“Sir Laude!”

“Sir Laude!”

Amidst the cries of alarm, a human knight was smashed out of the way by the chief of the cannibals.

Laude was the commander of the Northern Expeditionary Army’s Second Legion, and one of the main forces restraining the cannibal chief.

Although fighting him alone would push a great knight to their limits, with the assistance of several knights, they could hold their own.

But after that burst of red light, the cannibal chief’s strength skyrocketed, reaching the peak of great knight rank, and even threatening to cross into earth knight territory.

Perhaps only Marquis Wade could face him with equal footing in the entire Northern Expeditionary Army.

The pressure on Laude suddenly doubled, and what’s worse, several knights supporting him were lost, leaving him simultaneously under heavy fire on multiple fronts. Even if Laude cried for aid, he wouldn’t receive any for some time.

And ordinary soldiers didn’t even have the right to participate in the battle; a simple graze from the wolf pincer club wielded by the cannibal chief could send them flying, incapable of relieving any pressure from Laude.

After desperately circling his opponent, Laude finally failed to hold out. He was unable to block the attack from the cannibal chief’s heavy wolf pincer club, and even though he tried his best to dodge, it struck him squarely on the shoulder, sending him flying.

Struggling, Laude crawled to his feet. The sharp pain in his left shoulder forced him to prop himself up with only one hand on his sword.

The chief, naturally, didn’t miss this opportunity and rushed forward, his every step thundering across the ground despite his massive frame.

Several soldiers tried to rush forward, but they were swiftly knocked away, unable to hinder the chief in the slightest.

In a matter of breaths, the chief had already closed the distance and raised his war club to strike down on Laude.

Igniting the last of his energy, Laude raised his sword with one hand to block.

Crack!

A sharp sound came from Laude’s right hand as the heavy force dislocated his wrist. His single-handed block couldn’t withstand such a colossal power, leaving his right arm completely injured.

Though this blow was partially deflected, it still didn’t land directly on Laude’s head. However, this attack left Laude utterly unable to fight back.

As the chief once again raised his war club high, Laude closed his eyes tightly.

For a split second, his thoughts flashed back to his childhood martial training, the glory of becoming a knight, then swiftly advancing to Great Knight and becoming a regiment commander in the Northern Expeditionary Army, becoming one of the best of the best in the northern lands…ultimately…

“Bang!”

The war club flew, along with a spray of red and white. So too did Laude’s body collapse heavily to the ground.

Laude’s death was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The already-ailing Second Legion collapsed entirely.

The cannibal chief charged into the Second Legion’s ranks, and no one could stand against him. The soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army, who had been fighting alongside ordinary cannibals, received the special attention of the cannibal chief, and the tide of battle turned irrevocably against them.

Without anyone to hold them back, the cannibal chief became a sharp spearhead, leading his people to utterly shatter the Second Legion’s line of defense.

The retreat of the Second Legion became inevitable. One soldier, then two, stopped in their place and turned to flee, until an entire unit followed suit.

Though the soldiers in the rear had yet to face the terror of the cannibal chief head-on, they were swept away by their fleeing comrades like a tide. Even the rearguard, who had executed several fleeing soldiers at the very front, proved powerless to stem the tide of thousands fleeing, and their line too was eventually broken, forcing them to join the exodus.

The retreat of the Second Legion had a disastrous impact on the morale of the Northern Expeditionary Army as a whole.

The Third Legion, which had been fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Second and barely holding their own, succumbed to its influence as well, and their retreat became inevitable.

Sometimes war was just this dramatic. A warrior who had fought with a resolve to die just moments ago could be swept away by retreating soldiers and transformed into a fleeing soldier willing to abandon all he held dear.

In the end, the soldiers, who had once been renowned for their courage and skill in battle, were chased down by the demons, slaughtered like lambs and chickens, and harvested for food.

“Damn it!”

By now, only the First Legion’s line, which had received reinforcements from Marquis Wade, remained stable.

The First Legion was the elite of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and with the addition of Marquis Wade’s ten thousand reserve troops, it had been under significantly less pressure than any of the other divisions. However, even their line was far from stable. The soldiers were not blind; they quickly saw the defeat of the Second and Third Legions as well.

The only reason they continued to fight was pride, along with the fact that Marquis Wade himself was personally overseeing the battle.

Marquis Wade knew very well that this situation was beyond saving. If they didn’t find a way to retreat, the First Legion would soon be surrounded on both sides, and their fate would inevitably follow that of the Second and Third Legions.

The question of how to retreat in an orderly manner was a difficult one. Although these demons did not understand strategy, beating a dog while it’s down is a basic instinct shared by all. If he ordered a retreat, the demons would surely pounce, and their retreat would inevitably devolve into a rout.

Cavalry… Only cavalry could save them now…

Veru led the Northern Expeditionary Army’s cavalry outside the battle encirclement, sorting out his troops. The charge had been a costly one, losing at least two thousand riders within the fray. Their powerful impact had also inflicted significant casualties on the ranks of the cannibals, however.

Not long after Veru and his cavalry broke free, the situation deteriorated to a degree that left Veru baffled, to the point where he was unsure what to do next.

He had initially planned to regroup, then launch another charge against the cannibal lines—but now, the second and third legions had already collapsed, and the First Legion was teetering on the brink.

Charging back into the fray now would mean confronting the cannibal army head-on, and it would undoubtedly be a charge from which there would be no return.

Yet moments later, something even more unbelievable happened. The bugler by Marquis Wade’s side raised his flag high, signaling clearly: Charge.