Chapter 1158: Cardinal Flag

Persona and Cysanth were getting taken away before our eyes.

But we’re not in any position to chase. The soldiers, knights, and adventurers will get overrun by the Red Knights without us here!

『Urushi! Go save Persona!』

（Woof!）

「Dore! Help them!」

「Roger that!」

Urushi teleported to the perfect ambush spot as Dore jumped to the rescue, but it was already too late.

「Kakakakah! What perfect materials we’ve managed to obtain! The rest of you shall have to wait patiently, I’ll save your deaths for the next time we meet! Farewell!」

A cloak of evil energy enveloped Nameless and his allies, then they vanished from view.

An evil energy based teleport of multiple people, with such range!? How skilled do you have to be to cast such a spell!?

Did that man carrying Persona cast this?

Nameless and his friends had teleported to the sky far above us, right on top of the heavenly dragon’s back.

『The dragon is changing direction…?』

（They’re trying to run!）

The dragon ceased all attacks and started floating higher, distancing itself from the battlefield.

And it was moving so fast that only we stood a chance of catching up. Yet Roza still had no intention of letting us go.

「Ohohoho! Playtime isn’t over just yet!」

Fran kept her eyes on the dragon as the captain of the Blood Maiden Knights continued rushing us down.

「Get out of my way, lady!」

「Ohohohoho! It seems like someone needs to learn some manners! Say “please move aside, Onee-sama”, and I’ll consider it.」

「Please move aside, Onee-sama.」

「…Oh? How considerate of you.」

The woman was surprised for a brief moment. However, her smile quickly returned as she released additional mist.

「I said what you wanted!」

「And I considered it, just like I said I would.」

「I see.」

「Not quite the response I was expecting.」

Regardless of her words, Roza did not let up the pressure.

「It’s been a long time since someone’s managed to nullify my mist over such a wide area. Pretty impressive at your age.」

「…」

「Oh dear. Are you not a fan of chatting?」

「Stop bothering me.」

「Ohohoho! But it’s only natural to bother your enemies!」

「Mrgh.」

Fran gave the laughing woman a death stare, but to no effect. In fact, Roza started laughing even harder.

「Please excuse my continued interference!」

Speaking of interference, when did the arrows stop?

The arrows from the Madder Rain Captain were no longer focused on Fran, instead all directed into the sky.

It seems this was intended to stop Urushi and Dore from using aerial hop to chase the heavenly dragon, and support Nameless’s escape.

And as if to replace the loss, additional Red Knights deployed from Fort Marth.

These knights were huge men equipped with heavy armor. Each one was over 2 meters tall, and carried a massive hammer the size of their own body. Such heavy gear made me wonder how they managed to walk properly.

Nevertheless, they all marched toward us at a brisk pace.

A knight radiating a powerful aura stood at the end of the line, boasting immense mana and waving a red flag in his hands. Moreover, he avoided wearing a full face helmet to allow full view of the battlefield. No doubt he must be the captain of this red knight division.

Based on what we heard from Avenger, one of the divisions was called the Cardinal Flag Knights. That flag must be their relic, which strengthens the wielder’s subordinates by enveloping them in a special mana field.

「Cover the retreat of our allies! Be ready for anything!」

The captain voiced orders to his men with a clear, baritone voice.

『Why are there three red knight captains here!?』

The Cardinal Flag Knights stood to block Fran as the Blood Maiden Knights backed down. Rather than retreating, it seems they switched to focusing on ranged attacks.

The captain of the Cardinal Flag Knights was named Rob Rhodes. A gray-haired dandy man, but he seemed even more focused on brute force than Roza.

Taking a look at his stats, he had 1000 in strength, 500 in vitality, and below 300 in the rest. Clearly a physical oriented fighter. That said, he didn’t neglect his commander-type skills, making him a pretty talented leader.

And his relic was just as impressive. The full name is “Magitech Enhancement Armament, Cardinal Flag”. The skills were Command Enhancement, Army Enhancement, Army Regulation, Army Regeneration, Information Share, Area Barrier, ■■■■.

A relic completely focused on boosting the wielder’s subordinates. Moreover, the boost each individual receives seems to be pretty massive. That explains why the Cardinal Flag Knights can move abnormally fast in such heavy gear.

We sent the arm of one of the knights flying, but it simply grew back. Must be the Army Regeneration effect in action. I’d call that equivalent to level 7 or 8 in Fast Regeneration.

Isn’t this relic pretty much unbeatable on a battlefield? Even some random foot soldier might be able to rise to the level of a Rank B adventurer.

Rob was closely watching our every move without speaking a single word, leaving no opening for us to chase the dragon.

What now? Is there anything we can…?

Shiver.

A terrible chill suddenly went down my spine.

Along with a wave of mana that blew over the battlefield. The mana itself wasn’t that powerful, but it felt so nasty that I couldn’t help but shiver.

How do I explain? It was as if the mana was creeping all over our bodies. Even Fran started getting goosebumps.

At the center of it all was a single man. Most of his face was hidden from view, yet we could recognize his overflowing fury.

「Maleficent…」

『What is… that sword?』

In Maleficent’s hands was a distorted sword made out of blackish-gray stone. It looked like a giant version of the obsidian knives and arrowheads I once learned about in history class.

「Bastards…! You frightened Persona! Unforgivable! Every last one of you is dead! I’ll make you rue the day you ever laid a finger on her!」

Whoa, he’s seriously pissed… Is this really the same Maleficent we know?

「Die! All of you must apologize to Persona with your deaths!」

His sudden change in personality came as a surprise, but the real surprise came after.

「Manifest yourself and defile this land, Hell! Divine Sword Release!」