Attack! Morton's Nightmare and Rebirth (5)

"Get out of my way!" Warwick swung his blade, unleashing a Battle Qi Slash that cleaved a magical beast in two! Yet, this powerful strike was the extent of it; the energy that could easily shred a hundred Zergling bodies lost all its momentum after cutting through just one iron-ball beast.

"Damn it!" The terrifying defensive power of the iron balls made Warwick grit his teeth. He yanked the reins, forcing his warhorse to leap over the beast he had just bisected, but as he soared through the air, he realized these iron-ball beasts weren't just in a single row—there were three full rows of them!

The second row of beasts extended their heads, spitting out dozens of green globs of saliva. The projectiles moved with the speed of arrows! Warwick held his broadsword horizontally across his chest, and the impact of the saliva hitting the blade was so immense it nearly knocked him from his mount. Warwick squeezed his legs, urging the horse forward, but as it landed, it stumbled and collapsed downward.

Warwick was shocked. He shifted his weight and vaulted off the horse. Once on the ground, he saw that the horse's belly had been struck by two arrow-like globs of saliva. The horse's abdomen was already a bloody mess; the saliva possessed not only greater piercing power than an arrow but also a potent acid that had completely corroded the flesh and organs into a pool of gore.

Warwick had relied on his superior strength to evade the iron-ball beasts' assault, but the cavalry behind him were not so lucky! They could neither leap over the man-sized iron balls nor break through their defenses with a single strike, so they had no choice but to slam into them at full gallop.

"Bang! Bang! Bang..." The explosive sounds of impact rang out as the iron armor of the horses and the plate mail of the knights collided with the beasts' hardened shells, creating a soul-shaking metallic screech, mingled with the sickening crunch of breaking bones.

Eli was a captain in the Third Legion cavalry brigade of the Keren Kingdom, commanding five squads totaling 250 men. As a cavalry captain, he held more authority than his infantry or archer counterparts, and earning Warwick's approval had always been Eli's greatest pride. Today, he would follow the Legion Commander's lead to write a new chapter of glory for the Third Legion.

The start of the battle had been somewhat disappointing. He had heard that those beasts had gouged blades into the sturdy walls of Morton, using them as stepping stones to turn the conflict into a wall-defense struggle. However, when the Legion Commander led the charge out of the main gate, everything returned to their control. Those beasts with their tough hides were as fragile as tofu on a cutting board under the momentum of their charging horses.

But when those iron-ball beasts appeared, everything changed!

"Careful, all soldiers, watch out for the beasts ahead!!" After leaping over the beasts, the first thing Warwick did upon landing was to shout a warning to the soldiers behind him.

Eli, who had been keeping his eyes on Warwick, relayed the order instantly! "Second Battalion, Fifth Company, watch out for these beasts! Jump over them!" With a roar, Eli pulled hard on his reins. The warhorse obeyed, rearing its front hooves high and leaping into the air!

"Clang! Clang!" Suddenly, the motionless iron-ball beasts extended two jointed blades from their backs with blinding speed, transforming them into two flashes of light that slashed toward Eli!

"What? Gyro Defense Shield!" In a panic, Eli's Battle Qi swirled into a vortex to cover his body. To his horror, he realized he was wrong—the beast wasn't aiming for him, but for his horse!

"Squelch!" "Squelch!" The two blades pierced through the front of the warhorse and out the back. The immense force behind the blades caused the horse, which had been on the verge of clearing the beast, to plummet from the sky!

The sensation was like a basketball player about to dunk, having already leaped high, only to be grabbed by the ankle and dragged down from below.

"Thud!" In the dizzying spin, Eli's head slammed into the beast's black, steel-like armor. While his Battle Qi could protect him from the blades, it could do nothing to dampen the impact on his skull!

Dazed and confused, Eli felt all sound vanish, and his vision plunged into darkness. This was a battlefield; if he didn't wake up immediately, he wouldn't just be at risk from the beasts—the cavalry behind him might trample him to death.

Eli struggled to his feet. A deafening roar filled his ears, and through the ringing, faint sounds began to return. His vision slowly cleared.

"Squelch!" "Squelch!" The first scene Eli saw through his haze was his squad leader, Korov, being run through the heart by the two blades on the back of an iron-ball beast! Korov!! Korov!!! This nineteen-year-old youth, full of hope and longing for life, had been promised a promotion to captain once Eli became a brigade commander, so he could return home in glory and marry his beloved from the hands of his snobbish father-in-law... but...

A crushing grief surged through Eli's chest, and this agony seemed to force his body to recover even faster.

The world stopped spinning, and his hearing fully returned.

"Bang! Bang! Bang..." The next moment, Eli wished he had died in the fall, for the sight before him was worse than death! The heavy warhorses couldn't slow down and slammed headlong into the iron balls, which was no different than hitting a city wall. Eli clearly saw one horse's head shatter instantly, and the knight on its back was thrown off, only to be pierced repeatedly by the blades on the beast's back, turning into a bloody sieve in the blink of an eye!

As the front cavalry collided with the beasts, the rear cavalry were tripped by the fallen men in front. The entire charging formation collapsed like a building struck by a magnitude-ten earthquake.

They were defeated! Crushed utterly. These iron-ball beasts, appearing out of nowhere on their path home, had shattered their greatest strength and their final will to fight.

Everywhere there was the neighing of horses and the screams of soldiers; everywhere there were corpses and blood, a living hell on earth.

Eli blankly turned his gaze toward his idol, Legion Commander Warwick, only to watch in despair as Warwick was sent flying by an even larger iron-ball beast!

"Squelch!" A blade suddenly erupted from his heart. Eli felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down at the blade, as thin and sharp as a rapier, piercing through his body, and whispered, "Wh-why..."