Chapter 438: Cluster Attack, Road of Glory

"Understood. These architectural complexes are relics of the previous era, and the wills currently stirring within them are likewise remnants of that age. Then, what is their purpose..."

After a brief exchange with Johnson and Cylon, Edward furrowed his brows in contemplation. He had grasped the general situation, yet one point remained unconfirmed: the ultimate objective of these ancient entities appearing in ruins across the world.

"Where does the slight peculiarity of Alastair stem from, or rather, what is the nature of the changes that have occurred recently?"

Searching carefully for information among these key points, Edward soon identified a potential anomaly. If the war between Sewentan and Alastair was merely a link in a larger plan, one only needed to trace back the existence that propelled this scheme.

"Doren Charlemagne? And after him, the Great Astrologer, Serene. The information Wang Yu gave me after eliminating the woman influencing Doren Charlemagne from the shadows was 'Utopia.' So, could these beings have come for that..."

Deducing the problem step by step, Edward arrived at a relatively foundational and plausible conjecture; it was, in fact, quite easy to imagine.

"Snap."

"We shall reflect later. The ruins on the snowfield are shifting; something is coming."

A hand rested on Edward’s shoulder, the voice a reminder to steel himself. The shockwave from the ruin’s mutation was about to reach Winter City; he had to deal with these threats before he could afford the luxury of thought.

"Understood, Brother Uller."

Edward nodded in response, his gaze fixed on the vast, blizzard-shrouded snowfield. Beyond it lay the ancient ruins nestled within the Saint Anna peaks. At this moment, aside from the ceaseless howl of the gale, there came a low, rumbling thunder. Just as Uller had said, something was coming.

"All soldiers, heed my command! Man the walls, drag out every ballista and cannon you can muster, and prepare for battle."

The Lionheart King, Grand Duke Leon Leonardo, had undoubtedly become the sole commander the moment he arrived at Winter City; every soldier and warrior would obey his orders.

The original city guards and the soldiers Edward’s party had brought back moved with swift precision, hauling out magic-explosive shells and alchemical cannons from the armory.

Around the Grand Duke, including himself, Grand Commander Uller, and Edward, only a hundred warriors remained—each an elite among elites. They stepped through the city gates, which were slowly opened by mechanical gears, and stood amidst the endless, frigid storm of the snowfield.

"Clang!"

Uller unslung a golden-red war banner emblazoned with a lion’s head from his back and thrust it into the ground at the forefront of the hundred-man formation. The battle aura within his body surged instantly; as he activated his inner potential, a unique ripple enveloped the surrounding space.

The icy hurricane, which had been cutting like knives and leaving frost upon the warriors' armor, suddenly turned docile. The surrounding ice elements ceased their assault, instead swirling around the formation like a protective guard.

"Hah!"

The other warriors let out a low shout, their battle aura vibrating. Much like the formation tactics Uller used to command the Royal Guards, their aura projected outward, weaving into a web that connected them all.

Ultimately, this unified aura converged upon Uller, who was channeling his inner potential. The massive, singular force greatly amplified his own, and the range of the Great Knight’s inner potential expanded rapidly.

Inner Potential: Wild Heart. An ability whose effects are negligible at low levels but become quite extravagant as one’s strength grows. Its effect is to make the surrounding environment "friendly," just as it had done now by gathering the strength of the other knights to influence the surroundings.

The frigid blizzard no longer battered the formation. Even though the surrounding area was buried under the power emanating from the ancient ruins, this military formation stood in a complete windless zone. The blizzard seemed to touch an invisible boundary, softening as it arrived and parting to make way for the force shielded by Uller’s potential.

The power of this inner potential went far beyond what was currently displayed, but there was no doubt it was far too suited for commanding troops—which was why Uller could serve as the Grand Commander of the Royal Guards.

"Attention, the enemy is arriving. It is a group of magical creatures with strength at least at the mid-stage Knight level. Furthermore, a force is accumulating; if I am not mistaken, it is the mental shock mentioned by the two guides earlier."

Uller’s perception extended far, capturing almost every movement on the snowfield. He warned the warriors beside him and the soldiers waiting in readiness upon the walls.

"Leave the mental attack to me, Father, Brother Uller. You focus on dealing with these enemies."

Edward narrowed his eyes. The dense figures of Frost Giants, their heavy steps shaking the earth, had entered his vision. Within his body, his battle aura accelerated, his Inner Potential: Bulwark ready to be unleashed, while his soul began to commune with both the God of Light and the Lady of Night.

"Defensive stance! City guards, heed my command! Fire!"

Nodding slightly to acknowledge Edward’s words, Grand Duke Leon drew his sword, pointing it directly at the Frost Giants emerging from the ice and snow. He issued his order, the defensive stance for the team beside him, while the subsequent attack command sounded the horn of battle.

"Whoosh, boom, bang, shing-shing-shing!"

Every guard on the wall pulled the triggers of their weapons, unleashing their attacks without reservation toward the advancing Frost Giants.

In an instant, thick and swift ballista bolts, flaming explosive shells, and dazzling high-energy beams flew toward the distant enemy swarm.

