When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist-Chapter 873 - 824: Battle of Malunpo (Part 5)

"Push forward!"

Kaler's voice was hoarse, but it still clearly pierced through the cold wind.

With a sudden exertion of his wrist, his long spear tore open a bloody gash in the enemy's throat, warm blood splattering on his face, but he had no time to wipe it off.

The War Monk, armed with a military saber, rolled beneath the snow with their knee, as the Leia infantry in front of them fell one after another.

Their engagement had not lasted long before their Long Spear Array began to fall into disarray.

The Black Champion Army's Spring Cannon roared again and again, the cannonballs tearing through the air, precisely slamming into the enemy infantry's formation.

Boom——!

At the moment of the cannonball's impact, earth and flesh were blasted everywhere.

The round iron balls bounced among the crowd, leaving scattered limbs and flying flesh in their wake.

Though it wasn't the first time these Leia infantrymen had seen such scenes, they could hardly conceal the fear in their hearts.

In an instant, the Leia Army's infantry formation was thrown into chaos, soldiers retreating in panic, with some even dropping their weapons and fleeing.

The Long Spear Cultivators of the Thousand River Valley stood like an indestructible wall, advancing again and again under Victor's command.

"Keep your steps in sync! Press down their spear shafts!"

As if ignited, Kaler inhaled the frigid air, taking a sudden step forward.

His left foot deeply embedded in the snow mixed with mud and blood, he gripped his long spear with his right hand and thrust it forward vigorously.

The tip of his spear firmly pressed against the opponent's shield edge, and with a "bang!" the Leia infantry on the opposite side stumbled back under his brute force.

The chain mail scraped against the spear shaft, producing a sharp screech.

Now's the time!

Two Long Spearmen beside him simultaneously thrust their spears, and with two soft thuds, pierced through that person's neck and waist.

"Ah, ah." Blood trickled from the corner of the Leia infantryman's mouth as if clutching a lifeline, grabbing onto Kaler's spear shaft.

Kaler casually tried to pull it out, but failed to do so.

Before he could react, he heard a soldier on his left shout, "Captain! To the left!"

He instinctively ducked, and the stabbing spear scraped past his shoulder armor.

"Bastard!"

Kaler growled, raising his elbow to slam into the opponent's chest, forcefully pushing them away.

Meanwhile, the Holy Gun Cultivator beside him had already raised his Holy Gun, aiming it at the Leia enemies engaged in battle.

"Thud——"

The lead shot pierced through the iron armor with a bang, dropping seven or eight men immediately on both sides of the small formation.

At such close range, anyone was a target for the lead shot.

The Long Spear Soldier who had ambushed Kaler was momentarily stunned and was cut in the ankle by one of Kaler's comrades.

Stepping on the Long Spear Soldier's wrist, Kaler's face twisted with effort: "Well done! Keep pushing the formation!"

Kaler caught his breath, re-tightening his grip on his long spear, and looked up suddenly.

The frontline of the Leia Army had begun to collapse.

The first four rows of Long Spear Cultivators in the Thousand River Valley Army had firmly held the enemy at bay.

Behind them, the Holy Gun Cultivators rotated their fire, ensuring any attack by the enemy was thrown off rhythm.

However, as the battle raged on, many Leia infantrymen began charging toward the Holy Gunners.

Many Holy Gunners had to draw their military sabers, even picking up a long spear to engage in close combat with these infantry.

It must be said, they were only a thousand, but at the start of the battle, they managed to suppress a force of eight thousand.

If only I had known, we should have started with an open field battle!

Just then, a strange, dull sound reached Kaler's ears.

"Buzz——!"

It was the sound of gear mechanisms grinding, a deep hum.

It's the Spring Cannon, Kaler knew without looking back.

Yet having trained as an artilleryman, he sensed something was missing in the usual rhythm of the Spring Cannons.

He turned abruptly.

The artillery position, which should have been firing in orderly succession, now had only sporadic Spring Cannons launching Holy Thunder.

The spring warehouse... is about to run out!

Kaler's heart sank sharply.

Meanwhile, on the distant hilltop, Count Dretta squinted slightly.

"The cannon fire has slowed down."

He said softly.

Marchelov immediately realized something, quickly turning his attention to the Black Champion Army's artillery position.

After silently calculating for a moment, indeed, the rhythmically firing Spring Cannons had become highly unstable.

"Their spring warehouses are running out!"

