Chapter 508: Paphield Battle (1)

"Those damn bastards!" Nemo gasped for breath as he clenched his sword tightly. His silver chain armor had been dyed crimson by the blood flowing from his wound while screaming of people and clashing of swords surrounded him. He brandished his sword and resisted the enemy's attack. Nemo was familiar with the enemy's attire. A scarlet cape, brass-colored helmet, and erected male lion flag behind them clearly signified their identities.

The Southern Legion—Lion.

The Lion Legion used to be their companions, but now, they had become enemies.

"Go to hell!" Nemo snarled as he thrust his sword forward with both hands. The enemy flinched and revealed an opening which Nemo took advantage and pierced his sword through swiftly. He trampled on the corpse harshly before kicking it to the side. Then, he turned around and deflected three arrows that aimed for him.

The secluded woods had transformed into battlefields. The corpses of their enemies and companions laid everywhere. The cold, bloody stench filled the atmosphere and there were only about a hundred people left. They were struggling to defend for their lives, but Nemo was very clear that he couldn't hold on much longer.

They were prepared for the counterattack of the Southern Legion, but they were caught off guard by their incredible speed. Since the first wave of attack, the Southern Legion had conducted three consecutive raids and although the Cloud Summit was still defending with their lives, no one knew how long they could hold on for.

Nemo didn't know what the higher-ups were thinking. But as far as he can see, the scale of this 'rebellion' could be said to be unprecedentedly powerful. In addition to the 'Lion', the 'Falcon' and 'Black Panther' legions were also part of this raid. The Cloud Summit Fortress was truly powerless against the three strongest legions of the South. Nemo was baffled that the Southern Legion that should have been stationed by the border had given up on their duties and came here.

What are those bastards thinking?

Nemo felt a burning rage in his heart as he felt hopeless. But even so, he had to remain calm because he wasn't only responsible for himself. He was also responsible for his own subordinates.

But now, he was at his limits.

The soldiers of the Lion Legion continued to emerge from the rear and the entire outpost was completely immersed in flames. The only thing Nemo and the others could do was to protect themselves and retreat. Although they had ignited the fire beacon, the enemies' attack was far more aggressive than they had expected. If this continued, perhaps it would be too late before the reinforcements arrived.

"Are the reinforcements here yet?"

"Captain!" A young sergeant covered in blood ran towards Nemo frantically with his broken sword. He was pale-faced and his messy blond hair was like a chicken's nest. "There are too many enemies and we can't hold them back anymore. If this continues..."

"Damn it!" Nemo gave a command swiftly. "Retreat immediately! Maintain your formation and don't panic!!"

An ear-piercing whistle screeched.

The soldiers began to retreat towards Nemo quickly while waving their swords and shields to fend off the aggressive enemies. As one of the three major legions in the South, the Lion Legion had a deserving reputation. They pursued the retreating party immediately.

"Take cover from the archers!" Nemo brandished his sword and the blade airflow forced the enemies back. Shortly after, dozens of enemy soldiers clad in heavy armor held their shields high as they approached Nemo's group. The whizzing blade airflow struck their steel shields and dispersed instantly.

Damn it, even the heavily-armored soldiers are here!

Nemo felt a chill down his spine as he was very aware of how tough these damn heavily-armored soldiers were. The heavily-armored soldiers were a type of soldier branched out and modified from the Shield Warriors. The harsh competencies of the Shield Warriors that required extremely powerful strength to perform had been modified and their combat capacity had also been increased. Although their offense and defense were not as outstanding as the Shield Warriors, they were more than capable in the face of these ordinary soldiers. And even though they were slow-moving due to their armor, they were still a huge threat to Nemo's group.

At the same time, loud, heavy clip-clops sounded from behind the heavily-armored soldiers. Shortly after, Nemo witnessed dozens of well-equipped Knights armed with long swords and shields darting towards them.

Sh*t!

Nemo felt that his hands and feet were as cold as ice. He wanted to turn around and flee immediately, but his intellect stopped himself from moving because he knew what the consequences would be if he turned his back from the Knights. The enemy was a well-trained and powerful army while his side was nothing more than a bunch of scattered remnants. They would be finished completely if they turned around and escaped.

But what was the point of staying here? With their strength, would they be able to resist this clash?

"Ha... Ha... Ha..."

Nemo's mind was entirely blank and his body wouldn't listen to his commands. He watched the Knights approached him closer and the closer they were, the screamings in his ear seemed to muffle gradually. At this moment, only silence and death awaited him.

We have to face this clash. At least...

Nemo lifted his sword.

But at this moment, something miraculous happened.

A leading Knight, which appeared to be the captain, stopped moving suddenly. In the next moment, he fell off his horse like an uncontrollable puppet and not only him, but even the dozens of Knights around him fell off their horses simultaneously. The horses who had lost their riders were at a loss and they retreated to the sides while fleeing from the threats before them instinctively. The Knights lay on the ground motionlessly without the slightest sound.

What happened?

Nemo stared in bewilderment and almost immediately, this experienced swordsman spotted the arrows piercing the Knights' necks.

These arrows were shot from the side and not from the rear. In other words...

"C-Captain!" The sergeant's scream dragged Nemo out of his thoughts. Nemo looked ahead and spotted enemy figures approaching them. But surprisingly, their footsteps slowed down significantly, perhaps because the dozens of Knights in front of them were all dead in the blink of an eye and they began to advance cautiously. This was a great opportunity for Nemo to buy some time...