"Hum!"

Facing the overwhelming barrage, the rapidly advancing Frost Giants showed no sign of stopping. Around them, a vast torrent of ice elements converged, instantly condensing into a massive shield of frozen ice above their heads, intercepting the falling bombardment.

A chaotic, piercing sound of explosions and impacts erupted the moment the shield met the attacks. The sky, blurred by the blizzard, bloomed with brilliant and lethal sparks, the shockwaves briefly scattering the wind and snow.

Cracked and melting ice fell from the sky, caught by the blizzard swirling around the Frost Giants, drawn into specific trajectories to be reshaped into rapidly spinning blades of ice.

"In the snowfield, these beings have a natural advantage. The endless wind and snow are inexhaustible supplies for these magical creatures. That shield doesn't need to block every attack; it only needs to detonate a portion of the guards' projectiles early to protect the swarm."

Edward watched the cluster of Frost Giants. Clearly, these enemies were not mindless; they were indeed remnants of the old era, possessing both tactics and countermeasures. Once an enemy possessed tactical capability, the difficulty of the battle would rise exponentially.

"Something is coming from beneath the snow layer, and many more enemies are closing in from all sides. This cluster of frost creatures advancing from the front is likely just a diversion."

Uller’s warning informed the warriors of the enemy’s movements, preventing a sudden surprise attack. However, these enemies remained extremely troublesome; the help the city guard’s equipment could provide to the Grand Duke’s army was quite limited.

"In that case, prepare for close-quarters combat. Their supplies are infinite; holding ground or stalling is disadvantageous for us. Edward, I leave it to you."

Grand Duke Leon confirmed the battle plan, beginning to accumulate power for his own inner potential, leaving the rest to his son.

"Hoo..."

Taking a deep breath, he activated his inner potential, the Lady of Night’s divine arts, and the God of Light’s divine arts simultaneously. The Inner Potential: Bulwark covered every warrior in the vicinity, including the soldiers on the walls, absorbing the mental shockwave erupting from the depths of the snowfield in place of everyone present.

The astonishing force of the mental shock poured through the inner potential into Edward’s soul, where it collided with the brilliant, golden radiance of the God of Light’s power.

The divine power of the God of Light neutralized and collided with the mental shock. Compared to the power of the God of Fear he had endured in the royal capital, this mental shock seemed somewhat lackluster, and it was extinguished in the blink of an eye.

The backdoor opened by the Lady of Night channeled an especially vast amount of dark divine power to this location, descending from the firmament like a pitch-black curtain, separating the two armies.

The enemies from the snowfield could only see a deep black curtain blocking the path to Winter City; the city and the army behind the curtain formed by the Lady of Night’s power were invisible and undetectable by any other means.

The sudden change threw the Frost Giants into a brief moment of chaos, and the subsequent impact caused that confusion to linger.

Violent explosions erupted within the Frost Giant formation. The breastplate of one giant was engulfed by a massive blast. The power of these defensive weapons was somewhat excessive; while they were difficult to aim, a direct hit was often enough to severely wound even an expert beyond their stage.

With a large chunk of its frost armor blown away, revealing the hollow ice-element core within, the giant staggered back and fell to its knees. Though its expression could not be discerned, the shock and confusion were evident.

Before the other giants could figure out what had happened, another was pierced through by a thick ballista bolt. The roar of explosions sounded again and again within the formation, rapidly destroying the bodies and the formation of the Frost Giants.

This was an "invisible" attack. The moment the attacks launched by the Winter City soldiers passed through the black curtain, they were enveloped by the Lady of Night’s power, becoming "invisible." To the Frost Giant formation, they were suffering from a bombardment whose trajectory was impossible to track.

After spending some time figuring out what was happening, the Frost Giants’ seemingly connected wills made a decision: charge. Charge through the strange curtain and attack the defenders at close range.

"Boom!"

A massive wall of ice rose up, blocking the path in front of the Frost Giants. A closer look would reveal that beneath this wall of solid ice, which was accelerating toward the dark curtain before Winter City, were the ambushers previously hidden beneath the deep snow: a group of giant scorpions made of solid ice. They pushed the wall, acting as the vanguard, bearing the brunt of the bombardment to lead the charge.

Using the wall pushed by the frost scorpions as cover, the Frost Giant formation was still struck and shaken from time to time, but with the assistance of the blizzard, they soon reached the deep black curtain, about to charge inside.

But before the frost scorpions could even hold off the attacks to enter, a massive blade of crimson battle aura swept out, instantly shattering the ice wall to pieces. The frost scorpions behind it did not escape the same fate, being sliced into a pile of shattered ice.

"Boom!"

A thunderous impact echoed. From within the dark curtain, a squad charged out. The armored knights running at full speed shimmered with crimson radiance, and a phantom of a lion faintly appeared above their uniform formation.

This red light covering the warriors provided an all-encompassing boost, making the entire knight squad invincible, their momentum like a rainbow, crushing everything in their path.

The Lionheart King’s Inner Potential: Path of Glory. It was this potential that made the Lion Knight Legion the most powerful in Alastair—the path we tread, the destination is not yet here!