A smile appeared on his face, and without hesitation, Count Dretta was about to signal an attack, but was interrupted by a rushing Ranger.

"My lord, a troop we sent to attack the camp in the west... has lost communication!"

Withdrawing his hand from issuing orders, Count Dretta frowned slightly: "Lost communication?"

"Yes, it's been over an hour without any feedback."

Rubbing his temples, Count Dretta paused in thought, but he just waved his hand lightly, his tone indifferent: "No matter."

Looking back at the main battlefield ahead, his gaze was as cold as iron: "Let's finish this battle first, Imperial Knight Unit—attack!"

"Woo woo woo—"

The bugle sounded, and all the imperial knights of the Leia army mounted their horses.

They held heavy long spears, riding fully armored warhorses, their black capes billowing in the wind.

Iron hooves pounded the earth as three hundred knights formed a sharp steel wedge, surging toward the Thousand River Valley army's positions.

The monks of the Black Champion Army all noticed the distant charge of the knights.

Staring intently at the tidal wave of knights in the distance, Kaler had only one thought in his mind:

"This is bad!"

Just as Kaler had expected, these imperial knights did not have the morale and combat capability of the warriors under Prince Kongdai.

But this did not mean that the war monks of the Black Champion Army were tireless, fearless machines.

The battle had lasted for more than an hour, and their stamina and morale had significantly dwindled.

If the Imperial Knight Unit charged now... if it weren't for Her Majesty Jeanne holding off one unit of the Imperial Knights, it would be much harder to fight.

"Regroup, retreat first, do not engage on the slope with the cavalry!"

Victor's messenger shouted, and Kaler obediently led his crowd in retreat.

A thousand men facing eight thousand, plus two units of Imperial Knights, indeed Leia had the advantage.

The initial advantage established by the artillery was eroding under the charge of the Imperial Knights.

"Captain, we can't hold on. Send my money to my mother."

"Bullshit! Watch your breathing, take care of your own matters!"

He gritted his teeth, raised his hand to cleave a charging Leia soldier, but the exhaustion had already slowed his movements.

The Leia soldiers came one after another, all for one purpose, to hinder their retreat to the positions.

Because the imperial knights were getting closer!

Kaler suddenly looked up and saw the silver torrent roaring toward him.

The warhorses' iron hooves pounded the earth, the knights' long spears gleamed with a cold light, almost piercing his eyes.

"Captain, watch out!"

Boom!

The knight's lance crashed into the phalanx of the Thousand River Valley army.

The first line of soldiers was instantly knocked down, their bones shattered under the hooves, blood and flesh splattered.

Kaler watched helplessly as the young Black Champion recruit who had asked to send money was skewered through his chest armor by a knight's lance.

His whole body was lifted and thrown to the ground, still convulsing.

"Hold the line!"

Turning his head, Kaler roared and thrust his spear at an advancing knight.

The knight's lance lowered, and he could even feel the smile under that imperial knight's helmet.

With the tip of the spear carrying immense force, he swiftly dodged to the side, even feeling the hurricane stirred by the knight's charge.

"Bang!"

A Holy Gun Cultivator finally squeezed through the chaotic crowd and pulled the trigger at close range at the knight.

The knight's silver helmet was pierced by a lead bullet, his entire body falling backwards, rolling off the horse.

But still numerous knights charged into the battlefield, infantry scattered and unable to maintain formation with their spears, they began to retreat.

"We can't retreat! We can't retreat!"

Kaler shouted desperately, but the knights' charge had already torn through their defenses.

At this moment, even the Black Champion monks, who prided themselves on their superiority, felt despair rising in their hearts.

The numbers were indeed their biggest advantage, before those mechanical constructs on the Ry Court Barracks' military engineering diagrams became reality, having more people fighting fewer people was simply easier.

In the end, although the Spring Cannon had great power, its limitations were significant.

The entire position was in chaos, had it not been for the Leia people's catapults destroying a friendly salient, some parts of the Black Champion Army would probably have retreated by now.

High morale doesn't equal infinite morale, after all.

At this point, with no hope of victory, wouldn't they only be able to retreat?

Just when everyone was in despair, a deep drumbeat came from afar.

Victor suddenly turned around.

On the hills in the distance, black and red flags fluttered in the cold wind.

"What's that..."

The Leia army also noticed it, and Dretta's expression suddenly darkened.

He stared at the distance, a trace of disbelief in his eyes.