Chapter 727

Chapter 727

Dozens of knights clad in full plate armor dropped onto the battlefield. These knights were considered to be the cream of the crop of the Zavala Kingdom.

Interestingly, these warriors were not true knights, as they had never been knighted by the kingdom. They were merely warriors clad in full plate armor, and they earned the moniker "Iron Knights" after making numerous appearances on the battlefield.

These warriors not only possessed formidable defenses but had also mastered advanced swordsmanship. They were also pretty sharp and smart. The most terrifying thing of all was that their numbers exceeded several hundred.

After clashing against the Iron Knights, Siegfried got a firsthand taste of the Zavala Kingdom’s power.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Siegfried swung his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp, striking down the Iron Knights as they came at him, but they refused to go down easily. Their defenses were so formidable that one or two strikes weren't enough to finish them off.

“Hold him off!”

“Pull him down!”

“Overpower him!”

“Shove him to the ground!”

The Iron Knights employed quite a cunning strategy against powerful individuals. Whenever one of them fell, the others would close in, pressing their opponent relentlessly to prevent any follow-up attacks that could result in their comrade’s demise.

Meanwhile, those wounded would drink potions to recover their HP and Stamina before rushing at their enemy again. The Iron Knights fought with near-fluid coordination, and the way they attacked Siegfried made it seem like they shared a single mind and body.

“Don’t try to kill him!”

“Avoid direct clashes!”

“Just tire him out!”

The Iron Knights showed their intelligence, as they never gave Siegfried the satisfaction of a proper clash. Their mission was not to kill; they were ordered to keep him occupied and to exhaust him.

This was a brilliant strategy, as even the strongest Iron Knight couldn't hope to take Siegfried on directly. Thus, they fought him like outboxers, doggedly chipping away at his stamina rather than clashing head-on and attempting to bring him down.

‘These aren’t just random soldiers. They’re strong and clever too. Is this... what it means to fight a great power?’ Siegfried thought to himself, sincerely impressed by the Iron Knights.

However, the Iron Knights didn't simply try to keep Siegfried occupied. Those at the back broke away and attacked the Proatine soldiers. The Proatine soldiers desperately tried to hold their ground, but they were no match against these seasoned warriors.

“Argh!”

“D-Damn it!”

“Hold the line!”

“Don’t give up! We’re all gonna die if one of us backs down now!”

The Proatine soldiers desperately tried to push back the Iron Knights, but they soon found themselves on the brink of collapse.

“You dare!” Siegfried roared. His fury finally erupted at the sight of his soldiers under attack. Seething with rage, he unleashed a thick green fog filled with radioactive energy from his body, and he ordered the radioactive organisms to attack the Iron Knights.

“Argh...!”

“Ack!”

“Gwuaaah!”

The Iron Knights writhed in agony as the radioactive fog seeped into the cracks of their armor. Their full plate could protect them against physical blows, but it was not enough to protect them against these insidious particles that attacked them from the inside.

Siegfried summoned both his Night Stalkers and Frozen Hydras before placing down Shadow Hell to trap the Iron Knights by reducing their movement speed.

“Kill them all,” Siegfried commanded icily. Then, he drew his frozen shurikens from his Blood Frost Orb and growled, “You think you can escape from me after daring to lay your filthy hands on my soldiers?”

His voice was a chilling snarl, and before his words could fade—

Shwiiik!

—He used Torrential Flower Rain, hurling thousands of ice shurikens at the Iron Knights. He controlled them with Flying Sword, making the projectiles weave like living predators. The projectiles found the weak points in the knights’ helmets and armor joints before ripping through their bodies.

When the snowstorm of shurikens ended, there wasn't anything around Siegfried except for one thing—corpses. This was the price that the Iron Knights had to pay for daring to harm the Proatine soldiers under his watch.

“No one kills my men while I stand before them,” Siegfried muttered a solemn vow under his breath. Then, he moved once again to engage the enemy, determined to protect each and every one of his soldiers.

***

Siegfried was not the only one displaying an almost supernatural level of martial prowess.

“For the Blade of Elondel!”

“Taste the terror of the bitter cold!”

Soon, the bloody walls were clean, but there was still a crimson tinge to them.

‘After all that...’ Siegfried gnashed his teeth while looking at the battlefield.

How hard had he fought to protect his soldiers? How many enemies had he slain? Even though he and three Masters had given everything they had until they reached their very limits, soldiers had perished or were left with grievous injuries.

Siegfried stood wordlessly with his fists clenched. Then, he reached for a nearby mop and began scrubbing the floor. He helped the soldiers without uttering even a single word. He poured water over the stone walls, carried the wounded on stretchers, and carefully covered the bodies of the fallen with the flags of their respective nations.

He did all of this without uttering a single word.

“Your Majesty...”

“King Siegfried...”

“He personally...”

The soldiers of the Proatine Alliance watched in awe as Siegfried worked alongside them. This was an extremely rare sight on the continent, as a king getting involved with such menial and laborious tasks was completely unheard of.

It was then.

“A messenger from the Zavala Kingdom has arrived, Your Majesty,” an officer reported.

“If they’re here to ask us to surrender, then send them back with their heads,” Siegfried replied coldly.

“That's not what they are here for, sire.”

“Then what do they want?”

“They're requesting permission to retrieve their dead soldiers, sire.”

A shiver ran down Siegfried’s spine after hearing the request.

‘So this... this is what it means to be a great power...’ he thought. Retrieving the bodies of the fallen during the war was more than just a formality. This was a show of power that would fuel the loyalty of the soldiers and inspire patriotism among the populace.

‘Damn it...’ Siegfried ground his teeth and cursed inwardly.

He had to exert superhuman self-control not to burn the enemy corpses to ashes. In the end, he took a long breath to calm himself down and agreed to the request.

“Grant them what they want,” Siegfried said.

Why did he give them what they wanted?

It was all to avoid aggravating the enemy, as aggravating them would only make things harder. Siegfried understood all too well that enraging his adversaries, let alone the soldiers themselves, wouldn't be beneficial to him at all.

The clean-up took roughly three hours.

Shwoooong... Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Kaboom!

And shells from the Zavala Forces began to rain down on the O’Toul Fortress once again.

“Enemy bombardment!”

“Enemy shells incoming!”

“Take cover!”

“Get down! Cover your heads!”

“Evacuate immediately!”

The sudden bombardment turned the fortress into utter chaos, forcing Duke Decimato to rush to the wall and raise another defensive barrier. He had to exert himself past his limits, as he had barely recovered his mana from the barrier he had erected not long ago.

Fifteen minutes later, the bombardment finally ceased.

“Enemy forces are advancing upon us, sire!”

Siegfried rushed to the wall upon hearing the report.

“Fuck...” Siegfried muttered a curse after seeing the sight before him.

The Zavala soldiers were rushing toward them, but there was something visibly different about them. These soldiers looked fresh—too fresh. Clearly, none of them had taken part in the previous battle.

Their uniforms were polished and spotless; there wasn't even a speck of blood or dirt on them.

WAAAAHHHH!

Their thunderous war cry reverberated across the battlefield, showing their sky-high morale. The Zavala Kingdom was using their overwhelming numbers to rotate soldiers throughout the battle, keeping them as fresh as possible.

In other words, they were maximizing their numbers advantage.