Knight Lord: Start with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 230: The Eve of the Decisive Battle - Are You Still Wearing Your Brass Bell?

The first engagement of the decisive battle came faster than Souli had anticipated. The monster legions arrived from all directions, and as the farmers were retreating towards the town with their families, a harpy soaring in the sky, searching for prey, spotted them.

The sounds of panicked cattle and sheep triggered the cruelty inherent in these monsters, so hundreds of harpies, screaming excitedly, launched an attack on the sprawling column on the ground, their razor-sharp claws drawing countless amounts of blood.

The farmers, seeing their property being slaughtered in this way, angrily raised their pitchforks to fight against these terrifying monsters, but they were too weak. Lacking professional assassination training, their blind swings could wound the monsters but rarely deliver a fatal blow. Instead, the melee created chaos and gaps in the ranks. Several isolated farmers were grabbed directly by the monsters, flown into the air, and then brutally dismembered. A rain of limbs, severed arms, and fragments of flesh fell from the sky.

The Swan Knights discovered this entangled battlefield. They hadn't expected these agile monsters to be so bold, bypassing the city and fortresses to attack retreating civilians deep in the southern hinterlands.

However, their numbers were simply insufficient to confront so many monsters. A mere squad of Swan Knights would be utterly torn apart by hundreds of harpies in a matter of minutes.

Therefore, they could only harass the monsters while sending someone to Black Forest Castle for reinforcements.

When a Swan Knight, covered in blood, appeared above Black Forest Castle, Souli saw him at a glance; his bloodstained figure was unmistakable.

Soon, guided by the semaphore signals of the armed attendants, the Swan Knight landed on the terrace above the castle. This was the highest point of the castle, where dwarves had set up cannons, ready to support all directions.

As the Swan Knight approached, Souli realized how dire his condition was. The gray swan had a crossbow bolt deeply embedded in its thigh and an arrow piercing its wing. If the halfling hadn't cut off the arrow in time with a dagger, the tearing of muscles caused by the arrow each time it flapped its wings would have been enough to make the Swan Knight fall.

Souli immediately asked, "What happened? With the mobility of your Swan Knights, how did you get shot by gnolls?"

The halfling replied in a panic, "The arrows we sustained were mainly from an ambush. A group of gnolls hid in the forest and suddenly attacked us as we passed. There are too many of these infiltrating ambushers in our territory. A column of farmers was attacked by hundreds of harpies while retreating and urgently needs rescue."

Hundreds of harpies ambushing a column of farmers?

Souli immediately picked up his warhammer and said, "Lead the way. I'll personally go with you to rescue them."

Relying on infantry or even heavily armored cavalry on the ground would definitely be too late. Only air cavalry could provide rescue.

Fortunately, with the expansion of the territory, the scale of the aerial cavalry had also increased.

In addition to Souli's Pegasus Knight, Fasterick, the Sun Halo Knights had also added a new Pegasus Knight, Arianna. It is worth mentioning that, unlike most champion knights who are male, she is one of the few female champion knights in the territory.

However, her appearance is rather ordinary, not as aloof and noble as Freya, but more of a masculine female knight, with muscles strong enough to run a horse on. Otherwise, she wouldn't have become a Pegasus Knight.

It should be known that only the most robust of the Ranger Knights can become Pegasus Knights. She also loves to participate in wars, so after hearing about the Black Forest Territory's magnificent war against the Green Dragon's claws in the monastery, she traveled thousands of miles to the Black Forest Territory to participate in this war and pursue the glory of the goddess.

With a shout from Souli, two Pegasus Knights immediately followed him, soaring into the sky, each carrying a warhammer and glaive, and quickly rushing towards the rear battlefield harassed by the monsters with the Swan Knight.

The benefits of air cavalry are simply too great. A massive griffin like Deathclaw can easily break through the limits that ordinary cavalry cannot imagine, flying more than 160 Imperial miles per hour.

In just over ten minutes, Souli, wielding his warhammer, arrived at the blood-soaked battlefield. At this time, the harpies were still besieging the farmers below, who were holding pitchforks and resisting behind their four-wheeled carts.

Weaker women and children had already been torn apart by the monsters, and more than twenty corpses lay scattered on the ground. The remaining strong men who were still holding out were all wounded.

The good news was that a patrolling mounted armed attendant had joined the battlefield, killing more than a dozen cruel harpies with spears and arrows. Feathers from their wings were scattered all over the ground.

However, these mounted armed attendants were not heavily armored cavalry; they only wore chainmail on their upper bodies, so they gradually fell into a disadvantage under the siege.

If there were no reinforcements, it was only a matter of time before they were all killed.

Just as they were in despair, the loud cry of a griffin suddenly echoed in the sky.

