Volume 4: Withering in the Mortal World - The War on the Western Front (3)

The combat effectiveness of an individual or an army is not solely reflected in its offensive power. While defeating the enemy is important, defending against the enemy is even more crucial. An army that only possesses offensive power but lacks defensive capabilities and flexibility will crumble at the first sign of battle, no different from a paper tiger.

This is also the significance of the Shield Cavalry Brigade' existence. Their shield wall is the most solid defense; the defense constructed by three hundred Shield Knight cannot be easily torn apart even by Templar Knight. This allows the Divine Spell Brigade to focus on suppressing fire. It can be said that without the Shield Knight's defense, this elite force of five hundred men would completely lose its ability to survive.

Now, the Shield Cavalry Brigade has completely lost its purpose.

The eighteen-year-old boy in front of them did not tear through the shield wall's defense, not to mention that the distance between them was no less than two hundred meters, and no significant spiritual energy fluctuations were detected.

The enemy commander and a hundred Divine Spellcaster were thus beheaded.

It was as if his slash ignored the distance and the shield wall's defense, striking them directly.

"A swift and decisive victory..."

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, and the enemy was thrown into disarray by the sudden casualties. Nid was already used to all of this. He raised his sword high above his head again, not caring about precision, speed, or elegance— Nid focused solely on the "power" of the strike, and nothing else mattered.

The Greatsword swung down again, and hundreds more Divine Spellcaster fell to the ground with screams, blood seeping from the gaps in their robes, yet the robes themselves and the wall of light remained undamaged! Having lost so many men in the blink of an eye, the enemy finally snapped out of their shock and hastily regrouped.

"I won't give you a chance—die!!"

Nid's fighting style hinges on swift victory. Any form of defense is meaningless against his superpowers, but correspondingly, he also lacks the means to defend himself against the enemy. Ensuring his own safety is not too difficult, but his superpowers are insufficient to protect others; if possible, he doesn't want any more revolutionary fighters around him to sacrifice themselves.

Therefore, we must annihilate them completely before they can mount a proper counterattack!

"Circular encirclement and annihilation!"

The Greatsword slashed horizontally, shaking the air. This time, his target was the Shield Knight on the outer perimeter! Many more Shield Knight fell, coughing up blood, but this time there were only sixty or seventy in total, far fewer than the number of the Divine Spellcaster who had died earlier.

"As expected of a professional defensive force, they're really durable..."

Nid clicked his tongue inwardly. On the other side, the Divine Spellcaster had already regrouped, forming a divine spell around the most magnificently dressed Great Divine Art Master, creating a giant Light Gun resembling the sun, aimed directly at his heart.

"Reveal yourselves, sinners! God of Heavenly Punishment— "

"Shut up!!"

The Greatsword launched a powerful thrust into the void in front of it. In the next instant, the body of the Great Divine Art Master at the center of the structure exploded. The powerful slash, which was strong enough to kill a hundred people at the same time, was concentrated on him, causing his body parts to turn into ashes and disappear before they even hit the ground!

This time, Nid didn't stop. Instead, he launched a powerful series of slashes into the void. The Greatsword in his hand was as light as a feather, leaving behind trails of black afterimages. There was no technique, no precision, only pure destructive power. With each afterimage the Greatsword flashed, dozens of paladins perished, their bodies exploding bizarrely, bursting into bursts of blood and Fireworks. With each paladin killed, the Bloodblade cavalry cheered loudly, applauding the enemies who had taken their comrades' lives and praising the power of their Grand Master!

But Nid himself—

"Sorry..."

His murmured whispers were only audible to himself.

"Sorry..."

With a single strike, the heads of more than a dozen Shield Knight flew into the sky. The initial rage that fueled his charge into the enemy ranks was unknowingly extinguished by the enemy's blood, leaving only a detached sorrow.

"Sorry..."

Once soldiers step onto the battlefield, they cease to be human; they become mere "combat units." Even so, those fallen paladins must have had their own lives.

"Sorry..."

Some of them may indeed be heinous criminals, but most are simply devout believers who obey orders, and may even have wives and children... In the end, they are merely tools of the corrupt papacy.

"I'm so sorry..."

"To be merciful to the enemy is to be cruel to oneself" —Nid understood this principle all too well, so he never showed mercy to his enemies and always went all out. Even so, a faint sense of reluctance still accumulated in his heart little by little.

The Grand Commander of the Revolutionary Army's Blood Blade Knights, acting like a greenhorn, showed no mercy to the enemy. No one would believe it if I told them, but—

I can vaguely remember the first battle.

That was when I was still a newbie.

The battlefield, stained crimson with blood, was littered with the corpses of the enemy. The Revolutionary Army cheered for their victory, contentedly counting their spoils. A festive atmosphere pervaded the area, except for themselves.

At that time, Nid, who was only thirteen years old, did not join the celebration. Instead, he hid behind a rock and wailed. He had only come out to count the approximate number of enemy soldiers killed, but the mountain of corpses completely destroyed his courage. It was not because of fear of the dead, nor because of aversion to the countless deaths, but simply because he was saddened by the loss of so many lives.

The one who finds her own uselessness is her precocious and reliable older sister Loxue.

Why are you crying, Nid?

"Sister... Sister? No! I just--"

"Calm down first."

Then his sister gently wiped away his tears with a handkerchief, sat down beside him on the ground, and waited until he finally calmed down.

"... Sis, am I really useless?"

"Useless? How could that be? As a newcomer, you did an excellent job."

"But... I can't bear to do it!"

