Chapter 552: Strange Ending

Along with Lize's movements, the Clerics who were hidden in the shrubs stood up and raised their hands high quickly. Several white light balls erupted. The bright radiance illuminated the entire forest and it was so bright that even the glory of the sun was inferior. The Cavalrymen that had galloped past them were caught off guard as though a dozen huge searchlights were shining on them all at once and they had to close their eyes shut. Not only them, but even their warhorses neighed in shock. The Cavalrymen controlled their warhorses and lifted their shields as soon as they witnessed that their fellow Cavalrymen by the perimeter getting attacked. It was obvious that the Cavalrymen didn't consider the possibility of them encountering ambushes here and instead of stopping, they spurred on the warhorses forcefully.

But at this moment, a strange situation happened.

Loud, painful screams broke out as the Cavalrymen galloped forward. A dozen warhorses lost their balance as though they were tripped and fell forward, breaking the formation into chaos. If it were the warhorses in front that had fallen down, they would still stand a chance to adjust their formation at the back. However, the warhorses that stumbled were in the middle and they were surrounded by their comrades, which overwhelmed their formation immediately. Some Cavalrymen fell to the ground while some dodged to the sides and slammed into their comrades. Some tried to leap over the fallen comrades, but they collided heavily to those in front. In the blink of an eye, dozens of Cavalrymen and warhorses were trampled by their friendly forces.

"Heh..."

Joey grinned as he crouched low on the thick tree branch and observed the chaotic situation below him. He turned to Randolf beside him who was clasping his bow and scrutinizing the situation. "Bro Randolf, did you realize that even though Miss Lize seems harmless, her strategy is so sinister? She made us set up a trap that will only activate in the middle of the crowd. I didn't expect her to think this up... Look at those unfortunate bastards... I can't bear to continue watching them..."

"—!"

Suddenly, a strange whistle sounded from the center of the army. The Cavalrymen stopped their movements abruptly and held their shields high in front of them. Then, almost simultaneously, an overwhelming rain of arrows flew out of the forest toward them. However, the arrows were useless against the Cavalrymen's heavy steel armor and shields.

Then, a bugle-horn sounded and the Cavalrymen spurred on their warhorses. They gave up their formation completely and galloped forward from both sides.

"They realized that we lack manpower and they are trying to escape!" Randolf discovered that the enemies didn't slow down for their own safety. Instead, they were acting as bait to probe the strength of the ambushing troops. Randolf had about 50 Rangers under his lead and they were an utterly inadequate measure against the thousand Cavalrymen. He leaped to another tree branch and placed his finger by his lip to whistle a cuckoo's cry that resounded in the entire forest. He drew an arrow from his quiver swiftly and when he landed onto another tree branch, he aimed forward and released his finger.

Whoosh!

Another rain of arrows flew out from the forest and a dozen Cavalrymen collapsed. But this time, the Cavalrymen at the rear didn't trip on their fallen comrades as they were not grouped up in their organized formation anymore. Although they had lost a dozen Cavalrymen to the arrows and some even fell into strange traps beneath their feet, most of them continued to charge forward regardless. After two to three minutes, they had arrived at the edge of the forest — What presented before them was a vast open-field and no longer the land that was shrouded in the forest. As long as they dashed out of this place, they would no longer face any obstacles.

At this moment, the world before the Cavalrymen darkened.

The green forest, grassland, and azure sky had lost their vibrant colors as though a thick, filthy curtain had filtered them. Not only that, but their fast movements had also been slowed down as though they were shackled to heavy chains on their backs and the warhorses eventually came to a halt.

What exactly is going on?!

Even though the Cavalrymen were highly experienced, they had never met this strange situation. The ambushes had made them somewhat nervous and they had exceeded their expectations. The weird, gloomy color of gray engulfed the entire land and their warhorses' movements slowed down tremendously. No matter how much they whipped, their warhorses had no intentions of speeding up. The exit was just before them, but it seemed so far away.

Rustle! Several young ladies in white robes emerged before them and chanted softly. Even though the Cavalrymen didn't know what they were up to, they knew that the flickering golden radiance in their hands was no good news.

"30 seconds!" Lize bit her lips anxiously.

Surprisingly, the enemies didn't panic as she had expected. When Lize followed Rhode in battles in the past, no matter how powerful the enemies were, as long as Rhode launched an ambush, the enemies would end up in a great mess as though they were out of their wits. But now, the Cavalrymen weren't as flustered as she thought they would be. After all, she had no intentions of relying on this method to gain victory. As a young lady who always thought about the worst outcome, this current situation was much better than she had predicted.

The Decelerating Haloes hindered the Cavalrymen from moving further, but Lize knew that her men couldn't hang on much longer. If the enemies had about a hundred soldiers, her Clerics could maintain the Decelerating Haloes for a longer duration. But 3,000 of them was too tough for them. Although the Clerics had been through strict training and several battles, they were only about the standard of the 6th to 7th Circle and it would be too difficult for them to maintain this large-scale spell. Fortunately, it would be enough as long as Lize could stop them from moving forward!