All the soldiers and serfs who were in despair looked up to the sky. Seeing the massive figure of Deathclaw, everyone erupted into unparalleled ecstasy and cheered excitedly.

"Great! It's the Lord! The Lord is here to save us!"

"It's Deathclaw! We're saved! The mighty Deathclaw will tear these filthy and vile monsters apart!"

The soldiers' spirits were greatly lifted, and their morale soared, which was only natural because the scene in the sky was so inspiring.

The massive griffin spread its huge wings, and the majestic figure, clad in fine armor, covered a piece of the sky. On the back of the armored griffin, the knight in golden and glittering armor held a warhammer in one hand and raised the crimson banner of the Bauhinia family high in the other. The brilliant halo of the sun burst forth on the knight, and the shining light illuminated the entire battlefield.

Since the founding of the empire, this has been the symbol of the nobility's strength, purity, and holiness.

For thousands of years, humans have followed such lords, overcoming obstacles and establishing countless feats, repelling the sieges of countless evil monsters.

Amidst the cheers of the soldiers and subjects, Deathclaw let out a loud cry, and then, like a divine soldier descending from the sky, carried Souli with lightning speed. The warhammer shone with a cold light under the witch moon, smashing hard at a harpy that was about to pounce, crushing its head and splattering blood and flesh.

The blood and minced meat that rained down opened the prelude to the battle. A dozen harpies roared cruelly and charged towards Souli. Deathclaw began to exert its full strength, counterattacking swiftly. Each claw could tear open the chest of a harpy, and in a flash of cold light, six harpies fell from the sky like raindrops.

This was like Deathclaw and the hammer-wielding big guy on his back being a bargain.

In another direction, the Pegasus Knights were much more valiant. They followed Souli's charge, and the glaives and lances instantly pierced the chests of four harpies, knocking them out of the air.

Even the female brute, Arianna, could shatter the harpy's corpse on her shining spear with a shake of her lance. Countless pieces of flesh and feathers fell from the sky.

She held the Black Forest Territory's iconic [Lionheart Lance]. This powerful and sacred Lionheart Lance was a perfect-grade weapon that could not only inspire the morale of friendly forces but also unlock fear.

When she held up her shield and charged with her lance, no cowardly harpy dared to stand in front of her. She was completely invincible. Golden light struck in all directions and swept across the black harpy formation. Behind her golden figure, monsters fell to the ground like dumplings.

Harpies are notoriously timid creatures. In groups, they would not attack powerful prey unless absolutely necessary. Arianna's violent attacks, coupled with the unlocking of fear, soon shattered their courage. After she knocked down a dozen harpies, at least thirty or forty injured and exhausted harpies were enveloped in fear, their morale collapsed, and they wailed as they fled the battlefield.

The mounted armed attendants on the ground and the surrounding Swan Knights, seeing how brave the reinforcements were, were greatly encouraged and quickly rallied, launching a fierce attack on the harpies, cooperating with the Pegasus Knights to encircle and kill the monsters from all directions.

Souli, the lord who rarely went to the battlefield, felt a surge of heat in his chest, his blood vessels bursting, bravely and heroically killing five harpies.

This was not just a momentary impulse of spirit or the surging of youthful blood, but the effect of the Lionheart Lance truly and tangibly affecting him.

Under the effect of boosting morale and inspiring friendly forces, he would inevitably feel his blood boil and fight bravely.

The dozens of farmers and armed attendants on the ground, cooperating with the twenty or so Swan Knights in the sky and the three powerful aerial cavalry, fought for more than half an hour, finally defeating the monster force after killing hundreds of monsters. The remaining harpies fled in terror.

Including this battle, Souli had personally smashed 13 monsters since his transmigration. Even as a warrior, he could be considered a qualified veteran.

If he were to travel incognito to a tavern in Black Forest Territory, just talking about his battlefield experience would elicit a burst of amazement from the mercenaries.

After all, being able to kill three or four gnolls, six or seven harpies, and even a few beastmen was indeed considered to be a rich experience.

Many mercenaries licked blood from their blades their whole lives, and may not have killed so many monsters.

Of course, if Souli were to brag, he must not mention his equipment in detail. He rode a tiger-striped griffin comparable to a champion, wore perfect-grade mithril rune armor that shone with golden light, and even if six or seven harpies surrounded him and tore at him, they only tore a bloody gash on his cheek. Several times the monsters' claws grabbed at his throat, but were blocked by the powerful mithril armor. One harpy was even frozen into an ice block by the armor's cold steel runes and shattered into ice shards upon falling from the sky.

After the battle ended, Souli immediately used a Shalihah's Hand potion. Although this potion was only worth 50 silver coins, its effect was still very powerful, able to help the knight's wounds scab over quickly, as if Shalihah's sacred hand had gently stroked the knights' injured wounds.

