Chapter 121: The Battle of Kohlerson (Part 2)

PS: Thanks to BenjaminWbj for the generous reward, much appreciated.

"It's the Godfather, he's ridden into battle atop the Beast of Calamity!" Ryan looked up into the sky, where in the clear blue, Duke Gryphon was engaged in combat with the green-skinned warlord Ugrok, mounted on his gigantic gryphon, the Beast of Calamity.

The empire's central army was still holding on stubbornly. The formations of Britannia and Marienburg had started to break under the onslaught of the greenskins. The returning greenskins madly charged the infantry's spear formations, attacking their shields. Giants, towering over the small human soldiers, punched and kicked relentlessly, and then, to everyone's horror, a group of trolls appeared, swinging their powerful fists and crude weapons, turning everything in front of them to dust.

Facing the human formations, these four to five-meter-tall monsters even spat semi-liquid bile and undigested food, instantly corroding any soldier it touched to bare bones.

Humanity did not give up; the artillerymen calculated the distances precisely, and the empire engineers yelled like madmen: "Fire!"

"Fire!!!"

"Boom!" The iron cannonball traced a beautiful parabola, hitting a giant squarely in the head, blowing its head off. The creature screamed in agony as it fell, crushing a large number of greenskins beneath it.

"Starfall!" Master Elliott of the Wizards' Union and his apprentices released a terrifyingly powerful spell, dropping a meteorite tens of meters in diameter from the sky. Under Elliott's guidance, it exploded, turning the trolls to dust.

The riflemen, using the cover of the village of Colson, launched volley after volley against the greenskins. Alfred and other Holy Knights bravely held their ground, giving the army a chance to regroup.

Meanwhile, the battle between the knights of Britannia and the boar riders continued.

Ryan, wielding his warhammer and spurring on his steed Pinecone, charged through the fields with the knights, their lances aimed at the ferocious boar riders. Savage boars and fierce warhorses clashed once again under their masters' command.

Ryan swung his warhammer, already having claimed the lives of five greenskin brutes. In the second clash, the knights left behind over thirty corpses, and the greenskin boar riders lost more than twenty.

Then, the knights turned around for another charge.

The third, fourth, fifth... The brutal clashes drove the knights to near madness and numbness, the world blurring until only their enemies remained, shouting in the name of the Lady to maintain their sanity.

By the sixth charge, the once thick ranks of Britannian knights had thinned, nearly half had fallen, and the squires and reinforcements of light cavalry had suffered grievous losses. But their faith in the Lady kept them unified, with several kingdom knights constantly calling out, encouraging the young to continue the fight.

From over three hundred knights, less than one hundred and fifty remained.

Many young rangers were stunned, witnessing their playmates, colleagues, and comrades fall in battle, experiencing the cruelty of war for the first time.

Ryan, sweating, still grasped his warhammer tightly. Julius rode up to him on his celestial steed: "I've killed seventy-five greenskins."

"I'm at one hundred and thirty-three," Ryan panted, managing a weak smile at Julius. He glanced around, taking the opportunity to ask during a brief respite: "Your sister is alright?"

"I'm here, brother, Mr. Ryan." Another knight suddenly lifted their helmet visor, revealing Surya's delicate face, though she was looking quite pale and was breathing heavily: "I... killed, twenty."

"Well done." Ryan said no more, focusing on the enemy ahead.

The three hundred plus greenskin boar riders had also been reduced to less than a hundred, their morale waning. Both knights and their steeds felt the fatigue, and the boars were no different.

The tall greenskin warlord riding a boar kept roaring, his presence alone sustaining the boar riders' morale. He had several rangers' heads hanging from his belt, blood still dripping from their severed necks.

With spears expended, all knights had switched to swords and shields. Ryan noticed that the central and right flanks were holding, but the left flank, comprised of peasant troops from Britannia, was close to breaking under the relentless greenskin assault, nearing collapse.

"Our time is short, Yuli." Ryan narrowed his eyes: "Let's decide the outcome."

"Agreed!" Julius raised his greatsword, his spear long used up, gripping the sword tightly as he focused solely on the greenskin warlord.