"Everyone, retreat now!"

"C-Captain, wait. Look there..." The sergeant grabbed Nemo's arm and pointed towards the nearby woods.

"What's wrong? What happened..." Nemo turned around and stared at the sergeant. This bastard, doesn't he know that we should seize every second in this critical juncture? Now that the enemies have slowed down their attacks...

However, when Nemo turned his head towards the direction that the sergeant was pointing to, he trembled and froze on the spot.

Dozens of fully armored soldiers strode out from deep in the dark woods. They were neither equipped with the chain armor of the Cloud Summit Garrison nor the armor of the Southern Legion. They held swords and wore black leather armor and cloaks as though sword-wielding ghosts wandering in the woods.

Who are they?

Nemo rubbed his eyes and scanned the strange visitors. He could confirm that their attire definitely didn't belong to any of the legions that he was familiar with. Where did these people come from, and how did they get through the Southern Legion's blockade?

"Lion Legion." Rhode rode on the warhorse leisurely and looked down on the enemies in disdain. "These idiots are more anxious than I imagined. They haven't settled their internal problems and yet they are here to devour Paphield greedily. They're really not afraid of indigestion."

Rhode let out a cold snort before gazing at Marfa's stern expression. "As usual, I'll leave them to you. Play with them a little."

"Yes, Sir." The steady, experienced mercenary turned around and observed the chaotic battlefield and enemies nearby for a few moments. He reached out for his sword hanging by his waist and lifted it into the air. "Get ready! Form up, advance!"

The teams dispersed quickly as though they had practiced countless times. When the mercenaries heard Marfa's orders, they spread the distance between them swiftly. The originally concentrated formation seemed as loose as sand now and at this moment, the Lion Legion had detected these uninvited guests. Although the Lion Legion didn't know the background of these people, they were sure that they were foes and not allies. Soon, some of the men in the Lion Legion split up and attacked from different sides.

"What are they doing?!"

Although Nemo wasn't talented in military affairs, he was well informed about formations as an officer trained by the Royal Military Academy. Initially, he thought that these unknown reinforcements would attack the Lion Legion with a flank. But now, they actually choose to disperse? Did they choose to do that to avoid the arrows from the rear? As long as the enemies charge forward, wouldn't they be finished?

However, the next scene dropped Nemo's jaws.

Nemo witnessed that the soldiers were unmoved in the face of the Lion Legion's attack. They posed with both hands on their sword hilt offensively. At the same time, a rain of arrows was released from the rear of the Lion Legion. Logically speaking, even though these strange soldiers didn't intend to dodge, it would be totally normal for them to protect themselves by using shields or other objects. However, the soldiers were still holding onto their swords and paying attention to their enemies as though they didn't see the arrows bombarding towards them. Even though their pace was steady and calm, Nemo knew that these reinforcements would be struck down by the arrows even before their confrontation began and the survivors would be completely overwhelmed by the lack of manpower and the loose formation.

But this wasn't the case.

The arrows poured down like a rainstorm, but at the same time, a white radiance flashed over the soldiers. A translucent barrier unfolded from their side and shrouded them completely. The arrows weren't able to hit their target. Instead, they were deflected as soon as they struck the barrier.

"Defense Spell!" In an instant, Nemo thought that the reinforcements were the Sacred Knights. Even though their leather armor and attire were nothing made of protective iron, not anyone could cast a large range of defensive spell in an instant. Other than the Sacred Knights, Nemo had never seen a force with such formidable presence.

The enemies didn't expect such a twist and were flustered while they gazed at the unharmed soldiers. Although the enemies were fully armored, everyone knew that the effects of the defense barrier were much tougher than iron.

At this moment, Nemo saw that the "strange soldiers" stopped moving. They simply raised their swords and brandished downwards. At this moment, it was apparent that the soldiers of the Lion Lion weren't in their range of attacks.

However, Nemo was dumbfounded by the next scene.

Their blade airflow erupted and swept forward like a berserk whirlwind. Their spirit blades coalesced from high-pressured air and transformed into deadly gales. In a blink of an eye, the fully armored soldiers of the Lion Legion collapsed to the ground completely. Before they had the chance to confront their enemies, they had turned into a bloody mess of corpses.

"..." Nemo and the soldiers around him were rooted in their place as though they had completely forgotten about their own terrible experiences. As soldiers, they certainly knew what that meant. Basic blade airflows might be somewhat threatening towards elite soldiers. However, most of the time they would be totally useless against the Lion Legion due to their heavy armor. But now, not only could these soldiers coalesced the blade airflow, but they could also sweep them forward as an attack. Their spiritual energy had reached a stage where the enemies' heavy armor was just a thin sheet of paper!

This couldn't be achieved by just anyone and this degree of coalescing of the spiritual energy would at least require the peak of the Elite Stage.

The swordsman in the peak of the Elite Stage was very rare in the military and these people would usually hold key appointments. Nemo had once witnessed a few powerful swordsmen in the Elite Stage taking up the role of captains and above in various legions and those who were close to the peak of the Elite Stage were extremely rare. It was as though Nemo were just an advanced swordsman and he was able to serve as the captain of the squadron.

But now, there are 50 swordsmen in the peak Elite Stage and they actually formed an army?

Where on earth did these 'reinforcements' come from?