In a grand war involving over a hundred thousand combatants, the death of even a young count was merely an insignificant incident on a forgotten corner of the battlefield, hardly making a ripple.
The kingdom's army continued its advance, seemingly unstoppable. All semblance of order was unraveling. Military orders could no longer even make it out of headquarters, and the private armies of the noble houses fought for themselves, willing to pay any price to preserve their own strength.
Amid this chaotic situation, the most elite force of the Principality of Bosque—the private army handed down through the family for centuries—finally deployed in full force.
"Lionheart Knights! Advance!"
"Fight for Grand Duke Leo! Fight for the Principality of Bosque!"
The Grand Knight Commander of the Lionheart Knights, "Golden Lion Knight" Maxi Stewart, held a shield in his left hand and raised a lance bearing the Bosque banner in his right.
The banner snapped crisply in the wind. The war cries of the Lionheart Knights echoed like roaring lions, reverberating across the battlefield.
"Fight for Grand Duke Leo!"
"Fight for the Principality of Bosque!"
The one hundred and twenty members of the Lionheart Knights were led by six renowned knight commanders. Nearly everyone in their ranks was a classed individual of level four or above. Formed into a neat battle array, they could unleash power far exceeding the mere sum of their numbers.
The Lionheart Knights' sumptuous armor and dazzling shields quickly drew the attention of their enemies. It was not just the kingdom's troops eager to swallow this rich prize and earn merits; the players, intent on looting corpses and gathering gear, stared with bloodshot eyes at these knights who practically reeked of wealth.
"Damn, these elite mobs look sick!"
"Save me a suit of armor!"
"Heheh, I want to strip every single one of them bare..."
"They're Lionheart Knights! Slay them and we'll get noble titles!"
Maxi was entirely unfazed. Raising the Sword of Oaths in his hand, he commanded at the top of his lungs, "Lionheart Knights, hear my command: Warding Bond!"
The Lionheart Knights raised their silver swords simultaneously, the blades gleaming with dazzling brilliance. As the oath spell took effect, radiant chains linked across them. Each squad, led by a senior knight commander, was bound together—twenty men forming a tight-knit unit, which in turn linked collectively to the tip of the Golden Lion Knight's sword.
In the end, all one hundred and twenty-odd men were tightly linked. They raised their heavy shields in unison, forming an impregnable, luminous fortress that commanded the entire battlefield.
They were one in offense and defense, supporting each other with distinct roles.
Any damage dealt to a single member was distributed across the entire order.
Furthermore, their attacks could be channeled and stacked upon a single knight, unleashing unimaginable destructive force.
This made the Lionheart Knights a mobile fortress on the battlefield, capable of both unyielding defense and crushing momentum. This was the entity known across the Northlands as the "Rampart of Lions."
"Kill them all!"
"For the Lord of Cinders!"
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Amid the roar of gunfire, hobgoblin and tiefling infantry furiously poured bullets toward them.
Yet magical ripples shimmered across the Lionheart Knights' massive silver shields, radiating blinding light that completely deflected every high-caliber bullet fired from the state-of-the-art semi-automatic rifles.
The kingdom's troops had never witnessed such a defense before.
Ogre grenadiers hurled grenade after grenade, trying to lob them into the knights' formation to inflict heavy casualties from within.
The players' methods were even more varied and shameless: spears, iron warhammers, jars of poison, Molotov cocktails, and even foul-smelling kobold leather trousers and wyvern droppings—virtually anything that could inflict the slightest bit of damage was hurled as a weapon.
Naturally, they had their own justification.
War was multifaceted, after all.
Yet the radiant barrier extended over the top of the formation as well, intercepting the debris flying from every direction and foiling the players' schemes.
Truly worthy of House Bosque's finest force. Under Maxi's command, the Lionheart Knights held their formation and advanced steadily, their sharp lances skewering every monster and player in their path.
Miraculously, they stabilized the surrounding coalition front line, showing faint signs of pushing the enemy back.
"Holy crap, what a rock-hard turtle shell!"
"How are we supposed to fight this? Anyone got Tu Xingsun powers to tunnel underground?"
"Where's the Wild Magic Sorcerer? Come save us and roll a ninth-level spell!"
"No, no, hell no! Who knows if her ninth-level spell will hit our teammates or the enemy!"
The players chattered among themselves, utterly helpless against the Rampart of Lions before them, throwing out all sorts of bizarre suggestions.
The kingdom's commanders also found the situation troublesome. The ogres' heavy artillery could likely blast through their defense, but the two sides were already locked in close-quarters melee, and cannon shells weighing hundreds of jin could easily cause catastrophic friendly fire.
"Let them witness the Way of Nature—"
"I've got this! *Awoo—!*"
Stark naked, Holy Light Bro let out a furious roar.
Empowered by an Enlarge spell, he dropped onto all fours in an awkward posture and transformed into a colossal bear, leaping down from the ridge top straight toward the Lionheart Knights.
*Shhk!*
The Lionheart Knights raised their lances in unison.
In an instant, the giant bear Holy Light Bro had shifted into was pierced with dozens of holes.
Immediately afterward, the Polymorph spell broke. With his bare backside exposed, Holy Light Bro slid down like meat on a skewer, slumping over the Lionheart Knights' silver shields as blood poured down.
"Disgusting filth. An opponent utterly devoid of honor."
With a look of disgust, Maxi flicked the corpse off the lance and raised his banner high.
"Break them!"
"We are invincible!"
"We are the scions of the lion!"
The Lionheart Knights roared in shared fervor. They even began singing a soaring rendition of the Song of the Northern Lion, as if they had already returned in triumph.
Confronted with such an unshakeable, formidable unit, the army of the Kingdom of Cinders seemed at a loss.
Suddenly, the air warped with searing heat, and sparks danced in midair. The hobgoblins, tieflings, and even the ogres parted to open a wide path.
A rhythmic, heavy cadence of footsteps sounded.
Clad in ornate crimson armor and bathed in the glimmering aura of flames, the dragon-blessed paladins marched forward in formation. Beneath their heavy visors, faintly gleaming golden irises burned with fanatical devotion.
"Rule with an iron fist—"
"The Dragon Lord above all—"
"For the Lord of Cinders!"
At the very vanguard of the column, Anthony raised a flaming longsword, shouting with his arm thrust high. Crimson dragon scales bristled across his face, making his expression look particularly ferocious.
It was the dragon-blessed paladins!
Above their battle formation, a shadowy dragon seemed to beat its phantom wings, gazing down upon the foes below with supreme disdain.
Chapter 320