Blade of the Goddess-Chapter 187

"They’ll be arriving within the hour," Ruby said as she spoke to her grandfather.

"It’s unfortunate that it has come to this, but we must do what we can. I never expected your sister to have enough power to decimate the Church’s forces."

Ruby looked down, not upset at the situation, but annoyed that things weren’t going as planned. "Neither did I. But it’s whatever. I was tired of waiting anyway."

"Is everything ready?" Parth asked

"Yes. All of our troops are in position, waiting for the battle to begin. The knight’s order has taken up a position that will allow them to flank Lapis’s forces, and the estate walls have been upgraded with the best magically resistant material, with a large barrier that covers the estate. Our cannons and balistas are prepared as well."

Parth nodded his head, understanding that they’d prepared as best as they could. "Come, let’s wait outside. It’s best to give them a warm welcome."

---

After gathering everyone, Lapis, Ellan, Julius, and Raidon banded together to cast a joint spell using a magic circle as a buffer. They combined their strength to cast an army-wide teleportation spell that teleported them about a ten-minute walk from Duke Parth’s Castle Estate.

After the spell finished, Lapis rose into the air and amplified his voice with mana.

"Listen, everyone. Today is an important day for us all. Our future will be determined by the events that will transpire within the hour. Some of you may be nervous, scared even, but fret not, we have some of the greatest minds and talents here with us today, and we will not fall! Victory will be hours and we will return him victorious!"

"For Victory!"

"FOR VICTORY!"

And with that, the sixty thousand men charged forward.

---

The forces of Lapis and Ruby engaged in a long, bloody battle. Both sides suffered heavy losses and didn’t hold an edge over one another.

The battlefield was covered in blood, mutilated knights and mages, dead bodies, and the cries of death. It wasn’t just a battle for victory, but a battle for survival.

On both sides, the leaders didn’t join the battle, instead, they waited, waiting for the best opportunity to strike. They knew that the chances of them losing were higher if they decided to attack with their men instead of finding a crack in their opponents’ defences, then delivering a major strike.

"We’ll get pushed back at this rate!" Ruby growled. She wanted to go out there and fight. Not being able to do anything was killing her on the inside, but she knew she would be playing into her brother’s hands if she entered the battlefield.

"Calm yourself, my granddaughter. It is not time yet. This battle is already against us. Duke Ellan, like myself, is a transcendent, so is Sir Raidon. Master Julius is also there, and although he’s not a transcendent, he’s still very powerful."

Duke Parth understood how Ruby felt. He had to sit back and watch his home become a battlefield and couldn’t lift a finger to stop his attackers. He was put into a difficult situation since he never expected Lapis to attack his home.

As soon as Duke Parth saw Lapis’s forces begin to waver, he acted.

"Send out the Anti-Magic Knights immediately! We’ll carve out a path and force our enemies into a surrender!"

"Yes, sir!"

In mere moments, the tide of the battle changed. Lapis’s mages were pushed back, slaughtered, and were losing their ground. Thanks to the anti-magic armor and runic weapons Ruby’s Elite troops were wearing, they were able to drive the mages back with the leadership of Epora.

"Send those mages back to where they belong! In the fucking trash!" She bellowed, cutting down mages left and right.

On Lapis’s side, he smiled, anticipating something like this.

"It’s time." He said calmly, his arms behind his back.

Julius and Raidon nodded at each other and readied the secret weapon. Together, they summoned a massive magic circle that teleported an even bigger object.

A large, metallic machine that stood at the height of a small building. It sat on four large wheels and was engraved with intricate runes and magic circles. The metal itself was mythral, a strong magic amplification material, and had magic stones engraved in it to boost its power.

Finally, alongside the machine, a group of over ten thousand mages stood behind the machine, using their mana to amplify the machine even further.

What was this device? It’s simple. It was a magic cannon, and to this world’s standards, a technological marvel.

"W-What is that?"

"Some sort of weapon?"

"Is that a cannon?"

"Ha! They plan on using cannonballs? What kind of backwards age are they in?"

While the knights were thinking this, Parth and Ruby started panicking. They could feel the intensity of mana radiating off the cannon, and that feeling sent shivers down their spines.

Epora felt it too, quickly ordering a tactical retreat.

"Retreat! Quickly! Get to safety! Hide behind the walls! Put more mana into the barriers!"

She gave out commands as quickly and efficiently as she could, but she wasn’t able to save everyone.

Those who were close managed to get to safety, but those who weren’t didn’t even have time to comprehend how they died.

"Fire," Lapis ordered without any emotion.

The cannon glowed a bright purple color, and magic circles extended from the barrel, stacked in layers.

The mages added their own power to it as well, supercharging the cannon as it prepared to wipe out the opposing forces.

"Today, my siblings will see fear for the first time. They’ll see that their positions aren’t stable and they could fall at any moment. Once this showcase is over, they will bow before me, and I’ll be king. And after this, I’m coming for you, Zion Zagan!"

The cannon fired, releasing a devastating shockwave that cracked the earth beneath it. The mana generated was so concentrated that it turned the ground into molten rock. The magical beam fired from the cannon tore through the barrier with ease, obliterating one part of Duke Parth’s Mansion as if it were made out of cardboard.

The troops who didn’t get out of the way were all vaporized in an instant, never to be seen or heard of again. Not even their anti-magic armor protected them.

Once the beam died down, only destruction was left in its wake.

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