This extravagant scene made the attendants and commoners below gasp in surprise. Was such a large wound worth consuming such a precious sacred potion?

Even bandaging it with gauze, it would heal in ten days or half a month, right?

Fasterick was startled by the blood on Souli's face. If something really happened to the lord in this battle, Chief Steward Hildur would tear him apart and break his legs!

So Fasterick quickly flew over and asked, "Lord, are you alright?"

Souli waved his hand casually and said, "A minor injury, it's nothing. How are you and Arianna?"

Arianna flicked her golden lance, shaking off the blood, and then flew over, saying, "We're in great shape. Just a bunch of harpies, they're no threat at all."

"But tonight will probably be a sleepless night. Even you, Lord, have personally participated in the battle. I estimate that this kind of fighting could happen anywhere at any time."

The fact was indeed as Arianna said. The territory's knights and mounted armed attendants were shuttling between Black Forest Town and the Green Dragon's claw's beast tide all over the mountains.

Skirmishes between scouts, spies, and ambushes broke out in every corner of the central plains. The knights were constantly exploring the Green Dragon Legion's deployment and direction of advance through continuous battles, and constantly reporting them to the command center in Black Forest Castle.

The Green Dragon, of course, could not tolerate this and constantly sent out troops and ambushes to encircle and kill these roaming human scouts.

It had to ensure that its legions were hidden behind a curtain of mist, which was in line with the Green Dragon's style of hiding in the shadows.

If its legions and deployments were completely exposed, then the course of the war would be completely controlled by the human knights.

And this kind of battle was undoubtedly very beneficial to the Green Dragon. Relying on its vast army size, it could set up hundreds of constantly roaming beast warbands in front of the main force. These monsters, in groups of dozens, were mobile and flexible, able to maximize the mobility of the beasts, keeping the human cavalry scouts far away from the Green Dragon Legion's main force by a dozen miles.

The dwarves riding battle rams suffered a great loss in this deployment, almost having an accident and being completely annihilated, leading to the loss of the Thunder Horn.

It was also the fault of these battle dwarves for being greedy, unwilling to blow the Thunder Horn when facing dozens of monsters on the periphery, wanting to go deep in front of the monster's main legion.

As a result, they were surrounded by four monster warbands and almost couldn't escape.

In the end, they had no choice but to awaken the Thunder Horn, summoning the dwarf chosen-level peak hero, who smashed dozens of monsters and broke through the encirclement.

But after this battle, the dwarves didn't dare to go too deep anymore, and the effect after that was negligible, so they simply retreated back into the territory.

The God-chosen dwarf hero killed extremely happily in the first two battles, slaughtering nearly a hundred Green Dragon followers.

However, this also led to a small regret, that is, the Green Dragon's claws had already seen the flaw of this God-chosen hero, that he could only exist for a very short time each time.

As long as they desperately fled when he appeared, that would be fine. Don't think about brutality, honor, or formations. In front of this God-chosen peak dwarf, no monster could withstand the blow of his sharp axe.

But this dwarf was strong, but he was short-legged. As long as the monsters didn't rush towards him one after another, then his efficiency in chasing and killing was extremely low, and he couldn't cause much damage.

This can also probe some information about the Green Dragon Legion. Perhaps these low-level monsters are mindless, but the Green Dragon as commander is very insidious and cunning, capable of launching extremely effective countermeasures against Black Forest territory's deployments.

Under its command, the Green Dragon's claws and teeth have dissolved Black Forest territory's probes one by one and smoothly flattened a large number of peripheral territory strongholds.

Judging from tonight's battle results alone, their Green Dragon Legion even has the upper hand and can even be described as advancing triumphantly and being invincible.

In the battles between patrolling scouts, although both sides have wins and losses, the Green Dragon is least worried about this kind of loss. In a monster siege, the defenders cannot be replenished, and each loss of troops weakens their strength.

However, the besieging army can be joined by beast hordes one after another, replenishing their strength.

With this ebb and flow, it is only a matter of time before the Green Dragon breaks through this castle.

When Su Li returned to Black Forest Castle, Freya was already waiting on the terrace. Seeing Su Li return, she advised, "Don't run around. If you fall into the Green Dragon's ambush, it will disrupt our deployment. According to the information reported by the mounted armed squires, the Green Dragon still has several wyverns under its command."

Su Li nodded, not trying to be brave. He handed the blood-stained warhammer to Fasterick, who was beside him, and then looked at Freya and asked, "How is the situation now?"

Freya immediately replied, "It's not optimistic. The main problem is that the herds on the Crimson Highlands cannot be recovered. We have ordered them to take refuge at the foot of the Gray Mountains, hoping the dwarves can provide protection."