"Advance! Knights, raise your weapons, let's charge again!"

"Forward!!!" The Britannian knights charged at the enemy once more.

"waaagh!!!" The greenskin warlord roared back, and the boar riders raised their weapons in response to their leader: "waaaagh!"

Hooves thundered across the ground, boars charged forward, Ryan targeted the greenskin warlord, rushing towards him at full speed.

Saint Knight Yules, radiating white light, appeared like a legendary hero descending upon the earth, his flaming broadsword reaping greenskin lives in the name of the Lady's wrath, sweeping across the battlefield.

But today's protagonist was Ryan.

"Human!!!" The greenskin warlord noticed Ryan and Julius charging at him, bellowing as he charged towards Julius, shattering his already cracked shield with a flaming sword.

However, the warlord's axe swung towards Julius's beloved horse's head. Unwilling to see his horse harmed, the kingdom knight had to abandon his attack on the warlord, dodging the blow.

This played right into the greenskin warlord's hands, his axe blade flipping to strike Ryan.

"Crack!" The sound of shattering armor and a heavy object hitting the ground.

Ryan and the greenskin warlord had determined the victor in an instant.

The axe blade passed through Ryan's shoulder plate, stopping just two centimeters from his shoulder, while Ryan's warhammer struck its head, delivering death.

"You defeated Kruba! You're stronger than Kruba!" were the warlord's last words.

"I think so too." The psychic blade flashed, Ryan holding Kruba's head in his hand, his face cold as he raised it high, shouting in anger: "In the name of the Lady, evil beheaded!"

His shout drew the attention of all nearby greenskins. Seeing their leader's head in Ryan's hand, their will to fight instantly crumbled, and many started to flee, retreating.

With the pressure on the left flank greatly relieved, Ryan immediately said to Yules: "Sir Yules, please take the knights back to support our soldiers. With your command, we can turn defeat into victory!"

"Understood!" Saint Knight Yules accepted Ryan's suggestion, raising his sword: "Knights, let's return to the fight!"

"Back to the fight! Back to the fight!" The Britannian knights and cavalry, though exhausted, began their retreat. Except for Yules, even the strongest Julius felt tired, panting slightly: "What about you, Ryan?"

"You take her and retreat first! As for me, I still have my battle to fight. Don't forget, I am a Saint Knight, I fight for the Lady!" Ryan suddenly smiled: "Looks like, I win this time."

"I will defeat you next time, Surya, let's go!" Julius knew his physical strength was at its limit, not on par with Ryan, a gene origin and Saint Knight monster, having charged more than ten times in battle.

Surya was surprised by Ryan's decision but said nothing, only giving him a deep look before following her brother in retreat.

The knights' reinforcement finally saved the nearly collapsed peasant infantry brigade, especially with Saint Knight Yules's arrival greatly boosting their morale. His exquisite swordsmanship and formidable strength, where his flaming knight sword became the nightmare of the greenskins, turning the tide of battle single-handedly. His presence was magical, inspiring courage in all humans under the Lady's magical protection, rendering the greenskins' primitive ranged weapons ineffective.

Such is the power of a Saint Knight, one alone being so formidable, it's hard to imagine the terrifying force of a full Order of the Grail Knights. Witnessing this, Ryan gained a deeper understanding of the Grail Knights' existence.

Truly, the premier knightly order of the continent.

The legend of the first generation of twelve Grail Knights, Baldouin, wielding an axe and shield, embedding several weapons into his shield during a fierce battle, continuing to pursue the enemy's remnants until dusk without showing any signs of fatigue. Now, it seems, the Grail Knights are just as formidable.

What beasts!

Ryan was likewise a beast, or rather, as a gene origin, even more so.

The newly minted Grail Knight, wielding his warhammer, charged towards the heart of the greenskin formation. His steed Pinecone, exerting its last ounce of strength, resembled an ancient war god descending upon the battlefield, slicing through lines of archers and greenskin brutes, heading straight for the goblin shaman's core.