"..."

"Isn't it strange? As a descendant of the Bredwich Family, I'm destined to shoulder great responsibilities, yet I can't even overcome the most basic womanly sentimentality. Isn't that—"

"Are you saying that you cry not because you are shocked by the large number of deaths, but because you are genuinely saddened by the enemies who died by your sword?"

"Yes... I really am..."

"That's fine too."

"... Well?"

His sister smiled and gently smoothed his messy hair; this simple gesture always put his mind at ease.

"The fact that you can shed tears for your enemies shows that you have a compassionate heart for humanity."

"Pfft! What are you saying, sister? It's not that exaggerated. I'm just being sentimental..." Nid couldn't help but laugh through his tears.

"No, I'm serious."

"... Huh?"

"Listen to me, Nid. There are many ruthless leaders in this world, but they all treat their enemies as beasts without human rights, both in their actions and in their hearts. They forget that a leader must not only be able to defeat the enemy, but also have a heart as vast as the sea..."

"Tolerate..."

"Remember this, my brother. Cherishing life and having compassion for the dead is never shameful. We need to remember death, not forget it; we need to remember the dead, not forget them. What makes a person stronger is not just their efforts, but also everything they bear... Believe me, Nid, you are destined to be a great man, a great man who can surpass all the leaders of Bloodfang."

"You wicked, blasphemous sinners!!!!"

A sharp shout interrupted Nid's brief recollection. A surviving Divine Spellcaster frantically ripped off his magnificent robes, revealing Divine Word tattooed on his body! His eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was one of extreme fanaticism.

Nid's pupils contracted, and he roared, "Damn it! Everyone, retreat!!!"

"God, entrust yourself with this body to punish sinners with divine retribution!!!!"

The Greatsword thrust directly towards the man, but it was a fraction too late. He broke away from his unit and leaped towards the cavalry surrounding them, exploding with a deafening roar the instant he reached them! The invisible force released by Nid briefly suppressed the explosion, greatly reducing its radius. Even so, that single blow had claimed the lives of more than twenty cavalrymen!

Starting with this, the remaining paladins also showed fanaticism, revealing the Divine Word on their bodies, wanting to die for their faith!

"God, this is entrusted to you—"

"We won't let you succeed!!!"

At this moment, when the lives of his comrades were at stake, Nid calmed down, his calloused hands quickly reaching for the black Greatsword—

"Liberation - Slay the Emperor!!!"

--Zheng!

At that moment, the spiritual power within Nid's body was devoured by the Greatsword in his hand—or rather, by something fused into the Greatsword. As the Greatsword flashed with brilliant light patterns, all the paladins who were about to self-destruct were turned into bloody corpses. The glowing patterns on Nid's sword also dimmed and eventually disappeared.

Finally, they were completely annihilated.

"Call..."

Seeing this, Nid finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"If I'd known I'd have to use this in the end, I should have used it from the beginning. All this effort wasted... Ugh!"

A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he swayed, using his Greatsword to support himself so he wouldn't collapse immediately.

"Commander-in-Chief!"

""""Lord Nid!""""

"Are you alright?"

"No... I'm fine," Nid shook his head, dispelling the daze in his mind, "I'm just a little tired... using this always takes a lot of energy... tsk."

"Now then--"

"Pass on my order: the retreat route has been cleared. Everyone, use this as a breakthrough point to retreat!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Alright, that's fine..." Nid watched the departing messengers and the cavalrymen who, unable to carry away the bodies of their fallen comrades, could only offer a brief salute before leaving. A wave of self-reproach washed over him. If he had arrived sooner, they probably wouldn't have had to sacrifice themselves... Despite these thoughts, Nid showed no weakness on his face. He calmly directed his men as always, preparing for the retreat.

In the end, was it all for nothing? This large-scale operation was crucial; victory would have secured the entire Torres Ecclesiastical Province, placing the Blood Blade Knights at the heart of the western frontier. Unexpectedly, they encountered powerful reinforcements from the Papacy headquarters at the last moment, resulting in utter failure...

... Um?

Why does it sound noisy in the distance?

"Commander-in-Chief!!!!!"

Several messengers rushed in at the same time, each with a very strange expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Reporting, sir, the situation has changed!"

"Something's changed? Could it be that Alan is personally leading the army to charge and wipe out the remaining troops?"

"No, no... According to the news just now, it seems that the Templar Knight are being suppressed."

"... You mean, someone has suppressed Alan and her army?"

"That's right!"

"Could it be a backup force that Sister Xue had mobilized beforehand? But that doesn't make sense... If she really had one, she wouldn't be in such a sorry state..."

"My subordinates don't know the specifics either, but the main force over there... seems to consist of only four people."

"Four people? Are they all at the regimental commander level?"

"They were all girls, and all unfamiliar faces!"

"Ah!?"

The unexpected arrival of reinforcements left Nid somewhat bewildered. Just then, a report he had heard two months prior flashed through his mind—

'News has come from Sasin's side.'

'It's said he's the deputy commander... that's pretty much confirmed.'

'The champion of the Northern Realm Rally is the Blood Emperor's successor.'

--!!!

A surge of warmth suddenly welled up within him, instantly dispelling his previous gloomy mood. Although he wasn't sure, his intuition told him he was right!

Should we give the order?

What would Sister Xue do?

Don't hesitate, give the order!

This might be the last and only chance to turn things around!

"Everyone, listen up! Halt the retreat, assemble, and proceed to—welcome the Blood Emperor!!!"

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The main characters are now online...

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