Annihilation

Upon the Red Sand.

A violent gale swept through, sending dust and smoke rolling.

Several Maggot Eyes filmed the gladiatorial match from various angles.

The armor of the five Golden Armor Knights gleamed beneath the moonlight, while the mechanical steeds beneath them were as heavy and massive as tanks.

Even the household slaves brought by the five Golden Armor Knights looked imposing.

The bio-engineered warhorses were tall and powerful, their bodies knotted with grotesquely bulging muscles. Scalding vapor spewed from mouths lined with fangs and sharp teeth, while thin streams of blood ran down their tusks.

This battle had been rehearsed countless times.

Some of the Servant Knights rode forward first, gradually forming a line as they moved, then advancing slowly in unison.

The remaining Servant Knights spread out along the left and right flanks.

At last, the five Golden Armor Knights moved in behind the Servant Knights, advancing slowly from the safest position in the cavalry formation.

The Gladiators had long since formed a shield wall. Layer upon layer of shields stood stacked together. They would most likely be useless against the charge, but at least it looked respectable—better than everyone screaming and scattering in every direction, only to be caught and trampled beneath horse legs.

The Slaughterers gradually picked up speed until they were galloping across the vast Red Sand battlefield.

The mere sight of them charging raised dust like a sandstorm. They were like an iron wall bearing down head-on, making every Gladiator struggle to breathe.

Not a single Gladiator fled in such circumstances. Qin Xa could not help but marvel that Angron had had good reason to respect them even after receiving the Butcher's Nails.

"I'm still giving you the middle finger in my heart." Kleist lowered his raised right hand, took the long spear from his back, and rested it against his shield.

Qin Xa treated those words like bullshit and did not listen at all.

The Slaughterers continued charging forward.

One of the Golden Armor warriors who had just slaughtered all the Rebel Army prisoners urged his mount into a leap, and the structure of the mechanical warhorse beneath him began to shift.

Qin Xa watched the warrior.

The sword slipped from his hand and sank into the ground.

Qin Xa slowly raised both hands, placing one palm over the other.

He recalled the new method of using psychic power that he had devised and mastered while resting with his eyes closed.

Frost quietly spread across the blazing-hot Red Sand.

"First."

Qin Xa murmured, twisting his stacked palms as though wringing something.

As the final syllable faded, the Golden Armor Knight who had leaped into the air was descending with his mechanical warhorse in an extremely flashy pose when his helmet suddenly twisted one hundred and eighty degrees around.

The mechanical warhorse was mentally linked to its master. When its master's head twisted one hundred and eighty degrees around, its own head also turned one hundred and eighty degrees backward.

Horse and rider fell from the air and smashed heavily into the ground.

"Second." Qin Xa murmured again and repeated the twisting gesture.

The second Golden Armor Knight, who had noticed his companion's death, turned his head one hundred and eighty degrees toward his back and fell from his mechanical warhorse.

"Third."

"Fourth."

"Fifth."

Every Golden Armor Knight died in exactly the same manner.

People had realized something was wrong.

The cheers stopped.

The Gladiators still held up their shields, but they looked around in every direction, trying to discover what had killed the Golden Armor Knights.

The Servant Knights who were still charging stared at their masters, their expressions shocked and bewildered.

"Remember what I told you before." Qin Xa pulled his sword from the ground, passed Kleist, and moved from the rear to the front line.

Things had gone smoothly. He did not need to open up the distance.

After reaching Angron at the front line, Qin Xa met the stunned gaze Angron cast at him, then continued onward.

Ahead of even the shield wall, Qin Xa slowly threw his sword.

The sword, which looked like a dagger in his hand, spun through the air, pierced a Servant Knight's armor, and tore through his body.

Qin Xa stood where he was and waited.

His figure was quickly swallowed by dust and the bodies of the Servant Knights.

Angron charged forward with his axe raised.

A shockwave erupted at the very center of the Servant Knights.

Dust, men, and horses were all blasted away as the shockwave spread.

Angron, who had charged in because Qin Xa had been swallowed by the enemy, was also hurled away by the shockwave. He flipped twice through the air before landing on the ground, crushing a Servant Knight and his horse, who had landed before him, into a mist of blood.

At the very center of the shockwave, Qin Xa stood completely unharmed.

Under everyone's stunned gaze, Qin Xa picked up a long spear that had fallen beside the person nearest to him, the one who had suffered the greatest impact and been blasted into pieces.

The Servant Knights had already begun to flee.

Qin Xa raised the long spear and hurled it at a knight as though throwing a javelin.

The spear crossed six hundred meters and pinned both knight and horse to the ground.

Qin Xa picked up another long spear and threw it again.

Another rider and horse were pinned together and killed.

"Kill them!"

Oeno roared. The stunned Gladiators snapped out of it and chased after the enemies fleeing in all directions.

Oeno gripped his sword as he pursued a Servant Knight whose horse had a broken leg.

As this "Old Bear" chased after the Servant Knight, Angron swept past him like a violent gale, pursuing enemies who were fleeing faster.

Qin Xa noticed Oeno. He watched Oeno chase after the horse with one broken leg.

As Oeno sprinted, he kept jerking his neck from side to side, looking like Stallone when he ran.

Unaware that he was being watched, Oeno sprinted after the fleeing enemy. Just as he was about to catch the lame warhorse, he raised his sword. But as he was about to drive it into the enemy's back, the enemy's head suddenly spun one hundred and eighty degrees around to look at him.

Even the horse beneath him had its head turned the same way.

Oeno withdrew his sword and turned to look at Qin Xa.

Qin Xa nodded.

"If I were younger, I'd have caught that cavalryman and stabbed him eighteen times already." Oeno muttered, stopping to catch his breath.