Su Li couldn't do anything about this situation. War never waits until you are fully prepared to break out.

Or, to be precise, when facing a passively arriving war, it is never possible to be fully prepared.

Especially now that Black Forest territory's intelligence was suddenly leaked a few days ago, it is already amazing that the territory can achieve this level of preparation and mobilization by the knights' organizational skills.

"How is the situation with the soldiers gathering?"

"Don't worry about that. Most of the territory's secular soldiers have already completed their assembly. Even those on the road can successfully gather in Black Forest Town before the Green Dragon Legion arrives."

Su Li raised his eyebrows, keenly perceiving the key issue in Freya's answer: "The secular soldiers have all gathered smoothly? What about the church's knights?"

This unexpected situation was something Su Li had never expected.

The Church Knight Order is a professional armed battle group, and Su Li has always been full of confidence in them. He has always felt that the Church Knight Order should be the fastest to complete mobilization. After all, they are the Church Knights of the Sun Goddess. Each one is a well-trained warrior, constantly honing their military skills. It can be said that they are completely detached from production, only for battle, battle, and battle.

He never expected that the one with problems in the end would be the Corona Knight Order!?

Freya patiently explained, "This issue is a bit complicated. First of all, it involves the conflict between the church and secular power."

"This aspect has a history of thousands of years, and I don't think you would be interested. I'll make it short. The Church Knight Order must not abandon their garrison and the temple they guard, and submit to the secular noble territory. So our Corona Knight Order must guard Silverspring Valley."

"And the monster's overwhelming offensive is very vast. Their legion attacking from the south of the territory is likely to discover the garrison in Silverspring Valley."

"So the commander left a team of knights with hundreds of reserve knights and armed squires, who are desperately guarding the temple and fortress of Silverspring Valley."

The conflict between the church and secular territories has a long history. This is a macro-level contradiction in the empire's internal affairs, culture, and religion. In fact, Su Li's current strength is not worthy of contact with all of this.

However, there is indeed an important difference between church knights and secular knights. In order to show their identity, the battle priests in the church usually wear full armor. Sacred symbols or copies of the scriptures can be seen everywhere on the armor. The priests also tie a classic book around their waists with iron chains. This book usually has a metal cover to prevent the precious book from being accidentally destroyed in the ever-changing battlefield.

At least in the current stage, Su Li needs the support of the Church Knight Order.

If the Corona Knight Order refuses to abandon their temple and religious territory and enter Black Forest territory with all their wealth and followers, then the territory's deployment must take this issue into consideration.

Su Li asked, "Can hundreds of soldiers guard your Silverspring Valley's temple and fortress?"

Freya shook her head slightly and said, "It's hard for me to say, but our Silverspring Valley's fortress is also a magnificent knight's castle, more than ten meters high. It will take the monsters several days to take it down."

"If it were knights from other churches, they would definitely choose to defend their temple to the death, vowing to coexist with the temple and fortress. However, Commander Constantine is an excellent tactician. He can see the situation clearly and knows very well that he must cooperate with the territory's army to defeat the Green Dragon's claws and teeth in order to completely reverse the situation, so he brought the elite knight order to Black Forest Town to help."

Su Li pondered slightly. It seems that Marshal Orstein's offensive tactics are still the key to this battle.

Su Li glanced at the sky in the east, which was gradually turning white. It was almost dawn, and the monster vanguard was likely to arrive around the castle soon.

The decisive battle is about to enter the most intense stage of the main force collision!

He didn't feel like running around anymore, so he asked Freya to move a chair over, and he sat directly on the highest terrace, with the hunting flags above his head, looking into the distance.

Perhaps it won't be long before he can see that huge shadow that has been pressing on his heart all along: the treacherous wing, Ellereia.

The autumn wind at dawn was a bit cold. Su Li glanced at Freya, who was fully armed and shining in her armor. He breathed a sigh of hot air and asked her, "That... are you still wearing the bell?"

Perhaps the murderous atmosphere of the battlefield made Freya's temperament particularly indifferent. Her ice-blue eyes glanced at Su Li and asked, "Are you nervous?"

"Why do you ask?" Su Li raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Because men relieve stress by fantasizing about these things when they are nervous."

Here's some good news: starting tomorrow, I'll be updating 10,000 words a day. I'll try to finish this decisive battle in one breath in 3-4 days.

Then I'll start a period of easy farming life. This time, it's probably impossible to update 10,000 words a day for 7 days. I have to save some manuscripts to try to have a happy New Year like everyone else.

After all, during the Spring Festival, I have to clean the house with my family, go out for a day or two, and visit relatives for a day or two.

I will try to update as usual during the Spring Festival, without missing a day, and then prepare for the next burst update after the Spring Festival!

I hope everyone continues to support me, thank you, thank you.