevate mid-tier Hailan knights of level 20-plus to the peak high-tier level of level 59 in a short period.
When Havent activated it, thirty White Lion Knights within a fifty-meter radius of him would all ascend in tier, with the effect lasting for six hours.
This was his trump card for daring to lead a squad of mid-tier knights to stubbornly resist the Demon Dragon.
Otherwise, relying solely on the strength of mid-tier knights, they would likely be wiped out by the Demon Dragon in a single encounter.
As long as they dragged things out until dawn, even if the tier-elevation effect ended, the personnel in the city should have been more or less evacuated.
In that case, they would have achieved their objective.
Thinking of this, Havent put the gemstone necklace back into his armor.
"Knights!"
He halted his horse and turned his head to look at the people behind him.
Seeing Havent speak, the knights immediately put away their decadent expressions, standing by in strict battle readiness.
They admired this young heir.
Just as the lord appreciated these young knights.
The moonlight cast a glimmer of light through the gaps of the hazy dark clouds.
Havent's voice was lowered, yet in the current tranquil atmosphere, it reached the ears of every single knight.
"We are launching a charge against the apocalypse."
The horse beneath him seemed to realize the gravity of the atmosphere at this moment, unceasingly letting out heavy panting sounds.
Everyone had originally thought the lord would deliver a stirring pre-battle speech to them, yet unexpectedly he spoke only such a brief sentence.
A charge against the apocalypse!
Regardless of what they were thinking, when Havent felt the kind of despair where death was the only outcome, the only thought constantly generated in his mind was this one.
"Even if it is the apocalypse, we swear loyalty unto death to you, Lord Havent."
Knight Commander Taren laid his blade horizontally across his chest.
The other knights also lowered their voices one after another.
"We swear loyalty unto death to you, Lord Havent."
Under the scant moonlight, Havent led his knights as they trudged toward death.
This was their first charge,
—within Havent's mental space.
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