Aside from Marquis Prague, the humans' central army had no other particularly powerful Bloodline Nobles. The more than thirty Knights directly under Marquis Prague had also been split apart, unable to fight as a united force.
With command, the Centaurs' group combat effectiveness greatly improved. They fully exploited the mobility and charging power of cavalry, easily striking the allied army's weak points and dividing the battlefield so the allies' numerical advantage could not be brought to bear.
The central army's disadvantage grew increasingly severe. The nobles on the left and right hurried over to reinforce them, while Marcus and Harrot also arrived with their troops.
Since Harrot still could not exert much strength, he took a lance and fought from atop a Magical Warhorse. Lance thrusts could borrow the horse's power, making them well suited to his weakened state.
Only Tiona came with the elven troops. The others were more concerned about the Archmage's condition. If the Archmage's injuries were too severe to continue fighting and the allied army fell into disadvantage again, they would have to take the Archmage and flee immediately.
Tiona, however, had inherited the orcs' warlike nature. The bloody slaughter just now had thrilled her, and wanting to keep fighting, she came along to provide support.
Tiona ran as fast as a warhorse! Harrot could not help marveling at how monstrously strong her physical abilities were. Not a single one of her strength, agility, or stamina was weak.
Marcus set his sights on a Centaur Royal Guard. That fellow was leading just over two hundred Centaurs in slaughtering a routed human regiment. After weighing the situation, Marcus decided his troops could swallow the enemy, so he cast a Small Fireball from afar to provoke him.
The Centaur Royal Guard was in the midst of a killing spree when a Small Fireball exploded against his body, causing a slight sting of pain. Enraged, he stopped slaughtering the human soldiers and led his subordinates in pursuit of Marcus.
Marcus lured the Centaurs to his troops' ambush point. The crossbowmen suddenly unleashed a volley, directly killing dozens of Centaurs.
The infantry also formed up to shield the crossbowmen. Seeing the ambush, the Centaur Royal Guard showed no fear and led his men into fierce battle.
Harrot urged his warhorse to cast Wind's Aegis, greatly increasing its speed and agility. Raising his lance, he pierced straight through a Centaur's chest, then the Magical Warhorse slowed and turned, evading the attacks of the other Centaurs.
Most Centaurs of the Thunder Tribe were huge melee fighters, with few ranged troops.
Harrot could not help sighing that this was the proper way to fight on horseback. Without a cavalry legion in formation, charging alone into a crowd and swinging a greatsword around was practically brain-dead!
With the Magical Warhorse's superb performance, Harrot easily used his lance to kill Centaur after Centaur, though it was far less efficient than activating Muscle Burst and whirling his greatsword like a windmill.
But this method was both safe and effortless. Even in his weakened state from the skill's backlash, he could handle it with ease.
Marcus, meanwhile, went after the Centaur Royal Guard. He volunteered to duel the enemy one-on-one, telling Harrot and the other Knights to focus on killing and holding back the ordinary Centaurs.
Harrot's strength had greatly diminished, and he had no intention of provoking a monster like a Centaur Royal Guard with strength exceeding eighty points. Naturally, he agreed with both hands raised.
The other Knights had also witnessed the terrifying strength of the Centaur Royal Guard, who had effortlessly defeated The Bald Man and seriously wounded Harrot. Though worried about Marcus's safety, they knew they were not strong enough to matter and would only get in the way if they tried to help.
Relying on his Magical Warhorse's wind-element enhancement magic, Harrot charged out alone. The other Knights took on the responsibility of leading the infantry in direct clashes with the Centaurs and directing the crossbowmen to kill the enemy.
Without Harrot, that ferocious man, holding the line, they had thought the infantry regiment would struggle to withstand the Centaurs' assault. To their surprise, Tiona transformed into a spinning top of death once more.
Tiona stood at the very front of the formation, spinning at high speed as she slaughtered the charging Centaurs. Chunks of Centaur flesh and shattered bones flew everywhere, splattering across the other soldiers.
This completely overturned the soldiers' understanding of elves. They had no idea Tiona was mixed-blood and assumed all elves were like this.
The Centaur Royal Guard and Marcus fought an exceptionally brutal battle. Marcus's Magical Warhorse was struck by an axe and could no longer rise.
Without his horse's help, Marcus lacked the strength to contend with the Centaur Royal Guard. He could only imitate Harrot's ultimate move—rolling all over the ground!
His flame-red hair was covered in dust, and the armor carefully forged by dwarves was torn to tatters. Although Marcus looked incomparably miserable, his eyes still shone brightly. As long as he killed this Centaur Royal Guard, it would be a tremendous achievement!
The Centaur Royal Guard was covered in scorch marks, and his right eye had been stabbed blind by Marcus, yet he continued fighting with undiminished vigor.
Marcus never found an opportunity to seriously wound his enemy. Minor attacks had little effect on a monster like the Centaur Royal Guard, who possessed Fire Resistance and tremendous vitality.
Unable to defeat Marcus after so long, the Centaur Royal Guard also grew furious. After Marcus dodged another attack, he let out an enraged roar.
Then the Centaur Royal Guard raised his hooves high and slammed them down, unleashing a weakened version of War Stomp.