The effects of the Decelerating Haloes were slowly diminishing and the Clerics were starting to pale. Moreover, the Cavalrymen seemed to have realized that their current state had something to do with the Clerics. The Cavalrymen at the rear pushed forward while those by the front turned around. They lifted their shields and clasped their swords in an assaulting posture.

"How long more?!"

Randolf released the fully-drawn bowstring and the arrow pierced into a Cavalry's eye like a lightning bolt and the Cavalry flipped out of his warhorse. Although they had eliminated more than 200 Cavalrymen due to the Decelerating Haloes, 3000 of them was too much to handle. Not only were the Clerics in front in the face of danger, but the other Cavalrymen had also detected the source of the problem. 500 of them dispersed toward both sides of the forest with their lifted shields. It seemed that they decided to divide their manpower to handle the troublemakers... The standards of these soldiers couldn't be belittled.

"Phew..." Lize heaved a sigh of relief.

Then, she puckered her brows and extended her arms forward. A dazzling light column rose from the ground and burst into the sky. At the same time, two similar light columns from the other ends emerged as though responding to hers. The light columns went straight into the sky, like pillars connecting heaven and earth, exuding a dazzling brilliance.

At the same time, the Decelerating Haloes flickered weakly and vanished. The Clerics panted for air and retreated swiftly into the forest. However, the enemies were much quicker than them. After the haloes had lost their effects, the Cavalrymen charged to the Cleric young ladies with raised swords...

However, at this moment, a huge whirlwind blew from the side and slammed into the Cavalrymen. "Get lost!"

Anne struck a Cavalry with the shield tightly clasped in her hands. The powerful impact sent the Cavalry flying off his warhorse. Anne used the momentum and somersaulted in midair before crashing into the ground like a meteor before the other Cavalrymen. She lifted her head and gazed at the highly raised horseshoes that were about to trample her. The corner of Anne's mouth quirked up and she pulled the handle on the shield off with her left hand and struck forward.

"—!"

Roaring winds swept up the dust from the ground like a hurricane and wiped the Cavalrymen out of the battle completely. Anne's shield was as though an invisible giant hand that struck the Cavalrymen away. After the dust dispersed, none of the Cavalrymen remained and the nearest warhorse to her was at least two hundred meters away, twitching all over, seemingly unable to survive the ordeal.

If Rhode or any other players witnessed this scene, they would surely turn around and flee immediately. However, it was a pity that Cavalrymen weren't players and they made a wrong decision swiftly. Shortly after, the highly lifted flag started waving and pointed forward and the surrounding Cavalry Leaders responded quickly.

"Destroy those spellcasters!"

One of the Cavalry Leaders raised his shield and sword. He galloped forward and led a team of Cavalrymen toward the Cleric young ladies who were shrouded in radiance in the distance .

They're here!

Lize felt her blood froze as she witnessed the Cavalrymen charging toward her. At the same time, she made complicated hand gestures and a beautiful holy rune emerged from thin air. It hovered around the light column and flew upward.

The enemies were getting closer and Lize saw the shimmering sword blades. However, she didn't stop because this was her last trump card and the guarantee of victory...

"Brothers, attack!"

The shrub beside Lize shook violently and a few mercenaries sprung out. Marfa was as calm as ever. He extended his right arm and gestured. Then, the mercenaries around him drew out hatchets from their waists and threw forward.

"Aaahh!"

The spinning hatchets struck the Cavalrymen heavily and they screamed in pain, tumbling down their warhorses.

At the same time, Lize's spell was finally completed.

"Everyone back down!"

Lize yelled and retreated from the light column swiftly. Marfa and his men rolled away without any hesitation and dodged the Cavalrymen's attacks. At this moment, the Cavalrymen had arrived before Marfa and Lize. But, that was the closest they could get.

The Cavalrymen brandished their razor-sharp blades, but to their horror, their attacks were deflected. They realized that they had been trapped in a pyramid-like triangular barrier. The thin, yet solid golden barrier expanded along the light column and shrouded the entire land. This time, the Cavalrymen had finally lost their cool. They raised their heads and witnessed that everything had exceeded their expectations. Before they figured out what exactly had happened, they heard crisp laughter.

"Huhuhu, Little Lize, I didn't expect this to turn out this well. It seems that all's left is to wind this up, eh?"

Gillian emerged out of thin air. She squinted proudly and gazed at the flustered crowd below her. She revealed a pleased smile before extending her arms forward. A dazzling scarlet card spun in her palms gracefully. Gillian smashed her palms together.

[Magic Symbol — Seven Hells]

Scarlet flames surged violently and burned their entire world.