The goblin shaman had long noticed Ryan's charge, the cunning shaman dodging among the greenskin ranks while casting a powerful spell to counter this formidable human.

But Ryan was prepared, his gene origin summoning powerful subspace energy, raising his hand towards the shaman.

Magic Dispel!

The goblin shaman was shocked to find himself cut off from magic, his spellcasting abruptly interrupted, causing him immense pain as his entire arm turned to charred black. Screaming in horror, he attempted to flee, but Ryan had already charged past.

Blood splattered.

Another proud head hung from Pinecone's neck, seeing two greenskin warlord heads hanging from this human's mount, the only thought left in the greenskins' minds was to flee, to escape as far as possible!

A magnificent scene unfolded on the battlefield, one man and his mount driving away thousands of greenskins, reminiscent of the epic myths of the original Grail Knights' return.

The Saint Knight's successive victories boosted human morale. As giants and trolls turned to ash under cannon fire and magic, the battle reached a stalemate, with the greenskins struggling under the humans' counterattack.

Then, a lofty horn sounded from the human ranks.

This horn, full of melodious and majestic tones, also contained endless rage and supreme glory. Hearing it, Ryan, just emerging from the greenskin ranks, shone with astonishing brilliance: "They're finally here."

The gryphon knights were mobilized, this reserve force poised to tip the balance of the battlefield at a critical moment.

"For Ludwig! For the Empire! For Charlemagne!!!" The gryphon knights, mounted on their gigantic gryphons and demi-gryphons, charged at the disorganized greenskin army.

The huge gryphons soared through the sky, their talons sweeping over the panic-stricken greenskins, killing countless on the spot, while others were grabbed and dropped from mid-air, smashing into pulp.

The demi-gryphon cavalry charged in formation, trampling the greenskins beneath them, relying on their strength and massive bodies to crush their prey. The gryphon knights, wielding long halberds, left only gore in their wake.

"For the Empire! For Charlemagne!!!" The empire's forces launched a countercharge, the empire's greatswordsmen, pikemen, and halberdiers uniting tightly, chanting the name of Emperor Charlemagne as they advanced on the greenskins, their weapons thirsting for greenskin blood, proving their glory.

"Knights! The Empire has counterattacked, what are we waiting for?!" Saint Knight Yules, too, raised his knight sword: "For the Lady! For Britannia!"

Humanity's counterattack had begun!

Greenskin warlord Ugrok sensed trouble. He was no match for the humans in front of him, seeing the greenskin army in disarray, he knew this great waaagh! had failed. But that was alright, he believed Gork and Mork would favor him again.

But now, it was time to retreat! Engaged in combat with Duke Gryphon, Ugrok feigned an attack, then took out a potion to feed his wyvern, attempting to escape.

Ivan had no intention of letting him go. As Ugrok reached for the potion, Duke Gryphon immediately spurred the Beast of Calamity to accelerate, each strike leaving gaping wounds on the wyvern, while the true silver gryphon sword pierced the wyvern's belly, leaving a long, bloody gash.

The wyvern howled in agony, launching a desperate counterattack with its fangs against the gryphon, leaving deep wounds on the Beast of Calamity's neck and belly, then tremblingly continued to flap its wings, plummeting towards the ground under the potion's effect, shedding blood across the sky.

Ivan ceased pursuit, as the Beast of Calamity was also seriously injured, unable to continue the chase. He disdainfully watched Ugrok and his wyvern crash into the plains below, pulling on the reins, descending towards the main battlefield.

Someone was already waiting below.

It was Ryan. Pinecone was too exhausted, so he dismounted.

The wyvern barely glided before crashing into the plains, rolling several times, then lay silent after a final whimper.

Ugrok, too, rolled several times upon landing, the greenskin warlord disoriented from the fall. As he struggled to stand, Ryan approached, the Saint Knight gripping the hilt of the Sword of Vengeance: "Any last words?"

"Die, human!!!" Ugrok raised his cleaver, opening his foul mouth wide, revealing yellowed, sharp fangs.

Ryan was calm, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Hmm, I heard you."

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