The ground shook violently. Marcus swayed slightly, but it did not affect him much. This move was powerful on a battlefield but not especially useful in a duel.
But then something horrifying happened. The Centaur Royal Guard ignored Marcus and charged toward Marcus's troops instead. The War Stomp had also affected the ordinary soldiers a hundred meters away.
His men staggered and sprawled everywhere. Only a few Knights and the elf Tiona were unaffected, barely holding back the Centaur soldiers.
And at the Centaur Royal Guard's charging speed, those soldiers would likely be trampled into pulp before they could even get back on their feet.
"Damn it, when did this beast suddenly get so smart?" Marcus cursed regretfully. Without his warhorse, he could not match the Centaur Royal Guard's speed over long distances.
The Centaur Royal Guard laughed cruelly. He would slaughter the redhead's subordinates to vent the blood debt of having his eye gouged out.
Just as the Centaur Royal Guard was about to crash into the mass of soldiers and begin a slaughter, Tiona stopped him. She did not continue killing ordinary Centaurs, instead stepping forward to face the Centaur Royal Guard.
She had wanted to fight a powerful opponent from the start, but Marcus had volunteered to duel him, so she could not object. Now Marcus had failed to keep watch and let the Centaur Royal Guard shake him off. She could not be blamed for stealing the prey.
The Centaur Royal Guard did not take the little thing blocking his path seriously at all, preparing to casually chop her down with one swing of his axe.
But when his axe collided with Tiona's greatsword, the tremendous force that came through it forcibly halted his charge.
Tiona flipped through the air, landed, and staggered back several steps. She licked her lips. "Not bad. Finally, an opponent with enough bite!"
With that, Tiona charged at the Centaur Royal Guard again. Unable to believe that the tiny figure before him possessed such immense strength, the Centaur Royal Guard roared and desperately swung his massive axe.
Tiona swung her greatsword and met him head-on. When the heavy axe and greatsword collided again, even the Centaur Royal Guard's ton-heavy body could not withstand the impact, and his upper body lifted slightly.
Tiona did not retreat even half a step, standing firmly in place. Only the ground beneath her feet was crushed into a deep pit.
The Centaur Royal Guard stood nearly four meters tall, while she was just over one seventy. By taking advantage of her lower stature, she could channel the force into the ground. Though this put a greater burden on her body, it gave her an advantage in contests of strength.
Seeing the Centaur Royal Guard's upper body still lifted by the recoil of the collision and full of openings, Tiona drew a breath, bent forward, and slashed at his horse leg.
"Hah! Break for me!"
With a crack, Tiona's greatsword bit deeply into the Centaur Royal Guard's left foreleg. The blade lodged halfway through and could go no farther. His bones were incredibly hard; even with her monstrous strength, she could not sever it in one blow.
The Centaur Royal Guard howled in pain and forced Tiona back with a swing of his axe. He shifted all his weight to his rear and right side. Though his left foreleg was not broken, he could no longer put force into it.
Taking advantage of this, Tiona rapidly circled the Centaur Royal Guard. His injured legs made him too slow to keep up, and the hooves he barely managed to kick out were easily avoided.
Tiona kept carving him up and bleeding him dry, hacking the Centaur Royal Guard into a bloody mess. He frantically turned and wildly swung his heavy axe, but it had no effect at all.
Finally, after Tiona found an opportunity to cripple the Centaur Royal Guard's right foreleg as well, his enormous body suddenly pitched forward and collapsed to his knees.
"Die!"
Tiona shouted as she leaped high into the air and beheaded the Centaur Royal Guard with a spinning slash. Holding up the Centaur Royal Guard's enormous head, Tiona panted heavily and raised her face to the sky with a loud cry.
With Marcus's help, the soldiers had long since defeated the remaining Centaurs. They had been watching Tiona's battle the entire time and could not help cheering and praising her.
Marcus wore a gloomy expression. That glorious feat should have been his. Harrot, meanwhile, stood with his mouth wide open, unable to say a word.
The fake God of War, Harrot: rolling all over the ground, suffering setback after setback, getting disemboweled by one axe strike.
The real God of War, Tiona: standing her ground, toying with the enemy, and beheading him with a single jumping slash!
Coming back to his senses, Harrot felt immensely fortunate that he had not harbored any improper thoughts in the tent that day. His body, weighing less than three hundred pounds, probably could not take more than a few punches from her.
Tiona walked over holding the Centaur's head, her entire body covered in blood. Several soldiers were frightened and hid behind the others, keeping far away from her.
Forcing a compliment through his sour expression, Marcus said, "An excellent battle! Thank you for your assistance!" He did not blame Tiona. After all, she had saved quite a few of his soldiers. He just felt miserable inside, as though something was stuck in his throat and he could not spit it out.
With her extremely low emotional intelligence, Tiona thought Marcus was sincere. Grinning happily, she said, "No need to be polite. If there are enemies this strong next time, just let me handle them. Those flame tricks of yours are better suited to clearing out the riffraff!"
Hold it in. Don't lose your temper with an elf. I have to hold it in—she's reinforcements here to help us! Veins bulged on Marcus's forehead, his teeth grinding loudly, and his hair nearly caught fire, yet he forcibly swallowed his anger without exploding.
Before you continue